One of the biggest knocks on Matt Murton of the Chicago Cubs in 2006 was that he wasn't showing enough power potential. As a result the Cubs acquired Cliff Floyd in the off-season to play left field (when he isn't hurt) as a short term solution. Although Floyd will certainly receive playing time, when healthy, it appears Murton is working on his power hitting and in doing so he is putting up a fight for playing time in leftfield. Murton leads the Cubs in homeruns (3) and runs batted in (9) this spring and he is still hitting for a solid average (.313 through 32 AB's). With Daryl Ward as the fifth outfielder/first base backup, Jacque Jones and Cliff Floyd Jim Hendry may be tempted to make a deal if Murton can prolong this sudden power surge. It isn't likely to happen sometime soon but if the Cubs have trouble filling the fifth spot in the rotation come May, the outfield may be the first place Jim Hendry looks.
Angel Guzman of the Chicago Cubs did himself no favors on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. Guzman was rumored to be the front runner for the fifth spot in the starting rotation as recently as a few days ago but he struggled mightily yesterday. Guzman surrendered seven hits and a walk while allowing five runs in just three and a third innings pitched. In the ever changing race for the fifth spot in Chicago it once again appears that Wade Miller is the front runner. The Cubs have reported that the race is now between Guzman, Miller and Prior.
There was positive news regarding Mark Prior on Friday for the first time this spring. Prior finally showed better control of his breaking ball and of the strike zone in general. Prior threw 45 strikes out of 68 pitches while walking two, hitting one, striking out four and allowing a hit. Before you get to excited remember that Prior faced double A batters in an intra-squad game on Friday. Larry Rothschild expressed that same sentiment by essentially saying that Prior is showing progress slowing but surely and as long as he is moving in the right direction it is encouraging, but it does not guarantee that the 2003 version of Prior will be around any time soon, if ever. Prior sat in the middle to upper 80's and topped out at 90 miles an hour and that is definitely improvement. Rothschild said that he will not schedule Prior's next appearance until he sees how he fills today.
Jason Marquis of the Chicago Cubs also threw in the minor league intra-squad game that Mark Prior did on Friday. However, Marquis pitched against tripe A hitters. Marquis was reportedly very sharp for 86 pitches over five innings of work. Carrie Muskat, the Chicago Cubs beat writer, said Marquis looked "opening day ready." Marquis is scheduled to start game three of the regular season on April 5th against the Cincinnati Reds.
Chien-Ming Wang of the New York Yankees looked sharp on Friday in his start against the Houston Astros. Wang threw five innings and allowed one run on four hits while striking out three. Wang has posted a 2.57 earned run average this spring and is coming off a very successful 2006 campaign in which he won 19 games and posted a 3.63 earned run average. Wang also posted a 1.33 WHIP and collected 217 innings pitched in 2006. Wang is projected to only win 14 games this season but with the Yankees offense he could easily surpass that number if his earned run average is in the 3's. Wang will certainly collect his starts and innings, but he does not rack up strikeouts.
Colorado Rockies' Southpaw Jeff Francis was suspended for five regular season games on Friday for an incident on March 13th in which he threw behind a batter after warnings had been issued. Francis is expected to serve this suspension starting on opening day and that means he will miss his first start of the year. Francis is projected to win 12 games this season.
J.J. Putz of the Seattle Mariners has reportedly experienced some tightness in his elbow throughout Spring Training and it has culminated with him undergoing an MRI on Friday. Putz is the closer for the Mariners and is projected to save 36 games in 2007 but that number could take a big hit if the MRI results show that it is more than soreness.
Daisuke Matsuzaka made his third start of the spring on Friday afternoon but it was cut short due to bad weather in Florida. Matsuzaka did squeeze in two innings of work before the game was called and allowed one run on three hits while striking out three. Dice-K finished out the rest of his schedule five innings of work by throwing to minor leaguers in the covered batting cages. Matsuzaka is a bit of a wild card, this his first season of Major League Baseball but he is believed to be very talented and projected to collect 195 innings of work, 16 wins, 188 strikeouts and post an earned run average around 3.23. It is pretty safe to say that he is a favorite for American League Rookie of the Year.
Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants announced on Friday that Armando Benitez will be their closer at the start of the 2007 regular season. This announcement came after Benitez's third scoreless outing this spring. According to Chris Haft of MLB.com there is a chance that the Giants may be showcasing Benitez for a trade since several Major League scouts have been monitoring him this spring.
You better believe that Sammy Sosa is proud of the fact that he made the Texas Rangers roster but you also better believe that he expected to make that roster and much, much more. Sosa is relishing this second chance and he has regained that pep in his step that he sported in Chicago for so many years. The Rangers may be pleased with the pep in his step but they are much more concerned with the pop in his bat and the early verdict is that it is present, front and center. Sosa leads the Rangers this spring in homeruns with three (the most recent a towering blast on Thursday) but aside from the power Sammy is batting .452 (31 AB's) and leads the team in hits. T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com brought up the idea that it would be hard to imagine that the #5 homerun hitter of all-time may only be a designated hitter against left-handed pitchers this season but at the moment that is exactly what he is. The Rangers have four outfielders in Brad Wilkerson, Kenny Lofton, Nelson Cruz and Marlon Byrd and they also apparently have a designated hitter against righties in Frank Catalanotto. Cruz is a youngster without much big league experience and he is the projected starting right fielder coming into this season.
Gustavo Chacin of the Toronto Blue Jays was arrested for driving under the influence early Friday morning in Tampa, Florida. Chacin is currently projected to be the Blue Jays number three starting pitcher. The Blue Jays have confirmed this story but have declined to comment.
Are you ready for a Barry Bonds versus Sammy Sosa homerun race this summer? Okay, probably not. But both players look to be healthy and motivated this spring. Bonds hit his fourth homerun, drove in his eighth and ninth runs batted in and is batting .348 this spring. Most importantly for Bonds it appears that he is healthy and refreshed. It is also likely that Bonds took his contract negotiations or lack thereof this off-season personally and if history tells us anything that is how Barry likes it.
Have you heard much about Albert Pujols so far this spring? Other than that he should be the first pick in your fantasy draft? Pujols is having a very quiet spring and it probably means nothing but through 38 at bats Pujols is batting .263 with zero homeruns and seven runs batted in. Did the World Champion Albert Pujols lose some motivation this off-season? I highly doubt it but I can promise that some Cub's fans have noticed the fact that the mighty Pujols is being out hit by Rick Ankiel.
Tom Glavine of the New York Mets appears to have found his stride early this spring. Glavine threw five shutout innings on Friday against the Florida Marlins and allowed only three hits in that stretch. Glavine won 15 games in 2006 and he is expected to come in right around that number this season.
Homer Bailey, a top pitching prospect for the Cincinnati Reds, was trying out for a roster spot this spring but his hopes of starting the year with the big league team ended on Friday. Bailey got rocked during his audition which spanned three games. In those three appearances Bailey surrendered eight runs in just three and two thirds innings pitched. Bailey owns a mid to upper 90's fastball but lacks control and is in desperate need of experience in the form of innings pitched and he wasn't going to get it at the big league level. With the raw talent that this kid possesses don't forget the name but he is a non-factor at the moment.
