Around the AL: Lester no-hits Royals

Winning the decisive game of the 2007 World Series apparently wasn’t enough for Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester.

When you’re a cancer survivor, you tend to believe that anything’s possible. No limits.

Lester tossed the 18th no-hitter in Red Sox history Monday night, striking out Kansas City’s Alberto Callaspo on his 130th and final pitch before disappearing under a swarm of jubilant teammates. He made history a mere 20 months after being diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

The kid knows drama better than TNT.

“I think I had more adrenaline going in the ninth inning than I did in the first inning, which I guess is normal for that situation,” he said. “It was great. The fans were great. They're on their feet yelling and screaming. It was probably one of the loudest times I've heard Fenway when I've been out there pitching."

Now Lester has another challenge: deciding which on-field achievement means more to him, the World Series clincher or the no-no.

"It's hard to describe," he said. "I think they're both definitely up there. The World Series is obviously the World Series. How many people get to say they won that? A no-hitter is a no-hitter. How many people can say they've done that? They're both up there. They both mean a heck of a lot to me. It's something I'll cherish for a long time.”

Lester’s achievement came eight months after Clay Buchholz no-hit the Orioles at Fenway Park. He’s the fourth Boston pitcher to do it this decade, joining Hideo Nomo (2001) and Derek Lowe (2002).

Getting his goose

Hall of Fame reliever Rich “Goose” Gossage is old-school. New York Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain treats the mound as if he’s on a playground and it’s recess.

It figures that the two would clash.

Gossage has gone public with his distain for Chamberlain’s fist-pumping celebrations after crucial strikeouts, saying the kid needs to act “more like a Yankee.”

“There’s no place for it,” Gossage said. “I still stand by that and I love Joba Chamberlain.”

In this instance, we’re talking tough love.

“We all have our own right to say how we feel,” Chamberlain said. “We talked. He has his opinion. He played the game the way he played the game. He was a man and he called me and told me where he was coming from, and I appreciate that.”

But only to a degree.

"It's going to be around because I'm not changing," Chamberlain said. "You know what? If people want to continue to talk about it, let them continue to talk about it. It's not going to hurt my feelings."

Star gazing

For the last four years, the Toronto Blue Jays’ system has produced the most players on the All-Star ballot. But that streak was broken in 2008, with the Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals tied for first place with 13 each, and the Blue Jays slipping into a six-way tie for sixth place with 10. The Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants have the fewest with three.

The All-Star candidates who began their careers with the Orioles are Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and David Dellucci. The Giants produced Yorvit Torrealba, Pedro Feliz and Daniel Ortmeier.

Here’s the team-by-team breakdown of the original organizations of the players on this year’s ballot:

Team	Players	Team	Players	Team	Players
Athletics	13	Blue Jays	10	Twins	8
Nationals	13	Diamondbacks	9	Mets	7
Braves	12	Dodgers	9	Red Sox	7
Indians	12	Angels	9	Royals	6
Mariners	12	Brewers	9	Cubs	5
Rockies	10	Rays	9	Reds	5
Marlins	10	Rangers	9	Padres	5
Cardinals	10	Astros	8	Tigers	5
White Sox	10	Phillies	8	Orioles	3
Yankees	10	Pirates	8	Giants	3

Small market, big spenders

Apparently, the Royals didn’t break the bank with that five-year, $55 million deal they bestowed upon pitcher Gil Meche two winters ago. They had enough left over to lock down their closer.

Joakim Soria and the Royals agreed to an $8.75 million, three-year contract extension over the weekend, with three club options included that could raise the value to about $32.75 million.

“It's a big deal for me, for my career and my family," said Soria, who just turned 24. "It's a lot of security for me and my family."

Soria opened the season with 16 2/3 scoreless innings until Jeremy Hermida broke the streak Friday night with a two-run homer. He regrouped in time to collect his 11th save.

Soria will make $1 million in 2009, $3 million in 2010 and $4 million in 2011. He’d receive a $750,000 buyout if the Royals decline to exercise the 2012 option.

Making not-so-sweet music

The Orioles probably won’t win the World Series this year, but maybe they can take home an MTV video award.

First baseman Kevin Millar, center fielder Adam Jones and pitchers Jeremy Guthrie, Adam Loewen, George Sherrill and Dennis Sarfate produced a video that’s shown on the big screen at Camden Yards after every win. Millar and Guthrie are the vocalists, lip-syncing the corny “Orioles Magic” song that used to blare over the PA system whenever the team took the field to start a game — a song that players hated and tried to have changed. Jones sits behind a drum kit, and Loewen mans the keyboard, at one point spinning around and playing behind his back. The rest are guitarists, though they’re better at posing than playing.

Manager Dave Trembley was invited to participate, but said he “very politely declined.”

“To say it in those terms, you can understand how I declined it. It wasn't as sugarcoated as I'm now doing it,” he said, grinning. “But it just goes along with these guys. They're having a good time. I think they're really trying to do some things to get the fans back into it, not only what they're doing on the field, but presenting an image where we're trying to get a little closer to the fans.

“I’ve got no problem with it (if) it's in good taste. I'm not so sure some of those clips I've seen are in good taste. I'll leave that to all you guys to write the reviews to it."

Too much information

If someone asks Jason Giambi “boxers or briefs,” he can respond “none of the above.”

And he won’t mean commando.

Giambi told the New York Daily News that he often wears a gold thong under his uniform pants when trying to end a slump. And being a good teammate, he’s let others, including Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, borrow it for the same purpose.

“Giambi’s a little freaky,” Mets manager Willie Randolph said. “I wouldn’t go there.”

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