Team USA wins, loses Braun?

Team USA stays alive to fight another day with a 9-3 win over The Netherlands, but in the process they lost Ryan Braun due to a sore left side.
Chipper Jones, Dustin Pedroia and now Ryan Braun. Dare we ask what's in the water?

Twins waiting to know more on Mauer

Joe Mauer's back problem is not getting resolved, and it has the Twins making other plans for their April 6 opener.

peaking through a team spokesman, Minnesota general manager Bill Smith said Sunday that he's received no update from the doctors on Mauer.

Mauer was scheduled to return to Fort Myers, Fla., on Saturday night after seeing a specialist in Baltimore for a second opinion on his lower back. But there has been no indication as to when the Twins will get an update on the results of the exam.

Mauer was diagnosed with inflammation in the right sacroiliac joint -- where the base of the spine meets the top of the pelvis -- by team doctors following a magnetic resonance arthrogram this week. He's been unable to take part in any team workouts so far this spring due to pain in his lower back, which he first began experiencing late last season.

An MRI on Mauer's back over the offseason revealed a kidney obstruction, and he underwent surgery to eliminate the problem on Dec. 22. The hope was that it would help relieve the back pain, but that has not been the case.

The Twins' season opener is April 6 against the Mariners, and while the club has yet to declare that Mauer will miss the start of the regular season, his availability is clearly in doubt.

"The more days go by, it looks like we are going to have to ad-lib at the beginning," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday. "But we are waiting on the latest news on Joe to see where we're at."

Mauer's fantasy draft stock should be sliding at this point. Weird that the Twins don't know anything by now.

Manny gets on many times in debut

It's all good for Manny Ramirez in his first outing of the spring. A single and two walks in three at bats left him with a perfect on base percentage in 2009.

Three times up, three times on. And so Ramirez, late to spring training after signing a two-year, $45-million contract, was back in action.

"I said, 'You haven't lost of any of your flair, from last year to this year,' " Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said.

Despite his perfect on-base percentage, Ramirez complained about his timing at the plate. But he said his legs -- a balky hamstring had delayed his Cactus League debut for one day -- felt fine.

"It takes time, that's why we're here in spring training, to get a lot of at-bats, make a lot of mistakes and get it out of your system and move on to the season," Ramirez said.

We'll have to wait and see if a tight hamstring costs Manny any power at the plate leading up the regular season. Most of a batter's power begins with his legs. Manny's got plenty of legs when he's healthy.

Pudge wants to play, anywhere

Pudge Rodriguez really wants to play in the Majors this year, saying he's willing to switch positions if it means getting a chance to play regularly for an MLB club. Pudge thinks he can play at first or third.

"Trust me, I would love to catch, but I can play another position, and I'm willing to play another position, because I'm a player and I love to play," Rodriguez said on Friday. "That's the most important thing for me. I'm a winner. I love playing this game. I would love to be on a team and help it win. Whatever it takes to win ballgames, I'd do anything."

It's hard to imagine this was anything more than Pudge expressing his willingness to do whatever it takes to return to MLB. I'm guessing he wasn't serious about a position switch, especially considering he's played a total of 8 games (seven at first and one at second base) in his entire 18-year career.

Furthermore, Rodriguez hit just .276 with a .394 slugging average last year, hardly corner infielder numbers. Actually, he's not even close. He's not going to be playing anywhere but behind the plate in 2009.

Goodbye, East Bay?

It's sounding more and more like the A's have a better chance at a future in San Jose than they do in Oakland. A's owner Lew Wolff sounds like he's not only disinterested in his home city, he's done with it altogether. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and City Council President Jane Brunner sound desperate in their efforts to woo the team back from the brink of a move.

"We have fully exhausted our time and resources over the years with the city of Oakland, dating back to previous A's ownership," (Wolff) said in the statement. "We recognize conditions have not changed. Letters to Major League Baseball offer nothing new or of any real substance. Outside stimulation to have us continue to play in an aging and shared facility may generate press and 'sound-bite' opportunities, but do not provide any tangible alterations in the circumstances we face."

Dellums and Brunner asked Selig to name a point person to work with Oakland on finding a site for a new stadium in Oakland. The letter also said city officials are putting together a team of civic leaders to advise the city on possible locations for a new ballpark, and are "prepared to do everything reasonably possible" to keep the A's in Oakland.

One of Wolff's major issues with Oakland is the erosion of the downtown corporate life of the city. Let's face it, if boxes and big-money seats go unpaid for, there's not way Wolff wants to lose money he could be making elsewhere. Things sound dire for the "Oakland" A's.

New parks, but better seats?

A very interesting read in Newsday on obstructed view seating in newer MLB parks. Yankee Stadium received criticism last month for being a state-of-the-art ballpark that still has seats with partially blocked views of the playing field. The new stadium is not the only one. In fact, it's not even one of the few.

Of the 11 major-league ballparks - including the new Yankee Stadium and the Mets' new Citi Field - that have opened since 2000, eight have obstructed-view seats. Seven teams sell those tickets to the public; most wait until the rest of the stadium is sold out, and some sell them only at the box office.

One team, the Cincinnati Reds, has about 300 obstructed-view seats at Great American Ball Park but does not sell them, according to team director of media relations Rob Butcher.

The Mets will not be marking any seats as obstructed view, according to executive vice president Dave Howard. Citi Field apparently will have spots with less than perfect looks at the field because of structures such as staircase railings. Howard said every effort was made to minimize such issues through the use of see-through materials, but he said some of those seats were not offered as part of season-ticket plans.

Of the 30 ballparks that will be used in 2009, 23 have obstructed-view seats and 22 teams sell them to fans.

Six ballparks do not have any seats that are marked as obstructed view. Aside from Citi Field, they are Nationals Park (Washington, opened in 2007), Busch Stadium (St. Louis, 2006), Turner Field (Atlanta, 1997), Dolphin Stadium ( Marlins, 1987) and Dodger Stadium (1962).

One of the perks of newly constructed stadiums is supposed to be the lack of structural obstructions with regard to viewing the field. Beams and pillars would become things of the past, and I'm guessing they are. My guess is that the new obstructions are mostly things that give the newer ballparks character. Overhanging eves, odd grandstand construction and unique outfield walls probably lend themselves to obstructed views. I'd hope the blockages are minimal.

The whirling Darvish

I'd been waiting for somebody to provide some info on Japanese ace Yu Darvish. ESPN's Keith Law finally did, and it all sounds good.

Darvish is the top pitcher in the Japanese major leagues right now. He earned the 2007 Sawamura Award (the Nippon Professional Baseball equivalent to the Cy Young Award) and the 2007 Pacific League MVP Award. He has posted ERAs less than 2.00 in each of the past two years, and struck out 418 batters in 408.1 innings over the past two years. Darvish is unusually tall for a Japanese pitcher; he's listed at 6-foot-5, and only one other pitcher on Team Japan is listed at taller than 6-1, the 6-3 Hisashi Iwakuma.

When you're just 21 years old and can command a fastball that touches the mid-nineties plus a good breaking pitch, you've got a shot to be great. I like his strange delivery, as well, as kinks in the windup can make it that much tougher for hitters to get their timing down.

Marlins Stadium troubles

The new stadium hopes of the Florida Marlins continue to take hits.

Apparently the revenue from three separate taxes the county was going to use to help finance the stadium have fallen off more then 19%. The County had projected just a 2% decrease in these three tax revenue streams.

It seems yet again that this project cannot get off the ground.

I wonder if this is significant enough an issue to scrap the whole project.

Far East fighting sleep deprivation

A thought on the second round and finals of the World Baseball Classic, which I'm sure has come up with the tournament's planners: Japan and South Korea must be at a distinct disadvantage due to playing their first round games in Tokyo.

Opening their pool on March 5th, the Asian teams got a head start in the tournament. They played three games a couple of days before the rest of the tournament field got to playing games. That allowed the Asian teams a chance to finish Pool A on March 9, a full six days before they're due to play in round two.

No, I don't believe the Japanese and South Korean teams that advanced from the pool will be rusty due to a perceived layoff (they played games against the Cubs and Dodgers respectively on Wednesday). The problem is the time change they experience in coming to play second round games in San Diego. Pacific Standard Time is 16 hours behind Japan, which means the Japanese and Korean players experience an 8-hour jet lag in flying to the west coast. Pilots say for each hour lost/gained of jet lag it takes one day to recover. That means the Japanese and South Koreans would still be feeling strong effects of sleep patter adjustment when they start playing again this weekend. The Japanese opener against Cuba on Sunday is at 1 pm in San Diego, when it's 5 am back home.

The one thing in the Far Easterners' favor? They started the 2006 tournament in Tokyo as well, and with seven days to recover, the Japanese came to the U.S. and won the whole thing.

Cuba wins Pool B

Cuba's 16-4 Pool B throttling of Mexico gives them the pool title and a consolation prize moving forward: they're forced to play Japan in the second round's Pool 1. That's a rematch of the 2006 World Baseball Classic final, a game Japan won. Mexico faces South Korea, the Pool A Champions, who lost their two game matchup with Japan with a 14-3 aggregate score. They won the pool title, however, 1-0.

Manny debuts Friday

Good thing Manny Ramirez' tight hamstring pushed his Dodger debut back to Friday. Otherwise there'd be too many debuts to write about. (See below!)

