'Retired' Jeter to kick off big week in Houston

Greetings from San Antonio.
It's a beautiful day to walk along the RiverWalk, which I'll do after posting this.
Spring training news is heating up.
The biggest story has been Yankees SS Derek Jeter's announcement that he is retiring after this season. Reminds of how Marv Levy used to say, "If you're thinking about retiring, you must as well retire." But here's a counter-reminder. Mariano Rivera announced a year ago that he would be retiring after the season. He did OK.
Rivera was a once-in-a-generation player at his position. Jeter could be the same. We'll see over then next eight months.
-- Jeter's announcement set up a big opening week for the Astros. His first regular-season game April 1 will be at Houston. On April 5, the Astros will honor retiring 1B/DH Lance Berkman and RHP Roy Oswalt. They stayed around a year or two too long, which could be a danger for Jeter. In addition, Nolan Ryan will be in his first week as an advisor to Houston's management. If his presence can do what it did with the Rangers, especially in terms of toughening up the starting pitchers, the Astros' rebound into contention could be quicker than we'd expect.
-- In injury news, Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma is expected to miss the beginning of this season. He can't throw for 4-6 weeks because of a strained tendon in his middle finger. Seattle signed two other former major league starters, LHP Randy Wolf and RHP Zach Minor, to minor league contracts.
-- The Phillies gained one pitcher, but lost another for the beginning of the season. They signed free-agent RHP A.J. Burnett to a one-year, $16-million contract. He could fill in early for LHP Cole Hamels, who is expected to begin the season on the disabled list because of biceps tendinitis.
-- Another star pitcher, Tigers RHP Justin Verlander, is expected to be ready to start the season. He underwent surgery in January on both sides of his mid-section. Philadelphia also released RHP Chad Gaudin, who failed his physical exam.
-- The Cubs signed two potential starters, RHPs Jason Hammel and James McDonald, who were low-end free agents. The two pitchers they waived to make room on the 40-man roster both were claimed -- LHP Brooks Raley by the Twins and PHP Brett Marshall by the Reds.
-- In a trade, the Nationals picked up Jose Lobaton, the catcher they had been seeking, from the Rays for RHP Nathan Karns. The 26-year-old was the Double-A Eastern League's ERA leader at 3.26 for Harrisburg, where he was 10-6. Washington also acquired two 22-year-olds, OF Drew Vettleson -- whose 2013 season at high Class A Charlotte of .274, four home runs and 62 RBI was comparable to what he had done in his first two minor league seasons, but with less power -- and LHP Felipe Rivero, who was 9-7 with a 3.40 ERA at Charlotte.
-- Heading the list of those signing contracts were relievers. The Mariners agreed with free-agent RHP Fernando Rodney for two years and $14 million. The Royals avoided arbitration with RHP Greg Holland with a 1-year, $4.675-million deal. The Dodgers did the same with RHP Kenley Jansen for a year at $4.3 million. They all are likely to begin the season as closers. In addition, the Nationals avoided arbitration with RHP Tyler Clippard with an agreement for a year at $5.875 million.
-- Other major league signings included RHP Carlos Marmol with the Marlins for 2014 at $1.125 million. The Indians signed OF Michael Brantley for four years and $25 million, with an $11-million option for 2018.
-- The Brewers outrighted RHP Donovan Hand, who had been designated for assignment when they signed RHP Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez, to Triple-A but also invited him to spring training.
-- Minor league signings -- RHP Jose Valverde with the Mets, RHP Brandon Lyon with the Angels, LHP Eric Bedard with the Rays and LHP Rich Hill back with the Red Sox.
-- In the category of players trying to make a comeback is LHP Johan Santana, who has been throwing in Arizona for teams to observe him. If he's half the pitcher he was with the Twins, he could help a team needed at least a temporary fix in its rotation.
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Basketball. The fantasy week is over, unless your league includes statistics from the NBA All-Star Game, the slam dunk contest and the other junk sports the league will throw out this weekend.
It appears that I'll finish with an 8-0 victory this week and a lead of about 16 games with 24 to play. Magic number 9, for those who are interested.
My team was down 6-2 after Tuesday. That's when Joakim Noah had a triple double, but neglected to get any steals and went just 3-for-6 at the foul line. After that night, steals and free throw percentage were the categories in which I trailed.
On Wednesday, Carmelo Anthony topped the three players on my roster who had double doubles with 36 points and 11 rebounds. Ricky Rubio's double double also included seven steals. Those steals and the overall team's 21 for 23 free throw shooting gave me the lead in those categories.

Perth one game away from Australian title

Here's how I started this blog, before news came down that the Diamondbacks had signed free-agent RHP Bronson Arroyo:
Some fairly small moves could make a larger difference for their teams this year and into the near future.
The Orioles and C Matt Wieters reached agreement on a $7.7-million contract for this season, thus avoiding arbitration. The greater significance is that he can have a better feeling about the team, which could lead to a longer-term contract down the road.
The Athletics signed CF Coco Crisp to a two-year contract extension through 2016 with a vesting option for 2017. He's a keystone in center field and at the top of the lineup -- when he isn't injured. That's why the team took the precaution of a vesting option instead of a guaranteed third year. If it vests, no one would be happier than Oakland's management.
The White Sox agreed to a 1-year, $1.1-million contract with RHP Mitchell Boggs. He was briefly a closer for the Cardinals, and could take over that role with Chicago. Currently penciled in for the job is RHP Nate Jones, but RHP Matt Lindstrom and LHP Scott Downs also have experience locking up games.
Now, on to Arroyo.
Arizona reportedly signed him to a 2-year, $23.5-million contract with an option for 2016 that could bring the total value to $29 million. Could the D-backs be overpaying? Well, he'll be 37 years old this season -- and he's Bronson Arroyo, not Tim Hudson.
Also, though I haven't seen an official acknowledgment from the Mariners, they reportedly signed RHP Fernando Rodney for two years and $14 million. That signing would impact every team that unsuccessfully sought Rodney. For example, I read a report that said the Orioles now would go with RHP Tommy Hunter as their closer.
Speaking of closers or ex-closers, the Brewers are bringing back RHP Francisco Rodriguez on a 1-year contract believed to be for $3.25 million with another $550,000 in incentives. Which reminds me. In a few days, I hope to post another residual fantasybaseballscout.com article about closers for 2014. To make room for K-Rod on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee designated RHP Donovan Hand for assignment.
I have been working on this post off and on for most of the day. It has been interrupted by visitors to the house, taking a battery for one of our cars to be recharged and going to the Jazz-Mavericks game. Some of this I wrote at the American Airlines Center before the game.
As I was about to go courtside, I saw this -- well, probably not bombshell, because in the end he really didn't have a choice, but revelatory item that caught most of us by surprise.
3B Alex Rodriguez has dropped his suit against Major League Baseball, the players association, the commissioner and probably even the batboys. He won't follow through on his threat to show up for spring training. And he won't play this season.
So now I'm writing about that back home. 
I wrote the headline for this post several hours ago here. I suspect by the time I get up Saturday morning, we'll already know whether there will be a decisive Game 3 in the Australian Baseball League Championship Series or whether the Perth Heat swept the Canberra Cavalry in two games.
That's because Saturday's Game 2 at 7 p.m. Australia Western Time would begin at 6 a.m. EST.
The Heat overcame a 3-0 deficit in what must have been one of the classic games ever Down Under. Perth then prevailed 4-3 in 14 innings. Joey Wong's double drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. He batted .240 with two homers and 19 RBI at Double-A Tulsa last (Northern Hemisphere) summer, so he's a marginal prospect for the Rockies. I saw him play, and he didn't make a big impression positively or negatively.
If the Heat win, it would be the third championship in the last four years.
By the way, you can watch the ABL Championship Series on ESPN -- if you live in Australia or New Zealand. 
* * *
Basketball. Similarly, I started out by seeing that on Thursday my three active players made only one 3-point field goal, so I was still behind by one in that category against an opponent who had no one active. My lead was 7-1, and the second-place team was ahead 8-0, so I stood to lose some of my lead.
Now, literally at the end of the day -- no, early Saturday morning (late afternoon in Perth), I'm looking better. Two of my players -- Jose Calderon, whom I saw in person, and Carmelo Anthony -- threw in four 3s each, helping me to take the lead in that category. Three of my players scored 30-plus points, two had double doubles and my best draft pick, Serge Ibaka, blocked five shots while he wasn't putting in 26 points at the other end. My lead is now 8-0, and the second-place team dropped to 6-2, so I could actually extend my lead. Two days left this week, so I don't want to look ahead too much.
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Hockey. My starting goalies, Steve Mason and Ben Scrivens, both won Thursday, giving up only one goal in 60 minutes, and had a combined .973 save percentage. That improved my stats in all three categories, but not enough to gain any points.
Important key: Don't make the same mistake I did of leaving a problem area unresolved too late into the season. You've heard of small sample sizes. Well, the large sample size of nearly three-quarters of the season means that one or two days of performances won't make a major difference in the standings.
I still hold out hope of being able to overtake the second-place team in my league, but I know it won't be easy.
Hey! There were games Friday night too. Let's see how the Puckin Penguins did. The only active players, Joe Pavelski and Matt Niskanen (one of my best draft picks or early season pickups, I don't remember which), were plus-1 each. That restored some order, but it appears that the team still is eight points behind the second-place team.