Alfonso Soriano finally drew a walk after 101 at-bats. Bill Madden: "If he can continue to hit .270 or better and provide the kind of speed the Yankees need from him on the basepaths, nobody will care if he doesn't take a walk." Better make that .300, at least. Speed on the bases won't do much good if he has a .270 OBP. Even Vince Coleman did better than that. (New York Daily News)

Gary Huckabay on MLB's "Dilbert style" approach to shortening games. (Baseball Prospectus)

Chris Kahrl disses the Mets for discarding Brian Rose, and praises the Devil Rays for picking him up, in Transaction Analysis. "[Tampa Bay's] rotation could turn into one of the best balances between cost and performance in the division. Now if only Vinny Castilla, John Flaherty, Ice Williams, and Fred McGriff could be turned into something appropriate--like Diamondbacks--the Rays would finally be fielding a team with a semblance of a future." (Baseball Prospectus)

Don Malcolm looks at career paths for Hall of Fame pitchers, comparing those who started their careers early to those who didn't. (Baseball Primer)

News and notes from Peter Gammons. "When the Phillies and Twins are in first place and the Mets, Yankees and Braves combined are seven games under .500, it's hard to argue fiscal disparity", says one big market executive. "Insanity might be a better plea." (ESPN)

Everything is going right for the Mariners. They're 20-5, and their AAA affiliate (Tacoma) is 18-5. One of the guys who's tearing up the PCL is Manny Alexander, though, so maybe they shouldn't get too excited. (Seattle Times)

Bob Klapisch on baseball's wacky first month. (Bergen Record)

Art Martone offers some perspective on Jimy Williams. Jimy doesn't deserve all the blame when the Red Sox lose, and besides, they're 16-9. But still: "What in the world is this inexplicable love affair with Troy O'Leary? ... I don't care how much Dante Bichette's skills, whatever they are, may have eroded. Could he possibly be any worse than this?" (Providence Journal)

Gonzalez ties April HR record. When I first glanced at this headline, I assumed it was Juan. But it's Luis. (ESPN)

Nomo narrowly misses no-hitter. No point dwelling on the 7th-inning hit that spoiled it, except to say that the official scorer made the right call. The important things are that the Red Sox' starting pitchers continue their amazing April, and that Derek Lowe came through with the clutch save. (ESPN)

Peter Gammons answers his mail. If he were stranded on a desert island with several scouts, one AL GM, and a source close to Bud Selig, he'd want CDs by Little Feat, Warren Zevon, Midnight Oil, Howlin' Wolf and the Rolling Stones. (ESPN)

Contest: Give the Rangers' pitching staff a nickname! Some entries so far: Staff Infection, Hardy's Softies, Throwaways, Chuck and Duck, and Top Forty (because the hits just keep on coming). (Dallas News)

Bob Herbert writes an ode to Willie Mays. Roger Kahn: "If Willie had stayed in the Polo Grounds, he would have hit 800 home runs." (New York Times)

Not true, says Rob Neyer. (ESPN)

Box score: Blue Jays 8, Rangers 5. The number that jumps out at me is the attendance: 15,021. Tuesday, they drew a whopping 15,381. The Blue Jays are a good team; they're now tied for first at 14-7. A-Rod's Rangers are in town. Less than a decade ago, the Jays were shattering attendance records. What has happened? (ESPN)

Bud Selig warns the Florida legislature that if they don't build a new stadium, the Marlins may move or be dissolved. (Boston Globe)

Jim Furtado in Clutch Hits: "I hope the Florida state legislators are smart enough to tell Selig to get bent." (Baseball Primer)

How about dissolving the Cardinals, too? Missouri's governor has told the team that their stadium proposal is too costly. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

More Cardinals news: Fernando Tatis is upset about the way his trade to Montreal was handled. Cardinals fans must have mixed feelings: Dustin Hermanson has allowed 34 baserunners and 20 runs in 21-1/3 innings, but Albert Pujols and Placido Polanco are doing just fine in Tatis's place. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Chris Kahrl's latest Transaction Analysis. "The [Angels'] decision to cut loose Jose Canseco looks pretty ill-advised," says Kahrl, with Glenallen Hill going to the DL and no attractive DH options available. Kahrl is one of the few baseball writers who recognizes that Canseco was a pretty good player during his decline phase - more productive and less fragile than most people realize. (The Baseball Prospectus)

