The newest host on the San Francisco Giants' flagship radio station took a swipe at how the club opted to exact revenge against Milwaukee Brewers slugger Prince Fielder.

F.P. Santangelo, a former big leaguer and current part-time Giants analyst, said that Barry Zito's hitting Fielder with a pitch in Thursday's spring training game was a weak, inappropriate response to the controversial home plate celebration Fielder and his Milwaukee teammates acted out following his game-winning home run late last year.

There is a widespread consensus that the Red Sox starting rotation was significantly improved this winter.

But while most of that improvement is attributed to the signing of John Lackey, there is more to it than just that.

Lackey will no doubt improve the Sox rotation. But in addition to adding the best free agent pitcher on the market, the Red Sox improved their rotation through subtraction.

In early December of 1963, the Philadelphia Phillies made one of the great trades of all time. 

They sent outfielder Don Demeter, a Dodgers reject, along with pitcher Jack Hamilton, who is remembered for throwing the pitch that ruined Tony Conigliaro's career, to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitcher Jim Bunning and catcher Gus Triandos.

Two Masterpieces

Upon reading the title, one may immediately say that Rod Barajas is the hands down favorite, but a further look at the numbers and the intangibles may show that new addition John Buck is in fact the better catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.

What would it take to pry Albert Pujols away from the St. Louis Cardinals?

Cardinals fans, put away your pitchforks and disband the angry mob. I am not in any way suggesting that Pujols, could, would, or should be traded. Such a deal would be monumentally stupid for St. Louis; in addition to being the team's best player since Stan Musial, Pujols is a fan favorite and a hometown hero.

But if the circumstances suddenly shifted? What if Pujols went on a Milton Bradley-esque rant about his hatred for the city of St.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: FANTASY BASEBALL INSIDERS

As the season approaches, I will pinpoint a few different aspects of fantasy baseball which  are overlooked by most managers. This edtion’s “overlooked aspect” has to do with high innings-pitched totals, particularly in the postseason.

Preference is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Alex Rodriguez is a remarkable talent. He’s also, unfortunately, a relative tool. In 16 big league seasons, the New York Yankees third baseman has amassed Ruthian statistics—which would be better news if he weren’t doomed to be measured against the incalculable charm of Derek Jeter.

Ability is the sum of personal competence.

Applause, on the other hand, is the product of social comparison.

The Yankees and the Pirates played their first exhibition games of the season this afternoon at Legends Field. It looked like a mismatch on paper even for a spring training game.

Not only are the Yankees stacked right now, but their minor league system looks much better than the Pirates. That's what happens when a team has many resources to work with.

The Astros are full of players that had a huge fantasy impact in the past, unfortunately it seems that the impact is fading.  Oswalt, Berkman, and Carlos Lee have been early round picks for years, but last year they each showed some signs that their numbers are past their peak.  So how should we approach these players this year? Here is what you can expect from the Astros' core this season.

Roy Oswalt

The Toronto Blue Jays made some big changes within the organization this offseason. They traded away their best player in franchise history in Roy Halladay but got back terrific prospects like third baseman Brett Wallace and pitcher Brendan Morrow who will help the organization a lot in the future.