The MLBPA says the clause in Barry Bonds contract that would terminate the deal if Bonds is indicted is unenforceable. So they are on board with the farce as well. It's obvious that neither the Giants nor B*nds himself has any pride or shame so we will all get the chance to turn our backs on his record-breaking homerun this summer. Barry of course is a player in decline. His PT will be Swiss-cheesed this year as it was last year and he may very well sit out road games near the record so that the video will show the sycophants in San Francisco cheering him. There's also every chance he'll disappear after breaking the record. He'll provide HRs and not much else except headaches this year so don't pay for Bonds in his "prime"
A couple of updates on the perennially wounded in Oakland ... Bobby Crosby (fractured vertebrae) has not faced live pitching yet although it could happen today. His stock will of course be closely tied to his heath so we will watch his spring closely. Bobby remains in a intriguing option in the middle infield. He has 15/15 capability and will drive in runs above the MI curve if he can collect enough ABs, but he's two years removed from his last 500+ AB season. At a certain point in your draft he's going to become very attractive as a high-profit, if high-risk, player ... Rich Harden is schedule to pitch Saturday against the Cubs in Phoenix. He threw BP yesterday and sprinkled his outing with a couple of sliders. While Crosby could slide to bargain status in your draft the hype bloom is still on the rose with Harden, and with good reason. People will be willing to take a chance on this developing star and they will keep their fingers crossed all year long. Your stock outlook is looking a lot better today if your portfolio adequately diversified in terms of risk and that's an important lesson for your fantasy team as well. You will need some secure performers, some guys who are capable of returning significant profit and you will need to take a chance on a high-return-potential player or two who is only slightly devalued in the current market. Rich Harden will fit that slot nicely. Pay the price and hope for the best.
Brandon Wood, making the shift from SS to third this spring (Well his MI value didn't last long, did it?) took a tumble into the Angels dugout in an intrasquad game. He was chasing a ball that had hit off of the third base bag. Don't worry, he popped back up unscathed.
Scot Shields was scratched from his scheduled BP session on Tuesday due to a sore shoulder. He reports that this is par for his spring training course and he should be back on the horse in a few days. He did play catch yesterday but the team will make him do a mound session and some BP before he works in a game so don't expect to see him much before next week. He didn't seem worried so we won't be either, at least not yet.
It is becoming increasingly possible that Jered Weaver (bicep tendonitis) will not start the season on the active roster. He has yet to throw from the mound this spring and we are near the point where the Angels would need to rush him to get him ready. That won't happen. We'll keep an eye on his progress but for now his draft value remains the same.
Francisco Rodriguez (groin) threw his first live BP session on Tuesday. He's seems to be recovering nicely and it doesn't look like, barring an aggravation, his groin will be an issue when teams break camp.
The Rangers are close to extending Michael Young's contract for 5 more years beginning at the end of this current deal in 2008. He'd be guaranteed $80 for 5 years or $90M for 6. I know how hard it is to predict what's going to happen in June and the Rangers are betting pretty heavily on 2013. This why I could never be an MLB GM.
Xavier Nady will return to Pittsburgh to see if doctors there can pin down the cause of his stomach pains. Hopefully he's not a huge cog in your fantasy machine but if he is you need to be worried, this feels like trouble.
The MRI on Kevin Mench's elbow (injured while weight lifting this weekend) showed something floating around in there. The theory is that it's been in there for sometime but moved into a painful position during the workout. He played yesterday (intrasquad) going 1- for -3 and there is no treatment planned until/unless it tries to take up permanent residence in a tender area of his elbow. This is fairly common so we aren't downgrading Kevin at this point ... Meanwhile teammate Damian Miller sat out with a strained calf that must be a little more worrisome than usual. And MRI has been scheduled. More when we get it ...
Even though it's early it looks like Dan Johnson has been shuffled out of the deck in Oakland. Manager Bob Geren says he'd like to see Shannon Stewart playing in left and Nick Swisher at first base.
"If the season started today, that's where Stewart would be the majority of the time," Geren said. "I'm not rooting against anybody, but Stewart's pretty much a .300 career hitter and he's had some injuries the last couple of years, so if he was perfectly healthy and retained that kind of performance, well ... who wouldn't want a guy like that? Swisher had a good year and he's going to keep getting better, so I like both of them in there."
The fact that the A's have soured on Johnson is still hard to understand but at least they are consistent. Stewart's injury history and the fact that Johnson is out of options would leave you to believe there will be some fairly significant PT for Johnson, just not enough to make him a viable gamble.
Scott Linebrink tweaked his back while warming up on Tuesday but it doesn't appear to be serious.
It's not even March and Lew Ford is taking a cortisone shot to relive inflammation in his right knee. An MRI revealed a slightly torn meniscus but no one seems to know whether it's an old tear or a new one. They don't seem to know whether the tear or the inflammation is the source of the problem either but the shot will reveal that in a day or two. If the tear is the source (it doesn't stop hurting) he'll probably be scoped ... Meanwhile Matt Garza (neck) has been cleared to pitch against Curt Schilling tonight in Fort Myers... Sidney Ponson may be limited to "B' games and intrasquad outings for a couple of weeks due to visa issues. As it sits now he can't get a visa until March 9th at the earliest.
Trot Nixon will probably not play in the first week of exhibition games as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a herniated disc. He's been pretty active in workouts to this point so this shouldn't constitute a significant set back.
Joel Piniero has emerged as the (very) early lead horse in the Red Sox closing sweepstakes. He has changed his arm slot which reportedly has made his slider a viable pitch vs. right handed hitters. Red Sox hitters have been impressed with his work in preseason BP sessions.
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle says that Kaz Matsui will get the majority of the work at second base and the club has started working Jamey Carroll out all over the ball yard to create opportunities for him to get some ABs.
"Shortstop would be a good place to start with," Hurdle said "There will be an occasional game at third to pick up, and there will be some games in the outfield that he can probably fill in, too."
Carroll would make a nice utility player for a fantasy team as he gains qualifications but limited PT means he has very limited value. Matsui fills Hurdles desire for some speed at the top of the lineup and as such he is probably in line for double digit SBs if he can manage to hit well enough to stay in the lineup.
