Opinion

Standing at 6 feet 7 inches, 290+ pounds, hurling a horse-hide sphere at 96 miles an hour straight at you, it's safe to say, you're not safe when C.C. Sabathia's on the mound. But for how much longer will Sabathia be able to maintain this level of pitching?

An offseason acquisition brought him to New York, where good players go to die.

So the 28 and overweight Sabathia was a perfect candidate to play in NY: a pitcher who's had mediocre-to-terrible statistics against the division he recently joined.   

Yes, Detroit, it has been said before. So much more of the same for a weary Tiger bullpen that has no relief in site.

Yes, look at the picture above. I am still sore that no attempt was made to sign the all time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman. It would be spectacular to hear "Hells Bells" blaring in Comerica, preceding the high leg kick and devastating circle change that has secured so many games.

Who will close in 2009? Well, we know it won't be Hoffman. So, what options exist?

Wow, what domination. The Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 12-0. How could I hand out an “F” or even a “C” for that matter?

A+—Joba Chamberlain

He pitched three scoreless innings while giving up two hits and striking out three. This is good news for me because I drafted Joba Chamberlain in my fantasy baseball draft last night.

A+—Kei Igawa

This is gonna be a little experiment driven by necessity.

I'm borrowing the idea of joint and several liability from law to solve an irritating little glitch. The idea is to write a single article, lop it in two, and have the two parts work autonomously. More accurately, it's to write two articles at the same time that are the product of a single thought process.

It may work or I may thoroughly confuse myself and end up writing about the National Football League by the end. We'll see.

With all due respect to the Tampa Bay Rays, the two favorites are finally in the building—the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

I feel a little bad about doing this because it's one of the primary reasons people really hate these two franchises—they get all the hype no matter how recent and thunderous their failures.

Boston lost the American League East and the AL Championship Series to Tampa in 2008. New York failed to even qualify for the playoffs. Yet, here I am, touting both as the kings of the hill with no reason except offseason headlines.

I'm getting that Doom Doom feeling about Zoom Zoom again.

Joel Zumaya is feeling some more discomfort in his pitching shoulder. Again. And he's being held out of spring training competition. Again. And the Tigers' bullpen—specifically, who will pitch the seventh and eighth innings?—is back in flux. Again.

Sigh.

With the news that Julio Lugo is undergoing arthroscopic surgery tomorrow, the question becomes who is going to pick up the slack. Lugo may return in time for Opening Day...He could return a few days after...Or his injury could be worse than currently thought.

Either way, the backup infield job is now officially a competition. If healthy, Jed Lowrie and Lugo are the two victors...But who could the job fall to if Lugo can't make it back in time?

Let's look at the four candidates.

As a preface to this article, please read my previous article: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/139760-report-red-sox-break-off-contract-talks-with-jason-bay

It was reported on Sunday evening that the Boston Red Sox and left fielder Jason Bay have been unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension, and that the Red Sox are backing away from the negotiating table.

Time for a big time trade idea!

It is starting to get intriguing down in Lakeland, Fla.

What appeared to be the longshot of all longshots this Spring may indeed be coming to fruition, although not in the way many believed it would happen.

Rick Porcello, the Detroit Tigers first round draft pick way back in 2007, is a strong bet to make the rotation. 

That alone would merit a "wow" sentiment.  What may really blow your socks off is the idea that Porcello might not be the number five starter, but rather number four.