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Photos: Farewell Tokyo, hello L.A. »
March 27, 2008
Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
YOU SAY GOODBYE, AND I SAY HELLO: They've returned to the United States, the first part of the endless journey complete, and the Red Sox are recuperating from their week in Japan, which ended yesterday with a 5-1 loss to the A's. The stories from the game, which have been on the site for about 21 hours now, need no rehashing today; instead, we now go back to the future -- which is to say, the resumption of spring training -- and get ready for the three games in Los Angeles, which will be highlighted by Saturday night's appearance before 115,000 people at the Los Angeles Coliseum. (si.com)
THE SAME . . . BUT DIFFERENT: Last year, you may recall, Jordan's Furniture had a unique promotion: Anything you bought at one of their stories in April would be free if the Red Sox won the World Series. About 24,000 people took advantage of the offer, and received rebate checks after the Sox swept the Rockies last October. Jordan's is back with another offer this year, but it's not quite as generous: The Red Sox have to sweep the Series for customers to collect, and it only applies to "sofas, sectionals, dining room tables, beds, mattresses, and rugs." (Boston Globe) Still, it's amazing Jordan's could find an insurance company to underwrite this year's offer; last year's must have cost millions.
ENOUGH! There are Yankee fans convinced ESPN hates the Yanks, and Red Sox fans convinced ESPN hates the Red Sox. Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News thinks both those groups are certifiably insane, as, from a West Coaster's point of view, he asserts ESPN's baseball coverage consists of "18 games between the Red Sox and Yankees and 160 editions of 'Baseball Tonight' previewing or rehashing games between the Red Sox and Yankees."
COVER BOYS: Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buccholz are two of six players on the cover of Sports Illustrated's baseball preview issue (Boston Dirt Dogs), but SI picks the Sox to finish behind the Yankees in the A.L. East.
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: But the New York Post's Joel Sherman says the Red Sox will win the A.L. East.
AUTHOR, AUTHOR: With the release date of his book Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save Baseball imminent, Jose Canseco is back in the public arena, talking steroids. The big name he's accusing this time is Alex Rodriguez, though he admits he "cannot bet my life" that A-Rod took steroids and further clouds his accusations by refusing to provide any evidence ("The timing's not right") to substantiate his charges. (New York Post) In an interview with ABC's Nightline that will air tonight, Canseco also backs off claims in his book that Roger Clemens is a user. (New York Daily News)
JOSE WHO? A-Rod's strategy is to ignore the whole thing, not even issuing as much as a non-denial denial. (New York Daily News) But former Yankee bullpen catcher Mike Borzello -- who says "Nobody in the last four years, including his wife because she wasn't on the road, spent more time with Alex than I did" -- tells the New York Post there's "no way" Rodriguez did steroids.
IF I CAN ADD MY TWO CENTS . . . You knew Hank Steinbrenner wouldn't stay silent on this topic for very long. Three guesses as to who he sides with in this dispute, and the first two don't count. (Bergen Record)
'A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALLY CARE': Magglio Ordonez shrugs off the fact that Canseco also accused him of steroids use in the latest book . . . though he, too, never comes out and denies it. (Detroit Free Press)
THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION: Yahoo.com's Tim Brown, while admitting that Canseco "has been right, a lot, and too often to be little more than a vindictive jerk swinging wildly at baseball icons," sides with A-Rod on this one.
'CHASING JOSE': Beware the NFSW aspects of this piece -- in every regard -- but, if such things don't give you the vapors, read Pat Jordan's account on Deadspin of trying to track down Canseco for a magazine piece he'd agreed to. Baseball Musing's David Pinto puts it best after reading this unbelievable piece: "I need to go disinfect myself now."
DEPENDS ON WHAT 'DECENT' IS: Joe Girardi believes Chien-Ming Wang's four runs-in-five innings performance yesterday was his "best day" of the year, and felt Wang -- who finished the exhibition schedule with an 8.04 ERA -- had a "decent spring." (New York Daily News)
TAKING THE ROLL: 97-year-old Bob Sheppard, the public-address announcer at Yankee Stadium since 1951, won't be on hand for Opening Day as he continues to recover from health problems that forced him to miss the playoffs last year, though he vows he "will be" back on the job sometime this year. (Newsday) But Bobby Murcer, who continues recovering from a brain tumor, says he'll be there. (New York Post)
AD MEN: The Tao of Steib has a YouTube clip of some pretty clever Blue Jays promotional spots for the coming season.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: Tom Glavine may have turned 42 earlier this week, but he feels he can give the Braves 200 innings this season. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
ACED: The Mariners were counting on Erik Bedard to anchor their rotation this year, so they have to be a little worried that's he's allowed 23 earned runs in 24 innings this spring. (yahoo.com)
"THE BALLPARK HAS BEEN DE-BONDSED": The San Francisco Chronicle's Scott Ostler reports the Giants have removed all signs that Barry Bonds ever played for them in whatever they're calling their stadium these days. When asked if they planned any sort of visible tribute to Bonds, Giants president Peter Magowan answered simply, "No."
HERE AND THERE: If the Cardinals are auditioning Anthony Reyes, as is rumored, he helped his trade chances with six shutout innings against the Nationals (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) . . . Juan Gonzalez has abandoned his comeback attempt, but the Cardinals say they'll keep the door open if he wants to try again. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
MEDICAL REPORT: Kelvin Escobar says his shoulder injury could be career-threatening (Los Angeles Times) . . . Moises Alou, recovering from hernia surgery, thinks he'll be back playing for the Mets sometime in April. (New York Daily News)
OLD FRIENDS: Jorge De La Rosa, a key figure in Red Sox history in that he was part of the package of players who went to Arizona in the Curt Schilling deal, has been designated for assignment by the Royals (Kansas City Star) . . . Good news, bad news from the Pirates: They've released Byung-Hyun Kim and Hector Carrasco, but are keeping Doug Mientkiewicz (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . The last time Jay Payton wanted to be traded or released, he threw a preplanned tantrum in the dugout in the middle of a game to force the Red Sox to get rid of him. Sounds like the Orioles better get ready for Act Two (Baltimore Sun) . . . The Phillies may have interest in calling the Reds about Mike Stanton (delawareonline.com) . . . Luis Mendoza will open the season on the disabled list for the Rangers (Dallas Morning News) . . . Johnny Damon is battling the flu (mlb.com) . . . The Marlins would like to see less speed (i.e., stolen bases) and more power from Hanley Ramirez (mlb.com) . . . Pedro Martinez wrapped up his spring with six innings of work in an intrasquad game and says he's ready to start the season (Newsday) . . . Chris Reitsma is headed home and apparently contemplating retirement after he left the Mariners' camp upon being told he wasn't physically ready to make the Opening Day roster . . . Rudy Seanez said he'd retire if he didn't make the Dodgers. Well, he didn't (rotoworld.com); let's see if he decides to follow through on his decision . . . Matt Murton is the odd man out in Chicago, and the Cubs say they'll try to trade him. (Chicago Tribune) Pinto expects Billy Beane to grab him for the A's.
-- ART MARTONE
Posted by Art Martone 
at 6:35 AM | Permalink
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