Percival pitches well in first outing

Johan Santana's start might have been the most talked about pitching performance in the state of Florida, but also in the Sunshine State today: the return of Troy Percival. The Rays' aging reliever still has a shot to win the closer job. His hamstring and knee held up, as did his surgically repaired back. He pitched a hitless 5th against the Phillies.

On Thursday, he faced Ryan Howard, Geoff Jenkins and Gregg Dobbs.

Howard and Jenkins tapped pitches out in front of the plate that catcher Dioner Navarro easily fielded. Dobbs bounced to first baseman Carlos Pena, forcing Percival to run and cover the bag, which he did with ease.

"It was a step," Percival said. "I was actually forcing myself to mentally throttle back and throw my pitches, but I'd let a couple go, so the next time I'll do a little bit more. I'm gonna take it a step at a time."

Percival, who is eighth in saves with 352, said he will be ready by opening day, and Rays manager Joe Maddon is hopeful he'll be able to reorganize his bullpen.

"He looks very good to me," Maddon said. "I don't see any kind of hesitation or restriction. So, I think he's in really good shape."

With Jason Isringhausen and Grant Balfour as well, it's hard to expect Percival to keep his closing job all year. It's hard to bet against him winning the job for awhile, either.

Johana Santana solid in spring debut

Johan Santana said he felt "pretty good" after his first spring training start, giving him and the Mets hope he can hurry his return from elbow soreness in time for the season opener.

“I was able to get everything going right away,” Santana said. “I threw all my pitches. That was a good sign.”

Originally set to make his debut on March 3, Santana, who had off-season knee surgery, was scratched from two starts because of elbow tightness. The team considered sending him to New York for a magnetic resonance imaging test, but a few days’ rest diminished the discomfort and Santana resumed an accelerated schedule that has him on track to pitch the April 6 opener in Cincinnati.

Santana has not complained about soreness since he rested, and team officials have been so confident in his progress that they did not attend his bullpen session Monday.

After Santana retired the side in the first inning on 10 pitches, Manager Jerry Manuel could not suppress a smile. Santana opened the second by grooving a first-pitch fastball that Dan Uggla slugged over the left-field wall, but that hardly bothered Santana.

“It’s all about feeling healthy and getting stronger,” Santana said. “And I felt pretty good.”

Sounds like everything is good. I doubted highly that Santana would be starting the Mets' opener earlier in the spring. Funny enough, perhaps thaks to the World Baseball Classic extending spring training, he might make it.

Fantasy utility players

For Spitting Seeds latest update on fantasy utility players (4/3/09) click here!

Roto Rob outlines the top ten utility players heading into the 2009 season with regard to fantasy play. These players will be taken in later rounds of drafts, but can still provide some fantasy impact if they get a chance to play fairly regularly. They're also multiple-position players, so they can really help fill a gap if you suffer an injury. They are:

1. Jed Lowrie, SS/3B, Boston
2. Wilson Betemit, 1B/3B, Chicago White Sox
3. Brandon Wood, 3B/SS, Los Angeles Angels
4. Nomar Garciaparra, SS, Oakland A’s
5. Eric Hinske, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Ian Stewart, 3B, Colorado Rockies
7. Mark Teahen, OF, Kansas City Royals
8. Erick Aybar, SS, Los Angeles Angels
9. Ty Wigginton, 3B/OF, Baltimore Orioles
10. Ryan Freel, OF, Baltimore Orioles

I like the list a great deal, but I think Chad Tracy should be a part of it. He was just coming into his own as a hitter until a knee problem ruined the second half of his 2007 and the first half of his 2008. Now that he's going to be back to form, with eligibility at the corners and potentially the outfield, Tracy can be as big an impact as any of these players.

MLB investigates Domincan age issues

The recent age fraud revelations of Miguel Tejada, Vladimir Guerrero and a Washington Nationals signee have resulted in a full-blown investigation by Major League Baseball into age lying in Dominican Republic baseball circles.

Consulate spokesman David Searby said he could not immediately comment.

"They have asked us to investigate, and we have detected around 42 cases of possible irregularities related to the real age of these young men," said Melendez, who also is Puerto Rico's general manager during the World Baseball Classic.

The investigation began a week ago.

Several Latino players have said they lied about their ages in recent years, including Vladimir Guerrero and Miguel Tejada.

Melendez said players found lying about their age could face a cancellation or temporary revocation of their visas. The State Department would make that decision, he said.

Certainly future legislation will result in a statute of limitations with regard to players who have already confessed their actual age. It would be difficult to punish Vlad or Tejada with retrospective rules.

Penny and Buchholz fight for 5th spot

The No. 5 slot in the Red Sox rotation is one of the team's biggest question marks, and it will continue to be with the improvement of Brad Penny from injury and Clay Buchholz from his former pitching self. Both Penny and Buchholz made strides on Tuesday. Penny threw 20 pitches without incident to live hitters while Buchholz threw three hitless innings, striking out two against the Orioles.

Pitching coach John Farrell said Penny and the Sox were “encouraged” by the performance. Penny has been working on strengthening his right shoulder after an injury-marred 2008 with the Dodgers and has been on a slower schedule than the other starters.

“The stuff that’s coming out of his delivery, the quality, velocity, better command - it was another positive step for him,” Farrell said after the session, which was observed by starters Josh Beckett [stats], Jon Lester [stats] and Tim Wakefield [stats].
...
“That’s probably the most confident I’ve been that I can ever remember,” Buchholz said. “I definitely felt good, that was the best outing I’ve had in a long time.”

I like Buchholz' chances of making the team out of spring training, especially since we're one month from baseball and Penny is only throwing to live batters. He's got to get back into games to prove he can be trusted. This smacks of last year's Red Sox, when the team took injury-plagued Bartolo Colon and moved him to Triple-A to start the year. Buchholz struggled badly at the MLB level, eventually losing his spot in the rotation to Justin Masterson, among others. A year older, maybe he can keep the job this time.

Harden impresses; Cubs rotation taking shape

Rich Harden impressed in his first spring outing. In addition to the strong numbers for two innings of work, he snared a line drive just to the left of his head off the bat of Franklin Gutierrez.

Harden allowed two hits while striking out one, throwing 17 of his 25 pitches for strikes. Manager Lou Piniella announced before the game that Harden would be his No. 4 starter, pitching April 10 in Milwaukee.

The rotation is rounding into shape, with Ted Lilly as No. 3 and Sean Marshall likely in the fifth hole. Piniella said he would skip the fifth starter because of a day off in the first week, saving Marshall for the opening of the St. Louis series April 16 at Wrigley Field. Marshall can be available out of the bullpen the first week, assuming he's named the starter.

The only other question is who will be the Opening Day starter April 6 in Houston. Piniella has spoken to Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano, and both have said they would like to pitch that day.

"Me and Zambrano don't even talk anymore," Dempster deadpanned. "Actually, I'm just kind of digging this middle-relief role."

Sounds like Dempster is confused with his former self! The Cubs rotation is good if Harden can stay strong for 20-25 starts this year. It's even better if he's strong enough down the stretch. Jeff Samardzija would probably end up in the Cubs' bullpen, so if Harden misses any time this year a minor leaguer would need to fill out the rotation.

WBC matchups and predictions - 3/11/09

Wednesday's World Baseball Classic lines up three intriguing games:

The Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico - 5:30 pm, EST - San Juan, PR
***Does NED have one more upset left to win the Pool? Puerto Rico is playing at home.

Venezuela vs. USA - 6:30 pm, EST - Toronto, ON
***Initial head-to-head losers are 1-2 in rematches in the 2009 WBC. USA beat VEN, 15-6.

Mexico vs. Australia - 9 pm, EST - Mexico City
***Australia scored 13 unanswered runs to down Mexico, 17-7 in their first meeting.

Picks: Puerto Rico, USA and Mexico

Unfortunately, I see Australia heading home. Mexico and Cuba will vie for the Pool B title while the Americans and Puerto Ricans will avoid each other in Pool 2 with victories. If the USA gets The Netherlands in Pool 2, it will be ugly.

WBC roundup - 3/10/09

What a night for The Netherlands and baseball world wide. Not only did the Honkballers advance to Pool 2, they bounced the heavily favored Major League-laden Dominican Republic 2-1 in come-from-behind fashion. A two-run rally against Dominican closer Carlos Marmol (I can hear Cubs fans trembling about the back end of their bullpen already) left DR standing and staring while the Dutch partied in San Juan, Puerto Rico. What a scene.

You can chalk this win up there with some of the better upsets of all time. The 1980 USA hockey team defeating the Soviets is still bigger (it led the USA to the gold medal game against the best team in hockey), but this is not too far off. The Dominican Republic is probably the second best collection of talent in baseball after Team USA. The soccer upset equivalent is possibly Senegal defeating defending champion France in the 2002 World Cup.

If the first Dutch upset of the DR was a fluke, this was at least a better fluke. Upsets do happen more often in baseball. Teams that win 100 games in MLB still lose 62, but The Netherlands' win only helps build interest and intrigue for future World Baseball Classic tournaments. It's huge.

In other action, Venezuela smoked Italy, 10-1. Venezuela is on to face the Americans for seeding purposes out of Pool C. Cuba struggled to get past Australia, which is another surprising team in this year's classic. The Cubans rallied with three late runs to squeeze by, 5-4. They're qualified for Pool 1 while Australia faces Mexico in order to move on.

