The stench that won't go away.

Ever get a recurring mildew smell in your drain? The best way to solve this problem is to use a gallon of bleach, followed by a couple of gallons of boiling water, followed by some baking soda.

It also helps if you don't pee in the sink.

While the Best Li'l Team in Baseball was losing 2 out of 3 to the Yankees and 6 out of 9 to the AL East, Mike Lupica was nowhere to be found.

Now he's back to drop some baseball knowledge on you and I'm looking for some journalistic disinfectant.

This edition of "Shootin' From the Lip" follows a familar template. In summary:

• Wright is better than ARod.
• Wright/Reyes are better than ARod/Jeter.
  
• ARod has never carried the Yankees.
  
• ARod is not clutch.
• ARod is a phony.
• Billy Wagner is super-awesome.
• Everyone on the Mets is the bestest and everyone on the Yankees is lame. Well, anyone who joined the Yankees in the past five years is lame.
  
• Everyone on the Red Sox is the bestest and everyone on the Yankees is lame. Well, anyone who joined the Yankees in the past five years is lame.
• The inconceivable notion that Jonathan Papelbon has been a more of a "difference-maker" than Jeter, Giambi, Ortiz, Hafner, Thome, Liriano, Rios, Wells, Sizemore, etc.

In more detail:

"It doesn't mean that David Wright is a better ballplayer than Alex Rodriguez ..."

Phew. Because I'd definitely give the guy with 12 years of proven production the benefit of the doubt.

Kind of like I wouldn't say that Chien-Ming Wang is better than Tom Glavine. Even though, you know, if you take age and salary into account ... if you were a GM and you were starting a team today ...


"[Wright] has more hits than A-Rod, he has the same number of home runs, he has more RBI and a higher batting average and a higher slugging percentage, and has been the guy his team wants up there in the ninth inning when A-Rod sure hasn't been."

Okay, but you want ARod in the 12th inning, where ARod sports a 4.000 slugging percentage. (No, I didn't look it up. Yes, I'm just thinking of the HR vs. Atlanta.)

Actualy, I'm just shocked that Lupica even brought up slugging percentage.

I'm not sure Lupica has ever used a baseball statistic before, much less a SABER favorite like slugging percentage.

I like slugging percentage, too.

Did you know ARod has a career slugging percentage of .574?

With RISP this year, ARod has a slugging percentage of .577.

With bases loaded this year, ARod has a slugging percentage of 1.222. (I say bases loaded is the true measure of clutch, just because I say so.)

Oh, and against the Mets this year, ARod has a slugging percentage of 1.137.


"And [Wright] really has made you think long and hard about which left side of the infield in New York you'd rather watch."

Since I'm a Yankees fan, I choose ARod and Jeter. If I was a Mets fan, I'd choose Reyes and Wright. If I was a Cardinals fan, I'd choose Rolen and Eckstein. If I was an Orioles fan, I'd choose Mora and Tejada. If I was a Marlins fan, I'd choose Cabrera and the guy who plays shortstop for the Marlins.


"[Rodriguez] also hasn't come close to being his own team's MVP for the first half."

ARod has not been the MVP, but it's close.


"Jason Giambi - Yankee fans love him to death now, as if they have total amnesia about BALCO - has delivered some big shots, and might make a run at the home-run title of his league if he stays healthy. Giambi isn't the Yankee MVP, either, because Derek Jeter is."

Jeter is the MVP? So much for slugging percentage.

I don't even disagree. I think it's safe to say that Jeter is the Yankee MVP so far. But it's close.

I give Jeter the edge over Giambi mainly because of defense and baserunning.

Kind of the same reason ARod won the MVP last year over Ortiz. When Lupica had TOTAL AMNESIA about the importance of BASERUNNING and DEFENSE.