Busy week at the ol' House sponsored by DirecTV (which still doesn't have a deal with SNY, and which is also using one of its own broadcasters to blog for it, so I think I'm out...and I never even sent a letter), so this will be a couple of bulleted updates.

WYLIE RELEASED: The Mets got rid of Rule 5 project Mitch Wylie. This hasn't gotten a lot of play yet, I happened to catch it on the transaction wire. Wylie needed to make the 25-man roster for the entire season, or else be returned to the team from which he came - the Giants. Though he impressed the Mets, I guess he wasn't going to be a valuable roster addition, so he is gone. Now I think he has to pass through waivers, and the Giants can take him back...I'm not sure how that works exactly. But with the press Wylie got early on, he'll probably latch on with someone. I'll try to keep track and give periodic updates on his season.

BONDS: The latest from Barry Bonds is that his life has been shattered by these latest allegations. Big whoop. What I really wanted to write about Bonds, though, is that he treats the media like a cancer that he wants to avoid his entire career (moreso in recent seasons, it seems), and then when he has a reality show to promote, or wants to appear like a victim, he uses the media to his advantage. And they let him. I don't like it.

KC - "WE DON'T NEED TO BUY A VOWEL": The Kansas City Royals continued to bolster their roster with really long last names. After an off-season in which they acquired Doug Mientkiewicz and Mark Grudzielanek (on the same day, no less!), the Royals claimed Tony Graffanino off waivers from the Red Sox. The good news, per my request, the Mets didn't get Graffanino, thereby further muddying the second base chase.

A WARNING: I am noticing some nasty postings on my comments sections. I'll give it one more day, and if these appear again, I'll get rid of the comments. And people can just e-mail me, like we always have, and we'll be fine.

FUN & GAMES: MLB.com finally has 'Beat The Streak' up and running, but there doesn't seem to be an option to create a "league". If that appears later on, I'll surely create one and invite you all to join, but if it doesn't, I still encourage you to play, and keep me up to date on your progress. I'll update you daily on my picks - starting Sunday night!! We'll use the honor system.

FINALLY...: Because the Phillies don't scare me, I have no problem putting their promotional ploys on this site. Leading up to Opening Day, they are pushing Phillies PR around the city of Philadelphia. It's called "Paint The Town Red", because red is a team color. So as part of the promotion, the team painted the Philly Phanatic red. I don't know if this is a permanent change. But here it is: