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Baseball Today: Thursday, March 13

AP Photo

THE REAL WORLD: Every so often reality intrudes on the fantasy land of sports, and yesterday it barged in with a sobering thud. Rhode Island's Rocco Baldelli told the Tampa media in a morning press conference he would be sidelined indefinitely because of a rare, and as-yet untreated, condition called metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities, which causes severe fatigue and muscle cramping and has been at the root at his constant string of injuries over the last three years. Later he had a phone conversation with Joe McDonald in which he elaborated on the topic.

Interestingly, Baldelli said it was his interview with McDonald on Saturday -- recounted in this Sunday story -- that prompted him to go public in far more detail yesterday. The unburdening, he said, was a relief. "When I wake up [today], I’m going to feel a lot better than I did [yesterday],'' he told McDonald. But there's still no conclusive diagnosis (and thus no real treatment), and when asked if the condition was life-threatening, Baldelli said, "It’s difficult for me to comment on that. I’m not worried about it being extremely serious and I don’t like to use the term [life threatening]. Doctors are fairly certain this is not serious to that point. It’s a problem, a serious problem, but not something I’m worried about.''

It's so rare for an athlete this young to be facing a condition this dire that few can process it. I think the St. Petersburg Times' Gary Shelton has an excellent column in which he acknowledges that most people, because of his long string of idleness, ''are no longer able to feel [Baldelli's] pain.'' That point of view can be summed up pretty succinctly: The Rays have been without Baldelli for a long time now, they have plenty of other good young outfielders, they're a team on the rise, and if they have to rise without him . . . well, so be it. If the Rays were the Red Sox, and the outfielder was from, say, Montana and not Rhode Island, we'd probably feel the same way around here. And it's somehow symbolic of that lack of empathy and understanding that the Baldelli news in the Tampa area got trampled by the Rays-Yankees nonsense (more on this below).

But Shelton's point is that the conclusion to Baldelli's saga -- and that's what yesterday felt like -- ''should not come without a trace of sorrow.'' More than a trace, in this view.

Godspeed, Rocco. Get well soon.

BACK TO BASEBALL: As for the on-field news yesterday, Clay Buchholz pitched well as the Sox won the Mayor's Cup with a 12-7 victory over the Twins. The up-and-down saga of Josh Beckett was up yesterday, though there's still no word as to whether or not he'll make the trip to Japan. And Curt Schilling, while seen, continues not to be heard from in the Sox camp. (All stories from McDonald on projo.com)

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE: Little did we know the misfortune that befell McDonald's laptop the other day in Port St. Lucie would be chronicled by a sports celebrity gossip site and Deadspin.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND: The blog River Ave. Blues -- don't really have to tell you where they're coming from, do I? -- is chortling about the Red Sox' trip to Japan.

REDUCED SPEED: Scouts sat Francisco Liriano's velocity, once as high as 95 mph, is in the 88 mph range these days. (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

AND AWAY WE GO: Questions about whether there'd be a carryover from last Saturday's Rays-Yankees unpleasantries were answered pretty quickly yesterday. Shelley Duncan's Kamikaze slide into second base -- his "I was trying to knock the ball out of the glove" defense rings pretty hollow when you view the picture at right -- was the Yanks', or at least his, attempt to pay Tampa Bay back for the broken wrist suffered by minor-league catcher Francisco Cervelli as the result of a hard hit at the plate by the Rays' Elliot Johnson. The bench-clearing hoo-hah that followed was predictable, as were the postgame spins: The Yankees claiming Duncan's play was simply "a hard aggressive slide" (LoHud Yankees Blog) and the Rays calling it borderline criminal. (Tampa Tribune) Read all about it from the New York Daily News, the New York Post and the St. Pete Times. You can get columnists' takes from Bill Madden of the Daily News, Joel Sherman of the Post and Martin Fennelly of the Tribune.

AP Photo

To me, the most interesting part of the whole thing was the reaction of Yankee fans. They long chafed under the Yanks' refusal, under Joe Torre, to retaliate when their batters would be hit by pitches, particularly against the Red Sox. So after Duncan's play -- probably the best description would be a direct, if politically incorrect, phrase used by Bill James in a different context: "A Zulu warrior stunt to avenge the paisan" -- I jumped to Peter Abraham's blog to see what the fans were saying. Most of them loved it. ("This is awesome, so sick of the Torre era turning the other cheek. Time for some payback.'' . . . "The 77 and 78 Yankees would be proud" . . . "At least we know its not a turn-the-other-cheek team this year. That’s a positive.") It's not surprising, since most fan bases, including Boston's, would react exactly the same way. But Abraham jumped into the comment section a couple of times and tried to tell them that baseball isn't that kind of sport and they were being foolish; very few listened and a few shouted him down. In the end, Abraham made another blog post, titled Let's Try Not To Get Carried Away, in which he laid out the reasons why this incident shouldn't be regarded as a call to arms by The New Yanks.

Whether it actually is or not, only time will tell. But it sure livened up spring training.

THE REAL NEWS . . . is that Andy Pettitte had to miss a start because of a cranky elbow. (New York Daily News) The Yanks say it's nothing serious. Over at The Replacement Level Yankees Weblog, SG takes a look at how Pettitte likely will perform in 2008.

'DESIGNATED HEBREW': That's how Billy Crystal, who'll actually play for the Yanks against the Pirates today, is describing himself. (New York Post)

NOTHING BREWING: The Associated Press reports that, since MLB hasn't even talked to any of the players mentioned, suspensions for individuals mentioned in the Mitchell Report are unlikely, at least before Opening Day. (projo.com)

HERE WE COME: In its season preview of the team, Fox Sports says the Blue Jays have a sense of optimism for 2008. But that optimism may have been tempered a bit by yesterday's news that Casey Janssen will miss the 2008 season. (Toronto Globe and Mail) The Tao of Steib, however, isn't ''freaking about this nearly as much as we might have imagined''.

THERE THEY GO: Over on Baseball Analysts, Rob Neyer and Joe Posnanski look at the A.L. Central.

I'VE HAD IT: The Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck is giving up on Daniel Cabrera.

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES: A South Coast League team in Georgia is planning to hold a Elliot Spitzer Night on June 13, in which anyone named Eliot, Spitzer or Kristen, the alleged call girl, will get $1 off admission. The team also plans to give out a one-night stay at Washington, D.C.'s Mayflower Hotel, where Spitzer's alleged misdeeds are said to have happened, and -- since Spitzer was described as "Client No. 9" in FBI documents -- the ninth fan will get a prize. So will the 871st fan to buy a ticket, because that's supposed to have been Spitzer's Mayflower Hotel room number. (AP via wfrv.com)

Now that's a minor-league operator.

HERE AND THERE: Rotoworld.com points out that by not non-tendering Horacio Ramirez, whom they released yesterday, last December, it cost the Mariners $460,000 . . . The Indians are taking care of Juan Lara, the relief pitcher who was critically injured in a November car crash. (AP via projo.com)

OLD FRIENDS: Keith Foulke made his exhibition debut for the A's, allowing a run (rotoworld.com) . . . The Marlins' Hanley Ramirez is hitting .394 this spring. (rotoworld.com)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:28 AM | Permalink