Baseball’s leaders, be they the commissioner, the head of the players union, or superstar players themselves, often take their share of heat for having unpopular opinions, but it’s refreshing that no one prominent in the game has seen fit to defend Michael Vick for his horrendous treatment of animals. Thankfully, there don’t seem to be any Stephon Marburys or Jamie Foxxes in the baseball world. I wasn’t a big fan of Foxx to begin with, but now I’ll never pay to see one of his films after his idiotic comments—saying that Vick didn’t get the "handbook" that tells black athletes how to act—over the weekend. Here’s some news for Foxx. That "handbook" is called The Law. And if you don’t understand the immorality of electrocuting, hanging, or drowning dogs, then you’re beyond help…

Mike Mussina could be making his final start of the regular season on Monday night. If Mussina is hit hard by the Tigers, expect the Yankees to drop "The Moose" into the bullpen and replace him with Triple-A prospect Ian Kennedy, who has been dominant at three minor league levels this summer. The Yankees have grown frustrated with Mussina’s inability to adjust to lost life on his fastball. His unwillingness to pitch inside, long a criticism of the veteran right-hander, has never hurt him more badly than it has in 2007. One would think that Mussina would have learned something from the late-career transformation of Tom Glavine, but the lesson has not apparently sunk in. The Yankees are regretting their wintertime decision to give Mussina a two-year while not making a harder pursuit for a free agent like Ted Lilly…

How’s this for a blast from the past? Over the weekend, the Royals called up Billy Buckner from their Triple-A affiliate at Omaha. No, that’s not the Billy Buckner, he of the smooth swing and 1986 World Series infamy. This Buckner, who turns 24 on Monday, is a right-handed pitcher who bears no relation to the original "Billy Buck." The rookie pitched creditably in his major league debut on Saturday, allowing one run over five innings in a start against the Indians. By the way, the original Buckner did play for the Royals at the tail end of his major league career, appearing in 168 games in 1988 and ’89.

Jim Bowden often makes outrageous demands in trade talks, a strategy that usually produces nothing but inertia, but he made himself a steal of a deal on Friday, when he picked up Wily Mo Pena from the Red Sox for what will likely be an inconsequential player to be named. Red Sox fans couldn’t wait for Theo Epstein to part ways with the raw and erratic Pena, but they will likely come to rue this trade one day. Still only 25, Pena is the kind of raw and unrefined talent who is simply unsuited to the role of playing as a fourth and fifth outfielder. He has the kind of big swing that requires everyday use; he needs the rhythm of playing on a daily basis to hone his timing at the plate. Pena will require some patience; he will go through stretches where he strikes out two to three times a game and looks like Rob Deer on a bad day. But there will be good stretches, too, like he had over the weekend, when he picked up a home run and two walks in his first two games for Bowden’s Nationals. If the Nats are patient—and if Pena supplies the needed work ethic—they will eventually find themselves with a player capable of hitting .260 to .270, hitting 35 home runs a year (assuming that the Nats’ new ballpark isn’t more of a pitcher’s park than RFK Stadium), and slugging somewhere in the range of .500. That’s the kind of player that is worth the investment of time and patience—and that’s what the Nats will be getting in Wily Mo…

Injuries continue to pile up on the Mets, who had to add two players to the disabled list over the weekend. Ramon Castro and Damion Easley have joined the ranks of the unavailable, leaving the Mets desperately short in catching and infield depth. Finding a catcher at this late stage of the season is probably close to impossible, but Omar Minaya has already located a capable right-handed hitter who can pick up a little bit of the slack left by the losses of both Castro and Easley, who have quietly combined for 19 home runs this season. Conine’s ability to play first base, his skill as a pinch-hitter, and his experience in the postseason should all help him become a subtle contributor to the Mets down the stretch …

Don’t look now, but the Red Sox have signed a shortstop with the last name of Dent. This one isn’t Bucky Dent, but Ryan Dent, who was one of Boston’s supplemental draft choices earlier this summer. Dent, who is regarded as a terrific athlete with excellent speed, might eventually be converted to either second base or center field. By the way, Ryan Dent has the same initials as Bucky Dent, whose real name is Russell Dent. Yes, that’s a little bit eerie.

At a time when records and milestones are falling like drunken sailors, the White Sox’ Bobby Jenks has quietly tied a little known record by retiring his last 41 consecutive batters. Think about that, 41 in a row, which is the equivalent of a perfect game followed by 14 additional batters! As the lone bright spot in a dismal Sox bullpen, Jenks has equaled a highly underrated record set by the Giants’ Jim Barr in 1972. Barr is one of those 1970s era pitchers that is long forgotten, even by some of those who saw him pitch. (I remember him best for fighting with his manager, Frank Robinson, in a particularly ugly altercation.) Other than his ERA, Barr’s 1972 numbers were nothing special—he went 8-10 and struck out only 86 batters in 179 innings. He split the 1972 season between starting and relief, but unlike Jenks, he set down his 41 consecutive batters as a starter. On August 23, Barr retired the last 21 Pirates batters he faced, and then on August 29, he shut down the first 20 Cardinals batters to face him. The Cardinals and Pirates had pretty good lineups in ’72, making Barr’s feat that much more impressive…

It’s a strange story that hasn’t received much play, but the Players Association is considering the possibility of filing a formal complaint against USA Today baseball columnist Bob Nightengale for allegedly "misleading" two star players for stories that received national exposure. The stories, both of which came out earlier in the season, quoted Jason Giambi as essentially admitting steroid use and Gary Sheffield saying that the commissioner was a liar. Giambi was called onto the carpet by Selig for his comments while Sheffield recently received a fine. The union isn’t contending that the players told Nightengale that their remarks were "off the record," but rather that each player was somehow "misled" by the reporter. Frankly, I don’t see how the union has a case here. If the players didn’t indicate their comments were off the record, then Nightengale had every right to print their remarks. Giambi and Sheffield are both veteran reporters who should know, by now, how to handle to the media. They’re not rookies; they have no excuses for being misled by anyone in the print, internet, or television media…

