Pedro Martinez has a sore back. Jose Contreras has $32 million; belated compensation for all that great pitching he's done in Cuba. Jason Giambi is pining for his "personal trainer and glorified go-fer". The Yankees also invested heavily in Jeff Weaver, trading Ted Lilly, Jason Arnold and John-Ford Griffin for an expensive fruitcake. The AL East race is a soap opera. The Blue Jays, relatively healthy and free of distractions, are watching the drama with interest.
As troublesome as the Yankees' bullpen and 1B problems are, the Mets are in an even bigger mess. GM Steve Phillips has a stalker, Mike Piazza might be out for the season (at least 8-12 weeks) and David Letterman has enough material to fill a season's worth of monologues and Top Ten lists.
Last night's fine effort by Bartolo Colon (who owes the W to Carlos Lee for that great catch to snuff the Jays' rally) doesn't detract from the issues on the south side of Chicago. One of the main reasons Kenny Williams hasn't fired Jerry Manuel is fear for his own job -- after they make the inevitable managerial change, my almost-namesake will be even more squarely on the hot seat with his boss, Jerry Reinsdorf. I hope they bring in Bobby Valentine to improve clubhouse chemistry.
Across the Windy City, there's growing concern about Sammy Sosa's big toe. It looks like the slugger will miss at least 2-3 more weeks, and may require a rehab assignment before returning. Given the strength of the NL East and West, only one Central team has a chance at the playoffs, and with the Astros, Cards and resurgent Reds all within 2 1/2 games of the divisional lead, the Cubs' hold on first place is slipping fast.
Speaking of Cincinatti, whose recent 13-6 surge to get back into contention is the NL equivalent of the Blue Jays' charge, how can anyone explain their 23-22 record with 229 runs scored and 279 against? The Reds "should be" 18-27, but are 9-3 in one-run games, and 5-1 in extra innings. Are they impostors, or for real?
Out on the left coast, while some of us were sleeping, the Twins and A's resumed their feud last night. Sometimes rivalries are more real in the minds of fans than players, but these teams hate each other, which makes this series more interesting. A playoff rematch would be exciting stuff.
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