Kuzul

Chances are most baseball fans are not familiar with Miami Marlins left-handed reliever Mike Dunn. This is his fourth year in the big leagues and second with the Marlins. He had cups of coffee with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves earlier in his career.

He has good strikeout totals for his limited innings and does not let up many homers, making him a commodity in the bullpen, especially among lefties.

He has one career save. But that one save was significant. It might have illustrated a shift in thinking for the underachieving Marlins.

Last night, the Marlins played the first place Washington Nationals. A loss would have put them twelve games back in the loss column, and put the Fish in a terrible position.

The Marlins led behind pitcher Carlos Zambrano and manager Ozzie Guillen, who began to mix and match his pitchers. Wade LeBlanc, Ryan Webb and Randy Choate got the team through the seventh. Then embattled closer Heath Bell came in to pitch the eighth. No doubt, Marlins fans gulped at the concept of a six-out save from Bell when he has a hard enough time recording three outs.

Bell let up a leadoff single but miraculously did not let him score. Then the event happened.

Mike Dunn was called into the game to pitch the ninth. He was shaky, letting up a single to Bryce Harper and a walk to Ryan Zimmerman. But he struck out Adam LaRoche to end the game and earn his one career save.

And with that move, the Marlins have hope. This author has been urging Ozzie Guillen to not only remove Heath Bell from the closer role, forgetting how much Bell is paid, but also to mix and match in his bullpen like he did with the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox.

Last nigh,t he did both. Bell was out of the ninth, and a pitcher got the save because he was the right pitcher for the situation. That may be a novel concept, using the best matchups instead of the highest paid reliever to get the most critical three outs.

If the Marlins are no longer going to give away close ballgames, maybe their underachieving squad could make a run at the overachieving Nationals.

And maybe Mike Dunn will get a few more saves along the way, provided the situation calls for him.

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According to the Associated Press (via ESPN), this past winter, new Astros owner Jim Crane mulled a name change for the franchise for the 2013 season. Fans were appalled, and Crane backed off and opted to keep the Astros moniker for when the team shifts from the National to the American League.

But seeing how the Astros have operated over the last bunch of seasons, a name change might be in order.

The team will have an entirely new identity when it becomes an American League West team and has all new rivals. Why not mark the occasion of the big shift with a name change—one that embraces the team’s Old West past?

Besides, they are moving from the Central to the West without changing location.

Remember, the Astros franchise was originally called the Colt .45s, tipping a stetson to the lawless cowboy days of Texas. Only after legal threats from the malt liquor company and the arrival of the space program did the team become the Astros.

For years, the Astros had the unique identity of the team of tomorrow. The team did not worry about nostalgia. They blazed a new trail.

They played in a futuristic stadium, the Astrodome, that looked like a UFO. They had synthetic grass and wore uniforms that were straight out of a science fiction film.

And they employed a distinct National League-type of play. They used great pitching, defense and gap-to-gap power mixed with speed. They had dominating pitchers like Ken Forsch, Nolan Ryan, J. R. Richard and Mike Scott.

But all of that changed when they moved into the park formerly known as Enron. They turned their back on their own identity and stole from other teams. Pinstripes, cursive writing and an old-time brick park took the place of bright orange stripes and the Dome.

That is not to say that the new look and feel of the team is bad. The Astros finally won a pennant wearing the traditional-looking uniforms. But they are no longer the Astros. That wonderful and distinct identity is long gone.

If they are going to move to the American League, have the makeover be complete.

Maybe the Colt .45s.

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There is a great scene in the film Dr. Strangelove when George C. Scott talks to the President, played by Peter Sellers, about the advantages of starting a nuclear war.

At one point he says, “The truth is not always a pleasant thing. But it is necessary now to make a choice between two admittedly regrettable but nevertheless distinguishable post-war environments.”

That line reminded me of the current state of the Philadelphia Phillies. Now granted, they are not dealing with something as severe as starting World War III. But they do need to make a hard choice and deal with a not very pleasant truth.

The Phillies have committed too much money and too many years to keeping the likes of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Ryan Howard with the club to realistically resign Cole Hamels to a market value contract.