Allen Barra: "Isn't it about time for baseball writers and fans to agree to scrap the notion that today's pitching is bad, or that today's pitchers somehow have something to apologize for?" (Salon.com)

Art Martone on the Red Sox' Mike Lansing problem. The Sox have to pay Lansing no matter what, so why not release him instead of demoting a player (Lou Merloni or Craig Grebeck) who can actually help the team? It's a Red Sox tradition that goes back to Tom Yawkey, says Martone. "They've always come up a player or two short, sometimes by chance but many times by choice...And the team falls agonizingly short time after time, often because key at-bats in crucial games are being taken by players like Bob Bailey and Damon Buford." (Providence Journal)

Joe Sheehan credits the Twins' outfield defense for much of their early success. (Baseball Prospectus)

The Baseball Prospectus opens their mailbag. Chris Kahrl slams the players' union for not representing the interests of minor league veterans.

From Rob and Rany on the Royals, April 23. Rany: "If someone (Brent Strom?) can get through to Muser that his job may hinge on whether he can learn to run his bullpen better, this team could still finish above .500." Rob: "Are any of your doctor friends psychiatrists? Because you're daft." Rob and Rany's ongoing conversation reminds me of certain talk radio shows, where one host is a glass-is-half-full guy, and the other host shoots from the hip. It's like Boston's WEEI, plus 100 IQ points, minus nitwit callers, minus Giant Glass commercials.

From robneyer.com, a Guest Shot by Ike Brannon entitled Notes on Miller Park from a fan who liked County Stadium and hates Bud Selig. "One of the things that has bothered me about the blizzard of publicity about the new stadium coming from Bud Selig and the local media (and there is nary a critical word about Bud or the stadium in the local media)", writes Brannon, "is the relentless trashing of County Stadium...[which] was a great stadium for the average fan. It was a cozy park with an old-time charm, relatively good site lines, and nice amenities." I agree.

Sean Forman of Baseball Primer dug up this gem: Peter Gammons, in his Picks, Lists and Fun Stuff column on March 30, ranked "The 12 most important additions" as follows: 1. Alex Rodriguez, Texas; 2. Mike Mussina, Yankees; 3. Juan Gonzalez and Ellis Burks, Cleveland; 4. Jim Tracy, Los Angeles; 5. Mike Hampton, Colorado; 6. Dustin Hermanson, St. Louis; 7. Johnny Damon, Oakland; 8. David Wells, White Sox; 9. Charles Johnson, Florida; 10. Brad Ausmus, Houston; 11. Manny Ramirez, Boston; 12. Royce Clayton, White Sox. That's right, Manny Ramirez, number 11. Hey, why didn't Gammons just bump him off the list entirely? Sandy Alomar Jr., Mark Grace, Russ Davis...where are they??

Art Martone on the struggling Derek Lowe. "Get back on the horse, Derek. We need you." (Providence Journal)

Chris Kahrl keeps cranking out his Transaction Analyses, faster than I can keep up with them. Carlos Febles to the DL again? Kahrl compares him to Brent Gates, Pat Kelly, Craig Grebeck, Jeff Frye and Luis Alicea: Once-promising second basemen who suffered multiple injuries and had to settle for careers as utilitymen. (Baseball Prospectus)

Ben on rooting for other teams besides your favorite. Some fans do, some fans don't. For the record, my five favorite teams are: 1. Red Sox; 2. Whoever is playing the Yankees; 3. Astros; 4. Whoever is playing the Braves; 5. A's. (Whatcurse.com)

Joe Sheehan on the race for the DiSar awards, given to the player in each league who accumulates the most at-bats before taking his first walk. Leaders: Alfonso Soriano (AL), Aaron Boone (NL). (Baseball Prospectus)

Three new weblogs added to the Links column: Around Baseball, Astroday, and Dye-O-Meter.

