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Prospects are always a popular topic when Keith Law and I gather for a Baseball Today podcast, so here's what was on our minds for Tuesday!

1. Who is this Matt Adams guy on the Cardinals and what should we expect from him with Lance Berkman out?

2. What is the long-term prognosis for Rangers right-hander Neftali Feliz, and why can't Yu Darvish conquer the Mariners?

3. Aroldis Chapman is Cincy's closer, but is that really the best way to use him? Of course it isn't!

4. Our emailers want to know about the overlooked Chicago White Sox, bad managing and Independent leagues.

5. Our preview of Tuesday's schedule looks at the Diamondbacks, Angels and other matchups that matter.

So download and listen to Tuesday's fun Baseball Today podcast, and come back with us for Wednesday!

First: Derek Lowe spun his first shutout in nearly seven years? OK, that’s interesting, but hey, it was the Twins; they’re terrible. And he induced four DP grounders? That’s pretty cool, but part of what goes with the territory facing a balls in play-oriented lineup like the Twins’. But he did it without a single strikeout? OK, now that’s unusual. The last guy to throw a nine-inning complete-game shutout without a K was Scott Erickson a decade ago, on April 28, 2002 (thank you Baseball-Reference.com).

And to do it with so much help from his friends, in the form of those four Twin-killing twin-killings? Nobody’s done that since Ken Forsch got that sort of boost from the Angels’ infield back in May of 1981. Add in that Lowe did this at a time when strikeouts are at all-time highs, while generating just one swinging strike all day ... and words fail. His pulling off this sort of game is sort of like baseball’s answer to the coelacanth, because it’s like Christy Mathewson stepped out of a time machine and just mowed down a big-league lineup (even the Twins). It’s just one of those very, very improbable things you have to enjoy when you see it happen.

Of course, there’s going to be something automatic and yappy that will immediately tell us that he wasn’t that good, and that he hasn’t been that good, and that run estimators like FIP or xFIP will tell you he should be giving up an extra run and a half or almost two runs more than his current 2.47 ERA. Which is fine and worth keeping in mind, going forward about what might happen and should happen, but in the meantime the shutout’s a part of history, and Derek Lowe made it.

Second: Bryce Harper hit his second-ever home run in the major leagues, and it wasn’t front-page news. Considering it was the Nats’ lone run, that isn’t really shocking -- at this point, not only is he tasked with just proving he belongs day in and day out, the bigger problem is how the Nats will stop running through his teammates like Spinal Tap runs through drummers.

Third: You might reasonably feel sorry for Will Ohman for his part in Tuesday’s eight-run inning that erased a 6-0 White Sox lead, or his subsequent responsibility for the Tigers making that a four-run lead in the next frame. His lot in life’s not fun as is: With a 140-point career OPS difference between getting lefties out and righties aboard, he’s tasked with situational heroics, trying to get a lefty power monster like Prince Fielder out twice in a series.

That said, when he came into the fracas in the Cell, the game was still just 6-5 with the tying run on first and just one out ... and why was he even being used? To face and erase utility scrubeenie Don Kelly? That matchup wasn’t going to happen, not with Delmon Young on the Tigers’ bench.

So rookie skipper Robin Ventura walked into that, Jim Leyland pulls Kelly, Young gets hit by an Ohman offering, tying run scuttles to second, and the top of the order’s due up on a hot day in the Cell, when every pulled pitch off a righty’s bat has souvenir potential. Sure enough, Austin Jackson goes yard with an Earl Weaver special to put a three-spot on the board.

Next inning? Ohman finally gets to pitch to the left-handed people that he’s supposed to see, the lefty batters who won’t get pulled at the first sight of a southpaw: Fielder, Brennan Boesch, and Alex Avila. Except that Ohman’s no longer fresh, and he puts two of the three of them on base, and they both score, and the bloodbath's a slightly darker shade of red.

Suffice to say, if there’s a Will Ohman owner’s manual, you wouldn’t find games like this in it, not unless it’s followed by, “If you see this happening, call tech support.”

Home plate: From old friend Jay Jaffe of baseball Prospectus, a man who’s never been afraid of letting his Dodger fandom shine through:

You used to be cool, Chad Billingsley

— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) May 16, 2012

Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

SweetSpot blogger Dave Schoenfield and I argued so much on Thursday’s Baseball Today podcast that fisticuffs nearly ensued! OK, that last part isn’t true, but it was fun!

1. David Robertson blows up in the ninth inning Wednesday, which some say means he can only pitch in a setup role. We can’t begin to describe how ridiculous that is.

2. Meanwhile, Josh Beckett is out playing golf, eating chicken and drinking beer. Talk about a story that isn’t a story ... until Dave calls him the most overrated pitcher of the past decade. True or false?

3. Jake Peavy is pitching like a star and Tim Lincecum is not. Which right-hander would you choose for the rest of the season?

4. Our emailers have thoughts about ripping the surprising starts for the Baltimores and Clevelands of baseball, as well as schedule strength for the last-place Red Sox and Phillies.

5. On Thursday’s schedule we’ll get an exciting matchup in the Bronx as well as Nationals stud Stephen Strasburg on the hill, but there’s a certain AL Central pitcher that really needs to step up!

So download and listen to Thursday’s energetic Baseball Today podcast, and learn why you never leave a baseball game early. Ever.

There was a time when Jake Peavy was mentioned in the same breath as pitchers like Roy Halladay and CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander. There was a time when Peavy might have been better than all of them -- the best in the game, in fact.

The last year he started 30 games was in 2007. That season he led the National League in wins, ERA, strikeouts, fewest baserunners allowed per nine innings and most strikeouts per nine. He was the only starter in the major leagues with an ERA under 3.00. He collected all 32 first-place votes in the NL Cy Young Award balloting.

"I can definitely get better," Peavy said after winning the award. "I've got a long way to go to be who I want to be." Maybe he was referring to not throwing a complete game that season. Maybe he was referring to Game No. 163, the playoff tiebreaker in Colorado. Peavy gave up 10 hits and six runs in 6 1/3 innings in a game the Padres eventually lost in the 13th inning. He was 26 years old, a Cy Young winner with two ERA titles under his belt, but he still wanted to prove he was the best pitcher in baseball.

This isn't the way he wanted it to happen, but it's May 2012 and right now Jake Peavy is back on top: He's the best pitcher in baseball. That's right: Better than Halladay or Verlander or Clayton Kershaw or Jered Weaver.

It's an amazing comeback story from a guy who has battled four years of injuries, and not just the routine battle scars that pitchers have to overcome. In 2010, he feared his career could be over. A quick look back at that list of injuries:

2008: He went on the disabled in May with a sore elbow, missed a month and ended up making 27 starts and posting a 2.85 ERA.

2009: Strained a tendon in his right ankle rounding a base in late May, an injury that eventually landed him on the DL. Traded to the White Sox while disabled, Peavy returned in September to make three strong starts. In 16 starts, he finished 9-6 with a 3.45 ERA.

2010: In July, Peavy ruptured the tendon that attaches the latissimus dorsi muscle to the rear of the right shoulder. He became the first major league pitcher to undergo an experimental surgery involving stitches and titanium anchors. His season was over after 17 starts.

2011: Missed time at the start of the season with shoulder tendinitis, later pulled a groin and then was shut down in September due to arm fatigue. He made 18 starts.

Now he's healthy for the first time in a long time. "I’m a different guy than since you've probably ever seen me, just as far as feeling OK on the mound, being able to worry about making pitches, worrying about game planning not sitting in the trainer room the whole time in between days," he told ESPN Chicago a couple starts ago.

Watching him pitch on Wednesday, he looked like the Peavy from his Padres heyday, mixing his fastball, cutter, tight slider, curveball and changeup from that slightly herky-jerky delivery of his. For all the talk of Yu Darvish's wide arsenal of pitchers, Peavy also throws a kitchen sink repertoire. He cruised through six shutout innings against Cleveland before surrendering a run in the seventh as the White Sox scored an 8-1 victory. He threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of 28 batters and while he rarely topped at more than 90 mph on his fastball, he pitched with precision while changing speeds.

Best in the game? A bold statement, yes, but through seven starts nobody's been better. Check the numbers:

• 4-1, 1.89 ERA, with just 11 runs allowed in seven starts.
• Tied with Felix Hernandez for most innings pitched.
• .189 batting average allowed, .221 OBP allowed (third behind only Matt Cain and Jered Weaver), .482 OPS allowed (fifth).
• Strikeout/walk ratio of 44 to 7, third-best behind Cole Hamels and Bronson Arroyo.

What's impressive about this seven-start run is Peavy has had to face most of the hard-hitting lineups in the American League: two starts against Detroit, plus Texas, Boston, Baltimore and Cleveland. He has one start against Oakland. Weaver, for instance, has faced the Twins in three of his seven starts and hasn't faced Detroit, Texas or Boston.

