Webb of insurance problems

Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb failed to secure an insurance policy in the offseason because insurance companies were worried about his right arm.

But in using a higher standard when assessing potential risk, multiple agencies had concerns, which created a "red flag" for the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes would neither confirm nor deny the report, telling The Arizona Republic Thursday, "When it comes to details pertaining to negotiations, it's not something I want to talk about on or off the record."

"In the short term," Byrnes continued, "we will continue to monitor Brandon's (health) status and I believe he will be back on the mound shortly. We'll keep everyone notified of that, but talking about his contract or any negotiations is not something we want to talk about."

The more we hear about Webb's shoulder problems, the more concern grows. Here's a pitcher who's logged a lot of innings the past several years and couldn't get an insurance policy for his arm. That can't be a good thing.

Fantasy Impact: Webb will miss his next start. We do want to remember that the Diamondbacks ace passed a physical to play this year. We don't believe that's proof that he's OK to pitch at the Major League level. This latest revelation should have fantasy owners worried.

Joe Martinez concussion

Giants reliever Joe Martinez, who took a line drive to the head in last night's 7-1 win over the Brewers, is recovering from a concussion. The Giants say he has no broken bones.

Update: Martinez did, in fact, suffer skull fractures from the impact. Giants manager Bruce Bochy expects his pitcher to be back to baseball before the end of the month.

Upton "great" after Minor League game

Rays center fielder B.J. Upton, recovering from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, successfully completed a Minor League game Thursday night.

"I feel great physically," Upton, 24, said. "I'm just trying to pan some things out with my swing right now."

Upton grounded out in the first inning and hit an infield flyout in the ninth. He also walked twice and was hit by a pitch that grazed his jersey.

Fantasy Impact: Upton returns to the Rays on Monday. He's on schedule with his recovery and is expected to make a major impact this season. Despite his modest power numbers in 2008, many forecasters expect a breakout 2009 after his postseason power binge. The jury is out Upton becoming a major slugger, but he'll continue to be a speed demon on the bases. We'll look for a .28-100-20-80-40 statline at the end of the season, which is very respectable.

Romero over Porcello in the Ricky Rick show

Ricky Romero got rave reviews for his win over fellow former first-round draft pick Rick Porcello. The Blue Jays 2005 sixth overall pick out-dueled his 2007 seventh-round counterpart. Romero worked six innings, giving up two runs. Porcello gave up four in five.

Fantasy Impact: Must we rave about these two like everyone else? The Romero-Porcello match up got a load of hype, which is understandable considering this was the first time first-round picks debuted against one another. In the end, we're slightly underwhelmed. Despite his ability to limit runs, Romero coughed up a 1.500 WHIP while Porcello gave up two runners per inning. Numbers like those will eventually lead to sky-high ERAs. Porcello's already climbed to 7.20 today. These two have talent, but it's not going to be the smoothest road going forward.

Gotta love Votto

Reds second-year first baseman Joey Votto powered his club to an 8-6 win over the Mets on Thursday, belting his second home run and driving in three runs as part of a 3-5 effort on the day. He looks like a potential All-Star out of the gate.

Fantasy Impact: Votto's got the tools to become a perennial .290-100-30-100 Major Leaguer. That's rare air for a 25-year-old, but Votto's solid 2008 has him pointing up with this red-hot start.

Cain able

Giants pitcher Matt Cain finally got some run support, and the Giants starter turned in a strong performance in beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1. Cain's line for the night: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Fantasy Impact: With Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson ahead of him in the rotation, Cain can settle in and dominate as an extremely capable third starter. Cain's run-support problem left him last in the league in terms of opportunities to win in 2008 and has cost him considerably in fantasy circles. He's good enough to become a fantasy ace if things line up the right way.

Carpenter carves up Bucs

Chris Carpenter looked like his old dominant self Thursday afternoon in a 2-1 Cardinals win over Pittsburgh. Carpenter carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, striking out seven while yielding just three base runners. He fired 61 strikes in 92 pitches.

Fantasy Impact: A very sturdy first step for Carpenter, whose talent no one doubts. Whether he can hold up after multiple injuries is the concern. Enjoy the fantasy fun while it lasts, but this might also be a statement that the Cardinals' ace is back.

Washburn sinking in

Hello, Jarrod Washburn. The Seattle southpaw, an afterthought in the fantasy baseball world, lifted his left arm to the heavens on Thursday night, and each time that arm came down a sinking fastball floated around and under the bats of miffed Minnesota batters. Washburn's new pitch got him through eight innings of five-hit baseball and earned the Seattle Mariners a 2-0 win.

Fantasy Impact: Sinkerballers pose an intriguing value in fantasy play. Typically guys like Chien-Ming Wang and Aaron Cook keep their teams in the game and maintain low ERAs, but they're not going to strike people out. Washburn never did, and in Seattle he's unlikely to win. That said, a pitcher who can get people out and pitch deep into games as Washburn did Thursday always has a chance. That means this old lefty with a new pitch can pay dividends at the back end of most fantasy staffs.

Wednesday's top pitching performances

Koji Uehara did just well enough to win in his Major League debut, beating the Yankees, 7-5.

Zack Greinke out-pitched Gavin Floyd as the Royals shutout the White Sox, 2-0.

Yovani Gallardo homered and outdueled Randy Johnson for a 4-2 Brewers win.-- Start of StatCounter Code -->

Adenhart killed in hit and run

Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed along with three others in a hit and run accident. The accident occurred overnight, after Adenhart had thrown six scoreless innings in his season debut. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Update: The LA Times has more on the accident.

Carpenter set to start

Chris Carpenter says everything is normal heading into his first start of the 2009 season.

"Normal spring training. Normal routine. Normal preparation," Carpenter said. "Last year, I was coming back from surgery. ... This year, I'm going out there to do everything I can until they have to take the ball away from me. I go into it thinking I'll be OK."

Carpenter has made one start at Busch Stadium since leaving the mound on April 1, 2007, and that was five innings Aug. 5. After two elbow operations and two years loaded with rehab, a setback-free spring training allows Carpenter to enter today's start the same as his peers — ready, not recovering.

There's nothing normal about this start. All eyes and ears will be on Carpenter's performance to see if the Cardinals ace is back in form.

Fantasy Impact: Best case scenario is he returns to the top of the heap of fantasy pitchers. Worst case scenario leaves him back on the scrap heap. We're expecting to see flashes of the old Carpenter as early as today.

Cool expectations for Freese

Despite not starting in each of the Cardinals first two games this season, David Freese is still the top candidate at third for playing time.

Freese, acquired for popular center fielder Jim Edmonds in December 2007, bypassed Double-A and batted .306 with 29 doubles, 26 homers and 91 RBIs last year at Class AAA Memphis. His .967 fielding percentage led all Pacific Coast League third basemen, and his 216 assists ranked second.

Still, Freese is prepared for anything. He knows that with La Russa, the master of many lineups, anything is possible on a daily basis.

"Tony kind of expressed that," Freese said. "Early on, just be ready to play because you don't really know who's going to be out there. Everybody has a possibility of going out there."

Fantasy Impact: It's somewhat disappointing for fantasy owners to learn that Freese will not be getting the job full-time with Troy Glaus out. The Cardinals have a number of options off the bench, including Brian Barden and Joe Thurston. At least for the interim, they'll be cutting into Freese's playing time. Consider Freese a stop-gap at third with the potential to produce some pop if he gets consistent playing time. Right now he's better left on the fantasy bench.

A's get Giese

Dan Giese did a nice job in 20 games with the Yankees last season, posting a 3.53 ERA, but the addition of new Yankees arms made the 31-year-old expendable. The pitching strapped Oakland A's picked him up when the Yankees placed Giese on waivers Wednesday, optioning Giese to Triple-A.

“I wasn’t surprised. I thought someone would pick him up,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said before New York faced the Baltimore Orioles. “The job he did for us last year was really, really good. The thing is, he can do a lot of different things for a club. He can start, spot start, long relief, an inning— he’s always going to throw strikes (and) you know what you’re going to get, for the most part, every day. That’s why I felt a club might take a chance on him.”

Giese might get a shot at the Oakland rotation should either Trevor Cahill or Brett Anderson falter in their rookie campaigns. Giese ultimately might end up a swing man, like the role Chad Guadin handled for the A's in recent seasons.

Ichiro itching to play

Ichiro's bleeding ulcer is imroving. He's been cleared to play in extended spring games.

Mauer takes BP

MLB.com reports that Joe Mauer is back to playing some baseball. He's catching bullpen sessions and finally took batting practice for the first time since September. His bad back still does not allow him to run.

Mauer told the newspaper that he still hasn't gotten to the point of running, meaning there remains no timetable for his possible return to the team. While there is nothing specific in terms of him coming back, the club believes their catcher will be back by the end of April.

The only time that Mauer has experienced pain in his inflamed right sacroiliac joint -- where the base of the spine meets the pelvis -- is when he tried to run earlier this spring. The club has said that they are going to wait until all of the inflammation is out of the joint before Mauer attempts to run again.

Fantasy Impact: Is this good news? Anything positive on Mauer is a plus for owners who drafted the batting-title challenger high this year. Mauer is still a ways away from the Majors, however, and a lack of timetable makes us believe he'll miss at least all of April.

The good news is backup Mike Redmond should be able to return as Twins catcher as early as Thursday. His groin pull will not require DL time. Those who picked up Redmond as a replacement backstop should get him back in the lineup.

Morales wins, gets demoted

Rockies starter Franklin Morales tossed six innings of one-run baseball to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-2 but then got shipped back to the Minors. The Rockies wouldn't use their fifth starter for a while in the Majors and want to keep him on schedule that guarantees more starts.

Fantasy Impact: Good fifth starters are tough to come by, because most of them become number fours. If Morales strings together a series of performances like Wednesday, he won't be bouncing back an fourth from Triple-A. Reserve him if you have roster space.

Webb will miss start

AZcentral.com is reporting that Brandon Webb's shoulder is fine, and he should make his next scheduled start on Saturday. MLB.com says otherwise. Actually, Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin himself says Webb is a no-go for the weekend.

"We're going to skip Brandon Webb's next start," Melvin said. "He came in with a little soreness today, and I decided I'm going to take care of this early on. I'm not going to let him go out there and do a bullpen today, as long as there's some stiffness."

Whom to believe? The MLB.com article is more recent, and Melvin sounds definitive. No Webb this weekend.

Fantasy Impact: One missed start is no big deal. More than one is big, and each subsequent missed start is even bigger. Webb went high on most draft boards for his consistency in winning games and striking people out. He can't do either of those on the bench. Place him on the pine and hope for the best.

Bumps and bruises Wednesday

Braves veterans Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson were scratched from Bobby Cox's lineup Wednesday due to minor injuries. Anderson eventually played in Atlanta's 12-11 loss to Philadelphia.

Florida's Jorge Cantu got hit on the hand with a 91-mph fastball but nothing is broken.

Less heat in this Ray

Orioles closer Chris Rays says his velocity is down this season for a reason: he's dialing it back, hoping to become more of a pitcher than a thrower.

"I'm not going out there and putting 100 percent effort into every pitch," Ray said. "As long as I'm putting the ball where I want to, the velocity isn't going to matter as much. It's not a conscious effort. I'm just not going out there grunting on every pitch. I used to just try to wing it. I [stopped doing] it this spring training and it was working, so I'm sticking with it."

Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz said he's fine with Ray's approach.

"He knows his body better than I do," Kranitz said. "It's a process. I don't expect him to come out here throwing the ball 96, 97 miles an hour either. I think that's a good thing for him so he doesn't start overthrowing and missing location."

There's speculation that the Orioles would like Ray to win back his old closer role this season. He did a pretty good job of it as a fire-baller. We'll see if the refined Ray can get it done.

Fantasy Impact: George Sherrill remains the Baltimore closer until otherwise notified. Ray is worth owning for his sleeper potential.

Zimmerman signs with Seattle

The Mariners signed former closer Jeff Zimmerman (36) to a Minor League contract. He's not going to be competing for saves in Seattle any time soon.

It has been more than eight years since the 36-year-old reliever pitched in the big leagues, but Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said a recent tryout in Arizona was impressive and the hurler passed a physical that spanned Monday and Tuesday in Seattle.

Zimmerman will begin workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Wednesday, and he will be on a program that, according to Zduriencik: "Will get him ready to pitch for us this year. I can't tell you the time frame."

Relievers Chad Corder and Tyler Johnson continue their rehab work with Zimmerman in extended spring training.

Fantasy Impact: Zimmerman sounds like middle relief fodder going forward. The article says he's still capable of touching 90 mph, but current closer Brandon Morrow can go there and beyond. Morrow is the present and the future at the end of the Mariners 'pen.

Atlanta bullpen thrasher

The Philadelphia Phillies broke out of some kind of funk on Wednesday, exploding for eight runs against four different Braves relievers in the home half of the eighth to salvage a 12-11 win. Atlanta sent four pitchers to the mound in the inning, and three of them suffered multiple earned runs.

The chronology of the seventh inning collapse:

• O’Flaherty starts the inning for the Braves with a 10-3 lead and gives up a one-out single to Utley, then hits Howard with a slider in his back.

• Moylan replaces O’Flaherty, walks Jayson Werth to load the bases, then yields RBI singles by Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz before a four-pitch walk to Matt Stairs to bring in another run.

• Boyer replaces Moylan with bases still loaded, walks Chris Coste on five pitches to bring in one run, walks Jimmy Rollins on four pitches.

• Jorge Campillo replaces Moylan, bases still loaded, and gives up a Shane Victorino RBI single, then a five-pitch Utley walk that brings in the tying run. Howard’s RBI groundout drives in eighth run, Phillies lead 11-10.

Campillo, the only pitcher to yield less than two runs, gets a blown save. At least he retired more than one batter, something the other three relievers couldn't do combined.

Rodney closes, Tigers bulpen follows suit

This much we know about the Detroit Tigers bullpen: Fernando Rodney is the de facto closer thanks to Brandon Lyon's inability to wrest the job away. After that, there's a lot to be sorted out between Ryan Perry, Juan Rincon and an eventually healthy Joel Zumaya

Those decisions aren't the ones concerning manager Jim Leyland right now. With the relief corps lacking definition at the back end, Leyland wants to get rid of some of the uncertainty.

"We have to get the tail end of our bullpen going," Leyland said, "and we've got to mess with it a little bit until things fall into place."

Asked when he'd like to have his bullpen sorted out, Leyland said, "Now. Now's the time."

Part of the challenge in doing that is the hope that the Tigers have a healthy Joel Zumaya coming back soon. With Zumaya throwing 43 pitches in his most recent extended spring camp outing Tuesday, he's stretching his arm out to the point where a rehab stint at Triple-A Toledo or Double-A Erie likely isn't far off. He's eligible to come off the disabled list Saturday, but barring something spectacular, Zumaya won't be ready to join Detroit then. At this rate, though, he shouldn't be far off.

Both Perry and Rodney pitched Wednesday night for the first time in 2009. In non-save situations Perry struck out one batter in a perfect eighth, while Rodney retired the Blue Jays side in the ninth, preserving a 5-1 Tigers win.

Fantasy Impact: Kudos to owners who guessed right on Rodney winning the war as Tigers closer. He's owned by 75% of Yahoo! players and started by 67%. Rodney's only as safe as his success, however, so be advised that 33 career saves in six seasons to go along with a 1.412 lifetime WHIP spells eventual disaster.

Fish brooms

Update - 2:15 p.m.: The sweep is complete. Marlins win, 6-4.

The Florida Marlins look well on their way to the season's first sweep.

Emilio Bonifacio continues to look like the leadoff man manager Freddie Gonzalez envisioned. In the third, Bonifacio singled, stole second and forced an errant throw leaving him at third base. John Baker singled him home. Then Florida busted it open in the 5th with a three run double from Dan Uggla.

It's 5-2 Florida over Washington in the 6th. Jim Thome said yesterday that championships aren't won in April, but these feisty Marlins look primed to play ball in 2009.

Tigers go to bat for automaker

General Motors might not have the resources to back Major League Baseball teams, but the Detroit Tigers are doing their best to back GM.

This season, fans will see the General Motors name on the fountain along with logos for Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. Underneath GM's name, a sign reads: "The Detroit Tigers support our automakers."

Intersting gesture. The Tigers probably didn't have anyone to fill the ad space around the ballpark anyway. It would be interesting to hear some comments from the the team and GM on this arrangement. Free advertising is likely unprecedented at the ballpark, except for special interests like fundraisers and grassroots benefits.
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Can't catch a break

Update - 1:20 p.m. 4/8/09: Redmond might be headed for the DL. His status will be updated sometime today.

4/7/09: As expected, Twins backup catcher Mike Redmond missed Tuesday night's game with a pulled groin. Third stringer Jose Morales started in a 6-5 come-from-behind walk-off Twins win. Morales struck out in all three of his at bats.

Fantasy Impact: Redmond and Morales are fairly productive for catchers. Redmond owns a career .292 average while Morales hit over .300 his last two seasons in Triple-A. Neither of them, however, has been tested on a full-time basis at the MLB level. Avoid Minnesota catchers until Mauer can return. His unknown status leaves us to believe it will be a while.

White Sox rotation question marks

Jose Contreras gets set to return as the White Sox fourth starter on Friday after rupturing his achilles ankle midway through last season. Bartolo Colon will be the White Sox fifth starter.

Contreras and Colon combined to shut out Arizona at Chase Field on Saturday afternoon, marking the final exhibition contest for the White Sox. Colon fanned six and gave up three hits over five innings, while Contreras started and allowed one hit in four innings.

Saturday's contest had a little bit more of a Major League atmosphere in comparison to Cactus League contests, where the tandem had been roughed up as recently as last Monday against the Angels. But their combined performance gave the White Sox confidence that this tandem would be productive as long as they were healthy.

"They've got to work, but I believe they're going to be healthy all year long," said Guillen, who doesn't plan to skip any starters, even if an off-day gives him the chance.

"Bartolo and Jose's last outing, I think they turned it up a notch. That was very encouraging," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "They are still in what would amount to their fourth week of Spring Training, so there are going to be a couple of starts where they are going to have to grow and get their pitch counts up and you may see Ozzie go out there a little earlier than normal. They are going to grow into a major force on this team. They are not the average four or five guys in a rotation."

