SI.com's Jake Luft takes a poke at answering a few baseball questions.

BQ	How long until the Yankees make a move to replace the injured Derek Jeter?

Jeter was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday after dislocating his left shoulder on opening night. AP As cold as it sounds, Yankee haters everywhere rejoiced when they saw Jeter writhing on the turf in excruciating pain. As for Yankee fans, they were shocked at first, but many rationalized their sorrow by joking that it was time to trade for Miguel Tejada. We hate to disappoint them, but that isn't going to happen. At least not until the offseason when Tejada files for free agency. Contrary to popular belief, there are other teams besides the Yankees that have a vested interest in winning, Oakland being chief among them. But if Jeter is going to miss up to four months, Yankee fans will expect George Steinbrenner to bring in a top-flight shortstop. It is this type of arrogance -- that the Yankees have the right to anybody they desire -- that led The Onion to joke that the club had signed every player in baseball this offseason. The scary truth is that you can't replace a guy like Derek Jeter, whose leadership skills and intangibles make him one of the best players in the game. Never mind that his offensive numbers have declined for three consecutive years or that pundits have come out of the woodwork to rip on his defensive ability. Jeter still is the key to the Yankees' lineup. He gets on base and moves runners over with aplomb. He's the man they want at the plate in key situations. Instead, they will have to rely on a guy who is not even the most famous Almonte in the Bronx. The best the Bombers can hope for from fill-in Erick Almonte, a career minor leaguer with limited offensive skills, is solid defensive play and a non-disruptive clubhouse role. If Almonte can plug Jeter's hole in the line, that would keep Enrique Wilson in a much more valuable utility role. Jeter is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday, at which time the Yanks will have a better idea of how much time he will miss. The Yankees' system isn't loaded but they have valuable pieces in outfielder Juan Rivera, DH-1B Nick Johnson, outfielder Bronson Sardinha and right-handers Jason Anderson and Jorge De Paula. And they could always dump the disappointing Drew Henson on somebody. So who is out there and what will it cost? Indians GM Mark Shapiro will have a high price in mind for Omar Vizquel, and the MLB-owned Expos may not want to send Orlando Cabrera to the Yankees, who continue to mock any attempts at salary reform. There probably won't be any big names to be had until a contender falls out of the race. Say, for example, the Cubs falter and decide to move an Alex Gonzalez, or the White Sox flame out and shop Jose Valentin. It's doubtful Tejada would become available to New York under any circumstances.

BQ	Is this the year Corey Patterson finally lives up to his promise?

Patterson has been an uber-phenom since being selected third overall in 1998, so it makes sense that Cubs fans and fantasy players are tired of waiting for him to blossom. But we have to remember that he is still only 23 years old as of Opening Day, when he hit two home runs with seven RBIs against the Mets, and that 2002 was his first full season in the major leagues. In 1999, he was basically a teenager when Baseball America named him its top prospect, placing enormous pressure on the kid to be spectacular ahead of any rational time table. Yes, his strikeouts-to-walks ratio was brutal last season (142 K's, 18 walks), but his minor league numbers suggest he can improve on those. Anybody who watches him play knows he has the talent to learn at the major league level. His defense alone almost makes it worthwhile for the Cubs to play him every day.

BQ	Is there a way to quantify how much Tom Glavine is losing by playing in front of Roger Cedeno instead of Andruw Jones?

Imagine being Glavine on a blustery day at Shea Stadium, where a no-talent clown like Cedeno is in center field instead of perennial Gold Glove winner Jones. To answer the question: Yes, there is a way to measure the difference between the two ... sort of. The annual Baseball Prospectus uses a formula to give players defensive ratings. The Prospectus came up with plus-8 for Jones last season after two straight years of plus-14. They gave Cedeno a negative-10 for 2001, when he played 106 games in center field, and negative-4 last season for 113 games as a left fielder. If this is the type of thing you believe in -- that defensive ability can be computed into a convenient little formula -- then Jones saves a team about 20 runs more a year than Cedeno. But to the naked eye, it easily seems like a lot more.

BQ	How much would you pay for a Yankees World Series ring?

If your answer is "a lot," then head over to www.josecanseco.com, where the former slugger is auctioning off anything and everything that ever had to do with his baseball career. The list includes a 2000 Yankees World Series ring and his MVP trophy. This is all well and good, but what we really want to know is whether his two-year sentence of house arrest will ruin his burgeoning acting career.

BQ	Heads or tails?

The Royals are glad the answer was "tails." A coin flip is how they decided between two talented youngsters for the Opening Day nod. Right-hander Runelvys Hernandez, who called tails, threw six shutout innings against the White Sox to earn his fifth career victory Monday. Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt would have to wait until Wednesday to make his eighth career start.

BQ	What does it take to get a rainout?

Or, how about a snowout? A full-fledged blizzard at Camden Yards wasn't enough to get the umpires to stop the Indians-Orioles opener on Monday. It wasn't until the Orioles completely lost Ellis Burks' fly ball to right field that the game was stopped. It made for a comical scene, Jay Gibbons and Jerry Hairston running around with no idea where the ball was, but it could have been a safety hazzard if a line drive had been hit right at somebody's head. And we've all seen enough games proceed in monsoons to wonder what it takes to get the tarp onto the field.

 

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