baseball.......

ok, so i have been lax in my coverage of this year's baseball season........so let's catch up on the essentials......1) boston is 3.5 games ahead in their al division.......which means they are 3.5 games ahead of 2) nyyankees.......who are competing at this point with oakland for a wildcard slot in the playoffs.....3)baltimore was on top of this division until the wheels came off their wagon.....they have since fired their manager in hopes of climbing back up the rankings........4)speaking of the nyyankees......outfielder gary sheffield is quoted as saying that media that focuses on players like jeter and rodriguez are missing the point that he is the leader of that team.....huh?.......5) the chicago white sox have the best record in both leagues......and appear to be the team to beat when one speaks of world series picks......6) steroid use is still a big concern....especially since the latest player to be caught in the random drug testing is a fellow who has record-book stats and potential hall-of-fame credentials.......can guys like this be allowed in cooperstown?......7)manny rameriez ended up not being traded from boston to the mets through a deal with tampa bay.....and now he is sidelined after running into renteria during a play.....seeing blurry/double by all reports.....ouch!........8) boston lost to minnesota last night 12-0....pitiful........hardly the way a team makes it to the playoffs.......