So Sammy gets an 8-game suspension, meanwhile we went to go see a Louisville Bats game last night, and who should be leading off for the Bats? None-other than the last (caught) bat-corker in major-leagues, Wilton Guerrero. Guerrero has bounced between teams since 1997 when he was playing for the Dodgers, then went to the Expos (where he played with brother Vladimir Guerrero), then to the Reds in 2001, then to the Florida Marlins, and then to the Expos again, and then finally back in Cincinatti.

I just found these two great baseball-info sites:

Baseball Library – a great overall view for ballplayers, including a listing of notable events in the players career.

Baseball Reference – a great site with scads of info (batting, fielding, etc), including a player’s salary history. Includes such Bats favorites as Corky Miller and Gookie Dawkins (note that you can also sponsor a players entry for $5)

update: corking is great, but why not use racquetballs?

If you are a baseball fan, it’s your civic duty to vote. keep in mind that the winning league this year gets home-field advantage during the world series.

I just happened to notice that the 76th Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee is on ESPN 2 right at the moment. yeah — they are even doing rolling color commentary — and it’s LIVE. for every Mike Tyson in the world, I’m glad to see there are people spelling archaic words on a major cable sports channel.

update: i just saw the opening of this program on a replay — and the US Secretary of Education just asked for “God to Bless each and every one of you…” or some such. The funny ha-ha? The kid who won was of Indian decent — and his parents were too. They might worship God, but I wouldn’t bet on it.