I didn't get to watch the first game of the World Series because I was covering the Stars and Canucks. Here's the edited version of what I wrote.
From time to time, I did peek at the Gameday. First, I saw that the Giants had scored three runs in the first inning and Hunter Pence had scored a run and driven in two. That made me think he had hit a home run (I couldn't scroll down as far as HR on the new-fangled version of Gameday). And that made me think that if I had survived the Championship Series in either Inner League, I would have received credit at least for that run and the one he scored later.
Everyone on the panel for Fox's pregame show Wednesday picked the Royals to win Game 2.
That wouldn't square with the idea that this year's Royals are the 2007 Rockies reincarnated.
I would have thought at least one person would have favored the Giants, but I guess most if not all of them had been caught up in Rockies -- I mean Royals -- fever and picked KC to win the Series.
Here are a few reasons I think the Giants can win tonight (the leadoff batter currently has a 2-2 count in the top of the first).
Rookie RHP Yordano Ventura is pitching for the Royals.
Pence
Pablo Sandoval and his World Series history (remember his three-homer game)
Well, it's now 1-0, courtesy of Gregor Blanco, so the Giants may be making this too easy.
Buster Posey
2010 and 2012
I'm not really sold on San Francisco RHP Jake Peavy, but I believe he should receive enough help, or Bruce Bochy will know not to leave him in too long, for the Giants to be able to win in any case.
Hey! I remembered which other World Series this one brings to mind. Of course! The 1980 Dickie Noles and Willie May Aikens Series. I'll tell you why in a later post. I want to send this one before you begin to think I wrote it after the fact. All I know is it's 1-0 going to the bottom of the first.
Showing posts with label Pablo Sandoval. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pablo Sandoval. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Mamas, let your babies grow up to be pitchers
It looks like a good week to be a major league pitcher. Almost as good is being agent Casey Close.
The Rays and LHP David Price announced a $14-million contract for 2014, the largest in franchise history. This tells me that they're all in for this season, and that Price wouldn't be available in trade unless Tampa Bay is out of the race near the trade deadline. It's also conceivable that if the team looks strong going forward, the Rays might even try to sign him to some sort of rewarding contract of medium-range length -- maybe $75 for three years, with options for additional years and reachable incentive clauses.
That might not be enough, because there are reports that the Dodgers and LHP Clayton Kershaw have agreed on a 7-year, $215-million deal that would be a record for a pitcher anywhere.
Waiting in the wings, for a contract that could be escalating by the day, is free-agent Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka, who also is represented by Close.
Even the remaining free-agent starting pitchers such as RHPs Matt Garza and Bronson Arroyo could see their contracts bumped up a few hundred thousand by the pitching sellers' market. You never know when a starting pitcher might fall down the stairs.
Continuing another recent trend of oldtimers/has-beens/previously enjoyed players contemplating a return to the bigs, LHP Dontrelle Willis signed a minor league contract with the Giants.
Other big news from San Francisco, via Venezuela, is that 3B Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval has lost 42 pounds (19 kilos) while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. It's a contract year for the gifted hitter. How much he makes might depend on how much he weighs as the 2014-15 off-season becomes a reality.
* * *
Hockey. A couple of things, one of them not funny at all, have happened during the past few days. When I turned on my computer at the Oilers-Stars game Tuesday night, I couldn't see the screen. After a while, I could vaguely make out my sign-on prompt. Eventually, if I swirled my finger around the touch pad enough, I could find the cursor and guess whether I was clicking on the right icon. I was able to write about 300 words about the first two periods. Then I realized I would have to open AOL to send in the article to The Associated Press after I'd written.
Could not find the cursor, nor the Firefox icon. I realized I would have to write the article on my phone. It's a three-part sequence. First, write 150 words or so with the basic information and send that in. Second, add enough on to that for about 500 words and send. Third, ideally, interview some players and coaches, and add their quotes and a catchy lead for an article of about 900 words.
By the time the game ended, I hadn't even finished my 150 words. Those little keys on the Galaxy 4 are way smaller than my fingers. Got that done, but missed any interview opportunities, while I was writing the rest of the 500-worder. The Stars provided me with audio of their post-game interviews, and another freelancer sent me quotes from the Oilers' side. By the time I sent the new material and indicated where it should go, it was well past the time the article was expected in New York. I must say, though, that the editors there were very understanding.
Did some research Wednesday and discovered that it's not uncommon for the backlight on HP laptops to go out. Too bad, because generally I like the computer, but I'd never had a problem with backlighting in any of the -- I don't know, half-dozen? dozen? -- computers I've had before. I visited the Geek Squad and was preparing to have the geeks send away my computer for a couple of weeks for not-inexpensive repairs when the technician casually mentioned that they might have to wipe my computer. Wipe? Yes, as in clearing everything from the hard drive. That screech you hear is me putting the brakes on. I can't have everything erased. I have some projects and databases there that I've worked on literally for months. So the alternative, I was told was getting a VGA cable and hooking my laptop up to a TV. Next stop, Target, for a VGA cable. When I got home, that cable didn't really work, but fortunately the HDMI cable (which before seemed to have no apparent purpose) did. Thus, I'm writing this now from my dark laptop to a bright screen on our new bedroom TV. That's in part because I still find it very cumbersome to use the MacBook Pro at home, which I will be taking to tonight's Bruins-Stars game. Wish me luck.
BTW, I still have some things to clear from my HP laptop before I send it away. So by Friday, I expect to be doing all of my work on the MacBook.
Aside: if anyone from Samsung, HP or Apple wants to sponsor this blog, be my guest. You're welcome for the product placements.
Also on Wednesday, I interviewed the Stars' Brenden Dillon and Alex Goligoski about skate/foot protectors and whether those facilitate blocking shots for an article another AP writer is doing. Didn't sound like a very interesting idea to me at first, but the conversations I had with the players were very informative, dare I say enlightening, on the topic. That article is supposed to be on the wire sometime next week.
Dillon happens to be on my fantasy team, about which I have two things to say. 1) I will not write anything more about plus/minus. In the first two nights after I pointed out that I had skyrocketed within 4 of the next-higher team in plus/minus, my players combined to go minus-5 each night. I saw a note from Wednesday's game that Keith Yandle was only minus-1 or minus-2, which was an improvement because he had been minus-3 in each of the previous two games. 2) I will not write anything more about goalies until I figure them out. Don't hold your breath. With Eddie Lack giving up something like 200 goals Wednesday, I'm now at the bottom of the league in both goals against and save percentage. It helps that Steve Mason has won his last two starts, but didn't help at all that he essentially sucked in both games while the Flyers scored a bunch of goals at the other end.
