It has been quite awhile since I blogged about baseball (despite my Giants having one of their best seasons in a long time), but this story is too good to pass up. Apparently, Chicago White Sox pitcher David Aardsma was not available to pitch recently because of a reading-related injury. From ESPN’s Jayson Stark’s Injuries of the week (scroll down):

• First prize: We’ve always thought it was sad that too many Americans think reading is painful. But maybe they have a case, after closer David Aardsma’s mishap this week. Aardsma was unavailable to pitch Tuesday with a sore back. And how did his back get so sore? From curling up, reading a book on the coast-to-coast flight from Seattle to Tampa on Monday. Ouch. Here’s our recommended reading for his next flight: “Excuses Begone!”

Back in December, Google announced that they had added lots of magazine content (archives and current issues) to Google Book Search. I started poking around this week, and have lost hours browsing back issues of Baseball Digest, Popular Science, and New York Magazine.

My favorite find (so far) is this February 1999 Baseball Digest, proclaiming Omar Vizquel as the best defensive shortstop in the majors.

Former Knicks star Walt Frazier was one of my earliest basketball heroes, so I also love this 1974 Jet cover.

More samples on the Stanford Library’s Information Center Blog.

Tim Lincecum escaped the dreaded Sports Illustrated cover jinx with a win over the Cubs tonight.

Lincecum pitched 6 solid innings, with 8 K’s, and even added an RBI single. I got home just in time to see Rich Aurilia hit a beautiful 3-run, pinch-hit homer in the 7th. Vizquel got a couple of hits too, which hopefully signals the start of the end of his horrible slump.

This is the kind of Giants team that could break my heart in September. I can see them staying close enough in the NL West to keep me hopeful until the end.

What a game! Great pitching, terrific fielding, fun on the bases, and just enough 9th inning tension to make you glad you stayed until the final out.
Matt Cain was simply phenomenal. The Giants didn’t even have anyone up in the bullpen until the 8th inning. A part of me wanted Bochy to give Cain the shot at a complete game, but bringing in Brian Wilson for his 23rd save of the season was obviously the right move.

Castillo’s diving stop and blind throw to first (while falling) in the 8th was even more amazing to watch live. That is the kind of play you practice as a little kid — the baseball equivalent of the game-winning half-court shot. Aaron Rowand and Fred Lewis both made amazing catches in the outfield as well.

This is a fun Giants team to watch … they have me excited about being 5 games out in the NL West.