Now, whether Peavy can keep it going and remain healthy is another issue. Entering his Wednesday start, he was the most extreme fly-ball starting pitcher in the majors, although he has allowed just two home runs. He did induce groundballs on nine of his 15 non-strikeout outs on Wednesday, but skeptics would suggest that his home run rate isn't sustainable. That's certainly likely, but you can see from his heat maps that while he's been pitching up in the zone, he's doing a good job of keeping the ball away from hitters.



Amazingly, Peavy isn't the only comeback story for the White Sox. Designated hitter Adam Dunn's career appeared to be in jeopardy for other reasons after suffering through one of the worst seasons in major league history last year, with a batting average I don't even want to repeat.

Dunn, however, has been one of the most valuable hitters in the game so far, slugging his 10th home run on Wednesday, a two-run bomb off Jeanmar Gomez in the first inning. Dunn is hitting .243/.384/.586 and he's tied for third in the majors in homers and ranks ninth in RBIs and 15th in OPS.

Whether Dunn can keep this up is also a fair question. His strikeout rate of 34.1 percent is close to 2011's 35.7 percent, both figures well above Dunn's career mark of 27.7 percent. Basically, last year his fly balls were caught; this year, they're landing on the good side of the fence. But he's also lofting the ball more than a year ago; only four players are hitting a higher percentage of fly balls than Dunn. When you're as big and strong as Dunn, fly balls are a good thing.

Still, you have to connect with the sweet part of the wood. And White Sox fans have hearing that sweet sound so far.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Not sure if you saw this highlight from the Indians-White Sox game last night. How bad is Johnny Damon's arm? The White Sox sent the lumbering Adam Dunn home on a base hit to left field ... even though Dunn had yet to reach third base when Damon got to the ball.

OK, we all know Damon can't throw but when you one-hop the cutoff man from shallow left field ... ouch.

We’re almost a fifth of the way into the season, and many of the expected storylines in both leagues have gotten the usual attention. The East divisions get the attention because both provide full five-team tangles of contenders and pretenders, with heightened expectations raised higher still with the addition of two more wild-card entries this postseason. The NL Central has bad blood and historic rivalries. And the Wests have the L.A. teams riding their respective highs and lows. The Rangers have a pair of pennants. The NL West gives you a surprise team every season.

Who’s missing from all that? The AL Central, and perhaps it’s easy to see why. The division is home to baseball’s two worst teams, the Twins and the Royals, by any standard you might care to measure such things by: record or run differential. Only a simple Pythagorean interpretation of the Royals’ runs scored and allowed gets them out of their duet with the Twins at the very bottom of the majors, but even that might be generous, because however many runs the Royals sporadically get, it’s tough to outscore one of the only two rotations that can’t generate a quality start even a third of the time. And the other starting staff that is that bad? The Twins -- what, you needed to ask? -- even after Scott Diamond’s masterful shutdown of the Angels on Tuesday night.

But you can’t just blame this dud-ly duo at the bottom of the standings. The three teams competing for a playoff slot that’s theirs as a matter of geographical destiny aren’t blowing the league away in the early going. The Indians, White Sox and Tigers are a combined three games over .500, and have a combined run differential of zero. Taken collectively, they’re three teams around .500 that are supposed to be .500.

Now sure, that’s fun with math, because the Indians have slipped out to a modest early lead with their 17-12 start. However, that just echoes last year’s 30-15 season-starting run: Cause for celebrations on the banks of the Cuyahoga, and healthy skepticism everywhere else.

Can the Tribe be taken any more seriously this time around? Maybe if Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson get a handle on their early-season control problems, that would help, but their front five doesn't match up well with the best rotations.

On offense, they’re currently 10th in the American League in ISO or isolated slugging; it’s hard to identify where they’re going to get a major power boost as the season progresses. Johnny Damon hasn’t been a moderately useful power source for an outfield corner or DH since he left the Yankees after 2009. Grady Sizemore would be if and when his latest comeback gets under way. ‘Soon,’ ‘June’ and ‘when the cow jumps over the moon’ all seem like reasonable answers given his track record. Casey Kotchman isn’t hitting; he rarely does.

Which suggests that the Indians’ best fix on offense is currently outside the organization. First base is usually a good spot to find a free agent-to-be on a non-contender and trade for him as a two-month temp at the deadline, but next winter’s crop of free agents at first base is mostly appalling: Aubrey Huff? Carlos Lee? But how about Kevin Youkilis, as Gordon Edes has pointed out? Indians fans can certainly hope, but GM Chris Antonetti doesn’t have a ton to work with.

