MayDay Summer

I think its time to admit that Raul Mondesi is never going to be the player he could be. And he could be quite a player - he's fast, he can field, his arm is second only to Vladmir Guerrero's, and when he bothers to shorten that big swing of his he can hit for average and power. A couple of years ago, when he was traded from Toronto to New York, I was sure he'd be a great Yankee, and he was - for about a week. But since leaving Los Angeles at the threshold of his athletic prime, he hasn't put up the .300-30-100 numbers everyone expected, and he definitely has not ingratiated himself with any of his new managers.

Now everyone's wondering if he "played" the Pirates with his "Mario Guerrero is seizing my assets" story. (Mario Guerrero, for those fans under 35, was a no-hit-good-glove utility player for the Sox and some other teams during the early 70's.) If I were the Sox, who briefly considered pursuing Mondesi, I'd be happy I dodged a bullet. If I were the Angels, I'd think twice before sitting any of my young talent, like Jeff Davanon, to create playing time for Mondesi.

Couple of notes on yesterday's Sox game: 1) Rodrigo Lopez could be a great pitcher if someone could teach him to keep his hands together during his windup; 2) please, please don't panic over Lowe - he had at least one bad month last year, too, and still won 17 games, and I don't think there are many available pitchers, in or outside of Boston's organization, that could do the same.