* * *
Basketball. I'm just now taking a look at Team Fresh Prints' performance Wednesday night. Be right back. ... While the teams ahead of me in the standings are playing each other, I'm leading this week 6-1-1, tied in 3-pointers and trailing in field goal percentage.
Hmmm. The Nets and Hawks are playing a Thursday afternoon game in Atlanta. How quaint. And, look, Joe Johnson has 15 of Brooklyn's first 31 points, shooting 6 for 8 from the field. Too bad, because I hadn't adjusted my roster yet today and he's on my bench. I did move my other two bench players, whose teams are playing tonight, back into the starting lineup.
The Rays and LHP David Price announced a $14-million contract for 2014, the largest in franchise history. This tells me that they're all in for this season, and that Price wouldn't be available in trade unless Tampa Bay is out of the race near the trade deadline. It's also conceivable that if the team looks strong going forward, the Rays might even try to sign him to some sort of rewarding contract of medium-range length -- maybe $75 for three years, with options for additional years and reachable incentive clauses.
That might not be enough, because there are reports that the Dodgers and LHP Clayton Kershaw have agreed on a 7-year, $215-million deal that would be a record for a pitcher anywhere.
Waiting in the wings, for a contract that could be escalating by the day, is free-agent Japanese RHP Masahiro Tanaka, who also is represented by Close.
Even the remaining free-agent starting pitchers such as RHPs Matt Garza and Bronson Arroyo could see their contracts bumped up a few hundred thousand by the pitching sellers' market. You never know when a starting pitcher might fall down the stairs.
Continuing another recent trend of oldtimers/has-beens/previously enjoyed players contemplating a return to the bigs, LHP Dontrelle Willis signed a minor league contract with the Giants.
Other big news from San Francisco, via Venezuela, is that 3B Pablo "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval has lost 42 pounds (19 kilos) while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. It's a contract year for the gifted hitter. How much he makes might depend on how much he weighs as the 2014-15 off-season becomes a reality.
* * *
Hockey. A couple of things, one of them not funny at all, have happened during the past few days. When I turned on my computer at the Oilers-Stars game Tuesday night, I couldn't see the screen. After a while, I could vaguely make out my sign-on prompt. Eventually, if I swirled my finger around the touch pad enough, I could find the cursor and guess whether I was clicking on the right icon. I was able to write about 300 words about the first two periods. Then I realized I would have to open AOL to send in the article to The Associated Press after I'd written.
Could not find the cursor, nor the Firefox icon. I realized I would have to write the article on my phone. It's a three-part sequence. First, write 150 words or so with the basic information and send that in. Second, add enough on to that for about 500 words and send. Third, ideally, interview some players and coaches, and add their quotes and a catchy lead for an article of about 900 words.
By the time the game ended, I hadn't even finished my 150 words. Those little keys on the Galaxy 4 are way smaller than my fingers. Got that done, but missed any interview opportunities, while I was writing the rest of the 500-worder. The Stars provided me with audio of their post-game interviews, and another freelancer sent me quotes from the Oilers' side. By the time I sent the new material and indicated where it should go, it was well past the time the article was expected in New York. I must say, though, that the editors there were very understanding.
Did some research Wednesday and discovered that it's not uncommon for the backlight on HP laptops to go out. Too bad, because generally I like the computer, but I'd never had a problem with backlighting in any of the -- I don't know, half-dozen? dozen? -- computers I've had before. I visited the Geek Squad and was preparing to have the geeks send away my computer for a couple of weeks for not-inexpensive repairs when the technician casually mentioned that they might have to wipe my computer. Wipe? Yes, as in clearing everything from the hard drive. That screech you hear is me putting the brakes on. I can't have everything erased. I have some projects and databases there that I've worked on literally for months. So the alternative, I was told was getting a VGA cable and hooking my laptop up to a TV. Next stop, Target, for a VGA cable. When I got home, that cable didn't really work, but fortunately the HDMI cable (which before seemed to have no apparent purpose) did. Thus, I'm writing this now from my dark laptop to a bright screen on our new bedroom TV. That's in part because I still find it very cumbersome to use the MacBook Pro at home, which I will be taking to tonight's Bruins-Stars game. Wish me luck.
BTW, I still have some things to clear from my HP laptop before I send it away. So by Friday, I expect to be doing all of my work on the MacBook.
Aside: if anyone from Samsung, HP or Apple wants to sponsor this blog, be my guest. You're welcome for the product placements.
Also on Wednesday, I interviewed the Stars' Brenden Dillon and Alex Goligoski about skate/foot protectors and whether those facilitate blocking shots for an article another AP writer is doing. Didn't sound like a very interesting idea to me at first, but the conversations I had with the players were very informative, dare I say enlightening, on the topic. That article is supposed to be on the wire sometime next week.
Dillon happens to be on my fantasy team, about which I have two things to say. 1) I will not write anything more about plus/minus. In the first two nights after I pointed out that I had skyrocketed within 4 of the next-higher team in plus/minus, my players combined to go minus-5 each night. I saw a note from Wednesday's game that Keith Yandle was only minus-1 or minus-2, which was an improvement because he had been minus-3 in each of the previous two games. 2) I will not write anything more about goalies until I figure them out. Don't hold your breath. With Eddie Lack giving up something like 200 goals Wednesday, I'm now at the bottom of the league in both goals against and save percentage. It helps that Steve Mason has won his last two starts, but didn't help at all that he essentially sucked in both games while the Flyers scored a bunch of goals at the other end.
* * *
Basketball. I'm just now taking a look at Team Fresh Prints' performance Wednesday night. Be right back. ... While the teams ahead of me in the standings are playing each other, I'm leading this week 6-1-1, tied in 3-pointers and trailing in field goal percentage.
Hmmm. The Nets and Hawks are playing a Thursday afternoon game in Atlanta. How quaint. And, look, Joe Johnson has 15 of Brooklyn's first 31 points, shooting 6 for 8 from the field. Too bad, because I hadn't adjusted my roster yet today and he's on my bench. I did move my other two bench players, whose teams are playing tonight, back into the starting lineup.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Thoughts on Game 5
I’d like to say I saw the Giants coming a year ago.
It was in Scottsdale during spring training, and I was impressed with Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner and a number of young players I saw there. In fact, I saw enough from players such as Sandoval and Fred Lewis and Nate Schierholtz that I predicted San Francisco would have the majors’ most improved offense in 2009.
