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First base: G-G-great. That whole Gio Gonzalez won't pitch as well once he leaves the spacious confines of Oakland idea? I'm starting to think he'll be just fine in the National League. The Nationals kicked off a big week -- road trips to Philly and Atlanta -- with a 2-1 win over the Phillies as Gonzalez tossed six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. His season numbers: 6-1, 1.98 ERA, .167 batting average, 69 strikeouts, 22 walks, one home run. Certainly, there are some areas that will bounce back to Earth -- the home run rate in particular will be next-to-impossible to maintain -- but his strikeout rate is up from 8.8 to 11.4 per nine innings while his walk rate has decreased a bit. As his 108 pitches in six innings on Monday showed, however, he still has room for refinement. Because of high pitch counts, he hasn't gone more than seven innings in a start. Unheralded Craig Stammen pitched two shutout innings in relief on Monday to help out Gonzalez's cause. If Gonzalez wants to move into that Clayton Kershaw-Cole Hamels-Cliff Lee class of left-handers and contend for a Cy Young Award, he needs to mix in some eight- or nine-inning outings.

Second base: Darvish's dud. Speaking of Cy Young contenders, Yu Darvish isn't there just yet. He was all over the place against the Mariners, walking six in four innings, throwing 96 pitches and earning an early exit as the intriguing pitching duel with Felix Hernandez turned into a one-sided contest. The Mariners were the first team to face Darvish a second time, so it will be interesting to see how batters adjust as they see him again. While he's 6-2 with a 3.05 ERA, the 32 walks in 56 innings is a big issue and the main reasons he's gone at least seven innings just three times in his nine starts.

Third base: Paulino power. Remember this name: Felipe Paulino. He began the season on the DL for the Royals with a sore elbow, but he's back and throwing heat, blanking the Yankees for 6.2 innings in K.C.'s 6-0 victory. His velocity is up there with any starter in baseball. His issue has always been control, which is how the Royals stole him a year ago from the Rockies (because the Rockies certainly don't need good arms). Through his first four starts, Paulino has a 29/7 SO/BB ratio and has now thrown 12.2 scoreless innings against the Yankees. After that dreadful 3-14 start, the Royals have gone 14-10. Don't count them out in the weak AL Central. As for the Yankees ... welcome to .500!

Home plate: Tweet of the Day. Giancarlo Stanton's second grand slam of 2012 was a monumental blast off Jamie Moyer that broke the scoreboard in left field at Marlins Park. Here's a pic of the scoreboard.

Stanton is to #Marlins what Hulk is to Avengers... I have expect him to hit a home run, break bat on his knee and floss his teeth w it.

— Troy Renck, Rockies (@TroyRenck) May 22, 2012

Back on May 20, 1984, Angels pitcher Ron Romanick defeated the Yankees with a three-hit shutout, blanking a lineup that included Omar Moreno, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Steve Kemp, Butch Wynegar and Tim Foli. The same day, a Red Sox rookie named Roger Clemens made his second career start and pitched seven innings in Boston's 5-4 victory over Minnesota, earning his first major league victory.

The date was notable for something else, however: The Red Sox finished the day 17-23; Yankees 16-22. There were tied for last place in the American League East.

Twenty-eight years later, we're there again: The Yankees are 21-20 and the Red Sox 20-21 and the two teams are bringing up the rear of the AL East.

For all the blood, sweat and Internet space analyzing the travails of the Red Sox and their crazy manager and terrible bullpen and golf games, here they are, only one game behind the Yankees after a quarter of the season. I live in the cross-section of Red Sox fans and Yankees fans here in Connecticut and, not surprisingly, Yankees fans enjoyed the whole sloppy spectacle emanating from Fenway.

But, mirror, mirror on the wall: If the Red Sox are in trouble, don't we have to say the same thing about the Yankees?

In fact, right now you can argue the Red Sox have more positives on their ledger.

1. In the wake of the golf fiasco and his poor start against Cleveland on May 10, Josh Beckett delivered a second straight strong outing, throwing 7.2 innings to beat the Phillies 5-1 on Sunday. Yes, those two starts came against the Mariners and Phillies, but he's actually been pretty consistent all season. He had a disastrous first start against Detroit in which he allowed five home runs, but since then he's posted a 3.43 ERA, including the Indians game.

Against the Phillies, Beckett threw 48 of his 103 pitches down in the zone, according to Lee Singer of ESPN Stats & Information, which led to a season-high 10 ground-ball outs, including two double plays. Beckett was also efficient, as he went to just two three-ball counts among the 30 batters he faced, and relied on his offspeed stuff to put hitters away, throwing just seven fastballs among his 24 two-strike pitches. The Boston rotation is still a work in progress, but you're starting to see some positive signs.

2. Mike Aviles hit his eighth home run and Jarrod Saltalamacchia his seventh on Sunday. Aviles is slugging .497 and Salty .583. Combined with Dustin Pedroia, this gives the Red Sox plenty of power up the middle. Only Orioles shortstops have hit more home runs and only Blue Jays catchers have hit more home runs. The Red Sox have outscored the Yankees by 32 runs -- that's 0.8 runs per game -- and the power from non-conventional positions has been key. While Jacoby Ellsbury's injury means the Red Sox have received little production from center field (the Red Sox are last in the AL in center field OPS), the Red Sox have covered the injuries to Kevin Youkilis and Carl Crawford. Meanwhile, Adrian Gonzalez is hitting just .272 with three home runs. If anything, there are reasons to suspect the Boston offense could get better from here.

3. Stability in the closer role. Alfredo Aceves had the early blown save against the Tigers and the five-run blow-up against the Yankees on April 21, but he has been solid otherwise with seven straight saves. The bullpen as a whole has been solid in May, following up April's 6.10 ERA with a 1.64 ERA.

This doesn't mean the Red Sox should start printing playoff tickets. They are still 13th in the AL in rotation ERA. But you know what? Yankees starters have been nearly just as bad, allowing just five fewer runs in one more inning. That's just one reason Yankees fans are suddenly very quiet.

1. Since the start of the 2010 season, Mark Teixeira is a .249 hitter. Yes, he's a notorious slow starter, but he's hitting .226/.281/.386. Look, that's what he his now: .250 hitter. There's no reason to expect him to return to the .292 hitter he was in 2009, when he finished second in the AL MVP voting. The low average is one thing, but the biggest concern is the big decline in his walk rate. He had an 11.1 percent walk rate last year, but that's down to 6.9 percent. His strikeout rate is also down, from 16.1 percent to 11.3 percent. Teixeira has been much more aggressive at the plate this year, with his pitches per plate appearances dropping from 4.12 to 3.64. That may not seem like much but that drops him third among first baseman to 20th. He's getting more balls in play, but it's causing a big drop in his OBP and isn't helping his batting average.