Chris Karhl's Transaction Analysis. "The scenario for a Cardinals meltdown basically starts this way [McGwire on DL] and gets worse when you realize it could mean regular playing time for Bobby Bonilla or Craig Paquette." (Baseball Prospectus)

Peter Gammons on the Dodgers and other stuff. An Oakland official on Dante Bichette: "What would he do for us? Even if he were making $700,000, I don't know what we'd do with him." (ESPN)

Baseball-Reference is working again!

Interview with Sean Forman of Baseball-Reference.com at Salon.com.

The Baseball Crank looks at the season so far. (Boston Sports Guy)

Art Martone on the Dante-Bichette-to-Oakland rumors. Billy Beane is too smart to do this (unfortunately). (Providence Journal)

Rob Neyer on Tony Muser and other managers of long-term bad teams (Felipe Alou, Tom Kelly...he didn't mention Phil Garner but he could have). Why do these guys get such favorable treatment from the media, and keep their jobs for so long, while good managers like Davey Johnson and Buck Showalter take so much heat? Bill James noted this phenomenon back in the early 80's, when Joe Torre was getting praise for managing a Mets team that lost 90+ games every year. When a manager finishes last, the fans and media figure that he's just doing the best he can with the lousy players he's got. But when a manager finishes second or third, or loses in the postseason, all his mistakes look huge, and he becomes the fall guy. (ESPN)

David Schoenfield: "Barry Bonds is the best ballplayer since Willie Mays, maybe since Babe Ruth, yet he's the most underappreciated player of our generation." (ESPN)

Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis: "What the Astros need to keep in mind is that if they end up trading either [Daryle] Ward or [Moises] Alou, they should get what they really need . . . Having enough talent to deal from strength isn't a permanent situation, and once you make a deal, you don't get it back. Just ask Gord Ash." (Baseball Prospectus)

Arky Vaughan on the Astros' "problem" of having too many good first basemen and corner outfielders. (AstrosConnection)

Boston Sports Guy evaluates the red-hot Red Sox, player by player. He exaggerates when he says "only one member of the local media wrote anything positive about the 2001 Red Sox before the season -- me," but only slightly. He's the only one who didn't jump off the bandwagon after the first week of spring training. Lots of good stuff here. Go to BSG's archives and explore. (BTW, do any other cities have Sports Guys? When I look at random Digital City pages, all I can find are tourist tips and classified ads.)

Rob Neyer: "I believe that Barry Bonds should eventually be recognized as baseball's greatest left fielder." (ESPN)

David Halberstam on Maris and Mantle in '61. (ESPN)

King Kaufman on everyone's obsession with A-Rod's contract. (10 years, $252 million, in case you hadn't heard.) (Salon.com)

Dan Lewis on "territorial rights": "Owners own teams, not cities. To grant them monarchical control over an entire media market subverts a proven economic system and causes most of baseball´s economic problems." (Washington Times) (Thanks to Hot Stove Diner for the link)

Rob Neyer on the Twins' hot start, the A's' cold one, and what they mean. (Last one off the A's bandwagon, please set the parking brake.)

Peter Gammons on the Twins, who are winning with pitching and defense. I agree with Neyer on this one: Their lack of hitting will eventually sink them.

Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis. Jump to the Twins comment for a great analogy: Quinton McCracken as Marshmallow Peeps. (Baseball Prospectus)

From the Baseball Prospectus: Comments and projections for some players who were left out of BP2001. Regarding Shea Hillenbrand: "His time in Boston will likely be short as major-league pitchers exploit his weak command of the strike zone." Hillenbrand has no walks in 46 ABs, and sure enough, his average is falling. Is it too late to nominate him for the DiSar Awards?

Jeff Gordon in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "We liked the Houston Astros a whole lot more when they stunk." Life was a lot easier for the Cardinals last year, when all they had to worry about was the Reds.

NY Daily News special report: There ain't gonna be no strike.

Payroll vs. Revenue graph from the report. Salaries have gone up, but not as fast as revenues.

