It's early in the season but have you seen the leader board for slugging percentage? Here are the top five followed by their percentage:
1. Jim Edmonds .837
2. Carl Everett .755
3. Kevin Millar .732
4. Hank Blalock .715
5. Hee Seop Choi .711

Jim Edmonds is a streak hitter and to see him on top early is not a surprise. But Everett, Millar and Blalock? And who is Hee Seop Choi? Let's start with Everett. There was a lot of discussion early on that Everett and Showalter, his new manager, were going to have problems. Showalter is the disciplinarian and Everett is the bad guy. Well, Everett has deserved his reputation and has deserved the way fans feel about him but make no mistake about it, the man has talent and when he is focused, he can play really well.

And part of the reason Everett is hitting so well is that he has A-Rod, Palmiero and Blalock hiting around him. Blalock? Yup. Hank Blalock is phenom turned phenomenon. Last year he broke camp with the Rangers and started terribly. He was demoted after just a few weeks and that was the end of that for the year. This year, with a new chance and a new manager who is going to let him play, he has 22 hits in 13 games and is batting .415. The new phenom is Mark Teixeira who has started slowly (.160). It will be interesting to see if Teixeira will turn it around and if Showalter will grind away with him. The problem in Texas is still their pitching. Oh! And one more great stat concerning Blalock: He's only stuck out five times.

Hee Seop Choi was not the foreign player entering the league with the most fanfare. Contreras and Matzui for the Yankees got much more press. But Choi, in his first full year is in his second year away from his homeland of Korea. It's early yet, but he's walked 15 times in 12 games that shows patience and also leads to a gaudy .509 On base percentage. Chicago is going to win that division easily with their hitting and pitching.

Speaking of Contreras, the Yankees demoted him to Triple A today after a slow start. His main problem is that the Yankee starters are going deep into the game and Contreras is not getting innings. He seems to be a rhythm pitcher and pitching a batter or two out of the bullpen is not going to be his strong suit. It's really funny to hear writers talk about the Yankee starters in glowing terms and as another proof of the Yankees being able to buy pitching staffs. Excuse me. Isn't this the same starters that everyone was knocking after the playoffs because they were too old and not good enough? Weaver is the only addition but the other guys are the same. Contreras should get innings in Triple A and I believe will still help the team later this season.

Speaking of Koreans, Kim finally got a win as a starter for Arizona and his closer replacement (and predecessor), Mark Mantai, recorded his first save in over a year. It was a nice moment for someone who has worked so hard to come back.

I was watching the Red Sox game the other night and watched the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher (Tam) totally melt down and walk five straight batters. He wasn't even close and was low and outside on every pitch. Isn't it amazing how a MLB pitcher after several seasons of solid pitching can have a night like that. The Red Sox have won six in a row and have announced themselves as contenders for the long haul.

Watching that same game, I also noticed that the umpiring of balls and strikes hasn't improved one bit. Balls off the plate are being called strikes. Strikes inside are being called balls and they can't even seem to get half swings correct anymore. I don't understand why the quality is so poor. This isn't rocket science to know the strike zone.