Yes, Yankees fans will point to the bronchial inflammation that has bothered him for more than a month (he didn't start Saturday or Sunday) and caused coughing fits and fatigue. That's fair, but doesn't explain the change in approach, unless he's too tired to stand in the batter's box for six pitches at a time. No, there are bigger issues going on here (much has been made about the shifts employed against Teixiera) and it could be that Teixeira is battling some of the same issues as Albert Pujols, figuring out how to compensate for a slower bat.

2. What is Alex Rodriguez these days? He's hitting .270/.368/.399 with just nine extra base-hits (four doubles, five home runs). The good news is he has missed just one game, but there are times when A-Rod looks slow and old. Look, he can still get on base and pop the long ball every now and then, but like Teixeira, it's clear he's not the player he once was. His OPS figures since 2007: 1.067, .965, .933, .847, .823, .767. Is really anything more right now than a $28 million Chase Headley?

3. New York's rotation isn't really in any better shape than Boston's. Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda and Phil Hughes have combined to allow 29 home runs with a 5.14 ERA over 138.1 innings. Yankee fans may point out that each of those pitchers' xFIPs is lower than their actual ERA (Nova, 3.47 versus 5.69; Kuroda, 4.19 versus 4.50; Hughes, 4.42 versus 5.23) and thus might be expected to improve if their home run rates stabilize to more normal levels. On the other hand, what's happening with them isn't necessarily surprising. Many predicted Nova to regress from his rookie campaign, although his ERA is probably the most likely to drop since his strikeout rate has improved from 5.3 to 9.9.

While Nova may improve, it's also clear he's leaving too many pitches in the middle of the plate. All 10 of the home runs he has surrendered came on pitches in the middle of the strike zone and you can see from the heat map that he's had difficulty keeping the ball down.



Kuroda, meanwhile, went from pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium to Yankee Stadium and the American League. And Hughes just isn't that good; he has made 79 career starts and his ERA as a starter is 4.93. So while CC Sabathia remains as sturdy and steady as ever and Andy Pettitte looked good over the weekend in his second start, this is also a rotation with question marks.

We're only 25 percent through the season, so neither of these teams are out of it, of course. And they're certainly in better shape than 1984 -- that was the year the Tigers started 35-5, so the Yankees and Red Sox were already 16.5 games out of first place on May 20. The Yankees ended up that year at 87-75 and the Red Sox 86-76.

Which team is the better bet moving forward? I look at all the positives for the Yankees -- Derek Jeter's hot start, surprise production from Raul Ibanez (eight home runs), Curtis Granderson proving 2011's power surge wasn't a fluke -- combined with the negatives (Teixeira and A-Rod looking old, Mariano Rivera's injury, a starting rotation that may not improve), and I see a flawed team, certainly one as flawed as the Red Sox.

It makes you wonder: Maybe Red Sox fans will get the last laugh.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The Atlanta Braves pulled off an impressive sweep in St. Louis over the weekend to take over the first place in the National League East. Most impressively, they did it by scoring 23 runs in the three games. While it's not a surprise the Braves are contenders early on, what is surprising is they've done it more with their bats than their arms. Here is our list of top 10 early season surprises.

1. The Atlanta Braves' offense.

As Diane Firstman wrote the other day on the SweetSpot blog, the Braves have a chance at a historic turnaround on offense. A year ago, they averaged 3.96 runs per game, 8 percent below the major league average of 4.28 runs per game. This year, they're averaging 5.40 runs while the major league average has fallen to 4.18. That's 29 percent better, a 37 percent increase over 2011. Only a handful of teams have shown a 30 percent improvement like that year-to-year.

Some of the improvement was expected --- Jason Heyward and Martin Prado hitting better, for example. Michael Bourn has been superlative in the leadoff spot, hitting .336 with a .399 on-base percentage, but the biggest surprise has perhaps been the old man, Chipper Jones, who is hitting .299 and slugging .506. He has 22 RBIs in 24 games. With rookie shortstop Tyler Pastornicky holding his own, the Braves go eight deep and the scary thing is catcher Brian McCann hasn't really started to hit and you get the feeling Heyward is ready to explode.

2. The Baltimore Orioles are in first place.

The Orioles bounced back from losing three of four to the Texas Rangers by winning their weekend series against the Rays to maintain a one-game lead over Tampa. The Orioles live and die by the home run on offense -- they lead the majors with 54; their .310 OBP, however, ranks just 17th in the majors. Jake Arrieta got pounded again on Sunday and has allowed 13 runs his past two starts after that eight-inning shutout performance against the Yankees. That means three-fifths of Baltimore rotation has an ERA over 5.00. So, yes, there are obvious question marks here. But for now the Orioles have Matt Wieters and Adam Jones mashing, a lights-out bullpen and Jason Hammel pitching like an ace.

3. The Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros aren't terrible.

I heard a lot of mocking of the A's and Astros heading into the season -- predictions of 105 losses, 110, maybe even 115. Both teams have played solid baseball. The A's are 18-17 and as always Billy Beane has constructed a pitching staff that will keep the A's respectable. Brandon McCarthy, Bartolo Colon and Tommy Milone throw strikes, while rookie Jarrod Parker has looked good in his first four starts. Set-up man Ryan Cook, acquired with Parker in the Trevor Cahill trade, hasn't allowed a run in 16.2 innings (and hardly a hit -- opponents are batting .060 against him.)

The Astros, meanwhile, are 15-19 but have actually outscored their opponents. Jose Altuve is as fun as any player in the game, Jed Lowrie has played well and veteran Wandy Rodriguez could be an attractive trade chip if he keeps pitching like this. The Astros aren't going to be playoff contenders, but at least they've giving their fans a reason to show up this summer.

4. Bryan LaHair and Jeff Samardzija.

The Chicago Cubs are bad team but have two of the season's best individual stories. Minor league vet LaHair is putting up All-Star numbers, hitting .340/.437/.670. Samardzija has been a revelation in the rotation, considering he had trouble throwing strikes as a reliever in 2011. His average fastball velocity of 94.7 mph trails only Stephen Strasburg among starters and his changeup has become one of the best strikeout pitches in the game. With a 4-1 record and 2.89 ERA, the former Notre Dame wide receiver has turned into must-see viewing for Cubs fans.

5. Derek Jeter.

Admit it, you saw more decline, you thought maybe he was just about done. Maybe you wanted him to be done. Jeter is hitting .372, has 14 extra-base hits, hasn't missed a game, and is playing like 27-year-old Jeter, not 37-year-old Jeter.

