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March 10, 2008
AP Photo
TROUBLE'S BACK: After a blissfully quiet offseason and opening of training camp, the inevitable storm clouds appeared on the Red Sox' horizon when Josh Beckett was unable to make his scheduled start Saturday because of back spasms. Sean McAdam has the Saturday report. Yesterday the Sox said things were looking better but, as Joe McDonald -- who has taken over for Sean down in Fort Myers -- notes, there's still no word as to whether or not he'll be healthy enough to make the trip to Japan in two weeks. And making it even more problematic is that Daisuke Matsuzaka, after a couple of weeks of pitching like Good Daisuke, morphed back into Bad Daisuke yesterday at Vero Beach. McDonald has the details of his torturous 72-pitch, three-plus innings, three-run performance yesterday.
BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS . . . Bartolo Colon continues to impress and, reports McDonald, will pitch his first game Thursday against Tampa Bay.
STAYING PUT? Third baseman Eric Chavez of the A's, the Sox' Far East opponent, may not make the trip to Japan, either, because of inflammation in his lower back. (AP via projo.com)
RUMOR MILL: Apparently there's a radio station in Chicago reporting the Red Sox and Cubs are discussing a Coco Crisp-for-Jason Marquis-and-Sam Fuld trade, a swap that makes zero sense in this corner and seems highly unlikely. (It was also quickly shot down by the Globe's Nick Cafardo.) That hasn't stopped a number of people, including the very well-regarded David Pinto, from analyzing what it all means.
IT DON'T MEAN A THING IF HE CAN'T SWING: Or run. And at the moment, Coco can't . . . run, that is. (projo.com) Which would seem to put any trade talk on hold.
MORE FALL BALL: J.D. Drew closed a disappointing 2007 season with a strong showing in September and October and tells McDonald he hopes to build on that this season.
LOOKING GOOD: Jon Lester is one of eight players who have caught Peter Gammons' eye in spring training. (espn.com)
TICKET TALK: We noted last week that the Red Sox had opted out of MLB's agreement with StubHub. The reason: The Boston Globe reports they've signed an agreement to make Ace Tickets the official offline ticket resale agency for season ticket holders.
WE KNOW WHAT IT ISN'T, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS: Rocco Baldelli's three-years-and-counting string of injuries have led to a spate of rumors of serious illness flying about Rhode Island, rumors that anyone with the slightest connection to the local sporting scene has heard. In a long interview with Joe McDonald Saturday morning, Baldelli shot down the most-often-heard reports, but was vague as to what's actually wrong, saying that after months of tests doctors still don't really know. In the meantime, the St. Petersburg Times reports the Rays have until April 1 to pick up Baldelli's contract option for 2009 and they're not sure at the moment what they'll do.
THE REAL TAMPA CABAL: The Rays, who've had their share of dustups with the Red Sox over the years, now are feuding with the Yankees. Tampa Bay's Elliot Johnson crashed into Yankees catching prospect Francisco Cervelli on a hard play at the plate Saturday, and Cervelli fractured his right wrist in the collision. The Yanks were furious that Johnson would hit Cervelli that way in an exhibition game and manager Joe Girardi had some nasty things to say afterward. (New York Daily News) Nor did he back down very much yesterday, after having had a day to think about it. (New York Post) The Post's Kevin Kernan was impressed by Girardi's fire, saying, "Joe has really shown me something.''
QWITCHER BELLYACHIN': He didn't show too much to the Rays, however, who sniffed that they "never heard the rule' that you show less determination in the spring than you do at other times. "We try to play the game the same way on March 8 as we do on June 8,'' said manager Joe Maddon, who later added, "We play it hard and we play it right every day." (St. Petersburg Times) The Rays weren't feeling any more remorseful yesterday, either. (Tampa Tribune)
The teams play three more games this spring, including one on Wednesday. Stay tuned.
WEIGHING IN: Don Zimmer has always liked Girardi -- the Yankees acquired him from the Cubs on his recommendation in 1996 -- but he has no use for the new Yankee manager's complaints. (New York Daily News) ''Joe's my friend,'' said Zimmer, now a senior advisor to the Rays, ''but he's his own man, and I'm my own man. I think he was out of line, whether he likes it or not."
WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: The St. Petersburg Times has a photo gallery of the play.
THE REAL DEAL: Everyone's fixated on Joba Chamberlain, but Phil Hughes is showing why he was long considered the Yankees' No. 1 pitching prospect. (New York Post)
SKATING OUT IN STYLE: It looks like the New York Rangers -- yes, the hockey team -- and not the Yankees will stage the last athletic event ever held at the current Yankee Stadium. (New York Daily News)
OH, PLEASE: The Mets laughed off the notion that they have any interest in Barry Bonds. (New York Daily News)
SOME MISTAKES YOU NEVER STOP PAYING FOR: A Texas Rangers pitching prospect may never get a chance to play in the big leagues because of his role in a marriage fraud scandal in 2004 that involved approximately 30 Dominican minor leaguers. (Dallas Morning News)
ME, TOO: Joe Posnanski shares my skepticism about the wisdom of Trey Hillman's lecture-the-team-in-front-of-the-world stunt from last week. (joeposnanski.com)
GET A HORSE! The Cincinanti Enquirer's Paul Daugherty isn't buying any of that new-fangled stats hooey. Luckily for him, the team he covers has a manager who feels exactly the way he does . . . and he drives home his point by crowing that that very manager, Dusty Baker, has won 1,162 games as a major-league skipper while Bill James hasn't won any.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal's Don Williams thinks the Rangers' Michael Young is building a Hall of Fame resume.
CAN'T BLAME PEDs FOR THESE: Voros McCracken compiles a list of the 20 greatest fluke home-run seasons in history and less than half occured in the steroids era. (Baseball Digest)
SPEAKING OF PEDs . . . Jose Canseco has agreed to meet with the IRS about Roger Clemens.
NO, REALLY: Although his arrival would seem to spell a cut in, or even an end to, his playing time, Gary Matthews Jr. claims he's delighted the Angels signed Torii Hunter. (Orange County Register)
VOICE OF THE TRUTH: Steve Stone has joined the White Sox' radio broadcast team and the Chicago Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti isn't sure how Stone's unvarnished accounts will go over with a team that traditionally employs fawning yes-men as announcers.
HERE AND THERE: Sidney Ponson finally found a landing spot: The Rangers (Dallas Morning News) . . . Phillies closer Brad Lidge will throw off a mound today, two weeks after undergoing knee surgery (Philadephia Inquirer) . . . White Sox GM Ken Williams says the team is in no rush to trade Joe Crede (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Tigers reliever Jordan Tata broke his finger in a pique of anger after a bad outing and isn't sure when he'll be able to pitch again (Detroit Free Press) . . . Leo Mazzone, fired as Orioles pitching coach last year, doesn't know what to do with himself as he sits at home (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Randy Johnson will make his spring debut today (AP via projo.com) . . . Phillies pitcher Adam Eaton has been diagnosed with a small herniated disk and slight arthritis in his back, but is confident he'll be ready for Opening Day (AP via projo.com) . . . Jay Gibbons' job with the Orioles may be in jeopardy (Baltimore Sun) . . . With Andy LaRoche injured and Nomar Garciaparra unlikely to stand up to the rigors of everyday play, the Dodgers are in the market for a third baseman. (Los Angeles Daily News) Some names that have popped up: Ron Belliard and Esteban German. (FoxSports.com)
OLD FRIENDS: The Orioles are said to be interested in Mark Loretta, which may finally lead to the end game of the interminable Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs trade negotiations (Baltimore Sun) . . . Doug Mientkiewicz may be a Gold Glove first baseman, but no one seems to need a first baseman. So he's with the Pirates, but they want him to play third base and the outfield and only a little bit of first (yahoo.com) . . . Javy Lopez -- the catcher, not the left-handed reliever -- is vying for a backup job with the Braves (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . The New York Daily News' Christian Red has a nice feature about the charity work done by Pedro Martinez and his wife Carolina -- who met while he was playing with the Red Sox and she was a student at Boston College -- in the Dominican Republic . . . The Pirates' Freddy Sanchez may soon be ready to return from minor shoulder surgery (mlb.com) . . . Kason Gabbard is struggling in Texas, but the Rangers say they're not worried. (Dallas Morning News)
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:28 AM | Permalink
