Sporting a 15-13 record, the Phils then travelled to Baltimore in the hope of repeating last year's performance against what looked like a dismal Orioles pitching staff. What resulted was a 4-0 series sweep by the Os that saw the Phils' pitching staff surrender a dozen home runs, including four to Vinny Castilla. Nevertheless, there were some bright spots in the series, namely the hitting of SS Kevin Stocker (.438, seven hits). A former Oriole seeking revenge on the boys from Baltimore for having traded him prior to last  season, SP James Baldwin was the only bright spot in an otherwise flammable pitching staff. He twirled a two-hitter in a complete-game performance that saw him fan seven. Nevertheless, he emerged winless, and was upset to say the least, noting after the game that "this weakass lineup we have is biggest overpaid heap of shit in MBL history - not counting the Red Sox." Mickey Morandini, Italian boy made good, provided one of the few solid defensive performances in a series characterized by failed range checks and careless errors.

An angry Phillies team then flew across the border for the final leg of their twelve-game road trip. What resulted was a 3-1 series romp that saw the Phils return to the .500 mark. 1B Eric Karros led the way on offense with nine hits and a stunning eleven RBI, including four home runs. Despite an otherwise solid pitching performance by the staff, Baldwin caused concern with an eight-inning outing that saw him yield 14 hits while fanning seven. Stocker proved worthy in the field, possibly out of concern that Al Newman has publicly wondered of benchrider Chris Gomez, himself a former Blue Jay, doesn't have a better glove.

The month of April invariably brings a reality check to the Phillies, for it means they face the juggernaut pitching staff of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team could not over come their fear of Dodger pitching, and lost 3-1. Levis was undoubtedly the team's star of the series with both the bat and the glove, hitting .600 with six hits, three RBI and even a stolen base; in the field, he made all three range checks and gunned down five of seven Dodger base-stealers, including Tom "I'm a complete sacklicker" Goodwin all three times he attempted to thieve.

Gambino's Bambinos returned once again to the .500 mark with a 3-1 series triumph over the visiting Mets. LF Dante "Dumbass" Bichette demonstrated rare hitting finesse, batting .429 with six hits and a pair of RBI for the series. The Phils' rookie-of-the-year candidate, SP Garrett Stephenson, worked six innings, allowing only four hits while striking out six in gaining his fifth victory of the season - but left the game prematurely from having taken too many sedatives "borrowed" from Mets manager Elvis Presley. RF Orlando Merced was stellar in the outfield. Mets manager Elvis Presley was escorted out

The win-a-series-lose-a-series roller coaster continued to glide for the Phillies until the end of the month, this time during their visit to Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium. Against the Reds, a team formerly owned by Gambino until the Gotti brothers were either imprisoned or hounded out of Milwaukee by overzealous federal investigators and faceless IRS bureaucrats, nothing seemed to go the Phils' way. Bichette led the way again offensively with eight hits, an RBI and a stolen base. SP Willie Blair offered up a rare quality start, going eight innings while allowing only six hits and fanning five. Highly touted by the Phils' promo machine before the season, 3B Scott Rolen made a valuable contribution on defense, but once again, not with the bat.

HIT LIST: Going into the month of May, when the Phils commence hostilities with divisional rivals Houston, Washington,Florida and Boston, the lineup is giving manager Al Newman concern. Rolen, who is batting third, is hitting only .235...At the end of April, despite being perfectly healthy, Levis announced that he had "had it" with baseball at the Molson level, and was going to accept a contract for a summertime stint with the Phils' Central European League team, the Leningrad Nepmen. He noted that competition in the "borscht belt" of CEL baseball, particularly against the rival Prague Defenestrators, was far more rewarding. Newman publically questioned Levis's decision, claiming that the CEL was an "Orwellian memory hole" that had swallowed up the likes of Von Hayes, Wallace Johnson, Brian Giles and Scott Bradley, but unfortunately not Dale Sveum...Mr Holman, Director of Entertainments for the Phillies organization, is working frantically to get several promotions arranged for May visits by Houstoon and much-despised Florida. Although he refuses to comment on what promises to be an "explosive" series against Florida, he categorically denied all linkage with the disappearance of several IRA Semtex stocks in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, as well as a number of 20-kt warheads from the compounds of the 43rd Missile Army of the Russian Federation's Strategic Missile Forces.

Speaking about overhyped whiners, how about Sean Gilbert. I hope the Carolina Panthers are proud of themselves- giving the league's top defensive salary to an ineffective whale who sat out for a year because "God" told him $4 million wasn't enough or something. Then he has the nerve yesterday in his press conference to talk about how much he loves just playing the game. It made me sick. Good luck, Carolina. Gilbert's never played for a winner in college or the pros. The Redskins gave up a whopping total of 3 sacks in 1996 for 2 number 1's (which are bound to be high in the round) and got Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson.  There's another guy who better be wearing earplugs when the Panthers come to DC.

Well after much deliberation, the home base for the Astros is being moved much much closer to the actual Astrodome. We'll be moving to Shreveport, Louisiana in July to begin life after residency. Shreveport was chosen over perhaps some more glamorous locations such as Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, and  Philadelphia because of the quality of the position. I don't see this as a permanent move- maybe 5 to  7 years. In a related story, minority owner Sanders Polin just turned eight months old and is excited about the opportunity to see some of his heroes play on a daily basis. He is crawling, cruising (that's walking around holding onto things), and babbling away endlessly.

The Astros are in the market for a backup outfielder. Anyone interested should contact the Houston management. All offers will be considered.

No respect that is what the underperforming Seattle club is getting.  And who can blame the other teams in this league?  The Mariners are rumbling stumbling and bumbling their way through this season.  Other managers are clearly delighted. Chris Klug walks aroung with a grin like a Cheshire cats, comforted in the knowledge that he did not pay $7.5 million to go 18-22.  Craig Christmann, Seattle's $7.5 million paying for Larry Walker, chortles, and send backs remarks like your money bought one win (out of four) against his Expos. The purchase of Stairs, Mlicki and Mayne has not gone well.

Though no fault of these players.  They have performed as expected.  Griffey Junior - pee ewe!  He is currently slugging in the 400s after brashly predicting sixty homeruns in Spring training.  That seems ages ago.  Klesko, A-Rod and Sorrento have slumped as well and the supporting  cast simplycould not pick up the slack.

Pitching has been ugly too.  A bullpen of 'one batter' lefties has made things scary for closer Wohlers.  SAves are few and far between as the Mariners either thottle or more likely are throttled.  The starting corp with the exception of Jason Thompson has been inconsistent except when they are consistently bad.  Juan Guzman went for yucks when he was asked how he expected to pitch this year and he responded, "Righthanded".

Now, on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, Guzman may have reasons to regret the remark.  When the baseball gods turn on you its like McGwire on a 3-1 fastball.

Can the season be saved?  Maybe.  The team is not out of sight of first and is thick in the hunt for second place.  It is disquieting to think that parity has hit the MBL, but in this case the locals are thankful.

The season of course hinges on Griffey.  Can he get it together and carry the team for a couple of months?  Can the staff give six good innings and give Wohlers a shot?  Can A-Rod regain last year's form and can the lefty sluggers wallop balls into the bleachers instead of doing 6-4-3s in three quarters time?  Its a lot to ask for, but the team is capable.  One of these years the talent will mesh and their division mates keep holding the door open.  The Mariners will need to make hay in their Division in May to get back in it.  Maybe if Griffey can launch 49 homers inthe last 120 games, the Mariners might find the pleasures of the harbor.  But a shift in attitude is needed.  On the present tack the Mariners will be scuttled on the reef of  underachievement.

Sails and Tails: The Mariners acquired Clint Sadowsky.  He is expected to balance the bullpen some.  He's right handed and a long man.  Derek Lowe went to Boston to get him and will probably be a future Cy Young if this is a typical Mariner trade.

Steve Karsay, finally back from two years' worth of injury rehab, has been a great disappointment and sources say that Steve might be released at the end of the month. Ariel Prieto has been inconsistent and may be sent down very shortly.

The bullpen, while generally effective, recently had a breakdown against the Dodgers. Two games of the series were in hand but fumbled by the Athletics strong bullpen.

The offense is streaky. All-world Frank Thomas continues his assault on the all-time MBL hitting records, but Todd Hundley tries vainly to take up the slack left by the controversial trade of fan favorite Tim Salmon in spring training. Part of the fan's difficulty in accepting that trade is the total lack of adequate replacement for Tim. The pitching prospects obtained for him are either injured or in the minors, and we are left playing cast-off Warren Newson in his stead.

It appears it will be a long season for the Athletics inaugural season back in Philadelphia.

On the personal front, the weather here in Albuquerque has been rather strange. After a week in the high 70's and low 80's (normal is around 73), it's snowing as I write this with the temperature expected to only get to 60. We usually don't get much snow where I live and when we do get it the snow melts very quickly. For the people who live on the east side of the Sandia Mountains however, snow can be a major problem. The ski resorts loved this winter as they got a lot of snow and opened a week early and closed a couple of weeks later than normal. THey could easily have stayed open for a few more weeks but their contracts wouldn't let them.

I am happy to report that Michael, who just turned 2 in February, can now say baseball and identify his stuffed baseball toy. He also knows when a game is on TV and says baseball and points to the screen. Aside from TBS and WGN, we get broadcasts of some Rockies games and radio for Arizona. Quite a different environment for me as it is now a long way for me to go to get to a game. I'm used to being only an hour or less away but I'm now 6-8 hours away from a stadium. I haven't gotten to go to an Albuquerque Dukes game yet but I hope to go at least once this year. My cubicle mate is a huge baseball fan and his father played in the PCL just prior to WWII. I think that he played for Casey Stengel but I'm not sure of this.

"We are ready to play games that mean something," Mo Vaughn observed.  "Playing teams like the A's, Indians and Anaheim are like extended spring training.  We are ready to take on the Marlins, Ass-stros, Sens and Sillies.  Screw this interleague play."

Bostonians will finally get to see their new rivals in early May when, after a brief road trip to Washington to face the Senators, the Florida Marlins come to Fenway.  Tickets for the series have been sold out for months and an overflow capacity of 37,000 is expected.  Many fans admitted having been intrigued by the prospect of watching a below-average thirdbaseman play shortstop for the Earl Weaver-coached Fish.

April opened with the Sox paying the relocated Athletics in the city of brotherly hate, splitting the four-game set.  Boston ace Pedro Martinez picked up his first loss of the year in the first contest despite allowing only three hits.  RF Tim Salmon (.467 BA, 3 RBI for the series), acquired from the Athletics before the season, hurt his old mates in the final game with three hits, including a home run.  Unfortunately for the legions of New England, Salmon was the lone offensive threat as the Red Sox could muster only a .231 average against one of the pitching-starved teams of the league.  Boston manager George Scott could only mutter, "It has to get better as the weather warms up."

Boston next traveled to Toronto to face the Rhyme Jays --- again earning a series split.  The offense got things started in game one posting consecutive three-run innings in the final two frames for a 10-4 victory.  Boston hit .333 as a team for the series, but wasted most of them in the initial contest.  Both Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon had good series on the turf.  Unfortunately, the pitching went south.  Tom Gordon had the line of the year in game four (L, 7.2 5 6 5 1 9 2 12).

"The Jays kept opening and closing the roof," Gordon complained afterward.  "Besides, most of the fans were at Maple Leaf Gardens watching the Leafs."

After series splits at Camden Yards and against the Cardinals, the Montreal juggernaut came to town.  After wins in the first two games, the Bosox relaxed and allowed the Habs, er Expos, to even the series.  Pedro Martinez and Rick Reed were outdueled by Jeff Fassero and Greg Maddux, respectively.  Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra said, "Thank God we only play them twice a year."

Immediately after the Montreal series, the Red Sox flew to Cleveland and took four of four from the Indians.  Tim Salmon had a two-home run game and Pedro Martinez threw his second two-hitter of the season in the final matchup.  Slugger Mo Vaughn, when asked to rate eastern Ohio's nightlife, said, "Those strip bars in Providence are much better.  I have feasted my eyes on much better thighs in New England."

In the final series of the month, the Sox welcomed some familiar faces from the franchises' days in San Diego.  Matt Williams, Jose Cruz, Mike Lieberthal and Tony Gwynn all played in a series that featured three shutouts.  In the war of returners, only Cruz (.312)hit for higher than .200.  For their part, Vaughn, Lansing and Nilsson were also largely ineffective.  "Based on this series, I'd say each side got screwed," Boston GM Whitey Herzog remarked.

SOX YARNS: The Red Sox will travel to Washington and Houston this month while hosting the Marlins and Phillies.  All tickets for home series have been sold out for months.  During the visit by the Phillies, Yawkey Way announced the Irish mafia would be honored in pregame ceremonies.  For the last game of the Marlins series, Dunkin' Donuts will hand out a poster of Marlins manager Earl Weaver in ladies undergarments to the first 10,000 fans. ... Boston's running game continues to flounder.  After a month of improvement, the club has still been caught 26 times in 51 attempts.  Nomar Garciaparra leads the team with seven steals. ... Through 44 games, Mo Vaughn leads the team with 9 home runs.  Three players are tied for second with four each. ... Luis Tiant's instruction continues to yield impressive results.  The team ERA continues to hover under 4.00.  More notably, the staff has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched while posting a K:W ratio of nearly 3:1.  ... The Sox assigned newly-acquired Derek Lowe to Pawtucket.  Righthander Jeff Suppan was promoted to replace the traded Clint Sodowsky as the eleventh man in the pen.  Suppan will be returned to Pawtucket once utility man Craig Grebeck, acquired on waivers from the Athletics, reports.

Predictably, GM Barry's fans offered kind words:  "What an asshole!", said one loyal sailor.  "Die", said another.  But then a funny thing happened.  Mlicki threw a shutout in his first start.  Mayne won the catching job and Matt Stairs did a Griffey Jr. impression with the bat, blasting seven home runs in March.  Add to this Griffey's impression of Babe Ruth (nine homers) and Justin Thompson's early season success and Seattle has made rumblings of getting into the pennant race.  It couldn't happen at a better time for Barry as fans were threatening to ship him back to Albany piece meal. But its a long season and Mariner fans have long  memories.

Griffey has been on fire (27 runs batted in in 24 games) in addition to all those home runs.  Edgar Martinez has been himself, but A-Rod was perhaps looking forward to a big contract and not keeping his eye on the ball.  And Klesko is in the slump of his young career.  However, it is the pitching that is holding the team back.  Todd Stottlemyer and waiver claim refugee Scott Kamieniecki have been lit like dry kindling.  The bullpen is high octane, leaving Wohlers underemployed in save opportunities.

A move had to be made and so it was.  Prospect pitcher Derek Lowe was shipped to Boston for Clint Sadowsky, a badly needed inning eater.  It was Seattle's second trade with Whitey Herzog (who has been given most favored trading status for not charging the Mariners $7.75 million for spare parts).

The season is young but already bench players are whining: Huskey has only 24 at bats and Darren Bragg 17 in the crowded Mariner outfield.  Luis Castillo has lost his job to unheralded Tony Womack, a throw in in the Matt Williams/Jose Cruz Junior trade.  Rookie free agents Magglio Ordonez, Bubba Trammell and Brent Brede were sent to Tacoma to hone their skills.  Fortunately, no one is delusional enough to say he should be getting time in center, although Guitierrez has been casting baleful looks at the bat rack every time A-Rod pops up.

The team overall is on the precipice of good or mediocre.  April should clarify things.