6. A.J. Ellis.

OK, Matt Kemp has been superhuman and Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly are both 5-0 but my favorite story on the team that owns baseball's best record is their obscure 31-year-old catcher who ranks third in the majors in OBP -- his .462 OBP higher than Josh Hamilton's .455. Ellis' 21 walks has been boosted by five freebies but the on-base skills are legit. Hey, Don, how about moving Ellis in front of Kemp in the lineup?

7. Bryce Harper.

The Nationals suffered a devastating injury with the loss of catcher Wilson Ramos this weekend, the latest in a string of injuries that includes Michael Morse, Jayson Werth and Drew Storen. Despite that, the Nationals are just a half-game behind the Braves in the NL East thanks to their dominant rotation. We certainly didn't expect Harper to be up so soon, but the 19-year-old has held his own. Trouble is, however, the injuries mean Harper may have to do more than hold his own. I wouldn't bet against him.

8. Parity rules the day.

The Red Sox, Angels and Phillies are in last place.

9. David Wright hitting .400.

When Wright fractured his pinkie four games into the season, Mets fans feared the worst for their franchise third baseman who has battled a string of injuries in recent season. Instead, Wright missed a few games and hasn't stopped hitting since. He's hitting .444 over his past 14 games and the Mets are 19-15 and should not be underestimated.

10. Pitchers are still throwing strikes to Hamilton.

Only Clint Barmes has swung at a higher percentage of pitches outside the strike zone. Hamilton swings at the first pitch over 50 percent of the time. And yet ... OK, easier said than done. As Chipper said after Hamilton swatted four home runs against the Orioles, "He's a bad man."

PHOTO OF THE DAY

SweetSpot blogger Dave Schoenfield and I argued so much on Thursday’s Baseball Today podcast that fisticuffs nearly ensued! OK, that last part isn’t true, but it was fun!

1. David Robertson blows up in the ninth inning Wednesday, which some say means he can only pitch in a setup role. We can’t begin to describe how ridiculous that is.

2. Meanwhile, Josh Beckett is out playing golf, eating chicken and drinking beer. Talk about a story that isn’t a story ... until Dave calls him the most overrated pitcher of the past decade. True or false?

3. Jake Peavy is pitching like a star and Tim Lincecum is not. Which right-hander would you choose for the rest of the season?

4. Our emailers have thoughts about ripping the surprising starts for the Baltimores and Clevelands of baseball, as well as schedule strength for the last-place Red Sox and Phillies.

5. On Thursday’s schedule we’ll get an exciting matchup in the Bronx as well as Nationals stud Stephen Strasburg on the hill, but there’s a certain AL Central pitcher that really needs to step up!

So download and listen to Thursday’s energetic Baseball Today podcast, and learn why you never leave a baseball game early. Ever.

What a day in baseball on Wednesday! Eric Karabell and myself could have done a two-hour Baseball Today podcast. Here are some highlights of a jam-packed show. Eric even tricked me into comparing Jose Altuve to Al Kaline and Alex Rodriguez. OK, maybe I did that to myself.

1. We discuss Jered Weaver's no-hitter, of course, and wonder how many more no-hitters we'll see this season.

2. We discuss that wild, improbable game in Atlanta between the Phillies and Braves. Are there reasons to be concerned about Roy Halladay?

3. That's only the tip of the iceberg of a crazy night -- bad calls, Jason Giambi's walk-off homer, Jake Arrieta dominating the Yankees and more.

4. We answer some emails about Mat Gamel's injury and other stuff.

5. Finally, we look ahead to Thursday's action and I declare that Jose Altuve is a batting title contender.

Check it all out on Thursday's Baseball Today podcast, and don't miss Friday's show with Mark Simon and awesome guests Jayson Stark and Tampa Bay Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey.

First base: Braun bashes. I was actually thinking about Ryan Braun this afternoon. With Prince Fielder departed for greener pastures, you heard a lot of stuff in the offseason like "Braun won't get anything to hit" or "he'll get pitched around." After all, with Fielder hitting behind Braun last season, the NL MVP received just two intentional walks. Well, entering Monday's night game in San Diego, Braun was hitting .263/.322/.500. Not bad, but certainly not MVP numbers. What's interesting is that his strike rate was way up (24.4 percent from 14.8 percent) and his walk rate was down (6.7 percent from 9.2 percent).

The decreased walk rate indicates pitchers haven't been shying away from challenging him. On the other hand, the strikeout rate suggests maybe they have, only he's been chasing pitches out of the strike zone. So which is it? Actually, it's both. Before Monday, he'd seen basically the same percentage of strikes as last year -- 46.3 percent in 2012, 45.1 percent in 2011. Braun, however, had been swinging at more pitches out of the zone -- 29.9 percent in 2011, 34.4 percent in 2012. He was also swinging at 12 percent more pitches in the zone. Braun has never been a big walker, but this increased aggressiveness perhaps indicates a hitter trying to make too much happen without the big guy hitting behind him.

Anyway, the Padres challenged Braun on Monday and he didn't miss, becoming the first player to hit three home runs at spacious Petco Park, which opened in 2004. He homered in the fourth inning off Joe Wieland, swatting a first-pitch high fastball over the fence in right-center. In the fifth, he tomahawked a 2-2 Wieland slider into the upper deck of the Western Supply Co. warehouse in left field. In the seventh, he hit a first-pitch breaking ball from Ernesto Frieri just over the fence in left-center, prompting a smile as he rounded the bases. He had a chance for a fourth home run, but settled for one-hop triple off the fence in right-center.

Suddenly, he's hitting .294/.347/.647.

The lesson for Braun: Be patiently aggressive, if that makes sense. Two of his home runs came on meaty first pitches. He said after the game he has been inconsistent with his swing. But consistency comes with patience and discipline as well. Quit chasing pitches out of the zone and maybe he'll start connecting more with those in the zone.

Second base: Andy Pettitte roughed up. Hold off on that belief that Andy Pettitte is a sure thing as an upgrade over Freddy Garcia or Phil Hughes in the Yankees' rotation. He gave up six runs and 10 hits in 5.2 innings in a Class A start on Monday. On the positive side, he did strike out eight with no walks. "I feel good and it was another solid day," Pettitte said. "I felt the quality of pitches were as good as I've had in any of my starts up to now, and I was able to hold my velocity throughout. I feel like I'm ready to help the team." While Pettitte says he's ready, the Yankees are likely to give him two more minor league starts.

