Your readers -- young and old -- should know that the U.S. Administration on Aging estimates that as many as 5 million seniors are abused or neglected each year in the United States.

Elder abuse can be physical, emotional, financial and sexual. It also includes people who are neglected. Elders who are abused are twice as likely to be hospitalized, four times as likely to go into nursing homes and three times as likely to die.

Elder abuse can be prevented if everyone would learn the warning signs and report it to Adult Protective Services or the police if they suspect it is happening. -- MARY TWOMEY, MSW, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE

DEAR READERS: I was dismayed to learn that 90 percent of elder abuse happens at the hands of a family member or a caregiver. The descriptions of the kinds of treatment these elderly adults experience are frightening, and frankly, not suitable for readers of all ages. That is why I am urging readers to get more information on this important subject by visiting www.ncea.aoa.gov.

We can all stop this scourge if we know what to look for and are willing to speak up when we see the warning signs. There, but for the grace of God, go you and I.

DEAR ABBY: I was married to a wonderful man, "Ted," who was 20 years my senior. In social situations his adult children would introduce me as "Dad's wife" or "Ted's wife." Sadly, my husband passed away, and his children no longer know how to refer to me socially.

I was recently asked by Ted's children how I wished to be introduced, but I'm not sure. I don't think "stepmother" is appropriate because I'm only four to seven years older than they are. Do you have any ideas as to what might be appropriate? -- "MARILYN" IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR "MARILYN": You could be introduced as "Dad's widow," "my late father's wife" or simply by your name.

DEAR ABBY: Some friends are in the process of adopting two children internationally. Early on, they had a garage sale with the proceeds going toward the adoption. I was excited for them and wanted to help. However, this was soon followed by more requests -- for yard sale donations, two more garage sales, the "opportunity" to buy expensive coffee online, a fundraising dinner, and then a solicitation for me and others to provide a "virtual shower" of plane ticket money.

Each time I am notified about another fundraiser, I feel less and less charitable. I have never been asked for money for the same thing in so many different ways in such a short time. While I'm thrilled with their desire to adopt, I am increasingly disgusted and put off by their continued pleas for money. Am I wrong to be so upset about this? -- A LITTLE TICKED OFF

DEAR TICKED OFF: It appears your "friends" are taking advantage of your generosity. It will continue for only as long as you permit it. Because the requests for help are continuous, are you absolutely sure this couple is really in the middle of the adoption process and not using the money for some other purpose? Before donating anything else, you should find out.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Abby shares more than 100 of her favorite recipes in two booklets: "Abby's Favorite Recipes" and "More Favorite Recipes by Dear Abby." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $14 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Cookbooklet Set, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

He didn't deserve any blame for fans leaving early, either, though hundreds found their way to the exit even before the 12th round began.

If they were spending $1,000 and up for tickets to a brawl, they should have known better. Mayweather built a career on not getting hit, and there was no reason to think he was going to make the same mistakes as last year against Miguel Cotto against a fighter whose only hope of winning was to rough him up.

Instead of booing, they should have been applauding. Instead of leaving, they should have been on their feet cheering.

On the canvas where he does his best work, Mayweather painted a boxing masterpiece only he could produce.

"Everyone was saying at the age of 36 I don't have it no more," Mayweather said. "All I want to do is give fans exciting fights."

This one wasn't as much exciting as it was brilliant. Mayweather used defensive skills built up over a lifetime to take apart a very good fighter Saturday night and do it in such lopsided fashion that ringside judges seemed to be searching for a round to give to Guerrero.

He hit Guerrero with right hand leads all night and might have knocked him out had he not hurt his hand in the eighth round. When Guerrero tried to land big shots of his own, Mayweather was either smothering him on the ropes or had danced out of harm's way.

It was a $32 million display of all that's right about the sweet science. And if it didn't satisfy all the fans at the MGM Grand or those who paid $69.95 for the pay-per-view, it kept Mayweather undefeated in 44 fights in what is becoming a remarkable boxing career.

"I showed the world I can still box," Mayweather said. "I showed my defense is still there. I'm still fast."

Most importantly, perhaps, it showed Mayweather himself that he still has it. After spending two months in jail and a year out of the ring, he returned with a performance that was vintage Mayweather.

