This week I’ve found myself getting increasingly frustrated with the news coming from Major League Baseball.

In fact, I’ve become so numb to all of the talk about Roger Clemens…interleague play…the poor play of my hometown Orioles – and the debate over Sam Perlozzo’s job security…and, of course, Jason Giambi’s ethical dilemma that I’ve decided to take a hiatus.

For the last week, I’ve avoided Baseball Tonight. I’ve also avoided tuning into sports talk radio or reading anything other than “straight” box scores.

Imagine it – no beat writers…no controversy…no one yelling at me on ESPN. It’s been kind of peaceful, actually. So peaceful, in fact, that I was able to come up with yet another list of…

1. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that I feel badly for Jason Giambi, but I will say that he’s gotten a raw deal over the past week. After being quoted in a USA Today story last week as saying, “I was wrong for doing that stuff,” in reference to performance-enhancing drugs, Giambi is now being investigated by Major League Baseball and his own team, the New York Yankees, are reportedly exploring the possibility of voiding his contract (again.) Here’s the problem I have with the reaction by the Yankees: for years, we’ve heard time and again how pathetic it is that every single steroid user has some sort of excuse. “Why won’t a guy just own up to it?” we’ve asked. And now here’s a case of a guy doing just that – and the minute he does, he’s threatened with having his contract terminated. Is it any wonder that players are so tight-lipped about this problem?

2. I don’t know, speaking of alleged steroid users, what kind of reaction Sammy Sosa is going to get when he hits his 600th home run, but now that Slammin’ Sammy has reached 598 with a bomb off of Johan Santana Tuesday night, the 600-mark is all but inevitable. And come to think of it, have all home run milestones been rendered meaningless from this point forward? We already know that Barry Bonds will get a mixed reaction – at best – for breaking the all-time home run record later this year. And Sosa’s 600th blast is sure to draw a yawn from most fans in the U.S. So when will we again have a milestone home run to get excited about? Might be a long, long time.

3. I don’t know how successful Sammy Sosa’s comeback will ultimately be over the course of the 2007 season. But I will say that I was thrilled to hear the news that Troy Percival is thinking of a comeback. For years, as a fantasy owner, I found it impossible to construct a team without “The Squinter.” He was one of my all-time favorites, and I hope he can make it back.

4. I don’t know if you’ve done the numbers, but at this point (they’re 31-14 through Tuesday) for the Red Sox to reach 90 wins, they only have to play .504 baseball (59-58) the rest of the way.

5. I don’t know if 90 wins will be enough to reach the post-season this year – it’s taken at least 95 wins to earn an American League wild card berth in each of the past three seasons – but it’s going to take a lot of work for another American League East challenger to pass Boston. Assuming the Red Sox reach that 90-win level by playing roughly .500 baseball the rest of the way, the Yankees would need to play nearly .600 ball (70-48) in order to catch them.

6. I don’t know if you happened to read this column last week when I pointed out Miguel Tejada’s complete lack of power this season…but the trend is continuing. Tejada had 23 more plate appearances without an extra-base hit over the past week, and he had just one extra base-hit – a double back on May 10 – since April 25.

7. I don’t know what to make of Jeremy Guthrie’s outstanding performance as a starter so far this season for Baltimore. After all, it was just a couple of years ago that I wrote an entire column on how disappointed I was in seeing Guthrie pitch in person in a Double-A game. But for some reason, Guthrie has begun putting it all together and has made four starts for the Orioles this year with amazing results. Guthrie has pitched to a 1.03 ERA in those four starts while striking out 17 – and walking just three – in 26 1/3 innings of work. Is it time for me to finally admit that I’m not a scout and that I was wrong about Guthrie? Maybe so…

8. I don’t know what happened with Guthrie in Cleveland, but if I’m going to have to confess to knowing much less than I thought I did, then the good folks in the Indians’ front office should do the same. Guthrie has mixed speeds very well in his last two outings (15 1/3 innings, one earned run) and looks like he might be staking claim to a permanent spot in the Orioles’ rotation.

9. I don’t know if I want to get back into the whole Roger Clemens issue again this week, but does anyone know if he included some sort of “out clause” in his contract? After all, with the Bronx Bombers sitting 10 ½ games back of the Red Sox at this point, both parties might want to re-think this issue of a Clemens comeback in Yankee pinstripes. It could very easily end up being a monumental waste of time.

10. I don’t know if you’re as much of an MLB Extra Innings junkie as I am, but for those of you who are: wasn’t it great to finally see feeds from both Phillies and Blue Jays telecasts in the package this past weekend? It’s almost as if Major League Baseball (or whoever it is that runs the Extra Innings package) got something right for a change. Now if we could just do something about those Saturday afternoon blackouts…

Have a question or comment for Jody? Send it to jodymadron@sportsgrumblings.com.