The Week That Was
Surprises at Two-Month Mark
After two months, as we near the one-third mark of the season, the two biggest surprises have been the Cincinnati Reds in the NL and the Anaheim Angels in the AL.

I thought the Reds' starting pitching would be weak, but the team's 3.56 ERA is fourth-best in the National League. The St. Louis Cardinals will win the division, but the Reds have taken a big leap forward as they get ready to open their new park next year.

	Erstad

Angels manager Mike Scioscia stayed calm during a rough 6-14 start and was rewarded when all phases of Anaheim's game improved. Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon and Brad Fullmer began to hit. Shortstop David Eckstein and second baseman Adam Kennedy stabilized the up-the-middle defense. And the pitching is solid from top to bottom (3.86 ERA is third-best in AL).

Disappointments at Two-Month Mark
Disappointments include the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs.

Other than Barry Zito, the A's starters have struggled. Texas made a slight upward move in early May but has since retreated. The Indians have not found the bats to replace Roberto Alomar, Juan Gonzalez, Marty Cordova and Kenny Lofton -- not to mention losing Brian Giles, Richie Sexson, Manny Ramirez, Sean Casey, and David Justice over the past few years.

The Cubs and Astros have run into a myriad of problems, and their bullpens have really hurt them. While St. Louis may have the deepest bullpen in the National League, the Astros and Cubs are thin. Both were strong a year ago, but the Cubs lost Todd Van Poppel and David Weathers to free agency. Relievers Kyle Farnsworth and Flash Gordon are injured, while fellow reliever Jeff Fassero has not been as effective as he was in 2001. And Antonio Alfonseca is no lock at the end.

The Astros lost relievers Mike Jackson and Mike Williams to free agency, and relievers T.J. Mathews and Scott Linebrink are on the disabled list. Starter Wade Miller's injury forced Tim Redding into the rotation and hurt the pen's depth, and Octavio Dotel hasn't been as "light's out" as he was in 2001.

Former Astros manager Larry Dierker forced his starting pitching deeper into games last year, but current skipper Jimy Williams is more apt to go to the bullpen earlier -- and that pen has not been good.

Early MVP and Cy Young Candidates

	Lowe

Early AL Cy Young: Boston Red Sox starter Derek Lowe. Early AL MVP: New York Yankees second baseman Alfonso Soriano.

Early NL Cy Young: Toss-up between Arizona Diamondbacks starter Curt Schilling and Atlanta Braves starter Tom Glavine (with Randy Johnson a close third). Early NL MVP: San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds.

One Year Later
Last Memorial Day weekend, the Giants and Diamondbacks played back-to-back extra-inning games in San Francisco. The first was 12 innings, and the next day's game went 19 innings. The Diamondbacks won both and took the division by two games. The Giants missed the playoffs.

This year the Giants have won three of five versus Arizona, including a 7-3 win on Memorial Day and a 10-inning, 1-0 victory Tuesday. We'll have to wait and see if that has a similar significance for San Francisco at the end of this season. The teams play the final game of a four-game series Thursday night at Pac Bell Park.

Rocky Mountain High
The Colorado Rockies are 21-10 under manager Clint Hurdle. I'm not sure if it's the humidor, but the Rockies have the best pitching in the franchise's history (4.24 ERA) -- and that includes the continued struggles of ace Mike Hampton.

On The Horizon
AL: Angels-Twins (four-game series in Minnesota begins Thursday)
The Angels have had a great run in the past month, pulling to within three games of the Mariners in the AL West by winning 22 of 26 (before dropping two of three). The Angels have stabilized every aspect of their game. This series with the AL Central-leading Twins will be a good test for them.

Minnesota is tough at home on the turf. It's always tough for the visiting team's outfielders to track fly balls in the Metrodome looking up at that white ceiling.

For the Twins, third baseman Corey Koskie is back from the disabled list, but starters Brad Radke and Joe Mays are still on the DL. The Twins have played well, but they're in first place probably due more to Cleveland and Chicago's inconsistency.

NL: Mets-Marlins (three-game series in Florida begins Friday)
The Mets (28-25) are tied with the Braves for first place in the NL East, with the Marlins (26-27) two games back. Both the Mets and Marlins have good starting pitching. But I'm still concerned about Florida's bullpen, which I would rank in the lower third of MLB's 30 teams. The Marlins' pen remains a question mark.

The surprise for the Mets has been their starting pitching. Overall, the Mets lead the majors with a 3.09 ERA. But Pedro Astacio and Jeff D'Amico have had injury issues in the past, so the question is whether they'll hold up all season. Pitching has definitely been the Mets' strength. Their defense has been bad and their offense has been spotty, so they have to consider themselves fortunate to be in first place.

	Castillo

Going into season, I thought both teams would have have strong offenses, but the Mets haven't gelled yet. For Florida, it looks like second baseman Luis Castillo has returned to his 2000 form, when he hit .334 with a .418 on-base percentage. So far this season he's batting .327 (.380 OBP). The Marlins miss shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who is on the 15-day disabled list after dislocating his shoulder diving for a Barry Bonds ground ball. Prior to the injury, Gonzalez had begun to fulfill some of his promise.

Ballpark Focus: Bank One Ballpark, Arizona
Bank One has a pleasant atmosphere and is fair to both pitchers and hitters. The ball travels well because Phoenix is in the high desert, more than 1,000 feet above sea level. I don't really like any type of domed or retractable roof, but weather conditions make a retractable roof necessary in Seattle, Toronto, Houston and Milwaukee (and in Arizona).

Since it hardly rains in the desert, when Bank One's roof is closed it's generally due to the desert heat. In April and May, when evening temperatures are about 70 degrees, fans want to to enjoy the outdoors, so the roof stays open. But in the summer, when the temperatures routinely reach triple digits, the roof is closed so the air conditioning can give the fans some comfort.

In the World Series last fall, temperatures in Arizona were in the mid-90s in late October, so you can be sure that the roof won't be open much more the rest of the season.

Editor's Note: All statistics are through Wednesday's games. Dave Campbell, who was an infielder for eight seasons in the major leagues (1967-74), works as an analyst for Baseball Tonight and ESPN Radio.