Breaks Breakdown: April 2001

The month of April has seen a lot of interesting developments and surprises to begin the season. Let's dive in and take a look at the first month of the season!

Everyone has dismissed the Bronx Bombers after their lackluster past few seasons, but the Bombers showed that the retooling has some signs of being successful as they lead the competitive AL East after the first month by 4 games. Additions Tony Clark and Sammy Sosa have provided a huge punch that the Yankees have been missing for a while. Will Cunnane looks like he's finally put it all together and is showing signs of being a top end Ace pitcher.

34 year old starting pitcher Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox has been diagnosed with bone chips in his throwing arm, most likely rendering him unable to play for at least the rest of the year, and it will most likeley have a longterm effect on his ability to pitch afterwards. He may call it a career with a respectable 124-106 record and 3.27 ERA. While he may not be a Hall of Famer, he's definitely been a great asset anywhere he's gone. It remains to be seen if anyone would even risk signing him as he hits free agency with these issues.

32 year old starting pitcher Hideo Nomo of the Montreal Expos tore a ligament in his elbow vs St Louis a week ago. He's out for the season and expects surgery in the coming days. He still has 2 more years on contract after this season, so he's not in danger of having his career cut short like Schilling, but he's most likely going to lose some of his stuff coming back. How effective he will be is another story we'll just have to wait to hear the rest of.

33 year old starting pitcher Ben Mcdonald of the Houston Astros has torn a muscle in his back, taking him out of action for the season. He's going to have minor surgery to fix the tear and he should be good to go next year with no major setbacks to his health. We should see him pitching just as effectively as normal if luck is on his side. Houston will definitely miss his arm this year.

Ken Griffey Jr. needs 34 home runs to reach 500 at the age of 31, rendering him the youngest player to reach that mark if he does so. At this rate, he might have it by the all-star break with his 18 April dingers. Look out Maris, there's a new Home Run King on the way. If he can stay healthy that is, which he's been prone to not be. Speaking of which, 18 home runs is a record for home runs in April. Congrats Griffey! Barry Bonds also has an outside chance at 500 this year with 32 more, which he's on pace to do so far but his declining power shows this month may have been a fluke.

There are 2 players within reach of 600 stolen bases this year, as Barry Bonds only needs 7 more, while Chuck Knoblauch needs 18. Both are easily reachable and will help cement their places in the future as BBSBL Hall of Famers. Eric Young is 16 away from 500 stolen bases, but he's barely clinging to a starting job so it may be in jeopardy.

Randy Johnson may become the first pitcher in BBSBL history to reach the historic 3000 strikeout mark. We'll be watching with anticipation as the 37 year old ace still hurls with the best of them and only needs another 150 to get there. There is definitely an empty plaque with his name on it when all is said and dome. Considering his first win of the year was his 200th, this may be one of his best seasons yet as far as personal goals.

Speaking of wins, Mike Mussina is only 4 away from 200, and at 32 years old has a realistic chance of 250 or more by the time he hangs up the cleats. Mussina is definitely one of the best around and continues to prove it year after year.

Montreal has been the talk of the town lately, as they hold the lead in the NL East with an 18-11 record. That's not the main reason they're so highly touted though. They've got the number one ranked system to go along with that division lead. It takes true skill and genious management to accomplish a feat like that. Let's see if they can keep winning and developing players like this and become a true dynasty. Good luck to Montreal!