MLB

In many cases, it is difficult to truly appreciate greatness until long after a player has left the game he loves. As a result, many stars end up epitomizing the “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone” philosophy.

*From Protect the Plate

After winning 90 games and riding a hot streak all the way to the World Series in 2007, the Rockies fell to 74-88 last season.

Now that the center piece of their lineup is gone, it's starting to look like the Rockies are destined to endure their eighth losing season in nine years.

With manager Clint Hurdle on the hot seat and an impressive group of young players, however, anything's possible. Just look at the 2007 Rockies.

NO HOLLIDAY

In the opening game for Group B of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Cuba easily bested South Africa 8-1. Cuba’s 13-hit attack included six home runs, a new WBC single-game record.

But let’s not get carried away.

Yes, the Cubans are incredible athletes with a passion for baseball. Yes, they combine well-honed skills with fiery determination. They have always been an international force in baseball. They are certainly favored to win Group B and move on to the second round in San Diego.

Spring Training Game 13

Yankees vs. Blue Jays
George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL
Game Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV/radio: none

Here are the lineups.

YANKEES

Brett Gardner CF
Melky Cabrera LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Jorge Posada DH
Nick Swisher RF
Jose Molina C
Angel Berroa 2B
Justin Leone 3B
Ramiro Pens SS

Pitching: Andy Pettitte, Ian Kennedy, Dan Giese, Dave Robertson, Jose Veras, and Jon Albaladejo

BLUE JAYS

Do the Yankees need A-Rod to win the World Seres? NO. A

-Fraud has already showed the Yankees that he's great during the season but is a choke artist once the playoffs start. Yankee fans must be wondering how do you sign a player to a $400 million contract and no ring not even a trip to the World Series.

Jeter has four rings. How many has A-Rod got? He was suppose to be the face of the Yankees.

The Yankees made their first cuts today; J.B. Cox, George Kontos, and Kanekoa Texiera were re-assigned to minor league camp, and Andrew Brackman was optioned to Class-A Charleston.

Andrew Brackman had a 6.00 ERA in three games. Final line: 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

J.B. Cox had a 7.71 ERA in two games. Final line: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

George Kontos had a 27.00 ERA in two games. Final line: 1.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Baltimore Orioles 2009 Preview:

Mostly unknown by casual baseball fans, the Orioles have arguably the best prospect in all of baseball. Catcher Matt Wieters is the early favorite to win the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year award.

The athletic 6’5” switch hitter has drawn comparisons to Red Sox captain Jason Varitek, which gives the people of Baltimore something to look forward to for the next few years.

In anticipation of the draft for The Hazean’s 2009 fantasy baseball challenge, I decided to dabble in some preseason projections.

The problem with that thought, though, is that I really do not spend as much time working on my fantasy baseball knowledge as I do football. So I brought in some fantasy baseball muscle to compile these projections.

With about four weeks left of Spring Training, I'll be previewing each MLB team, two at a time. Monday through Thursday I'll cover two teams per day, leading all the way up to the Phillies and Braves, a few days before Opening Night.

To kick it off, the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres.

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Tampa Bay Rays – AL East

From Mike Puma:

Hip, hip, hooray! Six to nine weeks without Alex Rodriguez doesn't sound so bad to Derek Jeter.