Update: I have not updated this page for awhile, but the themes really didn't change. The Yankees had to deal with various injuries and a troublesome bullpen, but survived it all, and made various changes. The Mets just got worse, got rid of a lot of veterans (including Benitez, who went to the Yanks, and then to Seattle), while Detroit was steadily bad. Anaheim never did reassert its old glory, but all the usual favorites are fighting for spots (one addition, the Marlins still have a good shot still at Wild Card). Kansas City went into decline, fought back, and are again playing lackluster ball -- hanging on to first place by their fingernails. KC might survive or the resurgent White Sox might very well take the Central ... if so, nothing much new to report in baseball.

It is truly a tale of two teams in New York baseball. First, we have the NY Yankees (22-6), which had to deal with various problems, including basically a whole new bunch of set-up men. The pick-up of Juan Acevedo (Detriot's ex-closer) in particular was especially important, since Mariano Rivera was out until the very end of April. Acevedo was five of five in saves, though he lost in a nonsave situation. The bullpen in general was the weak link early on, but since the starters went 16-0 (a few no decisions tossed in) before a loss, that was not too bad. Antonio Osuna Thus, the loss of Steve Karsay (still out), Antonio Osuna (key early in the month), Jose Contreras (sent down, after being a bit of a bust), and Rivera was too much of a problem. It even looked like the loss of Derek Jeter would not be an issue, but Erick Almonte cooled down after a great start. Hideki Matsui also calmed down some, but looks to be a marque player all the same.

Meanwhile, though the Mets (11-17) won a few series in a row, their now try and true losing ways showed themselves. David Cone ... great first game vs. the Expos (currently tied with the Braves, who once was in last past, for first), cooled down quick enough, and is currently out with an injury. Astacio came back late in the month, tossed a gem, and then was roughed for nine runs. Glavine is doing fine, after a lousy Opening Day ... the cold weather not helping him, as is Leiter, though he finally joined the loser parade. All the same, the loss suggests why Glavine and Leiter is different from other losers on the team (including Benitez ... four blown saves, Cerda ... sent down after one too many innings where he gave up at least one run, various error prone position players, etc.) in that he did give up four runs in the first, but still pitched six, and only gave up one more run. Low points: four game sweep in Puerto Rico, three game sweep vs Cards, and double header vs Arizona sweep in which they committed eight errors. On the other hand, Jae Seo looks like a decent fifth starter, including his Arizona game in which he went six, giving up only three unearned runs.

The story of the month was probably the Kansas City Royals (17-8), though they finally hit a bump in their "pitch me, I must be dreaming" month. More than half of their loses came within the last two series, and basically could all be explained by errors. They are still 10-0 at home and in first place, but it was a troubling sign. The tale of woe of the month is the Detroit Tigers (3-23), the only team with a pitcher with seven decisions (0-7), even though (seriously) he isn't pitching that bad at all. Unfortunately for Maroth, the team is hitting much worse. Meanwhile, the Phils had a no-hitter, Colorado their first triple play, and MLB their first twenty inning game (after the Marlins came back from 6-1 down in the ninth ... and still loss) in quite a while. Just your typical first month in baseball.

My other baseball page has an old discussion that is now back in the news ... Pete Rose. The commissioner is sending signals that he is thinking about letting him back into baseball, especially if he admitted wrongdoing. Since the people and sportswriters (and players for that matter) as a whole seem to want him back, and his exile has been going on for over ten years, perhaps this is the right way to go. All the same, gambling is especially troubling ... it is not on par with drug use or similiar personal crimes (though some bring them up when talking about Rose). It hurts the sanctity (as shown by the new rules regarding steroid use, yes, this still matters) of the game. A player or coach (or umpire for that matter) very well can change his behavior or appear to do so when he has a specific stake in a game.

A full accounting better be made (major reason why he was exiled was because he did not admit wrongdoing), if this goes through, and I do wonder why now? Does Bud Selig see it as some personal benefit to him or something? The best path seems to be, Hall of Fame (with some reference to his problems), yes, return to baseball, no. This would honor his play, but not give him a pass for his actions. The same might be said about some of the more "look at me, I want attention" comments of David Wells, and "his" (ghostwritten) book, but enough with the criticism guys (Yankee brass and columnists) ... he was gotten because he is controversial, and old guy or not, he had a rather good year and Spring as well.

Baseball season started yesterday with a weak if gutsy outing by Seventh Game of the World Series winner (again in spot start duty), John Lackey ... a three run homer by a lesser Ranger did Anaheim in, but the Rangers showed they have some potential. Too bad its in a tough division. The season was to start earlier, in Japan, but the war led MLB to cancel the game -- mixed feelings, since baseball is surely patriotic and we did play in WWII, but be it security or "it's war time, we aren't really into this now," the move was understandable.

The Mets start later today ... they had a pretty good Spring, nothing fantastic or anything, and with Astacio starting the season hurt, their starting pitching is questionable ... many put them finishing third behind Philadelphia. Philly made some good moves and had a good season last year, so that isn't too far off base, if depressing to Mets fans. The Yanks had a fairly ordinary Spring, couldn't quite get rid of Hitchcock (did trade Rondell White for Bubba Trammell ... White not showing as much promise as they hoped), and since a key question was what back-up catcher they would choose (not Widger), they start the season on a pretty good footing. Helping: the Red Sox didn't pick up anyone major to back-up their rotation (they don't even have a firm closer). Hurting: If they don't get to the World Series, it will be considered a failure, especially since it has been (shocking) two years. Play ball!

Julia Stiles, starring in such films as "Save The Last Dance" and "O," shows her NY roots by supporting her team during the 2001 MTV Movie Awards. (Reuter photo).