Opinion

The writer's block is gone (I hope). Thanks to all the great people that helped me get over it

The Mets have 16 players in the WBC.

Lots of people say they don't care about the WBC. The average American baseball fan is worried that his team star will get injured in the tournament, or that because of the WBC the players will be washed-up come August.

The following is a journalistic response to yesterday's story, "The New York Yankees Won't Win and Here Are 26 Reasons Why."

Oh, I so wish I could turn back time. Maybe Sherman and Mr. Peabody can send me back to yesterday with their Way Back Machine so I can reverse all the damage I did to my super Yankee friends? Or does Bleacher Report have a "do-over" button, so I can right all my wrongs from yesterday's story?

There's no doubt that we're all getting excited for the actual baseball season to get under way. Fantasy leagues are forming, box scores are being watched, and performances are being analyzed about every different way possible.

The problem in doing this work during the spring is that often times there is very little correlation between spring observations and regular season behavior. 

Easiest way to annoy a St. Louis Cardinals fan?

Tell them Albert Pujols used steroids. That will really fire them up.

Since 2001, the guy has set the league on fire. Also occurring in the early 2000s, baseball's steroids era.

Tell me its not reasonable to question Pujols. Do you remember the last guy with his build?

He played first base for the Cardinals, too, and he hit 70 home runs in 1998. Then, when his playing days were over, Mark McGwire told Congress in front of an eager television audience that he did not want to talk about the past.

Three years ago marked the inception of the World Baseball Classic.

The concept was for teams around the world competing against each other for a few weeks in March, before the start of the regular season, to show who's really the best.

At first, the WBC was met with a lot of hostility.

In order for their to be enough teams playing, players with for example, Dominican heritage could play for the Dominican team even if they weren't born there.

Oh Duaner, Duaner, Duaner. He's not quite the Greg Jeffries of the Mets' bullpen, but he's fallen just as far off the Mets radar as Jeffries did back in the early '90s.

A guy who was once considered a possible replacement for Billy Wagner is now no longer employed. The Mets today announced that they released Duaner Sanchez and broke the news to him this morning so he could enjoy his afternoon in Port St. Lucie taking in the sights.

The Disciples of Doom have much less to talk about these days when it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the vultures have already begun their descent on the Houston Astros, fun in the sun seems to be the rule in Pirates camp. 

The long-maligned franchise may have finally begun to see that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Pittsburgh is, by no means, looking ready to thrash the New York Yankees in the World Series, but they might be ready to push a few teams behind them in the NL Central race. 

The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed relief pitcher Luis Vizcaino in exchange for fifth starter Jason Marquis earlier this winter. The trade was sold to fans as the Cubs moving a high-paid veteran for bullpen depth.

Time to call bull.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Vizcaino is in danger of not coming north with the Cubs this Spring, likely making him a free agent. Is anyone really surprised?

I saw something this on TigerTales, so though I would try it out. The projections are shown in the table below of the projected starting rotation.

With the Phillies getting a day off today today will serve as an opportunity to get a little caught up around here. I didn't post anything yesterday as I was getting caught up on some real life errands around the home, but today will be a chance to do some work on the site.

The Phillies dropped their game yesterday against the Cincinatti Reds by a score of 8-4 but the game had some good things happen for the Phillies. For starters, pun intended, Cole Hamels had his second start of the spring.