Third base: Pedro power. Pedro Alvarez still has an ugly .203 batting average and an awful 23/3 SO/BB ratio, but the once-heralded Pirates prospect is at least starting to show something. He hit his fifth home run of the season in the Pirates' 9-3 win over the Braves -- Pittsburgh's first game with more than five runs all month. Over his past eight games, he's hitting .345 with three home runs and four doubles. Hey, it's start. Ten days ago he was batting .067.

Home plate: Tweet of the day. We salute Mr. Braun:

That's why baseball is the greatest game there is. A routine Monday night & there's suddenly a surprise: #Brewers Ryan Braun 3 HR, 6 RBI.

— Steve Berthiaume (@SBerthiaumeESPN) May 1, 2012

It's easy to discount the Baltimore Orioles and their 14-8 start. Even Orioles fans will agree with that, I suppose -- 14 consecutive losing seasons, six consecutive seasons of 90-plus losses, a decade of bad pitching, bad fielding, bad free agents and bad ownership. It's the Orioles. It's been a long time since they mattered.

But we have to pay attention after this start. At least for a few weeks, right? They are 14-8, they are tied for first with the Tampa Bay Rays in baseball's brawniest division, they've won six of seven and they've won games in a peculiar, un-Orioles-like fashion -- great pitching and dramatic comebacks. The Orioles allowed just 13 runs over this seven-game stretch. Sunday's win was the kind you put on a season highlight DVD as they scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth -- capped by Wilson Betemit's walk-off three-run homer against Oakland's Grant Balfour.

"We got a team where everybody pulls together," Betemit said after the game. "Everybody knows how to play, knows how to win, and that's what we do."

Now, maybe Betemit just got caught up in the happy celebration. He probably doesn't realize how that quote sounds so odd to Orioles fans. Then again, he's new to Baltimore and isn't trapped by that cloud of losing seasons. But it's also true that Baltimore is winning these kinds of games -- according to Nick Faleris of the Camden Depot blog, that's five comeback wins in the seventh inning or later for the Orioles, matching their 2011 total.

Nolan Reimold (.333), Adam Jones (.330), Robert Andino (.324) and Chris Davis (.319) are all hitting above .300. Matt Wieters has six homer runs and a team-leading 15 RBIs. The Orioles are sixth in the AL in runs even though J.J. Hardy is hitting .181 and Mark Reynolds is hitting .150 without a home run.

Now, this is where I rain on the Orioles' parade a little bit. Those four guys hitting over .300? They've combined for just 13 walks but 60 strikeouts. Can they keep up that production? The low walk rate means the Orioles are just 10th in the AL in on-base percentage, so they have been relying on the home run (29 in 22 games).

But it's been the rotation that has provided the biggest lift. After ranking last in the AL in 2011 with a 5.39 ERA, the rotation has posted a 3.65 ERA so far, led by newcomer Jason Hammel's 1.73 mark. But Wei-Yin Chen has been a nice surprise as well, with a 2.22 ERA. The 26-year-old Taiwanese left-hander came over from Japan and has a four-pitch repertoire that isn't overpowering but he's fanned 19 batters in 24.2 innings, a good enough rate to survive.

Now ... this is where I again in some rain. While Jake Arrieta has looked good, left-hander Brian Matusz has again struggled, although his last start was his best. The Orioles are still looking for the promising lefty of 2010, but he's at least throwing 90 mph again. Tommy Hunter is a finesse right-hander who has survived despite allowing eight home runs so far. But what happens when he starts going through those AL East lineups start after start?

Speaking of which. The Orioles play the Yankees and Red Sox this week. They already went 0-3 earlier in the season against New York and this time have to play the Yankees on the road. This will be a good test to see what kind of team the Orioles really have. Not to disagree with Mr. Betemit, but I have doubts whether this is a team that knows how to win. Last year, the O's went 13-23 against New York and Boston; in 2010, they went 14-22; in 2009, 7-29. The last time they won a season series against either team was 2004, when they went 10-9 against Boston.

Series of the week: Orioles at Yankees, Monday through Wednesday
Jason Hammel (3-0, 1.73) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (1-3, 4.38), 7:05 ET
Brian Matusz (0-3, 5.66) vs. Phil Hughes (1-3, 7.88), 7:05 ET
Jake Arrieta (1-2, 4.45) vs. Ivan Nova (3-0, 5.18), 7:05 ET (ESPN)

Hammel has thrived by throwing lots of grounders -- he's fourth among all starting pitchers in groundball rate so far, at 61.8 percent. The O's hope to take advantage of a struggling Hughes on Tuesday. He's lasted just 16 innings over four starts, giving up five home runs and a .329 average. Nova is 3-0 -- he hasn't lost a start since last June 3. But he's allowed a .343 average, though his walk rate is down and strikeout rate way up from 2011.

Three pitching matchups to watch
1. Cole Hamels (3-1, 2.73) vs. Brandon Beachy, Phillies at Braves (Tuesday, 7:10 ET)

The Braves have quietly gone 14-8 with a +27 run differential, third-highest in baseball behind the Rangers and Cardinals. Filthy Hamels (30 strikeouts, three walks) will be a fun test for the NL's leading offense (tied with the Cardinals at 5.1 runs per game). Beachy has a 1.05 ERA, although that figure has been helped by four unearned runs. Still, Beachy has allowed a .191 average through four starts and has improved his groundball rate from 33.8 percent in 2011 to 47.3, leading to just one home run allowed.

2. Jake Peavy (3-1, 1.67) vs. Drew Smyly (1-0, 1.23)

Peavy looks rejuvenated, the Peavy of a Cy Young past. He's thrown two straight complete games, has held hitters to a .162 average, has allowed one home run and has a 33/5 strikeout/walk ratio. Impressively, four of his starts have come against the Red Sox, Tigers, Orioles and Rangers, four of the AL's best offenses so far. In short, he's been dominant, maybe the best pitcher in baseball in April if you factor in the competition. Detroit's rookie left-hander has been impressive in his four starts -- allowing one run each time out (three of those on home runs). Smyly throws in the 90-93 range with his four-seamer, mixing in a slider and cut fastball and occasional changeup. He allowed two hits in six innings against the Yankees in his previous start.

3. Zack Greinke (3-1, 3.94) vs. Madison Bumgarner (4-1, 2.53), Brewers at Giants (Saturday, 4:05 ET)

Greinke had one blow-up start in which he allowed eight runs, but has otherwise allowed a total of five runs in his four other starts, two of which were wins over the Cardinals. I'd like to see Greinke get a little more economical with his pitches and prove he can pitch more than seven innings. Greinke pitched at least eight innings 10 times with the Royals in 2010, but has to do it with the Brewers. Bumgarner has reeled off four straight wins and has yet to walk more than two batters in a game.

