By Jason Beck
SportsLine Staff Writer

Going back to the Wells

As long as David Wells is no longer a Yankee, he couldn't dream of a better stage upon his return to New York.

The Blue Jays are the early surprise of the American League, sitting in first place ahead of the defending world champions thanks to an eight-game winning streak. Wells is off to an incredible 3-0 start, while the Yankees and Roger Clemens, for whom Wells was traded, have begun the season slightly shaky under the spotlight.

David Wells has plans for his return to New York. (AP)

And most importantly, Wells has shown no loss to his fiery mound demeanor after a stint of depression following the trade. After all, he's been looking forward to Friday's series opener since spring training. Leave it to Wells to prefer the prime time spotlight over a weekend matinee. He's 31-7 at Yankee Stadium for his career.

The setting should look eerily similar to Clemens' first outing at Fenway Park two years ago. Whether Wells walks off the mound and sends a glare to owner George Steinbrenner remains to be seen.

Even after Wells finishes his outing Friday, the Yankees will have to deal with other ex-players they shipped out to acquire their Cy Young winner. Graeme Lloyd, who went from middle relief in New York to the closer's role in Toronto, has two saves during the Jays' streak.

Homer Bush, who went from Yankees utility infielder to the Blue Jays' second baseman of the present, is on the disabled list.

Boston blues

If that excitement over the Red Sox start isn't gone by now, it ought to do a full fade this weekend with the Indians in town to resume the pummeling they gave Boston during last year's playoffs.

The BoSox started hitting closer to expectations at Detroit with a .143 average. They've lost four of their last five entering this weekend's series and have fallen behind the Devil Rays into fourth place in the AL East. And unlike the Athletics, they won't send out a knuckleballer to halt Cleveland's offense. Tim Wakefield isn't scheduled to pitch in the series.

Tom Candiotti's mastery of the Tribe Thursday night only dropped the team batting average to .327. Manny Ramirez, who has taken to wearing white shoes with weird handwritten messages during batting practice, is sending a clear message to the rest of the league. He's batting .423 with four homers and 12 RBI over the last seven days leading up to the weekend series.

Mixed blessing

On one hand, the Angels have lost five straight and posted a 6-10 start while waiting for slugger Mo Vaughn's return. On the other hand, he returned in time for a weekend series at Kansas City, where the Royals are just 2-7.

Sure Mo doesn't need a little more rest?

Possibly more important than Vaughn's return will be the ability of Anaheim's pitching staff to shake off its struggles against a Royals lineup batting just .253 over the last six games and .250 for the season. Streaky-hitting Jermaine Dye has more than twice as many RBI (14) as anyone else on the team thanks largely to his five home runs. DH Mike Sweeney is the only regular batting over .300. Johnny Damon is struggling just to hit near the Mendoza line.

On the other side, Anaheim has merely four wins from its starting pitchers this year. None of them are from Ken Hill, who finally lasted more than 4 1/3 innings in his last start when he gave up three runs over seven innings last Saturday. He's slated to start Friday's series opener.

Nomo time?

The Mets have the National League's best record. The Cubs have the National League's thinnest pitching staff.

How Chicago's starters handle this weekend's series at Wrigley Field should reveal a lot about former Met Hideo Nomo's future. Nomo, who made his third and possibly final start for Triple-A Iowa Thursday, is at the point where the Cubs can either call him up or let him go according to the minor-league deal he signed around the season's start.

Kevin Tapani's trip to the disabled list makes him the fifth injured Cubs pitcher already this year. Hence why journeyman Brad Woodall gets the scheduled start Saturday against New York's Allen Watson.

Cardinals at Dodgers -- The Cards have vaulted atop the NL Central this week with Mark McGwire and Eric Davis injured. They return in time to face a Dodgers squad that has won just three of its last 10 games entering this series.

Astros at Reds -- Houston enters the series having scored 28 runs in its last three games. Cincinnati's slated starters Saturday and Sunday, Steve Avery and Pete Harnisch, have both been stingy with runs this year.

Braves at Marlins -- The Braves enter Florida 5-2 on their 11-game road trip.

Phillies at Expos -- Montreal plays its first game since Monday.

Brewers at Pirates -- Milwaukee is 4-8 against NL Central opponents this year.

Diamondbacks at Padres -- Arizona, boasting a four-game winning streak, looks for its first-ever win in San Diego.

Athletics at Orioles -- It's easier to fire a manager during a homestand.

Mariners at Devil Rays -- Only two AL teams other than Tampa Bay enter the weekend with double-figure wins.

Tigers at White Sox -- Mike Sirotka, Chicago's scheduled starter Friday who was also supposed to start Thursday, has suffered bad weather in every start.