Astros just got burned by a couple of extra candles

One of the biggest stories in the young baseball season has nothing to do with the surprising St. Louis Cardinals or the dismal start of the Texas Rangers.

It involves a birth certificate.

One-time Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada lied about his age. He's been living a lie since he was signed by the Oakland Athletics as a teenager.

The Athletics signed him in 1993, believing he was 17. In fact, Tejada was 19. He had lied about his age because he didn't believe teams would be as interested in a 19-year-old prospect as a 17-year-old one.

Now this isn't a Danny Almonte kind of lie. Almonte was the Little Leaguer who everyone could tell was pitching well beyond his 11- and 12-year-old peers. It turned out that Almonte was 14 and his team had to forfeit its third-place finish in the World Series.

That incident has nothing on Tejada, who was found out through an ESPN report last week.

Tejada was already implicated in the Mitchell Report. Although he has denied taking steroids, his credibility has to have taken another hit because of the age issue.

For his part, Tejada has said his age isn't an issue, and the Houston Astros are playing along.

He's said he's playing like a 25-year-old. But you have to wonder what he means by that. Is he playing like he was when he was really 25 or when he was 27?

The Astros shouldn't be so quick to let Tejada off the hook. There's a big difference between a 31-year-old shortstop and a 33-year-old one. Tejada is getting paid $13 million this season and is due another $13 million next year.

That's a lot of money for a shortstop who turns 34 next month. How many great 35-year-old shortstops have there been in recent history? Not many.

Cal Ripken Jr. had a great season as a 35-year-old, hitting 26 homers with 102 RBI. But he's the exception. Ozzie Smith? He hit .254. Ernie Banks? He had already moved to first base by then, but still hit just 15 homers and batted .272.

Tejada is having a standout season, hitting .347 with four homers and 20 RBI. Houston GM Ed Wade said last week that Tejada's age has no effect on the club and he wants the shortstop to play for the Astros for many years.

But you have to wonder if Houston would have given up Luke Scott, Troy Patton, Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate and Mike Costanzo in the off-season had it known the truth.

American League

Best team: Losing two of three to the Los Angeles Angels doesn't help the Boston Red Sox, but they are still the class of the American League. The Red Sox have three of the top hitters in baseball: Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez. David Ortiz's average is also starting to creep up after a horrendous start.

Rising: A sweep of the Rangers helped the Detroit Tigers get over their early-season funk. It also helps that Carlos Guillen, Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez are getting hot at the same time. The only question remaining is how Guillen will accept a move to third and how Cabrera will do at first base.

Falling: No one really expected the Kansas City Royals to keep up their early momentum. They went through a 3-7 stretch in which they slipped along with a power outage. The Royals have just 11 homers this season.

Worst team: The Rangers made their way to this spot by posting the most April losses since the team moved to Texas in 1972. No team hits worse with runners in scoring position. The pitching staff allowed 37 runs in a three-game sweep to Detroit.

National League

Best team: It's too early for Chicago Cubs fans to start thinking about the first World Series title since 1908. But a seven-game winning streak vaulted the Cubs to the top of the NL Central standings.

Rising: The Brewers are finding ways to win despite a team batting average under .250 and the closing adventures that seem to follow every Eric Gagné appearance.

Falling: The Colorado Rockies haven't had problems taking leads. But once they take them, it's been a disaster. The Rockies decided Thursday to take Manny Corpas out of the closer spot and replace him with former closer Brian Fuentes, who picked up his first save that day.

Worst team: The two worst teams in the majors are the Rangers and Washington, home of the original Rangers. The Nationals are hitting just .233 and their ERA of 4.64 is one of the National League's worst. Washington and Texas had identical records after 24 games.

"The way I was pitching, I wished something was wrong. I was hoping something would be hurting. But that wasn't the case."

Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia, on speculation he was hurt before he picked up his first victory of the season

Who's hot

Chase Utley, Philadelphia: The Phillies' second baseman had 17 hits, including seven homers, and 12 RBI in 33 at-bats during an eight-game span. Through Philly's first 24 games, Utley had 35 hits.

Who's not

Eric Gagné, Milwaukee: Just when it seemed as if the former Rangers closer had regained his touch with the Brewers, he lost it again. After a string of five saves, Gagné has pitched two innings and allowed four earned runs in three appearances. His ERA is at 7.45.

NUMBERS GAME

4 RBI for Arizona ace Brandon Webb through Thursday, one more than Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones.