2004 Spring Training News Thread

[Chief Rum]

I have no idea if this will work, but I will give it a shot.

I love baseball, and I know a bunch of you guys do, too. We're just about to start spring training games and really get the ball rolling.

Every year at this time, though, I find it extremely hard to follow all the goings-on. It's tedious to read team camp reports every day, and even if you do it, there's so much to take in, you'll forget half of it by the time you're done with it, much less later on in the season when you're trying to look smart talking baseball. ;)

So I thought we could have this thread. We can post anything baseball related here, although preferably it would be limited to on-field stuff (position battles, potential trades, who's doing well and who's not, injuries, etc.)

We all have favorite teams. I was thinking it would be best if we simply every now and then tossed up something about the team or teams that we follow (along with commenting on other news items' if so desired). Important stuff like Opening Day lineup decisions or surprising cuts or injuries that could have a huge effect and so forth.

I think this will help us in two ways. One, we'll be able to follow baseball's general news flow without losing half a day (I have no doubt if we get enough people involved that most of the major stuff will be covered). Two, we'll all be better prepared for fantasy leagues, of which I know many of us are a part of.

No need to confirm you'll follow a team, and anyone can just post. Just if anyone has fantasy or just baseball on-field news from spring training, go ahead and post it. Even if it's obvious and we all already know it, it will be useful to have it all in one place.

Chief Rum

[Vince]

Great idea CR. I intend to follow Spring Training a little more than usual this year, so I'll chip in when I can.

[damnMikeBrown]

Cincinnati, 2 March '04:

This just in. The Cincinnati Reds have been demoted and are now a AAA team in the American Association. It is expected that Louisville will be called up to the Majors some time this week.

The commishoner, taking a moment to comment while unpacking the new shipment from Balco said "Cincinnati? Are they close to New York?".

/end

[Chief Rum]

Quick report on the Angels...

Early on, Vlad Guerrero is showing no signs of discomfort in his back and has been launching the ball impressively and running with ease. He doesn't have any pain in his back from the herniated disk problems he had last season, but he said yesterday he will still where his back brace for a while as a precautionary measure...

...Several projected starters who had major injuries last year seem to be fine right now.

Troy Glaus had a shoulder injury that put him out for half the year. He elected to let it heal naturally, rather than have surgery and he says it feels fine. Glaus also had laser-eye surgery so he wouldn't have to wear contacts anymore.

Darin Erstad says he is feeling good after several injuries last year hit him. He is injury-prone, but it is thought his move to first base will stop him from running into walls and what not so much.

Adam Kennedy broke his hand inthe second to last day of last season, but he is fine. So is Benji Molina, who also broke his hand last year.

David Eckstein said he has never felt better. It was never really revealed that Eckstein played most of last season with leg problems (I forget what they were exactly) that limited his range and his swing.

Jarrod Washburn was also limited by an injury for much of the season last year. I forget the injury there, too, but it put him out of Opening Day last season and he worked throughout the rest of the year.

I haven't heard anything bad or good about Percival and his injuries from last year. Far as I know, he's fine. He arrived in camp and has been throwing along with everyone else, just haven't seen any news reports about him.

...Garrett Anderson (to CF), Tim Salmon (to DH), and Erstad (to 1B) have said they are all fine with the moves. Anderson and Erstad have experience at their new positions anyway, and Salmon, well, you don't need experience to be a DH, at least not in the field.

...Mike Scioscia has been saying he thinks his lineup will be as follows...

SS Eckstein
1B Erstad
RF Guerrero
CF Anderson
3B Glaus
LF Guillen
DH Salmon
C Molina
2B Kennedy

Scioscia also says he views the Glaus, Guillen, Salmon trio as pretty much interchangeable throughout their positions in the lineup, based on matchups.

...There was a lot of talk in the offseason about who would make up the five rotation spots, with at least seven major-league quality starters on the team. That's all fluff. Everyone pretty much knows the rotation will be Colon, Washburn, Escobar, Ortiz, Lackey, and that Aaron Sele and Scot Shields will be in the pen.

...Rumors are still going around about Wash or Ortiz being shipped out, but nothing specific. The ANgels would really like to trade Sele, but no one will take on his $8 M contract.

...Owner Arte Moreno has said resigning Garrett Anderson is his number one priority, but all team sides are saying it will get done, and don't seem concerned about the timing. GA's agent said they wanted a deal in place by Opening Day, but GA himself seems laid back about it all.

CR

[korme]

Gotta love the Angels this year.

[MrBug708]

Dodgers were just bought by a Boston fan whose never been to Dodger stadium.

So much for winning a playoff series *sigh*

[dawgfan]

Early injury news regarding the Mariners:

- RP Rafael Soriano has been shut-down with a strain in his oblique muscle. He's likely out of action for the next 2 weeks or so, though he is doing water workouts in the hydrotherapy pool. He's questionable at this point to start the season.

- C Dan Wilson felt a twinge in his oblique muscle a few days ago. He suffered a pulled oblique last year in Spring Training which slowed him down for the first few months of the season, so he and the M's are being very cautious with this recurrence of soreness.

- OF prospect Chris Snelling continues to be snakebit by injuries. Coming off of 2 knee surgeries, he had to shut down on his first day of BP when he aggravated an improperly healed hamate-bone injury he never knew he had. When doctors operated, they discovered he'd broken the bone previously and hadn't healed properly. They elected to remove the hook portion of the bone which was causing irritation in his wrist. He'll likely be out for a month or so.

Interesting position battles to watch:

- Bullpen: Closer will be Eddie Guardado with Kazu Sasaki returning to Japan. Shigetoshi Hasegawa will be used in a variety of roles, from backup closer to RH setup man to use as a "2nd lefty" due to his effectiveness against lefty batters. Prior to his injury Soriano was pencilled in as a prime setup man with an eye to him becoming a closer in the future. Julio Mateo is probably a lock to make the team as a middle guy after his success last year. Ron Villone and Mike Myers will compete with homegrown Matt Thornton to fill the role of lefty specialists in the pen. Soriano's injury may allow the M's to start with Villone as a long-man and Myers as a specialist.

- Catcher: Ben Davis is expected to grab the starting job and start living up to expectations on him as a hitter.

- Third Base: Scott Speizio is expected to be the full-time third baseman, a position he hasn't played extensively in a few years. The M's are counting on him providing much better production than they got out of Jeff Cirillo, though they will lose something defensively.

- Outfield: With the loss of Mike Cameron and the signing of Raul Ibanez, Randy Winn will shift to CF with Ibanez in LF. There is some speculation the M's will be watching the Central Division race closely to see if either or both Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran will become available.

The M's rotation seems set with returning starters Jamie Moyer, Joel Pineiro, Freddy Garcia, Gil Meche and Ryan Fleming. The M's will be watching Meche closely to see if he can hold up physically - last season, returning from 2 years of major shoulder injuries he started off strong but faded badly in the 2nd half of the season. Garcia will also be closely watched - he has #1 starter stuff but has struggled with major inconsistency for the last 1.5 seasons. The M's have highly regarded prospects in Clint Nageotte, Travis Blackley and Rett Johnson waiting in AAA Tacoma. These three would be prime candidates to replace an injured or traded starter, and will be key trading chips if the M's look to acquire a big bat during the season.

[WSUCougar]

Questions abound with the Cardinals heading into Spring Training. Key issues of the moment are RHP Woody Williams' tendonitis, and the contract status of SS Edgar Renteria and RHP Matt Morris in the wake of the Pujols signing.

A bright spot so far (and admittedly it's VERY early) has been the lively stuff of pitchers Cris Carpenter and Alan Benes. The former is expected to compete for a role in the rotation, while Benes is a long shot returning to his original team. Both are rebounding from arm injuries.

[Vince]

dawgfan - with the huge pickups by the Angels, and the A's always seeming to find a way to win even after losing huge names, how do you expect the M's to fare this year?

[dawgfan]

dawgfan - with the huge pickups by the Angels, and the A's always seeming to find a way to win even after losing huge names, how do you expect the M's to fare this year?

The Angels made some great moves picking up Vlad and Colon. That said, based off of last season they have a lot of ground to make up. I tend to agree with the assessment made by Rob Neyer that while the Angels have improved a great deal, they aren't necessarily clear favorites over the A's and Mariners. They were 19 games back of the A's and 16 games back of the Mariners; the A's may slip a bit losing Tejada and Foulke, while M's seemed to essentially tread water with their moves.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Angels win the division, but the early hype that they are clear favorites seems a bit overoptimistic to me - on paper, I'd say Oakland, Seattle and Anaheim are fairly even. The downside to the M's is that they're a year older; can Edgar stay healthy, can Olerud bounce back, will Ichiro continue his slide from great to merely good, will the improvements in offense with Aurillia, Speizio and Ibanez offset the decline in fielding? Can a team that has started strong and then faded the last 2 seasons avoid that fate?

