Reynolds' rap

The Arizona Diamondbacks will give Mark Reynolds every opportunity to hold down third base full-time in 2009, including holding off on defensive replacements late in games.

"We'll see where it goes," Melvin said, "but he still has the ability to be a very good defensive player. We've seen it. We saw it when he first came up. Confidence-wise, he's gone into periods where he's made quite a few errors, and he'll go into periods where he won't.

"It all has to do with confidence. It's the same thing with Justin (Upton). It just comes with experience, where you get more confident, you get more resilient, tougher so that when you make an error you don't let it snowball and that's what both those guys need to do."

Reynolds' seven errors this spring lead the Diamondbacks and his 15 strikeouts ranked second on the club.

Fantasy Impact: Reynolds struck out 204 times last year in 539 at bats, a new Major League record. If he gets some extra at bats in the games he's routinely been replaced, he could set a new record for himself. In points leagues the strikeouts will outweight the possibility of Reynolds ripping a few more homers with the extra at bats. In 5x5 leagues he earns a touch more value.

Diabetes in the Mariners' bullpen

By now, most people know that Mariners pitcher Bradon Morrow switched from starter to reliever to help him better manage his diabetes. Well, it turns out that Morrow's condition helped fellow reliever Mark Lowe realize he, too, was suffering from diabetes.

The Mariners may soon become baseball experts in the disease that affects about one in 12 Americans. Fellow reliever Mark Lowe was diagnosed as well.

After attempting last season to manage his blood sugar with diet and oral meds, Lowe was re-diagnosed as a Type I (juvenile onset) diabetic instead of a Type II (adult onset) and recently began insulin shots.

"I know it did affect me last year," Lowe, who began his major league career with a franchise-record 17 2/3 scoreless innings over 13 games, told the News Tribune. "I would come in some days and be dragging. Some days in the middle of the day I would hit a wall. Some days it was so high that my vision was blurry."

With proper training and medical monitoring, there is little reason to think that Lowe and Morrow won't continue to be productive relief pitchers, although Armstrong mentioned that diabetics "can be a little slower to come back from some injuries and inflammation, which is why (Morrow) is suited to pitch in shorter stints than longer ones where the chance of injury is a little greater."

Lowe is likely to set up Morrow this season in Seattle. Morrow's move to the bullpen denies the Mariners myriad closer candidates of actually landing the job. He's a bonafide star in the making in that role.

Wilson throws bullpen session - pitches Friday?

Concerns that San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson might miss the season were quelled Thursday before the Giants exhibition with Oakland. His infected finger is not affecting his ability to pitch.

The Giants closer tested his ailing finger during a bullpen session before the game Thursday and earned a thumbs-up from his manager.

"He's good to go,'' Bruce Bochy said.

Wilson dismissed published speculation that an infected middle finger jeopardized his status for opening day. Wilson said he planned to make his scheduled appearance tonight against the A's and then pitch again Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"It wasn't a factor and it hasn't been a factor,'' Wilson said of his finger. "They're just being cautious."

The only concern here is if Wilson doesn't pitch on Friday night.

Fantasy Impact: If Wilson is healthy, there's no apparent competition he needs to fend off in the Giants bullpen. Pitchers like Bob Howry and Merkin Valdez have a nice makeup, but they've owned a closer role. If we believe everything is OK, Wilson should be fine by Monday, if not, the Giants will likely go closer by committee without a definite alternative.

Watching Lincecum and Cahill more closely

Watching Tim Lincecum and Trevor Cahill throw tonight, I found myself looking for problems with their mechanics. Lincecum is considered a poster boy for arm injuries due to his unconventional approach to pitching. Cahill, who's had rotator cuff issues in his very young career, is criticized for his velocity issues.

Searching for content on Lincecum and Cahill, I stumbled upon chrisoleary.com, which dissected both pitchers' motions to home plate. What I discovered is Lincecum is actually quite OK with most of his delivery, although he does lift his pitching arm late which causes a timing problem and potential elbow/shoulder issues for the future. Cahill has his problems as well, as I found on another site. Those issues include opening his shoulders too early, which puts some undue stress on his shoulder, but I think his biggest problem is a lack of following through. He ends up very upright, which leads to some throwing across his body and potential velocity issues.

Manatee swallows Piartes

If there was any hope for the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates this year, it may have been vanquished with today's result. No, Pittsburgh did not suffer a devastating injury before the start of the season. No, the Pirates didn't get bashed badly by a Grapefruit League opponent. No, this is much more embarrassing than that. Today, the Pittsburgh Pirates' split squad lost to Manatee Community College, 6-4. Good luck with the National League Central.

6:15 p.m. Update: Manatee is not your typical community college. They've won a ton of accolades.

D'backs, not greenbacks

It's a three-peat in the desert. The Arizona Diamondbacks sell the lowest-priced tickets for the third year running. The average ticket at Chase Field went down from $15.96 to $14.31.

We got next

John Shea with The San Francisco Chronicle digs up a little blurb on something I've been thinking about for the past week or so: which MLB team has the best chance of becoming this year's Tampa Bay Rays? Along with the obvious Cincinnati Reds pick, Shea also goes with the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. I like his KC pick best.

Royals: They're optimistic after an 18-6 September, their best month since July 1994. They improved their win total three straight years. Starter Kyle Davies, 25, was 4-1 with a 2.27 ERA in the final month, closer Joakim Soria, 24, earned 42 saves (more than anyone in the AL except Francisco Rodriguez) with a 1.60 ERA and third baseman Alex Gordon, 25, and DH-first baseman Billy Butler, 22, may be ready to break out.

I'm in complete agreement with that assessment, but I think the key for the Royals will be a healthy and productive Gil Meche.

I do not, however, agree with his Orioles pick. Baltimore not only has no shot at the postseason, they also have no chance to finish higher than fourth in the AL East.

Street closer

Houston Street earned the Rockies closer job over Manny Corpas. This news is proof that spring stats don't mean a thing. Street produced a 5.23 ERA in 10.1 IP, including a pair of home runs allowed. Corpas gave up one earned run in nine innings and no homers.

Then again, maybe the Rockies saw Corpas lose his closer job twice to Brian Fuentes in 2009 and headed him off at the pass, giving Street the role before Corpas could eventually lose it. Or a loss in velocity for Coraps might explain it

Don’t get me wrong: Street has pitched well since his first couple of disastrous outings in Cactus League action; he hasn’t done anything not to deserve the job. He’s a talented player, and I thought he was ticketed for big-time success after he was selected from the University of Texas.

I don’t believe it’ll be big time anymore, though. He’s inconsistent and doesn’t show the same flare he did early in his career.
Corpas deserves a closer role

Corpas deserves closer role

The main concern with Corpas is a 2 mph drop in the velocity of his sinker, easily his bread and butter. The right-hander is working through a hiccup in his mechanics and has already shown signs of improvement, though.

Given where Corpas was last season and how hard he has worked to get to this point, some minor setbacks along the way aren’t a surprise. Future? He’s the better man for the post. I believe the Rox have made the correct decision for the short term, but will it breed long-term success? I’m not so sure.

On that matter, we'll guess that the Rockies believe they have little to lose at the start of the season in terms of pushing the more accomplished closer into the role. Street's done the job better for longer, and if everyone starts with the same record, you might as well give yourself the safest chance at winning. Corpas will get his when it's time.

Tweaked Twins land on DL

Catcher Joe Mauer and pitchers Scott Baker and Boof Bonser all ended up on the Twins disabled list to start the season. While Mauer's still dealing with his lower back soreness and hasn't played or practiced all spring, the pitchers' problems sound much more serious.

Baker, who was scheduled to start on Opening Day against the Seattle Mariners, has soreness in his pitching shoulder and was placed on the DL retroactive to March 28. Francisco Liriano is expected to start in place of the righthander on Monday. Bonser is recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder."

Minnesota is looking less and less the favorite to win the AL Central, which should have a razor-thin margin for error with several above-average ball clubs.

Fantasy Impact: Mauer's situation is fairly fluid, and he's fallen down the list of a ton of draft boards. He'll continue to slide outside of the top five catchers now that he's going to miss the start of the season and likely needs some rehab at bats in the minors.

Baker's shoulder soreness is not a good thing, and the mid-level fantasy starter falls into limbo. Bonser had relatively zero fantasy appeal, anyway.

Sheff talk cooking in Cincinnati

Sounds like the Reds are getting in on the Gary Sheffield sweepstakes, with Dusty Baker considering him for Cincinnati's left field job.

"I'm sure he has some offers," Baker said. "I asked Walt for permission to make the call. I made the call, then Walt talked to [Reds president and CEO Bob] Castelllini. I talked to Jim Leyland [Wednesday] night, just to see, because he hadn't played the outfield in a long time."

His ability to play the outfield was a bone of contention between the Tigers and Sheffield, with the team feeling he was only capable of DHing and Sheffield believing he had plenty left in the tank to play defense. The Tigers released Sheffield and his $14 million salary because of what they perceived to be his lack of flexibility.

"When I heard that word, versatility, I'm [thinking], 'I'm probably the most athletic guy on the team,'" Sheffield said at the time of his release. "But at the same time, that's their opinion and I have to respect that.

"I know I can play the outfield, so I'm not putting myself in that box. I know what I can do. I know I can throw better than most people. I still can run, and I still can hit. So that's all I can say."

Chris Dickerson is currently in consideration for left field, and the addition of Sheffield would only take away from Dickerson's opportunities.

Fantasy Impact: If Sheffield lands in Cincinnati, his fantasy value climbs thanks to the launching-pad nature of Great American Ballpark. Dickerson's value would wane from a guy who looked destined to play at least 100 games to potentially fewer than 80.

