Baseball is a lot like a perennial flower bed. Now where else are you going to hear a comparison like that? Many perennials have really showy years, off years and so-so years. Every year is different and every year is most interesting. Baseball is again blooming despite hints of scandals and a vagabond team in the NL East. Let's look at the garden for some interesting stories so far this year.

Brooks Kieschnick is one of the most interesting stories in baseball. In 1993, Kieschnick was the tenth player picked overall in the draft. The Cubs drafted him as an outfielder, although Kieschnick was a top pitching prospect as well. It was a struggle for Kieschnick as he bounced around and played for eleven different minor league clubs with a few cups of coffee with the Cubs and then the Reds.

Then the Milwaukee Brewers had/have a budget crunch and needed some versatile players who wouldn't cost a lot of money. They had an interesting idea: Why not give Kieschnick a chance as both a relief pitcher and a pinch hitter. Why not? Two players for the price of one. The experiment was partially successful last year. Kieschnick batted well, hitting .300 with five homers and nine RBI in 64 at bats. He had a nifty .618 slugging percentage.

But Kieschnick struggled pitching and ended up with a 5.26 ERA in 42 appearances. The thirty-two year old wasn't assured of a job when he came to spring training. Manager Ned Yost was quoted several times as saying that if Kieschnick didn't make the team as a pitcher, he wouldn't make it at all. Kieschnick had a decent spring and then Yost was quoted as saying that Kieschnick was only going to be a pitcher. Yeah, right.

Kieschnick already has 14 at bats (relief pitchers hardly EVER get at bats) and is batting .286 with a homer and three RBI. But the key stat is that he is pitching really well this year too. He pitched three scoreless innings tonight to lower his season ERA to 1.80 in six appearances.

You have to root for a player like Kieschnick. Now Ned Yost is saying that he'll DH Kieschnick in interleague games. It would be even sweeter if he started a game in the outfield and maybe came in to pitch an inning. Heck, after his inning, he could go right back out to the outfield. Real men love Kieschnick.

Derek Jeter extended his hitless streak to 32 at bats. Booed by the hometown fans during the Red Sox series, the Yankee fans rallied around him tonight and cheered and chanted during each of his at bats. It didn't help though as he still went 0 for 4. The streak is by far, Jeter's worst slump of his career.

The Fan can't understand how Jeter keeps getting blasted on his fielding. He has had no shoulder the past two years and last year also tore the ligament in his hand, all the while playing in pain every day and never letting it show. The respect Jeter has from his peers in baseball far outstrips the lack of it Jeter gets from some media circles.

One of the best fantasy league players this year is the one and only Mark Loretta. Who? Loretta has flown under the radar so far in his career, but the second baseman for the Padres has a .298 lifetime batting average. Last year, Loretta had a 185 hits on the way to hitting a very good .314. Loretta also had a career high 13 homers.

This year, Loretta is off to a .365 start with 4 homers and 14 RBI to go along with 15 runs scored. Loretta batted ninth for much of his career but is now batting second. Loretta doesn't strike out often (62 times in 589 at bats). Loretta is also a very good fielder with only 57 errors in his nine year career (.986 fielding percentage). This is a very good little player who may start getting his due.