One upside to the M's is that they are in a better position financially this year to make a big move during the season if the opportunity is there. I'd like this team better if they could acquire Ordonez or Beltran, but who knows if either will become available, and if so how much they'll cost in terms of prospects.

I think the M's will likely be in the playoff mix, and I'm certainly not conceding anything to Anaheim at this point - I'm expecting a competitive race.

[Vince]

Well, here's a tremendous site run by a few friends of mine on the Giants. Feel free to check it out...they've got some great stuff there.

www.fogball.com (http://www.fogball.com)

[Chief Rum]

Nothing is for sure in the AL West. All three of the top teams can be expected to play well, and even the Rangers are no slouch for a last place team.

That said, you better not count on last year's results as an indicator of the Angels' likelihood to succeed last season. If you check out my Angels report above, you'll note the ton of injuries they had last year. That and inconsistent starting pitching was pretty much the reasons they fell back. They had the same talent as when they won the Series, about the same as the A's and M's had last year. It was just that for the Angels a lot of that talent was either on the DL or apparently dealing with the usual post-Series swoon.

To that team--which is essentially intact, minus Spiezio and Brad Fullmer--they have added the aforementioned guys in Colon and Escobar and Guerrero and Guillen.

Like I said, nothing is a given in the competitive AL West. All three teams have proven it. But in my mind, it is clear the Angels have the most talent now, and if they stay healthy and the new guys mold together well with the holdovers, they are going to be very, very good and should [key word] win the AL West by a single digit lead.

But that's why we play the games.

dawgfan, any reason you think Spiezio will be much worse on the field? Was Cirillo so great? I had never known him to be a great fielder, although that could just be ignorance on my part. Just so you know, Speizio played a lot of third base last season when Glaus was gone for the last half of the season. Also, Spiezio was excellent at first--I am talking Gold Glove excellent (he got jobbed in 2002). He showed fine range to both sides and his glovework was incredible. He robbed so many doubles the past three seasons, it was brutal. Third base puts the emphasis on the opposite side, of course, when it comes to stopping doubles, and he will see more shots and have to make his throws across the field, but he held up well at 3B last season and is pretty versatile. I have a feeling you won't be concerned about him defensively, and his wing seems well suited for Safeco. Great all-around guy, too. I miss him. :)

BTW, I think Wilson's injury pretty much hands that catching job to Davis. See, now that's good stuff to know. It makes me put Davis higher upin my fantasy charts. :)

CR

[Vince]

dawgfan, any reason you think Spiezio will be much worse on the field? Was Cirillo so great? I had never known him to be a great fielder, although that could just be ignorance on my part. Just so you know, Speizio played a lot of third base last season when Glaus was gone for the last half of the season. Also, Spiezio was excellent at first--I am talking Gold Glove excellent (he got jobbed in 2002). He showed fine range to both sides and his glovework was incredible. He robbed so many doubles the past three seasons, it was brutal. Third base puts the emphasis on the opposite side, of course, when it comes to stopping doubles, and he will see more shots and have to make his throws across the field, but he held up well at 3B last season and is pretty versatile. I have a feeling you won't be concerned about him defensively, and his wing seems well suited for Safeco. Great all-around guy, too. I miss him. :)
I'll put aside my unreasoned hatred for Spiezio aside for the moment (damn game 6...damn it to hell!).

CR, as far as I know (and I know nothing of Spiezio's defensive ability), Cirillo is one of the better fielding 3Bs in the league. I'd think that barring a few players, anyone would be a step down in defense from Cirillo.

[sterlingice]

Garth Brooks had the biggest hits (and an error) in Royals camp today. Go figure. The only other news today is that Affeldt blew 3 people away in 10 pitches and Santiago was one of the "Steroid Six" and he promptly no commented.

SI

[Carligula]

A few notes from the A's camp:

- The Chavez contract talks have gone from "It's a done deal, we'll work it out in a few days" to "It'll take a few weeks, but it should get done" to... silence. Looks like he's gone.

- Mark Mulder (back spasms) and Rich Harden (sore shoulder) are both slightly hurt and threw BP for the first time in several days yesterday. I would be more than a little concerned about Harden, but it's his non-throwing shoulder.

- If the pitchers can be believed, they think Damian Miller's the greatest thing since sliced bread. If they're happy, the A's will not lose much at all by trading Hernandez; he almost certainly had a career year and wouldn't have hit anything near that even if they had brought him back.

- The A's are talking up Michael Rouse as a backup infielder; if he makes the team he would probably take Frankie Menechino's spot. Except for a few good months in 2000 or so before he got hurt, it has never been entirely clear to me what, exactly, Menechino does that someone else couldn't do at least as well.

- DH/OF? Jermaine Dye is healthy and has come through a grueling offseason workout program in the best shape of his life. I'll believe it when I see it.

- P Jim Mecir is healthy. As above, I'll believe that when... scratch that, I'll never believe it.

- For you fantasy-league types, Arthur Lee Rhodes is scheduled to be the closer. The A's do not tend to switch closers in the middle of the season, so even if he sucks he should be good for 35-40 saves.

[sterlingice]

A few notes from the A's camp:

- The Chavez contract talks have gone from "It's a done deal, we'll work it out in a few days" to "It'll take a few weeks, but it should get done" to... silence. Looks like he's gone.
Gee... where have you guys seen this act before? :(

SI

[dawgfan]

Chief -

Cirillo is an excellent fielder. Had he not been so horrible with the bat the last couple of seasons he would've received serious GG consideration. While Speizio may have been good at 1B, he's definitely a step down at 3B from Cirillo as a fielder.

We'll see about the Angels - I expect them to be good, but even with Colon and Escobar added, I have some doubts about the pitching. Escobar isn't that great and has yet to crack 200 IP; Lackey slumped in his sophomore season; Washburn is good but regressed a bit last year; Colon is potentially very good, but he wasn't that great last year and with his conditioning you have to wonder when injuries may start setting in; Ortiz was a disappointment last year. The bullpen was very good, but Percival remains a bit of an injury risk.

As an Angels fan I'd expect you to feel like the 2002 season was the real talent level of the team while 2001 and 2003 were the aberrations; we'll see. I suspect 2002 was a peak that will be hard to duplicate. As I said, it wouldn't shock me to see the Angels do very well this season, but I just don't see it as a slam-dunk that they are clear AL West favorites.

[henry296]

The biggest position battle in Orioles camp is for second base between Jerry Hairston and Brian Roberts. Could have some fantasy impact as the winner should be the leadoff hitter and score some runs with the O's new offense plus both have decent speed and steal a decent amount of bases.

Hairston has been the starter but missed half of last year and Roberts played well. However, early in camp Roberts has back spasms and will miss the first couple of spring training games.

[sterlingice]

Great thread, Chief :D

SI

[Chief Rum]

Actually, dawgfan, we weren't bad in 2001 or in 2000 either. It's just no one noticed with the A's and M's doing so well. If you look back at the past four seasons, last year is more the aberration, not 2002. If it weren't for a weird history of bad Septembers, we would have won 90 games in both 2000 and 2001. Conquering that odd September thing (which really started in '95 when we let you guys back into the race) was a big issue in the 2002 season.

Some notes on the guys we have pitching that you see concerns,

Escobar-- he doesn't have 200+ ip, because the Jays never figured out how to use him. Even last year, he wasn't starting until halfway through the year. His entire time in Toronto was spent splitting time between the pen and the rotation. He may have other issues, but if you're riding your hopes on his durability, I assure you that's an issue that isn't a proven bad thing for him yet.

Washburn-- was hurt most of last year. All you have to do is look at his numbers the past four seasons, and you will see that. Easily his worst season (and he still led our starters in ERA).

Colon-- You're right that you have to think at anby time a guy in Colon's condition will finally break down. But the fact is, he has always carried around a lot of weight, and he has 200+ ip in every year except his rookie season and I think three years ago (where he had 170-180 or so). The guy is a horse. Sure, there's an injury risk there, but you have to admit there's a lot more evidence to suggest he's going to be just fine. I'm much more concerned he will give up too many homers than I am that he will get hurt.

Lackey-- Kid wins Game 7 of the Series and everyone loves him, and you think he isn't going to be effected by that? Lackey had a bad sophomore slump to start off, but he was much better in the second half and in September he was very strong. Everything I have read (including non-Angels sources) indicates a general belief that he was going through the usual maturity growing p[ains and that the stuff he was showing at the end of the year is his real stuff.

