Okay, who is he, and what have the Indians done with the real Cliff Lee?

How many warm-up pitches do pitchers throw? Can they throw less warmup pitches in the bullpen and throw more pitches in the actual game?

Did you know that the Diamondbacks top four in the rotation of Webb, Haren, Owings, and Johnson are a combined 20-4?

Does the Players Union still want to defend Barry Bonds and proceed with that collusion claim against the owners following the latest indictments against Bonds? How foolish was that?

Rick Peterson has done well with John Maine, but what has he done to help the rest of the staff....honestly?

Did you know that Matt Stairs leads the Blue Jays in homeruns at 40 years old?

Is Mike Mussina really a good pitcher again?

Did you know that Shaun Marcum has become one of baseball's best pitchers? In 56 IP, he's allowed just 30 hits while striking out 49.

Does any reliever look more dominant than Carlos Marmol?

Since Howard Johnson became the Mets hitting coach, what has happened to Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and the rest of the Mets offense?

I understand that Geovany Soto is a special player, and an important part of the Cubs success, but is Lou Piniella trying to burn the kid out and have him break down by September? Give the kid a day off Lou...he's a catcher!

Did the Pirates really need Jason Michaels to take at-bats away from an aspiring young player?

Was I the only one who was wrong about Ryan Church? I thought he'd be average at best. I was wrong.

Okay, who is he, and what have the Tigers done with Justin Verlander?

Now that Luke Hochevar has joined the Royals, is there a more under-rated rotation than this staff with Meche, Bannister, and Greinke pitching in front of Hochevar?

Has Willie Randolph gone brain-dead (again), or does he just like seeing Aaron Heilman implode in crucial spots? When will Randolph learn to use struggling relievers in non-crucial situations to work out of slumps?

From Phil Mushnick's Column:
From reader Ron Cole: You know those Miller beer TV ads in which a Miller delivery man angrily hollers about the ridiculous prices in convenience stores, then declares that such stores have lost their right to sell Miller? Well, why not a Miller ad showing the same delivery man at an MLB game being charged eight bucks for a cup of Miller?

Why don't NFL Quarterbacks have rotator cuff injuries like pitchers do? They throw about 200 footballs a week during the season. Maybe it's from throwing less curve(foot)balls than pitchers.

Okay, who exactly scouted Kei Igawa while he was in Japan?

Did Omar Minaya really give Jose Sosa a 2 year deal this Spring, only to designate him for assignment this week, costing the Mets 2 million dollars? Would you still have your job if you cost your boss 2 million dollars?

Why is it called a bullpen?

If you had to have one guy up in a crucial situation, would you want that player to be Micah Owings too? Owings has 10 hits for the D-Backs. The rest of the Arizona pitching staff has 7 hits combined.

Do you miss organ players at the ball park as much as I do?

Moises Alou was ejected from the series finale against the Nationals for arguing balls and strikes. Should the Mets encourage that from Alou so there's less a chance of injury playing only five innings? Perhaps Luis Castillo should start arguing balls and strikes as well.

Did anyone else feel as bad as I did that Jeff Keppinger went down with a broken knee cap? He's finally gotten a chance to prove he belongs. Hopefully, a job will be waiting for him when he returns.

Am I the only one who would like to see Randolph and Peterson replaced by Mazzilli and Mazzone? Mazzilli got a bum deal in Baltimore.

8Hr, 26RBI, and .355 batting average....do you think that bad elbow is holding Albert Pujols back?

Were the Padres, Mariners, Tigers, and Rockies supposed to be this bad?

Isn't Clete Thomas (Tigers) a cool baseball name?

Was that a misprint, or are the Tampa Bay Rays in first place? It must be a reward from the man upstairs for removing the "Devil" from their team name. Maybe exorcisms do work.

Don't you wish ESPN would cover MLB during the off-season as much as they cover the NFL during its off-season?

Isn't it neat seeing Troy Percival's revival in Tampa? Did you think it would work out as well as it has?

Did you realize that Chien-Ming Wang is 44-14 in his last three seasons?

Does any minor league player need a trade more than Ian Stewart? There's no room for him, and he's ready to play at the major league level.

Blake DeWitt is starting to look more and more like a better option for the Dodgers at 3B...don't you think?

Don't you think Jayson Werth is looking like a full time player?

Why has no team expressed an interest in Mike Piazza?

Did you know that the New York Yankees will charge $500 to $2,500 for seats near home plate in the first five-to-eight rows of their new ballpark? Can you imagine paying $10,000 for a family of four to attend a game?

Did you think CC Sabathia would be bad all season?

Why isn't Wally Backman managing in the Major Leagues? The guy got a raw deal. I'll get you his phone number Omar.

With 14 strikeouts and 16 walks, is it any wonder why it took Tom Glavine 40 games to get his first win with Atlanta?

Did you know that the team with the best record against the AL East is the Tampa Bay Rays at 17-12? No other team in the division is over .500 against the teams in their own division.

Did you know that Rockies pitchers Mark Redman, Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Herges, Jorge De La Rosa, and Kip Wells are a combined 0-35 at the plate? Not that it matters really, but I needed a filler.

Mariano Rivera 0.56 ERA, and he's 0-1. LaTroy Hawkins has an ERA of 6.38 and he's 1-0. Is there any justice in the world of relief pitching?

Am I the only one who thinks it's unfair that a starter can pitch eight strong innings of shutout ball, leave with a lead, have his closer blow the save, then become the winning pitcher when his team scores in the bottom half of the inning?

Should the Braves put an A.P.B. out on Mike Hampton?

If you were a hitter, and you hit a HR off of animated pitcher Joba Chamberlain, wouldn't you be tempted to spike the bat and do a Billy "White Shoes" Johnson dance before touching home plate?

Last year, Corey Hart and JJ Hardy combined to hit 50 homeruns for the Brewers. This year, they have combined to hit 2 homeruns? What's going on there?

Edinson Volquez is 6-1 for the Reds with a 1.12 ERA. Gee, no wonder the Texas Rangers dealt him. For years the Rangers have struggled because they have had no pitching. Do you think they realize just how important pitching is to a team?

Were you as surprised as I to see Nick Johnson land on the DL again? If he were paid per games played, instead of by the year, he'd make less than your or I.

Speaking of Volquez, don't you wonder how Wayne Krivsky was fired as GM of the Reds when he picks up guys like Volquez, Phillips, and Keppinger via trade?

How's that comeback working out for Juan Gonzalez?

Did you know the Mets are 1-16 when trailing after 6 innings?

Did you realize that the Cubs have four starters hitting over .300?

If you've never been to a minor league baseball game, I suggest you attend one game to experience the "Bull Durham" feel of A and AA games. Wait, was that a question?



Court Adjourned!