It was a big night for the Golden Sombrero on Friday night and all three told a story. Jim Thome was a pretty notable inductee to the Club going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the Yanks. Thome went down looking the first time and swinging the next three times as the White Sox lost 5-2 in 10 innings, dropping under .500 for the season. Incidentally, Thome got the lone hit for the White Sox when they got one-hit by the Yankees on Saturday. At two games under .500, you can pretty much bury the White Sox playoff hopes unless they get Rockies-hot.

Jeff Mathis did his usual work for the Angels on Friday night, going 0-for-4 with four punch-outs. In a lineup full of seven .300 hitters and Howie Kendrick hitting in the .270s, Mathis is the eye-sore when they sub him in for Mike Napoli. The one good part about Mathis’ night was that he went down hacking each time, but the real kick in the balls must have been in the 7th inning when Mathis made two of the three outs while the rest of the team batted around. Ouch.

Lastly, on a night where we had two full on sombreros, Travis Snider of the Blue Jays must be mentioned for taking the collar going 0-for-4 with four Ks. His only redeeming point was that he walked once. Every time Snider punched out he ended the inning with one, including in the 9th with the bases loaded against Jonathan Papelbon to end the game. Talk about a crowning achievement.

A few things must be pointed out here. First off, Cliff Lee has been the best pitcher in baseball this month, and when he’s throwing a complete game two-hitter, you really can’t blame the hitters too much — certainly not a free swinger like Mark Reynolds. Reynolds actually leads the majors in strikeouts by a comfortable margin and even appears to be on pace to break his own single-season record.

Ordinarily I’d spend this time ripping on Reynolds for whiffing so frequently, but you have to give the guy tremendous credit because his approach is certainly paying off this year. Reynolds might be the most underrated hitter this year, ranking second in home runs and in the top 10 in nearly every major statistical category. He’s also been on fire since the All-Star break, leading the majors with 14 home runs and posting a ridiculous 1.222 OPS. We’ll definitely give him a pass for Wednesday night.

The Orioles/Red Sox series was pretty noteworthy for several reasons. On Tuesday night, Boston blew a 10-1 lead and lost 11-10, giving Baltimore its biggest comeback ever. The very next day, the Red Sox responded by coming back from down 5-1 in the 9th with four runs to tie it and send it to extras where they won it in the 11th, 6-5. One significant aspect of the comeback win on Wednesday was that they essentially did it without Jason Bay. The Red Sox left fielder and AL RBI leader went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in the 11-inning game.

Bay punched out his first two times looking and then he went down hacking his next three times. The bright side for the guy is that he wasn’t exactly a rally killer despite his ofer — he only left one man on base. Bay really struggled in the series against Baltimore going 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get heckled after this one like the most recent Platinum Sombrero victim, Alex Rios. He should also be happy his teammates are there to pick him up when he’s not producing — taking two of three despite that crappy series by the clean up hitter is impressive.

UPDATE: LBS contributor Alan notifies us that Russell Branyan received the coveted but less-difficult Golden Sombrero on Wednesday evening against the Yankees

What bothers me is that Rios is the one who later apologized (due to pressure from the club I’m sure, only because the video wound up online). But for anyone who watches the video I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s the fans who should be issuing the apology. Just because they’re fans who support the team and because Rios is a public figure who makes millions doesn’t mean he’s not a person. That doesn’t give you the right to harass him outside the stadium when he’s on personal time. That doesn’t give them the right to make some mean-spirited remarks. They’re the jerks who should be apologizing for an embarrassing performance.

Also, as the Platinum Sombrero moniker has picked up steam all throughout the internet as a result of Rios’ tirade, let it be known that LBS has been up on this for the longest. Also, LBS is the only site that will also point out that Mike Cameron achieved the Golden Sombrero that very same day, his coming against the Marlins. You just can’t buy that type of coverage anywhere else!

Chipper went 0-for-4 in the team’s 6-3 loss, punching out all four times. He went down looking the first time and swinging the last three. His first three at-bats came against another Hall of Famer, pitcher Randy Johnson. The final K-job came against reliever Merkin Valdez. The Sombrero was particularly intriguing as far as Golden Sombreros go for several reasons. For one, this was the first time in Chipper’s 15-year career that he’s gone Golden. Secondly, he’s easily the best hitter that we’ve seen take the Sombrero since the club’s inception. Lastly, it came against Randy Johnson in the same game where the Unit earned his 299th career win. Point is although the Big Unit is 45-years-old, the lanky lefty still has some nastiness in him. Not bad for an old dude.

