Even by his standards, Wells has been annoying lately

	David Wells doesn't want to be the odd man out of the rotation. AP

Some things aren't worth getting worked up over. Bud Selig's foot-dragging on the Barry Bonds situation, for example. According to MLB.com, the commissioner hasn't yet bothered to obtain copies of the two books that detail Bonds' steroid use because, well, they're not for sale yet. (If only Judge Landis had waited for Eight Men Out to be published. Shoeless Joe might be in the Hall of Fame.) No wonder baseball's steroid era flourished for so long. A man who doesn't know how to get an advance copy of a book can't be expected to clean up a sport.

Generally, anything that comes out of David Wells' mouth falls into the same category. The Red Sox left-hander puts so little thought into what he says, and contradicts himself so often, that it's pointless to let his ramblings get under your skin. But Wells has outdone himself this spring. Let's recount. During the offseason Wells stopped lobbying for a trade just long enough to have knee surgery. So as not to rush his recovery, he didn't make his first spring training appearance until Thursday, when he threw three innings in a minor league game.

Wells, who earlier this month rescinded his trade request, pitched well, a sign that the Red Sox can count on a strong rotation of him, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and Matt Clement this season. Alas, with the early-season schedule riddled with off days, the Sox won't need a fifth starter until mid-April. For many reasons (he's 42, he started his spring regimen late, the other four pitchers look healthy and sharp), Wells is the logical candidate to skip in the rotation.

So, naturally, on Thursday he threatened to make life miserable in the Red Sox clubhouse if he has to wait for his first start. "I'd have a problem with that," Wells told the Boston Globe. "I would. If they're going to go with four and I'm going to be the odd man out, that's not going to sit well with me." Later, he suggested he just might un-rescind his trade request if he doesn't get his way.

It goes without saying that an aging, overweight pitcher with a bad knee might benefit from two extra weeks of rest. And even by Wells' standards, the trade-demand-as-threat tactic is immature and obnoxious. (I still don't understand how a player who willingly signs a contract can demand a trade.) Throughout his career Wells has tripped back and forth over the line between free-spirited flake and over-opinionated malcontent. Once in a while he even makes a little sense: Earlier this month he called on Bonds to come clean about his steroid use and ripped Selig for acting too passively. He'll probably reverse field on those comments next week, right after he demands to be traded.