That's true, most teams have much different-looking back-end-of-the-rotation guys. Often those slots get filled by younger guys trying to break into a rotation. The Sox went the other way, hoping veterans can round out the staff behind Mark Buehrle and two youngsters in Gavid Floyd and John Danks. It's an odd pairing at the back end, and if it works the Sox will look like geniuses.

Fantasy Impact: We're leaving these two on the waiver wire for now, but if one of them gets hot, he's likely gone before you can grab him. If you must indulge, Colon's the bigger injury risk at this point in his career. Pick up Contreras.

Peter who?

An interesting piece from Rick Maese in the Baltimore Sun regarding owner Peter Angelos's role with the team. The Orioles owner seems to be very aloof, to a major fault. Orioles star outfielder Nick Markakis barely has a relationship with the man.

Markakis had never met the Orioles owner before this week. In fact, neither had most players in the clubhouse.

"I'd never even seen a picture of him," reliever George Sherrill said.

The Orioles' exciting Opening Day win over the New York Yankees on Monday was packed with drama and at least a couple of onfield shockers. But there were two things that surprised me most, both revelations from the postgame clubhouse:

1. To players, Angelos has been little more than a signature on a paycheck.

2. They wish he was much more.

This is going to sound like heresy in some corners of the Orioles kingdom, but could it be possible Angelos plays too small a role in his empire?

No one's suggesting we revisit the days when important baseball decisions were made by people who learned the game from the backs of baseball cards. But there has been a push to get Angelos more involved with the players. One game into the season, in fact, it's already a successful movement.

That's beyond weird. This can't help team morale.

Fontenot starting vs. lefties

The Cubs started second baseman Mike Fontenot against Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez despite the presence of switch-hitting second baseman Aaron Miles on the bench.

We'll give him an opportunity here early in the season and see how he does," manager Lou Piniella said. "I like the idea of having some left-handed hitting against left-handed pitching. … I think it makes the pitcher work both sides of the plate. Maybe as the season goes on, we'll have a little more left-handed hitting from time to time against certain left-handers."

Fantasy Impact: This doesn't mean Fontenot will always be the lefty bat in the Cubs order against lefties, but it's a nice vote of confidence from Piniella in his pint-sized second baseman. Fontenot went 0-4 on the night in a 3-2, 10-inning Astros win. Expect him to continue to get the bulk of the time at second base, but against dynamic southpaws, he'll likely sit.

Cubs lose Soto for a few days

The Cubs may be without starting catcher Geovany Soto for a few days. He felt pain in his throwing shoulder while gunning down Kaz Matsui on a steal attempt in the third inning of the Astros 3-2 win over the Cubs Tuesday night.

"I kind of over-exposed my shoulder a little bit," Soto said. "There was a little discomfort in my shoulder. I felt some weakness in it, and I felt I didn't have a shot if somebody else [tried to steal]. I need to keep up my exercises, and we'll see how it is in a couple days."

Soto said he had the same problem in Spring Training and doesn't expect to miss much time.

"You never know," he said when asked how long he'd be sidelined. "I just have to stay on top of my exercises, and I'll be all right in a couple days. As long as I stay in good shape and do my exercises, it won't happen again all year."

Fantasy Impact: Koyie Hill is Soto's backup this year. He beat out Paul Bako for maybe one start each week to spell Soto. That means he's a true backup catcher unexpected to pay dividends in fantasy baseball. Hill did hit 17 homers at Triple-A Iowa last year, which is very impressive considering the accident that nearly ended his baseball career.

Ryan blows save; Downs up for Jays?

Toronto closer B.J. Ryan blew his first save opportunity of the season, coughing up a home run to the Tiger's Brandon Inge in the ninth. Fortunately for Ryan, the Blue Jays rallied for a run in the bottom of the inning to earn their closer a win.

Fantasy Impact: Cue Scott Downs? Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston says Downs is waiting in the wing if Ryan falters. He got that much closer tonight.

Franklin named "Closer For a Day"

Had the Cardinals entered a save situation Tuesday night, Tony La Russa would have turned to Ryan Franklin for his closer, not Jason Motte. Motte, the Cardinals rookie closer, blew his first opportunity at a save on Monday, giving up 4 runs in the ninth. La Russa said Franklin would go Tuesday because Motte threw 29 pitches in the loss.

So before the second game of a four-game series Tuesday, manager Tony La Russa planned to give the hard-throwing right-hander a day off.

Ryan Franklin, who had 17 saves last year while the Cardinals struggled to find a replacement for Jason Isringhausen, was the likely choice to close Tuesday.

Fantasy Impact: The high pitch count certainly has merit, and Franklin never got a chance to close with the Cardinals whipping the Pirates, 9-3. Motte should be back in the closer role on Wednesday. If he's not, then something's up.

Phat Albert

Albert Pujols is bouncing back nicely from offseason elbow surgery. He's 5-7 on the season after belting a home run and going 2-3 for the Cardinals in a 9-3 win over Pittsburgh.

Fantasy Impact: Hanley Ramirez is the most valuable player in fantasy baseball heading into this year, but nobody is better in a one-off at bat than Pujols. He hit .357 with an elbow that needed surgery last season. That's insane.

No Molson

Rogers Centre had it's liquor license revoked after unruly behavior during the Blue Jays' opening night. That meant no alcohol sales for tonight's game against Detroit.

The clubhouses were cleared of booze, too, after the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario suspended the liquor license at Rogers Centre for three dates because of past infractions.

The panel cited five broken rules at baseball and football games and concerts dating to the Canadian Football League championship game in 2007. The stadium will also be dry on April 21 when Toronto plays Texas, and for a CFL game on Aug. 1.

The hype surrounding Chris Dickerson

Dusty Baker isn't going to bat left-handed-hitting Chris Dickerson against tough lefty pitchers. That's why Dickerson sat in the season opening loss to Johan Santana and the Mets. Dickerson is still one of Baker's favorites, however, and the Reds manager expects big numbers.

“I don’t think he knows exactly what he can do yet,” Baker said. “I know exactly what he’s capable of doing. In my mind he’s capable of 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases. … If you look at talent, that’s why I told him what I told him. He has the talent, in my mind, to have been here before now.”

Dickerson, drafted by the Reds in the 16th round of the 2003 draft, reached the majors for the first time last August. He took the roster spot vacated after the Reds traded Adam Dunn to Arizona, then hit .304 in 102 at-bats.

Fantasy Impact: How often does a part-time player hit 20 homers? It's been done before. Plenty of platoons have produced good fantasy numbers. It's the reason guys like Matt Stairs are even on the radar in most years. Do not, however, allow Dusty Baker to sway your fantasy decision-making. Dickerson only batted .260 in Triple-A last year and struck out over 100 times in 349 at bats. That's not quite Mark Reynolds territory, but it's not that far off, really. He's a decent talent who turns 27 this week. He's due for some breakout moments, but we'll expect something more modest than what Baker is looking for. Maybe 15 homers and 20 steals with another .260 average.

Debating what's good defense

The Tampa Bay Rays rose to the top of the American League in 2008 in part because of their outstanding defense. Matthew Leach of MLB.com takes a look at MLB teams recent infatuation with analyzing defense, and the statistical information involved.

When it comes to assessing and predicting pitchers, we're getting closer too. The predictive value of strikeouts is clear and well-known. The once revolutionary notion of defense-independent pitching statistics has taken some hold.

But defense remains, in many quarters, a mystery. Fielding percentage is clearly outmoded, but even the numbers that seemed so compelling a few years ago -- such as zone rating and range factor -- have been exposed as limited. Defense is the frontier, and it's not just observers who are trying to figure it out. Teams are. "I think people are putting more resources into it," said Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak. "There's a very healthy debate on how you actually capture it." ">MLB.com's Matthew Leach takes a look at defensive analysis in 2009, which more teams are actively addressing

2009 Fantasy Baseball Utility Player Forecast

Updated 4/7/09 -- A list of the top players with probable multiple-position availability for the 2009 season. They are graded out with either an A-grade of excellent value, a B-grade of good value or a C-grade of passing value. Positions are also graded individually.

A-grade players should be starters on every team, and should provide the highest of impacts at most of their positions. Players that earn a B-grade should provide value at or above the value of the better players at their positions. C-grade players will get you by, but you're better off owning a player entrenched at any of their positions who will likely provide better numbers.

($ players are sleepers whose stats can vary wildly due to a lack of time in the majors, injury issues or significantly different roles with new teams)

A
Miguel Cabrera, 1B(A+)/3B(A+) - DET
Kevin Youkilis, 1B(A-)/3B(A) - BOS
($)Alexei Ramirez, 2B(A-)/SS(A)/OF(B-) - CHW

B
Adam Dunn, 1B(B+)/OF(B+) - WAS
Garrett Atkins, 1B(B)/3B(B+) - COL
Victor Martinez, C(B+)/1B (B-) - CLE
($)Chad Tracy, 1B(B)/3B (B+) - ARZ
($)Chris Davis, 1B(B)/3B(B) - TEX
($)Jorge Cantu, 1B(B-)/3B(B) - FLA
Russell Martin, C(A)/3B(C+)
Chone Figgins, 2B(B+)/3B(B)
Aubrey Huff, 1B(B)/3B(B+)
($)Mike Aviles, 2B(B)/SS(B+)
($)Pablo Sandoval, C(A-)/1B(B-)/3B(B-) - SF
Mark DeRosa, 2B(B+)/3B(B-)/OF(C) - CLE
Carlos Guillen, 1B(B-)/3B(B) - DET
($)Chase Headley, 3B(B-)/OF(C+) - SD
Mark Teahen, 1B(C)/2B(B)/3B(C+)/OF(C-) - KC
($)Ian Stewart, 2B(B-)/3B(B-)/OF(C+) - COL
Jose Lopez, 2B(B)/1B(C) - SEA
Casey Blake, 1B(C+)/3B(B-) - LAD
($)Hank Blalock, 1B(C+)/3B(B-) - TEX
($)Felipe Lopez, 2B(B-)/3B(C+)/SS(B)/OF(C-) - ARZ

C
($)Conor Jackson, 1B(C)/OF(C) - ARZ
Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B(C+)/SS(C+) - CLE
Ty Wigginton, 3B(C)/OF(C-) - BAL
Marco Scutaro, 2B(C)/3B(C-)/SS(C+) - OAK
Clint Barmes, 2B(C+)/3B(C-)/SS(C+) - COL
($)Jed Lowrie, SS(C+)/3B(C-) - BOS
Skip Schumaker, 2B(C)/OF(C-) - STL

Rockies second base platoon

The Colorado Rockies appear headed for a second base platoon until either Clint Barmes or Ian Stewart emerges as the every day starter. Stewart got the nod over Barmes on opening day.

"Obviously that's what (Hurdle) thought was the best lineup to win. I would like to be in there, but that's just the competitor that I am," Barmes said. "I understand that this is about what's best for the team. Nothing will change my attitude. I will be a professional."

Barmes was the first example of Hurdle's plan to play his best lineup every day, no matter the setting. The choice of Stewart surprised some players, but none spoke out publicly.

Hurdle had math on his side: Stewart's numbers against starter Brandon Webb (2-for-6) were better than Barmes' (6-for-26).

"We have laid it all out. If it's about their ego, it's the wrong thing," Hurdle said. "If they have any questions, they can come in and we will talk about it. You want every one of your players to want to play."

Fantasy Impact: Stewart batted .293 and slugged .524 with a high on base percentage in the minors. He's got a ton more upside than Barmes, who still produces acceptable fantasy numbers for his position. Ideally, you want to own Stewart, but you might be waiting for every day at bats. The good news is the Rockies might eventually try him in the outfield this season.

Double double

Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark each hit home runs from both sides of the plate on opening day, the first time that's ever been done by two players on the same team.

Houston has no problem (economically speaking)

Despite the recession, Houston fans came out in record numbers for opening day willing to spend.

No quivering for Qualls owners

The Diamondbacks bullpen looks very strong out of the gate with Tony Pena and Chad Qualls mowing down the Rockies bats in the eigth and ninth innings. Pena struck out two of the four batters he faced while Chad Qualls pitched a perfect ninth.

"Over my whole career, I've never had the chance to be the guy," Qualls said. "In Houston, with (Brad) Lidge, I kind of filled in here and there. But I never got, 'OK, you're the closer.' And that's my goal, to go out and prove to everyone that I can close."

Fantasy Impact: Qualls leaves little to be desired. He's a pitcher who's never posted an ERA above 3.76, with a career mark at 3.27. His WHIP climbed above 1.3 in 2007, which is the worst of his career. Overall his career WHIP of 1.202 is very solid. Qualls strikes out just under a batter per inning, and he's an experienced MLB pitcher, meaning he's poised to become a solid closer.

Izturis is good, for a day

CC Sabathia got rocked in Baltimore in his first start as a Yankee, giving up six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He didn't strike out a single Orioles batter. But what was most shocking in the 10-5 Baltimore beat-down of New York was Cesar Izturis belting his first, and perhaps his only home run of the season.

Fantasy Impact: Here's hoping you started Izturis. He might not hit another one this season. Izturis owned 12 home runs in 3,165 previous MLB at bats. In 2008 he homered once, the first time he went deep since 2006.

Motte can't mop up the Pirates

Cardinals closer Jason Motte blows his first save opportunity of 2009, giving up four runs in the ninth as the Cardinals fall to Pittsburgh, 6-4.

Fantasy Impact: Motte did have the Pirates down to their last strike before the wheels fell off. Then he proceeded to give up four runs for a 36.00 ERA. If this keeps up, Ryan Franklin is the heir apparent to the job in St. Louis.

In good hands with Hanley

Fantasy owners will love Hanley Ramirez's production in the heart of the Marlins order this year. After notching just 59, 81 and 67 RBI in his first three seasons in the big leagues, Ramirez tallied five on opening day, thanks to a grand slam home run.

Fantasy Impact: He's the best offensive player in baseball, and his value at shortstop is that much more. Emilio Bonifacio and Cameron Maybin might do more of the running in Florida, but Ramirez is capable of turning in elite numbers in every offensive category in 2009.

Welcome back, Chad Tracy

Chad Tracy, one of Spitting Seeds' sleepers for 2009, made a huge impact on opening day. Hitting fourth in the Diamondbacks lineup, the third baseman smacked him first home run of the year, going 3-4 with two runs and two RBI. He was actually outdone by teammates Felipe Lopez and Tony Clark, who each hit two homers.

Fantasy Impact: In some leagues, it's just nine more starts for Tracy at third to become eligible at the position. He's fully recovered from knee surgery, so we're expecting big things. Lopez is an intriguing sleeper with multiple-position eligibility. He hit 23 homers to go along with a .291 average in 2005, but he's streaky at times, and by streaky we mean slump-prone. Clark will fill in for Tracy at times or when Tracy is in for Mark Reynolds at third. Hey, if both guys mash homers like this, Reynolds might be sitting more and more.

Bonafide Bonifacio

We told you about Emilio Bonifacio and his abilities as a burner at the top of the Florida Marlins lineup. Monday he turned in a Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes-like opening day, going 4-5 with 4 runs scored, 2 RBI, 3 steals and the first inside-the-park home run since 1968. His Marlins beat the Nationals, 12-6. Not a bad day.

Fantasy Impact: First, the good news. Bonifacio is a special talent. His speed is stunning. If you see the home run replay, he was alread around 2nd base when Nationals center fielder Lasting Milledge got to the ball hit over his head near the warning track. That's blazing speed.

The bad news? Bonifacio is only 23, and he's never been tested over a full season in the majors. His homers might only come by the way of the inside-the-park variety, and his career minor league OBP is just .340. He leaves much to be desired, unless he continues to get on and run like he did against the Nats.

Hoffman's slow return

Trevor Hoffman will not be available on Saturday, the first day he's eligible to come off the disabled list. His oblique strain is causing the Brewers to bring him along slowly, allowing Carlos Villanueva a chance to close games to start the year.

"Will he be ready on the 11th? Probably not," manager Ken Macha said Sunday before the Brewers worked out at AT&T Park. "Let's wait until he gets on the mound and then we'll start looking at what the possibilities are."

Macha said Hoffman would throw off a flat surface at a longer distance during a workout Monday.

"If he comes through that, Roger said they may be able to give you a plan for what's going to happen," he said, referring to trainer Roger Caplinger. "It's going to be awhile."

In Hoffman's absence, Macha plans to give right-hander Carlos Villanueva first crack at closing games. Villanueva has not previously filled that role in the majors.

Fantasy Impact: Villanueva is a decent saves option for week one of the sesaon. When Hoffman returns, however, the job is his. Milwaukee owns a bullpen filled with pitchers with a handful of saves each, so if Villanueva falters you can pounce on another arm.

Anderson to start opener for Detroit

The Tigers will have three new faces in the lineup when they open the season in Toronto. Newly acquired Josh Anderson gets the nod in left field, bringing instant electricity to the base paths. His start, however, should not be considered a revelation that he'll become the day-to-day left fielder.

Tonight, leftfielder Carlos Guillen will be the DH. Guillen has had leg problems in past seasons, and manager Jim Leyland doesn't want to overtax his legs on Toronto's artificial turf.

But Leyland also wants the speedy Anderson in the game. Speed can become precious in a low-scoring game, which is what right-handed starters Roy Halladay and Justin Verlander could produce tonight. Leyland picked the speed of Anderson for tonight's lineup over the power of Marcus Thames and Jeff Larish.

"Turf, speed, defense," Leyland said of putting Anderson in left. "He might chop one (off the turf for a hit). He might score a run."

It could be the kind of game, said Leyland, where the difference can be "beating out a force play or going first-to-third." That's Anderson's game.

"Marcus or Larish might hit a homer off Halladay, but that's kind of unlikely," Leyland said.

Fantasy Imapct: A start on opening day doesn't mean much for Anderson's fantasy impact as of right now. He's a part time player, but with so many part-time types on the Tigers, he's bound to see his at bats limited. Streaky production like his does not play well in fantasy, unless you can get away with only using Anderson for steals.