My kindred sports-watching spirit

Jason Snell over at TVbarn.com or TVB seems to think a lot like myself when it comes to digesting the sports world via television. In his analysis of what MLB Network means to him, Snell manages to put the aging, "rosy glow" baseball fans and Bob Costas in the correct boxes:

Many baseball fans, most of them aging, are obsessed with the rosy glow of the 20th Century (is it too soon to refer to the 20th as old news?), when baseball was truly the national sport. This is the constituency of Ken Burns' epic documentary, "Baseball," which is airing weekly on MLB Network -- the series' first appearance off of PBS.

It's also the provenance of Bob Costas, who has always professed to be an enormous baseball fan and has now proven it by switching his cable home from HBO to MLB Network. It's hard to think of Costas, who is eternally youthful in a Dick Clark kind of way, as a representative of Baseball's Olden Days. But when MLB Network plays back an NBC Game of the Week broadcast from 25 years ago -- and the network's time slots are currently filled with replays of classic baseball games of yore -- there's Costas, his voice sounding no different than it did when he anchored the Beijing Olympics last summer, calling a Cubs-Cardinals game with Tony Kubek by his side.

I've always liked Costas, but as my colleague Philip Michaels points out, he is someone who tends to speak in a tone best summed up as "the voice of the common fan and guardian of the game." It's a tone that's loved by the national-pastime crowd, but even someone who has sat through the umpteen hours of Ken Burns' documentary can probably admit that Bobby C can get a bit ponderous.

I used to like Costas, but then I watched him call the 1996 postseason. That was the end for me.

Snell also manages to dissect ESPN and its baseball shows for what they truly have become:

Know this about me: I'm not a big fan of "SportsCenter," or "Baseball Tonight," or ESPN in general. I know this puts me in the minority when it comes to sports fans, but I've long since grown tired of the catch-phrase-spewing anchor schtick and the ex-jocks whose "analysis" of games is often laughably unsupported by reality, just so they can be provocative and get in faux argumentes with other ex-jock analysts.

If you like that sort of thing, I suspect you will like MLB Network's coverage of the news, which seems to essentially be following the premise, "What if ESPN could only cover baseball?" The off-season version of MLB Network's news show, "Hot Stove," is nothing more than ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," only with more time to fill. It's even got the same neon-and-plasma-screen set design, the kind that screams "Live! From an alien spaceship!"

Snell hits it on the head, asking for more stats- or reality-oriented coverage over ex-jock talk. Agreed! Let's get intelligent, MLB Network. Find the right blend and we'll watch you forever.

World Baseball Classic Predictions - Tuesday, 3/10/09

With Pool A completed, sending South Korea and Japan to Pool 1 in as the first- and second-place seeds, respecitively, the World Baseball Classic continues Tuesday with just three games in the remaining three first-round pools.

Pool C - Toronto, Ontario - 5 pm EST
Italy (1-1) vs. Venezuela (1-1)
*The loser goes home while the winner moves on to face the USA for seeding in Pool 2

Pool D - San Juan, Puerto Rico - 6:30 pm EST
Dominican Republic (1-1) vs. The Netherlands (1-1)
*Another elimination game as NED meets a DR team in search of revenge. Duck!

Pool B - Mexico City - 8 pm EST
Cuba (1-0) vs. Australia (1-0)
*The loser lives to fight another day, but the winner gets through in minimal games.

I'm picking Venezuela, The Dominican Republic and Cuba to all advance. I know, not very sexy picks, but these are some of the most obvious matchups so far in the tournament.

WBC Monday roundup

A good day of baseball in WBC action. I only got half of my four predictions correct. I guess I'm batting .500. Not bad.

In Pool A, the South Koreans defeated Japan 1-0 to clinch the top seed for Pool 1 in the second round. I've already documented that I'm feeling for the Japanese in that matter.

In Pool C, Italy defeated Canada, 6-2, knocking the host Canadians out of the tournament on their home turf! Ouch! This a major disappointment for Canada, which had a stellar lineup but suspect pitching. Neither came through in the loss. Italy now takes a stab at even better competition as they face Venezuela in a qualifier for Pool 2 and a right to face the USA for top seed in the group.

In Pool D, a good win for Puerto Rico, coming back with three runs in the 8th to upend another Dutch upset bid, 3-1. The Netherlands mustered just five hits and just one of them for extra bases. That's often recipe for few runs. Puerto Rico advances while the dutch must now go through a revenge-minded Dominican Republic team to qualify for Pool 2.

In Pool B, Mexico eliminates South Africa, 14-3 and awaits the winner between Cuba and Australia for another elimination/advancement game.

Another ailing Santana

Ervin Santana will open the year on the disabled list thanks to discomfort in his throwing elbow. The Angels right hander enjoyed a breakout 2008 season, but now faces uncertainty in 2009.

An MRI scan traced discomfort in his pitching elbow to a sprained medial collateral ligament, the team said on its website (http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/).

"We'll slow him down, let the stuff in his elbow calm down, and go from there," manager Mike Scioscia said.

"We don't anticipate that it's the sort of setback that will cost him an appreciable part of the season."

The 26-year-old Santana, a native of the Dominican Republic, was 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA in 2008 for the Angels, who won the American League West with a 100-62 record.

Santana slotted nicely behind John Lackey for a 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. This is certainly another blow to Los Angeles, which lost Mark Teixeira and failed to sign CC Sabathia in the offseason. Had Bobby Abreu not decided on a late signing this might have been a complete loss of an offseason.

Fantasy Impact: Santana slips into that gray area of potential keeper. He doesn't have a complete body of work, but his one good season is borderline greatness. Now that he's hurt, protecting him in only the deepest of keeper rosters makes sense.

Selig still twisting

Maury Brown rips Bud Selig for Bud's stance of "What, not me" with regard to steroid culpability. He then goes a step further in criticizing Selig's minor league steroid numbers from the past couple of seasons.

Secondly, I took Selig to task for this comment in an earlier AP article:

“What I could do unilaterally, I did almost immediately,” Selig said, pointing to a minor league testing program started in 2001.

Fewer than 1 percent of minor leaguers now test positive for banned drugs, down from 9.1 percent in 2001, he said.

The figures being cited by Selig regarding the minor league tests were what I examined and thought might not be fully accurate, based upon the sudden influx of players out of the Dominican Summer League that caused positive PED suspensions to rise of 128 percent from 2007 to 2008 in minor league suspensions.

Could the players in the DSL under the minor league testing program be included as part of Selig’s comments? Reached for comment, MLB spokesman Rich Levin confirmed that Selig’s comments were in regard to players in the minor leagues outside of the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues.

Based upon this, it is clear that MLB’s next frontier on eradicating PEDs from baseball centers on associated leagues in South America and the Caribbean. If not for the 49 players from the DSL and VSL suspensions, only 17 players stateside would have been reported as suspended for PEDs, a decline of 41 percent from 2007 to 2008, as opposed to the 128 percent increase.

Selig is going to go down as the George W. Bush of baseball commissioners -- always fumbling, always spinning. He's as guilty as anyone with regard to the steroid years. He was in charge, and it happened on his watch. Enough said.

MLB still not Sirius

There's a lot of wrangling that goes on in negotiating media contracts, and that's become the case between MLB and Sirius satellite radio. Despite the fact that Sirius merged with XM, baseball's satellite carrier last year, Sirius does not not have the right to broadcast MLB games. They're trying to negotiate a multi-million dollar deal with baseball for those rights even as they stare bankruptcy squarely in the eye.

MLB already has the richest satellite radio contract of any sports league, getting, on average, $59 million a year. By comparison, the NFL’s deal with Sirius averages to $31 million a year and NASCAR’s Sirius deal averages $21 million a year. The NBA’s rights fee is not known.

But baseball is taking a hard stance, believing that the volume of its game programming and its traditional appeal make it more valuable to satellite radio. Industry analysts also believe that this could be baseball’s last chance to have leverage with Sirius XM. Baseball’s deal ends in 2015.

“There definitely won’t be any bidding wars for these sports rights next time,” said David Kestenbaum, an analyst with Morgan Joseph & Co. who covers satellite radio.

Part of the reason is the lack of satellite radio competition. In July, federal regulators approved the merger after a 17-month review period, cutting the number of satellite radio companies from two to one. The merger takes away a rival bidder that could have driven up prices.

Then there’s the precarious financial position of the satellite radio company, whose shares were trading at less than 15 cents last week. Last month, Liberty Media Corp. helped the company avoid bankruptcy when it agreed to pay $530 million in loans in return for a 40 percent stake.

Kestenbaum said that the Sirius XM does not have the money to keep paying so much in rights fees.

“I thought the original MLB deal was a foolish one for XM,” Kestenbaum said. “I don’t think enough new subscribers signed up to justify paying $60 million per year.”

Despite the issues over financing, league partners still have gotten paid. As part of its MLB deal signed in 2004, XM put two years’ worth of rights fee payments — $120 million — into an escrow account to guard against pending bankruptcy, sources said.

The NFL made a similar deal with Sirius, demanding that money be set aside in an escrow account.

For its part, Sirius XM Satellite Radio remains optimistic that a deal can be worked out by Opening Day.

“Discussions are ongoing with Major League Baseball and we remain hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement that will allow Sirius subscribers to hear the games,” a Sirius XM spokesman said.

A Sirius subscriber, I must admit I'd like the ability to hear baseball games. I'd expect a deal to be worked out, but how can Sirius continue to operate in this manner -- doling out millions while their shares plummet? Maybe they hope dragging in a baseball audience that will maintain a loyal following for six months out of the year can be their financial savior. I wouldn't bet on that being enough.

