Touch 'Em All: Indians' Perez appealing Twitter fine

It's not the money, it's the principle that has Cleveland closer Chris Perez riled.

He's considering appealing a $750 fine from Major League Baseball for posting what they call a "reckless" message on his Twitter account after batters for both the Indians and Royals were hit by pitches, touching off two bench-clearing tussles last Saturday in Kansas City.

To wit: "Huge team win tonight; time for a sweep to tell the Royals it's not 'Our Time', it's #TribeTime. P.S. You hit us, we hit you. Period."

"[The fine] caught me off guard," Perez said Friday. He says he just wants some tweeting guidelines. "If I crossed the line, fine, but what's the line?"

(Um, could it be saying you will hit them?)

Anyway, Perez is OK with being a martyr for athletic social-media freedom. "I'm getting the most publicity out of it."

(You're welcome, Chris.)

In the top of the seventh of Baltimore's 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, the game was delayed by that ever-popular event, someone running onto the field at Comiskey Park (OK, it's really U.S. Cellular Field, but it should be Comiskey, dagnabbit).

Except, this really was entertaining, and it wasn't even a cat, squirrel, sausage, or president.

Seems a little boy about 4 or 5 years old slipped through a barricade and went running across the outfield. With the crowd laughing, White Sox leftfielder Dayan Viciedo scooped him up and handed him over to a security guard for the put-out. (Literally - the little kid and his family were ejected from the stadium, in a strict reading of MLB rules - but no charges were filed, the team said. (What, no time-out space? With all those pro athletes around?)

At least there was no tasering, streaking, or upchucking. (Though we can't vouch for the car ride home - who knows how much cotton candy that kid had before he lost control? Next: MLB halts candy sales after the seventh.)

So, the Cincinnati Reds have their 10,000th win to go with their five world titles. They are also one of the clubs nearing 10,000 losses - along with the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. Of course, while the Cubbies and Bucs could hit the mark as soon as 2014, it may take four or five years for the Redlegs to join the club with the charter-member Phillies, who made it in, uh, 2007.

Lest it get lost in all the hoopla over Fenway's 100th birthday celebration: Friday was also the 73d anniversary of the major-league debut of Ted Williams, who has to be near the top of anybody's list of the greatest ballplayers of all time. (That stint flying in combat in World War II and Korea gets him extra credit from us.) Batting sixth on April 20, 1939, the Splendid Splinter went 1 for 4 with a double off Red Ruffing, striking out twice in a 2-0 Red Sox loss to the Yankees.