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Baseball Today: Monday, March 17

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ALMOST HERE: As hard as it may be to believe, spring training ends in three days for the Red Sox. They leave for Japan on Wednesday night, the long-anticipated trip that everyone's been looking forward to/dreading. Sean McAdam has a primer on what to expect over the next two weeks, and Joe McDonald talks to the Sox about how they plan to keep focused during the trip, since two of the games will count in the standings. One thing that's no surprise: Josh Beckett (left, working out at Fort Myers yesterday) won't be going with them. McDonald has the details. SECRET OF SUCCESS: McDonald has an interesting feature on how the Red Sox go about their business these days. VIDEO: RED SOX-YANKEES IS A DIFFERENT WORLD: CNN's Larry Smith has a 2 1/2-minute video report, with interviews from players and fans, which deals with the shift of power in the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry. (yahoo.com) I'M UNHAPPY: Two days after the fact, Tim Wakefield weighed in on the release of Doug Mirabelli. (It's the second item down in McDonald's Saturday notebook.) Not surprisingly, he wasn't pleased. ME, TOO: Jason Varitek was also upset at Mirabelli's being let go. (Boston Herald)

SIMPLE ENOUGH: On his Hacks with Haggs blog, Joe Haggerty has a conversation with Peter Gammons. Gammons' answer when asked why the Sox cut Mirabelli: "They just didn’t think he could play anymore.''

YOU WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE HIM: The Hideki Okajima who's returning to Japan with the Red Sox next week is far different than the one who left last year. (Boston Globe)

ONE, BUT NOT TWO: The Newark Star-Ledger's Dan Graziano says he's hearing that the Cubs will pull out of trade talks for Coco Crisp if they acquire Brian Roberts.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE: Say what you will about Johnny Damon, but he's always been the most honest of ballplayers. So it's not surprising to hear his self-assessment of his defensive skills in light of the Yankees switching him to left field: ''I'm probably [a] middle-of-the-pack [center fielder] now . . . I would say I'm probably an above-average left fielder now."

THE NUMBERS DON'T WORK: The Daily News' Bill Madden says that, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, there has never been a World Series team with two rookies making a minimum of just 25 starts apiece. Since the Yanks plan to start the season with Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy in the rotation, how this applies to them is pretty obvious.

OF MICE AND MEN: Hank Steinbrenner said being criticized by Jonathan Papelbon ''is like being attacked by a mouse.'' (New York Post) Papelbon's response was classic Papelbon . . . and, in fact, classic, period: ''Whatever, dude.'' (Hartford Courant) Our pals at Red Sox Monster think it's a case of ''Papel-Mouse winning again.''

C.C. OF DISCOURAGEMENT: Free agent-to-be C.C. Sabathia couldn't have pleased those New York folks who have him fitted for pinstripes next year -- a group that includes just about all of Yankee Universe -- when he answered, "It's all right,'' when asked if he liked New York. (mlb.com)

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: The good news is Chien-Ming Wang struck out seven in 4 1/3 innings against the Indians. The bad news is he wasn't particularly effective while doing so. (New York Daily News)

MORE OF THE SAME: The New York Post's Larry Brooks says the Yanks' allowing Jim Leyritz, who facing a felony DUI manslaughter charge, to visit their clubhouse is another reason why their reputation as a class organization is slipping.

LIKE SON, LIKE FATHER Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan, father of the Yankees' Shelley Duncan, a) doesn't see anything wrong with his son's waist-high, spikes-first slide into the Rays' Akinori Iwamura and b) is pretty upset with those who do. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) The Rays are among those who do, and the Post-Dispatch points out that St. Louis and Tampa Bay are interleague opponents this year.

THE CLOSER YOU LOOK . . . Baseball Musing's David Pinto says, more and more, Shelley Duncan comes off ''a typical meathead with the jock sense of entitlement.'' This is the guy, remember, who wrote "Red Sox Suck" when signing an autograph to a 10-year-old Red Sox fan.

APPEALING: Duncan and Melky Cabrera are appealing the suspensions they received for their actions in the brawl that followed Duncan's slide. (New York Post)

I DON'T SEE ANY OF THESE SEATS GOING EMPTY, THOUGH: The Biz of Baseball points out that a box seat which cost $3.50 at Yankee Stadium in 1967 is now going for $250, even though $3.50 in 2007 dollars is only $22.14. That's an inflation rate of 1,029%.

THE REST OF THE STORY: The New York Times' Murray Chass looks at the chances of the Blue Jays and Rays to break the Red Sox-Yankee stranglehold on the A.L. East. The Orioles? Fugheddaboutit.

SWAP, DON'T BUY: With Rocco Baldelli out, the Rays are more likely to trade for a fourth outfielder rather than sign a free agent. (Tampa Tribune)

BASEBALL'S VERSION OF WESTERN UNION: It looks as if the Twins are trying to send a message to Alexi Casilla as they've shipped him to Triple-A Rochester because of what the St. Paul Pioneer-Press calls his ''lack of attention to details in the field.''

THE WORST TRADES ARE THE ONES YOU DON'T MAKE: FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal thinks the Angels may regret not pursuing Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera this offseason.

REPLY HAZY, TRY AGAIN: Joe Posnanski says the annual Baseball Prospectus is his version of the Magic 8 ball, and he shakes it to try and get some answers. (One of the questions: "Will Dustin Pedroia continue to be the same kind of player he was in 2007?")

WHY WOULDN'T I BELIEVE HIM? White Sox GM Ken Williams says Ozzie Guillen was "probably serious" when he said the White Sox could tear up his contract if the team struggles again this year. (Chicago Sun-Times)

THE NEVER-ENDING STORY: SI.com's John Donovan reports on the latest Dusty Baker move that's sure to have heads spinning in the sabermetric community.

ORIENT EXPRESS: Yahoo.com's Steve Henson reports on the Dodgers-Padres trip to China.

HERE AND THERE: Jeff Conine apparently will sign a contract with Florida and then announce his retirement, so he can retire as a Marlin. (mlb.com) Question: Does anybody remember who a player retired with? . . . Scott Kazmir may start the season on the disabled list (Tampa Tribune) . . . Juan Pierre may be losing his job with the Dodgers (Orange County Register) . . . Kerry Wood is emerging as the favorite in the competition to be the Cubs' closer (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . The Braves' Jeff Francoeur escaped serious injury in a beaning by the Cardinals' Todd Wellemeyer (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . The Orioles' Ramon Hernandez says he was injured last year, not fat and out of shape like his critics claimed, and he's ready to prove them wrong (Baltimore Sun) . . . The Angels' John Lackey will be sidelined for at least a month. (mlb.com)

OLD FRIENDS: The New York Post reports Pedro Martinez had a "dazzling" spring debut for the Mets . . . Hideo Nomo is no longer in the running for a starting job with the Royals, but could still make their bullpen (Kansas City Star) . . . Tony Armas Jr. finally showed up in Mets' camp. (Newsday)

AND FINALLY . . . Congratulations to Chad Finn, whose excellent Touching All The Bases blog is moving uptown.

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:28 AM | Permalink