MLB

Under Omar Minaya the Mets have done an outstanding job of finding and signing talent in Latin and South America.  Wilmer Flores and Jefry Marte might be the two latest big finds for the Mets organization. 

Wilmer Flores - SS (for now)

Wilmer created quite a buzz as the youngest player in rookie ball at Kingsport.  Then a 16-year-old, he let loose something people are not used to seeing from a kid in professional baseball—power. 

Ahh...

This is the time of year when the warmth of the sun hits your skin and the cracks of the bat begin to fill the air with a noise so sweet. The smell of hot dogs and (for those drinkers out there) beer on your breath permeates the atmosphere.

After a long winter and myriad free agent signings, fans look forward to seeing the changes to their teams' rosters put into practice. And the only way of having an inkling of how things are going to work out (before the actual campaign begins, of course) is Spring Training.

The Cardinals finalized their opening day pitching staff by optioning flame-thrower Chris Perez to Triple-A Memphis. This move leaves the Cardinals with 12 healthy pitchers heading north for opening day.

The Cardinals elected to keep Brad Thompson as a second long-relief pitcher, not because his performance merits a trip north over Perez's, but mainly because of the shaky performance by long-relief pitcher Kyle McClellan. 

Manager Tony LaRussa was quoted as saying, "I'm sure he'd rather pitch in the big leagues, but he knows he's highly regarded, and he's young."

It has been a quiet offseason for Kenny Rogers. All indications are that 44-year-old southpaw has hung up his spikes after a quality 20-year career. There has not been any official announcement, but many of those close to Rogers, including Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp, say he is retired.

It is amazing what Rogers was able to accomplish late in his career during his days as a Tiger. His longevity as a pitcher is a testament to the idea that if you are left-handed and have a pulse, there is a job for you in the big leagues.

Well something strange happened. It is actually pretty funny, too. I'd like to talk about it. This is the talk. The Orioles Talk, that is. Isaac Barrow, I hope you enjoy this one. Laugh your heads off on this one.

The Reds made three more roster moves today, cutting outfielders Jacque Jones and Norris Hopper and young pitcher Daryl Thompson. They were all re-assigned to Class AAA Louisville.

Jones was by far the biggest name on the list, as he was previously a leading candidate for playing time in the outfield. But he batted very poorly (a lousy .089 in 45 at-bats) this spring.

Since it is way too easy to throw out basement picks and hoping for a long shot to hit, let’s talk about two guys who should be considered first or second round talent but are going outside the top two rounds.

1. Chase Utley, (2B-PHI): Utley has been THE premier second baseman in baseball for the last four years. A couple of injuries set him back in the second half of last year, but he is back in top form to start the 2009 season.

When the 2008 season started, Jerry Manuel was the Mets' bench coach supporting Willie Randolph. The events of last summer could not have been foreseen by most fans, never mind players or coaches.

The firing of Willie Randolph and the two coaches involved took place in a manner that no one was expecting. Omar Minaya surprised everyone by his visit to Anaheim in late June, although it was not the first visit that was pretty much kept in secret.

Rob Neyer had this to say in response to Bill Madden's article this weekend in which he called Ramiro Pena the Yankees' short stop of the future.

Well first let's look at a couple quotes from the Madden article: