Opinion

Philadelphia Phillies star rookie prospect, Domonic Brown, fractured the hamate bone of his right hand during an at bat in last Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Clearwater, Florida.

This was a major blow to a player who had just gotten his first hit this spring training after looking lost since the start of the preseason.

While the injury has derailed Brown’s spring, the Phillies may be better off without him, at least for now.

The following slideshow shows why the Phillies will be fine without Dom Brown in the short term.

We're two weeks into spring training and now that pitchers and hitters have started to get their groove back, attention is going to shift towards results.  The Tampa Bay Rays bullpen is wide open, and many pitchers are vying for a spot.  From grizzled veterans to young phenoms, the Rays have a variety of arms to look at.

Not to mention a guy by the name of Manny Ramirez. 

I saw an interview of the Yankees' player development director, Mark Newman, by noted baseball prospect expert John Sickels, and was more than a little surprised at some of the spin Newman puts on various players in the organization.

Maybe surprised isn't the right word. 

The story line on Yankee phenom, Jesus Montero, has been that he is a can’t miss major league hitter.  Before the 2010 season, he was listed by Baseball America as the No. 4 overall prospect in all of baseball.

But the down side to his story was that he might never be a major league catcher. 

It took three weeks, but Carlos Beltran finally made his spring training debut for the New York Mets yesterday. The five-time All-Star has had three knee surgeries since October 2007, two being on his right knee, and the wear and tear prompted Beltran to volunteer himself for right field duty this season.

As a former boss of mine once said when I told him that I wanted a raise, "how does it feel to want"?

Well, Aramis Ramirez apparently wants something and that something is to swipe a few bags.

While I probably have a better chance of dating Keeley Hazell than Ramirez does of becoming a base stealer, it just goes to show you what passes for news in the spring.

Jason Heyward and Buster Posey emerged as two of baseball's brightest stars. The 21-year-old Heyward and soon-to-be 24-year-old Posey are coming into their second seasons in the majors and both are already facing enhanced expectations.

They battled all year long for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Heyward was awarded Baseball America's award, while Posey received it from the majority of others. Both players were deserving of the award, so it's hard to complain on who won.

At this point, it's no secret the involvement of New York Mets' owners Jeff and Fred Wilpon in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme will have a deep impact on the nature of the ball club. The club has already received a $20 million loan from Major League Baseball.

And although they have roughly $50 million coming off the books after the 2011 season, financial uncertainty has the entire Mets franchise in a state of worry, if not panic.

With the first overall pick of the 2000 June amateur draft, the Florida Marlins took Adrian Gonzalez. But what if Hanley Ramirez, who signed just a month later with the Boston Red Sox, had been available to them? Florida ended up trading for Ramirez in November 2005, and Gonzalez would later find his way to Boston, but one cannot help but wonder how baseball history might be different in that hypothetical world. 

With the last two spots of the starting rotation still vacant, many wonder if top-pitching prospects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances will be considered for the job. According to Cashman, that would be a no.

“Betances and Banuelos aren’t earning spots in the rotation out of spring training,” Cashman told the New York Daily News, “They’re going to get their first taste of big-league camp, then they’re going to get slotted into Trenton. They have no chance to make this team.”

For once Brian, I actually agree with you.