Worth Rooting For

JB Lyric of the Day: "Then they're off to catch a stripper, with their eyes glued to her --, but I don't think that I would ever let 'em cut on me.''

Guess the tune, win a D. Baker toothpick.

Kent Mercker came back to baseball because, at 40, he figured he was too young to be spending his days packing his kids' school lunches. Also, because he missed The Guyz. They all miss The Guyz, and the surreal world of pro baseball, in which grown men are paid stupendous amounts of swag to spend hours in a clubhouse wearing compression shorts. And oh yes, perform a few hours a night.

Mercker estimates pitchers work hard 25 minutes a day down here. That's it. He said he worked harder being Mr. Mom. No wonder he wanted to come back.

Regardless, if he has anything left, maybe he makes the team as a lefty specialist. Maybe the Reds will eat Stanton's money. Mercker says he feels better now than before he blew his rotator cuff some 18 months ago. We'll see. Meantime, best of luck to one of the better guys down here.