Altuve feats:Could lead his league in stolen bases and slugging (currently 2nd in each). Last guy to do that: Willie Mays, in 1957.Could lead his league in thi

TROON, Scotland -- Fully aware of the controversial rules issue involving Dustin Johnson at the U.S. Open last month, R&A officials said Wednesday that they have taken steps to assure there is not a repeat at The Open.Johnson was assessed a 1-stroke penalty because it was deemed he caused his ball to move on the fifth green during the final round. But at the time, no penalty was issued; it wasnt until the 12th hole that Johnson was told there could be a penalty, and only after the round that the United States Golf Association assessed it.Even with the penalty, Johnson won the U.S. Open by 3 strokes, although the last two hours played out with the possibility of a rules violation dominating the discussion.Weve made some changes in the light of Oakmont and being more prescriptive, said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A during a news conference at Royal Troon.It might have been a bit of an awkward conversation as the R&A invites more than 40 rules officials around the world to officiate at The Open. Among those who are at Royal Troon this week is Mark Newell, who was the walking official with Johnson and Lee Westwood during the final round at the U.S. Open.Also serving as officials are Mike Davis, executive director of the USGA, as well as John Bodenhamer, the USGAs senior director of rules.Although he didnt offer specifics, Slumbers said that for the past decade, the organization has had its chief referee stationed in a compound for access to video replays.The rules are complex, Slumbers said. This is a big, big animal out there being played on. All sorts of things can happen, we know that, and generally do happen in this game. It is the speed and clarity with which we respond, which is something that were very focused on. And I think its a function of us sitting here, just about 50 yards away, being able to respond and provide instructions back to the referees, is the difference in how we would deal with it.Like the USGA, the R&A uses rules officials from around the world, including the PGA Tour and European Tour. Yeezy 350 V2 Cheap . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Cheap Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Static . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.cheapyeezy350sale.com/ . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Yeezy Boost 350 Cheap . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Cheap Yeezy 350 Womens . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Is there life after Hector Santiago trade rumors? There is ...Is there a place we can all turn after spending every waking second worrying about where Andrew Cashner would finish out the season? There is...Is there anything more meaningful in our lives than memorizing the teams on Jonathan Lucroys no-trade list? There is.Trust me.I just dug myself out of an eight-foot pile of trade rumors and noticed something. Back on the field, weve got quite a fun list of players who are well on their way to doing stuff that either has never been done, hasnt been done since Harry Truman was president or has only been done by living legends. And here we were all too consumed by Trade Deadline Daily to notice.Heres just some of the stuff youve been missing:TROUT FISHINGIm not going to argue that Mike Trout is underrated. Im not that demented. But heres what I think I can make an excellent case for: Were taking Mike Trouts greatness for granted. And its time to stop ho-humming this guy right now. Got it?Maybe this will get your attention. Whos leading the American League in Wins Above Replacement, as calculated by both baseball-reference.com and Fangraphs? Cmon. Who do you think is leading it -- Aaron Hicks? Its the best player in baseball, of course.Its Trout season because every season is Trout season nowadays. He led the league in WAR last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. And the year before that. Want to count those up? Go ahead. Ill wait.If you counted correctly, youll recognize this would make FIVE seasons in a row. And if you dont recall anyone else doing that, I can now reveal the reason for that. Maybe its because the last man to do it was a dude named George H. Bambino Ruth.The Babe led the AL in Wins Above Replacement six years in a row, from 1926-31. Not that he knew it at the time, of course, since he was way too busy eating cheeseburgers to grasp the true significance of modern metrics.But baseball-reference now tells us hes the only position player in history to lead any league in WAR at least five years in a row. (Walter Johnson also did it as a pitcher, from 1912-16.) So think about this, ladies and gentlemen. If Mike Trout keeps on doing what he always does for another couple of months, the entire list of hitters who have achieved this feat will consist of A) him and B) the greatest player who ever lived. Try taking THAT for granted.ALTUVE JOINS THE SHORT LIST Life is too short. But apparently, you cant say that about Jose Altuve. He may stand a mere 5 feet, 6 inches tall, officially speaking. But hes doing things that only the big boys are supposed to do.Lets start with this: He looks like a popular choice at the moment to win the AL MVP award, those Mike Trout WAR numbers above notwithstanding. And perhaps youre asking yourself: Hey, self. Has anybody that short ever won an MVP trophy before?Well, were stuck with using official heights. So unless you can sneak up behind Dustin Pedroia with a tape measure, hes still 