11.   Steinbrenner signed another big-name free agent pitching ace, Mike Mussina.

12.   Tech lost pitching ace in Cory Vance, but returns six of its top eight, including right-handers Steve Kelly and Rhett Parrott.

13.   The frigid weather here took a critical piece of the Dodgers on Saturday, when their pitching ace was injured, and subsequently sidelined for at least three starts.

14.   Their All-Star second baseman was serving a suspension in Florida and their pitching ace was on the bench with a sore elbow.

15.   They had lost four of their previous seven games and were relying heavily on Park, their de facto pitching ace in the absence of injured Ramon Martinez.

16.   Tuesday night, they ran out of chances, because their offense ran out of hits on which their pitching ace could bankroll another solid, heroic performance.

17.   It just so happened that Boston pitching ace Pedro Martinez, a Dominican like Ramirez, placed a call on a cell phone that rang at the table.

18.   Then an injury to pitching ace David Cone put Gooden back in the starting rotation.

19.   Worried his former team might not return to prominence soon, free agent pitching ace Mike Hampton has ruled out returning to the Houston Astros next season.