First Ben Sheets pitches a three-hit shutout striking out 18 Braves thanks to a high 90�s fastball along with a devastating curveball that would even make Barry Zito envious. Johnson�s outing turned out to be much more historic, pitching the 17th perfect game in MLB history. The Big Unit was also displaying high-90�s heat, along with the patented �Mr. Nasty�, a slider that looked appetizing to attack but wound up way out of the strike zone. 91 of Sheets 116 pitches went for strikes, with the Unit getting 87 strikes out of 117 pitches. In the two games combined, Braves hitters went a cool 3-56 with 31 strikeouts, normally you would get better production with nine Ben Sheets hitting in your batting order.

Throw in a one-hit gem by San Francisco�s Jason Schmidt, and three of the best pitching performances of the season were witnessed in just over 48 hours�

2 O�CLOCK SHADOW: One of the criticisms towards the Brewers Ben Sheets thus far in his four-year MLB career is that he should be striking out a lot more batters with his arsenal. Sheets had already been remedying that with a pair of 10-K games in the first month. Then came Sunday, when Ben shattered the long-standing team record with an 18 strikeout performance on the Braves, while only allowing two hits. Sheets becomes one of only 20 pitchers to compile 18 K�s in a complete game (Randy Johnson struck out 20 in a game in 2001, but was not a complete game).

However, not long after the final out some were seeming to put an asterisk on Sheets� gem. First off there was some complaining from the Atlanta side about an Eric Gregg-sized strike zone. And then there was the open retractable roof at Miller Park on a bright sunny day, which meant that Sheet got to pitch in the sunshine with Braves batters in the shadows for much of the day. I will say that gave Sheets a little extra advantage, mound opposition Jaret Wright recovered from a shaky start to record five shutout innings, recording 7 K�s in six innings total. But also note that Sheets struck out the side in the final two innings, in which by that time the shadow line had well passed the mound. It is interesting to note that Arizona�s Bank One Park�s policy is to always have the roof closed for day games (even when the weather is not blazing hot) to avoid a similar problem. With Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling the past few years, you�d think they would want the roof open on those occasions.

But make no mistake, Sheets arsenal was absolutely wicked, complete with a buckling curve ball the broke all the way into the dirt, along with a high-90�s heater (never mind that the Brewers radar gun was borrowed from the Mequon Police Department). And again, 91 out of the 116 pitches were strikes, that is not on the shadows and also isn�t much (if at all) on the umpire. And after what Randy Johnson would do to the Braves two nights later, the decimated Braves lineup (minus Marcus Giles and Rafael Furcal) has problems that run much deeper. If the roof was closed that day, I say Sheets may have a lost a couple strikeouts, but would had still been awesome.

Sheets is now second in all of baseball with 66 K�s against only nine walks, with a 2.90/.93. The only concern remains his back, which is most at risk when he is batting. This is not a knock on the Brewers organization, but you wonder if they won�t pull the trigger in the off-season if an American League team offers another sweetheart-Richie Sexson like deal.

UNIT THROWS HIS 300: You�ve probably seen the commercial where Randy Johnson is participating on the Pro Bowlers tour. It�s safe to say that Tuesday was his 300 game, actually much rarer than a 300 game considering you can walk down to your neighborhood alley and meet a couple of drunkards from a local league who have bowled multiple 300�s.

But Tuesday�s nights masterpiece might has well been down at the local alley, with the crowd screaming deliriously as each pitch started on the second board and broke viciously into the pocket without fail. Actually, the closest the perfect game came to being broken up was when leadoff batter Jesse Garcia nearly bunted for a basehit to open the game. After that Braves hitters did not stand a chance, catcher Johnny Estrada (who had only struck out eight times on the entire year before facing Sheets and Unit) faired about the best, fouling off several Johnson sliders in his first two AB�s. J.D Drew also made some solid contact while opposing pitcher Mike Hampton nearly beat out an infield grounder.

For the year, Johnson has 81 K�s in 63 IP and has a microscopic .79 ratio. So much for my pre-season bust-or-boom prediction, it is definitely boom. Experts on TV suggested that Unit could go on pitching at this level for at least three more years. I wouldn�t doubt if Unit�s still at it five years from now.

What I didn�t realize is that it was 14 years since Unit�s first no-hitter v. Detroit, I thought that came in the mid-1990�s. Actually, Unit had taken no-hitters into the ninth inning on ten previous occasions since, which proves how difficult these things are to finish off, although this time when Unit got to the late innings you could almost take this to the bank. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson�s 219 wins between no-hitters were the most in history among those with multiple no-no�s. Of course Johnny Vander Meer went zero starts between no-no�s in a feat most feel will never be equaled, let alone topped. But mark this coming Sunday, where Johnson starts in Florida in a late afternoon start just in case, I�ll put a $10 flier in Vegas on him pitching back-to-back perfect gems.

