It's a feat that's even more rare than a perfect game (17 in major-league history), or even a player hitting four home runs in a game (15 times).

Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians turned the 14th unassisted triple play in major-league history on Monday night.

In a scoreless game, Marco Scutaro was on first and Kevin Mench was on second in the fifth inning of the second game of a doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Toronto called a hit-and-run, and both Mench and Scutaro were running with the pitch by Cliff Lee. Cabrera made a diving catch on a line drive by Lyle Overbay, then touched second base to retire Mench, then tagged out Scutaro, who was on his way to second.

Cabrera was on the ball in the field, but not immediately after the play. He flipped the ball into the stands as he ran to the dugout.

"As he did, he cried out, 'Oh, no!' " first-base coach Luis Rivera told the Associated Press, serving as the Venezuelan's interpreter.

"I knew it was pretty special," Cabrera said.

It was only the 14th unassisted triple play in history, but the fourth since 2000. Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki made the last unassisted triple play in the majors, last April 29 against Atlanta. Oakland's Randy Velarde last turned one in the AL on May 29, 2000, against the Yankees.

There was a gap of 41 years without one, from 1927 to 1968. But they also came on back-to-back days back in 1927 as well, on May 30 and 31, by the Chicago Cubs' Jimmy Cooney and the Detroit Tigers' Johnny Neun.

And in another bizarre coincidence, a player who turned one was in attendance. Ron Hansen of the Washington Senators, who turned his on July 30, 1968, is an advance scout for the Phillies, who play Toronto this weekend. As a shortstop, he accomplished the same feat in the same manner, a line drive caught with runners on first and second with a hit-and-run on.

"I get asked about it all the time," Hansen told the AP. "They didn't have one for 41 years before me and then another 22 after I did it. It's that rare."

Even rarer: I'm sure this is the only time in baseball history that a team lost despite turning an unassisted triple play and while its pitcher (Lee) threw nine shutout innings. Cleveland lost 3-0 in 10 innings. Proof that you'll never know what you'll see in a ballpark on any given night.

Click here for a list of the unassisted triple plays in history.

It's only ninth on the all-time list, but the next pitcher to accomplish what Greg Maddux did on Saturday night probably hasn't even been born yet.

Heck, in an age of pitch counts and six-man starting rotations, it might not ever happen again. Maddux, 42, won his 350th career game, a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night in San Diego.

In a drug-enhanced era when all the records will be questioned, Maddux's accomplishments won't be, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wrote:

"Now, when we look at numbers, the stats can tell us an entirely different story. We discover that, for players such as Maddux, there is circumstantial evidence of honesty.

"The season when [Roger] Clemens was 36, his ERA was 4.60; Maddux's was 2.62. After that, Clemens somehow pitched younger, going 18-4 at 41, then posting a preposterous 1.87 ERA at 42. Now, from baseball's own report, we assume we know part of the reason. Maddux, on the other hand, got old just as players had for the previous century. In his last five full seasons, his ERA has ranged from 3.96 to 4.24, yet he's still averaged 15 wins a year (14-11 in '07). His diminishing fastball has, at times, barely broken 80 mph."

There are 11 active pitchers that are within 200 wins of Maddux, and all are at least 35 years old. Put it this way: If C.C. Sabathia averages 18 wins for the next 13 seasons, which is a high estimate for anybody, he still won't be equal Maddux, and he'll be 40.

And it's another victory for the 1-2-3 punch of the Atlanta Braves' great staff of the 1990s: Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Glavine and Smoltz are on the disabled list right now.

"There's never been a better one-two-three on a staff - ever," the Braves' Chipper Jones told the Sporting News about the trio's 863 wins, plus 154 saves by Smoltz. "When I look back, playing with them will be the good old days."

And you thought that the big danger about baseball bats was a bounce-off effect from metal composites. And sure, there is still a lingering problem in youth baseball and rec-league softball, where 21st-century engineering can produce bats that have a trampoline effect on whatever strikes it, firing the ball at speeds that are faster than the reaction time of the typical player.

But 19th-century technology still has its dangers as well.

In the early 2000s, Barry Bonds' use of a maple bat instead of the traditional ash created a frenzy among pro baseball players. Now about half of the players in the majors use maple, thinking they can hit the ball like Bonds.

(Alas, it doesn't look like the bat was the correct variable.)

Anyway, maple is a harder wood, and many players swear by it these days. But there's a reason maple wasn't used in the first place. While ash cracks under pressure, maple shatters, sending shards of sharp wood everywhere.

In the dugout of a game on April 15 in Los Angeles, the maple bat of the Pittsburgh Pirates' Nate McClouth bat shattered on a hit and a piece of the bat flew into the dugout, opening a huge gash in the cheek of his hitting coach, Don Long.

“Didn’t see it at all,” Long told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. “It just hit me. I backed up. I saw the blood coming out on the card I keep and on my shoes.”

