The Daily Closer: Alex Rodriguez Still Refuses To Pitch

Notes from a day in baseball:

• Larry Bowa Explains It All. Larry Bowa has an interesting take on Alex Rodriguez and his 14 homers in April (he hit two more on Monday ... weee!). Bowa noted that his old teammate, Mike Schmidt, got off on a similar tear in 1976, but finished the season with "only" 38 homers. A-Rod will likely surpass that in Jully. Why? The pitchers back then were meaner. "In those days, you didn't let guys like that beat you," Bowa told the New York Daily News. "The staffs were deeper — you go into some series now and the 4-5 guys aren't very good. The pitchers were meaner and if you hit some home runs, you were going to get drilled. That's how the game was played, but it's not like that anymore." We're not sure we agree — hey, it's Larry Bowa — but it could be true. The only thing that is clear is that Rodriguez is on another planet right now, but it's not enough to keep the Yankees above .500. Sad, really. A-Rod tied the major league record for home runs in April in a 10-8 loss to the Tampa Bay on Monday. He's also the fastest in major league history to reach No. 14, a fact that did not impress the Devil Rays' Rocco Baldelli and B.J. Upton, who each homered and combined for seven RBI. Kei Igawa (1-1) took the loss, as New York pitchers have given up six runs or more in five straight games and nine of 18 this season. New York's answer to all this? More rookies. Well, at least New Yorkers realize it's still very early.

• If Only They Had More Mustaches. Sure, they were playing the Cubs, but the Brewers look for real. Prince Fielder homered twice and Milwaukee came back from a four-run deficit to win at Wrigley Field 5-4. The Brewers are in first place in the National League Central by two-and-a-half games (they're the only team in the division above .500). Meanwhile, Lou Piniella didn't talk to reporters after the game, and reporters overheard all kinds of screaming and throwing of projectiles in the locker room after the game. From the Devil Rays to the Cubs: Piniella must just hate himself, deep down, to keep putting himself through this.

• Fun In The Dugout. It's well established that we're big fans of The Dugout. Well, they're back after a week hiatus, and we especially enjoyed their return effort, in which Boston's Manny Ramirez answers questions about Life, the Universe, and Everything. One of our favorite parts: MannyThe Torpedoes: /hits ball over Green Monster, plods around bases and back to dugout; hey guys gues wha i foun out. MyNameIsSlimJD: Yes. We know. The bases are like pillows.