Alfonso Marquez

There's a plaque in front of the house where Alfonso Marquez was born. "Obviously," said friend and colleague Larry Barrett, "he's a celebrity." But not for anything he did. Rather, the 1,800 people in Marquez's poor, dusty hometown of La Encarnacion, Zacatecas, in central Mexico, remember him for what he didn't do. He didn't forget them. It would have been easy to do just that, of course.

There's a plaque in front of the house where Alfonso Marquez was born. "Obviously," said friend and colleague Larry Barrett, "he's a celebrity." But not for anything he did. Rather, the 1,800 people in Marquez's poor, dusty hometown of La Encarnacion, Zacatecas, in central Mexico, remember him for what he didn't do. He didn't forget them. It would have been easy to do just that, of course.

Adam LaRoche became the first player to have a home run taken away by video replay, but it didn't prevent the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates from beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2, on Wednesday. LaRoche's long drive with a runner on in the first inning struck a railing or a small protective screen above the 21-foot wall in right field -- both objects are in play -- but first base umpire Lance Barksdale signaled a home run.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- This won't be the last we see of the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays battling it out for the American League East title or even playing each other in the AL Championship Series. Boston has talented young players it can supplement with high-priced free-agent and trade acquisitions, thanks to a generous payroll that reached $133 million this season. Tampa Bay, despite its $48-million payroll, has some of the game's best young position players in B.J.

Steve Schmoll's career plans dramatically changed the day his arm slot did the same. He was a fifth-year senior at Maryland, a top premed student and an average pitcher, when he began throwing sidearm. Within months he became a pro prospect, shelved his dream of becoming a doctor and signed with the Dodgers for $70,000 in May 2003. Less than two years later, he notched his first major league victory and first save on successive nights.

Scot Shields has a 3.54 earned-run average in 18 appearances, limiting opponents to nine hits in 66 at-bats in 20 1/3 innings, a statistical line most relievers would be glad to have. So, why are so many wondering what's wrong with the Angels right-hander? Two reasons: Four of the hits Shields has given up were home runs, two of them game winners, including Cleveland slugger Travis Hafner's three-run shot April 12 and Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz's walk-off shot Sunday.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon today to break up a crowd of demonstrators celebrating the defeat of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, 54.7% to 43%, in a plebiscite on his rule. The entire 16-member Cabinet submitted their resignations early today, Labor Minister Alfonso Marquez de la Plata told reporters. He also said the assistant ministry officials resigned. He gave no further details.

Power in the American League West may reside in Seattle and Oakland, who were playing Tuesday. But the better show was in Anaheim, where the Angels and Texas Rangers were playing. By the time the Angels rallied for a 6-5 victory in the 10th inning on Darin Erstad's game-winning double, there had been something for all the 15,385 at Edison Field to enjoy.

By Tuesday, Kenny Rogers, St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa and the umpires had all offered their explanations as to how the yellowy-brown substance had stuck to the Detroit left-hander's thumb and how it was removed. The World Series was prepared to move on, at least until Rogers' next start, which is scheduled for Game 6, until Cardinals hitting coach Hal McRae jumped in with further indictment of the Tigers left-hander.

The Orange County Commission on the Status of Women has named five high school students as winners of its "Women in History" essay contest. The winners--Veronica Gianesini of Foothill High in North Tustin, Laura Paik of Ocean View High in Huntington Beach, Helen L. Chen of Valencia High in Placentia, Kristina Larsen of Gilbert West High in Buena Park, and Christa Cerciello of Laguna Hills High in Laguna Hills--each received $130.

Reporting from Phoenix -- Clayton Kershaw was dissatisfied with how he threw his slider Sunday in the Dodgers' 7-1 defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers. In fact, Kershaw hasn't liked the way he has thrown the pitch this spring. "It's not where I'd like it to be," Kershaw said. The slider has been widely credited for transforming Kershaw from a high-ceiling prospect to a star. Looking for an off-speed pitch that could be called for a strike, Kershaw began throwing the slider with regularity in the second half of the 2010 season.