Baseball

Nick Johnson is the presumptive replacement for Johnny Damon in the two hole for the New York Yankees as Spring Training is about to open.

Johnson was signed as a free agent after Hideki Matsui was let go as the Yankees DH. So some will speak of Johnson replacing Godzilla.

But Johnson is not the kind of hitter that Matsui was and will not hit in the five or six spot in the order.

Johnny Damon has also departed. Damon hit in the two hole last season and Johnson will take that spot.

The probability of Tim Lincecum staying in San Francisco for the next 10 years is very high.

He is smart enough to understand that his quirky personality and liking for green substances is a perfect fit for the Bay Area, and seemed to have a good outlook on his relationship with the team’s front office before his scheduled arbitration hearing last Friday.

If there is a team that could be considered the polar opposite of the juggernaut-like Philadelphia Phillies that team would be the Washington Nationals . The Nationals are a team on the rise under GM Mike Rizzo, in his short tenure he has added the best defensive OF in the game and made some moves to prepare the Nationals for contention in the not-to-distant future.

Both the New York Post and New York Daily News reported today that Brett Gardner has been working hard on his bunting skills hoping that he can get on base with his speed.

This strategy was first reported by this writer in a Brett Gardner Daily Update on Bleacher Report about two weeks ago.

George King in the Post reported Gardner saying he has been bunting more in order to utilize his speed.

If you’ve been reading the site the past two-plus years, you already know that I’ve never been the biggest supporter of Bronson Arroyo. 

Yes, he always wins games, but he almost always posts ERAs above 4.00 and WHIPs above 1.40.  Last season, however, was a very big exception:

15 Wins
220.1 Innings
3.84 ERA
1.27 WHIP
127 Strikeouts (5.19 K/9)
65 Walks (2.66 BB/9)
.270 BABIP

A little more than a year ago, I interviewed Josh Reddick for more than an hour out in Arizona. We talked about a lot of things, but mostly we talked about hitting. He spoke at length about how the ballclub was working with him to modify his approach at the plate.

Philosophically, the organization preaches plate discipline, but Reddick was (is) a self-described free swinger.

2010 Top 50 Twins Prospects | No. 16 | Deolis Guerra

Position | Pitcher

Bats/Throws | Right/Right

Born | April 17, 1989 (San Felix, Venezuela)

School | Not Available

Height | 6'5''

Weight | 200 lbs.

2009 Ranking | 12

Breakdown

Amongst the minor league free agents the Cubs have signed, two names stand out: Kevin Millar and Chad Tracy.

Millar helped the Boston Red Sox break their World Series Championship curse, and Tracy was once considered one of the elite young corner infielders in the game, but both these things were half a decade ago.

Much has been made about the Mets' weak off-season movement.  Perhaps General Manager Omar Minaya and the rest of the Mets brass was a little hesitant to open their wallet too much?

But let’s play a little hypothetical here: What if the Mets are not as bad as everyone wants them to be in 2010?  What if Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez reach their potential and put up 10-15 wins each?

Metsblog made a post about the possibility of the Mets doing a Citi Field race, similar to the Presidents Race in Washington or the Sausage Race in Milwaukee.  I think since Citi Field was built with New York City in mind and the name of the park implies New York City, that it should have the entire city in mind.  After all the Mets represent New York baseball and all its history.