MLB

The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins by a score of 4-2. Phil Hughes is pitching pretty well this spring.

I went out and just had something to eat at Wendy's and I had a cheeseburger with lettuce, onions and pickles. I was hoping to make it back at a decent time and I did.

A—Phil Hughes

Scott Lauber covers the Phillies beat for the Wilmington News Journal.  He also runs the blog Philled In, an inside take on your WFC. 

I caught up with him, from Clearwater, to talk baseball last night.

SHAY RODDY: Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking steroids from 2001-2003. What does this mean for the game?

Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella officially named Sean Marshall the team's fifth starter, and I'm a big fan of the move.

Looking back over the past few years, the National League Central has had issues against lefties almost across the board. Andy Pettite had success in Houston, CC Sabathia was a beast last year while being rented by the Brewers, and the Cubs' Ted Lilly has had stellar success while with the team.

It's been a long time since I've been able to truly raise my expectations for the Texas Rangers. In fact, it's been exactly 10 years. Maybe I'm just tired of writing about a rebuilding program, but frankly the Rangers were in such bad shape it made an excruciating rebuilding program necessary.

This spring has been different, though, for one simple reason. They're ready.

Bob Uecker makes me wish I had been able to listen to Brewers games since 1971 from the same booth in which he broadcast from.

Milwaukee fans know what I mean.

The rest of us are lucky just to catch snippets of him.

From his TV shows, movies, and commercials, the man has entertained Americans for decades.

And say what you want to about his playing career, the man owns a World Series ring. He may try to say he didn't earn it, but it is obvious he did.

On Friday, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark enlightened us with his method to "fix" the World Baseball Classic. Now it's my turn.

Before I start, I want to say that I like Stark's ideas (and those of Buck Martinez, the anonymous manager, and Jim Fregosi, as mentioned in his article). But given the numerous injuries so far in this year's tournament, I think my plan is pretty practical.

I just returned from visiting the Hoard Museum in Fort Atkinson, Wis., where today was the last day that the Roberto Clemente exhibit would be there, and I didn't want to miss it.  I called my friend Nick up and we drove over.

When we arrived we were met by a nice older couple who ran the place.  They gave us a bit of information and showed us the way to a small hall where a video from the PBS series American Experience would be shown about Clemente's life. 

From Mark Feinsand:

"I feel good about it, I do. And last night's the best I felt, because of what I saw," Girardi said. "When he threw it, I went, 'wow.' That's the expression I used when I looked at Tony (Pena). He said he felt great, and that was really positive."

Girardi said the Yanks likely will try to have one or two kids run on Posada today at the minor-league complex, but joked "if nobody gets on, then we have an issue."

No, folks, the battle for the last spot in the Phillies rotation is not over.

And yes, Kyle Kendrick is a long shot to make it.

Going into spring training, there was four-way battle for the fifth spot in the Phillies rotation. The contenders were Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, Chan Ho Park, and Carlos Carrasco.

The other four spots in the Phillies rotation are currently held by Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton.

Despite an offseason full of free agent splashes, the Yankees could be in for another April belly flop. 

Sure, the additions of Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett automatically make the Yankees an improved team, but there are substantial questions as the calendar flips.

A distracted Alex Rodriguez is one thing, but putting him on the shelf for the season’s first six to nine weeks is quite another. General manager Brian Cashman is sticking with farmhand Cody Ransom for, if nothing else, the lack of available free agent third basemen.