For the first time in "Today in Baseball" history, one team (the New York Yankees) have taken the trifecta of notable headlines. I'm on the fence as to whether that's a good or a bad thing. You woulda thunk that the first team to garner this great honor would have been the Red Sox, but the Evil Empire is just so damn newsworthy. Oh well, on with the show. In compiling a list of the top ten baseball players of all time, any knowledgeable writer would be remiss to forget Joe DiMaggio, the Yankees legend who in his thirteen seasons in New York had a monstrous 2214 hits, which was until today good for fifth on the Yankees' all-time hits list. With his third hit in today's win against the Red Sox, 
Derek Jeter logged career hit number 2216, sliding past DiMaggio into fifth on the all-time list. Next comes the fourth slot, which is currently owned by Jeter's former teammate Bernie Williams at 2336. The all-time Yankees' hit leader is Lou Gherig with his 2721. At just 31 years old, however, Jeter is well on his way to passing that record and perhaps become the first ball-player to log 3000 hits in Yankee pinstripes. It may be a few years before Roger Clemens sees the batters he faced today in any kind of Major League action (that is, if he makes it that long in his already extended Hall-of-Fame career), but it still amounted to an interesting match-up as the Rocket threw 102 pitches against Red Sox double-A affiliate the Portland SeaDogs. Facing one of the top Sox prospects in Clay Buchholz, Clemens got the win by a slim margin by going 5.1 innings while giving up six hits and three runs. Buchholz actually had a better outing than did Clemens, going six strong innings and allowing just two runs on seven hits. He struck out eight batters to Clemens' five. The Trenton Thunder won the game 4-3 after a blown save by SeaDog Michael James. Said Yankees manager after Clemens' performance: "Throwing 102 pitches, I guess his legs must be under him. That's really what he was waiting for. If he feels he's ready to come with us and start pitching for us, we're ready to have him." Clemens said that he won't be sure if he'll be ready to start against the Blue Jays next week until after his bullpen session on Friday. 
The connections between Jason Giambi and performance-enhancing drugs just never end. After he opened his mouth about his steroid-abusing past, leading to an investigation by the MLB commissioner's office, now the New York Daily News is reporting that the Giambino has recently failed a rest for amphetamines, which just became part of MLB's drug testing policy last season. A first failed test for amphetamines bears no suspensions or fines and is supposed to be kept private (though he will be subject to up to six additional tests throughout the season), but it's possible that the information was leaked by the commissioner's office in response to Giambi's recent comments about his previous steroid use. A player who fails the amphetamine test for a second time is subject to a 25-game suspension.Photo Sources: MLB.com and NYDailyNews.com
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