Baseball

Last year was forgettable for these catchers, but look for them to return to form in 2010.

One of the Red Sox top right handed pitching prospects will be making his 2010 Spring Training debut as a starter for the big league club this Saturday.

Michael Bowden will get the call to face the Pirates at City of Palms Park in Ft. Myers.

Bowden has pitched two innings of relief this spring, giving up just a hit and no runs with a pair of strikeouts against the Twins.

Bowden is hoping for a role in Boston’s bullpen when the club heads north. The team already has six starters vying for the five rotation spots.

Inspired by recent thoughts of Steve Phillips (not the philandering former-ESPN baseball analyst, rather the philandering former GM of the New York Mets) and his unhealthy past obsession with Mo Vaughn and his contract, I started to think about current "bad paper" contracts in the MLB, and after some research I can confirm that horribly-structured contracts do exist.

Now, what follows is not what you would call an "objective" ranking of bad contracts.

Established in 1977, the Seattle Mariners have competed in three complete decades: the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

The Mariners have featured few true "franchise players," who could be instantly noticed as the face of the franchise. Edgar Martinez, Ken Griffey Jr., and Ichiro Suzuki have all had a turn, but other prominent players, such as Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, and Tino Martinez, have come and gone.

Saying you watch the New York Yankees for their defensive prowess is like saying you watch Jersey Shore for the thoughtful and intelligent dialogue.

In other words, you're not kidding anybody.

Defense is baseball's subtle art form, and the Yankees have made their mark on the sport by being the opposite. They are the Bronx Bombers, after all, and they didn't get that moniker for their soft hands and adroit use of the crow hop.

That said, you don't win 27 World Series titles with a team full of Giambinos bumbling around the field.

With 25 days until Opening Day for the Chicago Cubs, I would like to clear the air about one Cub.

Kevin Millar, owner of a World Series ring and scruffy facial hair, is, in the simplest form, no longer a serviceable major leaguer.

If he makes the team out of camp it will be because his image as a blue-collar "winner" preceded him, and likely not because he tore the cover off the ball in Arizona against AAA pitching (although he is hitting a robust .400 so far this spring...in five at-bats).

I'm not here to argue Millar's resume because it speaks for itself.

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggonit, people like me."

That was not a quote from Milton Bradley, formerly of the Chicago Cubs, and about a fourth of the teams in baseball.

He's probably not good enough. He certainly wasn't in Chicago.

I don't know how smart he is, but does a guy that acts like him have anything upstairs? 

As for people liking him—well you know the answer to that one.

People can't stand him—from his teammates, coaches, managers, GM's, and the fans.

Have I left anyone out?

Word got out the other day that Major League Baseball's "special committee for onfield matters" has discussed a "radical floating realignment" idea.

While I believe that competitive imbalance issues in baseball are widely overstated (more on that later), I understand the need for new, revolutionary ideas.

One idea struck me as I read the story: Why do we need divisions, anyway?

Every once in a while, you fall in love.

And no, it’s not the type of love Jake felt towards Vienna on The Bachelor.

This type of love is much more…passionate.

I’d equate it to the type of love that Theo Epstein felt towards Marco Scutaro after he stalked and eventually signed the journeyman utility player to a two-year, $12.5 million dollar contract after he recorded a career year at age 35.

During the better part of the year and a half prior to December 2009, many baseball fans were kept guessing as to whether or not Roy "Doc" Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays would be dealt from the team and where it would be.

For most, it was a question of "when" not "if" arguably the best pitcher in the game would land with a contender sporting a fat wallet.