WEEKLINGS

Quote of the week

Twins rookie Nick Blackburn, on the amount of air time the video of him being hit in the face by a line drive off the bat of Bobby Abreu last Sunday has received: "My cousin told me I'm getting more attention for that than if I threw a no-hitter." Blackburn got his glove up in time to deflect the ball and avoid serious injury. He's expected to make his scheduled start tonight in Chicago.

Stat of the week

The Tampa Bay Rays, who have never had a winning season, went into last night's game at Fenway Park needing to go just 55-48 the rest of the way to end the season with 90 wins.

Remembrance of the week

As recently as this spring, Joe Lewis, who passed away last Saturday at age 102, was a fixture in the scouts section during Tigers games in Lakeland, Fla.

Lewis was a remarkable man, and not just because of his longevity. He didn't begin scouting until retiring from government work more than 40 years ago. In a career that included stops in Houston, Washington, Texas, Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit and Colorado, he played a role in signing many future big-leaguers including Ron Darling, Walt Terrell, Steve Nagy and Tony Fossas.

He was a true character of the game who will be missed.

One-man band of the week

Rockies starter Aaron Cook is 8-3 on a team that is 22-38. Colorado is 9-4 when he pitches and 12-34 when anybody else is on the mound. *

- Paul Hagen