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One of the popular concepts in the baseball stats community is to look at a pitcher’s strikeouts, walks and home runs as a means for estimating what his ERA should be. The resultant stat is known as Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), and is scaled similarly to ERA. The stat can be found on FanGraphs.com.

The idea behind this is that most pitchers with a good combination of strikeouts, walks and few home runs allowed tends to have a good ERA. Rare is the pitcher who doesn’t. If a pitcher has a bad ERA, but a good FIP, his ERA may be due to something beyond what he controls most. This could be the defense behind him, the ballpark he’s in, bad luck, or any number of factors.

Statisticians will often project a pitcher with a bad ERA and good FIP to improve the following season. The poster child for this is Rays starter James Shields, whose FIP indicated that he was far better than his 5.18 ERA in 2010. He responded with a 2.82 ERA in 2011.

How does this apply to April of 2012?

The three pitchers who had the widest differential between their ERA and FIP in 2011 were Derek Lowe, Ricky Nolasco and Brandon Morrow. Each had an ERA of 4.50 or higher. Each had a FIP of 3.70 or lower. All three have been great in 2012.

These three aren’t the only pitchers with significant ERA-FIP differences who are thriving in 2012.

Giants starter Madison Bumgarner finished last season with a 3.21 ERA and 2.67 FIP. He won on Sunday and is 4-1 with a 2.53 ERA through five starts.

Dodgers starter Chris Capuano had a 4.55 ERA last season and a 4.04 FIP. He won Sunday and is now 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA through five starts.

To much fanfare and with exceedingly high expectations, the Washington Nationals called up Bryce Harper over the weekend. He went 2-for-6 with a double, a walk, a strikeout and a sac fly, although the Nationals lost both games. In his first game, he hustled to first base on a comebacker to the mound in his first at-bat, doubled and flipped his helmet in the seventh inning, unleashed a great throw from left field, put the Nationals ahead with a sacrifice fly in the ninth, and made a nice catch while crashing into the wall in center field in his second game.

Nothing wrong with that start, which began with Dodgers fans giving him a loud chorus of boos. Already the villain, it seems, which is certainly unfair to a 19-year-old kid. While the Nationals were desperate for some offense -- running out past-their-prime veterans like Xavier Nady and Mark DeRosa probably wasn't a good plan to begin with -- a rash of injuries forced the front office to call up Harper sooner than they probably wanted. As former Mets general manager Jim Duquette said on MLB Network Radio, you want guys to earn their promotion. Harper has just 534 plate appearances in the minor leagues, which isn't necessarily the issue; Ken Griffey Jr. had just 552 when he debuted with the Mariners at 19. The issue is Harper hasn't hit much in his limited exposure above Class A, especially against left-handers. The fear, it can be argued, is that if he struggles in the major leagues, it will harm his development.

I don't see it. If the kid is this good, I don't see a bad stretch doing irreparable harm to his long-term future. If Harper doesn't turn into a big star, it won't be because he was called up too soon.

An obvious comparison is Alex Rodriguez. He was first called up in July of 1994, a few weeks before his 19th birthday. A-Rod played 17 games, had 59 plate appearances, hit .204 and struck out 20 times while drawing just three walks. The next season, he spent more time in the majors and hit .232/.264/.408 with an awful 42/6 strikeout/walk ratio. Despite those two periods where major league pitchers destroyed him, his confidence and talent won out. In 1996, still just 20 years old at the start of the season, Rodriguez hit .358 with 36 home runs.

Now, it's unfair to compare Harper to Rodriguez, of course. So here's another one: Jim Thome had just turned 21 when called up in 1991. He hit .255/.298/.367 with one home run in 27 games that September. He struggled again the next year, hitting .205 with two home runs in 131 plate appearances. He ended up spending most of 1993 in the minors as well. He turned out OK.

It's probably unfair to even compare Harper to Thome, only one of the best power/on-base machines in the game's history. Harper is a better athlete than Thome, but his raw power is similar. OK, how about Justin Upton? He was still 19 when he made his debut in 2007. He hit .221/.283/.364 with 11 walks and 37 strikeouts in 152 plate appearances that season. It would seem to me that Upton is a good comp, a guy who showed steady development and turned into an MVP candidate in his age-23 season.

There are hopes that Harper will be even better than that. His destiny remains unknown. I just don't believe a few bad weeks -- if that's what happens -- will affect his ultimate path.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

First base: Well, it was about time a slugger got off the schneid, especially at home, and especially after all the fuss made over his slow start. Naturally, we’re talking about Giancarlo Stanton. Who else could we be talking about? But after having to hear all of the complaints about park dimensions in the Marlins’ new discotheque, aquarium, entertainment complex, and less-than-ordinary baseball venue decorated in the electric boogalloo end of the color palette, the good news is that whatever its other distractions, Marlins Aquarium Park is not a venue that will forever defy Stanton’s fence-busting power. As for the unfortunate detail that he jacked an Earl Weaver special for three runs in the ninth inning down by seven off “why’s he here?” D-backs southpaw du jour Mike Zagurski, well, that’s for the accountants and the bitter few in the stands waiting to see it to quibble over.

Second base: What can you say about the toxic cleanup site found on the mound in Camden Yards after the A’s went China Syndrome and totally melted down in the bottom of the ninth against the Orioles? The O’s are newsworthy enough for their “yeah, we matter too” start, but c’mon. A’s manager Bob Melvin leaving Bartolo Colon out there in the ninth against the heart of the Orioles order when the Beefy One is just weeks shy of his 39th birthday seemed like carelessness at best. Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity ... for the second coming of Luis Tiant? Regardless, Colon was gassed, and once the Orioles lit a match, something was bound to combust, in this case, Grant Balfour.

Third base: Has anybody had a quieter great April than the Cubs’ Bryan LaHair? The journeyman hasn’t just gotten his first big break in the big leagues as a 29-year-old, he’s delivered the best first-month OPS of any first baseman in the majors (1.197). As good a prospect as Anthony Rizzo is and as good a career as you can expect him to have, LaHair’s making it easy for the Cubs to leave Rizzo in corn country while he makes the most of his first real opportunity. Is it really any surprise that a guy born on Guy Fawkes Day (that’s Nov. 5 for all of us from everywhere else but Great Britain) would explode once he was finally given the chance?

Home plate: The tweet of the night goes to Stephanie Liscio of It’s Pronounced ‘Lajaway’, when she noted:

Time to play "guess the subsequent roster move" with Damon joining the team Tuesday. I'll take "DFA of Jose Lopez" for $100!

— Stephanie Liscio (@stephanieliscio) April 30, 2012

It's easy to discount the Baltimore Orioles and their 14-8 start. Even Orioles fans will agree with that, I suppose -- 14 consecutive losing seasons, six consecutive seasons of 90-plus losses, a decade of bad pitching, bad fielding, bad free agents and bad ownership. It's the Orioles. It's been a long time since they mattered.

But we have to pay attention after this start. At least for a few weeks, right? They are 14-8, they are tied for first with the Tampa Bay Rays in baseball's brawniest division, they've won six of seven and they've won games in a peculiar, un-Orioles-like fashion -- great pitching and dramatic comebacks. The Orioles allowed just 13 runs over this seven-game stretch. Sunday's win was the kind you put on a season highlight DVD as they scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth -- capped by Wilson Betemit's walk-off three-run homer against Oakland's Grant Balfour.

"We got a team where everybody pulls together," Betemit said after the game. "Everybody knows how to play, knows how to win, and that's what we do."

Now, maybe Betemit just got caught up in the happy celebration. He probably doesn't realize how that quote sounds so odd to Orioles fans. Then again, he's new to Baltimore and isn't trapped by that cloud of losing seasons. But it's also true that Baltimore is winning these kinds of games -- according to Nick Faleris of the Camden Depot blog, that's five comeback wins in the seventh inning or later for the Orioles, matching their 2011 total.