That turned out to be an oversight, even though Sandoval was one of the National League’s most exciting hitters last season.
Over a period of several years covering spring training in Arizona, I had chances to observe pitchers such as Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum on the field and to talk with them in the locker room. Cain caught me by surprise a few years back. He could pitch, but I had doubts about him because he was so clearly out of shape. Lincecum was pretty much what you see on TV – happy, smiling, bouncing around and leaving us shaking our heads trying to figure out how such a little guy could throw so hard without having his arm come out of its socket.
During the same span, I saw a lot of the Rangers in Arizona and for the last five years back home in Texas. Their arrival was easier to anticipate than the Giants’ youth movement because the Rangers had some spectacular prospects. Most notable were pitchers Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland. There were others – Elvis Andrus, Julio Borbon, Chris Davis, Justin Smoak, Mitch Moreland and a seeming tidal wave of pitching prospects that included Blake Beavan, Tanner Scheppers, Josh Lueke and Michael Kirkman.
My rule of thumb is that if half of the top prospects actually pan out, that’s a good track record. Clearly, and despite Holland’s control breakdown in World Series Game 2, Texas has done player development well.
GM Jon Daniels deserves whatever accolades come his way, and probably more. He traded away a passel of prospects – including Smoak, Beavan and Lueke – to obtain LHP Cliff Lee and C Bengie Molina and RF Jeff Francoeur. Texas also picked up 1B/3B Jorge Cantu and SS Cristian Guzman, whose impact was negligible. But for the most part, Daniels’ prospects-for-proven talent tack worked well.
Again, the Giants’ player moves were more subtle. But in the end, the additions GM Brian Sabean made were more important toward a short-term goal of winning the World Series. A goal that either general manager probably would admit was more dream than reality back in March and April.
Anyway, this year’s Giants picked up retreads and castoffs such as Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell and Cody Ross and Javier Lopez. Mixing those players with the prospects I saw in Arizona in March 2009 proved to be an inexpensive, and winning, combination.
It occurred to me that the Rangers’ trades and the Giants’ deals fell into the two categories I’ve found are successful in fantasy leagues. Those are the Big Deals, bringing in a superstar as represented by Lee, and the Small Moves, improving a team incrementally and with little cost. I won this year in a league I had no business winning because, needing stolen bases, I acquired Scott Podsednik. In a weak division, my team held on even though Podsednik barely played in September.
The Rangers also won in a weak division, but the Giants’ National League West was hardly weak. The Padres (and surprisingly the Rockies) had young starting pitching that could rival San Francisco’s.
In the end, despite the hitting heroics of Ross and Edgar Renteria, pitching won the 2010 World Series.
Casual baseball fans asked me if it was common for a team’s batters to fail as spectacularly as the Rangers’ had. Thinking back to their being swept at home in a four-game series by the Orioles and other offensive breakdowns, I replied that they had several stretches of games when they didn’t hit.
Then I threw out the answer, which was so obvious once it hit me in the face:
The Rangers were facing much better pitching on a consistent basis in the World Series.
While they were compiling the majors’ best team batting average against a steady diet of second-line starters from the Mariners and Angels, and even facing some marginal major league starters in the playoffs against the vaunted Yankees and Rays, the Giants were going to battle every day against top pitchers. Mat Latos, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa. In the NLCS, against Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Far more daunting than a worn-out C.C. Sabathia, a not-quite-there Phil Hughes and an elderly Andy Pettitte.
As I’ve pointed out before, defense played a big role throughout the Giants’ run to their first World Series win since they shocked the invincible 1954 Indians (after all, they beat out the Yankees, the only interruption in their run of 9 pennants in 10 years).
The Rangers’ impatience and all-or-nothing swinging hurt them too.
Both teams had good pitchers, but the Giants’ were clearly better in this series. In a different series, Cliff Lee might win twice over Tim Lincecum.
But in the right now, the difference was a simple case of good pitching beating good (if somewhat flawed) hitting.
It was in Scottsdale during spring training, and I was impressed with Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner and a number of young players I saw there. In fact, I saw enough from players such as Sandoval and Fred Lewis and Nate Schierholtz that I predicted San Francisco would have the majors’ most improved offense in 2009.
That turned out to be an oversight, even though Sandoval was one of the National League’s most exciting hitters last season.
Over a period of several years covering spring training in Arizona, I had chances to observe pitchers such as Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum on the field and to talk with them in the locker room. Cain caught me by surprise a few years back. He could pitch, but I had doubts about him because he was so clearly out of shape. Lincecum was pretty much what you see on TV – happy, smiling, bouncing around and leaving us shaking our heads trying to figure out how such a little guy could throw so hard without having his arm come out of its socket.
During the same span, I saw a lot of the Rangers in Arizona and for the last five years back home in Texas. Their arrival was easier to anticipate than the Giants’ youth movement because the Rangers had some spectacular prospects. Most notable were pitchers Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland. There were others – Elvis Andrus, Julio Borbon, Chris Davis, Justin Smoak, Mitch Moreland and a seeming tidal wave of pitching prospects that included Blake Beavan, Tanner Scheppers, Josh Lueke and Michael Kirkman.
My rule of thumb is that if half of the top prospects actually pan out, that’s a good track record. Clearly, and despite Holland’s control breakdown in World Series Game 2, Texas has done player development well.
GM Jon Daniels deserves whatever accolades come his way, and probably more. He traded away a passel of prospects – including Smoak, Beavan and Lueke – to obtain LHP Cliff Lee and C Bengie Molina and RF Jeff Francoeur. Texas also picked up 1B/3B Jorge Cantu and SS Cristian Guzman, whose impact was negligible. But for the most part, Daniels’ prospects-for-proven talent tack worked well.
Again, the Giants’ player moves were more subtle. But in the end, the additions GM Brian Sabean made were more important toward a short-term goal of winning the World Series. A goal that either general manager probably would admit was more dream than reality back in March and April.
Anyway, this year’s Giants picked up retreads and castoffs such as Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell and Cody Ross and Javier Lopez. Mixing those players with the prospects I saw in Arizona in March 2009 proved to be an inexpensive, and winning, combination.
It occurred to me that the Rangers’ trades and the Giants’ deals fell into the two categories I’ve found are successful in fantasy leagues. Those are the Big Deals, bringing in a superstar as represented by Lee, and the Small Moves, improving a team incrementally and with little cost. I won this year in a league I had no business winning because, needing stolen bases, I acquired Scott Podsednik. In a weak division, my team held on even though Podsednik barely played in September.
