Market correction

Equities were down Thursday and Friday, and so were the Yankees, as they dropped two straight (not including the completion of the suspended game) against the Royals and the Orioles. Market activity was primarily driven by the overvaluation of performances against subprime teams like the Devil Rays, and credit concerns regarding Kei Igawa's huge contract despite his apparent inability to do anything but throw 89-mph thigh-high fastballs right down the middle of the plate.

Alex Rodriguez is sitting on 499 home runs on the same day that Barry Bonds is one short of tying Hank Aaron's 755. There has been a lot of discussion about A-Rod and Bonds approaching these significant power milestones simultaneously, as most everyone outside of San Francisco views Bonds as a dirty cheater and A-Rod as a purer player. My position on Bonds has been and always will be that the guy was an extraordinarily good hitter before he started taking steroids, and while he may not "deserve" the all-time record, it's really Major League Baseball's fault for not instituting an illegal substance-testing policy when every other major sport in America had one. Ever since the MLB started testing players, Bonds has not been suspended, so really, what can you do?

Also, I don't take it for granted, as many sportswriters do, that A-Rod will hit 800 home runs in his career and break Bonds's record. Rodriguez turned 32 yesterday, inching closer to that mid-thirties mark where players inevitably begin to decline. A-Rod will have to remain healthy and really rake over the next few seasons in order to have a shot at the record.

Roger Clemens takes the mound for the Yankees today, and he'll be followed by Rambo Wang on Sunday to complete the three-game series against the O's. The Yanks will probably win both of these games. I'll maintain my initial post-All-Star forecast for the Yankees to win 90 games this season, but I'll lower the standard deviation to 3.5 games and reitirate that they probably will not make the playoffs.