Heat map of the week
Courtesy of Mark Simon we have a little comparison between Albert Pujols and red-hot Matt Kemp. One big difference has been their success with two strikes. Pujols has faced 50 two-strike plate appearances and has totaled 11 hits plus walks (and no home runs, of course). Kemp has faced 45 two-strike plate appearances but has 18 hits plus walks, including four home runs. Another big difference, as you can see on the heat map below on their overall production in different zones: Kemp is 8-for-12 (with five home runs) on pitches down the middle while Pujols is hitless in that area. Maybe that's reason for Angels fans to be optimistic: He's due to start pounding those mistakes.

Player on the hot seat: Mat Latos, Reds
The Reds gave up a lot to get Latos from the Padres in the offseason, a guy acquired to fit behind Johnny Cueto in the rotation, but in reality expected to be Cincy's best pitcher. He's been a huge disappointment, with one win in five starts. He had one seven-inning scoreless stint against the Giants, but has otherwise failed to fool many batters. Opponents are hitting .304 off him and he's fanned just 18 batters in 28.2 innings, after averaging 8.9 K's per nine the past two seasons. His velocity has been fine; hitters are just putting more balls in play. After hitters to swing and miss his slider 23 percent of the time last year, they're doing so 17 percent this season. He's also allowed a much higher line-drive percentage and his slider and sinker.

(Oh, yes, this doesn't mean Pujols isn't still on the hot seat.)

Player to watch: Bryce Harper
No introduction needed. He's up, he went 2-for-6 with a double, walk and sac fly in his two games and I'll be watching as many of his at-bats as possible this week. You can check him out on "Sunday Night Baseball" against the Phillies.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

There are days baseball makes me sad. Today is one of those days.

As most of you know, I'm a Mariners fan, and other than Felix Hernandez and a couple months of Cliff Lee's genius, it's been a miserable few years rooting for the M's. It's been a miserable half-decade to be honest.

That's one reason I fell a little bit in love with Michael Pineda last season. He was new and young, big and bulky and kind of inelegant on the mound, sort of a gangly mess of limbs and torso as he pitched. But, man could he could pitch. He threw hard, he threw strikes and there are few things in baseball as electrifying as a rookie pitcher who can ring it up into the upper 90s and has a clue where the ball is going.

He was dazzling to watch, that rare rookie in which you think the sky is the limit and believe it.

Yes, he wasn't as good in the second half, but that was of little concern. He got a little tired. He just needed to master his changeup for 2012. Then he'd be unhittable.

Then he got traded. I know Mariners fans who immediately said they hoped Pineda didn't do well in New York. "We want to win the trade," they said. What? Why does that matter? You hope Jesus Montero does well with the Mariners, but root against Michael Pineda? No way. I was hoping he'd take New York City by storm, become a fearsome twosome with CC Sabathia, let the rest of the baseball world see how good he was.

Then his velocity wasn't there in spring training. Then he had to leave a game early with a sore shoulder. He was despondent, a 23-year-old kid who had worked hard at his craft, had worked hard to learn English, a kid excited last April to pass his driving test to get his license. A kid with an electric arm and now a shoulder that wouldn't allow him to do his thing.

He's out for the season now as he'll undergo surgery for a torn labrum. It's a tough injury, maybe even tougher to come back from than Tommy John surgery. Curt Schilling and Chris Carpenter are two guys who've done it.

The Yankees may cry damaged goods, who knows. Maybe Pineda hurt his shoulder some time last season. Maybe he hurt it that first time out this spring, or maybe in a subsequent appearance as he tried to throw harder. At this point, it doesn't matter. The Yankees should be fine this season. Andy Pettitte makes another tuneup start in the minors on Wednesday night and will soon be ready. They have David Phelps, who can pitch in the rotation, and their own homegrown prospects, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, may be ready by midseason if Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia continue to struggle. And they're the Yankees, always ready and able to swing a deal if needed.

But the sad part is Yankees fans won't get to see Michael Pineda pitch this year. We can only hope they'll get to in 2013.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter @dschoenfield.

Eric Karabell and I debate the merits of the Texas Rangers: Is this team good enough to win 100 games ... or even become the fifth team of the wild-card era (since 1995) to win 105? We also preview the Rangers-Yankees series that kicks off Monday night.

Of course, it's much more fun to overanalyze everything that goes on in the first few weeks of a baseball season. Albert Pujols has lost it! CC Sabathia's velocity is down! Matt Kemp is going to have the greatest season of all time! The Red Sox are terrible!

OK, maybe the Red Sox are terrible.

In this vein, Bill Baer of Crashburn Alley has a piece on not overreacting to early season sample sizes. He uses John Mayberry Jr. of the Phillies as an illustration, but his point holds true for nearly all players off to a cold start (or, in reverse, a hot starts: It's a small number of plate appearances to get worked up over. Here is an excellent graphic that shows the 10 qualified players with the lowest OPS through April last season; as you can see, all performed much better the rest of the season.

So, it's early. No need to panic or overreact.

Right, Red Sox fans?

Other stuff to check out:

• Philip Humber's perfect game is a reminder that the Mets still haven't thrown a no-hitter in their history. Since Humber is an ex-Met, DJ Gallo guesses which former Met will be next in line to toss a no-no.
• The Yankees scored seven runs in consecutive innings to rally from a 9-0 deficit on Saturday. Diane Firstman discovered that's been done before. She even found a fairly recent instance of a team scoring eight runs in consecutive innings.
• Speaking of that collapse, Chip Buck examines what went wrong. He also looks at the state of the bullpen and who the Red Sox could bring in or call up to help.
• It's Derek Jeter's New York City penthouse. Complete with books and telescope!
• The Kansas City Royals ... well, the title of this post says it all: "Surely something has gone right."
• The title of Joey Matschulat's post about the Rangers also says it all: "The (still) hottest team in the world."
• The Dodgers have Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier but could use more help on offense, especially in left field where Juan Rivera has gotten off to a slow start. Jon Weisman looks at prospects Alex Castellanos and Scott Van Slyke. Is either a possible fix for left field?
• Is it time to start drinking the Rockies Kool-Aid?
• Drew Hutchison debuted over the weekend for the Blue Jays and Callum Hughson files a report, saying Hutchison reminds him of former Twins starter Kevin Tapani.
• Is Kyle Lohse the real deal? He's allowed three runs through his first four starts.

With a perfect game and a very imperfect Boston Red Sox performance in our rear view mirror, but very much on our minds, Mark Simon and I gathered for Monday’s Baseball Today podcast!

1. First of all, kudos to Chicago White Sox right-hander Philip Humber for the 21st perfecto in big league history. Humber was an unlikely candidate, but the team he beat wasn’t.

2. As for the Red Sox, we don’t want to say they or they're manager deserve this rough start, but there’s plenty of blame to go around. And credit the Yankees for coming back from a 9-0 deficit.

3. It’s Power Rankings day! See where the struggling Phillies and Angels fell to this week, as well as which potential contender falls to the bottom five.

4. Simon says defenses are doing something to Albert Pujols that is wise, but a bit unprecedented. As for Pujols himself, is all going to be well?

5. And our emailers have thoughts on players that had three home runs among five hits in a game (Mickey Brantley!), why Aubrey Huff should never play second base again, and making the most outs per at-bat.

So, download and listen to Monday’s fun Baseball Today podcast, as Bias Cat triumphantly returned (as did our producer), and a good time was had by all. Except the Red Sox fan.

A good time was had by all on Friday’s Baseball Today podcast , as Mark Simon and I discussed some surprising Thursday results, took your emails and looked ahead to an interesting weekend!

1. Curtis Granderson took the Twins deep three times in Thursday’s win, but would you believe he didn’t have the best performance of the night? We tell you who was better!

2. Yu Darvish stepped up his game against the Tigers, but what should we expect from the right-hander moving forward?

3. Simon and I pay special attention to defense, and tell you which hitters are seeing the most shifts against them, and which teams are paying attention.

4. Emailers want to know about the Cubs’ future, the Nationals’ rotation and who has scored the most runs in a game without getting a base hit?

5. It’s not only about the Red Sox and Yankees this weekend, but other series are important and we tell you which pitchers need to step up their game as well.

So download and listen to Friday’s Baseball Today podcast. We apologize for the post-production technical difficulties that hampered development of Thursday’s episode, but we’re on track today! Have a great weekend!

You know when you shake hands with a former catcher. It’s like having an overstuffed bag of walnuts put in your palm and then having it squeeze the circulation out of your mitts. It’s the fingers, of course, broken so often that they seem as though somebody had stomped out a tango on each and every knuckle. The toll on each catcher’s hands, not to mention his knees, is tremendous. The workload and the toll it takes seems almost cruelly balanced against the near-absence of glory at a position where, often as not, you get to take the statistical rap for something gone amiss because of a pitcher’s errant throw home or his poor move to first base. You admire catchers, even if you wouldn’t want to be one.

But even among that small fraternity of catchers hardy enough to make it to the majors and stick around and take the daily beating that regular receiving requires, there are those very few who stand apart because of their ability to endure. It’s part of the reason why we mourn Gary Carter (fourth all-time in games caught) now, beyond The Kid’s natural ebullience. And it’s why we respect the catchers who didn’t last that long because they hit well at the position or provided “above replacement value,” but who lasted that long because they could catch: Bob Boone and Brad Ausmus and Jim Sundberg. Easy guys to root for, if long-suffering.

None of that matches the magnitude of what Pudge Rodriguez did during his career, the value he delivered, the greatness that was manifest from his first day behind the plate in the major leagues, all the way back in 1991 as a 19-year-old catching his first game for the Texas Rangers as the other half of a battery with Kevin Brown.

It might surprise in today’s all-media environment in which prospects get to spring with few surprises for us, but even back then, thanks to Baseball America and the like, the legend of how good Ivan Rodriguez was behind the plate was spreading. From the squat behind the plate he was as nimble as a cat despite the gear that goes with the trade of framing and catching pitches day after day, and throwing better than anyone ever has as an everyday regular, before, since, and likely ever.

It’s well he’s calling it quits as a Ranger, because nothing else would have made sense. In the ’90s he was one of those players worth the price of admission all by himself, like Jim Abbott on the mound or Frank Thomas digging in at the batter's box or even Ken Caminiti’s kamikaze glove work at third. For 12 years in Texas, he was as close to a signature star as the franchise had ever had to that point, outshining even sluggers Rafael Pameiro and Juan Gonzalez in that performance-enhanced era.

The great novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald said that, “There are no second acts in American lives,” and maybe there’s something to that, but it certainly wasn’t true about Pudge Rodriguez in his career. After a dozen seasons in Texas, the man moved on to the Marlins to help lead their other, less notorious “bought” World Series in 2003, a single-season temp who was just getting started at proving he had plenty left in the tank on the back slope of his career. He was a key player on the 2006 Tigers team that upset a few apple carts by winning an American League pennant.

That sort of second wind propelled him to the elder statesman stints that seem to reflect the end of more than a few great catchers’ careers. After a pre-free agency trade to the Yankees, he’d move from Houston to Texas to Washington, an extended victory lap on a career that had seen its share of winning.

There was a special kind of agony associated with watching Pudge at the end of his career that took me back to watching the previous "Pudge," Carlton Fisk, catching games for the White Sox at the end of his career, as he set the games caught record that had been, briefly, Boone’s. As catchers, both Pudges had probably taken more pounding behind the plate than anyone else to don a uniform, let alone take up the tools of ignorance.

At the end, there was something both poetic and sad about the contrast between the tremendous young catchers who stood ready to replace them -- Ron Karkovice with the White Sox and Wilson Ramos with the Nats -- and their own diminished skills. Draw whatever broad-strokes image about the passage of time in baseball that you care for, but the handoff from an all-time great to a ready kid with skills is the epitome of following teams and players over time. It’s why we ache for the ones who have to let go, and root for the ones ready to step in. It’s a big part of why we watch.

There’s nothing poetic or sad about watching Rodriguez choose to walk away now, though. His greatness is a matter of record. The 14 All-Star appearances, the 13 Gold Gloves, the MVP award or the ring, all of it was his due because he could do what no one else could, catching longer than anyone else has or will, better than anyone ever has, or will. Here’s looking forward to seeing Pudge in Cooperstown on the first ballot. It, like so much else, is what he has earned.

PHOTO OF THE DAY
Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Russell Martin knows what it is like to be framed. Sure, it’s his art, framing others, but every once in a while the tables turn. As the pitch comes toward the plate it looks borderline low. But then he glances back into the catcher’s glove. He sees a strike. The umpire does, too. Somehow, without flinching, the catcher grabbed the ball, brought it back into the strike zone and made the pitch look better -- so much so that a ball is now a strike.

As he tells this story, Martin talks with calmness -- a mixture of leadership, knowledge and initiative -- which leaves little room to doubt his ability as a catcher. Watch him closely as he interacts with teammates or manages the game from behind the plate, and one word comes to mind: trustworthy.

