I'm always amazed by what folks adept at technology can do with baseball GIFs and the new way to see cool things about the sport that go unseen by the naked eye.  This one from Reddit user DShep is just as mesmerizing as R.A. Dickey's knuckleball in slow motion.... and maybe even a little trippy.  5 Yu Darvish pitches shown as if they were happening at the same time.  It not only shows the incredible array of pitches Darvish has in his repetoire, but also just how hard it is to be a Major League hitter.

[Reddit] 

During Wednesday's Pirates-Phillies game, the much-maligned Domonic Brown made a catch in the top of the fifth inning that even his harshest critics had to respect. With none out, Pirates shortstop John McDonald hit a sinking liner to left field that looked destined to be a double. Brown got on his horse, stretched his arm to its absolute limits, and dove, somehow managing to bring in the McDonald fly ball and save Roy Halladay's bacon. The Phillies would go on to lose the game 5-3, but you can't point the finger at Brown in this one, who also went 2/4 at the plate in addition to making his incredible catch.

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NEW YORK – Though we’re just 20 games into the young season and temperatures in New York have struggled to surpass 50 degrees, Wednesday marked the official start of “All-Star Summer” in New York City. The Mets and Major League Baseball hosted a press conference at New York’s City Hall with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to announce the commencement of balloting (“Vote Early, Vote Often”) and to highlight some of the major initiatives around the 2013 Midsummer Classic to be played at Citi Field on July 16.

Joining Hizzoner for the festivities were Tim Brosnan, MLB’s Executive Vice President, Business; six-time National League All-Star third baseman David (“Captain America”) Wright of the Mets; and former Mets players (and current Club Ambassadors) Edgardo Alfonzo, John Franco and Mookie Wilson. Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz of the Mets also attended and Mets announcers Gary Cohen and Howie Rose facilitated a question and answer session with the players.

“Are they all going to help make it a great time?” Mayor Bloomberg quipped in his opening remarks before channeling his inner Tug McGraw. “Ya gotta believe!”

We've written way too many words about the closer situation in Detroit this year. But the Tigers finally pulled the trigger after three weeks of screwing around, and they reinstalled Jose Valverde into the ninth inning job on Wednesday. Of course, despite all of the warning signs Valverde showed last year, he threw a perfect ninth to save the Tigers' 7-5 win over the Royals. However, the outing wasn't perfect, as Valverde didn't record one whiff in his 18 pitches, didn't strike a batter out, and threw nothing but fastballs in his first inning of the season. You can't draw conclusions from one outing, especially one where the results were so contradictory of the process like yesterday.

PIC OF THE DAY

Diamondbacks shortsop Didi Gregorius gets upended by Brandon Crawford of the Giants.

Game of the Day: Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2 (ten innings). Arizona won a wild extra innings affair for the second straight day by the bay. The Snakes trailed 1-0 heading into the eighth, but AJ Pollock singled in Gerardo Parra against Madison Bumgarner to tie the game up at one. The Diamondbacks took the lead in the ninth after Parra rapped a single to left off of Jose Mijares, bringing in Didi Gregorius. With JJ Putz unavailable for Arizona, David Hernandez came on for the save, but Brandon Crawford sent the game to extra innings with a solo homer off of Hernandez. But in the tenth, a Wil Nieves sac fly off of Chad Gaudin brought Paul Goldschmidt home to put Arizona back on top. Matt Reynolds came on to finish the game off, and pitched around a two out double from Brandon Belt to record his second save of the season.

The Tigers have a bullpen problem. Not only have their relievers been largely ineffective, but now they are dealing with depth issues after placing Octavio Dotel on the disabled list. These struggles should come as no surprise because the Tigers had bullpen problems in 2012 as well. What will come as a surprise is that the Tigers seem to think that they can solve their 2013 problems by relying on a pitcher from their 2012 bullpen that was arguably their biggest problem. That would be the recently called up Jose Valverde.

As you might recall, the last time we saw Papa Grande, he was "closing" for Detroit in the 2012 playoffs, only he wasn't getting anyone out. He showed a marked decline in skills all throughout last season before finally cratering in October. As such, Detroit did the smart thing and kicked Valverde to the curb. That was where the smart moves stopped. Despite the loss of their closer and a bullpen already thin on talent, the Tigers did literally nothing to address their relief corps. They neither signed nor traded for anyone. Their apparent plan was to rely on rookie Bruce Rondon to close and maybe find some depth from a healthy Al Albuquerque.

The plaque commemorating Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run has been stolen from AT&T Park in San Francisco, according to reports from the team.

The commemorative plaque honoring home run king Barry Bonds' record 756th clout has gone missing from AT&T Park.

San Francisco Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said Tuesday night that the reigning World Series champions are in the process of replacing the plaque, which hung on the brick facade inside the ballpark beneath the flag court area in right-center field until a few days ago. The team is investigating where the missing hardware might be, Slaughter said.