It was a brutal day for Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer Monday in San Francisco. The rookie went to the plate four times and punched out all four times, gaining entrance into the notorious LBS Golden Sombrero Club. Schafer went down hacking his first three times up, twice against starter Jonathan Sanchez, then the third time against reliever Justin Miller. By his last at-bat, he likely decided it just wasn’t his day so he didn’t bother swinging, striking out looking against Brian Wilson.

The Braves lost the game 8-2 and Schafer left three men on, so there’s no doubt he let his team down. Despite homering in his first major league game ever, the rookie’s average is now hovering around the Mendoza line at .205, with his slugging percentage not much higher. He’s been dropped to eighth in the order and could be headed to Triple-A before long if he keeps this up. By the way, his 55 strikeouts through 44 games puts him second only to Mark Reynolds. He’s whiffed more than Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, and Adam Dunn this year. Hmm, let’s see, Howard, Fielder, Dunn, Reynolds, and Schafer. Which one doesn’t belong? Exactly. Can you say “Gwinnett here I come?”

It’s been a while since we’ve had an LBS Golden Sombrero sighting, so let me refresh your memory. When a player goes 0-for-4 in a game and does nothing but strikeout each time up, he earns the Golden Sombrero. For the nearly impossible 0-for-5 with five strikeouts, the player receives the rarefied Platinum Sombrero. Well Sunday at Wrigley Field, Astros right fielder Hunter Pence went 0-for-4 with four punch-outs, earning the coveted Golden Sombrero.

Now Houston won the game 6-5 so that should slightly ease the pain for Pence. The good thing about Hunter’s Sombrero is that he was up there hacking, striking out swinging the first three times. By the fourth at-bat, he probably was so discouraged he decided to keep the bat on his shoulders and go down honorably. The one comment I will make is that at least Pence punched out the first three times against a fireballer like Rich Harden, so that’s nothing about which one should be embarrassed. Hunter’s also hitting .323 this year even after the Sombrero, so better days should be expected.

Fred punched out all four times up and he was equal opportunity, striking out looking twice and swinging twice. Can’t give Kershaw credit for everything because it was Jon Broxton that gave him the whiff treatment his last time up. Lewis is a good player and will get his fair share of hits this year. Hard to expect too much from a lefty facing a southpaw who has a good fastball and a devastating curve the way Kershaw does. Not that I have any sympathy or anything because if the Giants never scored another run the rest of the year I’d be quite satisfied.

Anyway, picking up right where we and Pena left off last year, Carlos Pena achieved the first Golden Sombrero of the year. Pena had the unenviable job of facing Josh Beckett, who brought his A-game for the Red Sox. Beckett allowed just two hits over seven innings, striking out 10 Rays. Pena was the victim three of those times. Justin Masterson completed the sombrero, k’ing Pena in the 8th. Pena went down swinging twice and looking twice, so he was definitely equal opportunity. This was only one game of 162 for Pena, so we know brighter days are ahead. The guy’s a power hitter with back-to-back 30-homer, 100 RBI seasons — strikeouts are part of the game. Boy is this guy hit or miss.

It’s not so much that LB’s been too busy to keep up with Sombrero watch, it’s more that Golden Sombrero’s are a rare occurrence. And that my friends, is why we must recognize each one. There was a special Sombrero in Boston on Monday night. Rocco Baldelli whiffed four times, leaving four men on base, as the Rays got shut out by the Red Sox 3-0. Baldelli thrice took the gas pipe against Jon Lester, twice swinging and once looking, and punched out his final AB against Jonathan Papelbon. What makes this sombrero so interesting is that Jon Lester continues to spit in my face, pitching gem after gem for the Red Sox. Apparently he heard me chide him for his no-hitter, calling it a fluke. I guess at 14-5, the joke’s on me. On the other side of the coin, even though he had a poor offensive night, it’s still nice to see Rocco Baldelli back in the lineup for the Rays. He busted onto the scene as a youngster a few years ago and showed plenty of promise. It’s really good to see him back, and I’m not just talking about sentiment here; Baldelli’s swinging a strong stick and has had some clutch hits since coming off the disabled list.

Chase Headley on the other hand, has less of which to be proud. The Padres’ rookie punched out three times against the aging Greg Maddux, and once against left-hander, Joe Bobblehead Beimel. To give you an idea of how lost Headley was compared to the other hitters in the lineup, Maddux had four strikeouts on the night. Three were Headley. Chase has a bright future, though hitting in Petco Park is a tough proposition. He’ll have plenty of better days. As for Maddux, he hasn’t exactly given the Dodgers what they had hoped for when he was acquired.