What of the White Sox? In all their early celebrations over Adam Dunn’s resurrection and A.J. Pierzynski popping a quick five homers, there’s still Gordon Beckham's and Brent Morel's slack bats. Homegrown Dayan Viciedo has fit right into that brand of ghastliness, struggling to post an OPS above .600. And with their whipsawing Chris Sale moving from the rotation to the pen, it’s clear they haven’t entirely figured what they can do with the working parts they do have.

So barring the Indians making some sort of game-changing deal, this really should still be the Tigers’ division to win. That might sound like a declaration of faith in the famous people, but propositions that start with names like Verlander, Miggy or Prince involve happier endings than those that rely on Pronk or Becks.

They aren’t perfect, of course, and a lot of that is because of the rest of Jim Leyland’s crew. I don’t blame you if you’re a Brennan Boesch skeptic -- has any other 27-year-old corner outfielder with a .424 career SLG ever inspired so much faith he’s going to be something more? -- or unconvinced that Delmon Young is ever going to really break out. But eventually Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder and Alex Avila will have more to work with than they have had in the early going.

At least in the rotation Doug Fister’s already back, and if Drew Smyly pans out, maybe he’s the third starter that Max Scherzer hasn’t been or Rick Porcello isn’t ready to be. But it says something that you have to already count on Fister as a sure thing as their No. 2, something nobody would have said about him on anybody’s team a year ago.

This early, though, project them over 162 games and the Tigers still look like the one team in the division with a legit shot at 90 wins. So I’d suggest Tigers fans keep the faith. They may feel letdown by initial expectations that they’d romp from day one, but a couple of long months beating up on the Twins and Royals will help. Barring an in-season overhaul for the Indians, it’s still Detroit’s division to win.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

Keith Law returned from vacation to join me for a fun Tuesday edition of the Baseball Today podcast!

1. Cole Hamels remains in the news not so much for actions, but words. We discuss his foolishness, a meaningless suspension and Washington's silly response.

2. Speaking of the Nationals, are they really legit now? What about their beltway partners in Baltimore?

3. Chris Sale and his sore elbow are headed to closing rather than starting. Um, should he be on the DL? We talk risk/reward.

4. Our emailers also want to know about roster spots for hitters that do pitch and the Cubs' catching depth.

5. Tuesday's schedule features interesting pitchers, and we discuss why Matt Kemp is playing and what's in store for Will Middlebrooks.

So download and listen to Tuesday's Baseball Today podcast and return Wednesday for top 100 prospect talk!

First base: If you’re in Chicago, it’s hard to think of first base and not think of Paul Konerko, so let’s give the White Sox slugger his due for his 400th career home run. That game-tying shot off Oakland’s Grant Balfour may not have delivered a win, but it also wasn’t his 400th career home run for the White Sox. Lest we forget, the Hammer of the South Side was a highly touted Dodgers prospect back in the day, only to get swapped (or more properly stolen) in a deal that sent Jeff Shaw to Los Angeles and briefly put Konerko in a Reds uni. Just four months later, Paulie was traded again, this time to the White Sox for Mike Cameron, which was more of a straightforward win-win deal. (We can keep all that went wrong later, when Cameron was dealt in the package for Ken Griffey Jr., aside as a pretty major unusual circumstance, including how unanticipated Griffey’s injuries were.) As a Dodger and Red, Konerko hit seven homers, so he'll get a second pass at this particular mark -- just as a White Sock.

Second base: While all of the focus is on Matt Kemp hitting his 10th home run on Wednesday night for Don Mattingly’s Dodgers, and the 85-tater pace it puts him on, it’s worth a brief mention that teammate Dee Gordon stole his 10th base as well, putting him on a pace for, well, 85 steals. In this bit of ham-fisted fun with early-season stats, that would be the highest single-season steals total since Rickey Henderson swiped 93 bags back in 1988. Those 10 steals -- and his four times caught -- have all been from his going after second base. Keeping in mind he’s only been on first base 22 times (14 singles, five walks, and three times reached on error), he’s running two-thirds of the time, a clip even Rickey -- Mattingly’s former Yankee teammate -- might respect. Now, imagine how many bases Gordon might steal if his OBP was above .300.

Third base: Who went for three and got his just reward? Not a baserunner. No, Wednesday it was none other than Gorzo the Magnificent for the Nationals. That’s lefty long man Tom Gorzelanny, a utility pitcher who has to live with a lot that involves soaking up innings to give bombed starters or tired pen men a break. But Davey Johnson let Gorzelanny go three innings to notch the save in Washington’s 7-2 win. He entered with a one-run lead in the top of the seventh -- a save situation -- and the Nats tore up the Pad 'pen, so Johnson elected to leave his man out there and give the rest of the relief crew the night off. No need to delay, pursue the situational advantage, or anything, just let it ride, call it a ballgame ... and assign the glory stat to the guy who helped make a 2:39 game time possible.

