Chris Davis, 2013 Topps Update All-Star Stitches #ASR-CD

Sometimes I feel like the ups and downs of a 162-game baseball season are going to give me whiplash. Mere hours after I lamented Steve Pearce's inability to deliver a timely grand slam in Monday night's loss to the Rays, Chris Davis blasted an 0-2 pitch from Erik Bedard (remember him?) that clanked off of the left field foul pole for a grand slam, giving the Orioles a 5-0 lead in the third inning of last night's game. Of course, the O's rarely make things easy (and fine, I guess their opponents get some of the credit), so within three innings Tampa Bay had whittled that big lead down to 5-4. Enter Pearce himself, who parked a Brad Boxberger pitch over the left field fence in the seventh inning for two big insurance runs. Ultimately the Birds won 7-5 thanks in large part to a grand slam and a Steve Pearce home run. You can't always get what you want, but when you do, it sure is wonderful.

J. J. Hardy, 2013 Topps Update All-Star Stitches #ASR-JH

I've been holding onto this one for a while, but I'll post it for the sake of goofy superstition. J. J. Hardy is having an odd sort of season. After hitting 30, 22, and 25 home runs in his first three seasons in Baltimore, the Birds' All-Star shortstop has yet to go deep in 2014. It's not like the hits aren't falling for Hardy; he's batting .287, comfortably above his career average of .261, and his 14 doubles are nearly halfway to his career high of 31. Nonetheless, J. J.'s suffering a power outage reminiscent of Cesar Izturis. He's also had a rough week with the glove, committing a total of four errors last Thursday and Friday, leading to a pair of close losses. So I am offering up a piece of blue fabric that was supposedly part of an article of clothing worn by Hardy himself during last year's All-Star festivities in Queens. Look upon it and send your positive, power-hitting, clean-fielding vibes to #2.

"Think it'll work?"

"It would take a miracle."