On opposite coasts, some of the best and worst baseball in the Major Leagues is being played. The San Francisco Giants are starting to look more experienced than old, while the Yankees are close to holding public try-out's for pitchers with a pulse. Also, updates on the progress of Sammy Sosa, the Oakland A?s in the first inning and a look back on Josh Hancock. Yankees struggle; Torre on the hot seat With a 7-4 loss Sunday afternoon to the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees now sit at 9-14 and losers of eight of their past nine games. And now came word this past weekend that owner George Steinbrenner is unhappy about the failures this season and could be looking to replace manager Joe Torre soon. Firing Torre will only create a bigger problem for a team that has flaws despite a gigantic payroll, in large part because of Steinbrenner. The pitching is pathetic right now, but that is largely due to injuries to Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano and Chien-Ming Wang. The only thing helping this rotation has been the reemergence of Andy Pettittee, who is throwing as well as he has over the last three years. Third baseman Alex Rodriguez leads the Yankees offense loaded with All-Stars and once their pitching gets healthy, you will see them start to win games with their bats. It doesn?t look good now for New York as they are last in the American League East and 6.5 games behind Boston, but patience should be practiced in the Bronx. Torre is a future Hall of Fame manager and it will be his steady hand that will get the Yankees back in the race. Nobody handles superstars better than Torre. His firing would signal an end for playoff chances in 2007 and ostracize Steinbrenner from many of his high-priced veterans. Giants turning season around Outfielder Barry Bonds dominates the buzz surrounding the San Francisco Giants, but it is the pitching that has led a resurgence after a horrid start. The Giants have four starters with ERA sub-3.75, led by young ace Matt Cain. Cain, along with Barry Zito, Matt Morris and Noah Lowry, have been workhorses for the Giants by averaging over six innings per start and having 14 quality starts out of 18. AT&T Park is a pitcher's park and strong starting pitching allows you to get a lead more often to the bullpen and closer Armando Benitez. He has had a disastrous stint as the high-priced closer to replace Robb Nenn, but he has rediscovered his career in the first month this year. His stuff isn?t great yet, as he has a 1.44 WHIP thus far, but he is working around trouble nicely and has converted all seven of his save chances in 2007. Bonds will sell tickets this summer as he goes after Hank Aaron?s career home run record, but it is the pitching that has keyed improved play in San Francisco and will eventually lead them into the playoffs. Oakland perfect in the First The Oakland A?s haven?t allowed a run in the first inning this year. I?m not sure how big this stat is, but it has to be a boost for a team to know they won?t get into an early hole before they even bat in some cases. It also shows that Oakland has some starters with nasty stuff that is hard to make good contact with at first look. Joe Blanton, Dan Haren and Rich Harden when healthy fit this bill. Sosa is finding his stroke Maybe he needed a year away from the steroid allegations. Maybe he needed to recharge his battery after a terrible year in Baltimore. Or maybe he just needed to go back to where it all started. Whatever the reason, Sosa is swinging the bat great in the early going and his power is coming alive. He has a .537 slugging percentage, seven home runs and 19 RBI in 22 games this year. The Rangers didn?t need the extra offense, but it will help to overcome some suspect pitching. Remembering Josh Hancock Josh Hancock was a long reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals who played a major role in the Cardinals beating the Detroit Tigers last October. He also was a real person who died Sunday morning after getting into a car accident. Reaction around baseball was of somberness and the Sunday night game of St. Louis and Chicago was postponed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and all those who knew him in and out of baseball. Douglas Benton can be reached at [email protected]