[bailey]

The Cool Papa Era ended in Collingwood yesterday as his contract was sold. The speedster lost his job after the arrival of a pair of Faces, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays. Ichiro Suzuki has Papa-esque defense and speed, but doesn't tie up so much capital so therefore is kept for OF backup. Another Face, the speedy Craig Biggio, can also play the outfield well, (not to mention the infield and catcher positions, too, when fully trained.)

Another era also ended. The consecutive game streak of Dan Brouthers at the DH spot ends at 1935 games. Albert Pujols takes over DH against LH pitching and is 1B backup. He hit a HR in his first at bat for the Magpies.