125 years of Slugger

If major leaguers' bats look like they have a big smudge on them on your high def TV, that's because Louisville Slugger is commemorating its 125th year of baseball bats with a special logo on their bat barrels.

Glaus out at least two months

Troy Glaus will miss at least two months of the season following a setback in his rehabilitation after shoulder surgery.

Glaus originally was expected to miss just a few weeks of the season. But the Cardinals said yesterday he will be reevaluated around June 1.

"It's just not responding as quickly as we'd hoped," Glaus said in Jupiter, Fla. "It obviously didn't go as smoothly or uneventfully as we had hoped."

David Freese is the top candidate to start at third with Glaus out.

General manager John Mozeliak told the Associated Press that Glaus might have pushed too hard in his rehab schedule. He said Glaus's progress will be assessed in a few weeks.

"Sometimes being overly optimistic can hurt you," Mozeliak said.

Fantasy owners must take this news with caution. If an April return was overly optimistic, could a five-week delay be "overly optimistic" as well? Leave Glaus on the waiver wire for now, or stash him if you have the DL space. He's not going to contribue productively until the second half of the season.

Fantasy Impact: David Freese is considered a middle-range prospect by CBSsports.com. He did hit 26 homers in Triple-A last season, but the 25-year-old was never on the radar as a major contributor at the big-league level. The Cardinals have had success with journeyman types like Ryan Ludwick and Skip Schumaker. Those two players were drafted, however, and Freese was not. Only take a flier on Freese if you're desperate.

Rangers go retro keeping Benson, Jones

Andruw Jones made the Texas Rangers roster, and in even more surprising news Kris Benson made the Rangers rotation. How? Why? This is the Texas Rangers, after all. Benson always showed flashes of being a good pitcher. Jones, in a rapid decline the past few years, was still one of the best centerfielders ever to play the game. Texas must hope there's something left in that strikeout-prone bat of his.

Fantasy Impact: Benson is a better fantasy addition at this time, because Jones is not going to get guaranteed at bats. Benson never posted bad numbers in his career, but he hasn't pitched since an 11-12, 4.82 ERA performance back in 2006 with Baltimore. Jones will fight for time at DH with Hank Blalock. Blalock will get the bulk of at bats against righty pitching.

Karstens = Pirates 5th starter

Jeff Karstens wins the Pirates No. 5 starter spot. This move received little attention as Karstens hasn't exactly put together a special big league career over his three seasons. In deeper leagues, however, especially points leagues, Karstens can be a decent contributor. In nine starts last season, he posted a 4.03 ERA. Karstens won't win much in Pittsburgh, and he doesn't strike anyone out, but he has respectable peripherals. You could do much worse.

Check out Karstens' career minor league numbers:

640 IP, 533 K, 3.52 ERA, 1.26 WHIP

That's very solid. Strike outs are often a tell-tale as to how a minor league pitcher will do in the big leagues. With 7.5 K/9, Karstens is on the edge of the spectrum in terms of meeting the standard, but he brough his strikeout rate up in both 2006 and 2007. He keeps his walks down, and yielded a hit per inning in the minors.

New strike zone evaluator in MLB

Baseball is using a new strike zone evaluator in replace of QuesTec that is already available in every major league park. QuesTec was only available in about a third of MLB stadiums.

The new system, called Zone Evaluation, relies on pitch-tracking data already collected by cameras in all 30 parks and distributed through applications on MLB.com and iTunes. Zone Evaluation software will rate umpire performance more quickly and accurately than QuesTec, according to Mike Port, baseball’s vice president for umpiring.

“It’s an upgrade from where we were,” Port said in a telephone interview. “The umpires, they don’t want to miss a pitch any more than a batter wants to strike out. Where the Z.E. system will give us a lot of help is more data to help identify any trends: ‘The last three plate jobs, you missed seven pitches that were down and in. Here’s how one of the supervisors can help you adjust your head angle or your stance to have a better chance of getting those pitches.’”

A former catcher, I remember umpires typically setting up inside, where they had a better look at pitches on the inside corner of the plate. They'd have to guess more on the outside corner due to the angle they incurred by setting up inside. Umpires who guessed more in favor of strikes on the outside corner could be "set up" with the right kind of framing. If this new system forces umps into a uniform approach on calling balls and strikes, baseball will be better off.

I've always wondered why baseball doesn't use a monitoring system that creates a strike zone field that is hooked up to the scoreboard. Let the fans see what's going on in real time. Take strike zone calls away from umpires. Why not get it right every time rather than leave calling balls and strikes to human error?

Selig slammed in steroid series

The NY Daily News attempts to "save baseball" with a series of reports/ideas on fixing the game's ongoing steroid problem. My favorite, of course, is part one: replacing the commish.

Bud Selig has been in charge of baseball for 17 years, longer than anyone since Kenesaw Mountain Landis cleaned up the Black Sox scandal and held a death grip on the commissioner's office. Selig's reign is different, a failed regime, and one that should have come to a close when 2003 put its scandalous stamp on him. At the very least, 2009 must be Selig's swan song. As long as he heads the sport, it will never get a fresh start, a second chance.

During Selig's endless rule, the sport has suffered its worst, extended disasters in history. His first calamity struck early - Selig could not rescue the 1994 season during a 232-day strike, and was unable to extract a hard salary cap from the players' union. There was no World Series champion crowned that year, an inexcusable breach of contract with millions of loyal fans. The club payroll inequities spawned from that year's folly exist to this day, further proof that the owners and the commissioner's office botched those negotiations.

And then the writer gets into bashing Selig over the steroid infestation, which is priceless. Selig makes over $18-million a year to blow the game to pieces.

The report also asks for the departure of players union chief Donald Fehr, which Spitting Seeds also endorses, but the best way to kill the snake it to chop off the head. Start there, first.

Porcello to start in Detroit rotation

Tigers Rookie Rick Porcello not only made the team today, he's also in Detroit's rotation, according to team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski.

“I think he’s one of our best starting pitchers,” Dombrowski said. “He has quality stuff. We’ve seen it. He throws strikes. He’s a confident, mature individual beyond his years.

“He has continued development in his breaking ball. He’ll continue to work hard at it. He’s got a good changeup. He’s very mature. He’s very talented. He does the little things well, fields his position well. He’s a competitor. He holds runners well.

“I think he’s ready. I think he’ll do well. If he has some tough times — every pitcher does — I think he’s mature enough to handle it. Is he a 100% finished guy? No. But he’ll keep working on what he needs to work on. And he has a pitch that can help get him out of jams — a very, very nasty sinker.”

Fantasy Impact: Porcello's never pitched above A-ball, and he's just 20 years old. His numbers, however, don't lie. The lanky right-hander walked just 33 batters in 125 innings last season, and limited opponents to a 1.19 WHIP. He's a classic sinker-baller, so don't expect tons of strike outs. Do expect good numbers in all other categories, especially before teams get a book on him.

Rodney kind of wins Detroit closer job

Francisco Rodney wins the Tigers closer job over newly acquired Brandon Lyon. Jim Leyland's endorsement doesn't exactly sound binding.

"If we have a one-run lead in Toronto for the first game," Leyland said, "Fernando Rodney will come in. Is he going to come in every time? I've not really named him the closer, but he gets the first game. There might be somebody else involved at one point."

Both Rodney and Lyon struggled last season. Neither is going to be a safe bet to retain the role.

Fantasy Impact: So, Rodney goes first. With Leyland's comments it sounds like this 50-50 fight is now more 60-40 or 65-35 Rodney. Lean toward him if you absolutely need saves, but back him up with Lyon if you can. Better yet, stay away from both of them.

Bonifacio wins Marlins third base job; McPherson cut

Emilio Bonifacio not only won the third base job in Florida, he's the Marlins only option after they released fellow third baseman Dallas McPherson.

On Monday, the Marlins sent rookie first baseman Gaby Sanchez to the minors, leaving Emilio Bonifacio, acquired from Washington in the offseason, as the team's starting third baseman and Jorge Cantu as the first baseman.

One month ago, the question was where Cantu would play. After first baseman Mike Jacobs was traded to Kansas City, the options were Cantu at first base and McPherson at third, or whether it would be Sanchez at first and McPherson at third. The prevailing thought was that the team's defense would improve from 2008, a stated goal of team officials, under either scenario. Now they have turned to Bonifacio, a natural second baseman who is still learning to play third and has struggled at times this spring.

Yes, but he can run. With Sanchez and McPherson out of the way, Florida is making a commitment to the corner combo of Bonifacio and Cantu. The Marlins would love to have the speed-burning threesome of Cameron Maybin, Bonifacio and Hanley Ramirez to terrorize opponents at the top of the order.

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio can fly. Just search his name on Youtube and you'll see. He's stolen 61 bases in a minor league season, and he's likely to get a slot near the top of the batting order. If he can hold down third base, expect a light-hitting burner who can get you 40-plus steals and score 75 runs.

Devine's elbow intervention

Joey Devine's elbow woes will shelve him for the start of the 2009 season. The most dominant pitcher in the A's bullpen will need a doctor visit to explore the severity of the issue. Until then, he'll wait for the news on the disabled list.

"I spent the entire off-season rehabbing it, and then it came back as soon as I got to game-ready (during) the first part of spring training, and that tells me there is something there," Devine said Tuesday before the A's 7-2 exhibition victory over the Kansas City Royals.Coupled with the elbow injury that has sidelined ace Justin Duchscherer, the A's open the season with a revamped offense but lacking two integral members of the pitching staff.

This means Brad Ziegler is Oakland's closer for the start of the season, and as long as Devine is a health risk, Ziegler will remain in that role.

Fantasy Impact: Owners who drafted Devine may want to look for a fallback option. If you can't afford to stash Devine on your roster or DL him, releasing him might be the best option. Saves will come available over the course of the year as Ziegler owners will tell you.

As for Ziegler inheriting the closer role, he's suited for the position. He did a good job last year for the A's and set the new MLB record for scoreless innings from his debut wirth 39. The knock on Ziegler is he doesn't strike people out, but he also didn't lose a single game he pitched while tossing nearly 60 innings as a 28-year-old rookie.

Burriss wins 2b job

Emmanuel Burriss has beaten out Kevin Fransden for the Giants second base job. Fransden didn't even make the team as a backup, getting optioned to the minors.
Fantasy Impact: Not too much of a surprise here. Burriss can become a sleeper prospect, but he can still lose starting time to Ray Durham and/or Eugenio Velez. He's worth a flier in deeper leagues at this time.

Valentine time for Team USA?

Jack Curry of the New York Times wants Team USA to consider hiring Bobby Valentine as their next skipper. Why? Because Valentine predicted Japan would win the 2009 World Baseball Classic title among his other obvious credentials.

The next Classic is not until 2013, but if Valentine is available, he should be strongly considered as a candidate to manage the United States team. Valentine has managed in both countries and was the first American manager to win a title in the Japanese Leagues with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2005. If Valentine were free and the job were offered, he indicated he would take it.

After finishing fourth this season and eighth in the first Classic in 2009, the United States could use an infusion of energy in four years. Valentine would be a good start. He said Japan’s precise, disciplined style was perfectly suited for a three-week tournament, something the Americans should have noticed by now.

“If you rely on a home run in a short series, you’re destined for doom,” Valentine said. “I know teams have won with the home run. But you’ve got to play the game of baseball. Whatever style it is, if you make fewer mistakes, I think you’re increasing your chances of winning a short series.”

Valentine makes sense as Team USA's manager, but it will take more pitchers for the USA to compete. A manager that knows both teams inside and out is one thing, but you have to play the best to beat what's currently better than you.

Franks passes

Former Giants manager Herman Franks passed away Monday at the age of 95. He never won the pennant in San Francisco, but landed four second-place finishes.

Known away from the game as a man who enjoyed cigars and card games and made wise investments, Mr. Franks was hired to replace Alvin Dark after the 1964 season and nearly guided the Giants to pennants in 1965 and 1966. Both times, the Giants lost tight races to the Dodgers.

Chipping in until 2012

As the aging Gary Sheffield is on the outs in Detroid, the aging Chipper Jones is in Atlanta at least until 2012.

A six-time All-Star, Jones was the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1999. His .310 lifetime batting average ranks second among switch hitters, trailing only Frankie Frisch's .316. He has 408 home runs, trailing only Mickey Mantle (536) and Eddie Murray (504) in homers by a switch hitter.

He is the only switch hitter with at least 300 homers and a .300 career batting average.

It's all about production, and Jones still offers a dangerous stick in the middle of any batting order. The fact he's only played 137, 109, 110, 134 and 128 games the past five seasons is a concern, but enough of one to pass on one of the top bats in baseball. Jones is a sure-fire Hall of Famer who is coming up on 1500 R, 1500 RBI and has the ability to hit 500 homers for his career. His record is clean, and he's one of the great third basemen all-time.

Fantasy Impact: Jones is a fringe fifth-round pick who is guaranteed to deliver while he's healthy. He suffered an oblique injury this spring playing in the World Baseball Classic, but that seems to be minor in nature. Draft him early on, but find him a capable backup if you can.

Dominican Crackdown

MLB.com plugs ESPN.com for an article on Domincan MLB prospects getting detained because of the crackdown on misinformation coming out of the Dominican Republic. You follow? This is only the beginning.

Sheffield cut by Tigers

The Tigers released Gary Sheffield. This is a big surprise to those covering the Tigers.

Sheffield said he was told by manager Jim Leyland and president/general manager Dave Dombrowski that the team wanted to go with a more versatile lineup. The Tigers did not envision Sheffield playing any position other than designated hitter.

The Tigers will owe Sheffield his guaranteed $14 million salary for this year. If he clears waivers, he'll be free to sign with any team he chooses.

Sheffield, who has 499 career home runs and is on the verge of becoming just the 25th player in history to record 500, said that he was surprised by the move and that he didn't consider it a possibility.

"I never really thought about it, to be honest with you," Sheffield said.

Sheffield spent the last two seasons with the Tigers, batting a combined .247 with 44 home runs and 132 RBIs in 247 games, primarily as a designated hitter. He played in just 114 games last season, missing time because of a sore right shoulder and a strained oblique.