Oritz-- Only guy I agree completely with. To be honest, I would like to deal Ortiz, and let Scot Shields start. I don't think Ortiz is ever going to really harness his stuff. He gives up too many homeruns and he is too inconsistent by far. He was really luck to get 15 wins last year with his ERA--he got a lot of run support.

But let's say I am wrong, that Colon gets hurt, Escobar plays bad, whatever. We also have Scot Shields, Aaron Sele, Kevin Gregg, and fireballer Chris Bootcheck, among others to back them up. Shields and Gregg both showed they have major league stuff last year. Sele, as you well know, can get it done with veteran savvy--sure he won't star, but that's a decent arm to throw in there if needed. Bootchecxk has a triple-digit fastball, and a load of talent. And that doesn't even consider superstar pitchers on the way in Bobby Jensk and Ervin Santana that aren't all that far off. Both of those pitchers are rated among the best prospects in baseball.

And even if all of our pitchers stop going after the fifth inning and we lose Percival--we still have one heck of a bullpen. This is the best pen in baseball. That's been proven two years running now. Everyone has been asking Stoneman about Brendan Donnelly and K-Rod. These guys are dominating. K-Rod is the same guy you all saw in the postseason two years ago. He quietly had a very solid "rookie" year. Donnelly went into the All Star break with a sub-1.00 ERA and ended up with brilliant numbers ont he year. These are the guys we have setting up Percy. They are both very capable of closing. We also have Ben Weber, who hasn't had an ERA higher than 3.00 in 3-4 seasons, I believe. He's one of the best middle relievers in the biz. And until we get injuries in the rotation, we still have that starting rotation depth in the pen. SHields was just as great in the pen as he was starting, and that's where he will be to start the year, along with Sele as well.

And that doesn't even talk about if Percy is healthy. Everyone knows what he is capable of when he's healthy.

It's going to take a lot of things going wrong at once to mess up this staff. I'm not saying it can't happen. Heck, with the Angels' odd bad luck history, anything's possible. But I wouldn't place any bets on that luck. They seem just about as solid as you can be with their all around pitching depth and arm quality.

I'm much more concerned that the position players stay healthy and return to form than I am about the pitching.

BTW, even with all the problems and injuries last season, the Angels still had the 6th best ERA in the AL.

CR

[Neuqua]

Achilles heel? Cubs say no
Expected to be out at least 5 days

Advance ticket sales called 'mind-boggling'
Mar 1, 2004

By Paul Sullivan
Tribune staff reporter

March 1, 2004, 10:39 PM CST

MESA, Ariz. -- Mark Prior's season got off to a rocky start Monday when the Cubs shut him down with an inflamed right Achilles' tendon.

Prior likely won't be allowed to throw for 7 to 10 more days. Instead of six Cactus League starts, Prior may get only three or four starts if he's pushed back a couple of weeks.

"I don't foresee this being so long where I'm going to miss a whole lot," Prior said. "I might not get six whole starts, but as long as I get a few times off the mound ... I might not be able to go as much as I want Day One, but I don't think it's going to affect me in the regular season."

Prior said he first noticed the injury last September, but received treatment on it and continued pitching. The Cubs managed to keep it a secret until Monday, even though Prior had a magnetic resonance imaging test performed on the heel last Friday.

The MRI found no structural damage, but the injury could be easily aggravated because it's on the foot he pushes off with during his delivery.

"I hope it's not a nuisance like it was last year," he said. "But if it is, it's something we'll take care of and push through."

Trainer Dave Groeschner said the chances of Prior not being able to start the season are "pretty slim."

"If it was the season right now, could he go out and pitch? Absolutely," Groeschner said. "We're being pretty aggressive with the treatment right now. If it was the season, we'd get him out there to pitch, and Mark would want to do that. But we have an opportunity right now to get rid of this."

Manager Dusty Baker said the Cubs are simply taking a "conservative" approach.

"We're not that concerned," he said. "Things happen. I don't care who you are, you're always susceptible to something happening. I'd rather have it happen now and hopefully we can get this thing over with."

Prior spoke to former Cub ace Ferguson Jenkins, who told him he blew out his Achilles' and missed six months one season. "It's not something we're taking lightly," Prior said.

Prior pitched off a mound during the first week of spring training, but has sat out the last few days after a recurrence of the pain. Groeschner pointed to the wet fields, increased running after a relatively inactive off-season and Prior's "monster calves" as factors in the injury.

"We thought over the winter it would heal," Baker said. "He has those big old legs and calves, and I'm sure that put some kind of pressure on it."

Baker said there are plenty of pitchers in line to take Prior's innings the first two weeks of exhibition games.

General manager Jim Hendry said reliever Mike Remlinger, rehabbing slowly from off-season shoulder surgery, is 50-50 to start the season with the team. If Kent Mercker's sore back doesn't respond to treatment, the Cubs could face the prospect of having to use one or two inexperienced left-handers out of the pen in April.

Baker mentioned lefties Carlos Vasquez, Renyel Pinto, Felix Sanchez and Jimmy Anderson as possible candidates. Vasquez and Pinto pitched in Class A last year, Sanchez was in Double A and Anderson has a career 5.43 earned-run average in three-plus major-league seasons.

Hendry said he would not look outside the organization for another left-hander, and Baker didn't seem concerned.

"I come into every spring counting on a guy I didn't count on," Baker said.

Looks like this spring will be no different.

[dawgfan]

Actually, dawgfan, we weren't bad in 2001 or in 2000 either. It's just no one noticed with the A's and M's doing so well. If you look back at the past four seasons, last year is more the aberration, not 2002. If it weren't for a weird history of bad Septembers, we would have won 90 games in both 2000 and 2001. Conquering that odd September thing (which really started in '95 when we let you guys back into the race) was a big issue in the 2002 season.

I gotta call you on this one - the Angels win totals for the last 4 seasons:

77
99 - Won the W.S.
75
82

Which year is the aberration?

Look, I understand Anaheim had a lot of injuries last season, and the natural inclination in Spring is to play the eternal optimist with your favorite team. Maybe the Angels had an inordinate amount of injuries last season. Maybe they were unusually fortunate in 2002 when everything went just right. I suspect the true level of ability of Anaheim was better than they showed last year, and not quite as good as they showed in 2002. If you split the difference that's 88 wins - a good team. Adding Colon and Vlad are definite plusses, with Escobar and Guillen nice additions (though not as likely to be major impacts).

Oh, and Seattle has had some real bad Septembers lately, but the M's have still won 93 games each of the last 2 years despite their late-season swoons. September counts too... ;)

As for the pitchers, Lackey wouldn't be the first guy to have a sophomore slump and then rebound from it. He also wouldn't be the first guy to perform quite well in his first season then decline after the league gets a good scouting report on him.

I know Escobar hasn't ever been a full-time starter before thus never cracking 200 IP, but regardless of why he hasn't, it still has to be a bit of a concern - can he hold up with that many innings for a year?

Colon will likely be real good.

I would be disappointed as an Angels fan if they won less than 90 games this season. Will 90 win the division? Probably not; despite the loss of Foulke and Tejada and the health concerns over Mark Mulder, you can't really rule the A's out of contention just yet, and the M's, despite their age, also deserve the benefit of the doubt given their history. I suspect 95 wins might win the division, and I think the Angels are capable of that, but I'm not sure they're that much more likely to reach that mark than Seattle or Oakland (though this could be the year Oakland backslides just a bit).

Like I said, I expect a close race. Weird things happen in baseball, so that prediction could well turn out to be way off, but that's how I see it shaping up.

[mckerney]

This just in from Fort Myers...


...Joe Mauer is still awesome. :)

[Chief Rum]

I'm not saying anything about the competitiveness of the M's and A's. I know they will be good, and I know the AL West is going to be a tough division. I'm just saying if you're counting on some of the things you're counting on, than I want to play you in poker, because you're making some bad bets. ;)

You just posted the win totals. You didn't note that that 82-win season was an above-.500 season, which is solid. You also don't note that the worst season--the 75-win season--was in a year when the Angels were in the same division as two 100-game winners in the A's and M's, and that the Angels were right in the middle of the wildcard race in late August. Yes, the September collapse was bad, and yes, Septembers count. But to say that Angels team was bad or indicative of a string of losing years like you would have, is completely misleading things.

I said either of those teams could have won 90 games. I don't think that's much of a stretch from how they were performing. It was exactly the sort of thinking you are doing now that led people to assume the Angels would be nothing in 2002. I knew better. I had watched the team and saw them put up good seasons in '95, '97, '98, and '00 with essentially the same corps of players, and come within a bad September of being very respectable in '01, too--in baseball's toughest division. I saw that and I knew if the Angels could stay healhty, they would surprise some pople. Surprised people enough to have a 116-win season team in '01 sitting nad watching them in the playoffs the next year.

