Santana weathering the elbow issue

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

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

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

A Wash with baseball news

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

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

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

Dusty betting on Francisco

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

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

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

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

Lachey throwing out Reds first pitch

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

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

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

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

Delino DeShields part II

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

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

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

Don't have to shell it out to get Schilling

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

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

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

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

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

Beltre told "no" for WBC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Odds and ends on potential MLB contraction

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

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

Then there's this one I like as well:

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

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

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

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

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

Marmol leaving Cubs for country

Carlos Marmol, who originally opted out of pitching in the World Baseball Classic, will now go ahead and pitch for his native Dominican Republic. Marmol is doing so despite battling Kevin Gregg for the Cubs closer role.

"I said, 'Look, it's always an honor to represent your country,'" Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "We're not here to make decisions for you. If you feel you want to go, it's the right thing to do. Like I told everybody else, be careful, and I wished him well.

"He's told me three different times he's going, and three different times he's not going. I'm more confused than he is."

Piniella also told Marmol not to worry about the Cubs' job.

"I told him it's not going to make any difference closing-wise," Piniella said. "I said, 'We're going to still let you all compete when you get back,' and that's the end of it. I hope he pitches well and he's happy with that, and so am I."

Sounds like a good deal for Marmol. The Cubs sound like an understanding team, and with seven weeks of spring training this year they'll get plenty of looks at both Marmol and Gregg. Now they have to hope Marmol is ready to go full bore at such an early time of year.

Royals sign Juan Cruz

Free agent pitcher Juan Cruz landed with the Kansas City Royals, signing a two-year, $6 million contract. He'll pitch in the setup role just like he did in Arizona.

Cruz, 30, spent the last three years with Arizona. He was 4-0 last season with a 2.61 ERA in 57 appearances. He struck out 71 batters last season in 51 2/3 innings while allowing 34 hits and 31 walks.

The Royals cleared space for Cruz on their 40-man roster by designating veteran utilityman Esteban German for assignment. The move provides the club with 10 days to trade or release German.

Cruz, a right-hander, is an eight-year veteran who is 29-31 with a 4.00 ERA in 297 career games with four clubs. He has 38 career starts but spent the last two seasons pitching exclusively in relief.

Cruz's fantasy value probably drops from last year to this year. He's a power pitcher, so he'll get strikeouts, but he won't have much of a chance for saves with Joakim Soria firmly entrenched as the Royals closer. Cruz might find less of an opportunity for holds as well, as Kansas City won just 75 games last year while Arizona won 82. You can't hold leads if you don't have them.

Pitchers batting second?

While the St. Louis Cardinals have used their starting pitchers in the eighth-hole of the batting order, the Mets one-upped them on Friday by inserting Livan Hernandez in the number two hole. Is this a harbinger of the two slot becoming a full-blown experiement for the New York National-Leaguers? Will other teams slide the pitcher up to two, hoping to sacrafice each and every time a leadoff man gets on base? The St. Louis Post Dispatch has the answer: a resounding NO!

Today’s starting pitcher, Livan Hernandez, is batting No. 2. Sure, Hernandez is a fine hitting pitcher, but he’s not really a worthy lead-in to the Nos. 3, 4, 5 — All-Stars Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and David Wright, respectively. No, the plan here is to get Hernandez an at-bat. While the Cardinals will continue using the DH for the first half of the month, the Mets are pushing their pitchers up in the lineup to assure they get an at-bat before their day is done. Jerry Manueal wants his pitchers hitting.

So Hernandez will likely pitch a couple innings, but by batting No. 2 he’s sure to get at least a swing.

That actually makes a lot of sense. Get those pitchers at bats so they're ready to sacrafice bunt, move players around and generally hit what they can once the season starts. Well played, Mets.

'Shoe' fitting at second

The Skip Schumaker experiment at second base continued for the Cardinals today, making this Schumaker's third start at the position in four spring games. MLB.com wrote about Schumaker's development at the position on Friday.

"The first three or four plays have been the best for me," said Schumaker, who fielded a popup and a soft liner in his second-base debut on Wednesday. "Getting acclimated, I couldn't ask for an easier way to get kind of settled in. To get into the game and get involved and stop thinking about what's going to happen for that first play is big. So I'm glad it finally happened."

It's still far too early to weigh in with any kind of judgment on the level of success of Schumaker's move. But at least he hasn't done anything to play himself out of the position yet.

"He needs game situations where he's got to run and he can make plays," said manager Tony La Russa. "But he's handling it in a way that makes you want to keep trying."

Schumaker's first full season as a starter was impressive to a degree. At the age of 28 he it .302 with a .359 OBP but with limited power. His eight home runs leave a lot to be desired from an outfielder, whether he's in center or a corner spot. That, and the Cardinals lack at second base, is the reason for his transition to infield.

Fantasy Analysis: It's intriguing to look at the possibilities of Schumaker moving to the infield. His average certainly competes favorably at the position, and he's in a productive lineup, meaning he can be a fairly safe bet to score 80-100 runs if he plays every day. That said, Schumaker is quite a bit below average (even at the second base position) in terms of pop. He turned in a measly .754 OPS in 2008 and hasn't stolen enough bases in recent years at any level to be considered a value in that category. He does, however, merit a look in larger or deeper leagues as a player than can be productive enough not to hurt you at his position. He's potentially worth a roster spot as a reserve or middle infielder if he wins the job.

Carpenter successful in first outing

Chris Carpenter took a solid first step in his attempt to return from a series of injuries dating back to opening night, 2007. He threw 19 pitches and 13 strikes in a spring training start against the Washington Nationals today, working the first two innings to pick up a win.

On Saturday, though, he looked every bit as sharp as ever. He retired the first batter he faced on a ground ball to second base, then hit Lastings Milledge. After that, Carpenter sat down the next five batters. Three hitters flied out to center field, though none of the balls were hit hard. His outing ended when Jesus Flores and Jose Castillo each grounded out to third base.

Carpenter threw 11 pitches in the first inning, eight for strikes. Five of his eight offerings in the second inning went for strikes. He is scheduled to start again on Friday at home against the Mets.

There's no word on Carpenter's mechanics or velocity, but 13 strikes in 19 pitches is a good sign. We'll stop short of glowing over this development as he only threw two innings and 19 pitches. He'll have to show a lot more than that if he wants to return to the Redbird rotation. That said, this is a positive outing, and Carpenter must be watched closely by fantasy owners throughout the spring.

Santana's arm issue a reality drops fantasy value a touch

It's still early in the Johan Santana saga, but his scratched start from Friday is resulting in some speculating from the New York Times that Santana might miss his Opening Day start.

Twenty days after arriving in Florida, he has yet to face a batter.

“We talked about taking everything easy and not going crazy,” Santana said. “Jerry will make a decision on when I will pitch again, and in the meantime I’m going to get myself ready. He doesn’t want me to put myself in any situation where it gets any worse.”

“For me to go out there right now without facing any hitters would be the wrong thing to do,” Santana added. “So we have a plan where I have to throw some light B.P. like I’ve done in the past, and we’ll go from there.”

Still, he would not say for sure whether or not he would start on opening day, April 6 in Cincinnati.

“If it’s going to be me or somebody else, it’s tough to say,” he said. “But right now, on paper, I’m supposed to be the one.”

Santana, who has been throwing every other day, said that he had not had a magnetic resonance imaging exam, but that team doctors told him that his elbow tightness was related to his triceps tendon. He played down the severity, insisting that there are still five weeks until opening day.

As Manager Jerry Manuel put it Friday, the Mets are being “extra, extra, extra cautious.”

Severe or not, this issue is enough to drop Santana behind Tim Lincecum as the most attractive pitcher on fantasy draft day. Lincecum meets or exceeds Santana in every category but wins, and with Johan possibly missing time, Lincecum can beat him there, too.

Fatansy Analysis: It is Spitting Seeds' opinion that Tim Lincecum is the safer bet to have a better 2009 at this time. Santana has plenty of time to get it going this spring, but any arm troubles this early in the year are a cause of concern. Stay tuned.

White Sox have an army of arms

The White Sox are excited about the prospects of their tweaked pitching staff this season, and there's good reason for optimism. The staff features a nice blend of young and not-so-young talent, including Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Mark Buehrle, Clayton Richard, Lance Broadway Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon.

...with five weeks remaining in spring training and plenty of candidates, Cooper has plenty of options for what likely will be a 12-man pitching staff.

There's a groundswell of optimism that Contreras and Colon, who will complete their throwing programs Friday, will be ready to make their first regular-season starts April 10-11 against the Twins.

In fact, manager Ozzie Guillen said Contreras and Colon won't have any restrictions placed on them once they join the rotation. Cooper also has ruled out opting for a six-man rotation to start the season even though the Sox successfully preserved Buehrle's left arm last year by giving him extra rest in April.

"We're looking to leave [spring training] with the guys we feel can win ballgames, and they have a track record, they have an edge," Cooper said Thursday. "Heck, one is a Cy Young Award winner [Colon], and the other is a World Series playoff hero [Contreras]. If they're throwing well, they're going to be in there. If not, we have some other guys to turn to."

While there's uncertainty regarding the timetable for return of both Colon and Contreras, the Sox can get by with a pretty decent group until one or both will be ready. It's hard to believe Baseball Prospectus projected this team to be last in the American League Central. I have a hard time picking them behind Kansas City. Chicago has both good pitching depth and a solid lineup.

