Touch 'Em All: Morrison discovers the power of Twitter

Florida outfielder Logan Morrison rewarded hundreds of his Twitter followers with something better than a retweet - he left them free tickets.

The Marlins made hundreds of tickets available for Morrison on Thursday, so he posted an invite to his Twitter account - "Who wants 2 come 2 a Marlins game tonight?!? Ive got a BUNCH of tix for u guys. 1st come, 1st serve" - and those who responded with their full names got the freebies.

Naturally, some greedy weasels asked for as many as 10. Morrison says he gave away about 500 tickets. It may be a one-time deal: Morrison says if he does it again, the team will charge him.

So will there be a next time? "Probably not. Not 500 of them, that's for sure," Morrison says.

Jim Thome, one of the genuine good guys in baseball, is on the verge of becoming the eighth player to reach the 600-homer plateau.

"I know it's taken a long time to get through this journey to this point," the former Phillies slugger said after blasting No. 598 on Thursday night. "As you go through it, the process is pretty special. You look back at all the good times and all the struggles.

"When I got close to 500, it kind of put everything in perspective. Home runs are hard to get. You can't go out every day and think, 'Oh, I'm going to hit a home run,' because it just doesn't work that way."

Now nearing the end of a 21-year career, Thome has been with the Minnesota Twins the past two seasons. He has a shot at reaching the milestone at home, as the Twins began a six-game homestand Friday night.

"When you look at those guys in that club, it would be very special, obviously. It would be magical," Thome said.

The names are fraught with baseball history, both good and bad: Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey, Jr. (630), Alex Rodriguez (626) and Sammy Sosa (609).

Thome led the National League with 47 homers in 2003, his first year with the Phillies and the only year he ever led a league in round-trippers. He has hit at least 20 homers in 17 of the last 18 years, but has only 9 this year in part-time duty.

The New York Daily News reported that Mets lefthander Johan Santana suffered a setback in his one minor-league rehabilitation start this week, and is likely to continue working in hopes of being ready for 2012.

The Mets announced that first baseman Ike Davis will scale back his rehabilitation from a bone bruise in his left ankle and likely will miss the rest of the season.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau began a rehab assignment with triple-A Rochester on Friday, less than 51/2 weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a herniated disk fragment from his neck.

The Marlins placed second baseman Omar Infante on the 15-day disabled list, a day after he broke his right middle finger diving for a grounder.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez took grounders on the infield dirt for the first time since having right knee surgery July 14. The Yanks expect him back in mid-August.

Cleveland placed infielder Jack Hannahan on the paternity list and recalled outfielder Shelley Duncan from triple-A Columbus.

The Toronto Blue Jays called up Brett Lawrie, a 21-year-old native of British Columbia who was hitting .353 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs for triple-A Las Vegas.