Much of that core remains even now. All it needs to do is stay healhty.

As for Lackey, yes, some pitchers collapse when the league figures them out, but you are ignoring the fact Lackey had a very good second half. That doesn't really abide with your theory at all. That much more goes along with a guy coming off of a supreme high who is also very young, and finally getting it together, then it does a league figuring a guy out. If they had, Lackey would have been miserable the entire year, not just before the break.

You're right that Escobar hasn't been proven to be a 200 ip pitcher. But you're calling it an automatic fault. That's incorrect. It's an unknown. Neither you nor I know if he will be strong through 200 ip-plus. That's not a positive or a negative, at the moment. Not until we know more.

One thing we do have in our favor in there, is that if Escobar does falter, we have the pen to back him up. I notice you still haven't mentioned our pen...;)

CR

[Terps]

The biggest position battle in Orioles camp is for second base between Jerry Hairston and Brian Roberts. Could have some fantasy impact as the winner should be the leadoff hitter and score some runs with the O's new offense plus both have decent speed and steal a decent amount of bases.

Hairston has been the starter but missed half of last year and Roberts played well. However, early in camp Roberts has back spasms and will miss the first couple of spring training games.

I wish they would just trade one of them already. I think it's pretty evident that one of them is going to have to go, because McLemore is likely to be the utility man, and Rule 5 pick Jose Bautista will probably stay on the 25 man roster all season like they did with Jose Morban last year.

I see them having Palmeiro, Hairston OR Roberts, Tejada, Mora, Lopez, Bigbie, Matos, Gibbons, McLemore, Bautista, Gil, Cust, and either Segui or Cordova(whichever one can stay healthy through ST.)

In other O's ST news, Adam Loewen is scheduled to pitch in Wednesday's intersquad game, Jose Morban finally arrives to camp after having visa problems, and Denny Bautista and Eddy Rodriguez still haven't reported because of visa problems.

[dawgfan]

I'm not saying anything about the competitiveness of the M's and A's. I know they will be good, and I know the AL West is going to be a tough division. I'm just saying if you're counting on some of the things you're counting on, than I want to play you in poker, because you're making some bad bets. ;)

Really? 3 of the 4 seasons listed the Angels averaged 78 wins. In the other one they notched 99 wins. Regardless of how the end result is acheived, whether it be slumping in September, injuries, tough competition - the number of victories at the end of the season is what counts. As an Angels fan you're taking the most optimistic view of the why, which I completely relate to. I'm just pointing out that, based on the results, the season that looks like an aberration is 2002.

Like I keep saying, I expect the Angels to be good this season - at least 90 wins good. I expect them to be right there with the A's and Mariners. I don't expect them to run away with the division, though anyone that's studied baseball knows that funny things can happen.

You just posted the win totals. You didn't note that that 82-win season was an above-.500 season, which is solid. You also don't note that the worst season--the 75-win season--was in a year when the Angels were in the same division as two 100-game winners in the A's and M's, and that the Angels were right in the middle of the wildcard race in late August. Yes, the September collapse was bad, and yes, Septembers count. But to say that Angels team was bad or indicative of a string of losing years like you would have, is completely misleading things.

The 82 win season was solid, but it was also 17 wins away from 2002, which is a significant amount. I didn't say, nor was I trying to imply that the other 3 seasons were indicative of the Angels being bad - merely that when used as comparison to the 2002 season, it seemed to suggest that the 2002 team was a bit of an aberration.

I said either of those teams could have won 90 games. I don't think that's much of a stretch from how they were performing. It was exactly the sort of thinking you are doing now that led people to assume the Angels would be nothing in 2002. I knew better. I had watched the team and saw them put up good seasons in '95, '97, '98, and '00 with essentially the same corps of players, and come within a bad September of being very respectable in '01, too--in baseball's toughest division. I saw that and I knew if the Angels could stay healhty, they would surprise some pople. Surprised people enough to have a 116-win season team in '01 sitting nad watching them in the playoffs the next year.

I've never denied that the Angels had a great season in 2002, and it wasn't a complete surprise. I don't think though, given the evidence that it's too out of line to suggest that the 2002 team was an example of a team having a season where things just seemed to go right.

Until the AL Championship Series, the same thing could've been said about the Mariners' 2001 season - I don't think anyone seriously believes they were one of the all-time greatest baseball teams just because they won 116 games, merely that they were a very good team that just had things really go their way that year (until they ran into the damn Yankees...)

Much of that core remains even now. All it needs to do is stay healhty.

That's a key for pretty much any baseball team.

As for Lackey, yes, some pitchers collapse when the league figures them out, but you are ignoring the fact Lackey had a very good second half. That doesn't really abide with your theory at all. That much more goes along with a guy coming off of a supreme high who is also very young, and finally getting it together, then it does a league figuring a guy out. If they had, Lackey would have been miserable the entire year, not just before the break.

If you studied half-season trends of the kind you point out for Lackey, you'd find that as often as not those trends don't accurately predict future performance. Can his performance be accurately explained by your theory? That's one possibility, but it's certainly not the only one.

You're right that Escobar hasn't been proven to be a 200 ip pitcher. But you're calling it an automatic fault. That's incorrect. It's an unknown. Neither you nor I know if he will be strong through 200 ip-plus. That's not a positive or a negative, at the moment. Not until we know more.

No, I didn't call it automatic fault - in fact I called it exactly what you did, an unknown.

One thing we do have in our favor in there, is that if Escobar does falter, we have the pen to back him up. I notice you still haven't mentioned our pen...;)

You guys have had a good pen, but I don't think it's that much better than Seattle's.

[Chief Rum]

Really? 3 of the 4 seasons listed the Angels averaged 78 wins. In the other one they notched 99 wins. Regardless of how the end result is acheived, whether it be slumping in September, injuries, tough competition - the number of victories at the end of the season is what counts. As an Angels fan you're taking the most optimistic view of the why, which I completely relate to. I'm just pointing out that, based on the results, the season that looks like an aberration is 2002.

Like I keep saying, I expect the Angels to be good this season - at least 90 wins good. I expect them to be right there with the A's and Mariners. I don't expect them to run away with the division, though anyone that's studied baseball knows that funny things can happen.

My original poiint with that was that the Angels weren't bad in 2000 or 2001 like they were in 2003. They were a solid team in both seasons. You suggested they were bad in those years. I am telling you as a daily observer of those teams that they were much better than you're saying.

You're basing your view on wins alone. I am pointing out the relative quality of the teams. The teams in 2000 and 2001 did not differ in quality too much from 2002. In 2003, thanks to the fact half the team was on the DL, and those who weren't were having bad seasons, that team was worse than any Angels team since 1999. I have merely been saying that in talent and level of play, the teams of 2000 and 2001 were much closer to the 2002 team than in 2003. I realize that you would have to accept my observations on that, but, God's honest truth, it's true. The 2000 and 2001 seasons were the same as the 2002 team in quality of play, except they had a bit worse luck and maybe lacked one or two key players (Lackey, Appier).

It was these observations on which I was basing my comments about these teams. I'm asking you to look beyond the wins here. I'm talking about the quality on the field. It was on these observations that I based my belief that the Angels could be pretty good in 2002, and it turned out I was right.

The 82 win season was solid, but it was also 17 wins away from 2002, which is a significant amount. I didn't say, nor was I trying to imply that the other 3 seasons were indicative of the Angels being bad - merely that when used as comparison to the 2002 season, it seemed to suggest that the 2002 team was a bit of an aberration.

Answered above. Different perspectives.

I've never denied that the Angels had a great season in 2002, and it wasn't a complete surprise. I don't think though, given the evidence that it's too out of line to suggest that the 2002 team was an example of a team having a season where things just seemed to go right.

Until the AL Championship Series, the same thing could've been said about the Mariners' 2001 season - I don't think anyone seriously believes they were one of the all-time greatest baseball teams just because they won 116 games, merely that they were a very good team that just had things really go their way that year (until they ran into the damn Yankees...)

Never said the 2002 team didn't have a lot go its way. In fact, that actually lends credence to my observations, because if we take your reasoning that the Angels had some extraordinary good runs of luck in 2002, and note my observations of bad runs of luck in prior years, it goes to show that the 2002 team wasn't all that different from the 2000 or 2001 team in quality of play. And it certainly wasn't too different from a roster composition perspective. The Angels lineup and rotation didn't change much at all in those seasons.

That's a key for pretty much any baseball team.

Not all teams when they stay healthy stand a very good chance at winning their divisions. I'll bet the Devil Rays could fail to lose one single player to even as much as a hangnail all season, and they won't come within 20 games of first place in the AL East.

I merely noted that if the Angels stay healthy, they could be a very good team again.

