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.