That means Hamels will probably not only be a free agent this offseason, but be one of the most coveted prizes of the winter. That is the truth.

Another part of the truth is this has been a monumentally disappointing season for the Phillies. The team has been decimated with injuries and poor run support for their pitchers. Cliff Lee has as many wins as Ryan Howard has games played this season: Zero.

They have a -11 run differential, are seven games under .500, ten games out of first place and 12 games behind the Washington Nationals in the loss column.

While there is still more than half the season to play and none of the other four National League East teams look like powerhouses this season, there has been little to indicate that this Phillies team is about to turn on the switch and start winning.

So would keeping Cole Hamels for an unlikely pennant run only to lose him in the offseason make sense?

This would be an interesting debate topic if not for events that happened 107 miles north of Philadelphia.

The New York Yankees have been rocked by injuries to CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera that have made their current five game lead vulnerable.

Sabathia should return after the All-Star break. Pettitte will take longer to recover and Rivera’s career might be over.

The delicate nature of the Yankee pitching staff was exposed in each of the first two games against the White Sox.

On Thursday the bullpen collapsed in the ninth inning. Last night young Adam Warren was rocked in his big league debut and the relievers fared no better.

The Yankees need a pitcher. They need one to fill the gaping holes in the rotation now and one that would give the team depth in October.

Who better to fill that bill than Cole Hamels?

A former NLCS and World Series MVP, Hamels has the Northeast and playoff experience and would give the Yankees a shot of confidence. He would be in position to negotiate a contract extension with the deepest pockets in the game.

How would Phillies fans react to this move? Philadelphia fans might boo, but they tend to boo anyway.

This is where George C. Scott’s line comes to mind again. There are two regrettable but distinguishable post-Cole Hamels scenarios for Philadelphia fans.

One has Hamels leaving via free agency and the Phillies getting two draft picks in exchange for Hamels.

The other has the Phillies bargaining in a position of strength against a Yankee team that could be prone for a panic move.

New York sent their best trade chip, Jesus Montero, for pitcher Michael Pineda, who had one half of a good season and health issues.

Now they have a chance to bring in a proven All Star and potentially make their big offseason splash with a contract extension in one move. They might be willing to part with a few young players to make that deal.

Would Mason Williams, Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos be available? If other clubs got into the bidding, would the Yankees raise the stakes to win the Hamels stakes?

The idea of bringing in at least two and maybe more major-league ready players to Philadelphia as opposed to two picks must be considered to be a better scenario for the Phillies. And they may have the Yankees at a disadvantage right now, which is the best time to bargain.

And unlike Dr. Strangelove, this is not to suggest they should blow everything up: Just weigh the Cole War environment.

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Pittsburgh Pirate fans are sick of hearing about Francisco Cabrera. They are tired of being reminded that their team has not put a winning product on the field since Sid Bream slid past Mike LaValliere’s tag to end the 1992 National League Championship Series. And they do not need to be reminded of the awful trades and blown draft picks that led to decades of futility.

Pirate fans can look up and see Kyle Drabek and Scott Van Slyke in the major leagues. The children of the 1992 Pirates made the majors before they could put a winning product on the field.

That can all end this year. A culmination of good picks, a smart trade or two and the emergence of the team’s first legitimate superstar since Barry Bonds might put a winner in PNC Park for the first time.

Last night, the Pirates trailed the Cardinals early and then stormed back for an impressive 14-5 win against the defending World Champs. They did it with the long ball. They did it with four runs batted in from Pedro Alvarez. And, of course, they did it with another offensive outburst from the amazing Andrew McCutchen.

This win was significant for a specific reason: It was win No. 41. They are officially halfway to 82 wins, which has been the Everest the team could not scale since 1992.

The Pirates are a mere game out of first place and are on pace to win 87 games. And they have recently raised their run differential to plus-3 after being in the negative column for much of the year.

They have 86 games to win 41 more games. In other words, they need only go 41-45 to forever put the last two decades in their rear-view mirror.

