The week began with the tragic death of Josh Hancock. Baseball paid its respects to their fallen friend by showing exactly why so many people dedicate their life to the sport.

Troy Tulowitzki turns three – Wow! That’s all you can say about it really. Only the thirteenth unassisted triple play in Major League history and it’s not hard to see why it’s such a rare feat. Tulo caught a Chipper Jones liner for the first out, stamped on second to get Kelly Johnson and then tagged Renteria for out number three. He even threw to first base as well for good measure, but sadly his attempt to be the first player ever to get four outs in an inning fell down on a slight technicality (i.e. it’s impossible within the rules of the game). Nice try though.

Event of the week – The Phillie Phanatic celebrated his twenty-ninth birthday on Sunday night and basked in the adulation of his adoring public. Indeed, it was the fifth largest crowd ever to attend a game at Citizens Bank Park. It was an Egyptian themed celebration, although I’ve yet to find any decent explanation as to why. Maybe I’m thinking too much about it?

Super saver – Mariano Rivera hasn’t been stellar so far this year, but his performance on Thursday against Texas will help him get back on track. After a rain-out on Wednesday, the Yanks and the Rangers played a double header and Rivera logged a save in each. Two saves in a day is pretty good going and it’s the fifth time in his career that he has achieved the feat.

Award winning pitching – So, a Red Sox pitcher from Japan won the AL Rookie of the Month award for April. You would have had short odds on that before the season started, but it was “no Dice” for anyone who put money on Matsuzaka. The signing of Hideki Okajima over the winter was overlooked by many and most of those who noticed rather unfairly described it as merely a case of the Red Sox bringing in a compatriot to help Dice-K settle in Boston. Okajima has had an excellent month coming out of the bullpen, in particular enjoying his five appearances against the Yankees, which is always likely to endear you to Beantown.

A Fantasy Owner’s nightmare – It’s fair to say that wins are not necessarily the truest indicator of how a starter is performing, but there’s no doubt that picking them up is important. Wandy Rodriguez had a tough night on Thursday. He threw seven decent innings against the Reds and left the game with a 4-2 lead, giving up just two earned runs and striking out eight. Sadly for Wandy, Chad Qualls gave up three runs in the eighth to leave him with a no decision, although the Astros did go on to get the win. Watching your win slip away through no fault of your own is always tough, but consider this: Rodriguez has now gone seventeen starts without being credited with a win. And if that wasn’t galling enough, as a result of blowing the save in the eighth but seeing the offence regain the lead in the bottom of the inning, Qualls ended up with the “W” instead. Sometimes life is just not fair.

“I’m a travellin’ man” – Ryan Langerhans has had a strange week. On Monday he had to say a quick goodbye to his team mates in Atlanta after he was traded to Oakland. On Tuesday he met up with his new team mates and went 0 for 2 against the Red Sox in Boston. He repeated the trick on Wednesday, adding in an error for good measure. Not long after the game had finished, Langerhans was informed that he had been traded yet again. And to the Nationals. So he was traded twice in three days without getting a say in the matter, never actually set foot in Oakland, and ended up at arguably the worst team in baseball right now. Only four more seasons ’till you reach free agency though Ryan!

Trying to look clever is never clever – Langerhans was at least able to witness a lesson in humility in one of his games for Oakland. The A’s second baseman Mark Ellis hit a screaming drive down the left field line at Fenway on Tuesday night, but his progress was initially halted by some quick footed fielding. Fortunately for Ellis the ball was not snaffled by a Red Sox infielder, but by a Red Sox batboy. Unfortunately for the batboy, the ball hadn’t gone foul. The “what have I done wrong” look he gave when sitting back down was the icing on the cake for the less charitable among us.

It’s a hitter’s game – There might not have been much charity on display for that batboy, but the pitchers in the Bronx on Friday were generous to a fault. The Mariners and the Yankees combined for thirty-six hits and twenty-six runs. It is often said that good pitching will always beat good hitting. I guess there wasn’t much good pitching on display that night.

Nearly perfect – In one of those strange incidents that baseball (and life in general) seems to throw up from time to time, the Saturday match-up between the M’s and the Yanks was an entirely different affair. Chien-Ming Wang was perfect through seven and a third innings before Ben Broussard went deep with a solo shot. On the other side, Jeff Weaver wasn’t quite so perfect, although it could be considered an improved display for him. Weaver only gave up six runs in five and two-thirds, and edged his ERA down to 15.35.

Pitching is tough – Walking batters with the bases loaded is never a nice feeling, as Wil Ledezma will testify after going through it last night. Still, everyone is taught not to sulk and to remember that there’s always someone worse off than you. Step forward Levale Speigner of the Nationals. He managed to walk in three runs against the Cubs, “helping” his side to their twenty-first loss of the season in just thirty games.

Professional of the week – For all of the great performances out on the field over the last seven days, this award has to go to MLB.com’s Peter McCarthy. McCarthy presents the Daily Rewind during the week and on Friday he passed on the news that Carl Pavano may require Tommy John surgery, adding that the twelve to eigtheen month lay-off would endanger the chance of Pavano ever pitching for the Yanks again. Somehow McCarthy said this without laughing or adding a sarcastic comment. That’s a true professional if you ask me.