SCHMIDT UNCORKS ONE-HITTER: If someone pitched a one-hitter, but no one noticed because Randy Johnson was pitching a perfect game, did it really happen??? As was the case with Johnson, Schmidt struck out 13 en route to the complete game victory, and only yielded one walk in the 1-0 win. Matt Clement (2.53/1.09/53 K in 53.1 IP) was the tough luck loser, allowing only the earned run in eight innings. Schmidt has definitely proved that he is back at full strength with 48 K�s in 47 innings, and opponents are only hitting .196.

My reality TV theme for the week deals with the FOX show where they do makeovers on average looking women (OK, below average looking women � check that again, downright homely looking women), who suddenly become knockouts in beauty pageants. The following could pass for the Swan.

Steve Finley � Besides 40-year old Randy Johnson, and near 50-year old Julio Franco (big pinch-hit HR), the Arizona/Atlanta series featured this 39-year old pup. We all know that Finley is a physical fitness freak, it also turns out that Finley majored in chiropracting in college. But how many of you really thought he would be tied for the Major League lead in HR�s a quarter of the way in?? Eat your heart out Bonds.

Jeromy Burnitz/Vinny Castilla � Playing in Colorado has even turned the likes of Dante Bichette into a swan over the years, so this isn�t too surprising. Burnitz is hitting .368 with 7 HR/24 RBI in 20 home games, but a more Burnitz-like .220 on the road, although he did hit three home runs in two games at Cincinnati this week. There are also no reports of anyone having to visit the ER due to his flying bat in 2004, at least not yet. Meanwhile Castilla will be targeted as a potential Glaus replacement with 38 RBI on the year, just one off the MLB lead. Vinny is .386/7/21 at home v. .234/4/10 on the road.

Chone Figgins � The main benefactor of the Glaus injury, he is assured regular playing time for the forseeable future. One remaining obstacle is the fact that free agent Aaron Boone is in play, and could be a possible Angel replacement at thire. At 470, Chone becomes a cheaper stolen base alternative to Carl Crawford and the slumping Scott Podsednik for the time being.

I give Ralph Nader as much chance of winning the presidency than for San Juan to get the Expos permanently. Attendance at Hiram Bithorn stadium is just as sparce as at the toilet bowl in Montreal, not to mention that it rains about every ten minutes. The team however did sign Jose Vidro to a long term contract this week, leading to speculation that the franchise will be in Washington D.C. next year. Potential Peter Angelos lawsuits notwithstanding, that seems by far to make the most sense. Although Beltway fans will believe it when they see it. Some longtime fans still have those 1974 Topps cards of Padre players with a �Washington� designation when owners seemed on the verge of moving that franchise from San Diego.

Portland: Their AAA team went belly up and was taken over by the league, so tell me how much sense that city makes right now.

Las Vegas: Plan is to build a retractable roof ballpark just behind the strip. But can you imagine the flak Selig would take if he moved there.

Monterrey: If you think the economy is bad north of the border, what about south??? The Mexican city sits nearly 2,000 feet above sea level, which would also make it a mini-Coors Field. Attendance would in the end be just as bad as San Juan/Montreal.

Tidewater: The plan in Norfolk would be to expand the current AAA parks capacity to 24,000, where the team would play for three years while a new park is built at the current site of the outdated downtown Scope arena (which a Naval ship should level with a missile strike at once). Also I do not recommend (speaking from experience) venturing in that neighborhood after dark.

I remember someone calling a sportstalk show once, suggesting that a team should consider having a different pitcher take the mound each inning. In other words, a team would go through 8-9 pitchers each night (don't ask me what happens when a game goes 15 innings). The Colorado Rockies are coming close though. The Rockies went to a four-man rotation a few weeks back, with the plan being for each starter to go 85-90 pitches. The upshot is that even though you may see a few more starts, there will be less opportunities for wins.

In a story nearly as bizarre as Derek Bell�s infamous �Operation Shutdown� a few years back, the Pirates released troubled outfielder Raul Mondesi who announced a couple weeks back that he would not be returning this year. Mondesi had his paychecks and bank accounts frozen for most of the year because of a lawsuit from former major leaguer/instructor Mario Guerrero, who contends that Mondesi owes him $640,000, or one percent of his career earnings. That�s scary, I know Raul has had a decent career � but $64 million dollars??? How much does A-Rod�s old T-ball coach get then???

Second base and third base were obviously the hot spots, although other positions were addressed as well...

RP Arthur Rhodes (800) - Got a lot of drops earlier this month, but I still like him.

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