Who's Hot Who's Not
Who's Hot
PIE
Baltimore's Felix Pie hit a seventh-inning triple in a 16--6 win over the Angels last Friday to complete his first cycle—but he didn't realize it until third base coach Juan Samuel explained why everyone was cheering. The cycle by Pie (actually pronounced PEE-ay) was the seventh in the majors in 2009, the most since 1933.
MOLINA BROTHERS
All three catchers could reach the playoffs. Backup Jose and the Yanks are pulling away in the AL East, Yadier (.378 in August) is atop the NL Central with the Cards, and red-hot Bengie (.333, four homers in nine games) has the Giants in the thick of the NL wild-card race.
CHRISTIAN CANTWELL
The shot put silver medalist in Beijing got a little revenge at the worlds in Berlin, beating gold medalist Tomasz Majewski of Poland. Cantwell, of Jefferson City, Mo., threw 72'3½" on his penultimate attempt to win by four inches. "I did what I wanted to do, and it feels great," he said.
ALVARO QUIROS
The long-hitting Spaniard wowed crowds, and foes, at the PGA last week. Quiros, who finished 24th, hit the green in two on the 606-yard 11th hole as Tiger Woods's group was putting on Friday. A grinning Woods called the shot—a driver—"absolutely phenomenal."
Who's Not
BROWNIES
The Eric Mangini Era in Cleveland looks suspiciously like the Romeo Crennel Era. Coming off a 4--12 nightmare, the Browns, who haven't scored an offensive TD since Nov. 17, were dumped by the Packers 17--0 in their preseason opener. Said new boss Mangini, "I don't really think we achieved any of [our] objectives.
WILLIAMS SISTERS
Anything you can do, I can do uglier. Venus crashed in the third round of the Cincinnati Open with 38 unforced errors against No. 10 Flavia Pennetta. Hours later, Serena made 44 in a loss to unseeded Sybille Bammer. Said Serena, "I never played worse in my life."
KYLE ORTON
The Broncos' new quarterback threw picks on his first three possessions, then watched his backup, Chris Simms, rally Denver with two TDs against the 49ers. Coach Josh McDaniels insisted that Orton's job isn't in jeopardy: "I feel very confident in where we're at, O.K.?"
KYLE BUSCH
He lost last Saturday's Nationwide race in Michigan on the last lap, then nearly came to blows with Brian Vickers. The next day his Chase chances took a huge hit—Busch is now 15th—when he finished 23rd in the Sprint Cup race. To make matters worse: Sunday's winner? Vickers.
SI PLAYERS MLB POLL
WHICH PLAYER GETS THE LEAST OUT OF THE MOST TALENT?
Wily Mo Pena, free-agent OF 13%
Daniel Cabrera, Triple A (D-backs) P 8%
Elijah Dukes, Nationals OF 6%
J.D. Drew, Red Sox OF 6%
Mike MacDougal, Nationals P 4%
FAST FACTS
The 27-year-old Pena, a National last season and cut by the Mets' Triple A affiliate in June, was second to the Phils' Ryan Howard in a 2008 SI Players Poll asking, Which player has the most raw power? From 2004 through '06 Pena hit 56 homers in 923 big league at bats.... Cabrera, who throws in the high 90s, was 0--5 with a 5.85 ERA when cut by the Nats on May 27; Arizona gave him a minor league deal earlier this month.
Based on a survey of 380 MLB players
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MIKE ROEMER/AP (MANGINI)
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KEVIN C. COX/GETTY IMAGES (SERENA)
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BOB MARTIN (CANTWELL)
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SAM GREENWOOD/GETTY IMAGES (QUIROS)
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KYLE TERADA/US PRESSWIRE (CABRERA)
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MARK CUNNINGHAM/GETTY IMAGES (PENA)