Fan News

Baseball begins this weekend, and I am in a fantasy league.

Played fantasy baseball for the first time last year, and think I finished last..or pretty darn near it.

I expect to keep that going this year.

MY fantasy team :

SP: Brandon Webb - Dude has been solid...one of my top players probably.
SP: Clayton Kershaw - Kid is a stud. Future ace...hoping he's ready now.
SP: Hiroki Kuroda - I have no idea what to expect from him.

Astros 7, Reds 2

The Cincinnati Reds lose again, dropping four straight games heading into their final game tomorrow.

Reds pitcher Homer Bailey looked very impressive, as he pitched six innings of four hit ball with two earned. Bailey had eight K's to only one walk.

Mike Lincoln came in the seventh inning and gave up two runs on two hits.

Sorry, Jason!

This is exactly why you give a guy a three-year/$42 million dollar extension at age 36.

Chipper Jones, via ESPN:

The Philadelphia Phillies have reached out to the Texas Rangers for a possible trade involving Andruw Jones, according to a few online sources and Chris DiFrancesco, a fellow Bleacher Report writer.

This comes just a day after the news of Geoff Jenkins' release from the Phillies.

Gary Sheffield was also released yesterday from Detroit. Hours after his release, news broke that the Phillies had been in contact with Sheffield's agent.

Yankees catcher and emotional leader Jorge Posada was very vocal in his beliefs regarding Joba Chamberlain's future.

Posada felt that Chamberlain belonged in the Yankee bullpen, regardless of the widely spread intrigue with transitioning him into a starting pitcher.

On April Fool’s Day, 1985, George Plimpton gave us the fictional tale of Mets super prospect Sidd Finch. The article was was published in Sports Illustrated under the guise of reality, and as legend has it, many readers believed the story to be true.

Including myself. 

When I go back and read the prose again, it's easy to believe every word, because Plimpton’s pen is that well-crafted, although some of the facts seemed too gaudy to believe.

The folks at Right Off Russell sum up the Baltimore Orioles trade of Hayden Penn:

The Orioles made the move, in all likelihood, because they felt Penn had not pitched well enough to secure a bullpen spot and felt he would claimed by another team if he was waived. 

The Orioles were able to secure a middle infielder, who appears to be a younger upgrade over Chris Gomez, and can play both the SS and 2B positions. 

UPDATE 4:38 p.m from Peter Abraham:

Some shocking news came out of the Yankees' spring training camp as they prepare to break in their new Yankee Stadium—one that adds another dash of controversy to a team that needs controversy like Bartolo Colon needs doughnuts.

The news is courtesy of captain Derek Jeter, who now has his loyalty and reputation as a Yankee questioned. The news:

For any of you baseball movie buffs out there, you'll remember the very poorly made Bernie Mac film, Mr. 3000.

In the movie, Mac is an arrogant ballplayer who retires after getting his 3,000th hit, only to find out later that he actually only has 2,997 hits.

Because he does not have 3000 hits, Mac's character fails to get elected into the hall of fame, and as a result, he does everything possible to make a comeback and try to secure his place in history.