Home plate: In the world of impassioned Rangers fans, few are more deeply committed than Jamey Newberg -- or his supporters.

Swisher?? Me? Never! @holly_holl @kevinjaldridge I think Newberg suggested that he should be acquired & I nearly punched my computer.

— Jamey Newberg (@NewbergReport) April 26, 2012

Keith Law and I gathered for Tuesday’s Baseball Today podcast in which we took a closer look at Monday’s games and previewed what should be an exciting Tuesday night as well!

1. Chicago White Sox pitcher Jake Peavy shut out the Athletics on Monday, and he used a different repertoire than we’re used to.

2. The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a seemingly great start, but remove Matt Kemp from this offense and it’s not special. We discuss outfielder Andre Ethier and prospect Alex Castellanos.

3. Jair Jurrjens pitched badly against the Dodgers on Monday and got demoted to Triple-A. What’s his future, and how do the Braves compensate?

4. Our emailers have questions about Diamondbacks prospect Trevor Bauer and how the Mets, Padres and Nationals seek their first no-hitters!

5. Our look at Tuesday’s pitchers centers on Josh Johnson, Yu Darvish and Adam Wainwright.

So download and listen to Tuesday’s Baseball Today podcast, because Aubrey Huff played second base the other day and we think it’s funny.

Philip Humber's perfect game was the most impressive performance of the week. But it actually finished tied for the best pitching performance of the season by one of our favorite metrics. And the pitcher whom he tied is worthy of attention, too.

Game Score, devised by Bill James, rates a pitcher’s start based on innings, runs, hits, strikeouts and walks. An average Game Score is typically 49 to 50. Almost every Game Score finishes between 0 and 100 and you can think of the rating as similar to a test score (the higher the better).

Humber finished with a 96 (in order to score a 100, he’d have needed four more strikeouts) for his Saturday game against the Mariners. He was the second pitcher to post a 96 this season. Matt Cain posted a 96 against the Pirates on April 13 when he pitched an 11-strikeout, no-walk one-hitter.

Cain’s last two starts account for two of the five-highest Game Scores this season. He registered an 85 or better in each of his last two starts.

It’s rare for a pitcher to post three straight starts with a Game Score of 85 or higher. Four pitchers did it from 1994 to 1998 -- David Cone (1994), Randy Johnson (1994 and 1997), Curt Schilling (1998) and Roger Clemens (1998). No one has done so since.

Cain starts tonight against the Reds, a team he was 2-0 against last season, allowing two runs in 17 innings.

What has Cain done best this season? How about this: Left-handed hitters are 4-for-43 against Cain in his three starts. Cain has succeeded by pitching left-handed hitters away. He’s thrown 72 percent of his pitches to lefties on the outer-third of the plate or further away. Cain started working lefties away with greater emphasis last season, when he threw 58 percent of his pitches to that area (up from 50 percent in 2011). It worked. He held lefties to a .185 batting average.

First base: Nate the great. Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz had a day to remember as the Giants swept a doubleheader from the Mets. In the opener, he went 3-for-5 with a triple and home run. In the nightcap (do they call it a nightcap?), he went 3-for-5 with another triple. His six hits is as many (or more) as the Pirates have gotten in eight of their 15 games. Tim Lincecum won his first game, but he scuffled through five innings, throwing 108 pitches and walking five batters. He escaped with just one run allowed, but it was hardly the effort to suggest he's back on track. By the way, Pablo Sandoval's home run in the nightcap (sticking with it) was a mammoth blast high into the second deck at Citi Field.

Second base: A's are Peaved. Fact I did not know until tonight: Jake Peavy did not throw a complete game when he won the National League Cy Young Award in 2007. He threw just the 10th one of his career on Monday night, beating the A's 4-0 with a 107-pitch, three-hit gem. He's now 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA and all his peripherals are outstanding: .172 average allowed, 26/4 strikeout/walk ratio, one home run in 28.2 innings. His other three starts came against Texas, Detroit and Baltimore, so this all positive for Peavy. He hasn't made 20 starts in a season since 2008 but if he stays healthy, suddenly the White Sox look five-deep in their rotation -- and never count out a team with a deep rotation. The Sox are tied with the Tigers at 10-6 and have a +18 run differential compared to Detroit's +5. As White Sox utilityman Brent Lillibridge tweeted after the game, "Hop on #WhiteSox fans. It's starting to get fun around here. @JakePeavy_44 outstanding tonight, commanded from the 1st pitch."

