Tearing it Up
ADDING IT UP ... Orlando Hernandez (8IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 7K) is skyrocketing up the ESPN "Most Added" list ... David Wells was almost as good (7.1 IP, 4H 0R, 1BB, 1K) but the hunch here is that physical problems will revisit Boomer this season; if he strings together three or four more good starts, think about trading him at optimum value ... To no one's surprise, the offensive star has been Derek Jeter (.304/1/6, 2 SB) ... Ron Coomer homered in his first Yankee at-bat and is still a terrific bench option in AL-only leagues ... The Yanks stole three bases Sunday after swiping just one in the first five games.

Slumping
WE WANT TINO? ... Black roses to the Yankee "fans" who booed Giambi during his rough start and chanted for the departed Tino Martinez. It was these same fans, no doubt, who mercilessly booed Martinez in April 1996 when the then-new acquisition struggled to get his average above .125 and endured the "We want Donnie!" chants. If you're even thinking of benching Giambi until he "gets it together" then you deserve the five-homers-in-three-games binge that is just around the corner. In other "Who's on First" news, rookie Nick Johnson took the field Sunday, securing new status at 1B in one-game eligibility leagues.

At the Plate
SO-SO III ... Several well-reasoned reader e-mails have convinced me that Alfonso Soriano may be a better (non-Saber) fantasy player than "real" player due to the likelihood of 50 or so steals; the same was true of his current benchmark, Juan Samuel, who was a fantasy demigod for four or five years with the Phillies. But, sorry, Soriano should not be leading off for this team. His .296 OBP leads only Rondell White (.292) among Yankee regulars, behind even Giambi (.143 BA, but .333 OBP) and Bernie Williams (.105 BA, but .320 OBP). Jeter (.407 OBP) and Johnson (.409 OBP) setting the table would make much more sense.

Probable Starters April 8: Boomer @TOR (Prokopec) April 9: Moose @TOR (Halladay) April 10: Andy @TOR (Lyon) April 11: Duque @TOR (Eyre) April 12: Rocket @BOS (Pedro)

From the Rubber
LESS THAN ZERO ... I guess Andy Pettitte (6IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 6K) is healthy ... Mike Mussina (7IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 3K) is on pace to finish with 35 wins, but will miss that by 10 or so ... Other than Clemens, the only Yankee pitchers to actually have an ERA are the overpaid Steve Karsay (5.40 in three appearances) and roster-filler Jay Tessmer (6.75 in two appearances). No Yankee pitcher has a WHIP higher than 1.50 while six are below 1.00 and the team WHIP is a ridiculous 0.83 ... Get ready for another Fenway showdown Friday as Clemens and Pedro Martinez match up again in an effort to drop their respective ERAs below 6.00.

On the Mend
ROCKIN' ROBIN ... The early speculation that Robin Ventura might not be ready for Opening Day proved wildly unfounded, as the veteran 3B is the only Yankee with more than one home run, and his .938 OPS leads the team ... Ramiro Mendoza will be activated from the DL before Monday's opener of the Toronto series; Tessmer, roughed up in two brief appearances is the likely roster casualty. Mendoza should be on 100% of AL-only fantasy rosters ... Sterling Hitchcock, working out a lower back strain in extended spring training, has been shut down for a few days and his return date is uncertain.