Spring Training

Ahh...

This is the time of year when the warmth of the sun hits your skin and the cracks of the bat begin to fill the air with a noise so sweet. The smell of hot dogs and (for those drinkers out there) beer on your breath permeates the atmosphere.

After a long winter and myriad free agent signings, fans look forward to seeing the changes to their teams' rosters put into practice. And the only way of having an inkling of how things are going to work out (before the actual campaign begins, of course) is Spring Training.

Going into Spring Training, only three pitchers were guaranteed spots in the rotation: Roy Halladay, Jesse Litsch, and David Purcey.

Many candidates were brought into camp to complete for the last two spots, including Matt Clement, Mike Maroth, Casey Janssen, Brad Mills, Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero, and Canadian Scott Richmond.

Now with just a week left to go until the season begins, just three players remain in the battle for the last two spots.

Masa Kobayashi should not be breaking camp with the Cleveland Indians, but Wedge and Co. have already given indications that he'll be in the bullpen come April 6.

Signed to a two-year deal in the 2008 off-season by Mark Shapiro, Kobayashi has done little to earn the paycheck.  Most likely, he was purchased as a cheap insurance option in the likely event that Joe Borowski couldn't skate through the majors another year by throwing an 85 mph fastball.

The New York Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates by a score of 9-8. Most of the runs scored against the Yankees were against one pitcher. That was the bad. First the good.

A+: Mariano Rivera

To say he is ready to start the season is an understatement. He struck out three batters in one inning.

A+: Johnny Damon

He had three hits today. I'm wondering if those three hits would of been better out of the lead-off spot.

A+: Nick Swisher

At the beginning of Spring Training, the Texas Rangers had four catchers with a legitimate shot at making the big-league roster: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Taylor Teagarden, Max Ramirez, and Adam Melhuse.

Ramirez has been just a bit behind, as his native Venezuela had a long run in the World Baseball Classic. He will likely start the season at Triple-A Oklahoma City to continue to work on his defensive skills. Max could be brought up to the Bigs again if either Salty or Teagarden get injured or struggle.

Game 31: Yankees win over the Braves 6-4

Today was an important day for some Yankee players. Some made a good impression and some didn’t. Some will remain on the team and some might get released. Let's look at the players battling for spots.

Melky Cabrera

Projected Starters: 1B Russell Branyan; 2B Jose Lopez; 3B Adrian Beltre; SS Yuniesky Betancourt.

Bench: 2B/SS Ronny Cedeno.

Fighting for a spot: 1B Mike Sweeney; 1B Chris Shelton; 2B/SS Reegie Corona.

In the weeks following the conclusion of the 2008 Arizona Fall League, people weren’t really sure what to expect from San Francisco Giants infielder Emmanuel Burriss.

While he hit .318 in 24 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions, his defense was absolutely abysmal. It seemed as though he was recording an error out in the field every day at shortstop, and the sight of him being the Giants’ start there to open the 2009 season looked slim to none.

Filed: March 28th. 2009    Kosuke Fukudome (Cubbie Nation/file)

I have to tell you, I'm not always fond of Spring Training. Aside from the fact that I think it's normally about a week too long, and the coverage much too spotty for consumption, my interest in watching "prospects" ranks just behind my feelings about rookies. And you know what I think of them.