Baseball around the horn

Who're going to call?

Apparently some of the Florida Marlins believe in ghosts.

When the team stayed at the Pfister in Milwaukee earlier this season, according to the Palm Beach Post, two pair of players decided to share rooms because of the hotel's reputation for being haunted. When he was with the Dodgers, Adrian Beltre once slept with his bat at the Pfister after hearing things go bump in the night.

That's not the end of the story, either. Next weekend the Fish will stay at the Renaissance Vinoy in St. Petersburg, Fla., another hotel with a history, when they play the Rays.

In 2002, Cincinnati's Scott Williamson claims he saw a male apparition there. In 2007, Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher said the lights in his room turned on and off mysteriously and Billy Koch, Joey Hamilton and Jay Gibbons are also reported to have had supernatural experiences there.

No. 54 for Dad

The College World Series has a scheduled off day Sunday, which will allow players to spend time or call their dads on Father's Day. LSU's Mikie Mahtook hasn't had that chance in 16 years.

Mahtook's father, Michael, died of a heart attack at age 32 when Mikie was just 4 years old, but he's old enough to have cherished memories.

"Believe it or not, I remember more than I probably should remember of him," Mahtook said. "I remember things like playing with Army men and setting them up on the coffee table before dinner."

Though he lost his dad 16 years ago, Mahtook keeps his dad close to the heart.

"I got new cleats and put his initials and his football number, 54, on the side of my cleats," Mahtook said.

No jinx, please

Going into the eighth inning at Cleveland's Progressive Field on Sunday night, Indians lefthander Cliff Lee was working on a no-hitter. As he took the mound, a trivia question from the team's in-house announcer appeared on the scoreboard: "Who was the last Indians pitcher to throw a perfect game?"

The answer is Lenny Barker, on May 15, 1981. But that's beside the point. When Yadier Molina doubled on Lee's first pitch, some felt the Tribe's own scoreboard had broken the old baseball prohibition about mentioning a no-no in progress.

The question was prescripted, but manager Eric Wedge said whoever didn't change it has "no feel" for the game.