The Roundup

That's right, victory! And mercifully, an off day to let it all sink in before taking on the hated (and also reeling?) Boston Red Sox at Fenway. Previews here, yo.

Normally I bury this sort of semi-interesting bit of info on an AL East rival at the end of The Roundup, but this is just too juicy. Rogers Clemens was villified as a drug user and liar after the Mitchel Report came out and here's betting that the Rocket will now likely look back fondly on those simpler times after what's come out in the NY Daily New this morning.

If you're a reprehensible human being, why not also commit adultory (well, technically statuatory rape because the relationship began when she was 15) with country singer Mindy McCready? Rog denies that the two played hide the hotdog and claims the relationship was on the up and up. He's a believable guy (to Republican fan boys), so I'm sure this will just blow over.

There's a line of thinking that goes like this: Gregg Zaun can't throw, Gregg Zaun is a bad catcher, and finally, Gregg Zaun should be run out of town. Oh, I totally don't see his name in either category here in a list provided by Yahoo's Weekly Rundown, so what gives?

BEST AND WORST AT CATCHING BASE THIEFS (and this week's opponents)
BOTTOM 5 (Worst)	CS	ATT	CS%
John Buck, KC – (at Texas, at Cleveland)	1	12	0.083
Brian McCann, Atl – (at Washington, Cincinnati)	3	21	0.143
Mike Napoli, LAA – (Oakland, Baltimore)	2	13	0.154
Josh Bard, SD – (at Philadelphia, at Florida)	6	33	0.181
A.J. Pierzynski, ChW – (at Minnesota, at Toronto)	3	13	0.230
TOP 5 (Best)	CS	ATT	CS%
Joe Mauer, Min – (Chi White Sox, Detroit)	6	12	0.500
Matt Treanor, Fla – (L.A. Dodgers, San Diego)	7	15	0.467
Victor Martinez, Cle – (Seattle, Kansas City)	5	11	0.454
Paul Bako, Cin – (at St. Louis, at Atlanta)	7	16	0.438
Yorvit Torrealba, Col – (at San Francisco, L.A. Dodgers)	4	10	0.400

Will has speculated that JP should extend Zaun for 2009 at some point this year and I would concur with that line of thinking. Johjima is off the market now (not that it was a smart deal for the M's, but that's another story), so there really isn't much you can do with cash to upgrade at the position. Zaunner is an adequate catcher who'll come cheaply and be classy enough to help transition a rookie, probably Diaz) into his job. Fits like a glove, dudes.

I sometimes say disparaging things about The Sun, but I don't want to give the impression that Bob Elliot doesn't often write a nice, folksy little piece or two from time to time. Despite the horrible week we just had, we're still just 3.5 back in the division. The DJFs like to think that the poor baseball we played was the byproduct of a nasty flu bug going around the club house and there's no reason to find that argument implausible. As I frequently say, the Glass is Half Full (of Sleeman's).

Blair notes that Scotty Downs has some "shoulder tenderness", but there's no indication yet he'll have to visit the DL. It would be less that catastrophic if he did now with the emergence of Jesse Carlson, who picked up the save yesterday.

Wilner credits Gibby for shaking up the lineup yesterday, but still would prefer to see Eck slotted down near the bottom. Agreed, but baby steps. I like that he moved V-Dub down, realizing that salary shouldn't determine where you hit. "No blogaggeness" with the off day today.

ELSEWHERE:

* Jorge Posada will be headed to the DL with a shoulder injury. This had to be expected, I mean in general terms; the Yankees are a very old team and some of these guys are bound to break down over the course of the season.

* Um, the Rays just swept the Bosox. Are we in for a 4-team race in the AL East? I still don't think so, but some will jump to that conclusion.

-- Johnny Was