1: Best Matchup of the Week
Anybody vs. Anybody.

Any matchup is a good one this week, when you consider the alternative we almost had.

2: The Re-matchup of the Week
Oakland at Minnesota: Friday through Sunday

Sometimes forces conspire to elevate a regular-season game to a level worthy of the postseason. If you were lucky enough to see Sunday's Twins-A's game, you'll know what I mean when I say this was an example of that. While cavernous and depressing when empty (well, Jim -- what stadium isn't?), Network Associates Coliseum was a cauldron of excitement Sunday and the game lived up to the atmosphere. From the opening pitch to Miguel Tejada's walk-off home run, this game cooked.

Now, it is incumbent upon Twins fans to create a similar atmosphere at the end of the week.

3: The Best Hypothetical Pitching Matchup of the Week

	Clemens

	Martinez

Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens: Tuesday

Hypothetical for a couple of reasons. The first is that Pedro is having soreness in his hip and might not make the start. The other is that this is not the same Roger Clemens who won the Cy Young Award last year or who continued on the same path in the earlier part of the season. Call it coincidence or whatever you like, there is a definite dividing line in Clemens' season. On the morning of June 15, he stood at 8-2 with a 3.57 ERA. Since then, he's 3-3 with an ERA of 5.91. What, pray tell, happened? June 15 was the game at Shea Stadium where he was finally forced to bat against the Mets, the team who vowed vengeance for his 2000 ballistic brain surgery job on Mike Piazza. They made him dance a little and he hasn't been the same since. I'm not saying the two are related, mind you, but the facts are as I state them from which you are free to draw your own conclusions.

4: The Keys to the Kingdom Matchup of the Week
Minnesota at Seattle: Monday and Wednesday

The Mariners' Lament
Remember us?
Weren't we grand?
It was just last year, you understand
That we were kings
And the rest our foils
In every game we'd get our spoils
But time is cruel
And so is fate
Now barbarians at the gate
Threaten all the
Gold we spun
Back in that halcyon 2001.

5: The Worst Matchup of the Week
Texas at Tampa Bay: Friday through Sunday

I know, how can a game involving the best player in the league and a couple of other future Hall of Famers be considered the worst of the week? Because they will be surrounded by others who have seen to it that these two teams have the worst combined records of any of the 30 matchups. (There is some drama here, though, as the Rangers are looking for revenge after allowing the Rays to come into their house this past weekend and score their first road sweep in over two years.)

Here is why I, once again, call for a moratorium on jumping to conclusions early in the season. Let me take you back to a time long, long ago. It was the morning of April 6, and Alex Rodriguez was in a funk. He was 1 for his first 18. If that had happened in June or July, nobody would have even noticed. Actually, it also happened in June and July for him. He's had what could be categorized as three dry spells this season. They are:

April 1-5: 1 for 18, two walks, one run scored
June 11-19: 2 for 26, three walks, fiur runs scored, one RBI, two stolen bases
July 16-19: 0 for 14, one walk

The June slump actually includes an 0-for-16 run. Other players do this sort of thing too, only what they do in between isn't as spectacular. I'm guessing you knew that, though.

How many down periods has Barry Bonds had? It looks like just one, really:

April 21-26: 0 for 11, three walks, two runs scored

6: The Pride Thy Name is Second Place Matchup of the Week
Philadelphia at Montreal: Monday through Thursday

A recent report described Phils' Triple-A farmhand Marlon Byrd as a "young Scott Rolen" in terms of his ability. The trouble with that is that Byrd is only three years younger than the departed Rolen and he was an established major leaguer by the same age that Byrd was still toiling in the high minors. Did the Phils bring him along too slowly? Perhaps, but all will be forgiven if he bursts on the scene next year and helps them get to the next level.

7: The Biggest Mismatchup of the Week
Detroit at New York Yankees: Friday through Sunday

There had been some rumors (on slow days because, let's face it, this is not a big item) that the Yankees were interested in adding the Tigers' Shane Halter for the postseason.

One of the ways people often compare mismatched teams is by asking the question, "Is there anybody on the Tigers who could crack the Yankees starting lineup?" (Or, expanding on that, even make the team?) This is especially relevant with these two teams because on three separate occasions this year, the Yankees have made noise about wanting to deal with the Tigers. The first time around was in regard to left fielder Bobby Higginson. The next time it was starter Jeff Weaver and that came to pass. The last was the aforementioned Halter talk. ("Hi, welcome to Halter Talk on Cable Access Channel 81. I'm your all's host, C.J. Quickly. First thing I wanna show you is some photos I took at the flea mart on Saturday of some real nice halters that was walking around. I mean, damn! Look at that right there! Next up we got some home video shot by viewer Tommy Lee Cuzzins at his family reunion and I wanna tell you, this is some good stuff. Later on in the show we got Miss Lainie Friggs comin' out here. She was our Miss Haltertop 1979 and she's out on work release and doin' real good and she and me is gonna reminisce us some. As always, I got to tank my sponsorin' friends at Halter World on Farm to Market Road 156 for their continued support.)

With 34½ games separating these two teams, is there anybody playing for Detroit who could crack the Yanks' lineup? Mark Redman has pitched as well as just about any Yankee starter. His road ERA is a respectable 4.03 while he has taken advantage of Comerica Park for 3.02 ERA at home. His road ERA is better than that of Mike Mussina (4.34) and much, much better than that of Clemens (6.69). On the other side of the ball, Higginson is an easy choice over Rondell White in left field. The only other position where there would be anything like a battle would be in right where Robert Fick has been fairly comparable to Raul Mondesi this year. Mondesi has the better track record, however.

