Hey, baseball fans: When the time comes for you to shed this mortal coil, why not do it in style?

Thanks to Eternal Image Inc., baseball fanatics will soon be able to proudly trumpet love of their favourite team as they cross over to the other side.

A new licensing agreement with Major League Baseball authorizes Eternal Image to reproduce the names and logos of all 30 MLB teams on a new line of caskets and urns, scheduled for release next year.

Depending on your favourite team, we’re not sure you’ll be making the right statement about where you want to spend eternity, however.

Showing up at the Pearly Gates all decked out in a Devil Rays casket, for instance, might not go over well with St. Peter, even if the team, for all intents and purposes, plays in St. Petersburg.

Now, of course, fans of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, or whatever the hell… oops… we mean, whatever on earth they go by these days, will be given VIP treatment, no doubt. Especially, one would assume, if they manage to snuff out the Rally Monkey and bring him along for the journey.

So, baseball devotees, when you’re ready for a dirt nap, don’t you want to be ensconced in your team’s colours?

And he didn’t exactly tear it up during Tuesday’s game, taking an 0-for-2. A-Rod best hope that history repeats itself as for the past three years, his OPS during the second half has been 100 points higher. I mean, it’s not as if his numbers are bad — 61 runs in 84 games places him 10th in the AL and 90 hits, 19 homers, 65 RBI, nine steals, a .390 OBP and .505 SLG are all impressive totals — but given his stature in the game, he is held to a greater standard. Now, granted Rodriguez has laboured to an extent with a sore groin lately. But given the boos raining down on him at home, it’s clear that there’s a great number of Yankee fans who think that this ailment might best be cured with a good swift kick to the sore spot. Let’s face it, when you’re pulling in a salary that rivals the GDP of some third-world countries, people tend to expect superhuman results. more

The outfielder, who turns 28 on Thursday, was never quite able to stick in the majors, making brief appearances every season since 2002. All told, he’s appeared in 104 major league games, going 79-for-334 with 14 homers, 44 RBI and four steals. It’s that .299 OBP that hurts and his .416 SLG does not speak well to his power. This season, Ludwick has already produced 19 doubles and 16 homers in 89 games and 330 at-bats for Toledo. He’s racked up 51 runs and 85 hits with an 810 OPS, but is dogged by a horrible K/BB ratio. In fact, the Florida native has already topped 100 Ks. Still, considering he hit just .191 at Triple-A Buffalo last year, at least Ludwick is showing something in the minors this year, perhaps enough to earn another call at some point. more