Baseball

The first contest period in the Fourth Annual www.SOX1FAN.com Comment Contest ends one week from today. The second contest period begins on Opening Day. The author of the best comment that is left on the site during spring training will win a FREE pair of Red Sox tickets and autographed memorabilia.

Love him or hate him, agree or disagree with his maneuvering, you cannot accuse San Francisco Giants General Manager Brian Sabean of being timid.

Given Sabes' recent run of iffy transactions—the Barry Zito-Scott Boras debacle, prematurely inking Edgar Renteria, the pending merit of the Freddy Sanchez swap, and so on—you might think the guy would lay low for a while. Enjoy the shelter of his new two-year extension.

Guess not.

As the Spring Training days count down, the Opening Day roster gets more and more set, and the battles for those final roster spots get more and more heated. This year is no exception, but due to injuries and some surprising spring performances, the spots open at the beginning of the offseason are not the same spots we see open now.

For example, most people thought that after his impressive debut, Madison Bumgarner was the favorite for the fifth starter spot. And he was.

Drafted: Undrafted international free agent

Height: 5′11″ Weight: 175 lbs

Born: January 5, 1990

Iglesias broke into Cuba’s top league at the tender age of 17, and then defected during the World Junior Championships. He signed with the Red Sox last September for four years and $8.25 million (a deal that included a team-record $6.25 million signing bonus).

Last season the New York Mets were the favorite of many to take the National League. This year, not so much.

The Mets are definitely capable of having a huge season, but why should we believe that this is the year that they live up to the potential that has surrounded them so long?

A lot has changed for the boys from Flushing, New York in the space of a year.

While the Mets could surprise a lot of people this season, a whole lot would have to go their way.

Here are five questions surrounding the Mets for the upcoming season.

There’s nothing I like seeing more than a pitcher develop over the years. I’m not a fan of throwing a guy into the Major League experience with nothing prior to show for. You always see organizations rush players because of spring training stats. Usually, those players do well and then a debacle occurs.

Waite Hoyt won 22 games for the 1927 New York Yankees. Hoyt spent 10 seasons with the Yankees, winning 157 games before being sent to Detroit in 1930.

Although he played for many teams, including the three New York teams, Hoyt was a Yankee.

The Cocky Chicago Cubs

In 1938, Waite was pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the soon-to-be National League champion Chicago Cubs.

Earlier this week I received an e-mail from the Arizona Diamondbacks Season Ticket Holder Services group. In the e-mail they outlined another new benefit for being a season ticket holder. In our season ticket holder package we received a voucher to be redeemed at Chase Field during any home game in April or May.

The voucher is good for a “Fan Loyalty Cup” and can be picked up at the Season Ticket Holders Area behind Sections 111-112. This cup can be refilled at most Chase Field concession stands for 32 ounces of soda for a reasonable $2 price.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Scott Kazmir was scratched from his start on Thursday against the Texas Rangers because of a stiff throwing shoulder.

In other words, Kazmir is hurt.

Here are some other things are that are guaranteed to happen:

It happens every year.

An established veteran suffers from injuries or a heralded youngster isn't up to the task at hand. An overlooked rookie or a career benchwarmer gets some at-bats at the starter's expense and suddenly finds his groove.

A good game becomes two good games, and a few days later is labelled a bona fide hot streak. By the end of the week, he appears on fantasy rosters nationwide, and every baseball fan in the country knows the name "Ben Zobrist" or "Andrew Bailey."

There's no way to predict where the next big fantasy sleeper will come from.