Short Stops - 4/11

The eyes and ears of Japanese baseball fans will be focused on tonight's Mariners-Red Sox match up in Fenway. Dice-K makes his 1st Fenway appearance and will face off with fellow Japanese icon, Ichiro Suzuki. Not a bad pitching match up either, as Dice-K faces "The King", Felix Hernandez.

Short Stops has to go off topic for a moment for a couple of items.

~~Kudos to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who finally dropped all charges against the group of Duke Lacrosse players accused of kidnapping and raping a local stripper. Without question, victims usually get the shaft in such proceedings, but in this case it was just the opposite. An overly ambitious AG, Mike Nifong, and a woman of less than stellar character, ruined these kids lives.

~~WFAN's Don Imus is sounded more and more like the miserable old hag he looks like. His comments about the Rutgers women's basketball were reprehensible, especially since he was playing off the words of his moron producer Bernard McGirk. Oh, and Don, you haven't been funny in a decade.

Okay, back to baseball.

More applause for Hank Aaron. The Hammer is taking the high road, saying he won't be at Barry Roids home run breaking fiesta, because he doesn't like to travel and he's just into all the pomp and circumstance. What he's really saying, IMHO, is that he doesn't want to publicly acknowledge a cheater and a guy who has tainted the reputation of the game.

George Steinbrenner is probably already foaming at the mouth - okay there's a lot that could be said right there - but in this case it's because Johann Santana said he won't negotiate a new contract with the Twins until he hits the open market after the '08 season. Reportedly, the Twins offer a 2 year, 36 mill extension with an option for 2011.

Josh Hamilton his 1st first major league home run yesterday for the Reds. It happened a lot later than anyone would have expected, but it's great to see this guy finally get his life in order.