The piece of maple cut nerves in Long's cheek and a doctor had to remove the wood before he sewed in 10 stitches.

Who will be next? Perhaps a player or an umpire or, worse yet, a fan. And studies show very little difference between ash and maple in performance.

What will happen next? A movement is afoot to either ban maple or at least change the shape of the bat handle. Passan carves into the issue more on Yahoo Sports.

It really is a sad story how the Roger Clemens story is playing out. We've watched the greatest pitcher of a generation deal with steroids allegations the wrong way, fight back the wrong way, and now watch him as he has to squirm through tawdry allegations of infidelity, including a long affair with a country singer who was 15 years old when Clemens met her.

In a series by the New York Daily News this week, the wheels have come off his credibility. Clemens denied an improper relationship with a teenaged Mindy McCready - the worst allegation that's come out so far - but some think this all sounds a lot like Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. McCready acknowledged the affair to the Daily News.

It makes you wonder if Clemens had taken a more subdued tactic off the bat. How different would life for Clemens be if he had simply offered a no-comment, or even a quick denial, when the Mitchell Report came out? It would have been bad for the media, but probably very different for Clemens.

He then probably wouldn't have been called before a Congressional committee to testify against his former trainer, Brian McNamee, or at least he would have declined testifying. He then wouldn't have been under investigation for perjury. And he wouldn't have filed a defamation suit against McNamee. And then the other details of his personal life wouldn't have become an issue in court.

Clemens made his own bed in all of this, and it's a huge blow to his defamation case.

"I know that many people want to know what I have to say about the recent articles in the media. Even though these articles contain many false accusations and mistakes, I need to say that I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry," Clemens said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. "I have apologized to my family and apologize to my fans," Clemens said. "Like everyone, I have flaws. I have sometimes made choices which have not been right."

For years, and in the past few months, too.

Background: Clemens vs. McNamee.

A month into the season, and the three teams that are considered the top contenders in the American League Central are all puzzled at their lack of punch.

And all three took aggressive and/or questionable tactics to try to fix it.

The Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers both cut starting outfielders on Monday. Jason Michaels was sent packing from the Indians, and Jacque Jones was let go from the Tigers, both designated for assignment. That means that the teams have 10 days to either trade them, waive them or send them outright to the minors.

Of the two, Jones is the biggest surprise. He had just a month to adjust back to the American League for a new team, and is making more than $5 million this season. He also has a track record of success, with a .278 lifetime average with 165 homers and 628 RBI in 10 seasons.

"Jacque Jones is not the reason we're four games under .500," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told the Associated Press. "Had he gotten off to a bad start? Yes, he had. It was totally unfair. He's been a class act the whole time."

Leyland over the weekend said there wouldn't be any imminent moves. Doesn't sound like he signed off on the deal. The Tigers called up minor-leaguer Matt Joyce, and moved Gary Sheffield from designated hitter to left field.

The Indians will go with Ben Francisco, who has played well in short stints in Cleveland before. Michaels was hitting .207.

In Chicago, manager Ozzie Guillen went on another tirade to the media over the weekend (here's the video), and then had a bizarre (and somewhat tasteless) ceremony involving the team's bats and blow-up sex dolls.

It didn't go unnoticed.

"The presence of those dolls creates an uncomfortable situation for any female journalist who enters the White Sox locker room simply trying to do her job," Jenni Carlson, president of the Association for Women in Sports Media, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

If Guillen survives yet another controversy, he and the others can take solace that none of the Central teams have played well enough to make a difference. First-place Minnesota (16-14) and last-place Detroit (14-19) are separated by just 3½ games as of May 5.

Photo: Manager Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox jokes with members of the Minnesota Twins bench on April 7, 2008 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

There are injuries, and then there are big injuries. And four big ones that could have a big effect on the regular season happened this week.

• Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies: The second-year shortstop, a pillar for the NL champs last season, tore a tendon in his left quadriceps near his hip. Tulowitzki was off to an ice-cold start, hitting .152, and now will most likely will be out until the All-Star break.
• Jorge Posada, Yankees: After more than a decade behind the plate, Posada is on the disabled list for the first time in his career with a sore shoulder. Doctors don't believe he needs surgery, but it's all wait-and-see (and hope) in New York. The Yankees' backup catcher, Jose Molina, is a capable backstop but can't come close to replacing Posada's production in the lineup. Posada hopes to return in six weeks, if his shoulder responds to rest.
• Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: Gallardo isn't a household name, but was one of the most promising pitchers in baseball, and everybody in Milwaukee knows who the 22-year-old righty is. He tore a knee ligament avoiding a collision at first base and is out for the season. This could tip the scales in the NL Central more toward the Cubs and Cardinals.
• Phil Hughes, Yankees: The promising second-year pitcher has a stress fracture of a rib in his side and is out until at least July. It was a bizarre tale as it looked like a phantom injury, an oblique strain designed to give Hughes a couple of minor-league starts to work through some problems (he is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA). But now a team already not deep with starting pitchers is searching for some kind of solution. I wouldn't be surprised if the Yankees soon trade for an innings-eating type of starter - not a star - if the price is right.

Time to wonder if the Tampa Bay Rays are for real. They won 8 of 9 before a first-place showdown at Fenway Park with the world champs the weekend of May 1-3. They lost the series opener to the Boston Red Sox, falling a game out of first place.

It's already looking like the best season in team history, which isn't hard to achieve for a team that was 645-972 in its first 10 seasons. Tampa Bay's best season was 70-91 in 2004.

"It's been one of the best weeks in franchise history. We're going to try to keep it going," outfielder Carl Crawford told the Associated Press. "We got that feeling of winning, and we kind of like it. Everybody feels the same way."

Why they're winning:

• Maturing starters. James Shields is turning into an ace, and presumed ace lefty Scott Kazmir hasn't even pitched yet this season - he's scheduled to start May 3. Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson aren't worse than most of the rest of the league has in its rotations. Right now, if you could give me the Rays' starting rotation or the Yankees, I'd actually take the Rays.
• Improved bullpen. It didn't look like a strength before the season, but 38-year-old Troy Percival saved his first five chances and has been a stabilizing force.
• Better defense. It's a complicated formula, but David Pinto of the Sporting News calculates that the Rays' defenders are more than two runs better than last year.
• Dropping the "devil." There are certainly those who will give this credence, as preposterous as it sounds. I don't put much stock in it, but to each his own.

Raysmanager Joe Maddon is taking an approach of cautious optimism, and I wouldn't make any World Series reservations for Tropicana Field, but the first winning season in team history is certainly realistic.

Any baseball fans who are fans of the ABC drama "Lost" might enjoy this humorous comparison between characters on the show and baseball, by About.com Basketball Guide Dennis Velasco. Jack Shepard and Derek Jeter: Definitely see that.

The same Yahoo sports blog has another look at the probable favorite teams of the characters on "The Office." I doubt Ryan is a Red Sox fan, though. That guy has Yankee fan written all over him, since he seems to love New York so much.

With great salaries come great expectations. And Barry Zito isn't alone in his misery this season.

Zito became the highest-paid middle reliever in baseball history following his demotion - the San Francisco Giants will pay him $14.5 million and still owe him a ridiculous guaranteed $112.5 million - and it's already looking like one of the worst free-agent moves ever.

"I'm certainly not happy with it, by any means," Zito said after his demotion to the San Jose Mercury News. "This is the bed that I've made. I have to lay in it for the time being and I have to overcome."

In fact, the only team that seems to want him right now is the Fresno Grizzlies, the Giants' Triple-A affiliate.

The Giants aren't the only team that hasn't spent wisely so far this season. Check out these starts for players who are all among the top 21 in salaries this year.

• The Mets' Carlos Delgado ($16 million) is hitting .194 with three home runs as of April 30, and two of those homers were solo shots in the same game.
• Teammate Carlos Beltran ($18.6 million, is barely better, hitting .216 with two homers.
• The contract of the Braves' Mike Hampton ($15.75 million in 2008) finally expires after this season. He still hasn't pitched since 2005, and suffered another setback during rehabilitation on April 30.
• Seattle's Richie Sexson ($15.5 million) is hitting .207, and that's two points higher than in all of last season.
• And then there's the Dodgers' Jason Schmidt ($15.2 million), who is 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA.

So Barry, you've got company. And some time to work things out.

Photo: Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2008 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)

There's no doubt that the Atlanta Braves' rotation looks great on paper. It's that combined age thing that looks like its downfall.

Tom Glavine just turned 42. John Smoltz turns 41 early next month. Tim Hudson will be 33 in July. The current rotation's combined age is roughly 33 - old by any standard - and that's skewed younger by a rookie Jair Jurrjens (22) and No. 5 starter Jeff Bennett (28).

Glavine is on the disabled list for the first time in his career, and is expected to return this week. Now Smoltz could be headed back to the DL as he's experiencing ongoing shoulder pain. Hudson, the team's ace, is reasonably healthy and is 3-2 with a not-terrible 3.74 ERA, but has been iffy in spots.

The Braves are off to a decent start, and Chipper Jones is having an MVP-caliber first month of the season. But it might already be time for new GM Frank Wren to adjust. Should the Braves save their arms by going to a six-man rotation? Is it already time for a trade?

And could this be it for Smoltz, a certain Hall of Fame selection (along with Glavine and former Braves ace Greg Maddux, who will go down as perhaps the greatest starting rotation in baseball history). But Smoltz knows he's playing on borrowed time and has said he won't go through another long rehab. He could be the first of the great trio to call it quits, and soon.