What's the Buzz? 3/11/06
A day without the WBC.....mmmmmm......nothing really to report as each team that we all thought was going to make it to Round 2, made it to Round 2. Interesting sets of "brackets" here as Pool A contains the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and Korea. Pool B has Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Venezuela. Now I'm not totally knocking Asian baseball, but does it seem like the U.S. is having a pretty easy route towards a potential championship?
now for some real Spring Training notes....
It looks like the Ben Sheets situation is not getting better. Apparently he has a strained muscle alongside the muscle he tore last year in August. With him being questionable for Opening Day, I would hedge my bets with him. If it were me, I'd only pick him up if it were for a good bargain price. He will probably be battling this all season.....unless the vertigo gets him first.
Pitching coach Dave Duncan has been doing some extra workwith Mark Mulder this spring. They have refined his delivery and so far the results look promising. I like Mulder as a solid guy you want on your roster. He went through a little rough stretch in the 2nd half 2 years ago and it carried over into the beginning of last year. He was streaky, but still gave, and will continue to produce solid numbers.
The Nationals and Nick Johnson agreed to a 3 year $16.5 million deal. It looks like a good deal for the Nats as Johnson's defense is always solid. The only knock is the health issues. He has always dealt with them and there's never a guarantee they won't continue, but if he does avoid them he could be good for 20 HRs, 85 RBI and an average close to .300.
The Jeff Bagwell experiment continues as he played a few innings at first today going 0-3. Too bad the whole insurance settlement didn't work out for the Astros. I don't recommend drafting him for your team....that's one creaky shoulder.
Ryan Howard continues to light it up for the Phillies this spring banging his 5th and 6th HRs. Going in the total opposite of Bagwell, this kid is just getting ready to bust out. Invest happily.
Last year's rookie disappointment, Jason Bartlett, is hitting .438 this spring and looks to be the Twins' starting shortstop....atleast maybe for Opening Day.
Julio Lugo played today and it doesn't look like the bruised knee the other day is an issue at all.
Interesting game between the Pirates and the Red Sox today as Curt Schilling tossed three perfect innings, hit Chris Duffy in the head (giving him a concussion) and then gave up 4 runs to close out the fourth. Looks like the master of the bloody sock has a conscience afterall.
Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen had a pair of hits and a stolen base as he continues to work back from a shoulder injury. Last year was an abberration. Look for Rolen to bouvce back this year with close to 30 HRs and 100 RBI.
Lastly, Kenji Johijima went 3-5 and hit his first HR of the spring. I like MLB's first Japanese catcher. Whether he hits 2nd or 7th, he should still be a great fantasy pickup this year.
Rants on the way....look for 'em. The WBC picks back up tomorrow so I'll have plenty to rant about.
Catch you next time...
now for some real Spring Training notes....
It looks like the Ben Sheets situation is not getting better. Apparently he has a strained muscle alongside the muscle he tore last year in August. With him being questionable for Opening Day, I would hedge my bets with him. If it were me, I'd only pick him up if it were for a good bargain price. He will probably be battling this all season.....unless the vertigo gets him first.
Pitching coach Dave Duncan has been doing some extra workwith Mark Mulder this spring. They have refined his delivery and so far the results look promising. I like Mulder as a solid guy you want on your roster. He went through a little rough stretch in the 2nd half 2 years ago and it carried over into the beginning of last year. He was streaky, but still gave, and will continue to produce solid numbers.
The Nationals and Nick Johnson agreed to a 3 year $16.5 million deal. It looks like a good deal for the Nats as Johnson's defense is always solid. The only knock is the health issues. He has always dealt with them and there's never a guarantee they won't continue, but if he does avoid them he could be good for 20 HRs, 85 RBI and an average close to .300.
The Jeff Bagwell experiment continues as he played a few innings at first today going 0-3. Too bad the whole insurance settlement didn't work out for the Astros. I don't recommend drafting him for your team....that's one creaky shoulder.
Ryan Howard continues to light it up for the Phillies this spring banging his 5th and 6th HRs. Going in the total opposite of Bagwell, this kid is just getting ready to bust out. Invest happily.
Last year's rookie disappointment, Jason Bartlett, is hitting .438 this spring and looks to be the Twins' starting shortstop....atleast maybe for Opening Day.
Julio Lugo played today and it doesn't look like the bruised knee the other day is an issue at all.
Interesting game between the Pirates and the Red Sox today as Curt Schilling tossed three perfect innings, hit Chris Duffy in the head (giving him a concussion) and then gave up 4 runs to close out the fourth. Looks like the master of the bloody sock has a conscience afterall.
Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen had a pair of hits and a stolen base as he continues to work back from a shoulder injury. Last year was an abberration. Look for Rolen to bouvce back this year with close to 30 HRs and 100 RBI.
Lastly, Kenji Johijima went 3-5 and hit his first HR of the spring. I like MLB's first Japanese catcher. Whether he hits 2nd or 7th, he should still be a great fantasy pickup this year.
Rants on the way....look for 'em. The WBC picks back up tomorrow so I'll have plenty to rant about.
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
11:26 PM