Nolan Reimold (.333), Adam Jones (.330), Robert Andino (.324) and Chris Davis (.319) are all hitting above .300. Matt Wieters has six homer runs and a team-leading 15 RBIs. The Orioles are sixth in the AL in runs even though J.J. Hardy is hitting .181 and Mark Reynolds is hitting .150 without a home run.

Now, this is where I rain on the Orioles' parade a little bit. Those four guys hitting over .300? They've combined for just 13 walks but 60 strikeouts. Can they keep up that production? The low walk rate means the Orioles are just 10th in the AL in on-base percentage, so they have been relying on the home run (29 in 22 games).

But it's been the rotation that has provided the biggest lift. After ranking last in the AL in 2011 with a 5.39 ERA, the rotation has posted a 3.65 ERA so far, led by newcomer Jason Hammel's 1.73 mark. But Wei-Yin Chen has been a nice surprise as well, with a 2.22 ERA. The 26-year-old Taiwanese left-hander came over from Japan and has a four-pitch repertoire that isn't overpowering but he's fanned 19 batters in 24.2 innings, a good enough rate to survive.

Now ... this is where I again in some rain. While Jake Arrieta has looked good, left-hander Brian Matusz has again struggled, although his last start was his best. The Orioles are still looking for the promising lefty of 2010, but he's at least throwing 90 mph again. Tommy Hunter is a finesse right-hander who has survived despite allowing eight home runs so far. But what happens when he starts going through those AL East lineups start after start?

Speaking of which. The Orioles play the Yankees and Red Sox this week. They already went 0-3 earlier in the season against New York and this time have to play the Yankees on the road. This will be a good test to see what kind of team the Orioles really have. Not to disagree with Mr. Betemit, but I have doubts whether this is a team that knows how to win. Last year, the O's went 13-23 against New York and Boston; in 2010, they went 14-22; in 2009, 7-29. The last time they won a season series against either team was 2004, when they went 10-9 against Boston.

Series of the week: Orioles at Yankees, Monday through Wednesday
Jason Hammel (3-0, 1.73) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (1-3, 4.38), 7:05 ET
Brian Matusz (0-3, 5.66) vs. Phil Hughes (1-3, 7.88), 7:05 ET
Jake Arrieta (1-2, 4.45) vs. Ivan Nova (3-0, 5.18), 7:05 ET (ESPN)

Hammel has thrived by throwing lots of grounders -- he's fourth among all starting pitchers in groundball rate so far, at 61.8 percent. The O's hope to take advantage of a struggling Hughes on Tuesday. He's lasted just 16 innings over four starts, giving up five home runs and a .329 average. Nova is 3-0 -- he hasn't lost a start since last June 3. But he's allowed a .343 average, though his walk rate is down and strikeout rate way up from 2011.

Three pitching matchups to watch
1. Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.73) vs. Brandon Beachy, Phillies at Braves (Tuesday, 7:10 ET)

The Braves have quietly gone 14-8 with a +27 run differential, third-highest in baseball behind the Rangers and Cardinals. Filthy Hamels (30 strikeouts, three walks) will be a fun test for the NL's leading offense (tied with the Cardinals at 5.1 runs per game). Beachy has a 1.05 ERA, although that figure has been helped by four unearned runs. Still, Beachy has allowed a .191 average through four starts and has improved his groundball rate from 33.8 percent in 2011 to 47.3, leading to just one home run allowed.

2. Jake Peavy (3-1, 1.67) vs. Drew Smyly (1-0, 1.23)

Peavy looks rejuvenated, the Peavy of a Cy Young past. He's thrown two straight complete games, has held hitters to a .162 average, has allowed one home run and has a 33/5 strikeout/walk ratio. Impressively, four of his starts have come against the Red Sox, Tigers, Orioles and Rangers, four of the AL's best offenses so far. In short, he's been dominant, maybe the best pitcher in baseball in April if you factor in the competition. Detroit's rookie left-hander has been impressive in his four starts -- allowing one run each time out (three of those on home runs). Smyly throws in the 90-93 range with his four-seamer, mixing in a slider and cut fastball and occasional changeup. He allowed two hits in six innings against the Yankees in his previous start.

3. Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.94) vs. Madison Bumgarner (4-1, 2.53), Brewers at Giants (Saturday, 4:05 ET)

Greinke had one blow-up start in which he allowed eight runs, but has otherwise allowed a total of five runs in his four other starts, two of which were wins over the Cardinals. I'd like to see Greinke get a little more economical with his pitches and prove he can pitch more than seven innings. Greinke pitched at least eight innings 10 times with the Royals in 2010, but has to do it with the Brewers. Bumgarner has reeled off four straight wins and has yet to walk more than two batters in a game.

Heat map of the week
Courtesy of Mark Simon we have a little comparison between Albert Pujols and red-hot Matt Kemp. One big difference has been their success with two strikes. Pujols has faced 50 two-strike plate appearances and has totaled 11 hits plus walks (and no home runs, of course). Kemp has faced 45 two-strike plate appearances but has 18 hits plus walks, including four home runs. Another big difference, as you can see on the heat map below on their overall production in different zones: Kemp is 8-for-12 (with five home runs) on pitches down the middle while Pujols is hitless in that area. Maybe that's reason for Angels fans to be optimistic: He's due to start pounding those mistakes.

Player on the hot seat: Mat Latos, Reds
The Reds gave up a lot to get Latos from the Padres in the offseason, a guy acquired to fit behind Johnny Cueto in the rotation, but in reality expected to be Cincy's best pitcher. He's been a huge disappointment, with one win in five starts. He had one seven-inning scoreless stint against the Giants, but has otherwise failed to fool many batters. Opponents are hitting .304 off him and he's fanned just 18 batters in 28.2 innings, after averaging 8.9 K's per nine the past two seasons. His velocity has been fine; hitters are just putting more balls in play. After hitters to swing and miss his slider 23 percent of the time last year, they're doing so 17 percent this season. He's also allowed a much higher line-drive percentage and his slider and sinker.

(Oh, yes, this doesn't mean Pujols isn't still on the hot seat.)

Player to watch: Bryce Harper
No introduction needed. He's up, he went 2-for-6 with a double, walk and sac fly in his two games and I'll be watching as many of his at-bats as possible this week. You can check him out on "Sunday Night Baseball" against the Phillies.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Sometimes the analysis is pretty easy.

The Detroit Tigers' lineup on Sunday featured 31-year-old minor league veteran Brad Eldred, who last played regularly in the majors in 2005, hitting fifth. He was followed by Ryan Raburn, Ramon Santiago, Gerald Laird and Danny Worth. You're not going to beat CC Sabathia with that group.

In recent days, Tigers relievers have included Luke Putkonen, Collin Balester, Brayan Villarreal and Thad Weber. Who? Villarreal was the losing pitcher on Friday night versus the New York Yankees.

On Sunday, Max Scherzer walked seven batters in a 6-2 loss to the Yankees. Earlier in the week he got hit around by the Mariners. His ERA is 7.77 and he has yet to pitch more than six innings in any of his five starts.

In 2011, Rick Porcello ranked 84th among 93 qualified pitchers in ERA. Still, many projected a breakout season. Good stuff, they say, good hard sinker. So far, it has been the same Porcello: A lot of hits allowed and not many strikeouts. Two starts ago against the Texas Rangers, he got three outs and gave up 10 hits and nine runs. Against the Seattle Mariners, he gave up five runs and two home runs. He has a 6.45 ERA.

With Doug Fister on the disabled list, rookie Adam Wilk made three starts, losing all three and allowing 21 hits in 11 innings.

Despite batting in front of Miguel Cabrera, No. 2 hitter Brennan Boesch is hitting .231 and has just two walks with 20 strikeouts.

Prince Fielder is finding the pitching a little tougher in the American League. After homering twice against the Boston Red Sox in the second game of the season, he didn't homer again until Sunday.

Left fielder/designated hitter Delmon Young was placed on the restricted list after getting arrested on Friday for allegedly attacking a man in front of a Manhattan hotel and yelling anti-Semitic remarks.

Closer Jose Valverde and setup man Joaquin Benoit hardly look like the dominant duo of a year ago, having allowed 23 hits and 16 walks in 19 innings.

Listening to the Tigers' local radio broadcast the other day, the announcers described the team's energy as listless.

And then there's the defense. Entering Sunday, the Tigers ranked 26th in the majors in defensive runs saved, at 13 runs below average. It's not all Cabrera's fault. He's at minus-2, but Jhonny Peralta is minus-4 at shortstop, Fielder minus-3 at first base, Boesch minus-3 in right field and Raburn minus-2 at second base. The totals should not be surprising as none of them have a reputation for being good defensive players.

That 4-0 start seems like a long time ago to Tigers fans. After starting 9-3, the Tigers have gone 2-8, they've been outscored by 10 runs on the season and their flaws have been exposed like a leaky pipe -- drip, drip, drip, a slow understanding that something isn't right. Detroit doesn't appear to be the super team it looked the first week of the season, but rather a team with little depth in the bullpen, a starting rotation that is relying too heavily on Justin Verlander, poor defense, and a lineup that needs Alex Avila and Peralta to start hitting.

Leyland showed some frustration after Sunday's loss, telling MLB.com that a crucial 2-2 pitch to Derek Jeter that he checked his swing on and was called a ball wasn't a bad call, even though catcher Laird said Scherzer hit his target. "That's all excuse stuff," Leyland said. "That Jeter pitch was a close pitch, but when you're that wild, you're not going to get close pitches."

Instead of escaping the inning, Scherzer allowed two more runs and he ended up throwing 119 pitches without getting out of the fifth inning. "Max is a huge key for us. It has to get better, plain and simple," Leyland said.

Is this a bad time to mention that all 50 ESPN.com voters in our preseason predictions file picked the Tigers to win the AL Central? Obviously, that cast the Tigers as overwhelming favorites to win the division. I was one of those 50, although I hesitated, even once saying on the "Baseball Today" podcast that I was going to pick Cleveland to win the division, before changing my mind when I had to submit my vote.

OK, it's just 22 games and the Tigers are only one game out of first place in the AL Central, a division that has been collectively outscored by 63 runs so far. Rookie lefty Drew Smyly has been impressive. That still makes the Tigers the heavy favorite in this field of five.

If you want other good news, according to our RPI standings, the Tigers have also played the fourth-toughest schedule in the majors so far. The next month presents a schedule that could prove much kinder: Kansas City, the White Sox, at Seattle, at Oakland, at the White Sox, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, at Cleveland, at Minnesota. Tigers fans will undoubtedly point out that Detroit was 25-26 as late as May 29 a year ago, and tied for first as late as July 20, before finishing with a 38-16 kick over the final two months. That surge coincided with Fister's arrival from Seattle, as he went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA. Fister threw a bullpen session on Thursday and will make his first rehab start on Wednesday in Toledo, as he returns from a strained rib cage muscle.

Still, the Tigers will need more than Fister's return. They need Scherzer and Porcello to pitch better. They need a reliable arm in the bullpen besides Octavio Dotel. They need Fielder to start slugging. They need the defense to help out the pitchers a little more. Young? Ahh, he's not that good anyway.

In the end, I see an imperfect team, certainly not one that will win 100 games or even 95. I see a good team in a weak division, but a team that could easily finish fifth in the AL East. I see a team that is ripe for a surprise pennant race if one of their division rivals puts it together.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

The Rangers are giving notice to the rest of the American League that they’re not just a two-time pennant winner, they’re a club settling into ruling the roost -- the ascendant franchise in the circuit. From among the old standbys, it doesn’t hurt that the Yankees are dealing with rotation drama, the Angels have Pujols’ homer-lessness and the Red Sox have a miasma of self-inflicted dysfunction.

But there’s always the Rays, even with that double whammy Texas handed Tampa Bay in consecutive October showdowns. Ever mutating, transmogrifying and adapting, buying low and selling high, the Rays’ annual remix should always leave you wondering if they’re about to become something even more. Some of that is the usual enthusiasm over prospects, which the Rays crank out as if they held the patent: From David Price to Jeremy Hellickson to Matt Moore, they’ve produced one top pitching prospect after another.

They can and do get full credit for their acumen on player development, but it’s sort of like watching the winners on a futures market in which the payoff is guaranteed: Step 1, plant the seeds for success. Step 2, the crops come in. Step 3? Profit. Add in James Shields, and a can’t-lose choice between Hellickson and Wade Davis, and you’ve got a starting pitching platform that allows for a lot of freedom of action everywhere else.

Perhaps the more interesting aspect of the Rays’ ability to stay in the running year after year is how they use the adaptability that rotation affords them. In the lineup and in the bullpen, they’re comfortable with moving parts where other contenders crave stability. Starting from the huge bullpen turnover from 2007 to 2008 that contributed so much to their big worst-to-first turnaround and a pennant, the Rays have had a different leader in saves every season. And if Fernando Rodney winds up with more saves than Kyle Farnsworth, that’ll be a five-year streak.

By avoiding any truly expensive or lasting commitments in the bullpen, they were free to grab Rafael Soriano when the Braves were temporarily embarrassed by his acceptance of their arbitration offer. They were disappointed by off-speed reliever Joe Nelson in 2009, but that didn’t frighten them away from adding Joel Peralta last winter after he broke through with a slo-mo splitter. It also didn't stop them from getting sinkerballer Burke Badenhop from the Marlins despite rarely cracking 90. The Rays treat relievers like cheap upside bets -- snarfing them up, riding those who pay off and dumping those who don’t.

In the lineup, that same flexibility has rewarded them. Certainly, they have their major star in Evan Longoria, but how they’ve assembled a cast around him is a playbook every club should follow. First baseman Carlos Pena went away for a year, but the Rays loaded up on single-season alternatives -- Dan Johnson, Casey Kotchman, a crash-test dummy TBNL -- while letting Pena bank $10 million in Cubs cash. Then they brought him back at their price after the market’s biggest bidders had used up their cash chasing Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and the like. Pena’s current $7.2 million salary, adjusted for inflation, is only $400,000 more than what he was making in 2008, when salary arbitration first started pumping up the price of employing him.

Pena’s not the only offensive pillar back in place, though. The Rays’ recent 6-2 run owes plenty to their getting B.J. Upton back from the DL and into the lineup. Now maybe Upton is the organization’s example of a disappointing homegrown product. But if you can step back from the expectations game, and set aside those daydreams that every year Upton would hit .300, slug .500, draw 90 walks and steal 40 bases ... you might notice that he has done all of those things, just never at the same time, and so what? If a nameless center fielder was belting 20 homers and stealing 30 bases for your team, you’d probably like the sound of that. It’s certainly something you can build around.

But because the expectation has always been that Upton will do more, be more, you might think too much of what he hasn’t done and lose sight of his value. Even his defense can leave you frustrated; as the new edition of John Dewan’s Fielding Bible notes, he’s among the leaders in both what Baseball Info Solutions terms good plays and misplays. That’s proof positive he’s exasperating in all phases of the game -- and still immensely valuable.

