Good for you Bronson!

On Thursday Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo tossed seven shutout innings against his former team the Boston Red Sox to lead the Reds to a 4-0 victory. He allowed just three hits and struck out nine. It was a good trade for the Red Sox in that they got a replacement bat in Wily Mo Pena to succeed Trot Nixon in right field should the Red Sox decide not to pursue Nixon as a free agent. It wasn't from a baseball perspective that I didn't let like the deal it was that I didn't like that after giving the Red Sox a home town discount to stay with a team he loved the Red Sox still traded him. It's true that Arroyo signing that contract was exactly what made him more valuable to other teams and his agent told him so before he signed so I can't blame the Red Sox that much. But I still didn't like it. I'm glad to see that at least for today he got some pay back. As for the Reds I'm sure they'll realize the same things about Arroyo that I have. He's a better guy then a pitcher and a better pitcher then a musician. Good luck in Cincy.

All fairy tales must come to an end at some point and it's with that in mind that I wave a fond farwell to the marriage of Kris and Anna Benson. All things must come to an end. I have mixed feelings about this because on the one hand she's hot. But on the other I really think this is a good thing for Kris Benson.

Why doesn't anyone get it?

This is a terrible idea. MLB is starting a high profile investigation into steroids now click below for the release:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2389391

I don't care who they put in charge but baseball isn't prepared for this. Every player to speak out on this topic has said that 40% to 60% of players have at least tried steroids. If you were a player in baseball the past couple of years before testing and you were surrounded by your teammates who were taking steroids and making millions of dollars and your sport had no rules against it wouldn't you be tempted to try it? Not all of the players, who are going to be found out in this investigation, are going to turn out to be like Barry Bonds. Most of them will be decent hard working guys who were looking for a chance to prove themselves and help their families. If you don't think players from the past wouldn't have taken steroids you're nuts. The fact is there were no rules against baseball players taking anything until two years ago.

Baseball should just take a mulligan and say "Yes we fucked up,". I don't know how Bud Selig hadn't even thought steroids might be in baseball until 1994. His right hand man at that time, Sandy Alderson, had first hand knowledge having been the GM when Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco were playing for him. You might have thought a conversation might have occurred with every controversy that occurred in both the Olympics and Football. If there is an investigation I hope it looks into why that question hasn't been asked yet.

But baseball isn't going to get off that easy unless restrict this report to a certain time period. For years MLB teams supplied their players with amphetamines to help their performances. I wouldn't be surprised if at one point a major league official encouraged a player to take steroids. I hate talking about his because intelligent people should have already walked down this path. But with this investigation starting I wonder if the right questions will be asked. Is all this the players fault? Or did teams encourage their players to take steroids for better performances. The Yankees took out the steroids clause when they were setting up Jason Giambi's contract, at the behest of his agent. So didn't they know? Didn't the A's? Didn't every single team in baseball know that their players were taking these things and look the other way? I just don't believe that baseball will have a fair, honest investigation in which the commissioner of baseball and all the baseball owners are going to be found guilty of knowing EXACTLY WHAT THEIR PLAYERS WERE TAKING AND DOING DURING THIS TIME. THIS INVESTIGATION IS JUST A SHAM! I meant that to be in caps for those of you who were wondering.

Good Moves and Questionable Moves

Two contract extensions were announced today one good and one not so good. The Dodgers today announced a two year contract extension for 2B Jeff Kent. Actually it's for 2007 with an option for 2008. I just don't get it. The Dodgers appear to be rewarding Kent for what he offered them last season and that's consistency. Last season he played in every game when most of his teammates were spending a great deal of time on the DL. Kent's ability to stay away from non-motor cycle related injuries is the stuff of legend. He's also player remarkably well having slugged over .500 every season since 1998. But if they're rewarding Kent for his health and consistency what about the players the Dodgers have brought in to surround Kent? Nomar has never been the picture of health. Neither has Mueller of Lofton. I'm not even mentioning J.D. Drew. Sooner or later this team is going to have get younger. Kent, due to defense, at some point will eventually have to move to first base. I know I don't give Kent enough credit but it is Grady Little's first season at Chavez ravine and what if he and Kent don't see eye to eye. Everyone has heard the stories about Kent's personality. Locking themselves into two more seasons when there will be younger, cheaper, better first base options on the free market over the next two years. Is Kent the personality that you want to mold a team around is he someone like...........

