There could be some history made on Friday night in Buffalo. Mike Hessman of the Toledo Mudhens needs one more homer to break the all-time International League career home run mark. Before you say "big deal" as I was tempted to do, you should know who Mike Hessman is and how he made this journey over a long and varied career. First off he was born in Fountain Valley, California, and grew into the dimensions of a true slugger. He is 65" and 215 pounds. He was chosen in the 15th round of the 1996 MLB draft by Atlanta. He made it to the "Show" with the Braves in 2003. He had a long looping swing and struck out too much and generally over a short-lived big league career, the 3B/1B also seemed to be stuck behind better players such as Chipper Jones. Besides Atlanta, Hessman also made pit stops in Detroit and with the New York Mets between 2003 and 2010, hitting .188 with 14 home runs. Over time Hessman became a fixture in the International League. Now 36, he has slugged 258 homers in the "I" to tie the late Ollie Carnegie, who spent the bulk of his career playing in Buffalo. Carnegie played his final season with the Bisons in 1945. These two were a study in physical contrasts. While Hessman is 65", Carnegie was only 57" and weighed 175 pounds. Surely the Major League home run record is more impressive and more prestigious. Babe Ruth broke Roger Connors career mark of 138 back in 1921. The Bambino ran that total up to 714 by 1935, and that mark endured until Hank Aaron broke it on April 8, 1974 at Atlanta against Al Downing and the Dodgers. So Babe Ruth held the career home run record for 53 years. Carnegies mark of 258 has stood since the year he retired as a player in 1945. If you do the math, thats 69 years. Oddly enough Carnegie never played in the Majors, largely because he didnt start playing pro ball on a regular basis until he joined Buffalo at age 32 in 1931. Before that he played mainly semi-pro or amateur ball and held down a regular job. Nowadays 258 home runs doesnt sound like all that imposing a number. But remember today, its all about player development. If you dont make the Majors by your mid-20s or maybe late 20s if youre lucky, youre going to be out of a job. You have to have a special talent and be a unique individual, as Mike Hessman must be to stick around until the age of 36. Hessman had a bit of a scare about a week ago. He had to have some tissue removed from his nose and his forehead. Luckily it proved to be non-cancerous. He missed three games this week waiting for the swelling on his face to go down, then went 0-for-3 at Coca-Cola Field on Thursday afternoon. Friday night is the series finale at Buffalo and it would only seem fitting that he would hit his 259th homer in the city where Ollie Carnegie spent the bulk of his career and is enshrined in the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. When Hessman ultimately does break this record, he has other mountains to climb. He is also third on the all-time list of homers hit in the minors. Buzz Arlett is number one with 432, Nick Cullop has 420 and Hessman checks in with 403. Scoring Big Pitching and defence may win championships, but you cant deny the fact that the Blue Jays offence could carry them a long way. Theyve scored 311 runs in 61 games and slugged 87 homers, tops in the American League in both categories. You can add the total home runs for the Royals and Yankees and get 77, 10 fewer than the Jays, or the Rangers and Red Sox and get 85, still two less than the Blue Jays. In the runs scored category, the Jays have rung up 57 more than the second-best team in their division - Baltimore (254) - and then you drop off to Boston and the Yankees at 240 and Tampa Bay at a paltry 228. Boston was the runaway leader in runs scored in the American League last season with 853 and ultimately won the World Series. Im just saying. Unusual Moments This is something that happens so rarely in baseball, yet it happened twice in the last week. The Angels Garrett Richards and Clevelands Justin Masterson both struck out the side on nine pitches. Another oddity came on Wednesday when the Phillies 35-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins struck out four times in a game for the first time in his career, earning the famed "Golden Sombrero". The opposing pitcher though was Washingtons Stephen Strasburg, so well cut Rollins some slack. Rollins incidently is up to 2,226 hits now for his career. He needs nine more to pass Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt as the Phillies all-time hits leader. Since the Phils are having such a dismal season, the feeling is growing that Rollins will waive his 10-and-5 rights and will agree to a trade once the record is broken. The Tigers would be a perfect fit. The Atlanta Braves lead the National League East. Yet strangely enough, they have been held to 0 or 1 runs in a game a Major League-high 18 times. At the Draft If youre wondering why the Blue Jays used their ninth-overall pick in the Draft Thursday night to take a pitcher who just had Tommy John surgery in May, consider this. Veteran baseball writer Danny Knobler has seen Jeff Hoffman out of East Carolina pitch and said this of him: "He could be Justin Verlanders brother". Say no more! Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey . The Oilers jumped into the free agent market early by signing defencemen Keith Aulie (six-foot-six, 228 pounds) and Mark Fayne (6-3, 210 pounds) and left-winger Benoit Pouliot (6-3, 197-pounds). Two days earlier MacTavish traded lightweight forward Sam Gagner to Tampa Bay for 6-3, 203-pound right winger Ted Purcell. Michael Gallup Jersey .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. http://www.thecowboysfansmall.com/c-101-...son-jersey.aspx. LeBron James believes hes a major reason for their early failures. Leighton Vander Esch Cowboys Jersey . Pierre last November, only to watch St. Pierre leave the UFC octagon with his welterweight title belt and a split-decision victory. Michael Gallup Cowboys Jersey .Brazil midfielder Ricardo Goulart scored the winner in the 50th minute to give the defending champion a four-point advantage in the standings over second-place Sao Paulo, which beat rival Palmeiras 2-0.MANCHESTER, England -- Liverpool underlined its new-found superiority over Manchester United with a humbling 3-0 victory over its great rival on Sunday, virtually ending the beleaguered champions chances of qualifying for the Champions League. On the darkest day of David Moyes tumultuous first season at Old Trafford, United was outclassed as Steven Gerrard converted two penalties -- and missed a third -- and Luis Suarez completed the crushing win with his 25th goal of the campaign. Liverpool moved up to second and within four points of leader Chelsea with a game in hand, and can realistically aim to win a first league title since 1990. "To come here and dominate from start to finish, were still going away slightly disappointed that we didnt score more goals," said Gerrard, whose penalties came in the 34th and 46th minutes. "Weve showed today that we are genuine contenders and we are going to fight to the end for this." While Liverpool capitalized on Chelseas 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday with another effervescent attacking display, United couldnt be at a lower ebb after being humiliated in arguably the biggest match in English football, which was watched by Argentina great Diego Maradona. Their defending was shambolic and reckless -- there could have been more than three penalties awarded -- and Nemanja Vidic was sent off for his second booking in the lead-up to the third spot kick that Gerrard struck against the post in the 78th. Moyes has a massive job to pick his team up in time for Wednesday, when United tries to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Olympiakos in the Champions Leagues last 16. That is their final shot at silverware. "Its a nightmare," United striker Wayne Rooney said after the teams fifth home defeat in the league, which left it 12 points off fourth-place Manchester City having played two more games. "Its one of the worst days Ive ever had in football." Liverpool had lost on its previous six visits to Old Trafford and seemingly had an inferiority complex whenever it came to the home of its biggest foe. No more. Brendan Rodgers men were brighter and more courageous on the ball, played at a quicker tempo and were more incisive going forward..dddddddddddd For the first time in a generation, they were widely seen as favourites for a match at United, even in the opinion of Moyes. It could have been 6-0 or 7-0 by the end as Liverpool ran amok. In the closing stages, with United down to 10 men and having virtually given up, it evoked memories of the 6-1 home loss to Manchester City two seasons ago. Liverpool has gone from finishing 28 points behind United, the champions last season, to being 14 points ahead of them this season. "The biggest thing of where we have come in the last year is belief," Rodgers said. "I was probably surprised before the game when we were supposedly coming to Old Trafford at favourites. I would never say that at Liverpool, even if we were bottom. Anfield is Anfield and we expect to win. We have a mentality that I have been developing that we expect to win." United hadnt had a chance of note by the time Liverpool deservedly went ahead, at the culmination of a disastrous 90 seconds for Rafael da Silva. Soon after earning a yellow card for a reckless lunge at Gerrard, the Brazilian right back was caught out of position from a deep cross from Liverpools right, allowing Suarez to bring the ball down and past Rafael in one touch. Rafael flicked out a hand and gave away a penalty that Gerrard dispatched into the corner with some aplomb. Fans were still filtering back to their seats after halftime when Phil Jones barged into Joe Allen in the area, 23 seconds after the restart. There were no complaints when the referee awarded a penalty and Gerrard found the right corner again, this time low down, for his seventh successful spot kick in 2014. By the middle of the second half, Liverpool was stringing passes together to a soundtrack of "Oles" from the Liverpool visitors. The superiority of the visitors was marked and United was just way off the pace. "Its difficult to explain," Moyes said. It got even worse for Moyes beleaguered side when Vidic was given a second yellow card for bringing down Sturridge in the box in the 77th. Gerrard struck a low effort against the post but Liverpool wasnt to be denied a third, Sturridge slipping a pass through for Suarez to collect and shoot home. 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