The Rangers also won in a weak division, but the Giants’ National League West was hardly weak. The Padres (and surprisingly the Rockies) had young starting pitching that could rival San Francisco’s.
In the end, despite the hitting heroics of Ross and Edgar Renteria, pitching won the 2010 World Series.
Casual baseball fans asked me if it was common for a team’s batters to fail as spectacularly as the Rangers’ had. Thinking back to their being swept at home in a four-game series by the Orioles and other offensive breakdowns, I replied that they had several stretches of games when they didn’t hit.
Then I threw out the answer, which was so obvious once it hit me in the face:
The Rangers were facing much better pitching on a consistent basis in the World Series.
While they were compiling the majors’ best team batting average against a steady diet of second-line starters from the Mariners and Angels, and even facing some marginal major league starters in the playoffs against the vaunted Yankees and Rays, the Giants were going to battle every day against top pitchers. Mat Latos, Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge De La Rosa. In the NLCS, against Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Far more daunting than a worn-out C.C. Sabathia, a not-quite-there Phil Hughes and an elderly Andy Pettitte.
As I’ve pointed out before, defense played a big role throughout the Giants’ run to their first World Series win since they shocked the invincible 1954 Indians (after all, they beat out the Yankees, the only interruption in their run of 9 pennants in 10 years).
The Rangers’ impatience and all-or-nothing swinging hurt them too.
Both teams had good pitchers, but the Giants’ were clearly better in this series. In a different series, Cliff Lee might win twice over Tim Lincecum.
But in the right now, the difference was a simple case of good pitching beating good (if somewhat flawed) hitting.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Strasburg, Storen sent down by Nationals
The Nationals’ future will remain in the future. They have sent their 2009 first-round-draft-pick right-handers, Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen, to their minor league camp. The expectation is that Strasburg would be in Washington by June and Storen at least by September.
The Dodgers demoted RHP James McDonald a day after he gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
After saying the switch of 3B Chone Figgins to second base and 2B Jose Lopez to third was just an experiment, the Mariners played them both consistently at the new positions. Now the word is that the team will use Figgins at third and Lopez at second on occasion during the remaining exhibitions, but Seattle will almost certainly have Figgins in the middle of the infield and Lopez on the hot corner on Opening Day.
A bigger problem for the Mariners could be OF Milton Bradley. He has been ejected from his last two exhibition games for seemingly minor infractions. The question is whether his reputation has preceded him and put him on a short leash, or that there was more to the ejections than meets the eye and they’re a bad sign for the volatile player.
Game time:
The Padres again had RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc starting in separate split-squad exhibition games. Again, they both pitched very well, almost identically. In a 4-1 victory over the White Sox, Latos lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 521105. The run came on a home run by OF/1B Andruw Jones. In a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers, LeBlanc lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 511113. The run came on a home run by 2B Ron Belliard after LeBlanc had thrown 4 2/3 hitless innings. San Diego will separate their days to pitch because it’s pretty clear that they’ll both make the season-opening rotation.
The day was full of outstanding pitching performances, with seven shutouts. Our Cy Young Award for the Day goes to Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano, whose line was 530024 in a 4-0 win over the Royals.
In the other shutouts, RHP Felix Hernandez’s line was 520012 as the Mariners defeated the Diamondbacks 4-0 using home runs by OFs Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans against RHP Dan Haren; RHP Tim Wakefield was in mid-season form with a line of 520023 in a 6-0 victory over the Orioles; RHP Todd Wellemeyer’s line of 540023 was plenty good enough in the Giants’ 6-0 win over the Reds that included 1B Aubrey Huff’s third homer; Twins LHP Francisco Liriano had a line of 330004 in a 6-0 victory over the Rays that could have been worse except for five Tampa Bay double plays including three involving 2B Sean Rodriguez and SS Reid Brignac; the pitcher who says, “Ni,” Tigers LHP Fu-Te Ni, used a line of 320001 to outpitch RHP Roy Halladay to help defeat the Phillies 3-0, and Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo not only had a line of 540023, but also hit a homer for the only run in their 1-0 win over the Royals.
Athletics Ben Sheets lowered his ERA to 17.28 with a line of 431134 in a 7-4 victory over the Cubs.
The Indians used an eight-run second inning against RHP Jason Jennings to defeat another team of Athletics 12-4. Included was Cleveland DH Travis Hafner’s three-run homer, his second. He won’t be playing regular-season games in Arizona, but if he can have some offensive success that could make the Tribe’s offense pretty potent.
OF Cameron Maybin hit his first two homers, against Nationals RHPs Garrett Mock and Shairon Martis, and RHP Chris Volstad had a line of 561122 in the Marlins’ 5-3 win.
In the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the Rangers, RHP Ramon Ortiz’s ERA increased to 1.38 on a line of 452226. He was the winning pitcher in relief of RHP Josh Towers, over Rangers LHP Derek Holland.
The Rockies overcame the Angels 11-10 with five runs in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Juan Mateo and Nick Pugliese. Colorado 2B Eric Young cleared the bases with a triple. In a sloppy game, 2B Clint Barmes had three of the Rockies’ five errors.
The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-5 on 2B Ruben Gotay’s homer in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Kiko Calero. St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus hit his third homer, a two-run shot against New York RHP John Maine, and Mets rookie 1B Ike Davis also had his third, against RHP Jason Motte.
The Blue Jays’ 7-6 win over the Braves had a last-inning rally typical of what we see in spring training. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Michael McDade hitting a game-winning double against RHP Jon Huber. Neither will have an impact in the majors or in fantasy baseball this season.
Injuries:
Mariners LHP Cliff Lee could begin the season on the disabled list because of a lower abdominal strain. Whenever he is ready to pitch, he’s subject to a five-game suspension for throwing at Diamondbacks C Chris Snyder. Lee is appealing the suspension. If he isn’t in the rotation the first time around, LHP Jason Vargas and RHP Doug Fister both are expected to make the rotation. They have been fighting for the fifth starter’s job. Fister left today’s game after Reds 1B Joey Votto hit a line drive off the pitcher’s forearm. The injury has been diagnosed as a bruise.
The Rockies said RHP Huston Street has no structural damage in his sore shoulder. However, he is likely to begin the season on the disabled list, possibly on an injury-rehab assignment. In his absence, LHP Franklin Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could be Colorado’s closers.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts (herniated disk) has resumed baseball-related activities.
Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval is expected to be out two days after having five stitches in his right shin to close a cut resulting from a collision at home plate. 3B Ryan Rohlinger will fill in for Sandoval. The news isn’t as good for 2B Freddy Sanchez, recovering from shoulder surgery. He won’t play until late April or early May. Jose Uribe is likely to get most of the playing time at second, but San Francisco also will use LF Mark DeRosa in the infield while Sanchez is out.
Astros CF Michael Bourn is out because of a strained right oblique muscle. Playing in his place, OF Jason Bourgeois stole his fourth base and improved his batting average to .286 in an 8-6 win over the Yankees.
NCAA news and blues:
No, I’m not just bitter because the teams I picked are dropping like flies in the NCAA basketball tournament. I am disappointed in the subjectivity and bias toward big conferences and big programs by the selection committee. If Kansas truly was the No. 1 overall seed, then why did Duke get a road to the Final Four only slightly tougher than Syracuse’s December schedule?
As short as I can make this discussion, the tournament should take one of two paths. 1. Become a tournament of champions, with each conference sending the regular-season champion and the survivor of a post-season tournament excluding the champ to the dance. Who really needs the ninth-place team with a losing record in a major conference to help decide the winner? 2. Let everyone in, using the conference tournaments as preliminary rounds. The tournament champs plus the remaining teams in the losers’ bracket of a double-elimination format would advance. The whole thing would be double-elimination, so the conference tournament champs would have to lose twice to be out. The conference tournaments still would have meaning and produce a champion. The regular season couldn’t be more meaningless than it is now, and it would lead to seedings for the conference tournament.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mat Latos, RHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 210 T: R Age: 22 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Latos so thoroughly dominated low Class A ball last season, that San Diego jumped him to Double-A San Antonio. After he went 5-1 and made the Texas League All-Star game, they only place for him was to go straight to the majors. Latos made another 10 starts for the Padres before they shut him down in September. He throws a mid-90s fastball complemented by both a slider and a curve. The hulking, multi-tattooed Latos has the potential to become a staff ace in time. He should do just fine this year as well. Born: Dec. 9, 1987, Alexandria, Va. 2009: Padres, 51 IP, 4 W, 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 0 S, 39 SO.
Projection
IP: 133 W: 11 ERA: 3.92 WHIP: 1.27 S: 0 SO: 105 Value: $5
Wade LeBlanc, LHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 200 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} LeBlanc completely turned around his 2008 season last year. At Triple-A Portland, he had poorer results (4-9) than in ’08, when he won 11 games, but pitched much better (3.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP). He was pitching well enough that the Padres called him up for nine starts, in which he turned around his 1-3 major league mark from 2008 by knocking more than four runs off his ERA and 89 points off his WHIP. He’s not likely to become an ace because his fastball barely reaches 90 mph. LeBlanc does have a sharp-breaking curve and a changeup not far on this side of Johan Santana’s. Born: Aug. 7, 1984, Lake Charles, La. 2009: Padres, 46 IP, 3 W, 3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 0 S, 30 SO.
Projection
IP: 124 W: 8 ERA: 4.28 WHIP: 1.30 S: 0 SO: 88 Value: $2
The Dodgers demoted RHP James McDonald a day after he gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
After saying the switch of 3B Chone Figgins to second base and 2B Jose Lopez to third was just an experiment, the Mariners played them both consistently at the new positions. Now the word is that the team will use Figgins at third and Lopez at second on occasion during the remaining exhibitions, but Seattle will almost certainly have Figgins in the middle of the infield and Lopez on the hot corner on Opening Day.
A bigger problem for the Mariners could be OF Milton Bradley. He has been ejected from his last two exhibition games for seemingly minor infractions. The question is whether his reputation has preceded him and put him on a short leash, or that there was more to the ejections than meets the eye and they’re a bad sign for the volatile player.
Game time:
The Padres again had RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc starting in separate split-squad exhibition games. Again, they both pitched very well, almost identically. In a 4-1 victory over the White Sox, Latos lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 521105. The run came on a home run by OF/1B Andruw Jones. In a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers, LeBlanc lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 511113. The run came on a home run by 2B Ron Belliard after LeBlanc had thrown 4 2/3 hitless innings. San Diego will separate their days to pitch because it’s pretty clear that they’ll both make the season-opening rotation.
The day was full of outstanding pitching performances, with seven shutouts. Our Cy Young Award for the Day goes to Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano, whose line was 530024 in a 4-0 win over the Royals.
In the other shutouts, RHP Felix Hernandez’s line was 520012 as the Mariners defeated the Diamondbacks 4-0 using home runs by OFs Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans against RHP Dan Haren; RHP Tim Wakefield was in mid-season form with a line of 520023 in a 6-0 victory over the Orioles; RHP Todd Wellemeyer’s line of 540023 was plenty good enough in the Giants’ 6-0 win over the Reds that included 1B Aubrey Huff’s third homer; Twins LHP Francisco Liriano had a line of 330004 in a 6-0 victory over the Rays that could have been worse except for five Tampa Bay double plays including three involving 2B Sean Rodriguez and SS Reid Brignac; the pitcher who says, “Ni,” Tigers LHP Fu-Te Ni, used a line of 320001 to outpitch RHP Roy Halladay to help defeat the Phillies 3-0, and Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo not only had a line of 540023, but also hit a homer for the only run in their 1-0 win over the Royals.
Athletics Ben Sheets lowered his ERA to 17.28 with a line of 431134 in a 7-4 victory over the Cubs.
The Indians used an eight-run second inning against RHP Jason Jennings to defeat another team of Athletics 12-4. Included was Cleveland DH Travis Hafner’s three-run homer, his second. He won’t be playing regular-season games in Arizona, but if he can have some offensive success that could make the Tribe’s offense pretty potent.
OF Cameron Maybin hit his first two homers, against Nationals RHPs Garrett Mock and Shairon Martis, and RHP Chris Volstad had a line of 561122 in the Marlins’ 5-3 win.
In the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the Rangers, RHP Ramon Ortiz’s ERA increased to 1.38 on a line of 452226. He was the winning pitcher in relief of RHP Josh Towers, over Rangers LHP Derek Holland.
The Rockies overcame the Angels 11-10 with five runs in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Juan Mateo and Nick Pugliese. Colorado 2B Eric Young cleared the bases with a triple. In a sloppy game, 2B Clint Barmes had three of the Rockies’ five errors.
