I guess I’ll never fully understand why a guy that pitches a perfect 8th inning can’t go out and at least start the 9th. If he gets in trouble, pull him. The entire closer concept is so major in the game today. I just watched John Axford implode in an Indians loss. They had just taken the lead in the 8th. Nightmares.

On twitter the other day I listed great players with awful batting averages so far this young season. My point? This is a marathon, not a sprint. Generally, a good hitter will find his groove when the weather heats up.

The Reds and Dbacks are both in big trouble with the loss of a major starting pitcher. With Mat Latos and Patrick Corbin both on the shelf, their tough starts become even more magnified.

The White Sox Alexi Ramirez is really on fire. He’s on my underrated list.

The Dodgers Dee Gordon stole a base off Randal Delgado when Delgado was tending to grooming the pitcher’s mound. I saw Gordon do that in Spring Training in 2012. Stole 2B on the throw back to the pitcher.

I have been singing the praises of Josmil Pinto and he is showing why. The man has outstanding power and he makes contact at the plate. He is really helping the Twins.

Ike Davis was a pitcher as well as position player at Arizona State University. I wonder what his career would be like if he would have stuck to pitching? He was darn good.

I still think Stephen Drew will end up with the Yankees. His glove and bat can really help them. I still haven’t figured a good landing spot for Kendrys Morales.

The Dbacks had 25 hits in two days against the Dodgers and lost both games.

Even though he was off to a great start, Sam Fuld couldn’t keep a job with the Athletics. Numbers caught up with him. I think managers would love to have 25 guys with his heart.

I’m really happy for the Brewers and their fans. Their off to a tremendous start. Don’t know if they can keep it up, but the hitting and pitching have come together at the same time. Momentum is a great teammate.

Last year I thought Hyun-Jin Ryu would be best working out of the bullpen to start his career. The baseball was different from the one he was used to in Korea. I thought he’d need some time to adjust. Boy was I wrong. He’s an outstanding lefty. His changeup is a great pitch. Very underrated pitcher.

The loss of Ryan Zimmerman is crucial for the Nationals. It takes a big bat out of the lineup and moves players from their normal defensive positions.

Dustin McGowan had a great start this week. I’ve always liked his stuff, but injuries have taken their toll. Is he all the way back? The Blue Jays would certainly like to see a healthy McGowan and Brandon Morrow. What a lift.

One of my columns next week on MLBPipeline.com will be about Indians reliever Austin Adams. Remember the name. I think at some point he can be a solid arm in the pen.

I don’t think I’m concerned about Miguel Cabrera hitting without Prince Fielder, am I? Man, I hope not. He’s still a great, great hitter. I guess I should follow my own advice. Don’t panic.

I would guess the Randy Wolf tenure will begin very soon for the Dbacks. I’m just sayin’.

As always, thanks for reading my work on Pipeline.com and for following me on twitter @BerniePleskoff.

That’s it. I’m done.