Grady Sizemore. Cleveland's GM Mark Shapiro continued to have the best spring of any GM when locked up Sizemore getting the centerfielder to sign a six-year deal for $23 million. This is a great move for the Indians. Sizemore in just a year has become the face of the Cleveland team. He's an exciting player who does everything well. He runs, he fields, he hits, and he hits with power. He's also appealing to fans which is apparent due to the number of Mrs. Grady Sizemore t-shirts being sold at Jacobs Field. But aside from all of that he's the type of personality that you want in front of a young developing team. Now he belongs to the Indians until 2012. Consider that if Sizemore meets all the incentives in his contract Cleveland will be paying him 4.5 million per season. Not bad for someone who finished behind only Andrew Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. in centerfielders VORP (Value over Replacement Level Player) last season. For a small market team like Cleveland that's a tremendous contract. And it's the second tremendous contract Shapiro has made this off-season having signed C Victor Martinez to a $15.5 million, five-year contract. Martinez last season led all Major League catchers in VORP.

A few years ago I got to speak to Shapiro about the Indians minor league system and I was amazed when I was told of the Indians doing things like rewarding pitchers for getting ahead in counts and awarding batters for drawing at bats out. Shapiro, I can't say this enough, has done a tremendous job for Cleveland. If I'm buying a team Shapiro is who I'm going to hire to run that team. With Sizemore and Martinez in the fold along with Travis Hafner, Jhonny Peralta, Andy Marte, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia the Indians shouldn't just improve on their 93 win season last year but should dominate the division into the next decade.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are Gods

This new episode of South Park is scaring me as I watch it. I'm afraid scientologists are going to break in here and arrest me for laughing this hard at it. If Scientology was ever going to take on two people they picked the wrong ones with Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Hail Xenu!!!

Fantasy Picks

Believe it or not I'm a bit of nut when it comes to this but I rarely have a better time then when I sit down to draft a fantasy baseball team. So far I'm at four so far. This will be my fourth year of having multiple teams and that does cause some problems. First off it's difficult to root against anyone because every player has some connection to your team. It's like watching the Red Sox play the Yankees and wanting Josh Beckett to pitch a shutout, but you also want Gary Sheffield get two hits and two steals, but not score. It's even worse if you have the starting pitcher going against your favorite team. Another problem that I always have is that (and I never plan this)but I end up with a lot of the same players on each roster. Maybe I believe differently then a lot of other people about a players abilities. When I'm drafting I just can't believe that no one is picking up these players yet. Below is a look at some of those players and why I believe differently then everyone else. Typically these players are young, changing position or coming off of injuries.

Prince Fielder: This year's Ryan Howard. This kid has power to spare and Milwaukee is going to play him every day. He may struggle early but by the second half he'll be putting the ball into the stands.

Ryan Howard: Everybody knows this kid was last year's Rookie of the Year, but I don't think enough fantasy owners know just how much power this kid. In that tiny ballpark in Philadelphia this guy should be a first or second round pick. I've seen him available in the eighth and ninth rounds. If he's there you should jump.

Ryan Freel: He plays all over the field and he steals bases. He's eligible at 2B, 3B and OF and managed to steal 35 bases. Tony Womack is currently Cincinnati's leadoff hitter but give it week and Freel will probably be in that spot. Expect runs and even a few homers playing in that bandbox.

Ian Kinsler: He's going to be the Rangers starting shortstop this season and playing in that tiny park in Texas should be able to put up some good numbers. He put up great numbers in the minors and should be able to carry them over to the majors. There's a reason they got rid of Soriano.

Lance Berkman: Watched this guy slip to the tenth round in one league and I could not for the life of me figure out why. This guy is a monster hitter in a little park and he's healthy this year. Sizzling second half last season. This year he's eligible at 1B and OF.

Grady Sizemore: I had to take him early but this guy still has room to grow as a player. He could be a 30-30 guy this season. Playing at the top of the Indians potent lineup he'll score a ton of runs. He's also just a fun guy to watch who always plays full out.

Rocco Baldelli: Coming back from multiple injuries after sitting out all of last season reports have Baldelli almost back to a 100%. When healthy he's somewhat like Sizemore but not that good. If he could improve his discipline he'd be great. He'll give steals and some power. Also like Sizemore he's just a fun guy to watch play. But the main reason to think he can back is that he's just a phenomenal athlete to begin with.

Ryan Dempster: Had a good year as the Cubs closer last season. I think most people I was drafting with didn't realize that he would be the Cubs full time closer this season as the went through most of the other closers before considering this guy. Also the memories of having a Cubs closer may have been just too much for some owners. He's also a good strikeout guy. For those of you in Yahoo leagues or other leagues he's going eligible as a SP and RP which allows some useful flexibility.

Mike Gonzalez: Pittsburgh's fulltime closer this season. I'm guessing most of the people I'm playing with so far don't know who this guy is. Well to let them in on it this guy throws gas. Pittsburgh's closers have gotten saves in the past with Jose Mesa getting 43 just two years ago. Pittsburgh should be better this year as well.

Scott Kazmir: I'll give you three reasons to pick Kazmir this year: strikeouts, strikeouts and.........how about strikeouts.

J.D. Drew: Coming off of injuries last season everybody is sick of this guy being injured every season. But he plays he's very good. Draft him late and dump him when he gets hurt he'll still offer you 200-250 very good at-bats.

Jonathan Papelbon: Another bullpen/starter guy. He proved himself when it mattered last season and is guaranteed a spot with the big club this season. Papelbon along with Mike Timlin will be Boston's first option in case Keith Foulke can't handle the pressure coming back from his injuries. If that happens he could quickly grow into the position as closer.

Justin Morneau:This guy was so hurt last season it was ridiculous. He was everybody's pick to explode and hit 40 HRs last season and this year no one wants him I took him in the 16th and 17th round this season. He should be back to his bashing ways this season.

To Play or Not to Play

Big day for Alfonso Soriano and the Washington Nationals today. Soriano, who is scheduled to play left field in today's exhibition game, has so far resisted the Nationals attempts to have him move from his regular position at second base to left field two days after refusing to take the field. ESPN is now reporting that Soriano has agreed to play left in today's game. No matter what he position plays today I think that David Pinto's reporting over at BaseballMusings.com is probably correct. David reports that:

"Soriano told at least one teammate today that he'd prefer to play center, and Robinson has said in the past that he'd accommodate Soriano. Maybe that's the solution."

Makes sense to me. He certainly has the speed to play center and Frank Robinson has to do whatever he has to keep Soriano in the lineup, short of playing him at second.

On other topics: I still feel bad about the Arroyo trade. I know he didn't fit into the Red Sox plans and his periphal stats had been declining but at least be up front with him about it. Good luck Bronson.

Eric Chavez, long one of my favorite players, is tearing up this spring hitting .314 with 5 HRs and 12 RBI. Chavez and A's have a long history of getting off to slow starts. If Chavez can start of the season hitting this well the A's have a much better chance of avoiding a poor April for the first time in years. If that happens hello 100 wins this year.

Looking at the Spring Training numbers Ryan Howard appears to be early pick for NL MVP this season batting .360 with 8 HR and 15 RBI. Spring training numbers in most cases rarely pan out over the course of the regular season. However in both the cases of Howard and Chavez they're both good enough that they could prove those numbers correct. It's Doug Mientkiewicz hitting .485 with one homer and 13 RBI whose spring numbers won't carry over.

Edwin Encarnacion .458 with 6 HR and 18 RBI for the Reds this spring won't hit that well this season but should played himself into a starting job for Cincinnati. He'll hit for decent power and a few steals and should be a good fantasy option.

Another third base option people seem to be ignoring is Boston's Kevin Youkilis. He's had a poor spring but Boston is going to actually give him at bats this spring. All this guy has done in his career is get on base at a slightly lower pace than Barry Bonds without the steroids. The Red Sox front office loves OBP so they may leave in the lineup longer then they would otherwise. He'll play first this year but will still be eligible at third. I have picked him with my last pick in three of my drafts so far this season.

Three other quick things to mention. I'm reading, among other things, "Baseball Between the Numbers" by the Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts. Let me just say baseball nirvana. Just the first indepth discussion of Barry Bonds vs. Babe Ruth is awesome. But it's the parts where they discuss how a bad player can have 100 RBI in a season is what stands out. How a team should use their closer in the sixth inning is also great. It's challenging these long standing baseball beliefs that has made Baseball Prospectus the most go source for baseball information. I hate that information this good is out there and today's writers stay willfully ignorant of it.

On other topics I bought the Godfather video game that features the actual voices of Robert Duval, James Caan and taped shortly before he died Marlon Brando. This is a pretty cool video game with great graphics. You should definitely check it out.

Also released yesterday was the seventh season of South Park. It goes without saying that I love South Park. But I dare anyone to watch episode Krazy Kripples and not die laughing. In that episode Timmy and Jimmy, the two crippled South Park characters, in anger after Christopher Reeves visits South Park and steals some their thunder decide to start a group that only allows people crippled from birth to be in it. When they try to get t-shirts made they're told that there is already an organization that has the they want to use: The Crips. So Timmy and Jimmy decide to join. Hilarity ensues. South Park's battle against Scientology continues to rage. I've posted Trey Parker and Matt Stone's statement after their episode about Scientology was cancelled below. Don't forget about the South Park season premiere tonight. Hail Xenu!!

"Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"

-- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu

Not a whole lot of class in this move

Three months after agreeing to sign a three year contract for a home town discount of $11.5-12.5 million Bronson Arroyo was traded to the Reds for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. At the time Arroyo signed the contract his agents were telling him not to because it only made him more tradeable. Arroyo, so badly wanted to stay with the Red Sox, that he didn't listen and signed the contract anyway, without a no trade clause. I'm sure that comments of hatred are soon to be coming from Arroyo. On to the trade. Wily Mo has as much power as anyone in baseball. But where does he play? He's a poor outfielder whose power stats were inflated from playing in Cincinnati. He has no patience at the plate and bad work habits. But the potential is there. Pena was signed to a huge contract with the Yankees originally, that didn't allow him to go to the minors. So all the learning he did had to do at the major league level. In battling for at-bats with Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns Pena has never really gotten the opportunity to be an everyday player. Without those consistent at-bats Pena hasn't been able to develop as a player. And he's complained loudly about that fact. Now that he's essentially in a platoon situation with Trot Nixon in rightfield I doubt is going to make him happy. On the bright side Nixon is a free agent after this season so maybe the Red Sox are getting his successor early. Pena does have a cannon of an arm.

For the Reds Arroyo is a cost effective innings eater. He's not the power pitcher who could be effective at Great American Park but rather a pitcher who can keep the ball in the park but who tests his defense a great deal. Last time I checked the Reds defense wasn't that great. What will be bigger problem for the Reds is that Arroyo seemed to be a pitcher who thrived off the center stage of pitching in Boston in important games. It gave him emotion and pushed him to new heights. This season I don't know how many important games the Reds are going to play this season. With the loss of movation and a decline in strikeouts despite pitching more innings last season the Reds are getting a pitcher who who is on the downside. He was never going to be a great pitcher in Boston but at least he was decent. I don't expect him to be in Cincinnati.

It should come as no shock

It should come as a shock to no one that there is a something I have the right.....Nay, the duty to write a piece on. It's kept me up at night and I've been thinking about for three days. It's about freedom of the press and freedom of speech and I don't think I can hold back any longer.

"TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET? A week after Isaac Hayes asked to be released from his South Park contract due to the shows mocking of Scientology, Variety reporting that Viacom-owned Comedy Central refused to air a rerun Wednesday night of the infamous Tom Cruise/Scientology-skewering episode, Trapped in the Closet, after the star threatened not to promote Mission: Impossible 3. Cruise's reps deny he ever made such a threat." www.E.Newsdaily.com

I don't know where you stand on this issue but I definitely think it sucks that Chef has left South Park. I mean come on "chocolate Salty Balls" was awesome. Everything Chef did was great. It's a sad sad day. However I do completely agree with South Park co-creator Matt Stone who said:

"This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology," Stone told the Associated Press. "He has no problem and he's cashed plenty of checks with our show making fun of Christians. [W]e never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."

The Onion's Av Club published an interview with Hayes in which he doesn't sound as pissed as he is now you can read it here:
http://www.avclub.com/content/node/44132/2

Honestly I don't care about anyone's religion, but trying to enforce your opinions and beliefs on someone else is just wrong. It doesn't matter if George W. Bush, Saddam, or Tom Cruise. It's just wrong. "Viva Le South Park."

I Hope He's Done

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Computer problems. According to Roger Clemens last nights 2-1 loss to Mexico may be the last time anyone has the pleasure of watching him pitch in a meaning full game. I hope he's telling the truth that he's going to retire. But I doubt it.

Clemens, 341-172 with an ERA of 3.12 and a strike out to walk ratio of 4502:1502, is the best pitcher any of us will probably see in our lifetimes. He can still pitch going 13-8 with an amazing ERA of 1.89 last season. But he should hang it up. Clemens is a mercenary and he always has been. But it seems that Clemens has finally found a home in Houston. He's originally from Texas and the fans there love him. Fans from his former teams Boston, Toronto and New York view him as traitor for betraying their teams. So if Clemens wants people to show up at his Hall of Fame induction he should hang it up now.

But unfornuately yesterday's news that Andy Pettitte is thinking about either retiring or heading back to the Yankees means that not only we will be hearing rumors of Clemens heading back to the majors this year but probably next year. After setting up a similar scenario in Houston three years ago Pettitte, 33, is likely setting up a similar one here and I'm sick of it. Pettitte isn't going to retire. There's no chance of that. And whatever team gives him the money he wants will have an inside shot at landing Clemens.

The big reason Clemens should retire is Bud Selig's impending investigation of Barry Bonds. Why you ask? Because if you investigate Bonds you have to investigate everyone. If Selig only investigates Bonds he'll be hit with the racism card. More so it would just be wrong to single out Bonds when many sources have the steroid using population in baseball at 80% before the testing started. If Selig does open an investigation more then a few retired players and Hall of Famers will have there names dragged through the mud. Records will be found to have broken under false pretense. Selig doesn't seem to realize this. The more he makes this problem news worthy the more it will impact his place in the game and his place in history. When the commissioner position was established in 1920 it was to keep corruption out of baseball. Selig would be the commissioner who let corruption run repent throughout the game. What does this have to do with Clemens? He's always been a conditioning freak but has any player other player performed at such a high level for so long? Yes. One. Barry Bonds. Is that the only reason to suspect Clemens? In 1996 ,Clemens last season in Boston, he went 10-13 with an ERA of 3.64. That year was the one season he spent as a teammate of Jose Canseco. Canseco said in his book that Clemens discussed what steroids Canseco was doing and asked how he took them. When Boston didn't offer him enough money in the offseason he angrily fled to Toronto. With a burning hatred for Boston GM Dan Duquette Clemens rededicated himself to excerise and improved his record to 21-7 with an ERA of 2.05 with a strike out to walk ratio of 292:68. That's pretty extreme. I have no clue if Clemens has ever taken steroids. But the question does exist. If Selig does begin his investigation it's a question both he and Clemens will have to answer every day.

Bonds gets hit with an Onion

Great piece on Bonds over at The Onion which read for yourself here: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/46188

Great line: "I can see how some people may shocked about Bonds' doping, but this has been an open secret for years among people in my industry," said air-conditioner repairman Mike Dumas. "I'm sure it's an even more widely known fact in baseball."

Classic

Cubs Should Be Afraid........Very Afraid

For those you who haven't been closely monitoring the WBC Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano is pitching for the Venezuela National Team. He relieved Johan Santana in Tuesday's loss to the Dominican Republic. Upon entering the game Zambrano's first pitch was clocked at 99 mph. Using the excellent Bill James Handbook I tried to find out how many pitches Zambrano threw last season that were for faster then his first pitch Tuesday. The answer: One. In 223.1 innings pitched last season Zambrano threw just one pitch harder then his first pitch in a game that means nothing to the Cubs. Last season Zambrano's fastball averaged 92.8 mph so it's clear that he's overthrowing. It's March and Zambrano shouldn't be throwing that hard yet. His chances of injury are just too great. Save the 100 mph pitch for when the Cubs need it down the stretch. Everyone believes that the Cubs hopes lie in the right shoulders of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood but if Zambrano can't repeat his performance of last season when he went 14-6 with an ERA of 3.26 with 202 K's the Cubs won't have a chance. For those of you in fantasy leagues you may want to remember this on draft day.

Baseball's Trio of Tiresome Stars make some noise.

They're at it again. First up we have Barry Bonds. "Game of Shadows" is the name of the book being produced by San Francisco Chronicle writers Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams which states that Bonds took the following steroids knowingly Winstrol, Deca-Durabolin, Insulin, Testosterone decanoate, Human growth hormones, Norbolethone, Trenbolone, Clomid, These are the substances and steroids Bonds is alleged to have injected or ingested. You can read the full story here http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/phil_taylor/03/08/hot.button/index.html

When asked at the Giants' Scottsdale facility if he was aware of the contents of "Game of Shadows," Bonds said, "Nope. I won't even look at it. For what? I won't even look at it. There's no need to."

