Derek Jeter is going to be out until at least the weekend, and possibly longer, with a calf strain. Will the Yankees move their best shortstop over from third base?

Right now I'm turning the pages of Tuesday's USA Today. Let's check out some of the major headlines together. Hmmm...Pope Benedict XVI will begin his six-day tour of the USA. In an effort to remain politically correct I'll hold back my Catholic jokes. People are climbing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and giving mid-air interviews. I thought these climbers only lived in trees in Berkeley, but oh well. Just stay out in California. Far, Far away; NBC's “ER” will run a 15^th and final season next year. The only guy I even know on the cast is Mekhi Phifer, and that's only because he was once a supporting actor alongside Eminem in “8 Mile”. Good Film – and the title track “Lose Yourself” is one of the best songs written in the past 10-15 years. Everyone can relate to those lyrics. Airlines' performance is near a 20-year low.  Go figure. Terrell Owens is going to star in an episode of “Under One Roof”. Good Lord, this is must-see awful television. Now onto some important news:

Brace Yourself: Derek Jeter is going to miss a few games. Are you okay? I'm surprised that the press hasn't made more of his tweaked quad. I expected the entire baseball world to overblow the injury that will keep him out until the weekend. I cannot think of any player in the history of baseball that is more overrated than Derek Jeter. I absolutely can't stand it. If he had won the MVP a couple years ago instead of Justin Morneau, I would have flipped. That would have been the biggest baseball travesty since Barry Larkin won the NL MVP about 15 years ago. Why can't we just change the name to the Most Outstanding Player award? With Jeter now out, let's move the real MVP candidate, Alex Rodriguez, over to shortstop. After all, he's the best shortstop on his team. There's not one thing that Jeter does better than A-Rod at the position.

Note to Self #1: Jason Kendall bats behind the pitcher in the Brewers lineup, and he's leading the       league in hitting. You think he may be taking it a little personal?

Note to Self #2: Mike Vick is making 12 cents per hour washing dishes in the state pen.

Note to Self #3: Everything is backwards in the American League. The Detroit Tigers are winless, and      the Baltimore Orioles are winning the East. I'm so confused.

I'm watching Reds' pitcher Johnny Cueto right now. If you haven't had the chance to see this guy pitch, please cross out everything in your schedule every fifth day and watch a star in the making. He's lived in the shadow of Homer Bailey for a couple years, but since I live in Ohio, I've heard plenty about this guy. Hard thrower. Check. Keeps the ball down. Check. Great command. Check. Strikeout stuff. Check. Solid offspeed pitches. Check. I know he's young and he'll have his ups and downs this year, but there's no reason not to think this guy is gonna be good for a while. Most heralded young pitchers, not unlike Bailey, come up to the bigs with a sense of entitlement, and the mindset that they can throw their heater by anyone. Just because you can throw 96 miles per hour by an A-Ball hitter doesn't mean you can do it in the majors. Every position player in the major leagues can hit a 100 mph fastball if he knows it's coming. Bailey refused to throw his offspeed pitches, and when he did use them he couldn't throw them over the plate. Conversely, Johnny Cueto gets it. And he's gonna get it for a while. This guy can flat-out pitch...He just struck out the side in the second inning, all horrible swings on third strikes...Right now the Reds' announcers are comparing him to Bob Gibson. Slow down, guys. This is his second career start.

My top sleeper team this year, the Toronto Blue Jays, are off to a hot start. I'll say it right now; they have the best starting rotation, top to bottom, in the American League. They have a rock-solid ace in Roy Halladay. He's got the most first-half wins (42) in the majors since 2004. A.J.Burnett will stay relatively healthy this year. He's in great shape, and there's an out clause in his contract. He got about $50 million in his last deal; so he's really gotta be thinking about cashing in big time this time around. Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch will show you this year that they are ready to make solid contributions. I think McGowan is a star in the making and will win 15 games this year. Shawn Marcum nicely rounds out the rotation. Not too many end-of-the-rotation guys are gonna allow just three hits and strike out eight batters over seven innings, as Marcum did in his first start this year.

What was Dodgers' Manager Joe Torre thinking when he gave Juan Pierre a start over Matt Kemp in left field last week? The only things Pierre does better than Kemp is steal bases and bunt. And the Dodgers already have someone in the lineup that can does those two things very well, Rafael Furcal. You don't need two guys in the lineup like that, at least not at the expense of the top hitting prospect in your organization. Pierre lost his job to Andre Ethier, so if Torre is going to bench someone it should be him, not Kemp. And he's surely not going to sit Andruw Jones. Pierre, at this point in his career, is a glorified pinch runner. My advice to Torre: keep Pierre on the bench, make sure he gets his ten-figure salary, and hope he doesn't cause a stir in the clubhouse.

I can't wait 'til Micah Owings bats seventh in the D'Backs lineup. He should have a hitting contest with Carlos Zambrano, Livan Hernandez, and Johan Santana for the unofficial title of “best hitting pitcher in baseball”.

It's almost Slow-Pitch Softball Season again, my favorite time of the year. To my teammates; I’ve got the lineup all set, and it looks to me like we’ll put up runs in bunches.

Let's just not talk about the defense...