The trickle-down effects of Upton’s return are legion. Desmond Jennings moves to left. Having him in place means that all of the working parts that Joe Maddon uses to gain an advantage are back to moving around. Luke Scott and Matt Joyce can scare the bejeezus out of right-handed pitching, Ben Zobrist can start at second base and move wherever else, and the Rays can keep cranking out runs at a clip (4.8 runs per game) that puts them among the game’s elite -- behind just the Yankees, Rangers and Red Sox. That’s despite the absence of a single eight-figure salary.

The way the Rays are playing of late, they don’t need one, because money isn’t the measure of success, winning is. With a lineup that’s coming together and a rotation that will deliver winnable ballgames night after night, the Rays, once again -- and without the drama associated with the other AL powerhouses -- will be there come October, as they were last year.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

• Jordan Zimmermann (second inning) and Tom Gorzelanny (seventh) each had RBI singles for the Nationals in Wednesday's win at San Diego. They were the first team since Aug. 22, 2008 to have two pitchers with an RBI in the same game. The Cardinals (Adam Wainwright, Joel Pineiro) did it that day, in an 18-3 thumping of Atlanta.
  
  The franchise hadn't done it since July 22, 2000, when Mike Johnson and Felipe Lira both drove in runs in a 17-7 Montréal win at Florida.
• Yoenis Cespedes' two-run homer in the bottom of the 14th Wednesday against the White Sox tied the score at 4 after Chicago had plated two in the top of the 14th. The A's went on to walk off with the win later in the inning. Cespedes became the first player with a multi-run homer that tied the game in extras (not a walk-off) since then-Pirate Adam LaRoche did it on April 9, 2008, against the Cubs' Kevin Hart. That dinger was also in the 14th, and was also a two-run shot to tie the game at 4.Since the franchise left Philadelphia after the 1954 season, only one other Athletics player had hit such a homer: Longtime Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan hit a two-run shot in the 13th on Sept. 19, 1972. That game was also against the White Sox, who eventually scored another run in the 15th to win the game.
• The Giants' Nate Schierholtz pulled off a rare feat on Monday. In the rain-induced doubleheader at Citi Field, he had a triple in the seventh inning of Game 1, followed by another triple in his first at-bat in Game 2. Austin Jackson of the Tigers (July 25, 2010) was the last player to have triples in both halves of a doubleheader. But the last Giant to do it was journeyman outfielder Von Joshua, who recorded a triple in both games against the Pirates on July 20, 1975.Schierholtz not only tripled in each game, he added a three-run homer in the third inning of Game 1. No major leaguer has tripled in both games of a DH and also had a home run in either game since Red Sox all-star Tony Armas did it in a sweep of the Indians on Sept. 7, 1985.
• Texas scored the go-ahead run in the 11th on Sunday on a squeeze bunt by Alberto Gonzalez with the bases loaded. It was the first extra-inning bunt single to occur with the bases loaded since Melvin Mora hit a walk-off for the Orioles over the Yankees on Sept. 28, 2007.
• Joe Paterson entered the Diamondbacks' game with Philadelphia on Monday with a nine-run lead. He proceeded to give up five earned runs without retiring a single batter. In fact, all five batters he faced got base hits.He's the third pitcher in a week to allow five or more runs without recording an out. Alfredo Aceves and Mark Melancon both did it for the Red Sox last week. That matches the number of such outings all of last season. It hadn't happened three times in seven days since June 2003 (and two of those three were in the same game!).
  
  In Arizona franchise history, only Greg Swindell (Sept. 23, 2002) had faced five or more batters in a game and allowed a base hit to every one of them. Swindell went 6-for-6, but only five of his runs ended up scoring.
• Against the Mets, the Marlins had four consecutive batters draw bases on balls Tuesday to walk in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh. Four different pitchers issued those walks. The Elias Sports Bureau tells us it's the first time in major league history that four consecutive batters have drawn walks from four different pitchers in one inning.
• The Yankees defeated the Tigers on Friday when Alex Avila committed a passed ball that scored Derek Jeter from third. It's the first known instance of the Yankees ever winning a game in that fashion (although there are known holes in the early play-by-play accounts).The last "passed-ball-off" in the majors was on April 25, 2007, when Miguel Olivo capped a four-run ninth-inning comeback for the Marlins on a passed ball by the Braves' Brian McCann.
• Oakland's Ryan Cook on Friday struck out four Orioles in the bottom of the eighth (all swinging). Adam Jones whiffed on one in the dirt and reached first on a wild pitch.He's the second pitcher this week to have four-strikeout inning. Bud Norris of the Astros did it on Tuesday.
• Chipper Jones homered Tuesday on his 40th birthday. Only Jim Thome (last year) and Darrell Evans (1988) have hit birthday homers at an older age; they were both 41.Chipper also homered on his 24th birthday, back in his second full season, in 1996. He's just the second player in the live-ball era (joining Thome) to homer on two birthdays 16 or more years apart. Thome went yard on his 23rd and 26th in addition to last year's 41st.
• Brandon Allen not only hit a walk-off homer for the Rays on Thursday, he did so as a pinch hitter, and in his first at-bat for his new team (he was claimed off waivers from Oakland last week and walked in his first plate appearance on Wednesday). It's one of just four pinch-hit walk-off homers in Rays history, and the first since B.J. Upton -- who was on base ahead of Allen on Thursday -- hit one in 2007. Elias tells us that the last player to hit a walk-off homer in his first at-bat for a team was the Indians' Jamie Quirk, who beat the Twins with one on Sept. 27, 1984.
• Philip Humber -- he of the perfect game last Saturday -- he needed 115 pitches to get through five innings Thursday against Boston. It's been noted that his nine runs allowed are the most by any of the 21 pitchers in their start following a perfect game. However, Humber is also the first pitcher since Cy Young in 1904 to have a perfect game and a nine-run outing in the same SEASON. Young threw his perfecto against Philadelphia in May and then allowed all the runs in a 9-1 Boston loss to Cleveland in September.Humber's Bill James Game Score in his perfect game was a 96. His Game Score on Thursday was 17. You don't have to go very far back -- or very far across Chicago -- to find the last such occurrence. Carlos Zambrano threw his hurricane-relocated no-hitter at Miller Park on Sept. 14, 2008 (Game Score also 96), and in his next start, surrendered eight runs while getting just five outs against the Cardinals (Game Score 9).
• The cycle recorded by Scott Hairston on Friday night was the first by a Met since Jose Reyes in Cincinnati on June 21, 2006. It was the first to occur in single-homer-triple-double order since Jeff Kent of the Giants on May 3, 1999. Kent, like Hairston, also hit the cycle in his first four plate appearances.
• Joe Nathan recorded the rare one-pitch, two-out save on Tuesday when he got Raul Ibanez to ground into a game-ending double play. It's just the sixth one-pitch, two-out save since 2000 (the Rays' Dan Wheeler had the last one two seasons ago).Heath Bell, meanwhile, threw 46 pitches in blowing a save when the Mets walked off against him on Thursday -- the most by anyone in a save opportunity lasting less than an inning since the Rays' Travis Harper allowed nine eighth-inning runs to the Yankees on June 21, 2005.

The relationship between how much fans love a player and that player's actual talent and performance is frequently not straight-forward. Many A's fans grew disgusted watching Jack Cust whiff and whiff and whiff even while he was far and away the team's best hitter. Marco Scutaro became a hero in Oakland on the strength of late-game heroics while serving as a merely decent role player overall. And this video shows what happens when Grant Balfour, a good relief pitcher, but not exactly a future Hall of Famer, comes into the game in Oakland. (Check out, especially, the guy who has completely raged himself into exhaustion at about the 1:16 mark.)

