Spring Training

If you're a Dodger fan, which of the following are you thinking when you wake up these sunny Los Angeles' mornings?  After you've had your coffee and read the latest Manny Ramirez updates?

1.  Oh [expletive], Manny's hurt.

2.  Oh [expletive], Manny's already faking an injury to dog it.

3.  Oh [expletive], Manny's got an option after 2009 so we have to do this all over.

4.  Even if Manny only plays 100 games hard, we're still the favorites to win the National League West (as long as they're the right 100 games).

George Kottaras has won the backup catching job for Boston.

Bard's second stint with the Red Sox is over before it began.

In Spring Training, Bard has shown more of what got him traded the first time around: inability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball.

On a side note, George Kottaras has proven to be able to catch the knuckler from Ol' Reliable.

Here are the lineups:

Yankees
Johnny Damon LF
Robinson Cano DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Nick Swisher RF
Cody Ransom SS
Jose Molina C
Melky Cabrera CF
Angel Berroa 2B
Justin Leone 3B

Pitching: Chien-Ming Wang, Brett Tomko, Jose Veras, Phil Coke, and Jon Albaladejo

Astros
Michael Bourn CF
Jason Smith 2B
Lance Berkman 1B

The New York Mets' offense was noticeably anemic today in their spring training game against the Atlanta Braves. In their defense, most of the offensive stars are either playing in the World Baseball Classic or did not make the trip to Orlando.

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Jorge Posada C
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Xavier Nady RF
Melky Cabrera CF
Cody Ransom 3B
Ramiro Pena 2B
Eduardo Nunez SS

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In round 22, I drafted Jeff Francoeur.

Some laughed. Some questioned the call. However, as Francoeur sits in spring training with a .333 BA and a .389 OBP in 30 ABs.

I call my decision genius.

After batting just .239 in 2008, many consider Francoeur a star gone bad.

The fact is that he is a special guy. 

Francoeur has talent. He can hit. He can throw. He can track down fly balls. He has great ability. The problem is translating that into the game.

Coming from the Southeast, I am surrounded by three "fandoms": Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees.

I side with the first.

With this, came the natural hatred of the New York Yankees.

They seemed to be the polar opposite of my beloved Bravos. They always spent a TON of money and never really focused on their farm.

However, with the gradual evolution of my love of the game of baseball came the gradual increase of respect for the Yankees.

Fans are always asking: why do Major League teams bring so many players to Spring Training?

To answer that question quickly—they do it in order to get a good look at how the young players are performing and more importantly how they play against other Major League talent.

But after a few weeks, the teams will begin shorting their rosters in order for their Major League starters to get more consistent and longer game appearances.

On Sunday, the Texas Rangers made their first round of optioning players to the minor league squad in preparation for Opening Day.

So I started with about 35 potential starting second basemen and I thought a lot about it. Now here’s Carter’s version of the top 30 MLB second basemen entering the 2009 season.

Drop a comment if you agree or are a little confused about someone being too high or too low.

1. Ian Kinsler (Rangers)

2. Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)

3. Brian Roberts (Orioles)

4. Chase Utley (Phillies)

5. Brandon Phillips (Reds)

6. Jose Lopez (Mariners)

7. Kelly Johnson (Braves)