What is the meaning associated to a baseball and a screw? [closed]

In some cartoons (Tom & Jerry and The Looney Toons, if I remember correctly), I've seen the image of what seemed to be a baseball or softball along with a screw in a balloon.

If I recall correctly, the balloon appeared near a character who had just been "screwed" by someone else. Even if I can obviously tie the screw to the pun, I wonder how the ball is involved.

This is a reference to screwball:

screwball |ˈskruˈbɔl|
noun
1 Baseball a pitched ball that moves in a direction opposite to that of a curveball.
2 informal a crazy or eccentric person.

adjective informal
crazy; absurd.
• relating to or denoting a style of fast-moving comedy film involving eccentric characters or ridiculous situations.