His father was back in the corner and was put to good use. Both Floyd Sr. and Floyd Jr. thought the boxer got hit too much when he went toe-to-toe with Cotto last May and were determined to focus on defense against Guerrero, who tried his best for 12 rounds to turn the fight into a brawl, to no avail.

The plan was to hit and not get hit. It worked to perfection, with Guerrero landing only 19 percent of his punches to 41 percent for Mayweather.

"The less you get hit, the longer you last in boxing," Mayweather said.

Mayweather has followed that creed so well that he has lasted 17 years in the sport, and he looks no worse for the wear. He's managed to build a boxing empire on pay-per-view sales despite having a style that is less than crowd pleasing, and his $32 million payday for Guerrero shows he remains a huge attraction.

He wants to fight again in September, which would be the first time since 2007 he fought twice in a calendar year. That could be delayed by his injured right hand, though Mayweather insisted after the fight he would be ready to go.

The question now becomes who Mayweather will face. Upcoming Mexican star Canelo Alvarez would be the most attractive fight, but the short lead time to September virtually ensures that bout won't happen until at least next May, at best.

Mayweather is in the unique position where he can handpick his opponents, and he's been criticized for trying to find fighters he knows he can beat. Alvarez would be a risky fight, one Mayweather might want to save until late in the remaining five fights he has under a deal with Showtime that he says will be the last of his career.

"He's a young guy," Mayweather said of Alvarez. "Floyd Mayweather isn't going to duck anybody. My job is to go out there, rack up victories and be the best Floyd Mayweather I can be."

Whether that is good enough to make Mayweather among the all-time greats was a topic of questioning at the post-fight news conference. Mayweather may be a dominating fighter, but he hasn't had a rivalry to get fight fans excited and he came up with excuse after excuse not to fight Manny Pacquiao when Pacquiao was still in his prime.

He also hasn't fought regularly enough to press a claim for greatness, something that could change if he goes through on plans to fight every six months or so under the Showtime deal.

"I just do what I do," Mayweather said. "I've given this sport my whole life."

There was no official update on the 94-year-old Mandela. The government has previously said he is in serious but stable condition.

Mandela, leader of the anti-apartheid movement, spent 27 years in prison during white racist rule. He was freed in 1990, and then embarked on peacemaking efforts during the tense transition that saw the demise of the apartheid system and his own election as South Africa's first black president in 1994.

His admission to a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, is the anti-apartheid leader's fourth time being admitted to a hospital for treatment since December. His last discharge came April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area.

At Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum on Tuesday, visitors walked through an exhibit showcasing the life of Mandela amid a feeling in the country that this hospitalization may be more serious than previous ones.

"All these admissions to the hospital has been preparing us for this, that this may be the end, and that is enough to tell us this is very serious," said Father Victor Phalana of Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pretroia, who was touring the museum with two Catholic priests from Uganda.

Outside Mandela's Johannesburg home, school children from the Rainbow Hill Christian School sang words of encouragement. "We love you Mandela ... get well, get well," they sang.

Lebogang Serite, a 12-year-old student at the school, said she "couldn't be in a white people's school" had it not been for Mandela's anti-apartheid efforts. "He means a lot to me because he fought for the country. I couldn't be in a white people's school," she said.

"I know that if he was able to speak, he was going to play with them today. Unfortunately, wherever he is, he's not well, but I know that he worked very, very hard for us. That's why we are here," said Mama Zodwa, a 57-year-old teacher from the school.

On Monday a foundation led by retired archbishop Desmond Tutu described Mandela as an "extraordinary gift" and offered prayers for his comfort and dignity. The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation described Mandela as "the beloved father of our nation."

Mandela is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation because of his peacemaking role when white racist rule ended in South Africa. Tutu, 81, was also vigorous campaigner against apartheid, which ended when all-race elections were held in 1994 and Mandela president.

Like Mandela, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of his compatriots. Mandela shared his prize in 1993 with F.W. de Klerk, the last president of the apartheid era.

In its brief statement on Mandela's health, the presidency said Zuma "reiterates his call for South Africa to pray for Madiba and the family during this time," referring to Mandela by his clan name.

