MLB

George Kottaras has won the backup catching job for Boston.

Bard's second stint with the Red Sox is over before it began.

In Spring Training, Bard has shown more of what got him traded the first time around: inability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball.

On a side note, George Kottaras has proven to be able to catch the knuckler from Ol' Reliable.

In the past few days, the Washington Nationals have made several roster moves that, in and of themselves, don't make the team that much better.

What they do show, however, is that the new management team, led by de-facto general manager Mike Rizzo, believes the Nationals are going to be much better this year than any of us believed.

The biggest move came this morning as the Nationals released Shawn Hill, as talented as any pitcher on the Nationals' 40-man roster.

Some people consider David Wright a hero for his walk-off right-field blooper last night against Puerto Rico in the WBC. I understand why some may praise him, but am surprised that no one is critical of the pitch he decided to swing on.

What the hell are you doing swinging at a pitch down and outside when the count can go to 3-1? It was an awful decision by Wright to swing at such a poor pitch.

CAPTION: Every Yankee fan remembers this picture. So does Tim Wakefield.

March 18, 2009

Before the New York Yankees and Houston Astros started their preseason matchup today, one of the Astros announced his semi-retirement from baseball.

Aaron Boone is set to have open-heart surgery later this month to repair a congenital heart defect—a bicuspid aortic valve—and has likely played his last game.

I recently wrote that the San Francisco Giants could possibly land Miguel Cabrera. You can read about it here. 

There would be a few obstacles to such a deal. Cabrera’s contract runs through 2015, and due to past busts on long-term deals, the Giants might be unwilling to make such a long financial commitment. 

From the AP:

According to Buster Olney’s ESPN blog, the Yankees have stopped worrying about the stupid things Alex Rodriguez has done and said and now have adopted a new mantra: That’s Alex.

From Kat O'Brien:

According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, if the Yankees lost closer Mariano Rivera to a lengthy stay on the disabled list, Joba Chamberlain would likely be moved to the pen to replace him as closer.

One of the oldest adages in baseball is “You must be strong up the middle.” The Astros are far from strong in several key positions, such as catcher, center field, and starting pitching.

Manager Cecil Cooper did a marvelous job the second half of last year getting the Astros into playoff contention, especially with Carlos Lee missing the final seven weeks. But Houston needs a couple of its starters, beyond bell cow Roy Oswalt, to turn in strong seasons.