This brings us, as all things about the Oakland A's do in 2012, to Yoenis Cespedes. Over the winter, Oakland fans in our little corners of the Internet asked Billy Beane and the A's front office to take a gamble on Jorge Soler, a very young Cuban outfielder, figuring that the team could raise its payroll (thus appeasing both the teams that fund the A's via revenue sharing and the players association) while acquiring a young player with great upside who could be ready to be an impact major leaguer around the time the team was supposed to be moving to San Jose. Few fans, if any, seriously suggested that the A's sign Cespedes, assuming that a team closer to win-now mode could pay the money he desired. The out-of-the-blue four-year deal he signed with the A's, a deal that will allow him to become a free agent while still reasonably close to his prime, blindsided Oakland fans.

A's devotees have become accustomed to being blindsided over the last decade, as Beane has taken the old Branch Rickey maxim about trading a player a year too early to heart. From Ben Grieve through Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson to this offseason's deals involving Andrew Bailey, Gio Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill, Beane has caught A's fans unaware time and time again. You'd think we would learn.

It has been quite a while, though, since the A's snuck up behind and surprised us in a way that did not involve bidding adieu to the team's best players. The Cespedes signing breathed life into a fan base that desperately needed a reason to feel good about turning on the TV or buying tickets. Many of us were going to watch the games one way or the other -- the question was whether we'd feel ill after doing so.

I'm happy to report, in case you haven't turned on "Baseball Tonight" or an A's game in the last three weeks, that the only ailment we can complain of is an elevated heart rate every time Cespedes steps to the plate. Numbers won't tell the whole story of exactly what's getting us so excited, but they're a good place to start.

First, Cespedes currently has a .326 True Average. (Baseball Prospectus' hitter rate stat, TAv measures total offensive contribution and is scaled to batting average, with .260 defined to be the league average.) Before Saturday's games, that ranked 31st in all of baseball among players with 50 plate appearances. The A's have had good hitters in the last few years, hitters who ranked near the top of the league in this stat, but when you compile the list of recent great A's, you get a lot of corner players: Jason Giambi, notably, as well as Erubiel Durazo in 2004 and John Jaha in 1999, both of whom were designated hitters. The last time the A's had an up-the-middle player who finished in the top 20 in TAv was 1988, when Dave Henderson pulled off that feat.

That's the what, though, and the what can't capture the ferocity of Cespedes' swings, the force that brings joy to the hearts of children big and small. Jon Shields of Pro Ball NW once related to me that he loved watching Jose Bautista swing because of the sheer violence of it. Well, Bautista is a piker compared to Cespedes. If he sees a fastball he likes, he will absolutely swing out of his pants to hit it. He doesn't actually hit those pitches terribly often: per FanGraphs, he has the sixth-highest swinging strike rate in the game. Don't misread my tone, though, because the swings-and-misses aren't a "take the bad with the good" issue -- they're a part of the complete aesthetic package. Every time a pitcher with a great fastball starts his windup, I lean forward. When Cespedes likes what he sees and triggers his swing, I edge upward, preparing physically and mentally to leave my seat. And when the whoosh comes, the mighty wind of a Cespedes whiff, I'm blown backwards by the force somehow, pushed into couch as I emit the briefest, softest of "ahhhhs"'.

And when he connects! Hits one like he did against Steve Delabar on April 7 or Ervin Santana on April 18 or Hector Santiago a few days ago, in the 14th inning, with the A's down two runs, then up I leap, and my soft "ahhh" becomes an all-caps "AHHHHHH!" as the ball rockets off to some far-off seat and jubilation is heard throughout the land.

It's an exhilarating experience, one that simply does not compare to that of watching someone like Ryan Sweeney, a perfectly reasonable outfielder with a swing that's all about contact, all about staying alive and dropping a ball in somewhere. Cespedes isn't interested in dropping in a ball anywhere unless a fan is the only person with a chance to catch it.

The batting exploits, though, the power and glory of the bombs and the whiffs, are only part of the package. Cespedes was reputed to have all five tools in his belt, and indeed, he's already flashed some speed, stealing four bases (albeit with two times caught) to go with his five homers. "On pace for" is a silly idea, but Cespedes makes A's fans do silly things, so: with Oakland having played 21 games, let's multiply these five homers and four steals by eight, leaving Cespedes at 40 dingers and 32 thefts for the year. That's a lot! That's really a whole bunch. You probably know who the last A's player to put up that kind of power-speed combination was: Jose Canseco, of course, the original 40/40 man, who managed 42 and 40 in 1988. The A's haven't even had a 20/20 player since Ruben Sierra in 1993.

The mechanics of watching baseball on TV mean that I can't wax rapturous about Cespedes's basestealing the way I do about his hitting -- mostly you just see the end of a stolen base, not the jump, the first step, the acceleration, all the things that make a steal, and, more importantly, that make a steal exciting.

It's similarly difficult to talk about defense as a TV viewer. Even at the park, unless you're specifically watching to see a player's instincts at the crack of the bat, you can really only see the speed, get a sense of the directness of the routes, and keep an eye on the throws. On TV, it can be difficult to judge any of this except the arm. As such, I'm reluctant to say much about Cespedes' defense for fear of flat-out getting it wrong.

To be honest with you, though, I'm also reluctant to speak about Cespedes' defense because I fear that it might be subpar. It's far, far too early to be looking at the advanced defensive statistics, and maybe I'm letting a ball he misplayed into a "triple" in the A's fourth game of the year influence me too much.

That misplay and the few times he's been allowed to show off his arm (which is quite good, if not fully Reddickian) have been a jarring contrast to Coco Crisp, the A's center fielder of the past two years. Crisp made numerous plays rushing back, catching balls over his head, crashing into fences, leaping; and at the same time, Crisp has one of the limpest of limp-noodle arms you'll ever see. Do you know Nichols' Law of Catcher Defense? It states that a catcher's defensive reputation is inversely proportional to his offensive abilities. Interrogating my limitations and biases, my intellectual foibles, I wonder if I'm applying a similar type of misthinking. Cespedes is so radically different from Crisp, in body, in arm, in presence and performance at the plate, even in primary language, that maybe I can't believe they'd be alike in anything, defensive range included.

All of that said, my impression of Cespedes is that unless he grows, he should be able to stay in center field. He may not be a stellar performer there, but a strong bat who can handle center adequately is so much more valuable than one who has to play a corner that it would very likely behoove the A's to leave Cespedes there and live with the occasional misplays, and the slight downgrade on range. I certainly hope Cespedes can stay in center because of the simple fact center fielders are involved in more plays than corner outfielders. I'm greedy. The A's may only have their star for the four years that his contract currently calls for, and I want every possible second of those four years to involve Cespedes on my television.

Really, the long and short of the Yoenis Cespedes Experience is this: Early though it may be, I have literally never had more fun rooting for an individual A's position player, flaws (if the whiffs and the defense are truly that) and all.

Jason Wojciechowski runs Beaneball, a blog about the A's, and contributes to Baseball Prospectus and The Platoon Advantage. Follow him on Twitter @jlwoj.

Facing baseball’s top team in their ballpark Friday night, the Tampa Bay Rays brought home run power at the plate and strikeouts on the mound to put away the Texas Rangers, 8-4. This marked the sixth consecutive win for the Rays, who have seemingly righted themselves after sputtering to a 4-5 record to start the season.

The Rays have managed to go 9-2 since then, mainly due to a potent offense that is fourth in the American League in runs scored. Evan Longoria has hit like an MVP candidate, currently sporting a .319/.437/.569 line with four home runs, including a three-run shot Friday. Desmond Jennings owns a nine-game hitting streak, during which he's hit .324, and B.J. Upton has come off the disabled list with a vengeance with a .788 OPS.