Mandela has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during 27 years as the prisoner of the white racist government. The bulk of that period was spent on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town where Mandela and other prisoners spent part of the time toiling in a stone quarry.

He was freed in 1990, and then embarked on peacemaking efforts during the tense transition that saw the demise of the apartheid system and his own election as president in 1994.

The former leader retired from public life years ago and had received medical care at his Johannesburg home until his latest transfer to a hospital.

___

Associated Press Television News reporter Bongani Mthethwa and Associated Press reporter Wandoo Makurdi contributed to this report.

David Cornwell has joined Jay Reisinger to represent Rodriguez in baseball's drug investigation, a person familiar with the hiring said Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was authorized.

His hiring was first reported by ESPN.

Cornwell successfully argued the grievance filed by the players' association on behalf of Braun, whose positive drug test was thrown out by an arbitrator in February 2012 because the collector of the urine sample didn't take it directly to a Federal Express office on a Saturday evening, instead storing it at home until the following Monday.

Anthony Bosch, head of the now-closed Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic, agreed this week to cooperate with MLB's investigation. Rodriguez, Braun and more than a dozen other players have been linked to the clinic, which was accused in January by the Miami News Times of providing banned performance-enhancing drugs.

Bosch was to meet Friday in Miami with MLB officials, another person familiar with the investigation said, also on condition of anonymity because no statements were authorized.

MLB sued Biogenesis, Bosch and five others in March. The case file in Florida's Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County showed that MLB lawyers issued subpoenas to UPS and Metro PCS asking for records, in addition to document demands made on Federal Express, AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA.

UPS spokesman Dan McMackin said the company "responds to all lawfully issued subpoenas." Metro PCS did not respond to an email and phone message seeking comment.

The court file also showed former University of Miami pitching coach Lazaro Collazo objected to having his deposition taken by MLB lawyers because he said he had no connections with Biogenesis and Bosch and he had no documents relevant to the subpoena.

Collazo filed a motion saying he was interviewed at his home by Neil Boland, MLB's vice president for information security, and MLB labor lawyer Patrick Houlihan, which Collazo's motion said was an encounter "fraught with intimidation, coercion, embarrassment and repeated questioning" about Biogenesis. Collazo claimed the deposition was an effort to "annoy and harass" him.

"They did no such thing," MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Friday.

The deposition was canceled May 28.

___

AP Legal Affairs Writer Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report.

A Pew Research Center study released this week showing that women are now the primary breadwinners in 40 percent of households with children ignited a sharp debate on Fox with two of the network's most prominent women taking on male colleagues. It culminated in an electric on-air exchange Friday among Kelly, Fox contributor Erick Erickson and anchor Lou Dobbs.

The debate also included with the unusual for Fox use of President Barack Obama as a symbol of success.

"What makes you dominant and me submissive and who died and made you scientist-in-chief?" Kelly said to Erickson.

Dobbs had convened a panel with three other men who bemoaned the study's findings Wednesday on the Fox Business Network. Juan Williams said the study showed that "something's gone terribly wrong in American society and it's hurting our children." Pollster Doug Schoen suggested that the social order is being undermined.

Erickson said that in nature, the male is typically dominant. He later wrote that children in a two-parent traditional household will more often than not be more successful than children of single or gay parents.

"We should not kid ourselves or scream so loudly in politically correct outrage to drown the truth," Erickson wrote on his redstate.com blog. "Kids most likely will do best in households where they have a mom at home nurturing them while dad is out bringing home the bacon."

Fox prime-time host Greta Van Susteren blogged in response: "Have these men lost their minds?" She wrote that the next thing they'll have "is a segment to discuss eliminating women's right to vote."

Erickson told Kelly on Friday that it isn't healthy for society when the roles of men and women in the family are interchangeable.

Kelly said plenty of data suggest that children in homes with homosexual parents or working mothers are as healthy and able to thrive in society as children with stay-at-home moms. Kelly, a mother of two, dismissed Erickson's contention that he wasn't judging others.

"I don't like what you wrote one bit," she said. "I think you are judging people. You sound like somebody who is judging but wants to come out and say 'I'm not, I'm not, I'm not but let me judge, judge, judge. And, by the way, it's science and facts, facts, facts.' But this is a list of studies saying your science is wrong and your facts are wrong."

Erickson criticized "politically motivated" studies.

Dobbs, for his part, was interrupted by Kelly when he decried damage done to society by the breakup of marriages and the rise of single-person households.

"Why are you attributing that to women in the workforce?" Kelly said.

Dobbs said, "Let me just finish what I'm saying, if I may, oh dominant one."

"Excuse me?" Kelly replied, her eyebrows rising.

Kelly told the men that 50 and 60 years ago there was a wide belief in society that the children of interracial marriages were inferior.

"They said it was science, and it was fact," she said. "If you were the child of a black father and a white mother or vice versa, you were inferior and you were not set up for success. Tell that to Barack Obama."

Nibali attacked with under 2 miles left on the steep ascent to Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the three-week race's highest point at an altitude of 7,550 feet.

On the final stages of the climb, the road was surrounded by huge banks of snow.

An Italian with the Astana team, Nibali clocked 5 hours, 27 minutes, 41 seconds over the 131-mile leg, which began in Silandro and passed through Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Nibali also took the red points jersey from Mark Cavendish, but the British sprinter can reclaim it by winning the final stage.

The race ends on flat ground in Brescia on Sunday with a 122-mile stage starting in Riese Pio X.

Nibali earned his second stage victory, having won Thursday's mountain time trial.

The 19th stage Friday was canceled due to snow. The 20th stage was originally supposed to include a few more climbs, but the route was altered due to the adverse weather conditions and snow covering some roads.

Colombian pair Fabio Duarte and Rigoberto Uran finished second and third, 17 and 19 seconds behind, respectively.

Uran moved up from third to second overall, 4:43 behind Nibali. Cadel Evans, the 2011 Tour de France winner, dropped to third, 5:52 back.

Evans finished about 1 1/2 minutes behind Nibali in the stage, which was also characterized by sub-freezing temperatures. Nibali had to have hot tea poured over his hands to relieve the cold after crossing the line, so he could take off his wet gloves without pain.

Along the final climb, Nibali had to push fans away who kept clinging to him.

''I was worried one of them might slip,'' he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook made no apology on Tuesday for the iPad maker saving billions of dollars in U.S. taxes through Irish subsidiaries and told lawmakers that his company backs corporate tax reform, even though it may end up paying more.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found that Apple in 2012 alone avoided paying $9 billion in U.S. taxes, using a strategy involving three offshore units with no discernible tax home, or "residence."

Cook, in his first congressional testimony since becoming Apple CEO in 2011, said his company is a major taxpayer, handing over nearly $6 billion in cash to the U.S. government in 2012.

"We expect to pay even more this year," Cook said. "We pay all the taxes we owe."

But Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the subcommittee and a veteran tax sleuth, said Apple had sought "the Holy Grail of tax avoidance," creating one Irish unit that paid no income taxes to any national tax authority for the past five years.

Levin said Apple used Ireland as a base for a web of offshore holding companies and negotiated a deal with the Irish government for a tax rate of less than 2 percent. The top U.S. corporate tax rate is 35 percent, one of the world's highest.

Cook said Apple did not depend on tax gimmicks. "We don't move intellectual property offshore and use it to sell our products back to the United States to avoid taxes. We don't stash money on some Caribbean island," he said.

In Ireland, where low corporate taxes have been an economic development tool for many years, the government said it had not made a special tax deal with Apple. If Apple's tax rate was too low, it was the fault of other countries, deputy prime minister Eamon Gilmore told national broadcaster RTE on Tuesday.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama "thinks it is inexplicable that our tax code would actually be written in a way that rewards companies for taking jobs and profits offshore."

HP, MICROSOFT PRECEDED APPLE

Subcommittee staffers said on Monday that Apple was not breaking any laws and had cooperated fully with the inquiry.

Levin's panel has previously examined what it called tax avoidance by other U.S. technology giants, including Hewlett-Packard Co and Microsoft Corp. The senator said Apple has used similar tax avoidance strategies.

Senator John McCain praised Apple as a success story, but he said the company's tax strategy reflected a "flawed" tax system.

