What I’m Reading
• Uh-oh. Looks like “Broken” Brandon Webb might be starting the year on the DL. Yes, even after spending the past year on the DL.
• And how about Joe Nathan? Might be too early to tell, but this isn’t a good sign for the hopeful Twins.
• Dodgers catcher Russell Martin may be missing an extended period of time with a strained groin—who’s going to be filling in?
• Former Ranger Hank Blalock looks to be headed to the Sunshine State. Marlins or Rays?
•Angels infielder Howie Kendrick is looking to extend his stellar second half into a regular starting job this season. Who stands in his way?
What I Think About It
• "If we get 30 starts from him, great," general manager Josh Byrnes said Friday, according to The Arizona Republic. "If we get 20, that's great. We just need to get it right."
Twenty starts from a former Cy Young winner is still better than 30 starts from an average starter, but who’s to say that at this point Brandon Webb is anything but average? We haven’t seen him pitch since his four innings on Opening Day last season.
Webb has been sidelined for 11 months now. He’s expected to be a crucial part of Arizona’s rise back to the top, but if he continues to be on again/off again over the course of the season, he won’t be of much help.
After injuring himself in his first start of the season last year, I understand the Diamondbacks' hesitance to let him loose until he feels 100 percent.
But on more than one occasion last season he was on the brink of returning but faced a number of unexpected setbacks. I’m just afraid that if they keep waiting and waiting until he is absolutely ready, we’ll be seeing Webb sometime around July.
By then he’ll be a former Cy Young winner who hasn’t seen MLB action in a year and a half. Not quite as intimidating.
• We won’t know the results of Nathan’s test until tomorrow, but anytime a pitcher needs to be sent away from spring training to get testing on his elbow, it is never a good sign.
Luckily for the Twins, it’s still exceptionally early in spring training, and they have the ability to rest him for a bit. On the other hand, though, this likely pushes back his readiness for the season, as he hasn’t gotten much work in to this point.
Nathan is creeping up there in age, and with his history of elbow problems, it will pay off for the Twins to be extra cautious with him this spring.
I don’t expect him to start the season on the DL. The more likely scenario is that he’s delayed a week to a week and a half before he makes an appearance while he continues to get his strength up.
This is, of course, pending no structural damage found in the tests he was sent for. We’ll know more tomorrow.
• Good news for Los Angeles: Russell Martin’s goal is to be back for the season opener.
Bad news for Los Angeles: This type of injury (strained groin) is especially hard for catchers to come back from, hence the cautiousness.
Despite Martin’s aspirations to be in the lineup for Opening Day, manager Joe Torre expects him to be sidelined four to six weeks. 28-year-old perennial minor leaguer A.J. Ellis is slated to be the Dodgers’ backstop in Martin’s absence.
LA’s two-time All-Star catcher is going to do everything he can to return from this as quickly as possible. He’s a tough guy and will play with a few ounces of pain if he feels he has to.
"Russ is a guy who wants to play through injuries, play through pain," trainer Stan Conte said, according to the LA Times. "That's worked for him in the past. It won't work with him with this particular injury."
A.J. Ellis it is, then.
• Over the past few days, Hank Blalock has more or less narrowed his choices down to the Southeastern peninsula, specifically the Marlins and Rays.
It’s now looking like Tampa Bay is closing in on being the landing spot for the big fish.
Blalock experienced a roller coaster ride of successes and failures last season, showing good power numbers but a lack of consistency in his ability to get on base.
However, in a low-risk minor league deal, the Rays will be getting a 29-year-old former offensive threat that will be looking to rebound and prove to the American League that he can still be a valuable asset.
The deal is expected to be completed shortly, and if he signs, he’ll be backing up Carlos Pena and will also get some occasional DH time off the bench.
• Howie Kendrick had one of the more interesting stories of 2009.
He was expected to have a bit of a breakout season but instead came out of the gate exceptionally slow and was sent down to the minors.
Eventually he was called back up and had an astoundingly hot .351 average after July 4.
But he also never started more than four games in a row during his summer streak, splitting time at second base with Maicer Izturis.
Now that he’s re-established himself as a player capable of being in the lineup every day, Kendrick is looking forward to carrying his success into 2010.
"That feels good that I'm going to be an everyday player," said Kendrick, according to the LA Times. "When you're out there every day you have a chance to be even more consistent, so it's awesome to know they believe in me as a player."
Meanwhile, Izturis is expected to split time between third and second.
PD
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