Newly acquired bats Carlos Pena and Luke Scott have made Rays fans forget the short, though productive, stints in Tampa Bay of Johnny Damon and Casey Kotchman. Pena and Scott have already combined for nine home runs, more than one-third of the amount that Damon and Kotchman produced all of last year. For reference, the Rays have played 12.3 percent of their games so far, so it looks like these one-year deals on the heels of letting Damon and Kotchman walk could provide excess value.

Interestingly, the Rays are not utilizing the stolen base as the catalyst to their offensive production. Last season the Rays finished second in the majors in stolen bases, marking the first time since 2007 that they did not lead the league in the category. Entering last night, the Rays ranked 16th with 12 total steals. The Rays do have stolen-base threats in Jennings and Upton, but the Rays have been generating offense in a different manner than they are accustomed to -- with power.

The Rays have hit 27 home runs this year, tied for fourth in the majors. Longoria, Pena, Scott, and Matt Joyce have hit at least four long balls apiece. Behind them, Jennings and Ben Zobrist have three each. Those hitters comprise the Rays' 1-5 hitters against right-handed pitchers, as Joyce sits against southpaws. The impressive patience and power displayed by the Rays has been evident over their current win streak in that they have hit at least one home run in each of the past five games.

In addition to their offense, which was on display against Rangers lefty Matt Harrison on Friday night, the Rays have gotten a lift from their pitching over their past 10 games. Allowing just 2.9 runs per game has been a huge part of their 8-2 record over that span. Their run prevention has not all been pitching, however, as their defensive shifts have also proven to be effective. Adam Berry of MLB.com has a great article on the Rays and their shifts, along with the index cards they pull out for each hitter. The Rays currently rank second in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved with 19, nine more than the third-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Rays pride themselves on taking as many small advantages as possible, which is a testament to the quality of their front office, scouting and management. Signing players like Scott to a $6 million, one-year deal and moving starter Wade Davis to a bullpen role rather than trading him, are just two decisions that appear to be solid. Davis currently has a 1.86 ERA along with eight strikeouts and two walks in 9.2 innings out of the bullpen and was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed in the eighth inning of Friday’s victory.

The Rays will have to pitch better overall, specifically in the bullpen, over the course of the season. With the type of talent they possess and their excellent defense, their over-4.00 ERA should continue to decrease. With their offense scoring plenty of runs, improved pitching may make them the best team in baseball. But for now, that designation belongs to the team that is in the opposite dugout this weekend: the Rangers.

Ben Duronio writes about the Braves at Capitol Avenue Club. Follow him on Twitter.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Keith Law and I ended this final full week of April on the Baseball Today podcast with intelligent discussion about American League outfielders in the news, a weekend preview, and much more!

1. Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young is in the news for all the wrong reasons, leading us to wonder if the Tigers will deem his role on the team worth keeping around.

2. One guy that won’t be around for a while is Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford. Will this guy ever be the same?

3. We’ve seen Phil Humber be very good and very bad in a span of one week. What should we expect moving ahead from him, as well as struggling Miami closer Heath Bell?

4. Our emailers have questions about pitchers using their legs, Justin Smoak’s development and what the Cardinals will do with Lance Lynn.

5. Plenty of good baseball will be played this weekend, and we examine the series we’ll be watching and why pitcher wins don’t always tell a complete story.

So download and listen to Friday’s Baseball Today podcast, check out Sunday night’s Rays-Rangers game on ESPN, and have a great weekend!

Andrew McCutchen is laughing, shaking his head in disbelief. "It’s just another hat," he says during a spring training interview.

I tell him maybe he doesn’t understand how special these hats were. I tell him I realize they are ridiculous looking hats but seriously, what if they had magical powers? Would he wear the 1979 Pirates pillbox hat if it meant the current Pirates would bring a World Series championship to Steel City?

McCutchen still wasn’t buying it.

"Obviously that’s not going to make it happen," McCutchen said. "We’ve worn them in the past."

Although baseball players are notoriously superstitious, McCutchen is right; it takes a lot more than a special cap to win a World Series.

The Pirates begin a seven-game road trip tonight against the Braves. The last time the Pirates were in Atlanta they entered that late July series in 2011 tied for first place in the NL Central. After four games, 47 innings and one bad call by umpire Jerry Meals, they left Atlanta 1.5 games back, spiraled through losing the next 10 consecutive games and ended the season 72-90.

McCutchen said this season they are not going to focus on what happened to their team after Atlanta last year. Sure, they’ll remember it. But only as motivation to be more focused in 2012.

"I feel like if we can focus on day by day the sky is going to be the limit for us," McCutchen said back in late March.

One of the key offseason moves to forget the second half of 2011 was acquiring A.J. Burnett, who makes his second start tonight, facing off against the Braves' Tommy Hanson.

Recalling the conversations the Pirates had when they first began thinking about Burnett, manager Clint Hurdle said they started looking at his career, his history, the years Burnett pitched well. In 2008 for the Toronto Blue Jays, Burnett went 18-10, had a 4.07 ERA and a career-high 231 strikeouts. His catcher in Toronto? Rod Barajas.

"We called Rod once we knew we were getting A.J.," Hurdle said. "A.J. spoke volumes of the relationship that he had with Rod."

Barajas said over the last few years he and Burnett would talk every so often -- Burnett would call and ask for his input as to how he was pitching. Barajas believes the pitcher and catcher relationship to be the most important in all of baseball.

After being activated from the disabled list last Saturday (following surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone when hit in the face bunting in spring training), Burnett threw seven strong innings, giving up three hits to the St. Louis Cardinals and earning his first win of 2012. While it is only one game, it is interesting to note 70 percent of Burnett’s pitches were in the strike zone. If Burnett goes back to his 2008 form Barajas’ impact on Burnett will speak volumes.

"We kind of go back to what he did well that year," Barajas said of looking at Burnett’s years in Toronto. "It’s awesome, already having that relationship built up. It should put him at ease."

Burnett is just one piece of the puzzle for the Pirates. Sure, it is only April, but teams have to start somewhere and the Pirates' pitching staff is off to a great start.

They have allowed only 51 runs (second-fewest in the majors, behind the Washington Nationals' 48 runs) and they have a 2.58 ERA -- lower than the Rangers, Cardinals or Phillies.

Unfortunately, the Pirates' offense is off to a terrible start, thus the 8-10 record. They are last in the majors with only 41 runs scored. The Pirates have to find a way to get their offense going.

Shortstop Clint Barmes said this comes down to realizing how important every game is. Baseball is crazy that way, the entire season -- complete joy or agony -- can come down to one game.

"It’s taking the mentality of showing up every day, every game is big, every game is important," Barmes said. "As soon as you relax or sit back on your heels in this game it will find you in all aspects. ... The good teams find a way to get out of [struggles] a little quicker than the other teams."

How can the Pirates accomplish this?

The last time the Pirates won the World Series was 1979. According to Paul Lukas who writes the Uni Watch column for ESPN’s Fandom blog, the Pirates wore the pillbox cap from 1976 through 1986. So, McCutchen was right --- the pillbox caps were not the superstitious key to winning the World Series in 1979.

However, something else interesting happened in 1979. Willie Stargell, now Hall of Famer and then team leader, gave teammates gold stars for outstanding performances throughout the year. The team became one big family. Their team theme song in 1979: "We are Fam-i-ly!"

The Pirates have laid groundwork this year where the team can turn into a family -- from signing McCutchen, a team-oriented guy, to reuniting Burnett and Barajas. Maybe they'll have the capacity to address struggles better than they did last year.

"When you get a group of guys in a clubhouse that can pick each other up, you’re enjoying coming in the clubhouse," Barmes said of his teammates this year. "Not every team I’ve played on has been like that. But when you have that, it makes a big difference throughout a full season."