"We're in the process of replacing it," Slaughter said. "We're not sure what happened. We're reviewing video, but haven't found anything yet."

There is still white glue on the brick wall where the plaque used to be.

Bonds is still a divisive figure across baseball, with the exception of in San Francisco, where he played the final 15 seasons of his 22 year career. He finished with a record 762 home runs, 2558 walks, and seven MVP awards, yet received just 36.2% of the vote on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot because of his alleged ties to performance enhancing drugs. 

[ESPN]

Alfredo Aceves of the Boston Red Sox did not have himself a good night on Tuesday. Aceves' Red Sox lost 13-0 to the A's in seven innings, and Aceves had a historically bad performance. He threw just 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits, walking four, and striking out three. Aceves also balked twice, and committed a throwing error. No pitcher has put together a statline like that, though Jesus Sanchez of the disastrous 1998 Marlins came pretty close (three innings, five hits, seven runs, four walks, two strikeouts, two balks). But hey, Sanchez's 19 game score managed to best Aceves' 15 game score from Tuesday. The former Yankee now has a 8.66 ERA in 17 2/3 innings, and you've gotta wonder if he's nearing the end of the line in Boston.

PIC OF THE DAY

Bryce Harper hustles to second base, losing his helmet in the process (Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports ).

Game of the Night: Yankees 4, Rays 3. Despite Joe Maddon bringing a cockatoo into the clubhouse, the Rays couldn't overcome the Yankees. The game was tied at one through six, but a Jose Molina RBI single in the seventh put the Rays on top 2-1. The Yankees stormed back in the eighth, tying the game after an RBI groundout from Brett Gardner. In the ninth, a two-run single from Ichiro off of Fernando Rodney gave New York a 4-2 lead. The Rays cut the lead to one after Evan Longoria hit a solo homer to lead off their half of the ninth, but Mariano Rivera retired the next three batters in order to preserve the victory.

Well, that was quick. Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley will undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday and will be out for the rest of the season. The team placed Billingsley on the DL on Sunday with pain in his right elbow, and the surgery was definitely a possibility.

This just beats home the point that instead of attempting to rehab an elbow injury that may require Tommy John, a pitcher should just suck it up and get the surgery. Billingsley was initially placed on the DL last July with an inflammed elbow and he threw just 57 innings following the initial DL stint. Billingsley wasn't the same pitcher following his return, striking out 34 hitters and walking 16 in those 57 innings, a substantial drop from his typical strikeout and walk rates.

Billingsley will make $12 million next season, the final year of a three year, $35 million deal signed prior to the 2011 season. The Dodgers also have a $14 million club option with a $3 million buyout for 2015. Billingsley likely won't end up being ready for Opening Day next season, putting Los Angeles in a difficult place to start next year.

As for this season, things are quickly spiraling down the drain with Billingsley, Zack Greinke, and Chris Capuano all hurt. Ted Lilly will rejoin the Dodgers rotation on Friday against the Brewers, but he only threw 48 2/3 innings last season after shoulder surgery in May ended his year. The schedule for Dodgers is only going to be getting more difficult after they leave New York and head back to Los Angeles, so they're really going to need Lilly and the recently recalled Stephen Fife to step up and hold the fort down until Greinke and Capuano are healthy.

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Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon has a new friend. Her name is Mindy, an umbrella cockatoo. Maddon has been pushing all of the right buttons with the Rays lately, as they've won four straight. Including in that winning streak is a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics, who came to Tropicana Field with a 12-4 record. Maddon brought the cockatoo and her trainer into into the clubhouse to keep the mood light and his team relaxed.

Eccentric behavior is nothing new for Maddon, who brought a DJ into the Rays clubhouse on Saturday and a magician on Sunday. Today, he's brought in a bird. I wonder what's on tap for tomorrow.

[Marc Topkin]

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The Los Angeles Dodgers' $147 million pitcher is out with a broken collarbone, suffered in a silly on-field skirmish. 

The team's best position player is hitting .235 with a .564 OPS, no home runs and six RBI. 

Worst of all, the Dodgers have an 8-10 record after their first 18 games, putting them fourth in the NL West, five games out of first place.

This is not the start that the Dodgers, their fans and observers throughout baseball imagined for a team that looked like MLB's new free-spending superpower. 

Expectations were sky high in Chavez Ravine going into this season. The Dodgers had an opening day payroll of $216 million, second only to the New York Yankees. (The Dodgers were actually on top, until the Yankees acquired Vernon Wells and $10 million to $12 million of 2013 salary.)

It's been just over a year since the Guggenheim Baseball Management group headed by Mark Walter, Stan Kasten and Magic Johnson took over ownership of the Dodgers.