Quick Items

The Monk is further behind than usual this a.m. so I'll try to make some quick baseball observations:

(1) The Yanks still stink, 19 runs or no. Do you realize that the only team that's allowed more runs is the Rockies? The Yanks have coughed up 83 runs in 13 games -- nearly 6.5 per or a pace in excess of 1,000 for the season. In other words, they need to really turn things around to allow no more than 725 runs like the recent Yanks' teams with good pitching have done (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003).

(2) That's it! No more Braves reclamation projects unless the Yanks also sign Leo Mazzone. Chris Hammond flopped (2003) and Jaret Wright couldn't even put in a good start after being spotted a 13-run lead yesterday.

(3) Tanyon Sturtze's upcoming stint on the DL could be a blessing for the Yanks -- it means they'll rely more heavily on Felix Rodriguez and Steve Karsay and hopefully less on Tom Gordon. Personally, I'd like to see Gordon traded for a decent young pitcher or outfielder -- partially to force Torre's hand, partially because the Yanks are spending enough da*n money on stiff relievers and don't need one who pukes up his guts before adding onto his underwhelming 7.79 postseason ERA.

(4) If I had a baseball sim game for the PS2 or my computer, I'd play as the Marlins 24/7. How'd YOU like to hit off Burnett/Beckett/Willis/Leiter? But with a team ERA of 1.79, the Marlins should be better than 7-6.

(5) I'm jealous of the Astros and Braves -- last night's game went 12 innings before the Bravos won 1-0. The starters, Roger Clemens and Tim Hudson, totaled 16 innings, 0 runs and 17 K. And I still remember the good old days of 2003 when the Yanks had pitchers who could do the same in real life, not just theoretically . . .