Of course, it is hard to identify if winning games builds good chemistry or if good chemistry leads to wins, but we know the stories from the teams who have experienced it. In a way, part of the magic of the 1979 Pirates really was in "Stargell’s stars" placed on those crazy pillbox caps.

If the Pirates give general manager Neal Huntington some money to improve the team before the trade deadline, what should he spend it on first?

That’s easy to answer: Amazon.com sells iron-on gold stars for cheap.

Anna McDonald contributes to the SweetSpot blog on ESPN.com's Playbook section. Follow her on Twitter.

First base: Carl Crawford out, Red Sox on a roll. On a day where sources indicated the Red Sox left fielder will miss another three months (a timetable Crawford denied), Boston pounded out 12 hits and 10 runs in roughing up Philip Humber for its fourth straight victory. Suddenly, that lineup is looking imposing, as only the Rangers have scored more runs. Even without Crawford, without Jacoby Ellsbury, and with Kevin Youkilis still struggling, the Red Sox are hitting .293/.346/.490. But Youkilis went 3-for-4 Thursday, including his second home run. David Ortiz is still hitting over .400, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia is slugging .587. This team won't be going away so quietly.

Second base: Marshall law broken. Big win for the Giants as Angel Pagan hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning off Reds closer Sean Marshall. Pagan homered off a curveball, and you can't fault Marshall for throwing the pitch: Pagan hadn't homered off a curveball the past four seasons, and had one extra-base hit off a curve all last season. And for members of the Brandon Belt fan club: He went 2-for-4 and is now hitting .273, although he did strike out twice.

Third base: Tigers release Brandon Inge. I guess the Tigers needed somebody to blame after getting swept by the Mariners at home. Inge was 2-for-20 this season and after hitting .197 last season, the leash was short on the 34-year-old veteran. I suppose some team could give him a shot as a utility guy, but it's also possible Inge's 12-year-career -- all with the Tigers -- is over. He came up as a catcher and played for those miserable 2002 and 2003 clubs that lost 106 and 119 games, respectively. He moved to third base and became a terrific defensive third baseman, even making the All-Star team in 2009.

Home plate: Tweet of the day. Humber wasn't quite as good in his first start since his perfect game.

Philip Humber allowed 9 runs vs #RedSox, the most by a pitcher in his 1st start after perfect game, from #Elias (Catfish Hunter allowed 8).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 27, 2012

I tweeted a note Thursday morning from our Stats & Information department: Only two walk-off home runs had been hit so far (by Alex Aliva and Todd Helton), the fewest this late in a season since 1982.

Sure enough, we got another one later in the day when Tampa Bay's Brandon Allen golfed a low fastball from Jordan Walden over the wall in right-center for a dramatic two-run blast to give the Rays a 4-3 victory over the Angels, completing a series sweep over the reeling Albert Pujols & Co.

In typical Joe Maddon fashion, he pulled the right strings in sending Allen up to hit for Jose Molina. Claimed off waivers last week from the A's, Allen had just one previous plate appearance with Tampa, drawing a key bases-loaded walk the night before. So he hadn't really swung the bat since April 7. He hadn't delivered a hit all season, since he went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts with Oakland. Walden tried to blow him away with five straight fastballs, but Allen crushed a 2-2, 97-mph four-seamer deep into the stands, getting up and personal with his teammates during the ensuing home-plate celebration.

Allen is a fringe major leaguer, a guy with big-time power but who has struggled to make contact in his brief trials with Arizona and Oakland. In many ways, it was just another baseball game, a mid-April affair played on an afternoon when most of the sports world was focused on the NFL draft. But, you know, this game could end up being one of the best moments of Allen's big league career, which makes it pretty neat in my book.

"Baseball is luck. It's a lot of luck. You just do what you can to prepare for it," Allen said after the game. "I just got in there and stayed within myself."

Maddon had told Allen to be ready when the Rays signed him. "To do this, to basically win two games for us two nights in a row, is pretty special," Maddon said.

The Rays are 12-7, which isn't necessarily surprising since many picked them to make the playoffs. But what is surprising is they've done this amid a tough April schedule and they've done it with a lot of offense, supposedly the team's weakness.

Currently fourth in the AL in runs scored, Tampa's hitting attack looks legitimate. Evan Longoria is hitting .309 with a .427 on-base percentage. Matt Joyce is proving last season's All-Star appearance wasn't a fluke with a .322/.394/.644 start. Carlos Pena is hitting .284 and drawing walks. Luke Scott is providing power from the DH slot. Add in Ben Zobrist, Desmond Jennings and B.J. Upton and you get the feeling the Rays may score some runs.

And the pitching ... Well, you get the feeling the pitching hasn't even gotten their groove on yet.

Here are three more big surprises after three weeks.

1. Lance Lynn and Kyle Lohse.
The Cardinals have withstood Chris Carpenter's injury and Adam Wainwright's slow start since these two guys have dominated. Lynn replaced Carpenter and, yes, he's faced the Cubs twice and the Pirates in three of his four starts. But he has allowed one run in each start and has an impressive 24/6 SO/BB ratio. Remember, Lynn was a first-round supplemental pick and a decent prospect coming up through the minors before excelling in the bullpen last season as a rookie. Actually, he's still a rookie. He has a good arm, he is a 6-foot-5 beast on the mound and there is a good chance he's a solid No. 3 starter. As for Lohse, I'll be honest: I didn't expect him to repeat last season's 3.39 ERA. He has kept his changeup down in the zone so far and hasn't allowed a home run, leading to a 0.99 ERA. Both have a chance of being middle-of-the-rotation starters ... or better, certainly more than the back-of-the-rotation guys I projected them as.

2. Jose Altuve
This little guy can rake. He's off to a .377 start, which is surprising enough, but the biggest surprise is the mature approach the 5-foot-5 21-year-old has shown at the plate. After hitting .389 between Class A and Double-A last season, the Astros called him in July. While he hit a respectable .276, he drew just five walks in 234 plate appearances, leading to concerns he would be exposed this season. But he has already drawn seven walks, and after swinging at 41 percent of pitches outside the strike zone as a rookie, that has dropped to 25 percent this season. He's a key reason the Astros are third in the NL in runs scored and playing respectable baseball -- they're 7-12 but have outscored their opponents.

3. Pirates pitching
OK, the Pirates are hitting .221 with a .269 OBP. But they're 8-10 behind a pitching staff that has allowed less than three runs per game. The Pirates have neither scored nor allowed more than five runs in a game. Can they keep it up? Even though the starters have a 2.59 ERA, I'm a little skeptical. The Pirates' 6.54 K's per nine ranks 25th in the majors. Their .256 BABIP allowed is third-best. Those two numbers are a bit at odds with each other. It should be noted we saw a similar result last year as the Pirates had a good run in the first half before collapsing. Still, give credit to the pitchers (and defense) for an amazing run of games.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

While a lot of headlines in sports these days focus on the ugly side of things, there is still plenty of good to be found. My grandma, Ruth Bishop, passed away today. She was 103. I’m not going to claim that she was the biggest Mariners fan in the world, but she did love the team. For the last 10 years or so she lived in a dorm-sized room. While she had paired down her possessions over the years, a good quarter of the items she retained were Mariners related -- blankets, bobbles, a stuffed moose, pillows and an autographed poster of Edgar Martinez.

Our visits rarely focused on her aches and pains. We instead focused on what Lou Piniella saw in Bobby Ayala or if Heathcliff Slocumb would ever record an out. Even when my grandma’s vision started to fail, she would argue balls and strikes if Dave Niehaus hinted that the pitch looked good. Her passion for the team was pure, very similar to the passion many of us felt as youngsters watching our favorite team or getting your favorite player in a pack of baseball cards. Contract talks and scandals didn’t mean that much to me then.

