
- Pirates 13, Mets 1: Oliver Perez didn't get help from his defense, but he didn't help himself. The inconsistent lefty was hurt by a Luis Castillo error and Jose Reyes' failure to cover second base in a rundown in the second, but he was probably hurt more by issuing as many walks -- five -- as he got outs. Perez allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings as his Mets split a rain-shortened two-game series with the Pirates. The Mets' only run came on a Ryan Church double. They only had two hits. Maybe they weren't aware they had an off-day Thursday to relax. After that, they take on the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
- Tigers 6, Yankees 2: Without Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees look like quite the naked emperor. They got two runs in the first inning but were held in check by Jeremy Bonderman and Co. the rest of the way. Andy Pettitte got a two-run lead but let it slip away as he ran out of gas for the second straight start. Oh, and Phil Hughes is headed to the disabled list. The Yankees said during the game he had a
case of the stinksstrained oblique. Before the game, Joe Girardi said he was healthy. Mystery swirls, and the Yanks are 14-15.




Not to worry. The Little League World Series is not until August. There's plenty of ball games before then.
Maybe the Mets should spend less on salaries for their superstars and invest in their farm system. They have become the Mets of old, amateurish has-beens.
Little question remains about the sanity of Brian Cashman. He has assembled a starting pitching rotation consisting of old men, Little Leaguers and Chien-Ming Wang. He is fielding a team that includes Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon. He depends upon the likes of Ensberg, Duncan, Molina, and Gonzalez as back-ups. To his credit, he had no idea Cano would go lame and ARod and Posada would end up on the DL. At least it is rewarding to watch the Joba-Mariano combination work their magic. For heaven's sake, he's 37 years old and has an ERA of 0.00 and no blown saves! This will be the season of boos: expect many games to be played to the sounds of Stadium fans expressing their displeasure the old-fashioned way. The only enjoyment at the Stadium now is watching the counter count down the number of games until the old Stadium is no more.