With numbers like those over the past couple of seasons the Tigers must've seen the end of the road coming for their slugger. At $14M this year, that's a ton of money for a guy who struggles to stay healthy. It's not exactly a shock that in this money-saving time in sports a team might cut an aging veteran. The question becomes: who brings in Sheffield after he clears waivers? Nobody but the Yankees can afford to price tag, and New York already owns the ailing Hideki Matsui. There's no way you take on two injury-risk types, especially when you're trying to win a title.

Fantasy Impact: Sheffield is better left for the waiver wire in a fantasy league right now. Let him go and watch to see if he lands with another MLB team. His addition to any lineup will likely steal time from a part-time player or a young up-and-comer, so Sheffield could theoretically hurt the owner than drafts him twice by diminishing his own player and that of another. Stay away for now.

A note on Sheffield's legacy: While some consider him a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and Sheffield's numbers look great on paper, the steroid era and his connection to Barry Bounds should surely diminish Sheffield's chances.

In Correa Giants grab high-end prospect

Most intriguing in the Ronnie Paulino deal from Philadelphia to Florida via San Francisco ia the player San Francisco is acquiring. Hector Correa has major upside.

Correa was named the No. 3 prospect in the New York-Penn League in 2007, earning all-star honors with the short-season Class A Jamestown club, going 6-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 11 starts.

Correa's biggest problem is he's perhaps too hittable. The youngster strikes out more than a batter per inning, but he's given up more than 20 more hits than strikeouts in his minor league career.

Phils land lefty

In the Ronnie Paulino trade, Philadelphia landed lefty Jake Taschner. He's a fill-in for JC Romero while Romero serves his 50-game suspension.

Taschner was 3-2 with a 4.88 ERA in 67 games last season. He gives the Phillies another left-hander in the bullpen to go with Scott Eyre. J.C. Romero was suspended the first 50 games for using a banned substance.

Taschner, however, is no Romero. He's unlikely to see many - if any - save opportunities in Philly.

Paulino to Florida via San Francisco

The Marlins acquired Ronnie Paulino from the Giants after San Francisco received the Phillies' backup catcher in a trade earlier Friday.

Despite being traded twice in one day, Paulino lands with a Marlins team looking for a backup to John Baker. Paulino reportedly had been on the Marlins' radar since the Winter Meetings. Paulino, 27, hit .278 in 304 games with Pittsburgh from 2005-08 before Philadelphia obtained him in an offseason trade. Paulino, who's due to earn $423,500 this season, played in only 40 games for the Pirates last year due to a sprained right ankle, hitting .212 with two home runs and 18 RBIs. But he had his most productive year in 2007, hitting .263 with a career-high 11 homers and 55 RBIs, which matched a personal best. Paulino also owned a .282 lifetime average (11-for-39) against the Giants.

Fantasy Impact: Something tells us Paulino will be more than just a backup in Florida. His numbers are good enough to challenge for playing time. In fact, offensively he compares closely to Yadier Molina. Keep an eye on his playing time to see if he can compete with Baker.

Bonifacio the Burner

In a matter of several months from late last season into the offseason, Emilio Bonifacio went from the Diamondbacks to the Nationals to the Marlins in a pair of trades. Now he's emerging as a probable starter for the Marlins at third base.

Bonifacio is building a strong case to be on Florida's Opening Day roster.

If that comes to fruition, the Marlins will have the chance to place three burners in their lineup -- Bonifacio, Cameron Maybin and Hanley Ramirez.

Nothing in terms of the final roster is official yet, but Bonifacio is on a path to make an impact from the time the season opens on April 6 against his former team, Washington.

"I like him. I like him in that lineup, someplace," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He has made unbelievable improvement at third base, a position he didn't play [before]. He's been learning under the gun a little bit. He's done a terrific job learning that position.

"We know he can play the middle of the diamond, and we know he can play the outfield a little bit. We may run him out in the outfield and get a little more flexibility."

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio might have been a minor option if he was coming off the bench, but now that he's going to get an opportunity to start, watch out! This is a player who stole 61 bases in the minors in a single season. He can fly, if he can get on base. While his OBP climbed to .361 in two minor league stints last year, his career OBP stood at .338 heading into last season. In the majors, Bonifacio managed to reach base at a .300 clip.

We're intrigued to see what he can do for the Marlins this year. He's hitting .266 with an OBP of .309 this spring. He has the potential to become a player with the upside of Chone Figgins or the unreliability of Michael Bourn.

Tejada receives probation

Miguel Tejada basically gets a slap on the wrist for lying under oath about his steroid use. A one-year probation penalty means he's available immediately to the Astros and your fantasy baseball team.

"I take full responsibility for not answering the question," Tejada told U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay.

Standing at a lectern facing Kay, Tejada spoke softly for less than a minute, the talented hands he normally uses to grip a bat or field ground balls stuffed in the pant pockets of his pinstriped, three-piece suit.

He apologized to Congress, to the court, to baseball fans — "especially the kids" — and added: "I learned a very important lesson."

