Source: mlb.com

Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz was put on the 15-day disabled list yesterday after an MRI reveal an inflammation in the cartilage around his ribs. Why does this blog care? Because we were concerned it would ruin one of the best Major League promotions of the year!

You see, April 12th is J.J. Putz Soul Patch Night, where the first 20,000 people to come to the Saturday night game against the Angels would receive a soul patch sticker.

The promotion seemed pretty reliable. Since being named the closer around May '04 for the team, Putz has consistently averaged 11 appearances a month. Then you give him a great promotion like this and this happens?

The good news for people that bought tickets for that night is that the promotion is still on.

"While it certainly isn't ideal to have J.J. on the disabled list, it doesn't hinder our ability to promote and execute the event," said Kevin Martinez, the Mariners' vice president of marketing. "J.J. is a fan favorite in Seattle and our fans will get into the spirit of the event on the 12th. Sure, we would have loved him to come out of the pen and get a save that night, but it will still be a fun promotion to salute one of our top players. After all, his soul is intact; it's just his rib that is hurt."

Woods Pitches Chevron, Caddy For Valvoline
The SportsBusiness Journal first reported this morning that Chevron

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[CVX  Loading...      ()   ] will assume the title sponsorship of the former Tiger World Challenge, Tiger Woods' event that takes place in December at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The deal is a five-year deal that is actually between the Tiger Woods Foundation and Chevron.

What makes this deal interesting is that Chevron competes in some categories with Valvoline. Woods' caddy Steve Williams wears shirts with the Valvoline logo on his left pocket and right shirt sleeve. So the question is, at least during this tournament, will Williams stand by his golfer's side wearing the competitor's logo?

Brian McNamee & eBay
So you all know by now Brian McNamee has taken some of the signed items he had from his clients and put them up on eBay. The two biggest items are the Roger Clemens/Brian McNamee signed photo and the Clemens/McNamee signed ball. Both of which have cleared $4,000.

Team M&M's
Kudos to the folks at M&M's for making team licensed candy. It's a great idea. I'm thinking the next thing to do is player's names and faces on the candy. It's so easy and simple and I think it actually could be a nice money generator.

Questions?  Comments?