The Tracker has been away for a few days and we've got a lot of catching up to do. Let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Todd Helton, Colorado Rockies - 31.54 seconds [video]
We'll talk about Helton's home run separately. In the meantime, enjoy the Manny Ramirez home run above. With continued thanks to Manny Does Taiwan, this was Manny's sixth home run in Taiwan. His trot was a bit tough to clock thanks to the camera angle used at home plate, but the trot clocked in at no slower than 26.92 seconds (and possibly even 26.3 seconds). That's a quick one for Manny.

A pretty great day for home runs, all things told. Let's get right down to the trots.

Home Run of the Day: Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves - 19.6 seconds [video]
I for one am shocked to learn that Justin Upton hit the ball a really, really long way while playing a game in Chase Field. Shocked.

If it weren't for Justin Upton's return to Arizona, this category might be nothing but Aaron Hicks. Not only did he hit a pair of bombs for the Twins on their way to a victory over the White Sox, Hicks also made this outstanding catch to rob a home run from Adam Dunn. It's basically unfair.

According to Old Time Family Baseball, there were only nine home runs hit with pink bats on Sunday compared to the 23 hit in the two years prior (and though there were only 8 pink bat home runs last year, that was out of only 26 home runs total as opposed to 35 home runs this year). That's a disappointing trend on the pink bat front.

But let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays - 24.93 seconds [video]
One of five home runs for the Blue Jays. This one just happened to land outside of the stadium. In Texas, Adrian Beltre hit another of his beautiful, knee-on-the-ground home runs. He had to stop at second before the play was reviewed, however, which takes away a lot of the fun in it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I hope it's a beautiful spring day for all of you out there. In Major League Baseball, it means we get base hits and home runs coming off the barrels of pink bats. It's always a fun day. Ask Bill Hall.

Let's get to the trots!

Home Run of the Day: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays - 20.44* seconds [video]
A walkoff home run from Evan Longoria. Ho-hum.

Also in this game were two big home runs. One was a monster blast from James Loney (shown above); the other was a game-tying grand slam from Jesus Guzman (video). It's hard to say who celebrated their home run more between the two of them, but you can be sure of one thing: the Pirates will go ahead and plunk them both for it.

A day off means we need to get right to the trots.

Home Run of the Day: Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers and Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers - 23.44 seconds and 24.43 seconds [video and video]
Can you remember any two more mirror-image identical home runs in a game? I love 'em.

It is with great excitement that I announce that I will be writing for Baseball Nation on a regular basis now. I'm stoked to be joining the likes of Rob Neyer and Grant Brisbee, who have been some of my favorite writers for a while.

My first post went up today. It talks about the trials of being a Larry. Others who share my name will understand. Some of your favorite Larrys you love to hate are included.

I'd also like to take a minute to thank the folks over at Baseball Prospectus for giving me a chance to be a part of their crew for more than two years. It was a lot of fun and I'm proud to have been a part of BPro for as long as I was.

My Baseball Nation posts should go up once a week, usually at the end of the week.

Friend of the blog MIchael Clair (@clairbearattack), who runs one of the best baseball Tumblrs around, is running a blogathon this weekend to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. Beginning this morning, Mike will post a new, not-previously-written blog every 30 minutes for 24 hours. Tomorrow, a series of guest posts - including one from me - will go up as well.

It's a great cause that should be a lot of fun. Check it out at Old Time Family Baseball. You can also donate here.

Part 2 of the baseball card set from the Terrific GirlfriendFiancee. Part 1 can be found here.

Kitty - Red Sox
Don't promise crazy a World Series*!!! Kitty is fiercely loyal and yes, kind of crazy. But hey, if you aren't crazy you aren't living.

Say goodbye to THESE!!!!
*It sure felt that way for the past two years.

(Click "Read More" to continue reading.)

Part one of a series from the Terrific GirlfriendFiancee...

Cubs - George Oscar Bluth- 'G.O.B'.
Cursed oldest child in the Bluth family; cursed franchise in MLB. Prone to delusions of grandeur. Can't quite pull off a World Series victory or successful illusion.

Click Read More to continue reading...

The latest inspired piece from the Terrific GirlfriendFiancee. Remember, you can find regular Wezen-Ball and Tater Trot Tracker posts at Baseball Prospectus.

With their time in the NL winding down, the Astros have been suffering from a major case of Senioritis that recently resulted in their own Senior Skip Day. With a few nerds deciding not to participate because they smelled weird and didn't have any friends, it was pretty remarkable that the coaches didn't find out, suspend anyone or prevent anyone from graduating into the AL. 

According to Jordan Lyles, the initial plan was to meet alum Jeff Bagwell by the 7-Eleven, maybe get some Subway and then head on over to Six Flags because Jeff had a cool Camaro and was a decent bro. "Also I don't have my license yet because my parents are fucking stupid," said Lyles. "Yeah, not a lot of us have cars or the access to funds that J-Bag has," said Brett Wallace. "I don't know where he gets his money. We all like to joke that he's a drug dealer but really he works at Jamba Juice. Maybe he lets the ladies touch his biceps to get those mad tips". A few Astros players nod and high five each other. "It's cool he's willing to help the guys out even though he's graduated," said Lyles. "He's a real success story, getting a job after graduation and all".

When asked about how senioritis has affected their playing, a few offered some insight. "Fuck it dude. I was supposed to be in Milwaukee today but I decided to skip and go to the Cubs game with my best friend and his girlfriend. If I had played by the rules, I'd have been in batting practice right now," said Brian Bogusevic. Ultimately, according to MLB experts, senioritis is completely normal. "It's not like the AL is going to rescind their offer and make the Astros stay in the NL. You don't see the Royals going anywhere, for example, and they've been in the AL for a long time," said an expert.

The bravado disappears and the room gets silent when the graduation ceremony is mentioned. The ache is palpable. "We've been best friends since spring training," says Altuve, "That's like 10 years in ballplayer years". It's a known clubhouse fact that the highlight of the year was the coed naked slip'n'slide at Wallace's parents house (they were away for the weekend). "We bought a few barrels of lube for the slip'n'slide and a couple kegs of Keystone," added pitcher Bud Norris. "It was awes'".