Tejada is the first high-profile player convicted of a crime stemming from baseball's steroids era.

"What people are not entitled to do, your honor, is to provide untruthful or dishonest answers. No one has that right," Durham told the court. "Not the people who are well-known — and not the people who are unknown."

Tejada faced up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. But Kay followed the recommendation of prosecutors who said he deserved a lighter punishment, issuing a sentence of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine. Kay waived drug testing often required of other convicts on probation and said he wouldn't restrict the player's travel.

The plea deal is unlikely to affect Tejada's immigration status because green-card holders are not normally deportable unless the maximum possible sentence is more than one year in prison.

Fantasy Impact: It's safe to draft/acquire Tejada in all leagues. He hit 206 home runs from 2000 through 2006 but hasn't reached 20 homers since the steroid talk surfaced. Tejada has slipped to a middle-round draftee, and he still deserves attention thanks to playing his home games at Minute Maid Park.

Pitching In

A lot of pitching odds and ends this week as teams get their staffs together for opening day.

David Price will not make Tampa's rotation, which is more of an effort to limit his innings than it is on Price's Major League readiness.

Fantasy Impact: Not quite a devastating blow, but certainly trouble for owners who took a risk and drafted Price high. He'll be up eventually, but that's what was said all last year when Price never surfaced in time for regular season help. Here's guessing he makes it into Tampa's rotation by June.

Anthony Reyes landed in the Cleveland Indians' rotation as the 4th starter while Scott Lewis is the team's 5th starter. Lewis beat out Aaron Laffey.

Fantasy Impact: Reyes owns a nice minor league pedigree, striking out nearly a batter an inning while limiting hits. His problem is giving up the long ball, but he's certainly worth a late-round flier for his upside. Lewis isn't a bad flier option himself, but he's less sexy than Reyes, who has more big league and postseason experience.

Rangers to be sold

Tom Hicks is lining up resources to sell the Texas Rangers.

Hicks, who also co-owns Liverpool F.C. with George Gillett, has hired Merrill Lynch to sell his Rangers stake, MLB.com said, citing two baseball sources. The minority shares may be sold in whole or in part.

The timing might be good for Rangers fans, who would love to see Hicks bail. Texas is building a talented young nucleus with players like Chris Davis and Elvis Andrus.

Fontenot Cubs starter at 2nd

Mike Fontenot has been named the Cubs starter at second base. He takes over for Mark DeRosa, who was traded to Cleveland in the offseason.

Fontenot is the projected sixth hitter, with Kosuke Fukudome in second and Milton Bradley fourth.

"I don't want to get caught with two left-handed hitters sixth and seventh or sixth and eighth at the tail end of the lineup," manager Lou Piniella said. "So 2-4-6 is a real nice way to break things up."

In his fifth year with the Cubs after being traded from Baltimore in the Sammy Sosa deal, Fontenot never has been penciled in as a starter.

Fantasy Impact: If you project Fontenot's at bats over a full 600 at bats, he looks pretty good. Fontenot appears capable of 20 HR power, and he's capable of scoring runs (.395 OBP in 243 at bats last season). In the article, however, Piniella says both Fontenot and Aaron Miles will get 350 at bats this season. Miles will slide around the infield as a utility man, but will still steal time from Fontenot against left-handed pitching. Fontenot is therefore a later round pick in most fantasy drafts. He's valuable as a second baseman with pop who might start 5 or 6 days a week.

Hamels elbow exam

Hours after this fairly rosy review of Phillies ace Cole Hamels' velocity issues this spring, this far-from-rosy story on an elbow examination comes out.

According to several media sources, including the Philadelphia Daily News, Hamels will fly back to Philadelphia to be looked at by team doctor Michael Ciccotti after having steady soreness in the elbow.

However, team general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. indicated it is not presently a serious issue, and the team is taking a cautious approach.

Much was made about the 227 1/3 innings Hamels pitched -- not including his postseason innings -- last season. There may be some merit to those concerns. The young ace will have to be watched for the rest of the spring.

Baseball cards and web cams

In its never-ending quest to remain relevant, Topps is designing new baseball cards that come to life online in order to attract new, young card collectors.

Consumers who buy the Topps 2009 Series 1 deck of baseball cards for $1.99 have an option to pull the "magic" card from the deck, sign onto ToppsTown.com with a code, download a browser plug in and pitch, bat or catch in games served up from the Web site. The cards, which sport members of major league baseball (MLB) franchises, also are available through the Topps Attax baseball card game.

The consumer's Web camera pointed at the two-dimensional card laying on someone's desk or in their hand projects the picture of Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria to the computer screen, for example, allowing the picture of the baseball player to come to life in 3D.

The augmented reality technology from Total Immersion lives on Topps's server. It recognizes the image of the player on the card. One player from each baseball team has been digitized.