When playing this game -- and it is just a game -- it depends a bit on who is counted as the Yankees' first baseman and designated hitter. Jason Giambi's aces whichever position you consider his (he's started 81 games at first as opposed to 45 for Nick Johnson). The Tigers' DH, Randall Simon, continues to blister the ball at Comerica and suffer on the road. A showdown between Johnson and Carlos Pena comes out very close at the moment:

Johnson-Pena
At bats: 316-312
Hits: 78-77
Doubles: 13-14
Triples: 0-2
Home runs: 14-16
RBI: 50-42
Walks: 36-33
Strike outs: 80-89
OBP: .344-.324
Slugging percentage: .421-.458
OPS: .765-.782

Johnson has scored one-and-a-half times as many runs (50 to 34) which one would expect from players on the best and worst offenses in the league, although Pena has only spent part of the year with Detroit. There are but four months separating them, so age is not a factor. The Yankees have turned down seemingly dozens of requests to trade Johnson and Pena has been dealt twice this year. Which brings up the final question: which one would you rather have at this point?

8: The C.A.D. (Contraction Anxiety Disorder) Matchup of the Week
None

Well, we've dodged this bullet for the time being. One thing I never understood throughout the whole labor proceedings was why the union didn't make contraction its cause celeb. The loss of 50 jobs is a pretty serious business. Instead, they focused on the upper end salary limitations of its more privileged members as they would be impacted by the luxury tax. To me, saving those two teams would have been worth striking for and would have won the players more credibility with the fans who continue to side with the owners just about every time one of these things comes up. To my mind -- purely from a public relations standpoint -- saving jobs as a rallying cry is far more digestible than getting more money.

9: The No September Call-ups Matchup of the Week
Milwaukee at Chicago Cubs: Monday through Wednesday

I say this every year around this time, but I think it's insane that we play an entire season with 25 men available to managers and then, when the fur is really flying, they suddenly have unlimited men to choose from! Is there something wrong with that or what? I say we should not let teams who are still in contention use September call-up players. Their opponents should not be allowed to either.

Which means this series it would be perfectly acceptable for both teams to trot out as many players as they like. Los Angeles versus Arizona? No. Pittsburgh versus Florida? Yes.

10: The This Looks Good on Paper Matchup of the Week
Anaheim at Tampa Bay: Tuesday through Thursday

You've got to like the way the first part of the Angels week shapes up if you're in their camp. While they're taking on last-place Tampa Bay, their main wild-card rivals are facing stronger stuff. The Mariners are hosting the first-place Twins and the Red Sox are running to their doom in New York.

11: The I'll Bet You'll Be Really Glad There Was No Strike After You Read This Matchup of the Week
Had there been a strike, I would have -- in a desperate attempt to keep Baker's Dozen going -- done anything and everything to come up with matchups. You would have seen things like this:

Travis vs. Juan
These are two kids who live nearby who play some sort of catch game I haven't figured out quite yet. It's part fantasy, part reality and mostly impossible to watch because neither of them is very athletic. Most of the time is spent chasing errant throws. Relief comes only when the ball rolls down a drain. Journalistic integrity dilemma: when covering an event like this, should I remain neutral and merely watch their efforts to get the ball out of the drain or should I, in an effort to keep the event going, help them retrieve it? Or, should I really step over the line and provide them with a new ball if the old one is hopelessly out of reach?

Francham's Daylight Donuts vs. The Rusty Nail Tomfoolery Club
Men's over-40 softball played at a municipal field near my place. Actually, the Rusty Nail plays the clean-up crew from Bennigan's later in the week and that one might be the better game, so I would have been torn as to which one to pick. There is a lot of bad blood between the Nailers and Bennigan's because ever since the latter opened, business has been off at the former -- not that the clean-up crew understands that. Francham's Daylight Donuts have former big leaguer Zil Francham in their lineup, though, so that game has more cred. Francham weighs close to 400 pounds now, which limits his range at shortstop. Attempts to move him to a less-demanding defensive position (like DH) have been rebuffed and, since he sponsors the team there is not much that can be done to convince him otherwise.

Austin Select vs. CenTex All-Stars
Select teams: the wave of the future for youth baseball. These are two of the best around and both have strict requirements for entry onto the team. First of all, there is the cost -- about the major-league minimum per player. Secondly, there is the two-year tryout period at a sendaway camp in Arizona. Those who survive the intensity of it without becoming bedwetters and whose parents have the scratch to afford the experience play a schedule that would have made those in the old Pacific Coast League blanch. 247 games is about average not including three-a-day practice sessions (two on game days). One cost upside for parents: players spend so much time in their uniforms there is no need for costly school clothes.

12: The Heckuva Show Matchup of the Week
Los Angeles at Arizona: Monday through Wednesday

This could be a good one and, if not for the yeoman work of our hero, Bud Selig, you wouldn't be seeing it. Oh, that our emotional lives are in the hands of such men. How did we get ourselves into this predicament?

13: The Can't We Play at Your Place Instead Matchup of the Week
Florida at New York Mets: Monday through Thursday

Check out ESPN Insider for more on the lowly Mets.

Jim Baker's 'Baker's Dozen' column appears on Mondays during the baseball season. He also writes Monday through Friday for ESPN Insider. He can be reached at jimbakerespn@yahoo.com.