Baseball

On Tuesday morning, the Minnesota Twins revealed that their closer, Joe Nathan, had a torn ligament in his throwing arm and would likely be shut down for the 2010 season.

The subsequent barrage of texts, tweets, and comments from White Sox fans were overwhelmingly celebratory.

As one Sox fan friend of mine put it, "Hell yeah!"

There's an old cliche that tells us you can't teach talent.

While that may be true, some players get more out of their talent than others. To date, Carlos Zambrano has always fallen into the underachiever category.

Look, it has never been a question of whether he has the stuff to succeed; rather, it has always been a question of preparation, self-control, and health.

Just a few short years ago, Hank Blalock stood among the giants of the game. Now he is fighting for his major league career.

When the Rays signed two-time All-Star Hank Blalock to a minor league contract, they gave a 29-year-old player another shot to reclaim a career that was once one of the most promising in the Majors.

Blalock finished the 2005 season as one of baseball's rising stars, batting .263 while belting 25 home runs and 92 RBI. It was Blalock's third straight season with at least 25 homers and 90 or more runs batted in.

Brett Gardner started in center field for the New York Yankees yesterday.

But before all you Brett Gardner fans out there (all 12 of you) get too excited, Curtis Granderson started in center field for the New York Yankees yesterday as well.

The Yankees played split squad games in Florida.

Gardner was 0-for-3 at the plate, dropping his spring training average to .083. He has one bunt hit in 12 times at bat. Meanwhile, headlines out of Tiger land show rave reviews for former Yankee prospect Austin Jackson.

Acquired in the deal that sent George Sherrill to Los Angeles, Josh Bell appeared on the precipice of a Major League job heading into 2010 before the Orioles signed both Garrett Atkins and Miguel Tejada.  Now, just an injury away of getting an opportunity, Bell should certainly still be on the radars of fantasy baseball owners.

2009 Statistics (Split between Two Double-A Teams)

Forget "Who's On First?".

The big question entering the 2010 season for the Indians is: "Who's Going To Lead This Team?".

Sure, we all feel better about the leadership coming from the dugout with the effervescent Manny Acta at the helm instead of the flat-lining Eric Wedge. But the team still needs a leader on the field.

Who is up to the task? Ladies and gentlemen, your candidates...

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It is only the second week of Spring Training, but the Minnesota Twins were already dealt a possibly crippling blow to their chances of returning to the postseason in 2010.   According to USA Today, All-Star closer Joe Nathan was sidelined with a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

As the New York Yankees opened spring training in 1967, they had many question marks, not the least of which was the status of 38-year-old Whitey Ford.

The greatest pitcher in Yankees' history was a free agent, but only because he didn't want to occupy a spot on the roster until he discovered if he could still pitch.

Small talk is almost never fun. Small talk while being cornered in an elevator is even less fun.

Such was the case for me yesterday on the way down to the first floor from my job on the eighth floor to go home for the night. I stepped on the elevator and some guy from a different office got on as well.

He saw I was wearing a White Sox hat and lobbed over this grenade, “So you think the Sox will do it this year?”

Joe Mauer has his MVP award, looming $100-million contract extension, and the cover of MLB The Show 2010.

Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek form a formidable backstop platoon for the 2010 Red Sox.

They all started somewhere.

These are the outsiders looking in who get to catch guys like John Lackey and Josh Beckett for a month before being tendered a contract and hoping for more or getting the cold shoulder and packing their bags.

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