Spring Training

Manny Ramirez's hamstring injury will now keep him out for at least a week of spring training.

Joe Torre said that the Dodgers are going to keep him out and let him rest so that he can come back 100 percent, instead of possibly injuring it further.

Ramirez aggravated his sore left hamstring Sunday while playing the outfield for the first time this spring.

Below is a preview of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2009 bullpen.  The pitchers are listed in the order in which they appear on the Phillies' official depth chart.

Brad Lidge 

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.

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.

The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins by a score of 5-1. The Yankee pitchers had another strong performance.

A+—Andy Pettitte

I think that Andy Pettitte is going to be washed up in 2009, especially since he stopped taking steroids. I thought that steroids were making him the pitcher he was, but I could be wrong this year. Andy pitched a great game, giving up no runs on two hits in three innings of work.

A+—Jorge Posada

Four years ago a phenomenal young Atlantan worked his way onto the Atlanta Braves' roster.

The wedding and honeymoon went wonderfully for Jeff Francouer and his hometown ballclub. But unfortunately for both parties, things went sour fast in 2008.

Last season, Francoeur was booed loudly. This was after being a fan favorite since his MLB debut, in which he hit a three-run home run and quickly vaulted himself into the starting lineup.

Francoeur was sent down to Double-A Mississippi for a stint after being completely ineffective for much of the season's first half.

Well, they're here—the carrots at the end of the stick, the Three Gorillas in the American League East.

The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox look like enormous, rampaging beasts who will run roughshod through the rest of Major League Baseball while recovering from titanic clashes with each other.

Baseball rarely shakes down according to specs, but it's really tough to see how the mere mortals of the MLB world can deal with these guys on a daily basis.  Even if you make every effort to see the gaps in armor and soft underbellies.