If you studied half-season trends of the kind you point out for Lackey, you'd find that as often as not those trends don't accurately predict future performance. Can his performance be accurately explained by your theory? That's one possibility, but it's certainly not the only one.

Actually, I pointed that out in response to your theory on how he will perform this year. I never said a good end of year performance automatically becomes a good start to the next year. I'm just noting that it is evidence of improvement, that may have come from maturity or experience, that he can take over into the new season.

Then you tossed out your theory that the league had figured out Lackey. To which I pointed out that his second half performance seems to run against the logic of your theory.

Lackey is far from a lock for anything. We both agree on that. But we disagree on degree here. There are indications he can be good again this season. The fact is that in seven of the ten months he is pitched, he has been very good. Scouts continue to say he has great stuff. Performance can only be helped by experience. He isn't too old to be losing physical skills. And his late success indicates that the league hasn't "figured him out". All of these indications point to the likelihood he could be solid this season.

To this, you say "anything can happen", more or less. The only evidence you have is a bad start to the 2003 season, something that is quite possibly explained by coming off of a Series win and dealing with the pressure of success as a young kid in the spotlight.

I don't think I am off my rocker to say there is more evidence to suggest a return to form than what you would suggest.

No, I didn't call it automatic fault - in fact I called it exactly what you did, an unknown.

Context, dawgfan. I had just finished making a positive assessment of the Angels. You were counterpointing my post. As such, you were coming from a negative perception. Since you didn't actually say Escobar was an unknown above 200 ip, but merely stated his failure to yet do so, in that context, it reads very much like it was Escobar's failure to not have pitched 200 ip. It is in that way that you assessed an automatic fault, even if you didn't say it in so many words.

You never once said it was an unknown actually. You just stated what he hasn't done. How did you think that would read? Like impartiality or as a negative? All I did with that was note that Escobar's failure wasn't really his fault, but that of the Bluejays, who failed to determine what role was best for him and then leave him there.

You guys have had a good pen, but I don't think it's that much better than Seattle's.

I never said Seattle's pen was bad. That is irrelevant. My observation on the pen was solely in response to your questioning Percival's durability and the effect his loss would cause, and on how the pen was strong enough to compensate if any of the factors you brought up about our starting pitching surfaced.

Chief Rum

[Chief Rum]

dola,

Obviously, dawgfan, we are both coming from biased perspectives and neither of us are going to change the other's mind. I didn't start this thread so we could bicker about whether the Angels are going to be good this year. If you want to respond to my above post, fine, but barring any outright falsehoods in said post (which I don't think you would do), I won't respond and we can just return to the business of dispensing spring training news and discussing the upcoming season.

Good luck this season. I'm sure it will be an exciting race in the AL West.

CR

[korme]

Looks like recent Reds signee John Vanderwal may miss the entire 2004 season.

[Lucky Jim]

Since this seems to be an AL West heavy thread at the moment, some more Rangers trade possibilities here:
hxxp://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2004/columns/story?columnist=klapisch_bob&id=1749776

Soriano to the Mets?

[John Galt]

early news regarding the Yankees:

It is hard to be a Yankees fan this year. I grew up rooting for the Yankees during the years when they didn't win anything. I rooted for Mattingly and he was my favorite player. I went through the Tartabull years, Billy Martin every other year, Brien Taylor, and the rest of the missteps. So, when they finally broke through and won with a team I really liked, it was fun. And then we won again and again, and it was fun.

Now, it isn't so much fun anymore. Routing against George (but for the Yankees) doesn't work anymore. I want a team to move to DC so I can cheer for my hometown. I still love the Yankees, but the fun is gone.

For actual scouting reports, consult any website or newspaper, because there is WAY too much coverage already. ;)

[Ksyrup]

This is from SI's Postcard from Camp series, about the Phillies:


By Michael Farber, SI.com


Player I Saw Whom I Really Liked
Pat Burrell. Roberto Hernandez was throwing lights-out batting practice Sunday, with so much pop on his fastball and so much break on his slider that neither Ricky Ledee nor A.J. Hinch hit a fair ball. Then Burrell stepped in with instructions to do some situational hitting. As manager Larry Bowa yelled, "Runner on third, no outs," Burrell scorched a line drive to left for a money, albeit virtual, RBI.

When Hernandez came off the mound, he was beaming. "That was a slider," he told Burrell. "You really kept your shoulder in. You didn't dive at it like you were doing last year." Burrell fell off a cliff in 2003, his average dipping 71 points, his home runs falling by 17 and his RBI total dropping from 116 to 64 despite a hefty 522 at-bats in the middle of a lineup that included Jim Thome and Bobby Abreu. If the left fielder finds his stroke, the Phillies should have the most potent lineup in the NL East.

Team's biggest strengths
The pitching staff, top to bottom. The Philadelphia rotation might not have the marquee appeal of the Houston Astros or Chicago Cubs, but there is no soft place to land when the starters are Kevin Millwood, Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla, newcomer Eric Milton and Brett Myers, who might have better stuff than any of them.

General manager Ed Wade polished off the staff by trading for closer Billy Wagner and signing setup man Tim Worrell, whom the Phillies initially had envisioned as a possible closer before moving on Wagner. With lefty Rheal Cormier, who had a stealthily fabulous season in 2003, and Hernandez to work one or two innings, Philadelphia's bullpen is loaded. The Phillies' staff also will benefit from a second season under pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, who grated on some of the players with his vaunted "program" but should be smart enough to ease off so the starters don't flame out as they did during the final five weeks of 2003.

Team's biggest weakness
Strikeouts. For Philadelphia, the ABCs of spring training fundamentals start with the letter K. The Phillies simply make too many nonproductive outs. They struck out a club-record 1,155 times in 2003, led by Thome's NL-high 182. Thome hit 47 home runs and drove in 131 runs and power guys are generally free to flail away, sort of. But there is no excuse for the 113 times that shortstop Jimmy Rollins, a high-in-the-order hitter, whiffed. Rollins, who in three big-league seasons never has had fewer than 100 strikeouts or more than 54 walks despite a strike zone the size of a mailbox, spent two weeks working with Tony Gwynn this winter in an effort to become a line-drive machine, something he had pledged he would do last year. Clubhouse confidential
As his mother Joyce battles lung cancer back in Illinois, Thome has given up chewing tobacco. ... Thome was sorting through a box of baseball cards by his locker Sunday. He collected them as a child, starting in the early 1980s, and still keeps them at his mother's home. His favorites? Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield and the Cubs and Cardinals teams of the era. "I remember when I got my own card for the first time," he said. "Awesome. When you're a kid, the first thing you dream about is being up in the bottom of the ninth in the seventh game of the World Series. Then when you get to the majors, the first thing you think about is your baseball card. What pose you'll be shown in." ... Former Philadelphia OF Jay Johnstone once said that "when the games are rained out, Phillies fans go to the airport to boo bad landings." Despite their reputation, the 100 or so Phillies rooters at new Bright House Networks Field on Sunday were delightful. They applauded when CF Marlon Byrd handed a man a broken bat, kibitzed with GM Wade and broke into a loud cheer when Thome hit a ball onto the knoll behind the fence in left-center off Worrell. The grinning pitcher shouted at Thome, "You have a pass list?"

[corbes]

Phillies talk.

Pat Burrell is off to a decent start in Clearwater. But then, he was great in batting practice last year, even during his slump. Have to see how he does in real live games...

Bobby Abreu supposedly reported in the best shape of his career...

Jimmy Rollins has promised to put the ball in play this year, and stop trying to hit homers. In early intrasquad games, he has tried to bunt his way on base... He's promised this before, though, so it remains to be seen whether he's still hitting line drives in May.

Cole Hamels will likely start the season at Lakewood (A), although people are clamoring for him to move up to Reading (AA)...

[corbes]

Hey, Phillies crossposting. Who'da thunk?

[rkmsuf]

Hey, Phillies crossposting. Who'da thunk?

You should be concentrating on the FOFC golf...I hear VJ is looking good this week...;)

[corbes]

You should be concentrating on the FOFC golf...I hear VJ is looking good this week...;)

Hey, Vijay's not playing! You can't confuse ME with your jedi mind tricks! :p

[rkmsuf]

Hey, Vijay's not playing! You can't confuse ME with your jedi mind tricks! :p

Blimy...

[SackAttack]

Looks like recent Reds signee John Vanderwal may miss the entire 2004 season.

He was ancient when he played for the Dodgers 10 years ago. When is he just gonna hang 'em up?

[HornedFrog Purple]

This just in, the Rangers will suck. 90 losses or more.

[MikeVic]

I will be following the Jays' season more closely at the beginning than in previous years. I think their hitting is great, and they did try to improve their pitching. We at least have 1 good guy in the pen.. :) Hopefully Hentgen can return to his Cy Young form *cough*...

I got no news on Spring Training though.

[Vince]

The only real news I have about the Giants that's worth anything, and most of it comes from fogball...

The Giants enter ST with 4 slots in their rotation pretty much set:

1) Schmidt
2) Williams
3) Tomko
4) Rueter

It's the fifth slot that's the kicker. For that 5th starter, the Giants have 5 options, and I list them by how likely they are to receive starts (in my opinion).

1) Dustin Hermanson
He looked pretty good at the end of the year last year, and could do a more than adequate job this season. Word on the street is that he's developed a new pitch, which caused his success in SF last season (it couldn't be because Pac Bell is a good pitcher's park, could it?). He's likely to have the #5 slot in the rotation come opening day, and barring implosion, will probably hold it for a solid chunk of the season, losing starts only to give the prospects a chance. I'd guess about 15-20 starts for him.

2) Kevin Correia
Played really solid last season...putting up a 3.66 ERA in 10 appearances (7 starts, 3 bullpen apps) in the bigs (~ 40 IP). Has some inconsistencies, though, such as a high walk rate, which could limit his use immediately. He's only 23, and if he can build off of last year's success, he could be great. Probably 5-10 starts for him.

3) Ryan Jensen
After a very solid rookie season in 2002 (170 IP, 30 Starts, 4.51 ERA), the Giants were hopefull that he'd develop into a regular starter...but after injuries in the beginning of last season and sub-par performance in the minors, his ability to pitch at the major league level is questionable. He's either hit or miss...he might get 0 starts, he might get 10 or 15.

4) Noah Lowry
I honestly don't know much about Lowry, except that he's a pretty well-touted prospect in the Giant system. He pitched something like 5 innings last season, and looked decent...but is he ready to start games for a big league club? Expect him to get some innings, and probably a start or three at some point this year.

5) Merkin Valdez
This was 'the other guy' in the Russ Ortiz deal, and he looked absolutely lights-out last season in A ball. He's on the 40 man roster for Spring Training, but is still pretty raw. I can't imagine him starting the season on the ML roster, but AAA isn't too far a stretch for the numbers he posted last season (166 ks, 48 BB in 156 IP with a 2.25 ERA). If he has a solid year in AA or AAA, he could see some action late in the season.

Some people think that Brower is an option for our fifth starter, but with so many younger guys that are close to major league ready, I don't think that a mediocre long reliever/spot starter should get a shot at our rotation.

[Chief Rum]

Bump. Nothing to report on the Angels today.

CR

[henry296]

Quick Pirates update:

Bobby Hill, acquired from the Cubs last season lead off the game with a HR and later doubled and showed no ill effects from last years back injury. It doesn't matter that it was against Manatee Junior College :)

Todd

[dawgfan]

Edgar Martinez has been bothered by a strained neck muscle that's kept him out of the last 2 Spring games. He's listed as day-to-day, though manager Bob Melvin expects him to play today. Something to keep an eye on...

Also, injured reliever Rafael Soriano had to postpone his first day of playing catch in his recovery from a strained oblique as he felt something wrong while exercising yesterday. He'll try again tomorrow.

Minor League prospect Rett Johnson, a SP, has left camp due to personal reasons. It's not known at the moment when he expects to return, though his teammate Clint Nageotte said he expects him back.

Veteran reliever Norm Charlton officially retired after having to undergo his 3rd shoulder operation in as many years.

Minor league prospect Travis Blackley, a LH SP looked impressive in his first action of the Spring. He and Clint Nageotte are the M's top pitching prospects; if any M's starter is traded or injured, they are likely the top candidates to replace them in the rotation, and they'll likely be involved in any trade talks the M's have in trying to acquire another hitter.

Speculation is beginning to grow that the M's are considering bringing Ken Griffey Jr. back. The biggest issues would be his health, his attitude (can he handle not being the man and being just another guy in the clubhouse), and how much of his salary they'd be on the hook for.

SP Freddie Garcia has reported in the best shape of his career and appears to be the most focused he's ever been. He's a free-agent next year, and will have the extra motivation of being in a contract drive. If he can overcome his extreme inconsistency, he has the stuff to be a very good starter and could be a good sleeper pick in Fantasy Drafts.

[Ksyrup]

Phil Nevin hurt his shoulder again.

[WSUCougar]

A key early moment approaches for the Redbirds, when rehab project RHP Cris Carpenter takes the Spring mound for the first time tomorrow. With Woody Williams still nursing his tendonitis, and the question marks that abound in the pitching staff as a whole, it would be fantastic if Carpenter could stake a claim for a rotation slot.

Meanwhile, Bo Hart is making a solid early plug for the regular 2B job. He is clearly better defensively than Marlon Anderson, and has also been hitting better out of the gate. Anderson may figure in the LF mix...along with holdovers Kerry Robinson and So Taguchi, newcomer Greg Vaughn (okay, "new" is probably not the right word), and ex-Card castoff Ray Lankford. There are a few other possibilities, too.

The Cards are 0-4 prior to today's game against the Twins...

[Young Drachma]

I will be following the Jays' season more closely at the beginning than in previous years. I think their hitting is great, and they did try to improve their pitching. We at least have 1 good guy in the pen.. :) Hopefully Hentgen can return to his Cy Young form *cough*...

I got no news on Spring Training though.

He wasn't really all that bad in Baltimore when he was there. Not great, but he'll get more run support in Toronto. I think Lilly has potential too. I just hope Rogers starts to spend money around July when they're still in the hunt, because that would return those of us that have been fans for ages of the "glory years." I think too many of the regimes have tried to do anything to remind fans of the years when this franchise was one of the best in baseball.

If they get smart and start following the example set by Gillick and Co. from 85-93, they would be a lot better off.

[Buccaneer]

Phil Nevin hurt his shoulder again.
I was going to post that. He should be ready by Opening Day. By then, they will have tatooed on his head, "NO DIVING FOR GROUND BALLS". Pads are deep (for the first time ever), they can move Klesko back to 1B and have Long or Nady start in the OF. Opening Day at the Pet will be special (except Moores got Jimmy Carter throwing out the first pitch :mad: ).

[dawgfan]

(except Moores got Jimmy Carter throwing out the first pitch :mad: ).

:rolleyes:

How horrible. Politics aside, how can you not appreciate the guy?

[sterlingice]

:rolleyes:

How horrible. Politics aside, how can you not appreciate the guy?
Bucc just hates low cost charity housing. It's his way ;)

SI

[Tigercat]

The biggest position battle in Orioles camp is for second base between Jerry Hairston and Brian Roberts. Could have some fantasy impact as the winner should be the leadoff hitter and score some runs with the O's new offense plus both have decent speed and steal a decent amount of bases.

Hairston has been the starter but missed half of last year and Roberts played well. However, early in camp Roberts has back spasms and will miss the first couple of spring training games.

Too bad Mike Fontenot is the best 2B that the Os have!
:)

Seriously, hes gonna be the starting second basemen eventually, might as well start now. Hes off to a good start thus far... Hes a 5'7(i've stood next to him, hes under his listed usually 5'9" but an inch or two) hitting machine.

[Ksyrup]

I like Jimmy Carter. He singlehandly turned my parents into Republicans, and my family has been the better for it for 25 years!

[WSUCougar]

Cards lost again, but newcomers RHP Jeff Suppan (three scoreless innings, 1 hit) and RHP Julian Tavarez (1 shutout inning, 3 Ks) were impressive.

[Buccaneer]

Bucc just hates low cost charity housing. It's his way ;)

SI
No, I have contributed to Habitat for Humanity (have you?). Besides the fact that he was a lousy president, there are much better local choices (like Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield and others). Nearly all Pads fans on their message board are upset at this choice, regardless of politicality.

[dawgfan]

M's prospective closer Eddie Guardado has been suffering from a problem with his left knee and has been held out of games the last few days. While Guardado says this is something he's dealt with in the past with the Twins and feels it's not too out of the ordinary, M's officials are privately a bit concerned, and will attempt to proceed cautiously with him.

RH setup man Rafael Soriano has resumed throwing, and there's a fair chance he might yet make the opening day roster if he doesn't suffer any relapses with his strained oblique muscle.

In the bullpen battle, Ron Villone appears to be an early front-runner to grab a LHP role. There's a chance the M's may carry 2 lefties besides Guardado, so also keep an eye on Terry Mulholland, Mike Myers and Matt Thornton.

Top SP prospects Clint Nageotte and Travis Blackley continue to impress.

[sterlingice]

The Royals pen, thought to be the strength of the staff is struggling this spring, but there's a lot to be said for the fact that it's early and there are some older guys in there that aren't quite in shape yet. I doubt that once the season begins that proven guys like Leskanic, Grimsley, and Sullivan will continue to get lit up. MacDougal is in the closer's role right now but Leskanic wouldn't be a surprise by season's end. Leskanic, Grimsley, Sullivan, and Carrasco are all locks for spots with 2 remaining. Speaking of old guys, Greg Swindell is making a strong push for lefty specialist in the pen. I think today was the first time he was scored on in 5 or 6 spring outings. Jaime Cerda, Nate Field, Joe Dawley, Dennys Reyes and Kris Wilson are all vying for those 2 spots, as well.

Affeldt and May looked good in their last outings so they seem to be ready for the season to start up. Affeldt went 5 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits AND NO BLISTER (huzzah!). Yesterday, May threw 4 innings and didn't give up a single hit. Jimmy Gobble has all but locked up a spot in the rotation as he keeps pitching well in his outings. And even Brian Anderson is starting to come around as he gave up 2 runs in 5 innings his last start. The last spot is still up in the air as Ascensio and Snyder are both still out, Appier won't be ready until a couple of weeks into the season, and other challengers like George and Greinke and Hiljus haven't pitched well. It's possible, they will just go with a 4 man (all lefty, no less) rotation the first month of the season and then work Ape in there once he's back. Right now I'd kill for Runelvys to be back and healthy rather than facing months of Tommy John surgery rehab.

David DeJesus, Beltran's heir apparent is ready as he's been tearing the cover off the ball in spring training. Too bad he'll be opening the season in AAA as the Royals already have their 5 outfielders set pretty much (Beltran, Gonzalez, Guiel, Stairs, and Rule 5 speedster and fielder Thomson or Thompson or something like that). Beltran is tearing the cover off the ball, FYI. Juan keeps having nagging injuries (go figure). The infield has been set from day 1 with Santiago and Stinnett at catcher, Sweeney and Harvey at 1B or DH, Relaford and Graffanino at 2B, Berroa at SS, and Randa at 3B. That's 13 hitters and 12 pitchers by my count.

And, of course, as soon as I write up most of this, I run across an article that says just what I've been saying:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/baseball/mlb/kansas_city_royals/8181293.htm

SI

[sterlingice]

No, I have contributed to Habitat for Humanity (have you?). Besides the fact that he was a lousy president, there are much better local choices (like Tony Gwynn, Dave Winfield and others). Nearly all Pads fans on their message board are upset at this choice, regardless of politicality.
Oops, missed answering this earlier. Yeah, I have contributed to Habitat, tho not with cash. I'm too poor for that so I went out there with a hammer a couple of afternoons with my church in Houston. Good fun, actually, but I haven't done anything lately :( As for his presidency, I wasn't alive when he was president, save a couple of months in 1979 and 1980 so I really can't judge it that well. But, yeah, I can see what you mean about a poor choice for throwing out the first pitch. Why him in San Diego, anyways? Why not Atlanta?

SI

[sterlingice]

Time to bump this with some more news from Royals camp. Mike MacDougal is a possibility to start the season on the disabled list as he had the flu or food poisoning early in camp and still hasn't regained his strength (because he's built like a bean pole). Curtis Leskanic will likely get to start the season as closer. He might be the closer as the season winds down, too, as MacDougal was erratic last year and wore down as the season progressed, but that's another story.

SI

[IMetTrentGreen]

i want to add something. neither the angels or mariners will amount to much this year

in seattle, they have rich aurelia and jeff cirillo on the same side of the infield. both these guys are done. losing mike cameron will hurt tremendously, his defense took away a lot of runs last year. replacing him with raul ibanez is not good, since raul's numbers are an illusion created by hitting in at kaufman field, which is a huge hitters park. safeco reduces a lot of extra base hits, so expect ibanez to regress to a .260 hitter with little power. they better hope freddie garcia comes back to form and jamie moyer's arm doesn't fall off. they have a good bullpen, but it may not matter

anahiem will be better, but 2002 was an abberation where everyone had career years at once. their infield can't hit, and darren erstad is waaaayy overrated. better hope vlad can carry the load, and garret anderson stays somewhat healthy. colon shouldn't be enough to help the starters, but you never know. expect a good season and a losing fight at the wildcard to ny/boston

[IMetTrentGreen]

and the rangers can't hit or pitch, and soriano won't be here past his season. if he is, they will be paying him a load, and when you add on what they are paying with arod's salary, it becomes a wash. expect him to be traded in june or july

[WSUCougar]

Cirillo is long gone. Spiezio is at 3B for the M's and is looking like a natural there.

= = = = =

The Cards picked up Tony Womack to throw into the mix at 2B. Bring back Tommy Herr!

[corbes]

Pat Burrell commented to a Philadelphia sportscaster this weekend that, "I've made good contact three times this spring."

Not sure if he's serious or not, but I don't think that sounds good.

[General Mike]

David DeJesus, Beltran's heir apparent is ready as he's been tearing the cover off the ball in spring training.
SI

Go Former Scarlet Knights! :)

[IMetTrentGreen]

Cirillo is long gone. Spiezio is at 3B for the M's and is looking like a natural there.

my mistake. i still think they are the thrid best team in the division

[dawgfan]

in seattle, they have rich aurelia and jeff cirillo on the same side of the infield. both these guys are done.

Cirillo was traded to San Diego months ago. Glad to see you're paying attention.

losing mike cameron will hurt tremendously, his defense took away a lot of runs last year. replacing him with raul ibanez is not good, since raul's numbers are an illusion created by hitting in at kaufman field, which is a huge hitters park. safeco reduces a lot of extra base hits, so expect ibanez to regress to a .260 hitter with little power.

Losing Cameron's defense is a big blow, and he was a more productive hitter than those who focus mainly on batting average and strikeouts realize.

Your statement on Ibanez however is not backed up by facts. Raul played 3 seasons in K.C., and his home/road OPS splits over those three years look like this: .850/.828. Not much difference there.

As to whether Safeco takes away extra base hits, I haven't seen the ballpark numbers; I have no doubt it can take away home runs, but I'm skeptical that it decreases doubles or triples. Additionally, ballpark effects are not uniform for all hitters; based on the configuration of the park and the most common wind directions, left-handed pull-hitters and right-handers that go opposite field will actually do well in Safeco.

they better hope freddie garcia comes back to form and jamie moyer's arm doesn't fall off. they have a good bullpen, but it may not matter

Garcia's performance will be a big key in whether the M's are pennant contenders, and an injury or decline due to age with Moyer would be a big blow. That said, the strength of the M's farm system is their pitching, and they have 2 guys that in many prior years would've earned jobs with the parent club in Travis Blackley and Clint Nageotte.

I think the M's could finish anywhere from 1st to 3rd since both Anaheim and Oakland remain good teams.

[Chief Rum]

anahiem will be better, but 2002 was an abberation where everyone had career years at once. their infield can't hit, and darren erstad is waaaayy overrated. better hope vlad can carry the load, and garret anderson stays somewhat healthy. colon shouldn't be enough to help the starters, but you never know. expect a good season and a losing fight at the wildcard to ny/boston

Everyone had career years?

Here are the guys who had arguably career years in 2002. Note, I use career years in their very literal form here, as in the player has yet to do better than that season. It's not an indication I believe that is the best a player will ever do:

SP Jarrod Washburn (18-6, 3.15 era)
SP John Lackey (9-4, 3.66 era)
SP Ramon Ortiz (15-9, 3.77 era)
CL Troy Percival (4-1, 1.92 era, 40 sv)
MR Ben Weber (7-2, 2.54 era, 7 sv)

1B Scott Spiezio (.285, 12, 82)
2B Adam Kennedy (.312, 7, 52)
SS David Eckstein (.293, 8, 63)
LF Garrett Anderson (.306, 29, 123)

These guys above are the only guys who could be said to have had a career year. And in several of these, there are is reason to expect either not much difference this year from 2002, or expectations for better future numbers.

Washburn had a 4.43 era last season. It was his highest in four years. Prior to that, he was a sub-4.00 era pitcher each season from 2000-2002. It was also a well-known fact that Washburn was injured all of last year, and played through it. He is healthy now.

Lackey may not ever approach that level again, but he is well-regarded. It's kinda hard to say if it's a career year considering it was his rookie season. Are you so ready to bank that 2002 was his career year when he's just 26? I know I wouldn't.

Ramon Ortiz I'll give ya. I just don't think he's the same pitcher anymore. But then, we have seven starting options, maybe even eight or nine, so I'm pretty sure if he falters, he will be pulled from the rotation anyway.

Troy Percival and Ben Weber are on the list because it is literally true they had career years in 2002. That said, Percival has been one of the best closers for years. If he stays healthy (and that's the big if), do you really think he won't do well? Weber's best year was in 2002, yes, but he followed it up with a .269 era in 2003. Obviously, it ain't a fluke--he's simply one of the best middle relievers in the game.

Scott Spiezio hit for more power (16, 83) last year, but a lower average (.265), so I will give that 2002 was his best all-around year. That said, Spiezio's performance this season will have nothing to do with Angels success because he's in Seattle now.

Adam Kennedy hit for the highest average in his career that year, and scouts don't think he will ever hit that high again. So you got it there. Still, Kennedy hit .269-13-49 last year, which is still a productive season, and with almost twice as many homeruns as 2002. He also is young and still developing. Kennedy's actual career year should still be ahead of him, just like Lackey.

David Eckstein had a career year in 2002--barely. He was almost as good in 2001. As with Washburn, Eckstein was hurt by injuries last season, and played throught hem. He, too, is healthy now. Two of his three full seas0ons he has performed well. It seems likely he will be back to pre-2003 form this year, assuming, of course, health.

Garrett Anderson I only include because his year in 2002 might have been his best season so far. Still, as I was eyeballing his seasons, it wasn't all that clear. You see, that's because he's probably the most consistent ballplayer in baseball. He has averaged .299-30-120 over the past four seasons, and even still seems to be improving. Oh yeah, and your health thing on GA? He's never played less than 150 games in a season since 1995--and that's when he came up midway through the season (which is why he didn't appear in 150+ games).

Here are some guys who didn't have career years, or sometimes, anything even approaching career years, and yet the Angels still did well witht hem as is.

SP Kevin Appier (14-12, 3.92 era)--actual best year 1993 (18-8, 2.56 era)
SP Aaron Sele (8-9, 4.89 era)--actual best year 2001 (15-5, 3.60 era)
MR Brendan Donnelly (1-1, 2.17, 2 sv)--actual best year 2003 (2-2, 1.58 era, 3 sv)
MR Francisco Rodriguez (barely pitched in 2002)--actual best year 2003 (8-3, 3.03, 2 sv)
MR Scot Shields (5-3, 2.20 era)--actual best year 2003 (5-6, 2.85 era, 1 sv)

Appier isn't on the team anymore, and Sele is a longshot to even make the rotation. Donnelly and Rodriguez are fireballing pitchers who have already proven how good they are. Shields may eventually pitch his way into the rotation.

C Bengie Molina (.245, 5, 47)--actual best year 2003 (.281, 14, 71)
3B Troy Glaus (.250, 30, 111)--actual best year 2000 (.284, 47, 102)
CF/!B Darin Erstad (.283, 10, 72)--actual best year 2000 (.355, 25, 100)
RF/DH Tim Salmon (.286, 22, 88)--actual best year 1997 (.296, 33, 129)
DH Brad Fullmer (.289, 19, 59)--actual best year 2000 (.295, 32, 104)

Molina hitting is a bonus. Obviously, from 2003, he's capable of some decent numbers. But we won when he was crappy at the plate in 2002. He has won two straight Gold Gloves. Do you think that just disappears this year, that suddenly he will be a subpar defensive catcher?

Glaus had far from his best year in 2002. In fact, most of the season we are bagging on him to get it going. Last year, Glaus had a string of serious injuries, and was shelved halfway through with torn labrum. He has rehabbed and gotten Lasik eye surgery as well, and says he is healthy. He's definitely a question mark, but if he stays healthy, I have no reason to think he won't be a 30 homer, 100 rbi threat again this season, as he was in every healthy season he has had since his rookie year in 1997.

Erstad is someone I can finally agree with you on. On the field, he is overrated. But he's a terrific clubhouse leader and every now and then, his once formidable potential peaks out and comes up with huge plays. He's an integral part of this team, and despite his subpar numbers, I think Erstad's presence in this lineup helps the Angels win ballgames. Now imagine if the injury-marred player will get more at bats now that he's at safer first base? He might actually return to better offensive form. He hasn't been healthy since 2000.

Salmon is clearly on the downside of his career. But he had his career year several seasons ago. The Angels won with Salmon as a contribution, not because he had a great season. He should be the same again at the plate this season, and might even play more since he's the permanent DH now.

Fullmer is gone, so he's not an issue. He didn't have anywhere near his career season in 2002 either.

To this squad we have added perhaps the best player in baseball, an ace pitcher, a solid additional arm, and a late-blooming new power hitter (and before you discount Guillen as a one-year wonder, note that he has been dominating in spring training this season, FWIW).

I don't know who's going to win the AL West, but I think you're dead wrong about this team not being all that good. But then, maybe we're talking relative here, since you still see them competing for the wildcard, which isn't bad.

Still, I would say your belief 2002 was based on "everyone having career years" is quite abit far from reality.

CR

[dawgfan]

Mariners Spring Update:

Seattle officials are crossing their fingers, but it appears that the team is close to 100% healthy as Rafael Soriano has been throwing bullpen sessions without a problem and will be seeing live action soon, and Eddie Guardado has been able to work through his knee problems.

Seattle's interest in Jason Kendall was spurred in part by a dissatisfaction with Ben Davis. It was hoped he would win the C job outright this year, but he's been a disappointment in Spring Camp so far. Expect Dan Wilson to continue to get a lot of playing time behind the dish - he's already Jamie Moyer's caddy, and he will probably split time with Davis overall until/unless he shows some improvement both with the stick and in calling games.

Freddie Garcia has been outstanding so far in spring games; whether that will carry over into the season is anybody's guess, but so far so good.

Ron Villone appears to have a bullpen spot locked down, and Mike Myers is a pretty good bet as well.

Ramon Santiago has had an impressive spring so far and may have won a spot as a reserve infielder.

[Ksyrup]

Braves have traded for Juan Cruz and Chris Reitsma in the last two days. And, they traded away a Bubba to Cincinnati. Poor guy.

[FBPro]

Braves have traded for Juan Cruz and Chris Reitsma in the last two days. And, they traded away a Bubba to Cincinnati. Poor guy.

Interesting, I like Juan Cruz they guy they got from the Cubs on Thursday but don't really know alot about Reitsma and thought that Bong and Nelson were pretty decent 'spects.

[Ksyrup]

Reitsma had been a disappointment as (primarily) a starter since coming up in 2001, but last year was pretty valuable in a middle reliever/closer/spot starter role. He won 9 games, saved 12, and had an ERA around 4.30. I think.

[Ksyrup]

I knew the Yankees and Devil Rays were starting the season early in Japan, but I didn't know that the Yankees are playing a couple of exhibition games after their season starts, once they get back to the US. Very odd.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Interesting on the Braves/Reds trade, it's definitely not something I expected. But ...
I believe Bong may have been caught up in the "is he a SP/is he a RP" thing & it hurt his value with the organization. I don't believe he's quite the prospect that I did when I first saw him pitch in Macon 2-3 years ago, but I think he's a decent 5th SP/long RP right now.

Nelson is the part of this that surprises me more. AFAIK, he was still considered a pretty solid prospect & at just 22 y/o, he seems awfully young to have given up on.

It's a tough call, it looks almost like a low-grade panic move to me, but with Alfonseca struggling badly this spring, I can understand why the bullpen could cause some panic.

[sterlingice]

I know the Cubs were getting tired with Cruz but is that all they could get for him? Those couple of Braves prospects are pretty much nothing at all.

SI

[WSUCougar]

Cards traded OF Kerry Robinson (a native St. Louisan) to San Diego for OF Brian L. Hunter.

Ray Lankford (yes, him) appears to have won the LF job. Amazing.

Tony Womack appears to have won the 2B job. Also amazing.

Woody Williams got SHELLED in his start the other day. Bad sign.

[General Mike]

The Mets traded OF Timo Perez to the White Sox for Relief pitcher Matt Ginter a couple days ago. They also traded a player to be named later to the Indians for Ricky Gutierrez and a boatload of cash. It looks like Jose Reyes might not be ready to go on opening day, so Gutierrez could be the starting 2B on opening day.

[sterlingice]

Can someone explain to me why Veres was let go by the Astros? He had good spring numbers and it's not like he's coming off of a horrible year or something. I've gotta think he's going to catch on with someone.

SI

[MikeVic]

Pat Hentgen sucks in Spring Training. I was expecting as much, but I was hoping he'd turn into a reliable #3 or 4 starter. :( It's never good when the pitcher admits he doesn't have his old stuff anymore, and says he has to rely on his smarts...

In other news, looks like Griffey got injured again... this time slipping on soil. It doesn't look to be a serious injury though.

[Fonzie]

Tony Womack appears to have won the 2B job. Also amazing.

Good heavens - I find this absolutely dumbfounding.

And, as a Cardinals fan, very distressing.