Bunts

-This day in history, Babe Ruth hits the first home run in his career in 1915.

-The Yankees designated Kevin Russo for assignment to make room for relief pitcher Jess Todd who was released by the Indians. Todd was a second round pick by the Cardinals in 2007 and has seen some success in the minors, posting a career 3.02 ERA and an excellent 9.2 K/9 rate. At the major league level, however, Todd owns a 7.62 ERA in 25 games but still has an excellent k/9 rate of 9.2. He is only 25 and knows how to get a strikeout. With some help he can still develop into a bullpen option. Worse case, he cost the Yankees a utility player at best who failed to hit even .200 at the big league level. I'll take the flier on the arm.

-The Red Sox placed Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler on the DL today. Jenks with a biceps strain and Wheeler with a calf strain. Further evidence that it is foolhardy to invest in free agent bullpen arms. Scott Atchison and Rich Hill will take their places.

-Happy Birthday to Willie Mays, who turned 80 today. Mays is one of the best ballplayers to ever step foot on a diamond and it would have been interesting to see what he would have done had he not lost a year and a half in the prime of his career to military service during the Korean War.

-In an effort to add some umph to its pass rush, the Houston Texans are moving Mario Williams to OLB in their new 3-4 scheme.

-Clothing maker Champion dropped Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall as a sponsor following Mendenhall's controversial tweets on Twitter.

-Rutgers and Army will be playing at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 12th. Last year, the two teams met at Giants Stadium in an overtime victory for Rutgers.

-Duke PG Kyrie Irving declared for the NBA Draft last month. I think this is a big mistake on Irving's part. He missed a large chunk of the season to a foot injury and was rusty when he came back but he did show signs of shaking off that rust as Duke advanced. Still, he will be a top ten pick and will eventually develop into an elite point guard.

-Derek Jeter, according to Beckett Baseball Card Monthly has 12, 694 cards worth a total of $319,687.95. The average price? $34.39. Bryce Harper, who has yet to appear in a Major League game, has 49 total cards worth a total of $10,830.00 for an average price of $401.11. Of course, these numbers are slightly skewed because 28 of those cards are autographs and Jeter has 1,044 similar cards. Still, it is amazing what hype can do in the baseball card hobby.

Well, that's it for now. The Yankees are taking on the Rangers in Texas with first pitch at 8:05 PM and the Mets are home against the Divorcers, I mean Dodgers with first pitch at 7:10 PM. There is also assorted NHL and NBA playoff games going on as well. Enjoy the sports.