Third base: Thanks, Pudge. Ivan Rodriguez officially retired on Monday and threw out the first pitch at the Rangers' game. But he added a cool twist to the usual ceremonial throw.

Home plate: Tweet of the day. ESPN play-by-play announcer Dan Shulman with a novel suggestion that we should all rally behind ...

I vote that this year they decide home field in the World Series by having Matt Kemp and Josh Hamilton square off in a home run derby #mlb

— Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN) April 24, 2012

With a perfect game and a very imperfect Boston Red Sox performance in our rear view mirror, but very much on our minds, Mark Simon and I gathered for Monday’s Baseball Today podcast!

1. First of all, kudos to Chicago White Sox right-hander Philip Humber for the 21st perfecto in big league history. Humber was an unlikely candidate, but the team he beat wasn’t.

2. As for the Red Sox, we don’t want to say they or they're manager deserve this rough start, but there’s plenty of blame to go around. And credit the Yankees for coming back from a 9-0 deficit.

3. It’s Power Rankings day! See where the struggling Phillies and Angels fell to this week, as well as which potential contender falls to the bottom five.

4. Simon says defenses are doing something to Albert Pujols that is wise, but a bit unprecedented. As for Pujols himself, is all going to be well?

5. And our emailers have thoughts on players that had three home runs among five hits in a game (Mickey Brantley!), why Aubrey Huff should never play second base again, and making the most outs per at-bat.

So, download and listen to Monday’s fun Baseball Today podcast, as Bias Cat triumphantly returned (as did our producer), and a good time was had by all. Except the Red Sox fan.

SEATTLE -- For planning purposes, teams really should put perfect games on their pocket schedules. Like, "April 21: Mariners Military Coin Giveaway/Philip Humber Perfect Game Day."

I was in Seattle’s Pike Place Market on Saturday afternoon when an editor called and asked, "Are you watching this?"

Uh, oh. That was not a question I wanted to hear because I clearly was not aware of the "this" to which he was referring, though I assumed it involved the Mariners. Choosing whether to attend Seattle’s game against the White Sox on Saturday or Sunday, I had chosen Sunday. Bad call. "Phil Humber has a perfect game through eight," my editor said, asking whether I could get to the stadium for a story.

Well, I was only 1½ miles from the stadium but I was completely unprepared. I had no credential. I had no computer. I had no notebook and no pen. Much worse, I was 40 miles into a 60-mile bike ride and had no clothes beyond the sweaty black bike shorts, purple Husky bike jersey and bike shoes I was wearing.

But a perfect game is a perfect game, so I hopped on my bike and raced to the ballpark, hoping to catch the last inning. Being on a bike was actually a good thing because it allowed me to ride in the bike lanes past slow downtown traffic and through alleyways and side streets otherwise off-limits. Plus, with postgame traffic diversions outside the stadium already in effect, a car would have taken much longer.

Even so, as I rode the final blocks to the stadium, I found I had to fight my way through crowds of fans outside the park. Now, the majority of them were on their way to a motocross event at the football stadium. But enough were wearing Mariners shirts and jerseys that some had to have been coming from the baseball game, meaning they left with a perfect game intact. I was stunned. You can have a good debate about when it is acceptable to leave a game but I think we can all agree that you definitely cannot leave a perfect game in the eighth or ninth inning, no matter how much the babysitter charges.

I was so upset I even yelled at one. What are you doing!?!

The vast majority of fans had remained at the game, of course, and many cheered loudly for Humber, much to the annoyance of a friend who was appalled that anyone would root for an opposing pitcher to throw a perfect game against the local team. Which brings up another interesting debate topic: When is it allowable to root for the opponent?

Not often, but I definitely feel it was all right Saturday. The Mariners haven’t been to the postseason in 11 years and it’s very unlikely they will get there this year, either. The Mariners may be in the same division as the Rangers and Angels but fans realize they aren’t in the same league of talent. They also are tired of watching losing, last-place teams whose lineups have been near historic lows for offense (Seattle has scored fewer runs each of the past two seasons than the Mariners did in 1994 when the strike canceled the final 50 games of the season). Plus, the Mariners were already trailing 3-0 in the eighth. Given the choice between a perfect game and just another loss, fans understandably chose to root for history.

