Hit & Run: The (Ft. Myers) Kid Stays In the Picture

* You may not have heard, but my man Roger Clemens made his minor league start for the Tampa Yankees on Friday in Florida. Ever the humble man, he arrived to the park in his Hummer- but he did make time to talk to a local little leaguer who accompanied him on the mound during pregame. [See, he is a human after all.] Also, special homer note: they played “The Eyes of Texas”, the University of Texas alma mater, during the Rocket’s warmup pitches before the first batter. Hook ‘Em!

* The real star of the game wasn’t the Rocket, though- it was the kid from the Single-A Fort Myers Miracle (Twins affiliate) who popped a homer off Roger in the first inning. Minor league hottie Erik Lis had a take-no-prisoners attitude about facing Clemens, and an awfully cute butt. [Never to early to start scouting the farm system]

* The Twins roster is now sporting the hottest fashion accessory to hit the baseball diamond: the buzzcut. [It certainly appears to have worked some magic for the Mets.] Hottie Joe Mauer got the buzz- no visual confirmation on whether the sideburns survived.

* Hello and goodbye to hottie Kason Gabbard, who was called up from the minors to pitch for the Red Sox on Sunday. Kason (coolest name ever!) walked away with the W over the Braves… and within minutes of hitting the locker room, was demoted back down to Triple-A Pawtucket. [That'll teach him to pitch well!] Bonus points for Kason? [He and hottie Jarrod Saltalamacchia are old high school buds].

* Let my mourning period commence for Todd Walker, the gorgeous Louisiana hottie who graced the rosters of the Twins, Rockies, Reds, Red Sox, Cubs, Padres & A’s over the past 11 years. The A’s released him late last week [boo!], and Todd now says he’ll retire from baseball [double boo!] (thanks to reader Patrick for the tip on the second article!)

as always, click on the pics for bigger versions