South Korea wins Pool A

South Korea took advantage of needing just one win over undefeated Japan, advancing as the top seed from Pool A in a 1-0 nail-biter in Tokyo. Despite defeating the South Korean team 14-2 in a mercy rule game just two days earlier, Japan winds up second in the pool, even with a 14-3 aggregate score over the Koreans.

As I outlined earlier, this doesn't seem fair to Japan, but with pitching limits strictly enforced in the World Baseball Classic, asking two teams to play a one-off championship after South Korea got even would seem to be a sticking point.

Now, if favored Cuba gets through Pool B in first place it could set up a second round opener between the Cubans and Japanese, a rematch of the 2006 WBC title game.

Gagne released by Milwaukee

So much for Eric Gagne's second reclamation attempt with the Milwaukee Brewers. The team released him on Sunday, ending his chance to become Trevor Hoffman's setup man.

The Brewers released Gagné from his minor-league contract Sunday because he had no chance to make their club in spring training after being sidelined with an ailing shoulder. A recent MRI revealed fraying in both the labrum and rotator cuff.

Gagné, 33, signed a minor-league deal at the outset of camp that guaranteed him a $1.5 million contract if added to the Brewers' roster by March 26. The thinking was that he'd serve in a set-up role for closer Trevor Hoffman if he pitched well enough in camp.

But Gagné never made it to the mound. First he came down with a sore calf, then the shoulder problem. Assistant general manager Gord Ash said Gagné decided to try to avoid surgery with a conservative approach of cortisone injection and physical therapy at a local clinic.

"Rather than have him rehab over on the minor-league side, it'll be better if he's in that environment," Ash said.

Ash said the Brewers would love to have Gagne a part of their bullpen when he gets healthy. Problem is, will he get healthy again this year? My guess is Gagne doesn't play in a single game at the MLB level in 2009. He's too risky a pickup for anyone contending, and he's old enough that youth-minded teams will probably take a pass.

Teahen rumored to Yankees

Alex Rodriguez's decision to have surgery is fueling rumors that the Yankees may have interest in acquiring Kansas City's Mark Teahen to play third. Both teams refute the legitimacy of that rumor.

Royals officials, for now, are brushing off the speculation, and general manager Dayton Moore has long maintained that Teahen is more valuable now to the club than in previous years because of his versatility.

“What I’m hoping,” one Royals official said, “is they sign (second baseman Mark) Grudzielanek. That way, we get a (compensatory) draft pick.”

Teahen, 27, is currently playing third base for Canada in the World Baseball Classic but spent his last two seasons in the outfield. He shifted his focus this spring to second base after the acquisition of Coco Crisp knocked him out of a starting job.

Moore declined to address the trade rumor Sunday amid indications the Yankees are intensifying their search for a temporary third baseman. Rodriguez is expected to miss six to nine weeks after undergoing surgery today to repair a torn labrum in his right hip.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman downplayed interest in Teahen, telling MLB.com: “We have not had any discussions internally about that.”

If Teahen or Grudzielanek ends up with the Yankees would either of them play third? Maybe the Yankees opt instead to slot Robinson Cano in place of A-Rod at third. When A-Rod returns they reshuffle to start the hottest player at second.

Pool play unfair to early winners at WBC

I like the double-elimination format the World Baseball Classic adopted for this year's tournament, but I'm confused with the opportunity for a loser-bracket team to beat an undefeated team just once to earn the top seed coming out of the pool. Japan beat South Korea 14-2 in pool play, sending South Korea to the losers bracket, but now that SK has earned the chance to play Japan in the tournament finale, they only need one victory to earn first-place honors over the Japanese? That doesn't seem fair to Japan, especially if South Korea wins by fewer than 12 runs.

Furthermore, Japan won 14-2 in 7 innings, a mercy rule victory. If a tiebreaker is applied to a SK victory in the final game of the pool, should Korea be forced to win by more runs in just as many innings?

The obvious remedy, which would avoid the need for a tiebreaker altogether, is to schedule a double-header if the Koreans happen to beat the Japanese in game six, thereby creating a one-off championship for the top seed out of the bracket. I'm guessing this was not explored because of overuse of pitchers, especially when the tournament mandates strict pitch-count limits.

That said, there are some big games Monday in pool play:

Pool A: South Korea vs. Japan, 5:30 am EST
*Winner earns top seed from pool & likely avoids Cuba in game one of Pool 1

Pool B: Mexico vs. South Africa, 10 am EST
*Loser becomes first to exit pool; winner meets Cuba or Australia

Pool C: Italy vs. Canada, 5:30 pm EST
*Loser becomes first to exit pool; winner meets Venezuela to qualify for Pool 2

Pool D: The Netherlands vs. Puerto Rico, 6:30 pm EST
*Winner advances to Pool 2 and likely avoids USA in game one; loser meets D.R.

My picks:
Japan over South Korea - Japan earns first place in Pool A
Mexico over South Africa - SA heads home while Mexico meets Australia for survival
Canada over Italy - The Italians exit pool play, but Canada gets a shot at Venezuela
Puerto Rico over The Netherlands - The Dominican Republic gets a chance for revenge

USA, Australia roll

Team USA poured it on with an eight-run sixth inning to blow by Venezuela, 15-6 and clinch a spot in round two of the World Baseball Classic. Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn each launched their second home run of the tournament.

The USA now waits for Canada, Italy and Venezuela to sort out which one vies for the top seed from Pool C. I'm going to go with Venezuela out of those three.

Australia, meanwhile, beat up on an MLB-laden Mexico lineup, 17-7 in Mexico City. The Aussies piled up 22 hits, scored 13 runs after the fourth inning, and scored at least three runs in five different innings. They get Cuba in the winners bracket of Pool B.

I'm going with Cuba in that one.

Dominican Republic sends Panama packing

The Dominican Republic rebounded from an embarrassing loss to The Netherlands, shutting out Panama, 9-0. Panama is the first team from Pool D to be eliminated. Miguel Olivo powered out two home runs while Nelson Cruz added a third.

And what is it about Johnny Cueto in the month of March? Inferior competition? Cueto worked 4 2/3 innings, striking out five to pick up the win. He allowed three hits and walked one. The Reds would like to see more of that in the regular season.

The Mexican Coors Field

Cuba is taking on South Africa at Foro Sol in Mexico City. The stadium is 7,345 feet about sea level. That's over 2,000 feet higher than the thin-aired Coors Field in Denver. The stadium features fences at 417 to center, 326 down the line to left and 333 down the line to right. That makes it two feet deeper to straightaway center, but much shorter to the gaps and corners than Coors.

You can imagine how the ball might carry at Foro Sol, and it has already. Frederich Cepeda hit an opposite field home run in the first inning to give Cuba a 1-0 lead.

Update (1:48 pm CST): The rare air is proving to be a problem for South African starter Barry Armitage. Frederich Cepeda lifted a two-run, opposite-field home run to right in the second inning. It's 3-0 Cuba.

Update (2:01 pm CST: Cepeda just homered again. This one was a no-doubter. It was a pull shot to right that didn't need the help of thin air. 5-0 Cuba in the third.

Update (2:33 pm CST: Hector Olivera homers the opposite way to right to lead off the Cuban half of the 5th. Another home run potentially aided by altitude. 6-0 Cuba.

Update (6:44 pm CST: The Cubans end up with six home runs, although South Africa did get on the board in the ninth. Cuba wins, 8-1.

South Korea advances from Pool A

After a 14-2 whipping by Japan, South Korea bounced back with a 14-0 shutout of China to advance to round two of the World Baseball Classic. The Koreans join Japan to repeat their respective advancement from 2006. That year Japan won the classic, eliminating South Korea in the semifinals.

South Korea and Japan now battle each other to determine seeding for the second round.

A-Rod opts for surgery

Alex Rodriguez has decided on immediate hip surgery. He's going to miss at least the rest of spring training at the first month of the regular season.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, hip specialist Marc Philippon and team physician Chris Ahmad made the announcement in a conference call.

"The goal here is to allow Alex to rehab rapidly in a safe manner," Philippon said, "by just going in arthroscopically, repairing his labrum and part of the impingement."

After the year, Philippon plans to do a more complete surgery that could require up to four months of rehabilitation. Rodriguez's labrum tear is technically described as a femoroacteabular impingement (FAI), which involves too much friction in the hip joint. He has two types of impingement, "pincer" and "cam," and Philippon will only repair the pincer impingement on Monday.

Philippon said he is confident "in the 85-to-90 percent level" that Rodriguez will be able to get through the season healthy after this surgery. Philippon, the Yankees and Rodriguez all feel that this intermediate approach will keep both their short-term and long-term interests intact. Rodriguez is entering the second season of a 10-year, $275-million contract, so the Yankees want him healthy not only this year but for the eight following seasons.

A-Rod would have to undergo a more invasive surgery after the baseball season to fully repair the torn labrum in his right hip.

Fantasy Analysis: Expect A-Rod's numbers to drop at least a sixth this season and perhaps more. There's not guarantee that he'll come back at optimum form, and there's still the outside chance that he misses even more time. Consider A-Rod an injury-risk third baseman capable of hitting around .300 and 30 home runs. He's most likely a third round pick at this point.

Who is Mike Johnson?

If you were wondering who the heck Canada's Mike Johnson was and why he was starting against a powerful Team USA, here's the answer. Johnson not only pitched in the major leagues, he had an impressive year in China.