"For years, Apple has opted to forego fully contributing to the U.S. Treasury and to American society by shifting profits and circumventing U.S. taxes," McCain said.

Cook said Apple agreed with those in Congress who want to reform corporate taxes and called for changes that include lower corporate income tax rates and a reasonable tax on foreign earnings.

"Apple recognizes these and other improvements in the U.S. corporate tax system may increase the company's taxes," he said in prepared testimony.

Many U.S. multinationals take advantage of a tax law that allows profits earned abroad to be tax-free as long as they are not brought into the United States, or "repatriated." Total U.S. corporate profits parked offshore rose 15 percent to $1.9 trillion last year, according to research firm Audit Analytics.

Taking advantage of this law and others, the offshore earnings of U.S. companies have risen 70 percent in the past five years, Audit Analytics said two weeks ago.

"The baldness of the Apple strategy surprises me more than anything else," said University of Southern California Law Professor Edward Kleinbard. "European member states are going to be very angry with Apple and very angry with Ireland."

OFFSHORE MANEUVERS

Offshore profits are typically taxed by the countries in which they are earned, but companies work hard to move offshore profits into countries with lower tax rates, like Ireland.

One way this is done is through "transfer pricing," or the management of moving goods and services across international borders from one corporate unit to another. Sometimes companies move valuable intellectual property to a low-tax country, then bring profits derived from its use into that country through royalty payments and other structures.

Levin's panel said Apple used a cost-sharing agreement "to transfer valuable intellectual property assets offshore and shift the resulting profits to a tax haven jurisdiction."

Assessing taxes on these arrangements is one of the biggest challenges facing U.S. tax collectors, said Mark Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department, who testified after Cook.

The panel also said Apple took advantage of loopholes in tax law and regulations known as "check the box" and "look through" that let some offshore units be disregarded for tax purposes, sheltering substantial profits from taxation.

Levin has unsuccessfully called for closing the "check the box" and "look through" provisions of the tax code.

The Levin inquiry comes at a turbulent time in tax circles, with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service under investigation because of the way agents handled conservative political groups' applications for tax-exempt status.

It is not clear, however, whether that controversy and Levin's allegations will lead to an overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Tax law writers in Congress had been inching forward on such a project before the IRS scandal erupted earlier this month. Levin's inquiry has been under way for months.

Shares of Apple closed down 0.7 percent at $439.66 on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in Washington, Tom Bergin in London, Conor Humphries in Cork, Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Writing by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Tim Dobbyn)

(Reuters) - A California-based Tea Party group sued the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Monday in what marked the first lawsuit to stem from an investigation finding the agency singled-out conservative organizations.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, the NorCal Tea Party Patriots accused the IRS of violating its constitutional rights due to the "intensive and intrusive scrutiny" it received while seeking tax-exempt status.

The lawsuit sought class action status on behalf of all conservative and libertarian groups - such as those associated with the Tea Party movement - that were targeted by the IRS for extra scrutiny from March 2010 through the middle of this month. Tea Party groups call for reduced federal spending and taxation.

The lawsuit has the backing of a group calling itself Citizens for Self-Governance, a group launched by the co-founder the Tea Party Patriots, Mark Meckler.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder with all those known and unknown who have been abused by a federal government run amok," Meckler said in a statement.

Representatives of the IRS did not respond to a request for comment Monday after normal business hours.

The lawsuit came as the Senate Finance Committee and House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committees prepared to hold hearings on the IRS scandal, which cost acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller his job last week.

Lois Lerner, chief of the IRS tax-exempt unit, was set to testify Wednesday before an investigative committee of the House of Representatives, along with other officials.

A White House spokesman told reporters Monday that two senior aides to President Barack Obama knew weeks ago about a report by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Inspector General for Tax Administration about the IRS's targeting of conservative groups.

The lawsuit was filed in Cincinnati, home to the field office at the center of the storm, by the NorCal Tea Party Patriots, a group based in Colfax, California.

On its website, NorCal says its volunteers "simply love their country and want to save it from a tyrannical takeover." (http://www.norcalteaparty.com)

In the lawsuit, NorCal said it had first sought tax-exempt status in March 2010. The group said due to an "unjustifiable delay," it did not receive approval for tax-exempt status until August 2, 2012.