"Topps hopes to stir new excitement about baseball cards, particularly kids who tells us they like collecting trading cards but no longer rely on them for information," said Steve Grimes, chief digital officer, The Topps Co. "So, we want to give them new uses for the cards, whether that's 3D animation or playing games or unlocking other experiences online."

It's an interesting idea, but my guess is enthusiasm wanes rather quickly. Offering online games based on the cards and the players' statistics might be a better way to maintain interest, but that's what video games are all about. Good luck, Topps.

Playoff money

Ever wonder what kind of monetary benefit follows teams into the postseason? The Biz of Baseball tackles that subject today. Not surprising to see who leads the list in terms of money winners over the past ten postseasons, but then money earned seems directly tied to number of games played more than anything.

South Koreans wide awake for Mexico

So much for the jet lag. After Japan shutout Cuba, 6-0, South Korea turns around and thumps Mexico, 8-2 in San Diego. Now the Asian Pool A winners, who played each other just six days ago in Tokyo, square off to determine the first qualifier out of Pool 1 for the final round of the World Baseball Classic.

Three solo home runs paced South Korea, which defeated Japan 1-0 and lost to Japan 14-2 in the first round.

Loria keeping positive on Marlins stadium

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria popped up at Sunday's spring training game and says his club's plight to build a new stadium couldn't come at a better time.

''The timing for the stadium could not be better and to get this stadium built now is the perfect time,'' Loria said. ``Our nation is embarking on its largest public/private partnership. . . . People need jobs, people need paychecks and the time to get it done is now.''

Asked about the opposition he encounters in trying to get the stadium built, Loria said: 'I don't want to hear about the naysayers. There's plenty of them around. They are the ones who always look back and say, `You know what? You guys did the right thing.' . . . There will always be people who are opposed to progress. This is a positive thing for Florida. This is a positive thing for the nation and certainly for the thousands of people that need the work.''

Loria added he is optimistic about the stadium deal passing and does not ponder if it were to fail.

''I never think of what if,'' Loria said. ``I am a positive thinker. Our ballclub I think positively about. I'm thinking positively about the stadium. . . . There is no other way to think.''

Optimist is putting it lightly, Jeff. The city of Miami votes on Thursday on a new stadium at the site of the old Orange Bowl. We'll see how optimistic Loria sounds after the vote.

Utley takes first step

Chase Utley's back at it, playing four innings of a spring game to get himself ready for the regular season after offseason hip surgery. Oddly enough, Utley didn't make his debut with the Phils, but instead went 2-4 with a double in a minor leage intra-squad game.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the decision was made collectively by Utley and team personnel.

"We felt like he was ready to get into one and test the waters," Amaro said.

Amaro said that after the intrasquad game team trainers told him Utley was "tired, but it was a good workout for him. We'll have to see what happens, how he feels tomorrow morning, and kind of progress him day by day."

Amaro said that while Utley has been eager to play, the second baseman has resisted the temptation to return before his hip was ready.

"He knows what is at stake, and how important it is for him to be healthy in the long term," Amaro said. "This was probably a test date for him, and we'll see how he comes out of it."

Manuel said that the team would proceed with caution.

"We'll take it easy on him," Manuel said. "He's not ready for me to just turn him loose and start playing every day. We're going to kind of break him in."

Makes sense that Utley would start in a minor league game if he's not quite up to snuff. A step down allows him to get his bearings, have some success and build confidence before return to the parent club.

Getting the best of Lester?

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes an interesting piece on Jon Lester's five-year, $30 M signing with the Red Sox and how it miffs agent Scott Boras.

It’s quite easy to understand why the Red Sox and the players love these deals. Not only do the Sox have cost certainty with such early proactive deals, but they also bought out one to two years of free agency with Kevin Youkilis [stats], Dustin Pedroia [stats] and Lester. For example, the latter is on a career trajectory that has the potential to mirror that of CC Sabathia, who waited to reach free agency and then inked a seven-year $161 million deal with the Yankees.

There are no guarantees with anything, of course, and there is no doubting the sincerity of such eager Red Sox players and others who opt for early deals (Ryan Braun, Evan Longoria, Troy Tulowitzki) when they say they love their deals because of the financial security they grant them.

Boras, who has only had a couple of clients (Jeff Weaver, Carlos Baerga) sign such deals in recent years, believes players who don’t wait for the free agency status that comes after six years in the major leagues deprive themselves of the opportunity to maximize their earning potential, as well as the earning potential of other elite talents, by deferring that long-range freedom for an early cash grab.

“You have to ask the question, why would teams that have four years of control over a (two-year) player offer six years security?” he said. “The math doesn’t work unless there is a substantial discount.”

It's a good piece, and in what are less than stable economic times you have to wonder if more teams continue to offer these types of deals to young stars.

Japan downs Cuba

In a rematch of their 2006 championship game, Japan defeats Cuba, 6-0. This is no surprise considering Daisuke Matsuzaka started for the Japanese against Aroldis Chapman. Japan is now in control of Pool 1.

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.