What a surprise. Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to join the Washington Nationals this week and pitch his first major league game Tuesday night. Surprise? Not really. This is, after all, the first week of June, a safe week for teams to add their top prospects to their major league rosters and start their major league service clock ticking.

The clubs engage in a game of service-time manipulation. Unlike some club practices of the past – collusion most notably – this one does not violate any of the labor laws. There has been some sentiment in the union to challenge the practice through a grievance but not enough obviously to take that step.

“We are paying attention to that and I would expect arbitration eligibility will be an issue in collective bargaining,” Michael Weiner, head of the union, said earlier in the season. “It has become so obvious.”

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Ubaldo Jimenez is the terrific young pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. Don Baylor is the Rockies’ veteran hitting coach. I asked Baylor what he would tell his hitters if they had to face Jimenez.

“Good luck,” Baylor said. Then he laughed.

Batters have found that hitting against Jimenez this season is no laughing matter. In fact, it has been virtually impossible. No one should have to do it.

Some things are just too ridiculous to try to understand or figure out. Jimenez, with his 10-1 record and his infinitesimal 0.78 earned run average, provides a current case in point.

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One-third of the way through the season, an economically intriguing circumstance has developed. The National League East is the only one of the six divisions in which the team with the biggest payroll is in first place.

The Phillies, with an opening-day $142 million payroll, have dominated their division in the first two months, though last week the $132 million Mets gave them a stunning reminder that the race isn’t over by sweeping them scorelessly in a three-game series.

Midway through the Memorial Day weekend, the five other divisions were led by teams whose payrolls lagged behind at least some of their intra-division competition.

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