With two weeks now complete in the baseball season, is anything clearer?

The Padres are proving they aren't going to roll over and play dead for any team. Their pitching, especially the bullpen, has been better than advertised so far in these first two weeks. Starting pitching isn't too bad either. I especially like the way Kevin Correia and Wade LeBlanc are throwing the ball.

How about that gem from Ubaldo Jimenez? Watch him in person once and you'll be sold. He looks so much more menacing in person. The ball just jumps all over the place. Location, velocity and movement. Three ingredients that make him such an outstanding pitcher. Wow, I hope I don't jinx him. But I've written about him quite a bit before in this space.

Brandon Webb thinks he'll be back in a month and a half. That means the end of June. We'll see.

Aroldis Chapman had some trouble with command in his 2nd minor league outing. He walked a few hitters and fell behind in counts. That's the area he has to work on (in addition to his secondary pitches.) But few pitchers work through their careers without command issues. He'll come back strong.

Shin- Soo Choo is on fire. I hope I don't jinx him. I think I said that already about another player. Choo isn't missing too many pitches. He's hanging in against lefties and he's driving the ball. He made a mistake on the bases this week, but other than that he's been outstanding. I think it just gets better and better from here.

Carlos Gonzalez is back in the lineup for the Rockies. It was smart to rest him and get the hamstring as close to normal as possible. He's just an electric player.

David Huff has added 3MPH to his fastball since last season. It started showing up in spring training and he has sustained the velocity during the season so far. He has to throw strikes and move the ball around to continue to win.

Indians pitchers are making adjustments that are being suggested by pitching coach Tim Belcher. For example, Mitch Talbot has moved his foot on the rubber in the same manner as Fausto Carmona. The results have been positive for both pitchers.

The Braves have been very impatient at the plate. They have a tendency to go up swinging and not taking pitches. That was huge in the Yankees series. More patience would certainly help Julio Borbon.

The Diamondbacks bullpen is turning into a nightmare. Its such a shame to watch good starting pitching go to waste in the late innings.

Clayton Kershaw was lights out in his two home starts this week. Can he carry his momentum on the road this coming week? That's a part of his game we have documented before. Poor road performances.

Are you buying Scott Podsednik? He loves to run and he's doing just that.

Through the middle of the week the Indians had two errors. Just two. Both on throws by Jhonny Peralta.

Finally. Finally a couple saves from Matt Lindstrom. K's as well. I guess the team has to score runs and be ahead for a pitcher to get a save. Ah, that's the problem He pitches for Houston.

I saw Jon Rauch in Arizona when he was in the DBacks pen. I saw him a whole lot. Unless this zebra has changed his stripes, be careful. He has "I'll break your heart if you let me" written all over his hidden work out uniform. I know, I know. I'm watching. I'm just a skeptic.

New Target Field looks beautiful. I still don't know how it'll play for power. Let's give it a couple of months through weather variations before we reach any conclusions.

Prince and Tex are giving me a little angina. It says here they'll both be at the top of the home run charts by the end of the season. I keep telling myself that. They'll be there at the end. Patience.

Nelson Cruz. That's one strong man. And he can run.

I don't like what I see of Julio Borbon. Like I said before, his impatience is an issue. His at-bats have been shallow. He looks lost at the plate at times. He's way too talented and too good to find himself in this mess. I'm waiting for him to take pitchers deeper in counts and swing at those pitches he can control.

As we discussed pre-season, Mike Scioscia is giving Maicer Izturis plenty of playing time in the Angels infield. He spells Aybar, Kendrick and Wood at least once a week so far. That plan will keep everyone fresh and allow each to succeed. I like it.

There is word that Livan Hernandez is planning to celebrate his 82nd birthday by pitching for the Marlins in the middle of this century. He's currently 35 and he doesn't throw many pitches that exceed 80 on the radar gun. All he does is get guys out and win. When I was scouting I once got a "39" on the radar gun for one of his pitches. A "39".

There is a very real difference in the hitting mechanics of Chris Young this year as compared to last. He has cut down on his swing and he's much more selective at the plate. He's much better than the .225ish we saw last season. Keep your eye on him. Don't go overboard yet. Let's see in a month. I've seen that movie before. Make adjustments. Improve. Revert back to old form. Show me, Chris.

Is it too early to worry about Jon Lester? The command struggles bother me. That's 3 bad starts.

How about Nate Robertson? Good for him.

I love to watch Albert Pujols. Starting tomorrow, I see him for 3 games in Phoenix. What a joy to watch that man perform.

Have a great week.