"The IRS engaged in a tactic of suffocating NorCal Tea Party Patriots and other similarly situated groups with requests that were so searching and extensive that they would have presented a serious challenge even for sophisticated businesses," the complaint said.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for the IRS's alleged violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 and the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Exactly how many groups could qualify to be members of the class if a federal judge certified it is unclear. The inspector general's report reviewed 296 applications.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York)

Which means there are rarer things! Let's name the tiers after rarities. Because these days, it seems like the closer you own all year without any hiccups or doubt is a real rare gem.

Tier 1: Elite (4) (AKA: The "Back-to-Back No-Nos" Tier.)

Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta BravesAroldis Chapman, Cincinnati RedsJoe Nathan, Texas RangersMariano Rivera, New York Yankees

Johnny Vander Meer is the only man to ever manage this feat. In 1938. Baseball averages about two per season, and in 1938 one man did it twice. Pretty awesome.

All the guys on this list are pretty awesome, even if Aroldis Chapman did eat 13 Cuban pastries in one setting and then blow a save last week. That was a pretty bizarre game anyway: Delmon Young walked (!), then Cliff Lee ran for him (!), then Cliff Lee was caught stealing (!), then Erik Kratz tied the game with a bomb off Chapman (!), and then Freddy Galvis (!) won the game with a home run (!) and Chapman blew the save (!). Sometimes things happen (!!!).

Tier 2: Rock Steady (6) (AKA: The "Grand Slam on First Major League Pitch" Tier.)

Sergio Romo, San Francisco GiantsRafael Soriano, Washington NationalsTom Wilhelmsen, Seattle MarinersJason Grilli, Pittsburgh PiratesJonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia PhilliesJim Johnson, Baltimore OriolesRafael Betancourt, Colorado Rockies

Kevin Kouzmanoff is the only man to ever do this. But it's not quite as meaningful as the back-to-back no-nos. It requires a lot of luck for a rookie making his debut to get a pitch with the bases loaded -- and then jack it out. Kouzmanoff had a little help from Edinson Voqluez that day, too.

Yeah Tom Wilhelmsen blew a save Monday. And yeah it was his fault. But not because of a pitch the threw. He just blew the coverage. After dropping the ball while covering first base and letting the Indians back into the game, he recovered and let Charlie Furbush finish blowing the game for the Mariners. What a tough series they had in Cleveland. At least fantasy managers probably noticed that it's Carter Capps that's now the clear-cut 8th-inning guy and Wilhelmsen handcuff. Not that he really needs one, but that's nice to know.

Jason Grilli almost blew a save. I'm not so worried, he's still got excellent velocity and peripherals. Jim Johnson blew a few saves. I won't drop him in the rankings yet, but it's worth noticing that Darren O'Day is probably next in line -- O'Day was used in the eighth, and that's usually the best sign. But velocity goes to Pedro Strop, who throws about eight miles per hour faster than O'Day. Then again, Strop is walking about two batters every three innings, and that's probably why he's not pitching the eighth inning. Johnson just had a bad couple of days, although that can happen when you allow too many balls into play.

What do we do about ranking Rafael Betancourt? His peripherals suggested he could be hurt, but now it's "just" a sore groin. He's undergoing an MRI today, and the results will either mean he misses a couple days, and should stay in this tier probably, or he's out for two weeks, and should drop. Rex Brothers has the velocity and strikeout rate, and the usage pattern favors him, too. He's next in line.

Tier 3: OK options (6) (AKA: The "Perfect Game" Tier.)

Casey Janssen, Toronto Blue JaysEdward Mujica, St. Louis CardinalsGrant Balfour, Oakland AthleticsAddison Reed, Chicago White SoxChris Perez, Cleveland IndiansGlen Perkins, Minnesota Twins

23 perfect games. And Phillip Humber has one. Seriously.

Look at the low-velocity leaders of the tier! They both have excellent control overall, but I'm still a little nervous about moving them up further in the rankings. Nether has an above-average strikeout rate among closers, for one. And Casey Janssen doesn't crack 90 on the gun, while Edward Mujica is throwing the split finger a whopping 64% of the time. That pitch doesn't have a great strike percentage -- if batters decide to look fastball and not swing at the split-finger let's just say there's some danger there, as awesome as everything looks right now. Three hits in his last ten outings! No walks! Maybe I'm crazy to be worried at all.

