Can Gassner fill gap left by Silva?

Originally Published: April 16, 2005

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By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
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•1:05 p.m.: The Twins are loaded with great young pitchers. As they try to fill in the gap caused by Carlos Silva's early-season trouble, Dave Gassner steps in to throw against the Cleveland Indians.

•1:10 p.m.: Al Leiter declined to throw a spring training game against the Mets because he felt he would be too hyped up. Wonder how he'll feel today when he pitches in Shea Stadium as an underdog going against Pedro Martinez?

•2:10 p.m.: Detroit pitcher Jeremy Bonderman has all the makings of an ace. Today, he needs to be an ace because the Tigers are bleeding and he's got to stop it.

•4:05 p.m.: The best matchup of the day, with Atlanta's John Smoltz working against Jon Lieber, who looks like he's back to matching his stuff from his 20-win season with the Cubs.

•4:35 p.m.: The Yankees love hitting in Camden Yards, but this game starts in twilight against the efficient Rodrigo Lopez. Will the Yankees' slide continue?

•8:05 p.m.: Gustavo Chacin, one of baseball's most underrated players so far this season, starts for Toronto in Texas.

•10:10 p.m.: If the Dodgers win with Scott Erickson, who has very little or nothing left in the tank, then they could assume an early 2� game lead by the end of the day.

The Good, Bad and Ugly from Friday
The Good
Rafael Furcal hit two bombs in an 11-4 victory for the Braves, as they picked apart Phillies' phenom Gavin Floyd. Floyd could be headed back to the minors, according to reports.

The Bad
With Friday's loss to San Francisco, the Rockies have logged an eight-game losing streak. And we're just halfway through April.

The Ugly
Check out the offensive numbers for the Yankees so far: Alex Rodriguez, .214; Tino Martinez, .200; Bernie Williams and Jason Giambi, .233; Tony Womack, .242; Jorge Posada, .258. And those six former All-Stars have accounted for fewer RBI (12) than Philadelphia Phillies Pat Burrell (17).17