Now, of course, they were in a similar situation last year. In 2011, as with this year, the Pirates entered July with a winning record. And for a few days in late July, they were in first place by themselves. But a disastrous August started them on a 21-46 finish to the season and another 90-loss campaign.

But this team feels different. The Pirates suddenly contending was a shock to the 2011 club. They were sub-.500 heading into June and then slumped at the end of July.

The 2012 team has been more consistent and so far seems to have learned from what happened last year. There is a swagger on the team led by McCutchen‘s MVP-caliber performance.

And do not discount the arrival of a relaxed A.J. Burnett. Remember, before Burnett’s subpar 2010 and 2011 campaigns in the Bronx, he was credited with relaxing a very tense clubhouse and being a positive figure. Maybe that influence is benefiting the Pirates.

Either way, a great relief might soon be felt in Pittsburgh. They are halfway there already with more than half the season left to play.

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The Roger Clemens trial is over. The ripple effect of the verdict will be felt for a long time and will become relevant in January.

Roger Clemens was found not guilty of perjury the other day. He was not found not guilty of taking steroids or HGH or anything else that his friends, wife and trainer all admit to using or selling. The fact that everyone excluding his dog all took the stuff is clearly a coincidence and does not involve the alpha male of the group whose body changed.

So now writers are wringing their hands, talking about the legal questions and the loss of our innocence. The most common headline claimed the trial had no winner.

Nonsense. The real winner was Jack Morris. That’s right, the former Tigers ace and one time contemporary of Clemens will be the beneficiary of the whole Clemens mess.

Morris will be on his 14th Hall of Fame ballot this offseason. He has just two more chances to be elected into Cooperstown. And not since Clemens’ former teammate Jim Rice has there been a more polarizing candidate.

His supporters point to the fact that he won more games in the 1980s than any other pitcher and he came up big in big games. He threw a no-hitter, was the World Series MVP in 1991 and had a 10 inning game seven shutout that year that clinched the title.

His detractors point out that he was never the best pitcher in any one year. He may have compiled wins over the decade, but was never a dominating pitcher like Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela, Dave Stewart, Orel Hershiser or Frank Viola. He never was even the Cy Young runner-up. His ERA was too high and new stats point out that he may not have been as good as he seemed to be.

But as far as anyone knows, Jack Morris was clean. And even those who do not support his Hall of Fame candidacy admit that he was a tough competitor who played the game the right way.

In the last Hall of Fame election, Morris got 66.7 percent of the vote, just shy of the 75 percent needed for induction.

This offseason, the Cooperstown ballot from hell will be distributed. Sammy Sosa will be on it for the first time. Returning candidates like Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro are back.

And, fairly or not, sluggers like the returning Jeff Bagwell and the new arrival Mike Piazza will have their power numbers scrutinized strongly.

But the biggest new names will be Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Both would normally be no-brainers. But there is no way either will get in on the first ballot.

Craig Biggio and his 3,060 hits will likely get voted in on the first try. And Piazza will probably join him. But the other spots on the ballot might have room for a protest vote.

The final 8.3 percent of the vote that Jack Morris needs to become a Hall of Famer could come from writers fed up with Roger Clemens.

Benefiting from someone else’s resentment may be a strange way to achieve immortality. But at this point, Jack Morris will no doubt accept it.

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Magglio Ordonez is retiring after playing 15 seasons in the major leagues. He was a six-time All-Star during his time with the White Sox and Tigers. He won a batting title, three Silver Sluggers and was the runner-up for the 2007 American League Most Valuable Player award.

But his greatest highlight and his place in history will always be his walk off, ALCS clinching home run that propelled the Tigers into the 2006 World Series. The team that lost 119 games in 2003 made it to the World Series in just three years. And Ordonez’s blast against Oakland‘s Huston Street capped the amazing turn around.

His home run would have been memorable in any era. But in the age of camera phones and YouTube, the home run is not only recorded, but it can be seen from just about every possible angle.

To honor Ordonez’s career and his greatest highlight, let’s take a look at the 10 best amateur videos of one of the most dramatic moments in Tigers history.

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