Looking ahead.

Where would this thing be without Vlad Guerrero, or C.J. Wilson? Where would things be with Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz playing so much as one game together through the first five weeks? There are other questions along the same lines, maybe not as central to 18-14 but just as rhetorical, but there are questions like those that every team can ask a fifth into the season, and there's little point in looking back. There's not much point in looking back at Oakland (one game behind Texas), the Angels (4.5), or Seattle (5.5), either, other than to understand that there's something in reach here, and looking forward to these next three with Oakland, with Big Bad Vlad hitting at home and C.J. pitching on Thursday, the same day that Kins and Cruz should be in the lineup together for the first time in 2010, is almost enough to forget about how lousy things started this season, again. Off-days aren't as depressing as six-game skids in mid-April, but like most this one isn't welcome at all, and yet despite the extra day the A's head to town for three that won't allow them to get Dallas Braden back on the mound, possibly a good break in a season that feels like it hasn't had many. But the bad breaks and the good ones are history, less important than the 130 games – if not more – that lie ahead, yet meaningful in the sense that they've set things up so that the rest matter, a lot. These next three are pretty big, and heading into mid-May that's all you can ask for. =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport