League-Wide Spring Training Stuff

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's about now that you can look at some performances and allow yourself to think that just maybe there might be a hint in them of what's to come.

Mike Mussina. 6.75 ERA for the Yankees.

Josh Hamilton: .571 / .618 / .821 // 1.439 for the Reds.

And speaking of the Reds, Bronson Arroyo is looking like this:

Confession: I liked the Reds better when they were fascists who made all their players wear black shoes, high socks, short hair, and no facial hair.

Arroyo's Flash-intensive website still thinks he's a Red Sock: http://www.bronsonarroyo.com/

[metirish]

Is A-Rod a total fool or what,he practically invites the fans to boo him out of town.

] A-Rod: Love me ... or else Says pressure's on fans to make him want to stay Alex Rodriguez opened up to Mike and the Mad Dog yesterday. TAMPA - Alex Rodriguez has a message for his hometown fans: It's up to you, New York. During an interview on WFAN yesterday, A-Rod opened the door for his departure from the Bronx at the end of the season, saying that the upcoming year was a crucial one when it came to his future in pinstripes. "It's a do or die situation," Rodriguez said. "Either New York is going to kick me out of New York this year, say 'I've had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here,' and we have an option. Or New York is going to say, 'Hey, we won a world championship, you had a big year, you were a part of it and we want you back.'" A-Rod stressed his desire to finish his career as a Yankee, but his words did nothing to erase the possibility that he will exercise his option to become a free agent at the end of the year. "One hundred percent, that's exactly what I want to do," he said when asked if he could envision himself playing the remainder of his career here. "But I also want to make sure that with the fans and management, I'm wanted here." Rodriguez tried to back-pedal from his remarks after he exited last night's game, saying his comments came as a result of rapid-fire questioning by Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, even though it was A-Rod himself who first mentioned the option during the interview. "You heard some of those questions; that was an absolute dogfight for 15 minutes," Rodriguez said. "I was just basically doing the best I can. There were some pretty crazy questions. Fifteen minutes felt like an hour, being under the gun there. "I have options and we all know that, but I want to be in New York," he added. "That's it." The general consensus among his teammates is that Rodriguez will opt out of his contract, leaving the pressures of New York behind for another destination such as Anaheim or Chicago. Rodriguez tried to minimize that talk early in the spring, but yesterday's comments reopened the subject. A-Rod believes the fans have not been fair to him "all the time," but he mentioned that during his MVP campaign, the Yankee Stadium crowd showered him with affection, giving him 15 or 20 curtain calls. "In 2005, riding the wave of the fans was an unbelievable experience," he said. "Sometimes, you come out a little tired, but the fans get behind you, chanting 'MVP!' and before you know it, you have two home runs and five RBIs." That was a stark contrast to last season, according to A-Rod, when he tried to do too much to appease the booing crowds. "When you try to fight that wave of the fans being negative, expecting you to do things and you're playing pretty lousy on top of it," Rodriguez said, "then you try to do a little more than you have to." Rodriguez pointed out that five or six teams tried to deal for him this winter, but after thinking about it "for a half a second," he and his wife decided to stick it out in New York. "I'm going to be successful in New York with this team," he said. GM Brian Cashman isn't overly concerned about the option becoming a season-long distraction for Rodriguez, since A-Rod has the power to control that. "There's nothing I can do about it; it's his opt-out. Whatever it is, it is," Cashman said. "It's all on him. It's his decision. If he wants to make it a distraction, he controls it." Rodriguez declined to address his relationship with Derek Jeter or any lingering feelings over an article in Sports Illustrated last September in which Joe Torre detailed a meeting he had with A-Rod behind closed doors. The third baseman did acknowledge that 2006 was a miserable year for him, one which he feels will benefit him in the long run. Calling himself "clueless, lost, confused at times," A-Rod said last season was the first in which he simply didn't enjoy playing the game. "To a degree, it was the best thing that's happened in my life," he said. "The last thing I'm going to do is to run away from New York, say New York is too tough. I have an option at the end of the year, and we'll see what happens after that. "If I go out and have four years in New York, win two MVPs and one World Series, I think that's a pretty good job," he added, possibly alluding to his potential departure should he achieve those lofty goals. Of course, that assumes another MVP season for A-Rod and a World Series title for the Yankees - hardly a certainty for a player who has struggled the past two Octobers, going a combined 2-for-29 in the Yankees' two first-round flops. Rodriguez longs for a championship ring to add to his Hall of Fame resume, but it seems that winning the World Series won't be the determining factor in his decision on the option next fall. "This isn't tennis or golf; I can't judge myself that, if we win the World Series, I was successful," Rodriguez said. "I think that's ridiculous. "It's such a team game, but as an individual, you have to help your team win by fielding well, running the bases well, hitting well, hitting in the clutch - things I haven't done consistently here. I hope we win the World Series and I hope I'm a part of it, but I can't judge myself strictly on winning a World Series." This story isn't about to go away any time soon, though Rodriguez is hoping to put it on the backburner until the end of the season. "I think the next time we can talk about this is sometime in real late October," he said. "The bottom line is that I said I wanted to be in New York 100% of the time. That's what I want to focus on." Related Articles

[Frayed Knot]

Josh Hamilton is an interesting story to watch.
He was the #1 overall draft pick by Tampa in the 2000 draft - snatched up just ahead of that other Florida team choosing Josh Beckett - and then was Baseball America's #1 prospect the next year as they gushed all over his talent; hitting, running, throwing (could have been a pitcher as well as OF), power, etc., before it all drained away in a torrent of personal problems and drug use.
Left on the scrap heap by most observers, Cincy grabbed him in the Rule 5 draft this winter on what seemed like a lark, but it's starting to look like he could stick.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It was something more than a lark, because they arranged with the Cubs to grab him and then immediately traded for him, fearing that he would get snatched up before their turn.

Meanwhile, Gary Sheffield has left Tiger camp for undisclosed reasons. I should be a gossip columnist the way I've been speculating.

[metirish]

] PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -- Padres left-hander David Wells has Type 2 diabetes, which the team says is controllable. "It's something he'll have to manage and something we'll have to help him manage," chief executive officer Sandy Alderson said Monday. "It's not unprecedented by any means." ADVERTISEMENT Wells was diagnosed two weeks ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in Monday's editions. Asked if he feels less energy at times, Wells said: "It depends." He declined further comment on Monday. Manager Bud Black said Wells needs to meet with doctors. "From what I've been told, it'll be manageable," Black said. The 43-year-old old signed a one-year contract in January to return to his hometown Padres as the No. 5 starter. The 6-foot-3, 248-pound Wells has often battled his weight, and was scratched from a start late last season due to gout in his right foot.

[Frayed Knot]

Can't say that one's a big surprise.
Next you'll tell me that Gary Sheffield is complaining.

[Frayed Knot]

- 4 scoreless IPs for Victor Zambrano against the Yanx today

- one of those hits was by Doug Meinteyechart, making him something like 2-fer-25 this spring

[Guest silverdsl]

Frayed Knot wrote: Can't say that one's a big surprise. Next you'll tell me that Gary Sheffield is complaining.

I think a pig is more likely to fly by my window than Sheffield stop running his mouth, especially since he's got a new book coming out soon that he needs to promote. The title of the book is probably going to be "Disrespected!" since that's what he thinks everyone's done to him during his career.

[Theoldmole]

I saw Josh Hamilton play for the Hudson Valley Renegades last summer.

[metirish]

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/03/20/lets_hear_it_for_the_little_gu_1.html

[Frayed Knot]

- Jered Weaver, Angels SP, to start the year on DL (shoulder)

- Mike Timlin, Red Sox RP, to start the year on DL (oblique)

- Paul Wilson released by Reds (sad)

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Worthless Factoid That Says Much: Wilson's release means there is only one Reds opening-day pitcher in the 21st century who's still active: Aaron Harang.

Others:
2000-01: Pete Harnisch
2002: Joey Hamilton
2003: Jimmy Haynes
2004: Cory Lidle
2005: Paul Wilson
2006: Harang

[Guest Edgy DC]

An old Bart Giammatti classick:

Paul Wilson (A Song About Izzy)

Drove downtown in great pain

9:30 on a Tuesday night

Just to check out the late night elbow doc

late night elbow doc

He called it a rupture, he called it a tear, he can call it a sprain,

But once I�m disabled, I just can�t sto-op

Now I�m lyin� in bed, just like Paul Wilson did

Now I�m lyin� in bed, just like Paul Wilson did

So I�m lyin� here, just starin� up at the Atlanta Braves

And I�m thinkin� bout, oh, how to get an out.

Just itchin� and not pitchin�

I�m on the DL

And I�m wonderin� if the Cardinals have a job.

Now I�m lyin� in bed, just like Paul Wilson did

Now I�m lyin� in bed, just like Paul Wilson did

I had a dream, that I was in another hospital gown

And though I was under the knife,

I threw until I struck Andruw Jones out

I threw until I struck Andruw Jones out

Now I�m lyin� in bed, just like Paul Wilson did

Now I�m lyin� in bed, just like Paul Wilson did

Drove downtown in great pain

9:30 on a Tuesday night

Just to check out the late night elbow doc

late night elbow doc

He called it a rupture, he called it a tear, he can call it a sprain,

But once I�m disabled, I just can�t sto-op.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

But for the fact I'm pretty much convinced he can't pitch anymore, Paul Wilson sure would be a great pckup for the Mets. How much untapped potential does that guy have?

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Yeah, if he had any gas left in his tank it might be worth parking him in New Orleans just in case.

[Frayed Knot]

However one suspects that if he had much left in the tank that he wouldn't be getting released from the Reds

- Dodger SS Raphael Furcal carted off the field yesterday after an ankle injury.
No timetable set for return.

- Angel Chone Figgins broke a finger, out indefinitely

- Red Sox re-re-re-change their minds and will move Jonathan Papelbon back to the closers role,
all after insisting since late last year that it was medically neccesary to have him start.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Too bad for Furcal. Fortunately for the Dodgers, they finished last season with converted shortstops at the the other three infield positions. I assume they can just move Wilson Betemit back over from third (he doesn't hit much for a thirdbaseman anyhow). Speculation is that they're thinking of keeping teenager David DeJesus, though I'm doubting it.

Funny thing about the play (first of the game) is that he was trying to jump over Andy Repko on a pop in between them and got his foot stuck under Repko's). Repko came out of it all right, but instant karma got him two innings later when he strained his hammy.

Insult to injury, they lost 8-0 to Baltimore.

[Frayed Knot]

"Speculation is that they're thinking of keeping teenager David DeJesus, though I'm doubting it."

The DeJesus you're thinking of is Ivan Jr. - son of the former major leaguer.
David is the KC Royal OFer from New Jersey - the guy who essentially replaced Beltran

Not sure if Furball is going to be out long enough to merit drastic moves. All not sure if anyone still considers Betemit a SS (although he could prolly handle it in a pinch)

[Guest Edgy DC]

Si, Ivan.

I still consider Betemit a shortstop. I still consider Lugo (though gone) a shortstop.

I'm not sure I wouldn't fool around with Garciaparra if Furcal was going to be out a month or so. They're all just Strat-o-Matic cards to me.

[MFS62]

Tony LaRussa was arrested on suspicion of DUI.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-322larussa,0,6397172.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlines

Somebody on another board wrote this, which I nominate for line-of-the-day:

]I heard he wasn't sleeping, he stopped to think about bringing in a left-hander to drive the next block and a right-hander to drive the block after that.

Later

[nymr83]

]Tony LaRussa was arrested on suspicion of DUI

we have a whole thread about the DUI.

as for Furcal, they can move betemit to short and start top prospect Andy (brother of the Pirates' Adam) LaRoche at 3B, something they were considerig anyway until his errror-laden spring.

[Frayed Knot]

Chin-Ming Wang, the favorite to start Opening day for the Yanquis:
out with a "Grade 1" hamstring strain, will start the season on the DL.
Probable late April first appearance.

[Guest Edgy DC]

See, they should have kept Bernie Williams.

[MFS62]

Nymr83 wrote: ]Tony LaRussa was arrested on suspicion of DUI we have a whole thread about the DUI. .

Maybe that's why others have suggested that thread titles be a tad more descriptive of their content.

Later

[metirish]

Steinbrenners daughter files for divorce tuesday form her husband Steve Swindal,apparently this will mean a divorce from the yankees aswell for him.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Awesome.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Amazin'.

[metirish]

] �I�m the boss,� Steinbrenner said through his spokesman, Howard Rubenstein. �I continue to be the boss, I have no intention of retiring, and my family runs the Yankees with me.�

it's falling asunder.....

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, no point in keeping up the façade that the team's president is anything but a figurehead then, is there?

[Frayed Knot]

Well it depends on whether that statement is accurate or just bluster for pr purposes.
NYY employees all claim that George is still engaged and consulted about everything. Whispered stories, on the other hand, hint at an older, sometimes confused man who has fallen and passed out in public several times; needs to lean on aides on times; forgets names and faces; and has been seen walking the wrong way out of his car and had to be steered back towards the stadium he's been to thousands of times.

There's a definite old USSR General Secretary kind of feel about this whole thing where massive strokes were often described as "colds" and "the flu" probably meant he had been in the ground for two weeks already.

btw, Brian Bannister NOT on the Royals roster. Will take his ~10.00 ST ERA and ply his trade in AAA Omaha for the time being.