The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-5 on 2B Ruben Gotay’s homer in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Kiko Calero. St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus hit his third homer, a two-run shot against New York RHP John Maine, and Mets rookie 1B Ike Davis also had his third, against RHP Jason Motte.
The Blue Jays’ 7-6 win over the Braves had a last-inning rally typical of what we see in spring training. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Michael McDade hitting a game-winning double against RHP Jon Huber. Neither will have an impact in the majors or in fantasy baseball this season.
Injuries:
Mariners LHP Cliff Lee could begin the season on the disabled list because of a lower abdominal strain. Whenever he is ready to pitch, he’s subject to a five-game suspension for throwing at Diamondbacks C Chris Snyder. Lee is appealing the suspension. If he isn’t in the rotation the first time around, LHP Jason Vargas and RHP Doug Fister both are expected to make the rotation. They have been fighting for the fifth starter’s job. Fister left today’s game after Reds 1B Joey Votto hit a line drive off the pitcher’s forearm. The injury has been diagnosed as a bruise.
The Rockies said RHP Huston Street has no structural damage in his sore shoulder. However, he is likely to begin the season on the disabled list, possibly on an injury-rehab assignment. In his absence, LHP Franklin Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could be Colorado’s closers.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts (herniated disk) has resumed baseball-related activities.
Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval is expected to be out two days after having five stitches in his right shin to close a cut resulting from a collision at home plate. 3B Ryan Rohlinger will fill in for Sandoval. The news isn’t as good for 2B Freddy Sanchez, recovering from shoulder surgery. He won’t play until late April or early May. Jose Uribe is likely to get most of the playing time at second, but San Francisco also will use LF Mark DeRosa in the infield while Sanchez is out.
Astros CF Michael Bourn is out because of a strained right oblique muscle. Playing in his place, OF Jason Bourgeois stole his fourth base and improved his batting average to .286 in an 8-6 win over the Yankees.
NCAA news and blues:
No, I’m not just bitter because the teams I picked are dropping like flies in the NCAA basketball tournament. I am disappointed in the subjectivity and bias toward big conferences and big programs by the selection committee. If Kansas truly was the No. 1 overall seed, then why did Duke get a road to the Final Four only slightly tougher than Syracuse’s December schedule?
As short as I can make this discussion, the tournament should take one of two paths. 1. Become a tournament of champions, with each conference sending the regular-season champion and the survivor of a post-season tournament excluding the champ to the dance. Who really needs the ninth-place team with a losing record in a major conference to help decide the winner? 2. Let everyone in, using the conference tournaments as preliminary rounds. The tournament champs plus the remaining teams in the losers’ bracket of a double-elimination format would advance. The whole thing would be double-elimination, so the conference tournament champs would have to lose twice to be out. The conference tournaments still would have meaning and produce a champion. The regular season couldn’t be more meaningless than it is now, and it would lead to seedings for the conference tournament.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mat Latos, RHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 210 T: R Age: 22 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Latos so thoroughly dominated low Class A ball last season, that San Diego jumped him to Double-A San Antonio. After he went 5-1 and made the Texas League All-Star game, they only place for him was to go straight to the majors. Latos made another 10 starts for the Padres before they shut him down in September. He throws a mid-90s fastball complemented by both a slider and a curve. The hulking, multi-tattooed Latos has the potential to become a staff ace in time. He should do just fine this year as well. Born: Dec. 9, 1987, Alexandria, Va. 2009: Padres, 51 IP, 4 W, 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 0 S, 39 SO.
Projection
IP: 133 W: 11 ERA: 3.92 WHIP: 1.27 S: 0 SO: 105 Value: $5
Wade LeBlanc, LHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 200 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} LeBlanc completely turned around his 2008 season last year. At Triple-A Portland, he had poorer results (4-9) than in ’08, when he won 11 games, but pitched much better (3.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP). He was pitching well enough that the Padres called him up for nine starts, in which he turned around his 1-3 major league mark from 2008 by knocking more than four runs off his ERA and 89 points off his WHIP. He’s not likely to become an ace because his fastball barely reaches 90 mph. LeBlanc does have a sharp-breaking curve and a changeup not far on this side of Johan Santana’s. Born: Aug. 7, 1984, Lake Charles, La. 2009: Padres, 46 IP, 3 W, 3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 0 S, 30 SO.
Projection
IP: 124 W: 8 ERA: 4.28 WHIP: 1.30 S: 0 SO: 88 Value: $2
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Astros are happier, but don't seem any better
You might have heard about how there’s a much better atmosphere around the Astros this year with Brad Mills as manager. He might be the freshest breath of air in Florida this spring, or it could just be that anyone might have been an improvement over Cecil Cooper’s negativity.
One thing Mills can’t do is play for Houston. Not many others in Kissimmee, Fla., are much help either. If LHP Wandy Rodriguez’s performance (pitching line of 366401) in a 16-4 loss to the Marlins is any indication, it will be a long year for the Astros.
Florida 2B Dan Uggla and OF prospect Michael Stanton hit home runs against Rodriguez. LF Chris Coghlan had a double against not-so-magic Wandy and a triple against RHP Gary Majewski in a 2-for-3 day with four RBI. OF Brett Carroll, having a good spring, homered against LHP Wesley Wright and added two doubles.
The bad news for the Athletics in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox was RHP Ben Sheets’ pitching line: 2 2/3 56510. The better news was 3B Eric Chavez’s two home runs, against RHP hopefuls Dan Hudson and Jeff Marquez.
The Yankees beat the Tigers 9-8 on a home run by OF Greg Golson against LHP Phil Dumatrait. The next time we see that matchup, they’ll probably be playing for Scranton and Toledo in the Triple-A International League.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ struggles continued in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves. A bright spot is OF Chris Carter, whose third home run this spring was against a legitimate major leaguer, RHP Derek Lowe. Carter drove in four runs, and power-poor New York might have no choice but to take him north for Opening Day.
A few days ago, we mentioned Blue Jays OF/3B Jose Bautista as a sleeper candidate for fifth outfielder/corner infielder. In a 4-2 loss to the Phillies, he hit his third homer, against LHP Cole Hamels. Bautista also had a double and raised his spring average to .643.
The Devil Rays defeated the Red Sox 8-6, with RHP Dale Thayer’s line of 100000 earning a save. It’s possible he could have some saves for Tampa Bay this season. He has been a minor league closer. The downside is that he might not have enough power to get needed strikeouts in tight situations. Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, but those were against two middle relievers at best, RHPs Joe Bateman and Joaquin Benoit.
