Justin Verlander

So it's Friday night, and Derek Lowe is announced as having a potential no hitter going, but 2 batters into the 7th, he had lost the no hitter and now faced runners on 2nd and 3rd after Polanco hit a ground rule double, so he was gone. Nevertheless, the Phillies were shut down and beaten by the Braves.
Then, Jaime Garcia is announced as having a perfect game going. This goes nicely until he gets to the 8th inning, when he gets the first batter out but loses the perfecto with a walk to McGehee and a single to Bettancourt that immediately followed. However, one double play later, the threat was done, and save one Rickie Weeks double in the 9th, the Cards were victorious.
The next night, the Brew Crew followed up their loss with a pitching performance of their own as Yovani Gallardo threw a 1-hitter against St. Louis, stifling Pujols, Holliday, and Berkman, but losing it all in the 7th to Daniel Descalso and his .229 average.
Sunday night, Anibal Sanchez took a no hitter into the top of the 7th. Things aren't pretty with an error and a hit by pitch, but it's another close, but no cigar proving that he's worth more to the Marlins now than Josh Beckett is to the Red Sox (who did get a good game out of Clay Bucholz on Saturday as well, but he was yanked after 5 innings due to a long rain delay).
But the game of games was Justin Verlander, whose 2nd no hitter is establishing his dominance in a Mark Buehrle kind of way (he's now the 30th pitcher with 2 no nos). Sure, he's got a great WHIP (.98) and a very good ERA (3.16), but he plays for Detroit. Sure, he has a lot of strikeouts, and he does have a mid 3 ERA for his career (1 bad year in there), but he's not the posterboy for glossy greatness.
Nevertheless, he was flat out dealing against the Blue Jays on Saturday when he literally mowed down Toronto only to get hosed on a walk that he let up in a 12-pitch at bat in the 8th.
And while Jose Bautista, who is REALLY surprising me this year, wasn't in the lineup, he was dominant to the tune of fooling batters with 100 mile per hour heat. He may have only whiffed 4 of them, but with only 1 runner on base... that's nasty (as compared to 12 strikeouts and 4 walks in June of 2007).
So alas... it really is becoming part 2 of the year of the pitcher.
Here's to more and nastier... even if we don't get a repeat of Dallas Braden's Mother's Day perfecto.

Mark Buehrle

And so the news states that Mark Buehrle and his wife Jamie wished injury to Michael Vick last season in his comeback in Philadelphia. To this, we ask: who didn't?
OK, so there was Obama calling to congratulate Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie because he gave Vick a second chance (as opposed to calling the mother of a slain U.S. soldier named Sean Collins whose death notice letter was botched up). Now, we're not calling for the death penalty for Vick (we'll leave that to Tucker Carlson), but let's just say that if it wasn't for the karma effects, we'd be wishing constant ill to Michael Vick.
The issue of animal rights is a touchy one, and we're not vegetarian as some would claim one would need to be to defend animal rights and not be hypocritical, but in looking at brutal thug like behavior, even people who hunt, ranch, or shop in the meat department at Wal Mart can pretty much all get together and say that what they see is wrong and vicious blood lust is just uncalled for.
Now, I'm not quite sure why the Buehrle's statement is news. Perhaps, the media seeks to paint their whiteness as racist and wanting to go against the second chance atmosphere of America that is opening up to wanting to pay big time cash for Vick's autograph again (not me; I passed on that stuff when I went to my last baseball card show in December). Perhaps, they want this architect of a perfect game a few short years ago to be seen as vindictive above and beyond the call of duty. No matter what, let's just say that what they do for injured dogs shows their kindness and generosity while Vick remains, Vick... released from prison, shown that he can't do whatever he wants, and humbled a little bit as his whole financial world was crumbled as a result of his thinking he owned the world.
And perhaps this is another key difference in baseball and football. Sure, there's a sense of entitlement to hoochies and strippers in all fields of endeavor that cater to male star power. So it goes. However, the unchecked aggression that exists in football tends to permeate out of the game and into real life. This isn't about a sport where Pete Rose slides into home to win a game; this is a sport that created OJ Simpson.
And this isn't meant to knock football, but rather it is written to say that as humans, we have a certain responsibility. We'd say the same thing if Chipper Jones was impregnating a Hooters girl despite being "happily" married, which he did. Uncool. Don't be an asshole. Don't needlessly hurt anything. That's just part of being a human. And when you're done, do your part to make up for being a scumbag. Expect people to dis you for what you did. Don't ever expect people to forget - even if you've gotten better. Roberto Alomar and Juan Marichal would agree that this happens.
I know it's not fair, but it is what it is. You were given millions to be a hero and a role model - no matter what Willie Wilson thinks the job should entail. Act like one.
As George Orwell would say, "A sahib has to act like a sahib."