Enemy Lines

Two advance scouts, one from each league, reflect on what they saw and heard last week.

The way umpires are handling this head-hunting rule is a joke. Some don't understand the flow of the game. They gave the Marlins' A.J. Burnett a warning [for hitting Mets pitcher Kevin Appier last Thursday in the fifth inning of a game the Marlins were trailing by a run]. He couldn't even throw a strike during his no-hitter. If I were [ Florida manager] John Boles, I wouldn't have made it past that one....

The Devil Rays are a Triple A-caliber team. New manager Hal McRae is a real brusque guy, and I'm not sure how well a lot of the players, who were used to being coddled by Larry Rothschild, are taking it....

The Twins are going to fade because they don't have enough offense. Manager Tom Kelly is trying to do as much as he can with the running game, but the loss of DH David Ortiz with a broken right wrist really hurts, and with their budget the Twins can't go out and get another bat. They're a 1980s turf team, and it's tough to win like that in the American League....

The Rockies' two wins at Pac Bell last week were a good sign for them. For Colorado any win on the road is. Rookie righthander Shawn Chacon (3-0, 2.42 in his last four starts) has been a nice surprise. His curveball might be the only one I've seen that works at Coors Field....

Starting pitching dictates success. That's why the A's will be in the playoff hunt and the Blue Jays won't, even though they are about even now. Oakland's starters have been much better over the last few weeks, which is why the A's have turned things around.