Carpenter goes Saturday

The top pitcher to follow Saturday in a spring training game is Cardinals hurler Chris Carpenter, who attempts to prove he's on the road to making the team's rotation.

The Cardinals concede Carpenter's recovery from nerve transposition and an unrelated season-ending nerve condition is the camp's No. 1 concern. Carpenter would prefer the attention go elsewhere.

"Like I've said all along, everybody else is making a bigger deal out of it — understandably," Carpenter said.

Carpenter will face Washington at Roger Dean Stadium and be limited to 40-45 pitches. Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan will fixate more on Carpenter's mechanics and recovery than any instant statistical gratification.

"I know with the way that I feel that I'm not too concerned about it," Carpenter said. "I feel good. I feel strong."

He's the Cardinals number one priority in terms of monitoring progress this spring, and he should be a top priority to follow for every fantasy owner. Carpenter's draft position could slide wildly to either end of the spectrum because of a productive or unproductive performances through the end of March. Watch him closely every time out. He's probably capable of returning to his ace status. Then again, with all the injury problems over the past two years, he's also capable of becoming Mark Prior.

Maine on the mend

While most teams get set to play their first exhibition games today, the Mets got good news from a scrimmage on Tuesday: John Maine is pitching pain-free.

"My arm feels great. My body feels great," said Maine, who went 10-8 with a 4.18 ERA last season. "I just feel like it's been such a long time. The mechanics are a little off and I was rusty a little bit, but other than that, and more importantly, my arm feels good."

Fantasy Impact: A healthy Maine can be the difference for New York this year. Without him down the stretch the Mets struggled and so did some fantasy teams. When healthy, Maine is a solid second or third option in a fantasy rotation, capable of producing wins and strikeouts.

Boof goes poof

Scratch Boof Bonser's name from the starting lineup, and perhaps even from the Twins' setup role this season. He's undergoing shoulder surgery and could be out months.

The decision to have surgery comes after Bonser had two MRI exams and a cortisone shot since the end of last season. The exams showed no structural damage, and the cortisone shot, given a few days before Bonser reported to camp, yielded minimal results.

The surgery will be performed by Tampa Bay Rays team physician Dr. Koco Eaton in St. Petersburg.

"They're going to go in and clean up," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They know that there's a little small spur that's part of the problem. ... There's no timetable right now because first you have to see exactly what happens in the surgery and what else they find. They'll check everything out as they go through it, in a scope fashion."

Bonser's already damaged fantasy value just hit the floor. What happened to this high-end prospect?

San Jose A's?

The San Jose Mercury News believes the "San Jose Athletics" has a nice ring to it. Now that the A's Fremont move has fallen through, the team will restart it process to find a place for a new stadium.

Does MLB want to have two strong and healthy franchises in the Bay Area — or will it continue forcing one team to play in an outdated, mutated multi-purpose stadium in the wrong area code?

I realize that's not how the fundamental question about the A's future is usually framed. Instead, it goes this way: Will the Giants allow the A's to build a ballpark in Santa Clara County, where the Giants own territorial rights?

Wrong. As I have noted, those "territorial rights" do

not "belong" to the Giants. Those "rights" are the property of Major League Baseball, which permits the Giants to claim them. But the "rights" can be overturned with one swift vote by MLB owners.

I think the "territorial rights" argument will be a tough sell: see Orioles/Peter Angelos vs. proposed Washington Nationals. It's a complicated process, however, moving the A's. This will probably play out a while.

Tampa at the brink

According to Tampa Bay principal owner Stuart Sternberg, the Rays pushed their payroll to the absolute limit this offseason in fine-tuning the 2009 roster.

"We, quite frankly, can't really afford what we've got on the field this year. But at least we were able to spend the money on a lot of value, we think, and pieces that will give us the opportunity to grow the franchise over the long haul and give us the best opportunity for success this year."

The number of season tickets sold and the Rays' attendance as a whole this season could impact the ultimate decision on that front.

Sternberg said season-ticket sales are up from last year (single-game tickets go on sale this week), but the Rays expect only one major-league team - the Marlins - to sell fewer season tickets this season.

The Marlins happen to be the only team to also underspend the Rays on their roster last year. Tampa spent $43,820,597 on personnel in 2008. Florida's players cost $21,811,500.

Making just one major signing in Pat Burrell this offseason, the Rays will have to hope the Yankees and Red Sox aren't that improved. If the World Series runner up struggles to get competitive in ticket sales and payroll, how long can they stay at the top? Tampa's relative youth would seem to offset any precipitous downfall, but downward trends are certainly more likely the harder it is to compete financially.