AT LEAST HE WAITED UNTIL MAY

But first, a little Yankee news.
***YANKS 4, RANGERS 1***
Don't get too excited, the Yanks still aren't hitting. They only had 5 hits, but two of them were Ruthian blasts by Curtis Granderson, his 9th & 10th of the year. It seems funny that the Yanks most reliable slugger so far has not hit 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th yet this year, even when Teixeira, A-Rod or Cano have been out. Oh well, Girardi must know what he's doing (Did I really just say that?). Nova was terrific, as have all of the starters lately, except for one outing by Freddie Garcia. Nova was helped by some fine defensive plays by Jeter, Teixeira and A-Rod, so I think we can take the "no defense" label off. We won't know about running the bases until the Yanks can actually get some hits.

***HE'S AT IT AGAIN***
There he is, Big Joe West, sticking his nose in (or as close as his stomach will allow) where it doesn't belong. This time he irritated Terry Francona of the Red Sox. Francona went out to argue a balk call by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez. He got tossed, which is unusual for Francona, but here comes West, who wasn't involved in the play to "protect" Hernandez. He did this by positioning himself between Angel & Terry. He grabbed Francona and bumped him several times. There was no need for West to be involved, Francona is no Earl Weaver, Billy Martin or even Lou Piniella. He'd say his piece and leave. But I guess Joe needed some TV time to sell a few more CD's. Here's what Terry had to say:
“Joe, as we all know, always wants to be in everybody’s business. Joe didn’t have anything to do with it. I didn’t really appreciate what he did. I think he was wrong. I thought he was grabbing me,’’ Francona said. "I didn’t appreciate that. I thought he was out of line.’’
This wasn't West's only foray into the limelight this week. West ejected Tampa manager Joe Maddon earlier this week, for arguing a call...or having a bad hairstyle. Joe West doesn't need a good reason.

The good news for Boston is that Carl Crawford is above the Mendoza Line,...well, at it, actually, hitting a robust .200. On the other hand, Dustin Pedroia, nicknamed "Laser Show," is hitting only .235, which means they may have to change his nickname to "Sparkler Show."

***THEY SAID IT***
"The 8th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overturned a district judge's ruling and reinstated the lockout of NFL players Friday.. In other words, upon further review, the ruling on the field doesn't stand." (Dwight Perry)
"Crystal McCahill - Playboy's Miss May 2009 - is upset after learning the magazine didn't pick her hometown Chicago Cubs to finish first in the NL Central. Unfortunately for the Cubbies, their line-up isn't nearly as stacked as Crystal." (RJ Currie)
"Mark Cuban is being mentioned as an owner that could save the Dodgers. Isn't this like the Philadelphia Symphony being saved by Lady Gaga?" (Bill Littlejohn)
"One of the horses in the Derby is named “Pants on Fire.” My son points out what a shame it is that there isn’t another horse in the field named “Liar, Liar.” Because then the stretch drive could be truly memorable.
“And down the stretch they come It’s Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire…”
(Janice Hough)

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