MEMO TO STEINBRENNER: Can we lay off the next hot Cuban emigre prospect? Please? El Duque was fun and all, but these guys all have a ton of baggage and there's no reliable metric to convert Cuban national league statistics into Major League potential. Am I the only one who looks at Jose Contreras and says, "This guy's the Cuban Hideki Irabu."? The money you pour into the next bidding contest for some can't-miss Cuban could be much better spent scouting in American colleges and high schools.

Think about the best young pitchers: Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, Dontrelle Willis, Roy Oswalt, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano, Kip Wells, Javier Vazquez, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Eric Gagne, Roy Halladay (to construct an incomplete list). What's the common denominator? Well, none of them are Cubans. And all but Vazquez, Zambrano and Gagne are Americans (and Vazquez is a Puerto Rican). Scott Proctor is the big Yankees pitcher-to-be. Make him the model, too. Scouting and astute trades = good. Throwing money at aging foreign superstars = questionable.


Note: I started writing this post before Contreras gave up back-to-back homers to Millar and Bellhorn, and got hooked in the fourth.