Glen Perkins blew a save yesterday, but it doesn't seem like a big deal. It was a game-tying solo job to Evan Gattis. Just a lousy home run in a tight spot. He had two strikeouts and no walks otherwise. But he does move down a bit in the tier because his low-scoring team doesn't look like they're going to provide him a ton of save opportunities.

Chris Perez deserves a dirty look. He would have blown two games in the Seattle series if his teammates hadn't picked him up. It's worth noticing that his whiff rate is back down to worse than his career rate, his control is wonky once again, and now he's giving up more than two home runs per nine innings. His ERA and WHIP looking fine, but there's some nastiness under the hood. Career-low fastball velocity probably doesn't help. Vinnie Pestano's numbers aren't quite what they used to be when we started touting him over Perez (man it's been a long time), but he's probably next in line still.

Read about the more volatile closer situations on the next page.

Tier 4: Question marks (7) (AKA: The "Cycle and the No-Hitter" Tier.)

Greg Holland, Kansas City RoyalsJim Henderson, Milwaukee BrewersBobby Parnell, New York MetsErnesto Frieri, Los Angeles AngelsAndrew Bailey, Boston Red SoxHeath Bell, Arizona DiamondbacksHuston Street, San Diego Padres

Hey, they've both happened about 300 times. Not quite a yawn, but in the context of this list congratulations to Mike Trout, that was a great feat.

Jim Henderson's story is great too, but very different than the wunderkind's. The 30-year-old found control late in his career and had a great (old) rookie season last year. Now he's refined that control even further, and his fastball is still leaving his hand at close to 95 miles per hour. John Axford has been pitching better recently, but with Hendo pitching the way he is, there's no reason to make a change.

On strikeouts and talent, Ernesto Frieri could be a tier ahead. He's got a double-digit strikeout rate, his team should give him saves, and he's not old or broken or old and broken like the trio behind him in the tier. That said, he's walking more than two for every three innings he pitches, and Ryan Madson is going to report to rehab this week. You have to think his old-school manager is a little nervous with all the walks.

Andrew Bailey is back, but his manager won't use him on back-to-backs right away, so maybe we can Junichi Tazawa that first save he deserves. How useful it was to call that Tazawa would be closer! He got one opportunity and blew it. He's still next in line -- the Koji Uehra save came after Tazawa threw a lot of pitches in a back-to-back -- and he might still get enough opportunities to make him useful in deep leagues. Bailey jumps a tier for his re-introduction because he has more leash than your average 'new' closer.

I can't hold my suspicions against Heath Bell much longer. His strikeout and walk rates are once again Heath-Bell-ian, and though his swinging strike rate is not quite vintage, and his velocity is at a career-low, it's not like David Hernandez is beating down the door. I'm not sure how much farther up the list Bell will go -- see the flaws above -- but his resurgence is another notch in Kevin Tower's notchful belt of reliever reclamation projects.

Huston Street's peripherals still suggest he's broken somehow. I'd be nervous.

Tier 5: Rollercoaster rides (6) (AKA: The "Mutliple Golden Sombreros Tier.)

Fernando Rodney (first chair), Joel Peralta (second chair), Tampa Bay RaysKenley Jansen (first chair), Brandon League (second chair), Los Angeles DodgersJose Valverde (first chair), Joaquin Benoit (second chair), Bruce Rondon (third chair), Detroit TigersSteve Cishek (first chair), A.J. Ramos (second chair), Mike Dunn (third chair), Miami MarlinsKevin Gregg (first chair), Kyuji Fujikawa (second chair), Chicago CubsJose Veras (first chair), Hector Ambriz (second chair), Houston Astros

Once again, we're in the low 300s for players that have struck out more than four times in one nine-inning game twice in their careers. But since it's a bad thing, it makes sense for them to lead this tier. Amazingly, it's not Dave Kingman atop this list. Bo Jackson had 17 such games and wow. Just another way Bo Jackson can make you shake your head.