I couldn't agree more. Ever since his grand jury testimony was leaked last year was there really any doubt that Bonds had used steroids? There wasn't in my mind. Some writers are calling on Bud Selig to start a huge investigation into this. Why? That's my question. There was no rule in place at the time when Bonds took these steroids. Therefore he broke no rules. I don't want Bonds to break Hank Aaron's record and I'm pretty sure he's not going to anyway. Bonds reputation is trashed so just let him retire. People seem to forget that in Jim Bouton's great book Ball Four he says if there were a pill that would make you a great player but would take a year off your life most players would probably take it. People want their players to be passionate and to win at all costs but they don't want to know about the underside of it. People will be complaining late this season about all the 2-1 games this season as players try to play a whole season without amphetamines. Cheating has and will always be a part of baseball. Let Bonds walk away from baseball in disgrace. Let him watch as he doesn't make the Hall of Fame. Just stop talking about it.

In other news Roger Clemens told USAToday that he has decided to retire. Unless he decides to play. You can the story here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2359276&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

This isn't news. This is exactly what he has said since the World Series. I'm sick of it. I respect Roger Clemens and his career. He is the greatest pitcher of my life. But stop this sideshow. Just make up your mind already. Even when he was playing in Boston I didn't like Roger Clemens. He was great but he was also a pain in the ass. His statements about wanting to play closer to home then signing with Toronto, which last time I checked wasn't closer to Texas then Boston. His wanting to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee because he was pissed that Dan Duquette thought he wasn't worth a five or six year deal. Well Roger should look at his stats the last two years of his career in Boston. He went 20-18 with ERAs of 4.18 and 3.63. He wasn't worth a huge deal. If anything it was the kick in the ass that Duquette gave him that pushed his career to new heights.

Finally David Wells bashs Bud Selig you can read the story here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2359283

Wells was pissed off that Selig made Yankees owner George Steinbrenner remove a sign that was apologizing to fans for some players missing spring training games to play in the World Baseball Classic.

"Bud Selig needs to resign. That's what he needs to do," Wells said in a story published in Wednesday's editions of the Hartford Courant. "He needs to resign and bring someone in who's capable of communicating with the players association and the owners, as well as the players, because there's so much hatred against Bud right now. It's a joke. Nobody likes him."

I don't like Bud Selig but who cares. Why is Wells commenting on what Selig is making the Yankees do anyway? Wells is good pitcher and I'm glad he stayed with the Red Sox but please shut the hell up.

Congrats Team Canada for their 8-6 victory over the USA today in WBC. Great catch by Adam Stern in the eighth inning to save the game for Canada. Great game. So was this afternoons 11 inning game between Panama and Cuba. Cuba won 8-6.

Well that was quick.

OK so maybe Team Canada won't win as Jason Varitek brings Team USA back into it with a grand slam to cut Canada's lead down from 8-2 to 8-6. Varitek also threw out Cory Koskie to end the next innings. Red Sox prospect Adam Stern has hit inside the park for Team Canada in the game.

WBC

I think that I'm patriotic. I hate George W. Bush. But I don't hate the United States. So I'm confused by the thrill I'm getting seeing the Team Canada team destroying Team USA. Currently the score is 7-0 Canada calling the announcers to bring up the Mercy rule in which if a team is up by ten runs entering the 7th inning the game will be ended. I don't hate the WBC as much as I had expected to mainly because of the excitement of the players and fans from outside the U.S.. The U.S. team say they're excited and enjoying it so I feel bad for the team itself. But American fans are arrogant. They'll give up on the WBC as soon as March Madness starts. Maybe this will serve as the kick in ass American fans need to remember how important baseball is.

WBC

How about this for a new good way to do this if MLB wants to. Instead of doing it during spring training, why not take a week off when the All-Star Break is scheduled? It's only every four years and if MLB wants the integrity of this thing to matter they have to realize that it's more important then the all-star game. I mean unlike now all the stars would be healthy, in shape and probably willing to play.

Lastings

Thank God Baseball is back! It's odd that I live in Chicago and so far both of the games I've seen so far have been Mets games I don't know why ESPN is putting them here but what are you going to do. One thing I'm grateful for is getting to see Mets uber-prospect Lastings Milledge get to play. You may have heard his name mentioned in some Mets trade rumors this offseason and with good reason. This kid is fantastic. He has a quick bat thru the strike zone allowing him to on pitches and then pounce on them. He's got power. He has speed. He has a great arm. He's played good defense. This kid has been doing everything. It would probably be wise to keep him away from Jose Reyes until Milledge learns better plate discipline the one aspect of his game he needs to work on. He appears to be the type of player who when there were rumors of his being traded to Boston for Manny Ramirez would have said "They didn't send me to Boston for Manny, they sent Manny to New York for me".

Beckett bombed

Josh Beckett in his first outing for the Red Sox this spring was not pretty. He gave up five earned runs in three innings pitched. It sounds like he was a little to pumped up in his debut.

"It's not like I was just out there trying to throw my pitches. If I was going to do that, I would have just thrown a 50-pitch bullpen. When I'm out there, I'm trying to get people out," said Beckett. "I wanted to get a feel for these guys [the Devil Rays], just like they wanted to get a feel for me. They felt me pretty good," he said.

Dude seriously chill out. I know this may be what makes him a winner but he shouldn't be trying to use all his pitches yet to get hitters out. Please just relax and don't hurt yourself. The Red Sox dearly need you. One good thing so far about Beckett is he helped David Wells decide to retrack his trade demand. With Wells in the mix the Red Sox could open the season with seven starters on their team with Curt Schilling, Matt Clement, Beckett, Wells, Bronson Arroyo, Tim Wakefield and Jonathan Paplebon. There is an extremely good problem for the Red Sox to have. I expect that they'll trade one of these pitchers probably either Clement or Arroyo. I also think Papelbon will move into the bullpen possibly as Foulke's replacement if he's not ready to be the closer.

Was that a dig Johnny Damon said about Varitek yesterday. Damon was talking about the Pedro-Zimmer throwing accident and how because he had a concussion at the time he sought out former and current teammate Jason Giambi to protect him. When he was asked what would happen if a brawl breaks out this year he said ''I definitely won't go get Varitek". Even though I hadn't read of any problems between them I wouldn't be surprised if there was tension between the two. Damon tends to be kind of goofy while Varitek is the exact opposite. Damon was often portrayed as the leader of the "idiots" but it was Varitek who received the "C" on his uniform. Don't forget that the Red Sox offered Damon the exact same contract they offered Varitek $40 million for four years.

Two Great quotes

After a pitching machine had struck out five in an intrasquad game Marlins backup catcher Matt Treanor and a victim of the machine said "You can ask me about my off-season and you can ask me about my wife but just don't ask me about my performance today."

When asked what pitches Jesse Crain possessed Concordia shortstop Jake Waldman said "Fastball/slider. That's what he does in my video game."

What I've been reading

This past weekend I spent a lot of time reading two excellent new books. First was the new Baseball Prospectus which showed up on my doorstep on Friday. For those of who don't know Baseball Prospectus is a well respected website that is teeming with original thoughts, ideas and for my money the best baseball writing on the internet. You can check it out here http://www.baseballprospectus.com/. Each year they publish a book which is packed with information. In the next couple of days I'll publish a review of this book and highlight some of the books hidden treasures. The other book is called Fantasyland: A Season on Baseball's Lunatic Fringe by Sam Walker a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal which documents his play in a fantasy baseball league. Here is the description that Amazon.com has for the book

"From Publishers Weekly when Walker, a senior writer for the Wall Street Journal, enters his first fantasy baseball tournament, he aims high: Tout Wars, a competition for guys who make a career out of analyzing stats to find the best Major League hitters and pitchers. He figures that because he can get to the ballparks in his journalistic capacity and talk to the players and coaches, he'll be in a better position to judge the intangibles and pull one over the pure numbers crunchers. But even with the help of a young research assistant and a NASA scientist, things quickly head south. This hilarious diary of the 2004 season includes several encounters with the players Walker has picked; from Jacque Jones's struggle to refute predictions of mediocrity to David Ortiz's razzing Walker for trading him away. Along the way there are mini-profiles of the Tout Wars competition, as well as explorations of the origins of fantasy baseball (predating even the famed Rotisserie League) and the shaky relationship between dedicated statistical analysts and Major League executives. Readers might even pick up a few tips on how to draft their teams this spring, but the real fun is in watching Walker's well-laid plans unravel. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved"

