Classic BUpton: walk-off HR on Tuesday, golden sombrero and an ejection on Wednesday

Bottom 2: B.J. Upton struck out swinging against Brandon Morrow

Bottom 4: Upton called out on strikes against Morrow

Bottom 6: Upton called out on strikes against Morrow

Bottom 9: Upton called out on strikes against Frank Francisco

Final Line: 0-4, 4K (three looking)

Notes: When will this guy finally put it together? His golden sombrero on Wednesday lowered his season average to .238 and his home average to .197.  After being called out on strikes in the 9th, Upton lost his cool, slamming his bat and helmet and possibly making contact with the umpire.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 17

The Legends grows with his sombrero on Sunday

Top 1: Sam Fuld struck out swinging against Ricky Romero

Top 2: Fuld called out on strikes against Romero

Top 5: Struck out swinging against Romero

Top 8: Struck out swinging against Mark Rzepcyznski

Final Line: 0-4, 4 strikeouts

NOTES: Fuld’s sombrero on Sunday was the fourth this season by a leadoff hitter, and refutes the contention that Fuld is other-wordly.  With the forgettable performance, the Legend lowered his batting average from .365 to .346.

Total 2011 Sombreros: 12

Over the last couple of days, Sam Fuld has been going absolutely nuts on the baseball field.  To his credit, he’s technically always going nuts on the field considering that he’s only 5-foot-10 – probably 5-foot-7, at the most.  On Sunday he made one of the best plays in the outfield (of that variety) that I’ve ever seen.  The pressure of the situation; the ground he covered; the full-extension and total disregard for his own well-being.  Everything about it was simply amazing.

I was watching the game live – I’ll try to refrain from sharing my current thoughts on the White Sox, although I did just draw a picture of Juan Pierre and rip it up – and texting with one of the Sombrero’s contributors, Rick, who is also a fan of the South Siders.

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Two of the American League’s top pitching prospects were on display in the first week of the 2011 season, and suffice it to say, they both lived up to their respective hype.

First up was the Blue Jays’ Kyle Drabek, who used his 89-91 mph cutter to befuddle the Minnesota Twins’ offense on Saturday.  He allowed one run in seven innings, while walking three and striking out seven.  Oh yeah, the Sombrero’s No. 33 prospect took a no-hit bid into the sixth.  In his “10 Rookie Predictions” piece, John Sickels even predicts that Drabek will toss a no-no in early May – a bit bold, but definitely not unimaginable.

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Recently we received a comment from a reader regarding our predictions, and I think the topic he brought up is probably worth its own piece.  The reader felt like I unfairly predicted that the Yankees would finish the year third in the AL East behind Boston and Tampa, who I predicted would both finish 2011 in the playoffs.  Before I continue, I would like to mention that I think the AL East will be a very tight division, particularly in the battle for second place.  The Yankees are one of the best offensive teams in baseball, and they certainly deserve a great deal of respect for that, but everything else they do is far from representative of a playoff-caliber team.

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