What is wrong with Eric Gagne? In five relief outings with the Red Sox, he has already given up 10 hits and looked little like the pitcher that was making a case for Comeback Player of the Year honors with the Rangers. The Red Sox don’t seem concerned with Gagne’s velocity or health, but might be wondering about Gagne’s ability to adapt to middle and set-up relief. Almost exclusively a closer throughout his major league career, Gagne hasn’t pitched in a non-closing role since 2001, when he was mostly a starter for the Dodgers. We often talk about the difficulty in adjusting from set-up relief to a closer’s role, but the change the other way can be difficult, too…

As well as Jorge Sosa has pitched since being moved to the bullpen, it looks like the Mets will need at least one more solid relief pitcher if they’re to safely maintain their Eastern Division lead down the stretch. Guillermo Mota has been simply awful, Aaron Heilman too inconsistent, and Scott Schoeneweis simply unmentionable. Unfortunately, Omar Minaya, who has been reluctant to give up any notable prospects, now faces the additional problem of hoping that a quality reliever will sneak through waivers. Someone like Kansas City’s David Riske might; the 30-year-old journeyman has pitched exceedingly well in middle relief, with an ERA of 2.19 in 50 games, for the non-contending Royals. Or how about Mike Myers, recently designated for assignment by the Yankees. Though Myers has struggled against left-handed bats, he’s pitched better than Schoeneweis and would have little trouble blending into the Mets’ clubhouse…

Do you want more evidence of the enormous ego and lack of class exhibited by Pete Rose? As if Rose’s recent X-rated performance at a kids camp wasn’t bad enough, there’s this little nugget left over from the Hall of Fame induction. During the recent Hall of Fame weekend, a local reporter and friend of mine approached Rose on Cooperstown’s Main Street. He asked Rose if he would be willing to do a short interview. Rose responded by asking my friend what his newspaper’s circulation was. When he told him that the number was 21,000, Rose responded, "Not big enough." Therefore, no interview. Do us a favor, Pete, don’t come back to Cooperstown next year. Our small town isn’t big enough for your massive ego. Besides, Hall of Fame Weekend is more fun without you…

Sometimes authors, like me, welcome desperation. At the CVS Pharmacy here in Cooperstown, pharmacist Brian Loucks has put up a photograph of my baby daughter, Madeline, next to a stack of copies of Tales From The Mets Dugout. The photograph has a balloon caption saying, "Please buy this book that my daddy wrote because I really need a pony." Now, as to where we would put the pony, that could be a problem. But thanks, Brian.

In a way, it was fitting that Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking home run against Mike Bacsik. The Nationals’ left-hander provides a direct link to Hank Aaron through his father; in 1976, right-hander Mike Bacsik, Sr. faced Aaron during the home run king’s final major league season. Pitching in a game for the Rangers against Brewers about one month after Aaron had hit his 755^th and final home run, the senior Bacsik fared better against Aaron than his son did Tuesday night against Bonds. Bacsik allowed only a single to Aaron, who didn’t hit a home run during the final two months of the 1976 season.

While I’m less than thrilled about the Bonds achievement, a lot of my thoughts today are about Barry’s father, Bobby Bonds. To his credit, Barry made a point of talking about his late father during Tuesday night’s on-field celebration. When the elder Bonds burst onto the scene with the Giants in the late 1960s, there were probably a few observers who thought that he might one day challenge the likes of Aaron, Babe Ruth, and his outfield mate, Willie Mays, for home run supremacy. Bobby had enormous talent, arguably more than Barry—power to all fields, gamebreaking speed that played well in center field, and enough of an arm to handle right field—but he didn’t take care of himself, abusing his body through a fast-lane lifestyle littered with alcohol and cigarettes. Still, Bobby was a darned good player, a legitimate 30-30 man who early in his career played like a superstar. Much like his career, Bonds’ life ended way too short; lung and brain cancer claimed him at the age of 57 in 2003. I hope that a few other people stop to consider his achievements on this, a day that revolves almost completely around his son…

Tuesday night’s fifth installment of The Bronx Is Burning included one of the more disturbing scenes I’ve ever watched in a sports film. Yankee manager Billy Martin and newly hired pitching coach Art Fowler sat in a bar leering at younger women while making some offhand remarks. Decked out in mid-1970s polyester, the middle-aged pair of Martin and Fowler made for quite a spectacle. As my wife said out loud while watching the episode, who would have wanted to pair up with those two?…

Yankee phenom Joba Chamberlain made his highly anticipated debut on Tuesday night and did not disappoint in a two-inning mop-up stint. In striking out two and holding the Blue Jays scoreless, Chamberlain unveiled fastball after fastball in the 95-98 mile per hour range, along with a kneebreaking slider that looked like a right-handed version of Ron Guidry’s out pitch. Have the Yankees finally found a reliable eighth-inning bridge to Mariano Rivera? Maybe, if early returns are to be trusted…

The Yankees’ prime rivals, the Red Sox, made a nice pickup on Tuesday. The Sox quietly signed Bobby Kielty to a minor league contract with the idea of bringing him to Boston after rosters expand on September 1. The Sox might even recall him sooner if they can find a taker for the enigmatic Wily Mo Pena. Kielty hits left-handed pitching well, making him a platoon option with J.D. Drew in right field. Kielty’s ability to handle all three outfield positions could also make him a valuable reserve player down the stretch.