Baseball

Professional sports fans know that they will suffer through their share of last-second heartaches, missed opportunities, and close calls that could have gone either way.

Minnesota Twins fans are no exception.

Some of the franchise's setbacks have occurred on the diamond. Some have taken place in the offseason. On at least one occasion, the worst moment of all unfolded far removed from the roar of the crowd.

10. Sept. 28, 1982

Here is a list of how the Yankees have done so far in spring training. Keep in mind that nobody even has 50 at-bats, so the sample size is a little bit too small to draw conclusions from. It’s still nice to see how people are doing.

The list is via ESPN, and I took out quite a few guys with less than 10 at-bats, although not everyone.

Stats as of March 19, 2009

The bullpen in Flushing, New York has been subject to a lot of finger pointing over the years. But with names like Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran at the top of the order, and Johan Santana at the top of the rotation, it made Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala look all the worse.

With 29 blown saves last year (third worst in the majors), the pen left us with some bitter memories. Worse, it caved more then ever down the stretch as the Mets narrowly lost their playoff spot to the Phillies for the second straight year.

In last night’s World Baseball Classic, Japan defeated Cuba 5-0 at PETCO park in an elimination game that assured them a spot in the semi-finals.

I've been playing around in several draft lobbies lately and watching box scores. What's nice about this time of year is that it allows us to really take a look at recovering players and learn about injuries before we start drafting.  

So what have we seen this spring that would impact drafting and the season in general? More than you might think for a typical spring. Here are some notes taken over the past weeks that may help when setting up your drafts. 

Draft Late 

It's the middle of March, and spring training games are getting more competitive. Pitchers are pitching more innings, and players are starting to get back into the swing of playing Major League Baseball everyday.

The transition from spring training to the regular season is beginning to take place.

With that in mind, there have been numerous predictions, division breakdowns, rankings, and lists about who will win, lose, win awards, an so on.

Hitters

Here’s a look at some players who got out of the gate early last year. It may be wise to target these players late in the draft and move them if they start hot again.

José López - Lopez’s three best career months for average are April, June, and May.

Yesterday I sat down to watch the United States and Puerto Rico compete in an elimination game for the World Baseball Classic. It was the top of the ninth and a chant of unrivaled irony rained from the stands.

The Puerto Rico supporters began chanting "Go Home, Gringos!"

The irony of this chant is that it was being chanted in English, but that is beside the point.

Fast forward 30 minutes or so and David Wright is up to bat. Bases loaded, two outs. As Wright hits a gorgeous shot down the foul line, the crowd is silent.

The 2009 Fantasy Draft for the keeper Grand Slam league in its 10th season came and went on Saturday, March 14. After the first seven rounds were completed with keepers being claimed, the real draft began.

Here's how the second free agent round played out:

1. (13 overall) NC Hair Pie Lovers selected David Price (SP, Tampa Bay)

Today, I woke up and thought to myself, “It’s going to be a bad day. Worst-case scenario, I’ll be late for my midterm, spill juice over my favorite shirt, and somehow lock myself out.”

So being the clairvoyant master I am, I left for my midterm extra early, wore the ugliest t-shirt I had, and made sure to stuff my key deep into my jeans. 

All was good, right?

Far from it.