Les poissons d'avril

Apparently there are some games being played in some ballpark in the Bronx this weekend, but I have to say that I'm in more of a National League place right now, so I'll be keeping an eye on what's happening down in South Florida, where the Marlins will be playing the Braves. The Marlins are hot right now, but the Braves swept the first series of the season between the two clubs, which, as I read somewhere yesterday, served to remind everyone that the road to the National League East title still runs through Atlanta.

Still in the East, the Phillies will be glad to see the back of the Marlins, who left town yesterday with a three-game sweep under their belt. Tempers flared in yesterday's 9-7 victory by the Marlins, but it apparently wasn't enough to motivate the Phillies, who lost their ninth straight game to the Fish.

The Marlins continue to personify that sort of cocky (but ultimately likeable) attitude of the little kid who's not afraid to give the big guys a hard time. After yesterday's game, manager Jack McKeon, when asked to comment on Phillies pitcher Brett Myers - whose inside pitch to Alex Gonzalez started the benches-clearing brawl - was at his old-school cigar-smokin' trash-talkin' best:

"Maybe that's the way he can try to beat us. Maybe he doesn't have stuff to beat us the old fashion way. He tried to intimidate us, but it didn't work. The guy didn't show me too much."

The Marlins weren't afraid of the Cubs or the Yankees last October, and they're not afraid of anyone now - I maintain yesterday's prediction that they're going to have another great season, but whatever happens, I'm going to enjoy watching them over the next five months or so.