Back......baseball notes.....

Well, been awhile since I posted here. Baseball has started and is full swing. Jimmy Rollins got another hit, and now stands at 38 straight games. However, the discussion is starting about the fact that Rollins had an offseason to recooperate his body and not get the constant harassment of media type. Where do I stand on this? I dont care...I hope Jimmy Rollins breaks his ankle, not because of the streak, but because he is a star player on a team in the NL East...and in direct competition of the NY Mets (more about them later). Talk to me when he gets to 50 games.....but Im leaning towards thinking that the record should count...i mean, it technically was in consecutive games.....however, I don't feel strongly one way or another.

Now, for some random baseball notes as I procrastinate talking about the Mets:

• Tim Salmon hit his second HR of the season already. Its been a long road back for Salmon....but he always seemed like a classy guy, so good for him.

• Frank Robinson benched Alfonso Soriano last nite after not running out a pop-up against the Mets. This was 2 innings after a near-Conigliaro from Brian Bannister. Uggh....so, when does this turn really ugly, a la Marbury-Brown? I say May 1.
  

• 310-lb Prince Fielder finally got a hit, a key RBI single that was the key for the Brewers' sweep of the Pirates. Fielder had struck out something like 7 of his first 8 ABs, and the Brewer fans kept cheering everytime. Hear that Mets fans? Support your guys when they are struggling, not like the way you treat Carlos Beltran. Brewers 3 wins, Derrick "Fydrich" Turnbow, 3 saves....

• Nice game in Texas last night, as the Sox won, 2-1. Beckett was sharp, as he will be until May 15 when he has blister problems. Jonathan Papelbon came in for the save, and slammed the door shut on the Rangers on 11 pitches, 8 strikes. That was an immediate pickup in fantasy league action.....Papelbon was sharp all spring, and has had 2 lights-out outings. Foulke was bad last year, bad this spring and bad on Monday....looks straight forward. Oh....and nice OF assist by Manny Ramirez, throwing out Mark Teixiera at home. Manny isn't as bad of a defensive OF as people say....that attitude seems to be maintained by the media.
  

• Junior Griffey hit #537 yesterday, passing Mickey Mantle on the all-time HR streak and Joe DiMaggio on the all-time RBI list. In a related story, the Yankees try and bury their heads and cover things up by talking about Billy Wagner's song.
  

• Oh, the Yankees....or may I say, the 2006 version of the Texas Rangers of the last few years. They'll hit a bunch of HRs and score a bunch of runs, but it won't help if you lead the league on runs allowed and unearned runs. Jeter, Cano...thanks for playing. Jared Wright is terrible.....and that is SOME bullpen that the Yanks are sporting.....Sturtze, Myers, Villone....ugh. Keep in mind this is the same team with 5 guys making more than all of the Florida Marlins.
  

• Is there anything more depressing than the Dwight Gooden story? "I have a problem, sir, with cocaine," Gooden, dressed in an orange jail outfit, told state Circuit Judge Daniel L. Perry. "I had a cocaine relapse." Ouch.....this was a person who I grew up watching, remember asking my Dad, "What is the Smithers Clinic?" after Gooden went into rehab before the 1987 season. We all knew it was going to end this was, perhaps worse....maybe this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and really does straighten him out.