When Andy Pettitte walked out of the locker room for the first time in 2012, Martin stopped Pettitte and asked him where he was going.

Pettitte said he was on his way to throw his first bullpen. Martin, who joined the Yankees after Pettitte had retired and missed the 2011 season, told him, "I want to catch you."

Even though he was catching the 7:05 spring training game that evening, Martin grabbed his glove and spent some time catching and talking with Pettitte. They discussed how Pettitte likes to throw his pitches and what he likes to do on the mound. Martin later recalled being impressed with Pettitte’s command, and how serious he was with every pitch.

"It was great," Pettitte said. "I was glad he wanted to jump in there and catch me on my first 'pen."

The pitcher-catcher relationship is one of the most singular between teammates in sports. Unlike statistics such as batting average and slugging percentage, the impact a catcher has on a team’s pitching staff is hard to measure. The difficulty in qualifying a catcher’s influence on the entire pitching staff is a paradox: His impact on the team's ERA is unique to his relationship with each pitcher.

"The catcher is involved with everybody in the game, because he’s your field general," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "He’s going to control obviously every starter, all your relievers, he’s supposed to have the game plan in place, defensively he can hold the runner, he can block balls in the dirt, he can steal strikes by framing properly. There are a lot of different things that you need your catcher to do, plus you want him to hit in our league."

* * * *

Talk about a catcher influencing a pitcher’s ERA and two words immediately come to mind: pitch selection. Most major league pitchers can recall how many times they shake a catcher off during the course of a game. Some even remember how many times over the course of a season. Pitchers know how in sync they are with their catcher.

"There’s not necessarily a pitch that’s better than the other in a certain situation," Martin says of calling the right pitches. "But a lot of it is just knowing your pitcher, and knowing the pitches your pitcher can execute."

Martin says taking in all the information from scouts, and from the pitching coach, goes into knowing the opposing hitters and being prepared to call a good game.

"Another thing that goes into catching ERA is your ability to receive -- getting a called strike here and there -- making a pitch look good that maybe was not necessarily a strike," Martin says. "For me, the true part of catching is being able to do that. I take a lot of pride in it."

Martin’s ability to frame pitches is recognized throughout baseball. Through extensive statistical research, Max Marchi of Baseball Prospectus recently pinpointed Martin as the second best catcher (behind Brian McCann) in the major leagues over the past four years in framing pitches -- receiving that borderline pitch and influencing umpires to call a strike.

Cashman said he "very much so" takes advanced statistics and research into consideration when evaluating the work of a catcher. With the wealth of data now available via the Pitch f/x system, researchers like Marchi are digging into catchers' abilities in framing pitches, blocking pitches in the dirt, controlling the running game and fielding bunts. A major reason the Rays signed career backup Jose Molina to become their starting catcher was data that showed he was one of the best at framing pitches.

That one strike can make all the difference in an at-bat. Take a 1-1 count, for example. In 2011, major league batters hit .340 after the count reached 2-1. But they hit just .180 after the count reached 1-2.

The marriage

Maybe the catcher doesn't matter to a great pitcher like Mariano Rivera. After all, it doesn't seem like he needs much help on the mound.

"I can [use] all the help that I can get, and the catcher is one of those guys," Rivera said. "I mean, if you have a guy who really takes his business back there [seriously], he can help you more than 50 percent."

"It’s trusting," Rivera says of his relationship with his catcher. "It’s trusting. It’s a marriage kind of like."

Rivera pauses at this thought as Alex Rodriguez walks by and gives him a part friendly hug/part pummeling. It is a display of longtime friends and teammates.

As if reminded how important it is to have faith in his teammates, Rivera continues. "Trust in each other," he says. "Knowing what he is going to call before he actually calls the pitch. So when you have that kind of relationship, that’s when the catcher is in the game; you guys are thinking alike, you don’t worry about nothing else."

Chris Carpenter, who pitched one of the most mentally demanding games in recent history -- the Cardinals' 1-0 victory against Roy Halladay and the Phillies in Game 5 of the 2011 Division Series -- described what the best catchers can do behind the plate. "They can take control of your mind," Carpenter said. "They can take control of what you want to do."

Executing the perfect pitch, the perfect swing, or the most accurate throw in baseball requires muscle memory, but when the mind is clouded with doubt and uncertainty, executing the right play at the right time becomes more difficult. Preventing that doubt from creeping into a pitcher's mind is the intangible element in the art of catching.

"The catcher is like a quarterback," Cashman said. "He has to be a leader. He has to be able to take charge, and that will show up in his play. Listen, if he’s not a leader, he’s not going to be able to get back there and do the job. It will manifest itself in performance and stuff like that. So, he has to carry himself with leadership abilities, much like the quarterback in the huddle."

The key for Martin in reaching the mental side of the pitcher is to understand there are different kinds of people. And here lies his secret, because, of course, it is easy to trust someone when they know you well enough to let you just be yourself.

"It’s about communicating and knowing who you have on the mound," Martin said. "That goes into knowing how your pitcher is made up mentally. What kind of person is he? Is he the kind of guy that you have to kind of ease your way with him? You know, like a softer approach. Or is he the kind of guy that you kind of have to grab by the collar?

"The key is to build a relationship with your pitcher where he is comfortable with what you are putting down. Obviously you’re just putting some suggestions down, but the mindset is to have them focus on pitch after pitch; not having to worry about strategizing while they are on the mound. You want to simplify everything for them, where they are just on the mound executing each pitch at a time."

But Martin is not just putting random signs or numbers down. It is a combination of skill, knowledge and trust.

In his first season with the Yankees, Martin started 118 games, and the staff's ERA decreased from 4.06 in 2010 to 3.73. Manager Joe Girardi expects Martin to "do a great job like he did last year. Obviously he has fewer pitchers to learn, because he’s been here for a year. But the expectation is to continue to build on what [he] did last year."

* * * *

On a beautiful, 80-degree March day in Florida, Martin takes a break from batting practice before the night game. His 5-foot-10 frame sits comfortably in the shade of the Yankees' dugout as he looks out at the empty field. He’s thoughtful, thinking about baseball and his role on the Yankees.

"My take on baseball and what defines you as a good player is offensively it’s your ability to produce or create runs, and then on defense it is your ability to take away runs, take away hits, take away extra-base hits, and you combine both of those, and that’s who you are as a player," Martin says. "That’s what you mean to your team."

There it is again, Martin’s calm demeanor, easygoing and accepting. You can see it in Martin’s eyes. You can see why the pitchers enjoy working with him.

"One pitch can change everything,” Martin says. "It starts with pitching. You can’t wind down the clock in baseball, you have to get 27 outs."