Joe Sheehan argues that the Red Sox' starting pitching is on a par with the Yankees'. (A Baseball Prospectus guest column on ESPN.com, for free this time.)

Peter Gammons hasn't been using song titles as headlines lately. Here's a link to his latest column anyway. (ESPN)

Don Malcolm takes Rob Neyer to task for betraying his sabermetric roots. (Baseball Primer)

Matt Welch on the importance of first base defense, and why the Angels are better off without Mo Vaughn. (SportsJones)

MLB wants the media to treat baseball games as entertainment, not as news. Bad idea, says Louis Menard in the New Yorker.

In lineup form, possible nicknames for semi-popular former and present-day major league baseball players using only the full names of former catchers who themselves lacked nicknames. (JT Dobbs, Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency)

(I got the second and third links from SportsJones's SurfJones page, a great place to look for links to interesting sports stories from unexpected sources.)

Keith Law talks to economics professor Brad Humphries about the (overhyped) economic impact of new stadiums. (The Baseball Prospectus)

The Baseball Prospectus contributes another guest column to ESPN.com. To read it, you have to be an ESPN Insider Club member. This costs money. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial, but you still need to give a credit card number. I didn't bother. The column has something to do with Mark Grace.

Allen Barra on the decline of Ken Griffey Jr. (Salon.com)

Peter Gammons on the new strike zone, John Hart's future, and other stuff, courtesy of one veteran advance scout, one regular scout, one GM, some owners, one Astros official, several of Jim Bowden's peers, and a "baseball man" who refers to the 1986 Astros as "we." (ESPN)

Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis. He offers some perspective on John Hart, whose mistakes shouldn't overshadow the fact that he built an excellent team. (Baseball Prospectus)

Rob Neyer on pitchers who make a mark at age 20. Usually they burn out early. A warning to the Indians and C.C. Sabathia. (ESPN)

Allan Wood on the 1918 Red Sox (he wrote a book about them). (SportsJones)

Alkie's series preview: Astros vs. Brewers. (AstrosConnection)

Eduard Maduro with an optimistic look at the Red Sox. (whatcurse.com)

The Denver Baseball Observer with a sort-of-optimistic Rockies forecast (90 wins, but no playoff berth).

Andy Behrens, long-time White Sox fan, explains why he's terrified that this will be the Cubs' year. (SportsJones)

Ross Newhan with an interesting profile of Scott Boras. (LA Times)

Lots of baseball in the Village Voice this week:

Allen St. John on the Yankees. Wow - a member of the media who doesn't think the Yankees are going to win 158 games this year. Even if he does think the Tigers are still in the AL East.

St. John on Dwight Gooden and "the backhanded curse of being too young and too good." Read further down for slaps at Rudy Giuliani (this is the Voice, after all) and Joe Morgan.

Billy Altman (probably the same Billy Altman who produced Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns' debut album) is bullish on the Mets.

Paul Lukas (probably not the same Paul Lukas who won an Oscar for 1943's Watch on the Rhine) likes the Devil Rays' and White Sox' and Pirates' new uniforms. The White Sox' uni even looks good on David Wells.

That's all for the Voice. Now the rest:

Art Martone, who up until now has been one of Jimy Williams's strongest defenders, is giving up the fight. (Providence Journal)

Major League Baseball now wants to limit the use of game photographs by news organizations, and may try to prevent pitch-by-pitch reporting of games on the Internet. Idiots. I guess they figure they've completely alienated the players, and now it's time to alienate the fans and the media. (Detroit News)

Allen Barra on the myth of competitive imbalance. (Salon.com)

Chris Kahrl's Transaction Analysis. (Baseball Prospectus)

Ethan reports on Hideo Nomo's no-hitter, direct from Pizzeria Uno. (whatcurse.com)

Ben apologizes to Nomo, Brian Daubauch and Mike Lansing. (whatcurse.com)

Boston Sports Guy on being a Red Sox fan. (ESPN Page 2)

Three other baseball weblogs you might want to check out: Mark Scapicchio's Baseblog, Hot Stove Diner, and On Base.