OK, I can't take it anymore. Gotta say something about the Braves.

WE'RE FREAKING HOT RIGHT NOW.

AND WE'RE UP 9-1 ON THE EXPOS IN THE 6TH INNING.

HOLLER.....

I JUST JINXED EVERYTHING.

Other people have probably noticed this, too, but I thought I'd mention it anyway: Derek Jeter's made some pretty significant improvements this season on defense. Nearly all of his numbers are up.

Range Factor
2003: 3.75
2004: 4.74

Zone Rating
2003: .791
2004: .861

Fielding Percentage
2003: .969
2004: .981

He's also turned 51 double plays already, through July 6 (77 games); he turned 51 all last season (118 games).

The Current Hansel of Pitching: Johan Santana
Last Six Starts
6/9 vs NYM: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 K
6/15 vs MON: 8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
6/20 vs MIL: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 12 K
6/25 vs MIL: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
7/1 vs CWS: 8 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 12 K
7/6 vs KC: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 13 K

That Johan. He's so hot right now. Johan.

--A WEEK-FULL OF HEAD-SCRATCHING CONTRACT OFFERS/SIGNINGS--
1) Chicago White Sox: Freddy Garcia, 3 years/$27 million
Ehh, it was Kenny Williams who signed him, so I guess it wasn't really a head scratcher.

2) Phoenix Suns: Steve Nash, 5 years/$65 million
I'm Nash's biggest fan, but he's 30 and he doesn't play defense -- I don't know if I'd give a player like that $13 million a year.
Not playing defense might have been OK in Dallas, since the Mavs were such a brilliant offensive team (Nash was tailor-made for them), but the Suns..... I'm not so sure.
Point guards, historically, have the shortest careers and begin their decline phase the soonest of any of the five positions..... unless they're John Stockton. (Centers, like Robert Parish, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Tree Rollins, usually last the longest.)
The Suns will get a couple of years of Steve Nash the All Star, but then, as he starts to lose a step or two or three..... well, let's just say Jerry Colangelo will be kicking himself over this contract three years from now, when Nash is coming off the bench.

3) Golden State Warriors: Adonal Foyle, 5 years/$41 million
Let me get this straight. You're gonna give a player who's never averaged more than 6 points per game, who's only real value is as a shot blocker, is turnover-prone, can't pass, can't shoot, is average at best as a rebounder, and is 29 and therefore probably won't improve, $8 million per season?
Fantastic. Have fun in Golden State, Mike Montgomery.

4) Toronto Raptors: Rafer Alston, 6 years/$29 million
Alston's not THAT bad, he's just not that good, either. He's the prototype backup point guard:
Good passer: 28.2 assist rate last season
Doesn't make mistakes: 9.6 turnover rate last season
Can't shoot: Career 37.4 FG% (although he's shot 38%, 39%, and 37% from three-point range the last three seasons)
And he's always been a below-average defender.
He could probably stand to use his speed and dribbling skills to get to the free-throw line more often, since he doesn't have much of an in-between game. A little more of that might help to boost his value as a scorer and semi-justify this contract.

5) Denver Nuggets: Marcus Camby, 6 years/$60 million (reportedly)
If he could stay healthy, this might be a smart signing, but that's kind of like saying, "If Jennifer Lopez could stay married....." It's just not in Camby's nature to avoid injuries. He played 72 games last season, yes, but before that he played 63, 63, 46, 59, 63, 29, and 29 games -- I'd say last year was sort of an outlier.
The point is, Marcus Camby isn't the type of player to whom you'd wanna commit $10 million per year for six years. That's a lot of money and a lot of years to invest in a player as brittle as he is.