One pitch can change a game. It's why the Yankees have complete trust in their catcher.

Remember one week ago? I know many of you wanted to kill off the Yankees and Red Sox. Both teams were 0-3 and in such dire straits that Bill Simmons had a special podcast with his buddy JackO -- a Yankees fan -- to commiserate in their pain.

Well, it's not so easy to get rid of the wicked witches of the East. The Red Sox pummeled the Rays over the weekend, scoring 31 runs in a three-game sweep in games started by David Price, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore.

The Yankees, meanwhile, took two of three from the Angels to climb above .500, although they did miss Jered Weaver and Dan Haren while getting shut down by C.J. Wilson. (Hey, we don't want Yankees fans to get too comfortable.)

OK, in all seriousness, it's a reminder of the hysteria that's easy to ensue when a team with high expectations doesn't go 7-3 out of the gate. A similar sense of panic exists in Philadelphia, where the Phillies are 4-5 and scoring barely three runs a game. It's early, folks.

Before the Yankees and Red Sox meet this weekend, the Yankees will have an excellent opportunity to pad their win total with a four-game series against the hapless Twins, looking like a good bet early on to challenge the Astros as baseball's worst team. Don't expect much run support for Carl Pavano, who faces Freddy Garcia on Monday night on ESPN and ESPN3 (7 ET): The Twins have scored three runs or fewer in seven of their nine games.

Outside of Derek Jeter (.366, four doubles, two home runs) and Nick Swisher, most of the Yankees hitters are off to lukewarm starts. Robinson Cano has one RBI, Alex Rodriguez is hitting .222 with one home run and Mark Teixeira (a career .235 hitter in April) is off to his usual slow start with a .222 average and zero home runs.

But with four games against the Twins, look for Cano and Teixeira to enter their showdown with Boston with at least one home run on their ledger.

Series of the week

Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday through Thursday

Johnny Cueto (1-0, 2.25) vs. Kyle Lohse (2-0, 1.35)
Mat Latos (0-1, 5.59) vs. Jaime Garcia (1-0, 4.22)
Bronson Arroyo (0-0, 2.63) vs. Adam Wainwright (0-2, 11.42)

In some regard, the Cardinals were baseball's most impressive team through the first 10 games of the schedule. They methodically took two of three from the Brewers, Reds and Cubs, as well as beating the Marlins on Opening Day. Their plus-23 run differential is the best in the majors, as is their 57 runs scored. So far, the Cardinals' bench is shaping up as a possible strength. Matt Carpenter stepped in for the injured Lance Berkman (who should return Tuesday) and has driven in 10 runs in just 22 at-bats. Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso provide flexibility in the infield. And so far, Yadier Molina (.353/.421/.735, three home runs) is showing his offensive growth in 2011 was for real.

The Reds have scored just 31 runs in 10 games. Outside of Joey Votto and Zack Cozart, the offense hasn't done much. I was worried about Scott Rolen's ability to produce heading into the season and Dusty Baker's cleanup man is off to a .121 start (4-for-33, no home runs, one walk). Baker has also given rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco just 12 at-bats, and Drew Stubbs is still having big issues making contact. Yes, Brandon Phillips missed some games, but there appear to be some red flags about the Reds' offense. The Reds can hardly afford to let the Cardinals put six games between them this early in the season, but that's what they're facing if St. Louis sweeps the series.

Three pitching matchups to watch

1. Monday: Roy Halladay (2-0, 0.60) vs. Tim Lincecum (0-1, 12.91, Phillies at Giants (10:15 p.m. ET)

Halladay has been terrific while Lincecum has been terrible and is coming off the shortest outing of his career on Wednesday, when he couldn't escape the third inning in Colorado. Lincecum is 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in nine career starts against the Phillies -- teams that had better offenses than this Phillies team, of course. Wednesday's Cliff Lee-Matt Cain matchup ain't exactly chopped liver, either. Yes, I just used that phrase.

2. Wednesday: David Price (1-1, 4.82) vs. Brandon Morrow (0-0, 2.57), Rays at Blue Jays (7:07 p.m. ET)

Tampa Bay's brutal April schedule continues with a Monday morning Patriots Day affair in Boston, three in Toronto and then a bit of a reprieve with three at home against the Twins. Price is coming off a poor stint against the Red Sox in which he had issues locating his fastball and threw 83 pitches in three innings. Morrow has gone seven innings in each of first two starts, a good early sign for somebody looking to prove he can pitch 200 innings for the first time.

3. Saturday: Neftali Feliz (1-0, 2.25) vs. Justin Verlander (0-1, 2.25), Rangers at Tigers (1:05 ET)

Yes, please. The Tigers will prove to be a sterner test for Feliz than the Twins and Mariners. Feliz used his changeup successfully in seven shutout innings against the Mariners in his first start, less so on Sunday against the Twins. He's still a work in progress as a starter, and while nobody doubts his fastball, we'll see if his secondary stuff can catch up. Many still consider moving him to the rotation a bit of a risk, considering his strikeout rate as a closer in 2011 didn't exactly reflect domination (54 strikeouts in 62.1 innings). So far he has seven K's in 12 innings.

Player on the hot seat: Aramis Ramirez, Brewers

After hitting .306/.361/.510 with 26 home runs for the Cubs, the Brewers signed Ramirez to help replace Prince Fielder. So far he's hitting .114 without a big one.

Player to watch: Chad Billingsley, Dodgers

Billingsley has made two strong starts -- one run with a 15-1 strikeout-walk ratio -- raising hopes that the Dodgers will have a strong No. 2 starter behind Clayton Kershaw. Billingsley suffered through the worst season of his career in 2011 as he walked 84 batters, but made some mechanical adjustments this spring. "Success breeds confidence," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt told ESPNLA's Tony Jackson. "They go hand in hand. Right now, you're seeing him totally in control. He isn't right on target with every ball he throws, but we're not seeing that wildness. I like to call them well-thrown balls, and we are seeing a lot of well-thrown balls coming out of his hand. Those are quality pitches. He just needs to do that consistently."

Heat map of the week

Courtesy of Mark Simon and Katie Sharp of ESPN Stats and Information, we have to do a Matt Kemp heat map. Baseball's hottest hitter is just the fourth player since 1920 hitting .450 with at least six home runs and 16 RBIs through his team's first 10 games. The typical major leaguer hits a home run on every nine to 10 of the fly balls he hits, but Kemp's first nine fly balls have resulted in six home runs. He's hit the ball to the opposite field six times, resulting in five hits and four home runs. And in at-bats ending in curveballs, he's 5-for-5 with three singles, a double and a home run.

PHOTO OF THE DAY