In the Mariners’ 6-3 victory over the Rangers, LHP Cliff Lee was the winning pitcher. That wasn’t unexpected, so the eyebrow-raiser might have been LHP Garret Olson’s relief pitching. He entered with a three-run lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning and finished with the same lead, a save and a line of 1 1/3 10010.
For the Cardinals, RHP Brad Penny had a line of 410002 and rookie 3B/OF Allen Craig hit a two-run homer against RHP Garrett Mock in a 6-4 victory over the Nationals. Craig could be in line for a utility/pinch hitter role in the majors, possibly after succeeding for a time in Triple-A this season.
3B Pablo Sandoval’s grand slam against RHP Carlos Zambrano provided most of the offense as the Giants defeated the Cubs 5-1. Holding down Chicago was San Francisco LHP Jonathan Sanchez, with a line of 330005. Should be an interesting National League West race this year among the Giants, Rockies, Dodgers and possibly Diamondbacks.
The Orioles probably took note of RHP Matt Albers’ save (pitching line: 110000) in their 3-2 win over the Pirates. Baltimore scored all of its runs in the first inning against Pittsburgh LHP Zach Duke, who’s either wishing he was traded last season or thinking about suing for non-support.
Sample Scouting Reports:
W. Chris Carter, OF, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 230 B: L Age: 27
{2010} New York acquired him from the Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade. Carter has batted .324, .300 and .294 in Triple-A the last three seasons, mostly as a left fielder and first baseman. He has a good batting eye and little speed. With the Mets, he could be a DH for just a few games a year. Still, they need any power they can find, so Carter could end up as a platoon option with a few dollars of fantasy value. He doesn’t have the upside of Athletics 1B prospect Chris Carter, but should have more value this season. Born: Sept. 16, 1982, Fremont, Calif. 2009: Red Sox, 6 AB, .000 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R.
Projection
AB: 255 BA: .255 HR: 9 RBI: 36 SB: 1 R: 30
Chris C. Carter, 1B, Athletics
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 210 B: R Age: 23
{2010} After a monster season as the Texas League MVP at Double-A Midland – 24 homers, 100 RBI, 108 runs, 13 stolen bases, .337 average, Carter hit four homers and batted .259 in 54 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. With Eric Chavez and Daric Barton already in Oakland, and with Carter batting just .212 in the Mexican Pacific League, there wouldn’t seem to be room for him with the parent club this season, which he’d most likely begin back in Sacramento. There he could work on reducing his strikeouts (401 over the last three years). His physique reminds me of Enos Cabell with power. Even though Carter has 92 homers the last three years in the minors, we can’t be sure how many of those were the result of playing in hitter-friendly parks. He is a prospect, but probably not until September in the majors. Born: Dec. 18, 1986, Redwood City, Calif.
Projection
AB: 148 BA: .257 HR: 7 RBI: 24 SB: 1 R: 23
One thing Mills can’t do is play for Houston. Not many others in Kissimmee, Fla., are much help either. If LHP Wandy Rodriguez’s performance (pitching line of 366401) in a 16-4 loss to the Marlins is any indication, it will be a long year for the Astros.
Florida 2B Dan Uggla and OF prospect Michael Stanton hit home runs against Rodriguez. LF Chris Coghlan had a double against not-so-magic Wandy and a triple against RHP Gary Majewski in a 2-for-3 day with four RBI. OF Brett Carroll, having a good spring, homered against LHP Wesley Wright and added two doubles.
The bad news for the Athletics in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox was RHP Ben Sheets’ pitching line: 2 2/3 56510. The better news was 3B Eric Chavez’s two home runs, against RHP hopefuls Dan Hudson and Jeff Marquez.
The Yankees beat the Tigers 9-8 on a home run by OF Greg Golson against LHP Phil Dumatrait. The next time we see that matchup, they’ll probably be playing for Scranton and Toledo in the Triple-A International League.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ struggles continued in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves. A bright spot is OF Chris Carter, whose third home run this spring was against a legitimate major leaguer, RHP Derek Lowe. Carter drove in four runs, and power-poor New York might have no choice but to take him north for Opening Day.
A few days ago, we mentioned Blue Jays OF/3B Jose Bautista as a sleeper candidate for fifth outfielder/corner infielder. In a 4-2 loss to the Phillies, he hit his third homer, against LHP Cole Hamels. Bautista also had a double and raised his spring average to .643.
The Devil Rays defeated the Red Sox 8-6, with RHP Dale Thayer’s line of 100000 earning a save. It’s possible he could have some saves for Tampa Bay this season. He has been a minor league closer. The downside is that he might not have enough power to get needed strikeouts in tight situations. Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, but those were against two middle relievers at best, RHPs Joe Bateman and Joaquin Benoit.
In the Mariners’ 6-3 victory over the Rangers, LHP Cliff Lee was the winning pitcher. That wasn’t unexpected, so the eyebrow-raiser might have been LHP Garret Olson’s relief pitching. He entered with a three-run lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning and finished with the same lead, a save and a line of 1 1/3 10010.
For the Cardinals, RHP Brad Penny had a line of 410002 and rookie 3B/OF Allen Craig hit a two-run homer against RHP Garrett Mock in a 6-4 victory over the Nationals. Craig could be in line for a utility/pinch hitter role in the majors, possibly after succeeding for a time in Triple-A this season.
3B Pablo Sandoval’s grand slam against RHP Carlos Zambrano provided most of the offense as the Giants defeated the Cubs 5-1. Holding down Chicago was San Francisco LHP Jonathan Sanchez, with a line of 330005. Should be an interesting National League West race this year among the Giants, Rockies, Dodgers and possibly Diamondbacks.
The Orioles probably took note of RHP Matt Albers’ save (pitching line: 110000) in their 3-2 win over the Pirates. Baltimore scored all of its runs in the first inning against Pittsburgh LHP Zach Duke, who’s either wishing he was traded last season or thinking about suing for non-support.
Sample Scouting Reports:
W. Chris Carter, OF, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 230 B: L Age: 27
{2010} New York acquired him from the Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade. Carter has batted .324, .300 and .294 in Triple-A the last three seasons, mostly as a left fielder and first baseman. He has a good batting eye and little speed. With the Mets, he could be a DH for just a few games a year. Still, they need any power they can find, so Carter could end up as a platoon option with a few dollars of fantasy value. He doesn’t have the upside of Athletics 1B prospect Chris Carter, but should have more value this season. Born: Sept. 16, 1982, Fremont, Calif. 2009: Red Sox, 6 AB, .000 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R.
