Baseball Sunday

"It's disappointing. I didn't get to finish what I started. I kept thinking what I could have done different. I gave it my best shot. That's baseball. I'll survive."

— Bill Castro

was fired as the Brewers' pitching coach after 33 years with the organization as a player, scout or coach

4 Rockies starting pitchers with at least 10 wins — the first time in franchise history.

Nationals issues

There are still 19 first-round draft choices unsigned with the deadline to get them under contract looming at midnight on Monday.

But no team is under closer scrutiny than the Nationals, who used the first overall pick to take San Diego State righthander Stephen Strasburg, knowing that hard-driving agent Scott Boras was going to demand a record-shattering signing bonus.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Washington failed to sign its first-round pick last year (University of Missouri righthander Aaron Crow) and that interim general manager Mike Rizzo is hoping to be named the permanent replacement for Jim Bowden.

He's the man

Seattle hitting machine Ichiro Suzuki has gone 147 straight games without going hitless in back-to-back games. That's the longest streak since Stan "The Man" Musial of the Cardinals went 174 games in 1943-44.

Tidbits

According to the Team Marketing Report, the highest price for a small draft beer in a major league stadium is $8.75 at San Francisco's AT&T Park. The lowest? Arizona's Chase Field, where the suds will set you back four bucks.

When Junichi Tazawa, Hideki Okajima and Takashi Saito all pitched in relief for the Red Sox last Friday night, it was the first time in history three Japanese-born teammates had pitched in the same game.

And a literary note: Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen says his favorite book is "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss.

—Philadlphia Daily News

Appalachian League

This rookie-level league is pretty much a Smoky Mountains version of our Pioneer League. Most of the players are just out of high school or recently signed free agent contracts from a foreign country.