I arrived at the stadium just as radio announcer Rick Rizzs was describing the final pitch that bounced away from catcher A.J. Pierzynski but which umpire Brian Runge ruled that Brendan Ryan had swung at (he didn’t, but Runge was definitely not going to be Jim Joyce in such a situation). With only a trickle of fans coming out, I was able to pick up my bike and dash through a gate to the main concourse. Fans were still watching Humber and the White Sox celebrate -- and Ryan argue with Runge -- so I also was able to make my way to the press box surprisingly fast, even wheeling my bike.

The Mariners' media relations staff cleared my admittance without a credential but that brought up the awkward moment. I had to go into the clubhouses and interview players while wearing only my bike shorts and jersey. There is a new dress code for baseball writers this year and I broke every clause in it while dashing from the interview room to the Mariners clubhouse to the White Sox clubhouse. But what was I going to do? We needed the story.

Surprisingly, not many people said anything. A few laughed or smiled but most appeared not to notice or care. Apparently, they are all too used to sportswriters looking like crap. Except, of course, for A.J., who yelled, "Now THAT’S a good look!'"

I’ve covered baseball 25 years and still have not seen a no-hitter. The closest I’ve come was Scott Erickson’s no-hitter in 1994 and Eric Milton’s in 1999. I was home each time when I received a call to alert me in the seventh inning. I dashed to the Metrodome in time for the final inning of each game.

It feels odd to write about a game you weren’t at, but you do what you have to in this business. I mean, it’s not like Woodward and Bernstein were at the actual Watergate break-in, either.

I rode to the game Sunday as planned, hoping for a repeat of the Ray Washburn/Gaylord Perry consecutive no-hitters in 1968. But for the sake of the players and staff, this time I brought a set of clothes to change into.

Don't count anybody out, ever. But perfect? Philip Humber was never supposed to be perfect, but on the 21st day of April he was exactly that: the 21st pitcher to deliver a perfect game and the first to throw one since Roy Halladay threw the 20th on May 29, 2010. It was also the first American League perfecto since Dallas Braden on May 9, 2010.

But he was never supposed to be perfect. After all, he had proven so very imperfect since being the third overall pick of the 2004 draft. Touted as a top Mets prospect, he blew out his elbow in 2005, and it wasn’t long before he was referred to as another example of a Rice pitcher who got hurt and hadn’t lived up to the hype. Unimpressed with his minor league performance after coming back from Tommy John surgery, the Mets bundled him into the four-for-one swap that brought them Johan Santana before the 2008 season.

But the Twins never let him start a single game in the majors after making 48 starts over two years at Triple-A, simply letting him slip away after 2009 rather than keep him on the 40-man roster. The Royals picked him up ... and they left him in Triple-A. However desperate the Royals were for pitching of any flavor, they lost him on waivers after the 2010 season to the A’s. They were just looking for a possible fifth starter. But the A’s lost him on waivers a month later when they decided they had a better way to use to spot on their 40-man roster, signing free agent Grant Balfour.

That is where the White Sox stepped in, grabbing Humber off waivers. Their goal for him wasn’t any higher than anyone else’s. He looked like a good guy to stash at the back end of a rotation -- a fifth guy, a bubble guy on an organizational depth chart, a guy only as good as his last start before giving him much thought. He was somebody who sticks only as long as he earns his keep and who won’t be forgiven a run of bad starts.

That was his due, because at no point did Humber dominate in Triple-A. Across four years bouncing among organizations, flitting from New Orleans to Rochester to Omaha, from the Pacific Coast League to the International League and back again, he posted a 4.67 ERA in Triple-A. His clip of 6.9 strikeouts and 2.7 unintentional walks per nine reflected a pitcher who had good command.

With heat that just bumps above 90 mph and good command of four pitches, he’s a finesse righty, and those don’t catch many breaks. But he promptly proved he belonged last season, getting that last slot in the White Sox’s rotation and keeping it, earning job security he’d probably only heard about happening to other people. And now, having achieved history as a strike-throwing machine, those days should be behind him for some time to come.

He’s not the first such find for general manager Kenny Williams, though. The White Sox have made a cottage industry out of giving second chances to other teams’ tarnished top prospects. Gavin Floyd looked like a Phillies flop after being the fourth overall pick of the 2001 draft; John Danks was the ninth overall selection for the Rangers in 2003, but they dealt him for Brandon McCarthy after seeing him deliver mediocre results at Double- and Triple-A. Good pitching might be hard to find, and not everything Williams touches turns to gold, but these are the benefits of betting on upside risk.

Humber might have had the good fortune to face the Mariners, a woeful lineup, in Safeco Field, a great place to pitch. But other people get those chances, and they don’t deliver perfection. It’s because of these finds that the Sox have the best rotation in the American League Central, and how they do will define how far the Sox might go this season. As Humber just showed, that might be a lot better than you ever expected.


Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

The season is young, but never too young to raise a few issues we've seen so far. Here are 10:

1. Yu Darvish's control
In Japan, Darvish was known not only for his terrific stuff but his ability to throw it with precision. In 2011, he walked just 36 batters in 232 innings. Through three starts with the Rangers he's walked 13 in 17.2 innings. I've watched all three of those starts and there's no denying his ability, with good movement on his fastball and a sharp-breaking curve. The command hasn't been there, however, and I do see some Dice-K syndrome: Nibbling at the corners, not pitching inside, not trusting the quality of his stuff. It's early and I do think he'll be fine in the long run, but there is at least a little reason to doubt he'll be the No. 1 many projected.

2. Adam Wainwright
Wainwright has had a tough start this season as he dropped to 0-3, 9.88 after a five-inning outing against the Reds on Thursday. He gave up fourth-inning home runs to Brandon Phillips and Ryan Ludwick, giving him five home runs allowed in just 13.2 innings. One positive sign is that he has 14 strikeouts, an indication that the stuff is still there. From the heat map below, we have his curveball location in 2012 on the left versus 2010, when batters hit just .170 against it. He's only thrown it 45 times so far, but it appears the command in that lower quadrant of the strike zone isn't quite there yet.

3. Marlins' defense
I was worried about Miami's defense before the season and so far that's a legitimate concern, as entering Thursday the Marlins ranked 29th in Defensive Runs Saved at minus-13 runs (only the Rockies ranked worse). The biggest holes so far? Jose Reyes is at minus-6 runs and Hanley Ramirez is at minus-2. Factor in Logan Morrison's plodding defense in left, Emilio Bonifacio's inexperience in center and Giancarlo Stanton's testy knee and this could be a season-long issue.

4. Angels' plate discipline
Entering Thursday's games, the Angels ranked 27th in the majors in walk percentage, ahead of just the Pirates, Royals and Phillies. The Angels also ranked second behind in the Phillies in percentage of pitches outside the strike zone they've swung at (33.1 percent). No matter how many home runs you hit, it's difficult to string together some rallies without drawing a few walks. The major culprits: Kendrys Morales (no walks in 42 plate appearances), Peter Bourjos (no walks in 32 PAs) and Vernon Wells (one walk in 47 PAs).

5. Tampa Bay's bullpen
As bad as Boston's bullpen has been (6.63 ERA), Tampa's has struggled even more with an 8.64 ERA. The Rays pieced together a decent pen a year ago from the likes of Kyle Farnsworth, Joel Peralta, Juan Cruz and others. That pen benefited from having to throw the fewest innings in the majors. With Farnsworth on the DL, Fernando Rodney has been getting the save opportunities and he's done the job, but the rest of the pen has been shaky. Of concern: While Boston's relievers have 31 strikeouts and 12 walks, Tampa's have 26 strikeouts against 20 walks.

6. Josh Johnson
For all the concern over Tim Lincecum's drop in velocity and unsightly 10.54 ERA, the ace pitcher I'd be most worried about is Johnson. While Lincecum has 16 strikeouts and four walks in 13.2 innings, Johnson doesn't have any positives on his ledger: 16.2 IP, 28 H, 6 BB, 8 SO. Both have been burned by high BABIPs (.444 for Johnson) and Johnson hasn't allowed a home run, but the low strikeout rate is a big concern and his fastball velocity is also. Like Wainwright, Johnson is coming off an injury, but you have to hope the shoulder is OK.

7. Phillies' lineup
No surprise here with the absence of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, but it doesn't help that Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino have combined for just one home run. Even when Howard and Utley return, the Phillies will need a lot more production from Rollins and Victorino.

8. Scott Rolen
The Reds were counting on Rolen to hit cleanup, but Dusty Baker has already moved him out of that spot after his .171 start through 13 games. Considering his long injury history and struggles in 2011, the end of the line may be approaching for the 37-year-old third baseman. The Reds may eventually have to turn to Todd Frazier, but his minor league track record suggests bench player, not starting third baseman on a playoff team.

9. Brent Morel and Gordon Beckham
The White Sox have a solid rotation, a solid bullpen and ... well, they'll need offense and they were counting on these two infielders to improve from 2011. But Morel is hitting .103 with 18 strikeouts in 39 at-bats and Beckham is hitting .152 with 12 strikeouts in 33 at-bats. Neither has homered.

10. Kids running out on the field
What kind of example is this for the adults?

PHOTO OF THE DAY
Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.