Snowed Out

Chicagoans woke up to snow on the ground Monday morning. Therefore, no baseball between the White Sox and Royals on opening day. They'll play the opener Tuesday.

Rangers Frankly infatuated with Frank Frank

The Texas Rangers love 29-year-old closer Frank Francisco, whom they believe has lights-out stuff that's capable of dominating MLB hitters. He was once a fastball-only type whose repertoire is evolving.

Francisco, however, is no longer a one-dimensional pitcher. He spent much of last season working hard to make his splitter and curveball major league quality.

Now he's done it.

He can throw either pitch for a strike, which means hitters can't wait for his 96 mph fastball. He can get a called third strike with his splitter. Or throw the curveball early to get ahead in the count before finishing batters with the fastball.

"He throws so hard that he doesn't need to throw many breaking balls," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "It's just a change-of-pace pitch for him."

Fantasy Impact: It's Francisco's job to lose, but Texas has pitchers with more experience in the role than him. Francisco is entrenched to start the year, but if he falters, the hook can come quicker than in other organizations.

Minute Maid anniversary

It's the 10th anniversary of Minute Maid Park in Houston. Hard to believe the ballpark's only been around for a decade. The Astros' park seems to have been there for 15 years.

Braves to honor Maddux

The Braves will retire Greg Maddux's No. 31 jersey on July 17th in a ceremony at Turner Field.

Platoons in Arizona?

Chad Tracy will start in place of Mark Reynolds at third base, and Eric Byrnes will get the nod over Justin Upton for the Diamondbacks in their opener against Colorado. Bob Melvin says it's a move to get the D'Backs best lineup on the field on a game-by-game basis.

"The only message we're sending is we're trying to run the best lineup out there on a particular day," he said. "They know that. We've addressed it. There's no hidden messages for anybody. It's about winning, and everybody's on board with that."

Melvin wanted Clark in the lineup because he is a switch-hitter, and Colorado Rockies right-hander Aaron Cook has never handled left-handed hitters as well as right-handers.

Tracy also has played better than Reynolds defensively in spring training, a factor that could come into play more with Brandon Webb, an extreme ground-ball pitcher, on the mound.

As for right field, Byrnes is 7 for 23 (.304) and Upton 1 for 9 (.111) in their careers vs. Cook. Byrnes also looked much better than Upton at the plate in spring training.

Fantasy Impcact: OK, but that sounds like a potential platoon situation at both positions. Arizona has four outfielders capable of starting with Connor Jackson, Chris Young, Upton and Byrnes. They've also got Tracy capable of playing both first and third. If this keeps up, Reynolds and Upton's fatnasy value falters from starters to part-time players. Tracy's value improves as a potential full-timer at two positions. The article does explain that Reynolds and Upton are expected to be in the lineup on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Scherzer starts season on DL

Max Scherzer's stint on the disabled list to start the season doesn't sound like a major concern.

"Basically he needs to strengthen his shoulder," D-backs director of player development A.J. Hinch said. "We're going to give him a break. It's kind of a good time to give him a break and a blow and the ability to do that."

But this isn't the first time his shoulder has slowed his progress. In 2008, Scherzer missed time in the summer, hitting the DL with shoulder fatigue.

In 2007, Scherzer's shoulder, which first caused some concern at Missouri, led, in part, to decreased draft value.

Scherzer fell to the Diamondbacks at No. 11 because he battled shoulder tendinitis in his final season at Missouri ... and because of the specter of a prolonged negotiation with agent Scott Boras

.Fantasy Impact: That's at least three shoulder reports in four seasons. Scherzer was good enough to be one of the top 3 picks the year he was drafted, so if he gets into form he's deadly. But that's what they say about Rich Harden, another shoulder struggler who continues to miss chunks of time with his bad wing. Scherzer is starting to sound like an injury-prone ace. Get him in later rounds, but don't over pay, and don't expect anything more than a No. 3 or 4 fantasy starter. He'll likely throw less than 150 innings in the D'backs No.5 slot in the rotation.

Who is Ricky Romero?

Toronto's makeshift starting rotation includes up-and-comer Ricky Romero, who's generally an unknown in fantasy circles. At one time, however, Romero was a high-end prospect.

But subsequent inconsistency and arm trouble plagued him through 2006 and 2007, and his comeback in 2008 was slower than the club might have hoped for. He struggled to a 4.96 ERA in 21 starts at Double-A New Hampshire, but when he moved up to Triple-A Syracuse, he had a 3.38 ERA in seven starts down the stretch, giving cause for optimism.

It looks as though his former struggles were very apparent in Blue Jays camp and nearly cost Romero a shot to even make the roster, let alone the rotation.

After an early spring outing that saw him walk six batters in less than two innings, the club prepared to send him to minor-league camp. But pitching coach Brad Arnsberg intervened and adjusted Romero's technique, and Romero pitched well enough in three subsequent starts to break camp with the big club.

"You don't take anything for granted and you try and just stay as humble as possible when you're out there," Romero said.

Fantasy Impact: No reason not to monitor Romero in deeper leagues, or you could even give him a flier if you like resurrection projects. We'll take a pass until he puts it together over a handful of starts.

Soria gets sorted

Royals closer Joakim Soria made good in his last spring training outing, firing a perfect ninth inning in a 5-4 win over Texas. That's a lot better than his last two appearances when he gave up 5 runs in 1 2/3 innings. The Royals attributed his problems to illness, lack of normalcy due to pitching in the World Baseball Classic and a minor groin issue.

Fantasy Impact: Soria is one of the handful of elite closers in the game. His numbers are off the charts, and if the Royals approach a .500 record in 2009, he'll draw comparisons to Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan and Brad Lidge.

Wilson works for SF

Pitching for the first time in 10 days after a finger infection, Giants closer Brian Wilson tossed a shutout inning on Friday night. Wilson took Saturday off. He's expected to pitch Sunday in the Giants final tune up, making him available for opening day on Monday.

Settling into New Yankee and Citi

The new New York stadiums are on display with game action for the first time tonight with the Yankees hosting the Cubs and the Mets facing off against the Red Sox. First impression? Citi Field looks better on TV. The Mets park has a lighter backdrop behind home plate and feels more inviting. Also, the sight lines seem better at Citi Field with the home plate camera on a more traditional angle looking out at the field. New Yankee Stadium's home plate camera is extremely low, leaving the screen in view seemingly any time the ball is in play, including on home run balls.

It's weird to see such dark walls at Yankee Stadium. I miss the lighter blue padding, which gave the old park a more homey feel.

Sheff and the Mets

The Mets sign Gary Sheffield and plan to use him as an outfielder. That means Sheffield will certainly take playing time away from Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis.

"He's more than welcome," Church said. "He's a great player and he's just another piece for us.

"I can't control what they do," the right fielder added in regards to potential at-bats he'd surrender to Sheffield, who played exclusively at DH last year in Detroit. "I just have to always be ready to play every day."

Murphy, who Manuel penciled in as the starting left fielder coming out of spring training, added: "We're here to win a World Series. If the organization and Omar (Minaya) think he's going to help, let's go get him."

Both Manuel and Minaya indicated that Sheffield is more likely to play right field than left and said the righty slugger can balance the Mets' lineup, which has been dominated by lefthanded hitters in recent seasons.

Sheffield brings 499 career home runs to the Mets. He'll get every chance to prove he can still hack it at the MLB level. It's a good move for New York, which has a rather unimpressive outfield situation for a contender.

Fantasy Impact: For Sheffield owners, this is about as good as it could get. Your injury-prone bopper will get a bunch of at bats, and he'll be part of an above average lineup. For Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church owners, this drops both players into a full-time platoon.

Who is Walter Silva?

He's a Padres rookie starter who on April 8th will make his debut as a 31-year-old rookie out of the Mexican League. I went digging to see if there's any kind of scouting report on Silva, and the best I can do at this time is some info the Padres offered to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

A converted outfielder, Silva has pitched professionally in Mexico since 2002. Last summer, he was 7-8 with a 4.21 ERA in 21 starts for Monterrey. But over the past three seasons, Silva was 24-18 with a 3.89 ERA in 56 starts. And last winter, Silva was 5-4 for Mazatlan with a 3.23 ERA and was 1-1 in two Caribbean starts with a 2.25 ERA.

Black scouted Silva during the Caribbean Series in Mexicali.

“I liked his arm action and delivery. It looks like he has the ability to move the ball. I like his slider.”

Fantasy Impact: Silva's stats underwhelm, especially considering they come from the Mexican League. Can he provide the Padres much of anything? The good news is he's pitching in a pitcher's park, last I checked. Petco is the best place to break into MLB as a pitcher. He also keeps the ball down, which improves his chances to have a decent ERA. He won't win much as a Padre, but the intangibles are OK. I'd burn a flier on him if you need a risk-reward type at this time.

Ichiro disabled

Ichiro hit the disabled list today due to a bleeding ulcer. His medical situation sounds like it's in check now, but the ulcer coupled with general fatigue have landed him on the 15-day disabled list.

The move was retroactive to March 31, meaning Suzuki won't be eligible to come off the disabled list until April 15.

"He said he's tired. He's got some fatigue," manager Don Wakamatsu said Thursday morning in Arizona.

Suzuki didn't arrive at Mariners spring training until March 26, after leading Japan to a second consecutive WBC title. The high pressure of playing in the WBC combined with the expectations from his home country made the championship hugely satisfying.

"The expectation from the people of Japan was uncomparable this time. So to become champions in that situation is something that has a lot of meaning for me and what kind of emotions and expectations the Japanese players played upon is something you guys here can't imagine," Suzuki said through a translator when he arrived in Arizona. "That's how much was riding on this. Although three years ago was very fulfilling ... it's uncomparable how much more fulfilling it was this time."

Fantasy Impact: Ichiro will be back. Ulcers are generally minor in nature, and Ichiro is scheduled to come off the DL by April 15th. If you need a speedy alternative, the Yankees Brett Gardner, the Marlins Cameron Maybin and the Marlins Emilio Bonifacio are all burners with a chance to steal you some bases while Ichiro is out.

Penny money in latest tune-up

Battling back from shoulder fatigue in 2008, Red Sox pitcher Brad Penny threw five innings on Thursday -- topping out in the mid-90s on the gun. He appears ready for his first start of the regular season.

Beset by ominous signs concerning his health at the outset of spring training, Penny completed a full recovery yesterday. He passed the final test in the Red Sox' last game in Florida, the five hits and three runs he surrendered to the Minnesota Twins less important than the 94- and 95-mile-per-hour heaters his right shoulder consistently unleashed. Barring a change in the rotation owing to weather, Penny will make his regular-season Red Sox debut April 12, the first day Boston will need a fifth starter.

"I felt like I could throw my 80th pitch as hard as I threw my first," he said. "No pain. Velocity was there. I think today was probably the best overall stuff I've had this spring."

Which means it was the best stuff he's had since virtually as long as he can remember. Penny started on Opening Day last season, an honor bestowed to only 30 men. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings for the Dodgers, but he never felt right last year, not even in his first start. "I probably topped out at 89 Opening Day," Penny said.

Fantasy Impact: I'm a huge fan of Penny when he's healthy, and so are the Red Sox. Winning the 5th starting spot in the Boston rotation means Penny edges out Clay Buchholz, who had thrown as well as anyone for Boston this spring. Buchholz will take his 2.52 spring ERA back to Triple-A.

Shaping up with infomercials

How do big leaguers get themselves in shape for baseball? Infomercial products. That's Matt Diaz's approach, anyway.

Yankees: ticket masters

The Yankees do have a spending conscience! Or at least Hal Steinbrenner does. He says some New Yankee Stadium tickets are overpriced.

“I think if anybody in any business had known where this economy was going to go, they would have done things differently,” Steinbrenner said Thursday. “Look, there’s no doubt small amounts of our tickets might be overpriced.

“You know, we’re continuing to look into that. But the bottom line is, the vast majority of them, it seems like they’re right on because we’ve sold 35,000 full season equivalents, and a lot of the tickets have, you know, sold quite well. And, well, despite what’s out there all the time … there’s thousands and thousands of very affordable seating. And, you know, the public is excited, as excited as we are, I think.”

Well, of course, just small amounts of tickets. You have to pay for Tex and CC somehow.

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.