Touch 'Em All: Prime time for player-umpire confrontations

May hardly seems like a month when tempers boil over in the broiling sun.

But what is a pleasant month for gardeners, proms, and college graduations is prime time for player-umpire confrontations.

You could look it up.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports:

"In its attempts to figure out how and why players and umpires dislike one another, beyond the typical ego-butting and social-stratification issues, Major League Baseball has studied annual ejection patterns and found a pair of witching hours: late May and late August.

"Confrontations rise, attitudes boil over, and two groups of alpha males engage in the particularly alpha ritual of getting in another man's face and yelling.

"And they think football's the Neanderthal sport?"

White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson went into a now-infamous rant last Wednesday, roasting umpire Mike Wegner for tossing out Chicago's Jose Quintana and manager Robin Ventura.

He got a pointed phone call from commissioner Bud Selig soon after.

"We had a talk," Harrelson said. "Actually, Bud talked and I listened.

"I also talked to [Sox owner] Jerry Reinsdorf, and I listened to him as well. That's all I really have to say."

Harrelson said he has apologized to Wegner.

The Royals' Alex Gordon has broken four bats during the first two games of the series with Oakland.

Mets ace Johan Santana said his surgically repaired left shoulder felt fine in the aftermath of throwing a career-high 134 pitches in Friday's historic no-hitter.

Manager Terry Collins said he was conflicted about letting Santana go so long, but realized he could not deny the lefthander the chance to pitch the first no-hitter in Mets history.

The attorney for Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval said his client met with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department on Friday, regarding what the lawyer said was a consensual sexual relationship, CSN Bay Area reported.

Baltimore purchased outfielder-first baseman Steve Pearce from the Yankees on Saturday. The 29-year-old was hitting .321 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs for the Yankees' triple-A team in Scranton.

Seattle ace Felix Hernandez is expected to make his next scheduled start after tweaking his back Friday night. The 2010 Cy Young winner is 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA in his last five starts.

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia took batting practice before Saturday's game against the Blue Jays. It was the first time he'd swung a bat since slightly tearing a muscle in his right thumb five days ago.

Already dealing with lingering tightness in his right Achilles tendon, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun left Friday night's game after aggravating the injury and straining his right hip.

Twins pitcher Carl Pavano will return to Minneapolis on Sunday to have an MRI on his sore right shoulder. Pavano is 2-5 with a 6.00 ERA in 11 starts.