The 33-year-old right-hander from Edmonton, who last pitched in the majors as a member of the 2001 Montreal Expos, was considering calling it a career before last season as he continued to struggle coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2005.

But Johnson decided to give it one last shot when the La New Bears of Taiwan called. Then, "for some reason, my arm just kind of went over a hump," he recalled yesterday.

Johnson went 20-2 with a 2.45 ERA and won the Chinese Professional Baseball League MVP.

Johnson looked like the right choice when he struck out Chipper Jones and David Wright to end the first, but he eventually faltered giving up two home runs and four runs in four innings. In the end, he earned the loss, 6-5.

All of Trader Jim's deals

Nationals GM Jim Bowden resigned on March 1, leaving his position vacant as Washington closes in on the 2009 season. His shoes will be big to fill. MLB Trade Rumors says "Trader Jim" made 168 deals during him time as a GM with both Cincinnati and Washington. That's a lot of activity from one GM.

Rapidly aging Guerrero

Vladimir Guerrero is one year older than previously thought. He's 34, not 33.

In a morning interview session with reporters, Scioscia said Guerrero's October surgery to clean out scar tissue and repair cartilage damage in his right knee could "point to a guy maybe turning back the clock a couple of years."

Relayed that quote through an interpreter, Guerrero smiled and said, "I feel good. I can't say [like] 25, because, you know, I'm 34. But I feel a lot better. That's where I'm at right now."

The Angels list Guerrero's birth date as Feb. 9, 1976, which would make him 33. Guerrero admitted to a team executive later in the day that he was born on the same date in 1975, making him 34.

The team plans to change the media guide to reflect Guerrero's correct age.

Though Guerrero, as it turns out, is one of hundreds of players from the Dominican Republic who faked their age when signing contracts with major league teams, the timing of Friday's discovery could be costly.

Guerrero, who will make $15 million this season, is in the final year of a contract, and any new extension he signs probably will be for one less year than he would have signed for, which would cost him millions.

I'm wondering if Vlad might be even older than 34.

Fantasy Impact: This revelation means Guerrero's slip in numbers last season might not be an off year as much as it could be the beginning of the end. His .521 SLG and .302 AVG were his worst since 1997. His 27 home runs matched his 2008 total, but both were also his worst since '97 when he only played a half-season. Guerrero is still a viable fantasy option, but he's no longer a second-round draft pick. If he slips to round five, however, Guerrero could be a major steal, especially if offseason knee surgery helps him bounce back.

Venezuela kings Italy

Felix Hernandez looked like the king of the hill Saturday in Toronto. The Venezuelan ace over matched Team Italy, striking out four in four innings on the way to a 7-0 victory. King Felix gave up just three base runners.

Hernandez looks like he's dropped weight. He was in solid form, and might be able to put up some gaudy fantasy numbers. He's only 23, and he's already won 39 MLB games.

Anyone think the Italians uniforms looked like the Dodgers?

Japan jumps Korea

Japan whipped Korea 14-2 to become the first team to advance from pool play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

All five MLB players in the Japanese starting lineup contributed in the lopsided win: Ichiro recorded three hits and three runs. Kenji Johjima had three hits, two runs and two RBI. Kosuke Fukudome had a hit and a run. Akinori Iwamura scored twice on a pair of walks.

Daisuke Matsuzaka picked up the win, giving up two runs in four innings.

Puerto Rico rips Panama

Pudge Rodriguez certainly took to auditioning for a MLB job. He hit two home runs for Puerto Rico, going 4-4 in his home country's 7-0 win over Panama. Pudge contributed three runs and four RBI.

John Kruk mentioned Houston, Florida and the NY Mets as the three teams he expects to contend for Rodriguez's services behind the plate. Houston especially should give Pudge a look. Look at the bind they got into last year with the J.R. Towles experiment.

Also worth a mention: Carlos Delgado had three hits and a homer in four at bats. Delgado took a lot of heat for his inabilities early last season. Everyone said his bat looked slow and he was no longer the power hitter he once was. Then Delgado went nuts in the second half, hitting 27 home runs and driving in 80 runs in his last 84 games. He looked far from washed up.

Team USA defeates Canada

Team USA got off on the right foot with a 6-5 win over Canada, but it was a tough win. The Canadians have a nice lineup with Russell Martin, Joey Votto, Justin Morneau and Jason Bay occupying the No. 2 thru 5 slots. Votto stole the show with a 4-5 afternoon, including a home run and a ninth-inning RBI double to halve the American lead at 6-5. J.J. Putz, however, was able to get out of his own jam for the save.

The USA now plays the winner of Italy and Venezuela.

Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn and Brian McCann provided the power for Team USA, each connecting for a home run. The three bombs accounted for five of the six American runs. I don't think they're necessarily a station-to-station team, however, and the USA should be manufacture runs with probably the best lineup in the classic.

One more note on Votto. The Canadian coaching staff must be very high on him if they're willing to bat Votto ahead of Morneau and Bay in the third slot.

Dutch Treat even with Dominican dominance on the hill

Quite the shocker in the WBC. The Dominican Republic fell to the Netherlands, 3-2, despite DR pitching staff holding the Netherlands to three hits. In fact, the Dutch team struggled to make solid contact, failing to record an extra base hit. Two first-inning errors led to a three-run first from which the Dominicans never recovered.

With Randall Simon and Gene Kingsale the only Dutch players in the starting lineup with significant MLB experience, DR pitchers mostly had their way. Edinson Volquez struggled with the strike zone at times, missing the zone with 21 of his 58 pitches. He still managed three strike outs in three innings.

Pedro Martinez looked better than Volquez, zipping 32 strikes on 40 pitches. He struck out four in three innings, giving up just one hit. There was no gun available in the telecast, but here's guessing this outing turned the heads of several scouts regardless of the velocity.

Velez might get to run

With Dave Roberts released by the San Francisco Giants, a roster spot opens for one of a number of younger players. A San Francisco Chronicle writer thinks that slot has Eugenio Velez's name all over it.

This is a really good sign for Eugenio Velez, the team's most influential baserunner and a potential backup at either second base or the outfield. It now seems likely that Velez will make the team, if for no other reason than the speed he brings off the bench.

Velez still fights for time with Emmanuel Burris and Kevin Frandsen. That means his fantasy value is limited to steals until he cracks the lineup on a regular basis. Even then he might be limited to merely stolen bases.

Still don't bet on Tampa

The Tampa Bay Rays have certainly moved up in the world. Last year the Rays faced some of the longest odds in baseball in terms of winning the world series. Many sports books had the Rays between 150/1 and 200/1. This year, Bodog has Tampa at 18/1 odds.

The Yankees, at 4/1, are odds-on favorites. The Red Sox follow with 13/2 odds. That means Bodog doesn't expect Tampa to make the playoffs.

In the National League, the Cubs own the best odds at 17/2 with the Phillies coming in second at 14/1.

No naming rights, at least on these jerseys

There's no such thing as freedom of speech when it comes to buying personalized jerseys from MLB.com. There you can get A-Rod's No. 13 jersey with almost anything you like on it, but don't ask for A-Fraud. That's a no-no.

Any fan hoping to make fun of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez can no longer get a No. 13 Yankees jersey with the word "A-Fraud" on the back.

MLB.com has banned the new A-Rod nickname from the personalization feature on replica jerseys on MLB.com. MLB.com spokesman Matt Gould told CNBC that the league does not allow fans to personalize products with anything that is deemed inappropriate, derogatory or profane.

Fans haven't been able to personalize their jerseys on the site with the word "steroids" since 2005, but as of this afternoon, fans can get A-Rod's drug of choice, "Boli," on the back of jerseys. They can also get "Sucart," the last name of A-Rod's cousin, who has been part of the story.

Here's guessing "Boli" and "Sucart" won't draw nearly the interested that A-Fraud was getting.

Requesting the Cubs

An interesting article at MinnPost.com explains how baseball scheduling is done today. I had no idea that teams make special solicitations as specific as requesting the Cubs for a home series.

It's far too late to make any radical changes to the 2009 Major League Baseball schedule. So Twins President Dave St. Peter offered two special requests to pass along to the firm that produces the 2010 sked: No road trips longer than nine games, and one interleague visit by the Cubs. "Because they do draw fans," St. Peter said.

Stunning, really. The article goes on to explain that most requests are more substantial, such as the Rockies needing to be out of Denver during last year's Democratic National Convention. Makes sense.

America or else

Tommy Lasorda gave Team USA a pep talk prior to the World Baseball Classic.

"We cannot allow those clubs to beat us. It's our game," the former Los Angeles Dodgers manager said Thursday. "Remember one thing: In your hearts, you better pull for the USA or you may not get into heaven."

"It's our game. Baseball is America's game. It doesn't belong to the Italians or the Cubans or the Koreans or the Japanese," he said. "It's our game, and we're not going to let them beat us."

Lasorda might be xenophobic when it comes to baseball, but he's willing to flip the switch for this year's world tournament despite his hostility toward everyone but the USA.

Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager and Classic global ambassador, was there with Major League Baseball executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan and Empire State Building general manager Jim Connors for the official lighting ceremony of the Classic.

That evening, once the sun dipped below the Hudson River to the west, the Empire State Building was geared up to shine red, green, blue and yellow on each of the four sides of the building in honor of the World Baseball Classic colors.

"The colors on the building shows it's big-time," said Lasorda. "All of the country now will know about the Classic."

Yes, all of the country, indeed. Not all of the world. I'm guessing Lasorda wished that building was made up of the three primary colors. Well, his three primary colors of red, white and blue.

Fat Fausto

It's hip to have a hip problem, and Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was well ahead of the trend with last year's hobbler which caused him to miss two months. It's not the hip, however, that was the concern when Cleveland opened spring training.

Fausto Carmona said he did report to spring training overweight, but is in better condition now.

"I've lost a few pounds," said Carmona, dripping sweat after his postgame sprints Wednesday. "I'm feeling much better."

Carmona, listed at 6-4 and 230 pounds, threw two scoreless innings Wednesday in the Tribe's 5-4 exhibition victory over the Cubs.

"Mentally, I've been just trying to throw the ball to the middle of the plate and not try to do too much," said Carmona, who walked 70 and struck out 58 last year.

If Carmona isn't keeping his weight in check, his stats could continue to take that hip check they suffered last year.

Fantasy Analysis: Two years ago, Carmona was hip as a fantasy staff ace. He won 19 games, and he finished fourth in Cy Young voting. His numbers, however, did not overwhelm. He gives up a high number of base runners for a top-tier pitcher, and he doesn't strike people out. At best, Carmona is a three-category starter in a five-category league, and that's if he can keep that WHIP down. He's no better than a middle-round option at this point.

Skipping on Schumaker

The Cardinals' "Schumaker at second" project continues with the pint-sized outfielder adjusting to his assignment in the pivot.

Schumaker misplayed a couple of routine choppers Sunday, suffering the first setback in his transition from outfield back to infield.

“Those ground balls the other day are outs,” Schumaker said. “Pitchers expect those balls to be out and so do I. So I have to get that down.”

On the first play, he stayed back on the ball, then rushed his catch-and-flip to get the force-out at second base. He cuffed the ball as a result.

On the second play, Schumaker backed up on a chopper -– and the last bounce ate him alive.

“Once I backed up, I was praying the ball would go into my glove,” he said after the game. “It didn’t.”

Good luck, Schu. Here's hoping for your sake things work out, but I'm not entirely certain you're the right fit for the Redbirds at second long-term. And it's not your glove I'm worried about. It's your bat.

My point about Schumaker's bat is this: last season the average Major Leaguer hit .260 with a slugging percentage of .413. That means a player's isolated slugging percentage was 153 points higher than his batting average. Schumaker's ISOSLG was just 104 points above his batting average (.406-.302=.104). He gets slap hits, but a .300 hitter without pop has a lot less impact on a game than a guy who hits .280 with average power.

Neither Adam Kennedy (.092 SLG) nor Aaron Miles (.081 ISOSLG) were better options than Schumaker bat-wise at second for St. Louis. That said, Schumaker offers very little pop, and his lack of base stealing and less-than-ideal OBA for hitting leadoff (.359) make him expendable down the road.

In fact, all of these second baseman put up better "pop" numbers than Schumaker last season (ISOSLG):

Mike Fontenot, CHC (.167)
Ricky Weeks, MIL (.161)
Kaz Matsui, HOU (.134)

That's just the NL Central. Freddie Sanchez, PIT (.100) was the only 2B in the Central with less pop than Schu last year, but his career ISOSLG is .117. Schumaker's minor league ISOSLG is only .095.

That said, the Cardinals must be considering Schumaker their best option right now at second base but not necessarily for the future, and certainly not considering he is already 29. You can find players much younger than Schu who have more upside. I like Skip, but not enough to bank on him long-term.

Nasty Boys part II?

All three of the Cardinals closing candidates -- Chris Perez, Jason Motte and Ryan Franklin -- looked good against the Dominican Republic today.

Veteran Ryan Franklin, dazzling in his first outing, retired all six men he faced. Young Chris Perez, who had struggled in his first two outings, had a perfect inning; Josh Kinney, who had walked four hitters in two previous innings, didn't walk anybody and Jason Motte worked his third straight scoreless inning.

That has me wondering: might the Cardinals end up going with a three-man closer like the Cincinnati Reds of yesteryear? I'm not saying Perez / Motte / Franklin will ever be as talented as Randy Myers / Rob Dibble / Norm Charlton, but maybe it's time to bring back the three-headed committee approach.

Now that I look at it, Charlton wasn't much of a closer. Myers did most of the work for the 1990 Reds while Dibble closed out more games in 1991. Tim Layana equaled Charlton with two saves in '90! Ted Power had the third most for Cincy in '91 with three. What a bullpen!

Can the Cardinals-Pedro talk

The buzz centered around a meeting between the Cardinals and Pedro Martinez on Thursday morning, but as soon as the headlines rolled around for Friday, it was over. Pedro Martinez is not, and will not become, a closer candidate for the Redbirds (last graph).

Intrigue over approaching former Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez as a potential closer will go no farther. The club now views projected set-up man Ryan Franklin as its alternative to Chris Perez and Jason Motte should the younger pitchers not assert themselves this spring.

Something tells me Pedro still wants to start. If he can get a gig as a fifth starter somewhere else, he'll take it.

Fantasy Impact: Much has been made of Jason Motte's makeup as a future closer, but what's not to like about Perez? This battle could go on and on and on.

Banged-up BoSox on the mend

It must be hip to have a hip problem. First Chase Utley, then A-Rod and then, well, before A-Rod, actually, there was Mike Lowell.

Lowell is progressing nicely from right hip surgery and could play his first exhibition game "within a week," according to manager Terry Francona.

"We're getting into that area now where we can maybe think about DHing [him] a couple of at-bats, and then [have him] play third," Francona said. "But I bet you were getting close enough where it will be within a week. He's doing good. He's doing fine. He's running the bases. Every step he's supposed to do, he's done. We'll do our best to ease him in as much as we can where he gets comfortable baseball-wise."

The Red Sox need Lowell now as much as ever. He was really their fallback option at third this season when any chance to sign Mark Teixeira was nixed when the Yankees signed him. If Tex went to Boston, Kevin Youkilis would slide to third and Lowell would be the odd man out.

J.D. Drew is also back to baseball after a cortisone shot in his back.

In fact, Drew said that his lower back has been at its best of late when he's on the field. It's normally when he's sitting at home or doing some other idle activity when it tightens up.

"It seemed like the more I got it loose and moving around, I wasn't really having any issues out there playing," said Drew. "That was encouraging. But it is aggravating to be sitting at home and what we call dancing in the chair, back and forth, trying to get in a position that doesn't really stiffen up. I had good days and bad days, and hopefully, this will give me the benefit of getting freed up and having a lot of good days."

The purpose of the shot was to get some scar tissue out of the facet joint and reduce the inflammation.

Drew played just 109 games last season with injury problems, but he did hit the 140-game mark each of the two seasons prior.

Fantasy Impact: Drew and Lowell are big time gambles in fantasy ball this year. If you draft one of the two, chances are you got them as a high risk, high reward type in the second half of your draft. Take other third baseman and outfielders before drafting Lowell or Drew. Ideally, Lowell is more of a corner infielder or a backup while Drew is a fourth outfielder who hits like a No. 3 if he can hit that 140-game plateau.

Yankees third base options

Peter Gammons, commenting on the possibility of Alex Rodriguez missing an extended period of time this season with his hip injury, brought up two possible trade candidates for New York in terms of replacement third baseman. Adrian Beltre, who's coming back from a shoulder problem, is likely on the block in Seattle. Garrett Atkins, who has a one year deal through 2009 in Colorado might also be attainable via trade.

Update: Oddly enough, Atkins was scratched from today's Rockies game due to a hip flexor injury.

If A-Rod can't come back...

Boston's coverage of Alex Rodriguez's hip injury included this forward-looking musing on the outside chance that the ailment becomes career-threatening.

The Rodriguez news, changing by the hour, has more immediate impact on the Sox. A-Rod seems certain to miss the beginning of the season, could be out until late summer, and may have a career-threatening condition with $275 million still owed from the Yankees.

While that money could impact the Yankees over the years, with YES Network money and the New Yankee Stadium set to open in April, I don't see New York entering any financial straits, perhaps, ever.

Winners and losers in Manny deal

I find the LA Times coverage of Manny Ramirez's signing odd, if not overly cynical. The Times' headline on Wednesday's agreement between the Dodgers and Ramirez: Manny Ramirez deal with Dodgers: Who won?

Bill Plaschke says Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti was the big winner, "correctly reading the market and holding firm despite a winter's worth of criticism.''

You can follow Plaschke, by the way, at twitter.com/latbillplaschke.

Jeff Passan of YahooSports! writes that all the stalling still didn't give the Dodgers enough time to recognize "the gravity of their mistake.''

As for Ramirez, he reportedly will appear at a news conference tomorrow in Arizona, but he spoke to T.J. Simers last night and revealed that he was close to returning to Mannywood.

I guess it's not just the paper that has the cynical view of the deal being between enemy combatants "The Dodgers" and "Manny Ramirez." Jeff Passan obviously sees it that way, too, that the Dodgers and Ramirez were at war over the contract, and there's obviously a winner and a loser between the two.

That's hard to say, and it's not really what negotiating is about. I remember early on in my career, when negotiating my work contracts, I was told the best deal resulted in both sides feeling like they could've done better, meaning each gave a little to get closer to what they wanted. What someone wants vs. what they get is not necessarily winning and losing. It's what's attainable vs. what isn't attainable at the time. The Dodgers, in a bad economy, decided they could only spend so much. Manny Ramirez found he couldn't get more money elsewhere and took the best offer he could get from Los Angeles.

There's no winner or loser here. Ramirez got a ton of money ($45M over 2 years). The Dodgers got one of the top offense outfielders in baseball. If anyone lost, it is the National League West, and perhaps whoever else offered up Ramirez a contract.

Even with a torn labrum A-Rod should shine

So Alex Rodriguez will attempt to play through pain. A torn labrum in his right hip could eventually require surgery, but A-Rod will tough it out for now.

"There's two courses of action concerning what he has," Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said Thursday from Tampa, Fla. "There is treat it conservatively, which would imply rest, exercise and treatment. Or you can treat it aggressively, which is by surgery. At this point in time, we are going to go the conservative route."

There have been comparisons of A-Rod's injury to Chase Utley's. Utley played last year with his own hip injury and is just getting back to playing baseball again after surgery in late November.

Recently we have seen other high-profile baseball players undergo surgery to address labral injuries, including Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. Utley, for one, had labral surgery in late November and is optimistic that he'll be ready for Opening Day. "Optimistic" is not "certain," though, and the time lapse between Utley's surgery and Opening Day will be about 19 weeks.

So, let's see how much Utley's numbers suffered from 2007 to 2008 to see what kind of impact we might see in A-Rod's 2009 season, assuming he can play through the pain like Utley did.

Utley
2006 - AB: 658 R: 131 HR: 32 RBI: 102 SB: 15 OBA: .379 SLG: .527 AVG: .309
2007 - AB: 530 R: 104 HR: 22 RBI: 103 SB: 9 OBA: .410 SLG: .566 AVG: .332
2008 - AB: 607 R: 113 HR: 33 RBI: 104 SB: 14 OBA: .380 SLG: .535 AVG: .292

A-Rod
2006 - AB: 572 R: 113 HR: 35 RBI: 121 SB: 15 OBA: .392 SLG: .523 AVG: .290
2007 - AB: 583 R: 143 HR: 54 RBI: 156 SB: 24 OBA: .422 SLG: .645 AVG: .314
2008 - AB: 510 R: 104 HR: 35 RBI: 103 SB: 18 OBA: .392 SLG: .573 AVG: .302

Utley's numbers over the past two years were most significantly impacted with his broken hand back in 2007. That injury caused him to miss several weeks in the late summer, retarding what might have been a career year. That said, Utley might've been on a growth trend that was further retarded in 2008 with the hip injury. His numbers in 2008 included a better slugging percentage than in 2006 and a better batting average, showing that despite the hip injury he was still playing at a very high level.

Of note: Utley stole 14 bases in 2008 despite the hip problem, which was just a couple of bags short of his career high and one short of his 2006 total when he batted 51 more times.

Fantasy Impact: If he can tolerate the pain, A-Rod has every ability to play with this injury and play well. Utley did not experience much of an impact in terms of matching his stellar numbers from previous seasons. A-Rod shouldn't either. If you think it's worth risking an eventual surgery or midseason shutdown, A-Rod is still a first round draft pick and high-end candidate to anchor your fantasy team's offense.

Matty and the mic

MLB Network just gained a little notoriety thanks to Matt Vasgersian. He curses. On TV. Viewer discretion is advised...

Pre-mature Manny?

The LA Times published a report titled "Manny Ramirez is back with the Dodgers," which was removed from the Times website several minutes later.

Could this mean that something's changed again in the Manny saga? Just saying...

Mid-season WBC games?

Tovin Lapan believes the World Baseball Classic needs to follow other world sporting competitions (his example is soccer's World Cup) and become a mid-season tournament rather than a spring afterthought.

It will need to take some tips from soccer's World Cup, one of the greatest sporting events around, to truly capture the attention of the baseball world:

1. Too many players sit out the WBC for dubious reasons because their loyalty to their ballclub and the signer of their checks still trumps playing for their country.

2. Even baseball fans would struggle to recall that Japan won the first WBC, and South Korea won the 2008 Olympic gold medal, but every soccer fan knows that Italy won the last World Cup and Spain is the reigning Euro Cup champ. Baseball fans need to get more familiar with international squads, which will come with increased exposure.

3. Once the WBC does gain the type of notoriety mentioned in points 1 and 2, then it will be able to suspend the MLB schedule in order to hold the games. If the Classic were held when players were at their peak, say in the middle of the traditional season, instead of in pre-season when they are just getting back into shape, the quality of play would be better and the games more exciting. After all, the NHL suspends its season for the Winter Olympics, and European soccer leagues work around the World Cup.

There are all sorts of problems with these points, including the fact that soccer takes a much different toll on the body than baseball does, and rarely does a team play more than two games in a week in soccer. But the biggest problem with the WBC is its lack of tradition. World Cups in soccer are nearly as old as the sport itself. When there were no multi-million dollar contracts from club teams, soccer players felt more of a loyalty to playing for the national team for free. A certain glamor became attached to playing for country, and soccer players and fans alike have developed a unique bond with their tournament that stands the test of time. The WBC enters the baseball world at a time of mega-deals between teams and players, meaning loyalty is firmly established between player and ballclub and not player and country. This situations makes it a lot more difficult to get players to risk injury and play for free.

Moving games to mid-season and perhaps taking a couple of weeks off to play the games might help build interest and attract players, but this could mean scrapping the All-Star game in favor of the international tournament. None of it, however, is likely. The grueling nature of a 162-game baseball season and the lack of traditional rivalries between nations in the sport means the classic will struggle to gain legitimacy in the near future.

A-Rod's hip

The hip that's potentially forcing Alex Rodriguez out of the World Baseball Classic is not a new injury, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

"Alex expressed a little stiffness. There was really no pain," Girardi said on Wednesday, a day after the 33-year-old slugger played for the Dominican Republic in a tuneup for the World Baseball Classic. "We just thought it was best because he had some minor issues last year with it. We'll have a better idea after today with what the course of plan is."

The team announced on Tuesday that Rodriguez would get his hip checked by Dr. Marc Phillipon in Vail, Colo., on Wednesday afternoon. An exam Saturday revealed a cyst in the hip.

"Whenever you have something going on, you're concerned," Girardi said. "The fact he didn't have a lot of pain is a little bit more comforting. He's been able to play, and play at a high level. It hasn't kept him from doing anything. It hasn't kept him from driving the baseball. That's the good thing."

At this point it sounds like the Yankees and Rodriguez are trying to stop the injury from becoming a bigger problem, but if the issue lingered through the offseason into the spring there might be more to it than needing rest.

Acta: We don't want Barry

Nationals Manager Manny Acta summed up the interest level of at least one "rebuilding team" in Barry Bonds at his morning press conference.

"[Laughing]... it's not a match for us," Acta said. "I don't think at this stage of his career that Barry is going to pick a team that is rebuilding anyway."

Bonds would put people in the seats at Nationals Park, but that's not the direction the team is going in.

"Yeah he will, but that's not the main point here. It's trying to win, win in the long term basis and give a chance to younger guys."

The Nationals might not want Barry, but he would pick any team at this point. The only teams that might remotely be interested in him are the playoff contenders that fall into desperate straights later in the year.

They're the only ones that will even consider bringing on Bonds, and they won't be desperate for at least a few more months.

Pudge wants to play; Mets want Pudge?

Ivan Rodriguez doesn't want to talk about his ever-shrinking physique, but he does say he's looking to play baseball in 2009 at the major league level after playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.

“I’m expecting soon something to happen,” Rodriguez said yesterday after training at the Red Sox [team stats] minor league facility, where the Puerto Rican team will work out this week. “I’m ready to play for a major league team.”

There's at least one team willing to talk. The New York Mets would like Rodriguez to compliment Brian Schneider in a platoon- or reserve-type role.

Fantasy Impact: Rodriguez's numbers had slipped in recent seasons to that of a fringe starter for most fantasy formats. A platoon situation would take him off the fantasy radar entirely.

A's to sign Cabrera and Garciaparra?

One day after closing in on a contract with shortstop Orlando Cabrera, the Oakland A's are close on signing Nomar Garciaparra. He and Cabrera wouldn't be battling for playing time.

If signed, Garciaparra would provide depth at first base and third base, as well as serve as a righthanded bat off the bench.

Because of injuries, Garciaparra played in only 55 games for the Dodgers last season, hitting .264 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs.

Cabrera and Garciaparra won't take time from one another, but neither is a great fantasy option. Garciaparra won't play enough to make a dent. Jason Giambi and Daric Barton will get the lion's share of time at first, and unless Eric Chavez goes down (which is likely), Garciaparra won't get much time at third, either.

Cabrera is an average to above fantasy guy at short, but at 34 his value is likely to slip more toward average than above in the coming seasons.

Not so easy Edinson

The New York Post publishes the contracts of several pre-arbitration eligible players. What's striking is Edinson Volquez's money vs. someone like Garrett Olson or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Among notable signings are...
Garrett Olson ($420,000), Texas' Jarrod Saltalamacchia ($410,890) and Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez ($440,000).

Certainly Volquez is hurt by his youth in this case.

Not so Sori about his defense

Sabernomics.com, in a short review of John Dewan's The Fielding Bible II, lists the top defensive players at each position with regard to "runs saved."

Pos. - Player - Runs Saved
1B - Albert Pujols = 61
2B - Chase Utley = 63
3B - Pedro Feliz = 50
SS - Adam Everett = 48
LF - Alfonso Soriano = 42
CF - Carlos Beltran = 44
RF - Alex Rios = 49
C - Jason Kendall = 27
P - Kenny Rogers = 27

The shocker? Alfonso Soriano in left field. He's been ripped repeatedly for his defense at Wrigley Field. There is, however, merit to his high standing here. Soriano does have the ability to throw from left, recording the fourth-most assists from left field (10) in MLB. His five double plays from the outfield led the majors.

Is he an adventure in left? Yes, but it's traditionally the weakest defensive position in baseball. Maybe he's not so bad in terms of his peers.

Running Reds

The Reds' homer-hitting approach is getting a bit of a makeover this year with Dusty Baker interested in Willie Taveras and others running more on the base paths.

Baker is planning on having his team run much more this season, and he hopes using that aggressiveness will create more scoring opportunities.

"No. 1, you manage to your personnel. The personnel we have has more speed," Baker said. "Plus, nine years of losing the other way, you have to try something. Don't you think?"

Also, part of the revised focus is better pitching and defense -- both weaknesses in the past. Reds pitching staffs have routinely been around the National League's bottom in team ERA the past eight years. Last season's defense was second from the bottom in the NL.

Here's guessing that this story gets covered as "the Reds will run more in 2009," but actually, Baker seems to be talking about well-rounded-ness. Teams that have a more complete makeup have a better chance to win.

How many single-dimension offenses relying on the home run win championships? Not many. Last year's Chicago White Sox succeeded in winning a division with a homer-only approach. They didn't go any further.

Barry wants to play baseball... again

Barry Bonds wants back into baseball, and with his perjury trial on delay his agent is pushing for a return.

Borris said Bonds wanted to play in 2008, but no teams were interested in signing the all-time home run king, even at the minimum salary.

"Major League Baseball was successful in conspiring in keeping Barry out of uniform in 2008. Unless they have a change of heart or see an error in their ways, I seriously doubt that clubs will give him the opportunity to play this year," Borris told the newspaper.

USA Today reports Borris has been working in conjunction with the players association to investigate the union's collusion allegation, which MLB denies.

I wonder if anything changes with teams' interest this time around. Last year I was shocked that nobody jumped on the chance to have Bonds' bat in their lineup for at least part of the season. Now I'm expecting everyone to lay off after Bonds didn't play in all of 2008. He's 44, he just missed an entire season, and he's a PR nightmare, I think.

Santana weathering the elbow issue

The doom and gloom surrounding Johan Santana suddenly lifted today after a throwing session that removed doubt that a foggy left elbow problem might roll him into a doctor's office. He won't pitch in the World Baseball Classic due to the concern, but he also won't be worried about quite as much.

No flight to New York, no MRI, no flight back and -- the Mets fervently hope -- no more issues with his left elbow. Team Venezuela can't have Santana; the Classic won't pay the insurance premium. But the doctors can't have him either. Santana saw to that after some long-toss in the outfield and 31 pitches thrown off a practice mound Sunday morning convinced him he could move forward without tightness around his triceps tendon and risk.

That's excellent for the Mets and fantasy owners. I'm still going with Tim Lincecum as the ace of all aces until Santana is certainly back pitching in games. Even then Lincecum might be the best pitcher in baseball. CC Sabathia is my third pick this year.

A Wash with baseball news

Thanks to the Nationals, the Washington Post is almost as busy with investigative journalism and breaking news as they were during the Nixon years. Lots of tales to tell, indeed:

Alvarez/Gonzalez: "I feel bad, really bad"
Nationals decide to fire Rijo, search for new academy
Time runs out for Nats' Bowden

There's not much to comment on here, except for the fact that Bowden was always considered a touch shady. That and the fact that this could be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of uncovering players' falsified ages.

Dusty betting on Francisco

Dusty Baker's convinced that third base prospect Juan Francisco's the real deal because he excelled in winter ball. Baker offers up this analysis:

"Anybody who ever played Winter Ball knows that Winter Ball is no joke," Baker said. "People are into it big time, gambling on games. Therefore, that puts pressure on you. You better play good or you're going to hear it from somebody."

Yes, because when people bet on games it matters more, right? That's just silly.

Francisco does sound exciting, though. He hit 25 home runs as a 21-year-old in Single-A last year. Here's betting his power only improves!

Lachey throwing out Reds first pitch

Now this is breaking news! Nick Lachey will throw out "baseball's first pitch" when he does so for the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day.

"Hopefully, I won't embarrass myself like our good mayor," said Lachey, a huge Reds, Bengals and University of Cincinnati sports fan. He watched Bob Huggins' homecoming ceremony, before the UC-West Virginia basketball game, on ESPN Thursday from his Los Angeles home.

"I was thrilled to see Huggs get such a great response from the crowd," he said.

I think Nick's already managed to do that a time or two, no?

Delino DeShields part II

Delino DeShields was a pretty good second baseman, and now his son, also Delino, is excelling as a two-sport athlete. It looks like he might end up with multiple offers to play college football, and he's likely got one to play baseball at Georgia Tech.

“Delino and his family had a one-on-one meeting with Georgia Tech’s staff on Thursday, and they extended a football offer to him,” Woodward Academy defensive backs/recruiting coach Ryan Davis wrote in an e-mail. “They will more than likely allow him to play baseball also.”

I was shocked that the former Major Leaguer already had a son ready to commit to play in college.

Don't have to shell it out to get Schilling

Curt Schilling says he'd consider coming back for another year if he can play for a team like the Cubs, or perhaps the Rays. Schilling also said his return wouldn't be about getting a big paycheck.

Schilling said Saturday that he'd like to pitch for the Cubs this season. The 42-year-old missed the 2008 season with a shoulder injury, but the thought of helping Chicago win its first World Series in 101 years might lure him back for one more season.

"Absolutely I'll come back," he said at Disney World, where he was appearing in ESPN The Weekend activities.
...
Schilling, who has a career mark of 216-146, said money would not be a major issue. He's looking for a team that has championship potential and has never won a title.

"The challenge would be in a place like Tampa Bay or Chicago," he said.

Being that he won World Series with the Diamondbacks and Red Sox, I'm sure there'd be a few Chicagoans dying to acquire his services. But this just in: Schilling is coming off of a major shoulder problem, and the Cubs are going to exhaust their search for a fifth starter with several talented young candidates first. The Rays have the uber-talented David Price slotted for their number five spot. Schilling would need some time to get ready. He won't be a Cub or a Ray.

Beltre told "no" for WBC

Adrian Beltre felt his surgically-repaired shoulder was ready to play at the World Baseball Classic. Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik felt otherwise. Today the team told Beltre they wouldn't excuse him to participate in the tournament.

"We had an idea how we both felt," Beltre said. "And from that conversation, I got that he wanted me to stay here but if I was going to go he was going to support that.

I was trying to get ready and mentally, I was ready to go. And physically, yesterday I found out I was ready to go. But today, it's a different story."

An unanswered question is whether this episode could impact Beltre's pending free-agency. Beltre has declined to comment on any possible contract extension, while speculation mounts that Zduriencik will attempt to deal him by the July 31 deadline.

The Mariners kept Beltre out of the lineup for Saturday's game, a 6-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. They plan to give him a couple of days off to absorb the decision and ease him in more slowly.

"I think they're separate issues," Zduriencik said of Beltre's free-agency and the denied WBC opportunity. "Hopefully, this isn't an issue that is anything further than this particular issue."

Beltre was fairly diplomatic about the situation, but if he's masking ill feelings, they could eventually come back to haunt the Mariners. Then again, if they're holding Beltre as trade fodder rather than a cog in the wheel, he might not be around long enough to get bitter.

Odds and ends on potential MLB contraction

Matt Snyder at Fanhouse is critical of the idea that baseball might need to consider contraction during the economic downturn. Among his good ideas:

If things continue down this path, it's conceivable to believe two franchises would be cut from the league. Of course, choosing the A's as one of the teams would cause a bunch of extra logistical problems. It would leave the AL West with only three teams, and both leagues would have an odd number of teams. Thus, you'd have to move a team from the National League to the American League. If you didn't move a team who could fit into the AL West, you'd have to move someone else into that division. So, are you going to choose a team from the NL West to switch leagues? If so, the Dodgers and Giants would be untouchable.

Then there's this one I like as well:

If MLB did decide to contract two teams, can you imagine a contraction draft? I assume they would draft instead of having a free-for-all free agency period. Still, without a salary cap, you'd have to assume the Royals or Nationals couldn't afford to pay Hanley Ramirez what the Yankees, Red Sox, or Cubs could, so there would probably be some jockeying with trades. Thus, it would just be a case of the rich get richer. I can't see that as being good for the game as a whole.

Agreed, and that's why baseball probably could use a salary cap, or, perhaps a couple of teams moving into the New York area to compete with the Yankees and Mets. Like that's ever going to happen.

One of Snyder's oddest comments, however, is this one:

Good luck convincing the Padres, Diamondbacks, or Rockies that they need to completely shift their entire method of building a team, because they now play against the Angels, Mariners and Rangers.

I don't think I've ever heard of a team that actually subscribes to the idea of just being better than its division mates. You don't compete to win a division; You compete to win as much as you possibly can. Therefore, you're building a team you believe can eventually compete with any team in baseball. I highly doubt any general managers subscribe to the theory of simply beating the teams around them. They simply don't play enough games against their division rivals to think that way. This line of thinking is archaic and bad practice.