Watching Randy Johnson pitch a perfect game last night brought to light the argument of whether or not an active player should be eligible for the Hall of Fame before his playing days are done.

Why not?

The voting press could be trusted to enshrine those who are actually worthy of the honor. Why wait for Roger Clemens or Johnson to finish their careers, put them in right now.

Johnson is a different pitcher today as he worked on his game in spring training. He nows throws the split at 84, 85 MPH, but can still come back with the 95 mph fastball when he needs it. The split has revitalized his career, which was sliding when he could no longer throw gas for an entire game. Now that he can control the split, he is as effective as before.

Needless to say, with 33 million still left on his two year contract, Jonson is going to be a Yankee before too much longer. No other team can afford the luxury of having Johnson on its staff. Arizona isn’t going to win this year unless they come up with three more starters, so they just might peddle the “perfect game” pitcher in July.

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I don’t concede the NL West to any team right now. The Dodgers are no picnic at the plate. The Padres still don’t have the kind of rotation that will run away and hide from the rest of the pack.

Similar to last season, the also rans in the division are truly horrible as the season cruises into the quarter pole.

The Giants, Diamondbacks, and the Rockies are not showing any ability to win on the road. All three of the also rans have problems with their pitching. From time to time the Rockies hit at home. So do the Arizonans. The Giants are not doing much anywhere.

Here’s the point. LA and San Diego are the most balanced teams in the division. Unless the Giants suddenly turn it on, offensively and on the mound, the two SoCal teams will fight it out this summer. But, the others will be tantalizingly close all season, within ten games or so, giving hope that one great winning streak will put them into contention.

Will it happen? Probably not. But neither the Padres nor the Dodgers are good enough to win the division by 15 games like SF did last year.

So, it’s never over until it’s over in the West and that’s good for Giant fans who can hope that one long winning streak is out there putting the team back into the race.

It’s not impossible with 125 games to go.

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Will the A’s have another season defining August winning streak this year?

Don’t bet against it. Just take a look at the schedule from August 10th thru August 29th, a span of 19 games. The opposition will be Detroit, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Tampa Bay. At that point in the season those teams will be disinterested and well out of the race. By contrast, the A’s pitchers should be in top form.

It happens every summer like clockwork. This year should be no exception.

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Marty– An interesting article in this morning’s paper reciting Barry’s take on the team’s hardship to date. For one thing, what is immediately impressive is his attitude, which is positive, lays no blame, and reinforces his position as the leader, not only on the field but in the clubhouse as well. Those who view him as a loner, self-interested and removed from the rest of the team, may have to give further thought to such judgment.

Interesting commentary by Ed Stern, click below for more!

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For a good example of why teams won’t throw long term contracts at pitchers anymore, just take a look at the pitchers who left games last night with injuries.

Kerry Wood left the Dodger Cub game in the third with some sort of tightness in his triceps. Jerome Williams left the Giant Phillies game with tingling in his forearm in the fourth inning.

What makes clubs nervous about these kinds of injuries is you never know the extent of the damage. Is it normal wear and tear? Is it a sign of more trouble coming later? How long will it last?

Now the Cubs may be without Mark Prior and Wood for an unknown period. Not good news for Chicago, with Houston still rolling behind the ageless Roger Clemens who mesmerized the Marlins once again last night.

The Angels met the ghosts of Yankee Stadium last night in the Bronx, while the A’s finally put the pesky Tigers away in the 15th in Detroit. Texas walloped homers all over the yard against Doug Waechter (Mr. Long Ball) beating the Devil Rays 5-4.

Seattle got more bad news as Rafael Soriano went on the DL with a sprained ligament in his elbow. It came as no surprise as Soriano never reached more than 90 mph when he pitched here in Oakland earlier in the year. This guy throws 96 in his sleep, so obviously there was something wrong. Another example of a pitcher going down into the pit of medical uncertainty. His loss particularly hurts Seattle because Shigetoshi Hasegawa can’t get anybody out in the eighth inning right now.

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How many more injuries can the Angels incur?

If you look at their opening day lineup everyone except Adam Kennedy has been hobbled with an injury, some more serious than others.

Vladimir Guerrero has limped through the entire season with a bad knee, Darin Erstad has a bad hamstring and is now on the DL with Garret Anderson, who might have a serious back injury, and Tim Salmon with his bad knee is on the DL too. Jose Guillen who is heating up with the long ball, sprained his right leg Sunday, but he is a fast healer and might be available.

David Eckstein has a sore groin and Troy Glaus a sore shoulder, both however are playing everyday.

Bengie Molina was out with a hamstring injury earlier in the season, leaving only Adam Kennedy injury free among the regulars.

So, how are they doing it? They are blasting the Devil Rays, Tigers, and Mariners pitching, while the bullpen, the best in baseball, does its thing saving games.

We’ll see how they fare against the big boys in New York and revitalized Baltimore the next two weeks.

The A’s get Detroit and KC during the same period of time. If Oakland doesn’t pick up at least four games or more in the standings over the next two weeks I’ll be surprised.

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Once a potential Hall of
Fame player, Cuban born
José Canseco is going
to Hollywod to seek
another “career”this
one on the big screen.

By Amaury Pi-González
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Former major league manager Buck Rodgers said it best when he shared his three basic rules for survival as a big league manager.

Buck said, “First, you must have patience, secondly, you need patience and thirdly you have to be patient.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

There are about 133 games to go before the 2004 season comes to a close. That’s an eternity in baseball life.

Unless you are 10 games above or below .500, it’s not the record that counts this time of year, but how you win or lose the game.

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Marty–It is time to stop putting the best face possible on the Giants prospects this year and address realities. These realities include not only looking at this immediate year’s problems but the future for the franchise. In a fashion typical for a longstanding fan, there has been an attempt in the past few weeks to downplay obvious difficulties, to say that it is too early to give up, that the season has just begun and things will get better. Unfortunately, it is true that the season has just started but it is wrong to say that things will get better.

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The Yankees are starting to hit with some power. Not just singles anymore, they are stinging the ball.
A Rod was a dud so many times as a Ranger in Oakland, but he brought his team back into the game last night with a monster three run homer off of Mark Mulder.

If you watch a tape of the pitch, it was one of the worst pithces Mulder has thrown in his career. The ball was high and over the plate excactly in the spot a slugger like Rodriguez makes his money.

The A’s have handled the Yankees before, but it takes pitchers who have command to stop them. Right now the A’s key pitchers have no command.

Will it change? It better, but this is the first time I can remember when the big boys look lost on the mound.

Don’t ask about the bullpen right now. The NY pen is solid with Paul Quantrill throwing strikes, Tom Gordon has the drop working, and what can you say about Mariano Rivera.

In an era of bullpens, the A’s pen is no match right now for New York’s.

The Red Sox continue self destructing at the plate as well as in the field. When Cleveland plays the game better than you do, the flags go up.

The Angels keep smacking the baseball, Detroit’s Nate Robertson, like Mulder gets too much of the plate when he pitches. Against the Angels, you can’t put the ball where they can extend because they swing from their heels everytime they turn it loose.

Tonight the Angels main guys in the pen are rested and ready to go if in fact Kelvim Escobar is on the hill for the Halos.

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