RIP

He's better than his brother Joe …

So went the rhyme around Boston, which ended with Dominic DiMaggio.

Neither the remembrances of old-timers nor the statistical legacy bears that out, but the onetime Red Sox outfielder was quite the ballplayer in his own right, even if no one from New York was willing to acknowledge it.

Dominic, the last survivor of the three DiMaggio brothers who played in the majors, died today at 92. Preceding him were Joseph in 1999 and Vincent in 1986. Each had Paul as his middle name.

His brothers already were entrenched in the big leagues when Dom debuted in 1940, hitting .301 for the Red Sox on his way to a .298 career average. He lacked the power of Joe and Vince - Dom hit 87 home runs in 11 seasons - but he was an integral part of a feared lineup that included Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr.

Dom was named to seven American League All-Star teams and drew Most Valuable Player consideration in six seasons. His best statistical year was in 1950, when he led the league in runs scored with 131, triples with 11 and stolen bases with a whopping 15, the lowest top total in history. He also hit a career-best .328.

According to the Associated Press, "DiMaggio hit safely in 34 consecutive games in 1949. The streak was broken on Aug. 9 when his big brother caught a sinking line drive in the eighth inning of a 6-3 Red Sox win over the New York Yankees. The younger DiMaggio also had a 27-game hitting streak in 1951, which still ranks as the fifth'longest in Red Sox history."

Joe, of course, had that epic 56-game streak that stands as one of baseball's probably unbeatable records.

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Word was received Thursday of the death of Danny Ozark at age 85. His name probably isn't recognizable outside of Philadelphia, where he managed the Phillies during the better part of the 1970s.

Phillies fans back then had a tendency to gripe about Ozark, despite his leading the team to three consecutive National League East titles. He also makes a strong case for being the most successful manager in team history, a contention that reflects more on the Phillies' perpetually losing ways than Ozark's skills.

At any rate, Philadelphia general manager Paul Owens used a poor start in 1979 to can Ozark and put Dallas Green in charge, and the team won its first World Series the following season, with poor Danny probably watching on television, if at all.

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Some information has come out of the Manny Ramirez case that could help kids stay away from steroids.

Reports have Ramirez testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a female fertility drug that apparently is used as part of the "cycle" of taking steroids.

Young men, do want that kind of stuff in your system? Didn't think so!

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Trivia #17: Who is the last active player on the last Pirates team to finish above .500? For the answer, scroll down and look to the right.