I was prepared to put Joel Peralta in the first chair this week, but he's gotten two hold since he got his save, and he struggled in one of them. He's still getting his whiffs, and his overall rates, ratios and velocities look normal, and he's the eighth-inning guy most nights, but this team hasn't ever trusted him in the ninth for an extended period of time. Jake McGee has more velocity, but had struggled until a recent stretch of better control, and is a lefty. This is a murky situation, but Peralta is worth a speculative (cheap) add if you're looking for saves and aren't dropping anyone of note. Saves and Steals readers saw this one coming a mile away.

There was some grumbling that Kenley Jansen should have debuted on a higher tier -- and I do love him, so I heard it loud and clear -- but his last week serves as a reminder why I tend to have new closers debut in the bottom tier. Those last two appearances resulted in losses, and one of them even featured two home runs. It looks like Brandon League is back in the role, but we'll see. Because I like Kenley Jansen's stuff more, I'll leave him in the lead spot as we read the tea leaves. But League should be owned in saves leagues.

I still don't trust Jose Valverde. His walk rate is bad, his swinging strike rate is bad, and all of his luck statistics are through-the-roof good. His velocity is down again off his career worst, and his manager has already told him to get lost in a big moment. Is Brian Wilson healthy yet?

The Marlinsand nobody noticed. But the tree in that empty forest, Steve Cishek, is still worth owning. Those of you in deeper dynasty leagues should look at A.J. Ramos. His velocity is only a tick worse than Mike Dunn's, he's being used in the eighth in close games, and he's not a lefty like Dunn. He's got four or five pitches, decent control, and gets whiffs. He's an interesting young reliever, and even those in deeper redrafts should be looking at him right now.

Still don't believe in Kevin Gregg. Despite his nice strikeout and walk rates right now, it's only 11 innings, and the peripherals don't support those numbers. His swinging strike rate, velocity, first-strike rate, and reach rate are all sub-par. I've found these peripherals to be the best correlated with strikeout and walk rates in my research, and none of them support what he's doing right now. It's nice that he's added a splitter, but Kyuji Fujikawa has one too, and his peripherals are better across the board.

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Injured

Ryan Madson (elbow), Los Angeles AngelsJason Motte (elbow), St. Louis CardinalsSergio Santos (elbow), Toronto Blue JaysJoel Hanrahan (forearm), Boston Red SoxJ.J. Putz (elbow), Arizona Diamondbacks

Ryan Madson is going to hit rehab this week. Everyone else save J.J. Putz is done for the year. I think J.J. Putz will be done for the year eventually. I am not a doctor. Rafael Betancourt might be here next week.

The Deposed

Carlos Marmol, Chicago CubsJohn Axford, Milwaukee BrewersMitchell Boggs, St. Louis Cardinals

Mitchell Boggs is back in the biggs but his problems remain. John Axford has been pitching well again, but the guy in front of him has been better.

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The Steals Department

Need steals in a shallow league? How about this dude named Mike Trout? Just kidding. He's a bum anyway. Assuming Brett Gardner is not available -- he does have forty-steal upside, he's proven that -- you might want to look into a platoon guy if you're in a daily league. Leonys Martin only faces righties, but he's percolating a little (.344 batting average over the past two weeks), and more importantly, he's starting to steal bases (five steals over the same time frame). He's a strange player because he's strong and fast, but he may not be really quick and skilled in a baseball fashion. He'll show average power, but once you correct for his platoon play, he might not hit more than ten home runs. He'll steal some bases, but once again, probably not more than 20. Then again, .280/10/20 is a really decent filler guy. Put him on your bench and slot him in when Andre Ethier is facing a lefty, or when your starters aren't playing. He'll help you tread water.

Here's the deep league part of The Steals Department, where we hold our nose and pick up a flawed player for stats we need. It looks like Pedro Florimon has taken the shortstop role in Minnesota for his own, and he has some wheels. He's stolen 10-20 bases every year -- once you combine the levels -- and he's nabbed six this year without a caught stealing. He's even bettered his contact rate, so he could actually hit as high as .260 in the batting average department. He probably won't hit more than five or six home runs on the year, but see the first sentence. He might actually steal 20 bags this year, and he's a warm body. He's even walking a little more than usual, so the runs total could be less than odious.