I don’t know if my grandma’s rest home was unique or symbolic of similar retirement communities. But the seniors lived for Mariners games. They watched religiously and in the very end, Mariners game times were a big part of how my grandma kept time. And for that I say thank you to the Seattle Mariners. I’m fairly confident that following the team kept her mind sharp as a tack and added at least a couple years to her life. At the very least, it made her final years much more enjoyable.

And while these types of stories never make the news, the Mariners were nothing but first class in their treatment of Ruth. She attended her first game at Safeco last year and they treated her like royalty: Bag of goodies, picture on the big screen and all. And Martinez went even further, calling Ruth on her 100th and 103rd birthdays.

Thank you, Mariners. Thank you, Edgar.

Ted Bishop is a senior director of digital partnerships for ESPN.com.

What makes a great nickname? I think it has to work in print and in broadcast form. The best ones are not only original but create a visual description of the player's ability. Bonus points if teammates actually refer to him by his nickname.

"The Sultan of Swat" is a pretty good one. Descriptive -- you can imagine a 1930s radio announcer saying, "And The Sultan hits another one!" -- and alliterative. Of course, Babe Ruth's teammates called him Jidge (a play on his given name of George) and not Sultan.

Ty Cobb was called the Georgia Peach. That's a terrible nickname, foremost because Cobb was hardly a peach of a person. And it doesn't really describe his skills in any visual manner.

Anyway, with apologies to Mr. October, The Commerce Comet, The Hoover, Wahoo Sam, Pee Wee, The Flying Dutchman, The Grey Eagle, Pudge (both of them), The Yankee Clipper, The Big Cat (Mize or Galarraga), Stretch, Donnie Baseball, Crime Dog, Big Papi, The Big Hurt, Losing Pitcher (that's Hugh Mulcahy, a pitcher from the 1930s who twice led the league in losses), The Peerless Leader, Moose (multiple players, including Moose Skowron, who didn't earn it for being big and slow, but rather when he was a kid for looking like Italian dictator Benito Mussolini), The Mad Hungarian, Shoeless Joe, Grandma (Johnny Murphy), Catfish, Will the Thrill, Piano Legs and many others, here is my all-time nickname team:

C: Yogi Berra. I don't think Larry Berra has the same ring to it.

1B -- Pete Rose: Charlie Hustle. Yes, it fits on a few levels. It should be pointed out the nickname was originally derisive -- opposing players mocking Rose for running to first base after drawing a walk.

2B -- Frankie Frisch: The Fordham Flash. Yes, he went to Fordham. Yes, he was fast.

3B -- Bob Ferguson: Death to Flying Things. Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus recycled the nickname for Franklin Gutierrez. The interesting thing about Ferguson is that he was an 1870s-era third baseman, not an outfielder, so his moniker was derived from his ability to snare line drives.

SS -- Ozzie Smith: The Wizard of Oz. Or, as Jack Buck infamously shortened it, simply The Wizard.

OF -- Jimmy Wynn: The Toy Cannon. Wynn was a small but powerful hitter. Perfect visual image and it works well on air (and announcers would call him by his nickname). Maybe my favorite nickname of all time.

OF -- Stan "The Man" Musial: Of course.

OF -- Paul Waner and Lloyd Waner: Big Poison and Little Poison. The brothers shared the outfield for years with the Pirates in the '20s and '30s. Can you guess which one was the better hitter?

P -- Sudden Sam McDowell. Alliterative and a perfect description for his explosive fastball.

P -- Sal Maglie: The Barber. Known for giving hitters an occasional close shave with an inside pitch.

P -- Walter Johnson: The Big Train. Again, a pitcher with a big fastball.

P -- Amos Rusie: The Hoosier Thunderbolt. The hardest thrower of the 1890s. If you want a great nickname, throw hard.

P -- Dizzy Dean. It's not exactly known how the Hall of Famer earned his nickname, although one common explanation is that while Dean was in the Army, a sergeant caught him throwing peeled potatoes against garbage can lids and referred to him as a "dizzy SOB." But the nickname fit Dean's outgoing, quirky, creative personality.

Manager: Leo "The Lip" Durocher. Although "Little Napoleon" for John McGraw is pretty effective as well.

Some favorites from SweetSpot bloggers ...

A few weeks ago, I was doing some research on the early 1900s. The names are so baseball, so perfect: Steamboat Williams, Sweetbread Bailey (whose given name was Abraham Lincoln Bailey), Possum Whitted, Tiny Graham. The nicknames go on and on even though so many of the players had fleeting baseball careers. If there’s ever a favorite nickname encapsulating how exceptional and distinctive someone is, for me it is James "Cool Papa" Bell. He loved baseball; how I wish I could have watched him on the baseball diamond! He was one of the most legendary Negro League players and he lived on ... Cool Papa Bell Boulevard AND his wife’s name was ... Clara Bell Bell. Not just Clara Bell but Clara Bell Bell. -- Anna McDonald

We're definitely already including Arlie "The Freshest Man on Earth" Latham, right? -- Ryan Sommers

Bris Robotham Lord (aka "The Human Eyeball"). Part of the allure for me is that no one is actually sure of the origin of the nickname. Lord didn't suffer from any vision problem such as Graves' ophthalmopathy, nor did he have a spectacular "eye" at the plate. It's my favorite nickname because of the imagery ... the eyeball as the entirety of the being. -- Diane Firstman

The Splendid Splinter, Oil Can Boyd and Spaceman Lee. -- Evan Brunell

Lou Gehrig -- Biscuit Pants. (For his, umm, low center of gravity.) -- Jordan Smedresman

George Sherrill -- The Brim Reaper, based on the style with which he wears his cap, leaving the brim flat. -- Daniel Moroz

Blue Moon Odom, although I never knew why he had that nickname. Three Finger Brown because he had, um, three fingers. Dick "Dr. Strangeglove" Stuart after the movie to describe his terrible defense. Gary "Ding Dong" Bell. As Jim Bouton described in "Ball Four" -- "Gary Bell is nicknamed Ding Dong. Of course. What’s interesting about it is that 'Ding Dong' is what the guys holler when somebody gets hit in the cup. The cups are metal inserts that fit inside the jock strap, and when the baseball hits one it’s called ringing the bell, which rhymes with hell, which is what it hurts like. It’s funny, even if you’re in the outfield, or in the dugout, no matter how far away, when a guy gets it in the cup you can hear it. Ding Dong." -- Joe Janish

Red Lucas, the "Nashville Narcissus." Lucas was a pitcher in 1920s and 1930s. A two-way threat, he led the majors in complete games three times and is 11th all time in pinch hits with 114. The nickname was created by Cincinnati Tribune writer Colonel Bob Newhall. -- Matthias Koster

Bill James once wrote about a Negro League player named Olin "Satan" Taylor, so called because he knocked the devil out of the ball. Taylor's nickname was later changed to "Jelly" because his mother objected to her son being called "Satan." I find the first part extremely clever and the second adorable. -- Michael Baumann

Since I am from the Indians blog, I HAVE to suggest Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove. I think this video link pretty much explains how Mike earned his name. -- Brenden Lowery

"Wonder Hamster" for Matt Stairs is physically descriptive (no one looks more like a hamster than Stairs) and the perfect superlative (the violent swing certainly inspired wonder). Plus, it's a Weird Al Yankovic reference. -- Jason Wojciechowski

Most of the nicknames from the Devil Rays era are not fit for print. But, since 2008, the best has to be Dan Johnson. He has orange hair, he doesn't show up until October, and when he does, it's always memorable. Ergo, Dan Johnson will forever be known as The Great Pumpkin. -- Mark Heilig