The Roundup

Tune of the day is "Hope" by the Descedents. Very much appropriate to our non-girl related concerns in the here 'n' now.

The Oracle says that the Jays totally won yesterday, but I didn't see it after being rooked into an afternoon at the the-atre. From what I've gleaned Litsch was great and the bats were good enough. Rock on.

Doc takes on "36-year-old" Jose Contreras of the pale hosers this afternoon. I make no prediction because they're mostly wrong anyway, so just pour over the B-R preview and come to your own conclusions.

If Seinfeld was indeed "a show about nothing", here's an article about nothing. Mats Sundin has warning track power? Can he play short? No surprise that Matt Stairs was pretty much the only one of the team to engage him in conversation.

Bob Elliot goes all sarcastic about the "Fire Gibby" set. It's really out of character and kind of funny.

Larry Millson of the Globe checks in on a struggling Travis Snider down at AA New Hampshire. The young slugger in his own words:

“I'm obviously going through an adjustment period right now. I don't think it is as much as the level I'm at as it is what I'm doing in my swing. I'm trying to iron some things out with the hitting coach. I've really been just grinding it out in the cage and trying to get as much work in as possible and just allow these things to kind of care of themselves and go out there and start swinging the bat the way I can.”

There's still plenty of ball left and he his success in the Arizona Fall League last year indicate that he has the raw ability to turn things around, but there is an enormous amount of pressure on young Travis to become a Force and quick.

ELSEWHERE:

* Scott Kazmir makes his first start of the season today at Fenway, where he's been a raging Bosox killer over the years (which probably points towards the Beantowners poaching him when he hits free agency). He's on a strict pitch count of 100, which should get him through about 4 innings. And therein lies the reason why I'm not that impressed with one of the "best" young starters in the American League.

* Darrell Rasner the Yankees saviour? I smell blood in the water...

* Did you want a voyeuristic Roger Clemens update? From the NY Daily News (the rag that broke the story):

Dr. Lawrence Balter, a professor of applied psychology at New York University who has not worked with Clemens, says men and women who are as blatant about affairs as Clemens has been have an oversized sense of entitlement.

"They believe if it makes them feel good, it's justified," says Balter...

Through it all, Clemens never made much of an effort to cover his tracks, at least not once he got comfortable with a woman and her friends or family.

"Damn miracle," says a source close to the couple when asked how Clemens was able to keep his affair with McCready away from the prying lenses of the paparazzi for so many years.

Touché.

* Your AL and NL players of the month for April are Josh Hamilton and Chase Utley respectively. Good on you, lads.

-- Johnny Was