5-foot-7, according to the powers that be. Which means that only one player as short as Altuve has ever been an MVP before. And no, were not talking about Rafael Belliard.Its the legendary 5-foot-6 Phil Rizzuto, who was the AL MVP in 1950, in much simpler times. (By which I mean Ted Williams had an OPS 244 points higher than Rizzuto but finished 21st. Because it was 1950.)Back to Altuve, however. What makes him such a compelling MVP candidate? Oh, lots of stuff. But for starters, heres a short selection of other potential Jose Altuve feats:Could lead his league in stolen bases and slugging (currently 2nd in each). Last guy to do that: Willie Mays, in 1957.Could lead his league in this nearly impossible daily double -- slugging and singles. The only player to do that since Ty Cobb retired: Stan Musial, in 1946.Could lead his league in all three of those categories -- slugging, singles and steals. The only man ever to do that: Cobb (in 1907, 09 and 11).Theres lots more, naturally. But you get the idea. Jose Altuve: way more fun than your average trade rumor.EXTRA CREDIT FOR WAINOAdam Wainwright doesnt stop at first. And we love that about him. He may cover first. He may toss an occasional pickoff throw to first. But when he hits a baseball in his other life, you can trust us on this: He aint stopping at first base.Wainwright has seven hits in 42 at-bats this year. See if youu can figure out what they all have in common: Triple, double, homer, double, double, double, homer.ddddddddddddNot a single in the bunch. Wainwright hasnt hit one of those since Sept. 17, 2014. And that leaves him in position to make a pretty crazy brand of history. All he has to do is keep avoiding stopping at first.How many players in the history of baseball have gotten this many extra-base hits in a season but zero singles? That would be none. The record is five, by Dixie Howell (1954) and Rick Wrona (1994).This just in, however: We should mention that Braves utility man Brandon Snyder is currently up to six extra-base hits without a single, so he could mess this all up. Then again, Wainwright is scheduled to pitch against the Braves on Sunday. So he just needs to serve up a little base hit to left for his good friend Brandon Snyder, and thatll take care of that threat.In fact, here at August History Watch World Headquarters, were counting on it. How cool would it be for a pitcher to hold an all-time extra-base-hit record? Correct answer: Super cool.CHRIS ARCHER: LOST IN KSIf youre just looking at the old loss column, you might think Chris Archer is having a disastrous year down in Tampa Bay because, well, youve probably been trained to think that about pitchers who are 5-15.But take a look at another column on the stat sheet -- the old strikeout column -- and you might have to rethink all that. Because whos leading the American League in strikeouts? Yessir. That very same Chris Archer.I bet youd guess thats tough to do, huh? -- to lead your league in both strikeouts and losses? Well, youd be one fine guesser. The American League has been around for 116 seasons now. And only one pitcher has ever led it in both those departments in the same year.That would be the one, the only, Nolan Ryan, who had an even nuttier season in 1976, when he not only led the AL in losses (18) and strikeouts (327), but also in shutouts (seven). And -- shocker alert -- nobody else has done that in any league. (This kind of sums up Ryans whole career, but thats enough Nolan Ryan commentary for one day.)Now normally, its never a bad thing to find yourself in a club that only Nolan Ryan has ever joined. But we might have to make an exception for this particular club. Even if losses are overrated and strikeouts are underrated, the Lead the League in Ls and Ks Club is one thats barely worth rating at all.THERES AN O IN TROTFinally, whos leading the American League in home runs? Its gotta be a big bopper for those Baltimore Orioles, right? Because some Oriole or other leads the league in home runs every year.This year, its Mark Trumbos turn. But last year, it was Chris Davis turn. And the year before that, it was yet another Oriole (Nelson Cruz). And the year before that, Davis was your designated Orioles home run champ.So this could make four seasons in a row. And if youre thinking that almost never happens, youre getting the hang of this.Only one AL team in the live ball era has ever done it. And it would be -- guess who? -- the New York Babe Ruths. The Yankees once produced the AL home run leader NINE years in a row, from 1923-31. But that almost wasnt fair because the Babe spent some of those years hitting more homers than the average TEAM. He led the league outright five years in a row (1926-30), tied Lou Gehrig in 1931, also led in 1923 and 24, and let another Yankee (Bob Meusel) win in 1925.Over in the NL, its been done twice in the live ball era, but not in over a half century. The Giants had five straight winners from 1961-65 (three by Willie Mays, one by Orlando Cepeda, plus a Willie McCovey tie for the lead in 1963). And the Pittsburgh Ralph Kiners won seven years in a row, from 1946-52, with Kiner winning four of those outright and tying for the lead three other years.But if Trumbo can win this title all by himself, it would mean wed have just two instances in history in which one team produced four straight outright home run champs. One would be these Orioles. The other would be the franchise formerly known as The Babe.Hey, the Bambino grew up in Baltimore, remember. So this would no doubt be his favorite August History Watch tidbit of them all ... as soon as he finished off one more cheeseburger. ' ' '