BCB Link: 21 Reasons Why MLB Should Retire Roberto Clemente's Number

Hat tip to a BCB reader who passed this link along.

Check out LemonaaadeHere's post, "21 Reasons Why MLB Should Retire Roberto Clemente's Number."

Happy Birthday Pete Rose!

Happy Birthday to Pete Rose -- the Hit King -- one of my boyhood heroes. The man who illustrated, day in and day out, how to play the game right. One of my first baseball memories was watching Pete Rose, late in his career, at Riverfront Stadium and my dad leaning over to me and saying, "See how he hustles... that's the way you're supposed to play baseball."

Pitching is Central

The National League Central has seen some great pitching performances during this first full week of the 2009 season: Carpenter and Lohse of the Cardinals, Cincinnati's Aaron Harang, and Zach Duke of the Pirates. Duke pitched a complete game shutout in Pittsburgh's home opener this afternoon. He limited the Astros to four hits.

Phillies Voice, Kalas, passes away

It seems like we are losing some of the great voices of baseball more quickly these days: Joe Nuxhall, Herb Score, Skip Carey. Another great one has passed on, Harry Kalas, voice of the Phillies since 1971.

Carson over at We Should be GMs posts a nice little tribute to one of his heroes.

Kalas and Marty Brennaman were good friends. Here is what the Reds broadcaster had to say:

"I always find it interesting when a celebrity passes away and people are so quick to say, 'He was a great actor,' or, 'He was a great broadcaster.' Harry Kalas was a great person,'' Brennaman told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. "As much as we will remember Harry as a broadcaster, many of us will remember him even more as being a hell of a guy.''

Brennaman said he spoke to Kalas by phone late last week. The friends talked for 45 minutes, and among other things, they discussed the importance of eating right, getting enough sleep and dealing with the hectic lifestyle of a major league broadcaster at an advanced age.

"I considered Harry a very good friend, and I was concerned about his health. I talked to him about getting the proper amount of rest and the things that we need to think about at our ages,'' said Brennaman, 66. "I was very concerned about him, but he sounded good. When I found out about it today, I was shocked. It's very, very sad.''

Update 8:37PM: Here is Hal McCoy's piece on Kalas.