Class act

John Olerud, who was released by the Mariners on July 23, has signed with the Yankees and will play first base in the absence of Jason Giambi, who is on the 15-day disabled list after being diagnosed with a benign tumour.

The 'class act' in all of this, however, is current first-base stand-in Tony Clark - thanks go to Alex over at Bronx Banter for pointing me in the direction of a New York Daily News article on Clark vacating his spot at first base in order to make place for Olerud. Clark's team-first philosophy can be summed up in one phrase:

"It's about winning ballgames. It's about being the last team standing. You can check your egos and your personal dreams at the door short of winning the World Series."

I'm not saying that Clark is the only player to have this kind of attitude, but it is the kind of thing that helps reconcile me now and again with the seemingly all-powerful 'Dark Side of the Pinstripe'.