It's a really fun look at fantasy baseball that'sguaranteedd to make the reader laugh and smile. Two good baseball books at the same time. The only thing I think of to make life perfect would be if there were a book by Bill James out. But wait! I forgot it gets even better. Not only is Bill James featured in John Dewan's "Fielding Bible" in which a new sophiscated fielding statistics offer to enlighten fans on baseball most misunderstood statistics. And what's better then a book written by Bill James? How about a book about Bill James. On March 14th The Mind of Bill James : How a Complete Outsider Changed Baseball by Scott Gray is coming out. I can't wait. Can imagine the moviepossibilitiess? Russell Crowe is.....Bill James.

I also wanted to send out my best wishes to Kirby Puckett and his family. Puckett suffered from a stroke and is currently in critical condition. In case you don't remember Puckett carried the Twins in the 1991 World Series.

Kim Bauer is going to Die Tonight!!

That's my predication at 6:15 PM Eastern Monday March 5th. For those of you who don't know the totally hot awesomely gorgeous Kim Bauer (played by Elisha Cuthbert who you can see here http://www.sexydesktop.co.uk/elisha.htm) is returning to 24 tonight. Cuthbert left the show after the third season because basically her character didn't have anything left to do on the show and she was going off to make movies. Odds are her return will be along the lines Dennis Hysbert (what was he doing on SNL and why wasn't he the host?) as President David Palmer in which he got shot seconds after the show started this season. When 24 premiered five years ago one of the first things I noticed was how hot Jack Bauer's young daughter was. The fact that she ran around in that first season in what can only be described as a cheer leader top makes it even more so. But the fact is she isn't an agent at CTU and bringing her back in for just one show wouldn't make much sense. If I were Fox I'd kill off tonight and start a new show called "Elisha Cuthbert does her laundry and various other things". It would be cheaper then making an episode of 24. All you would need is a web cam. I'd watch that.

Where is Soriano going to land?

Jim Bowden isn't brightest GM on the planet. This past offseason he pulled off a trade with the Texas Rangers for second basemen Alfonso Soriano. I don't know if Bowden knew about Soriano's home/road splits last season but he should have looked into them Last season at comfy Ameriquest Field Soriano hit .315/.355/.615 with 25 HRs and 73 RBI. On the road he hit just .224/.265/.374 with 11 HRs and and 31 RBI. Question, if you play in a great pitchers park like Washington's RFK Stadium does it make sense to trade for a player who hits great in a good hitters park but is below average in every other park?

Maybe Bowden thought that Soriano's base stealing ability and excellent defensive skills could overcome his home road/splits. But here is the reality of it I don't care how many bases Soriano can steal because he's not going to be on base enough to be a consistent threat if he plays this year in Washington. As for "excellent" I was kidding. Soriano is actually one of the worst defensive second basemen in baseball. So what is Bowden's plan? It appears to be to move Soriano into the outfield. However Bowden never sought out Soriano to get his thoughts on the subject. When asked Soriano said he wasn't moving. So with the Nationals already possessing an All-Star second basemen in Jose Vidro what does Jim Bowden do now?

It's pretty clear that Bowden has to trade Soriano now. Soriano's a free agent after this season and will command more money on the open market as a second basemen then as an outfielder. And he knows it. So he's not moving to the outfield. So after that became public if he isn't traded that asks the question who is running this team: Bowden or Soriano? Given that this one of the biggest moves of Bowden's career and that he has to know Soriano isn't as good as his batting line suggests he has to flip Soriano for whatever he can get.

Over at www.mlbtraderumors.com it's suggested that Bowden is working on a deal with the Mets:

" Word is that the Mets could send Xavier Nady, John Maine, and Jeff Keppinger to the Nationals for Alfonso Soriano, Bill Bray, and Jason Bergmann".

Keppinger and Maine are pretty decent prospects with a chance to play into the future. Nady's decent. But if you're Bowden why not make this trade? When you know that all you're going all you are going to get from Soriano is a headache why not get rid of him. The Mets are the perfect team for him because you now he can handle the pressure of playing in New York and he'd be reunited with former coach Willie Randolph.