Notes from the National: Was that Cubs-Pirates game suspended last night because of rain or the Cubs refusal to play without a big league shortstop and leftfielder? Tommy Glavine showed up last night and gave the Mets a nice outing. Jose Reyes is now up to 77 at bats without being walked. Will he hit 100?? Chris Guzman had a monster night yesterday, going 1-4 with a solo shot. The Braves actually scored some runs for Mike Hampton last night, but he didn’t really need them as he continued his hot start. He’s gone eight innings in his last three starts and has only allowed one dong in thirty plus innings. Why was Jim Thome sat last night? Perhaps he was out late celebrating his first home run on Thursday night. A.J. Burnett struck out thirteen Reds last night in six innings. That is heady stuff but it did come against a Cinci lineup that leads the league in whiffs. Jeff Weaver got bombed last night in Colorado and it now looks like Elmer Dessens is going on the DL. The Dodgers had probably hoped to drop Scott Ericson from the rotation when Brad Penny returns this week, but it now looks like Ericson will get at least a few more starts. Brad Halsey has had a better start then Randy Johnson - the guy who he was traded for. Barry Bonds is still on crutches and doesn’t look like he is coming back anytime soon. Can the Giants hang in there until June 1? The did get some good news yesterday as Moises Alou returned, but it didn’t help last night as Brewer Victor Santos threw a five hit complete game. Where has that vaunted Giants staff gone? I know they have played some games at Colorado, but does that explain a staff ERA that is fourteenth in the NL?
Airmail from the AL: The Twins bullpen actually blew a game last night when Pudge smacked a walkoff homerun off Terry Mulholland. What is more surprising – the Twins bullpen blowing a game or the Twins lineup actually drawing a couple of walks in a single game? Alan Embree has had some week. On Tuesday, he gave up a game tying home run to Vernon Wells and last night he gave up a walkoff blast to Eduardo Perez. Scott Kazmir has Boston’s number even though he didn’t get the win. Kevina Brown is officially shot. There are no “ands,” “ifs,” or “buts” about it. I don’t want to hear him talk about how well he pitched after the second inning. When you give up four in the top of the first, nothing else matters. Where are the people who were ready to hand Hideki Matsui the AL MVP after the first two games of the season. He is 21st in league slugging and 23rd in league OPS. In my book, he is at best the fourth best Japanese import behind Ichiro, the Sony PSP and the Lexus LS. The Orioles got back in the swing of things last night after being shut out twice by the Red Sox this week. The Birds went yard four times off the Blue Jays last night, although Oriole pitcher Dan Cabrera continued to get smacked around. The White Sox won their fifth straight last night and continue to get great pitching. Teams are only hitting .229 against the Southsiders. Let me see – with A.J Pierzynski catching in San Francisco last year, the Giants had solid starting pitching. Without him, the Giants are 14th in the league in EPA. Meanwhile, the Sox staff has gone from almost-worst to first. Is there a connection here? Here is a sign of the apocalypse – John Lackey actually made it through five innings for the Angles but KROD blew it in the ninth. You won’t see that combo too often. Tribe second baseman Ronnie Belliard has hit four home runs – that is the same amount that Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, and Casey Blake have combined.
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