Projection
AB: 255 BA: .255 HR: 9 RBI: 36 SB: 1 R: 30
Chris C. Carter, 1B, Athletics
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 210 B: R Age: 23
{2010} After a monster season as the Texas League MVP at Double-A Midland – 24 homers, 100 RBI, 108 runs, 13 stolen bases, .337 average, Carter hit four homers and batted .259 in 54 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. With Eric Chavez and Daric Barton already in Oakland, and with Carter batting just .212 in the Mexican Pacific League, there wouldn’t seem to be room for him with the parent club this season, which he’d most likely begin back in Sacramento. There he could work on reducing his strikeouts (401 over the last three years). His physique reminds me of Enos Cabell with power. Even though Carter has 92 homers the last three years in the minors, we can’t be sure how many of those were the result of playing in hitter-friendly parks. He is a prospect, but probably not until September in the majors. Born: Dec. 18, 1986, Redwood City, Calif.
Projection
AB: 148 BA: .257 HR: 7 RBI: 24 SB: 1 R: 23
Monday, March 1, 2010
Could Sandoval be better?
During the winter ball season, Giants 1B/3B Pablo Sandoval started wearing prescription lenses in an attempt to see pitches better and specifically to hit curves better. Does that mean he can be better than the hitter who batted .330 in his first full season? If so, sign me up for him!
OOO Orioles 2B Brian Roberts took his first batting practice of the spring today. He had been diagnosed with a herniated disk in his lower back, and was working his way back toward being able to play. He already had been fielding grounders, running and throwing. But if you’ve had any back trouble, you know that the biggest danger for reinjuring the back is using the kind of torque that’s necessary for a successful baseball or golf swing.
OOO RHP Brandon Webb made another great stride toward returning to the Diamondbacks’ rotation by throwing 43 pitches in his fourth bullpen session. Rain and cold weather (in the 40s) moved his work in to a covered batting cage in the minor league complex in Tucson, Ariz. The continued uncharacteristic wet weather also canceled the scheduled home run derby between the Rangers and the Royals in Surprise. Anyway, Webb’s timetable calls for another bullpen session Wednesday, followed by pitching batting practice once or twice and making his first start in mid-March.
OOO Red Sox OF Mike Cameron has been hobbled since Tuesday, but his injury is not considered serious.
OOO Cubs LHP Ted Lilly’s spring training from Hell continued when he was out for five days because of a viral illness.
OOO Braves RHP Jair Jurrjens, recovering from a sore shoulder, might not make his first spring start until the second week in March.
Rotate:
The St. Petersburg Times reported that the Rays’ regular-season rotation most likely would be RHPs James Shields, Matt Garza and Jeff Niemann; LHP David Price, and RHP Wade Davis. RHP Andy Sonnanstine could battle Davis for that last spot, and Price could move ahead of Niemann. Our opinion is that you’ll see rookie RHP Jeremy Hellickson starting successfully for Tampa Bay before the season ends.
Lining up:
Mets manager Willie Randolph indicated that he hadn’t decided whether 3B David Wright or LF Jason Bay would bat cleanup. The player who doesn’t bat there would be in the five hole. Not an urgent matter; there are five weeks remaining to figure it out.
For the Yankees, the issue is whether Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner would be the starting center fielder or left fielder. It’s possible that Granderson, who should win the job anyway, would start in center because Gardner might sit against lefthanded pitchers.
What a drag it is getting old:
Free-agent OF Jermaine Dye said he was “shocked” that no team has signed him yet. Over the last five years, he has the most homers of any American League outfielder. It could be that teams are cool on him because of the second half of his 2009 season, when he batted .179 with seven homers and 26 RBI. I know he won’t be on my fantasy team again.
Braves 3B Chipper Jones is signed through 2012, but he said he would retire after this season if he can’t bounce back from his ’09 performance. His average fell 100 points, from a National League-leading .364 to .264.
OOO Orioles 2B Brian Roberts took his first batting practice of the spring today. He had been diagnosed with a herniated disk in his lower back, and was working his way back toward being able to play. He already had been fielding grounders, running and throwing. But if you’ve had any back trouble, you know that the biggest danger for reinjuring the back is using the kind of torque that’s necessary for a successful baseball or golf swing.
OOO RHP Brandon Webb made another great stride toward returning to the Diamondbacks’ rotation by throwing 43 pitches in his fourth bullpen session. Rain and cold weather (in the 40s) moved his work in to a covered batting cage in the minor league complex in Tucson, Ariz. The continued uncharacteristic wet weather also canceled the scheduled home run derby between the Rangers and the Royals in Surprise. Anyway, Webb’s timetable calls for another bullpen session Wednesday, followed by pitching batting practice once or twice and making his first start in mid-March.
OOO Red Sox OF Mike Cameron has been hobbled since Tuesday, but his injury is not considered serious.
OOO Cubs LHP Ted Lilly’s spring training from Hell continued when he was out for five days because of a viral illness.
OOO Braves RHP Jair Jurrjens, recovering from a sore shoulder, might not make his first spring start until the second week in March.
Rotate:
The St. Petersburg Times reported that the Rays’ regular-season rotation most likely would be RHPs James Shields, Matt Garza and Jeff Niemann; LHP David Price, and RHP Wade Davis. RHP Andy Sonnanstine could battle Davis for that last spot, and Price could move ahead of Niemann. Our opinion is that you’ll see rookie RHP Jeremy Hellickson starting successfully for Tampa Bay before the season ends.
Lining up:
Mets manager Willie Randolph indicated that he hadn’t decided whether 3B David Wright or LF Jason Bay would bat cleanup. The player who doesn’t bat there would be in the five hole. Not an urgent matter; there are five weeks remaining to figure it out.
For the Yankees, the issue is whether Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner would be the starting center fielder or left fielder. It’s possible that Granderson, who should win the job anyway, would start in center because Gardner might sit against lefthanded pitchers.
What a drag it is getting old:
Free-agent OF Jermaine Dye said he was “shocked” that no team has signed him yet. Over the last five years, he has the most homers of any American League outfielder. It could be that teams are cool on him because of the second half of his 2009 season, when he batted .179 with seven homers and 26 RBI. I know he won’t be on my fantasy team again.
Braves 3B Chipper Jones is signed through 2012, but he said he would retire after this season if he can’t bounce back from his ’09 performance. His average fell 100 points, from a National League-leading .364 to .264.
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