What's the Buzz? 3/23/06
Some interesting developments today….
The Braves are actively shopping John Thompson now and are looking for relief help. They seem to be fairly confident that Kyle Davies can slide into the rotation to replace him. If Davies gets the shot, he could be a nice late round pickup.
The Luis Matos for Todd Walker trade is almost all but dead now. The Orioles aren’t as high on Walker now that Brian Roberts is back to game action. Perhaps also the idea of putting all of their eggs into Corey Patterson’s basket makes them a bit uneasy.
Yankees reliever Octavio Dotel threw sliders for the first time since he had Tommy John surgery. Manager Joes Torre was very impressed with what he saw. Dotel is shooting for a mid May return and he may be a nice waiver pickup if you need help in WHIP and ERA. If your league counts holds as a category, he will be good for that as well.
Reds manager Jerry Narron said that if the season were to start today, his closer would be either David Weathers or Kent Mercker, depending on who’s available. I think Weathers is the better choice, but realistically, this team needs a legit closer. I mean...Kent Mercker?!?
Offensively for the Reds, it's getting interesting too. The battle for 2B continues and it appears that Tony Womack has the inside track over Ryan Freel and Rich Aurilia. It's hard to tell if he can hold them off all year as Freel is definitely the better choice. If Womack stays hot, which there is a slim chance of that happening, look for the Reds to put Adam Dunn back at first and put Freel in left field; moving Scott Hatteberg back to the bench. The speedy Freel's baserunning shouldn't be left untapped.
Phillies 1B Ryan Howard hit his 10th HR of the spring...hubba hubba!
Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez continues his ridiculously hot spring. So far he is 21-35 with 4 HR and 3 doubles. And he's 27 years old. He is definitely a candidate to have a huge year so long as he stays healthy. There seem to be no lingering effects from last season's quad injury that forced him out of a big part of the second half.
Can someone please tell me how Glendon Rusch is pitching the second game of the season for the Cubbies? I know Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are hurt, but is that the best they could come up with?
The Royals new closer Ambiorex Burgos looked sharp today throwing 2 scoreless innings with 4 K's. He is the go-to guy in Kansas City now and will have some value even when Mike MacDougal comes back. For now, Andy Sisco seems the be their top set-up man.
The rumor out of Astros camp is that Eric Munson will make the Opening Day roster as a backup catcher. He also plays the infield, but if you remember him from a couple of years ago with the Tigers, you’ll be wise to steer clear of him.
Speaking of the Tigers...they are now actively shopping OF Nook Logan and are looking for a lefty reliever in return. Cha-ching !!! Curtis Granderson!!!
The Brewers expect to see 2B Rickie Weeks back to game action this weekend. It appears that it hasn’t been so much that he was slow to recover, but more the Brewers being over-cautious. Weeks will be a great 2B option in the middle rounds.
Devil Rays OF Joey Gathright is expected to return to action by Friday. He was sidelined with a sore shoulder. Rumors are surfacing again about a possible trade to the Marlins. More to come on this…
You can scratch Gary Matthews off your outfield depth charts. He will probably start the year on the DL and his nagging injuries will hamper him all year long.
The Seattle Mariners have officially set their rotation. Jamie Moyer gets the Opening Day start followed by Joel Piniero, Jarrod Washburn, Gil Meche, and Felix Hernandez. Even though Hernandez is listed as the 5th starter, he will not be skipped at all. He remains a solid pick for high strikeouts this year.
Word out of Twins camp is that manager Ron Gardenhire may be winning the Francisco Liriano battle with GM Terry Ryan. Liriano could stay up with the club as a reliever after all. This would definitely make it easier for him to find a spot in the rotation if an injury opens the door.
Well good for Barry Bonds. He hasn't filed suit for libel yet, but his lawyer is being heard on an order that forces the authors of "Game of Shadows" to turn over any profits they make from the book. That's the best way to do it. Hit 'em where it hurts the most. The wallet. Why should these guys make millions on something we've all ready dealt with over the past 2 years. No more I say. DO NOT BUY THEIR BOOK!!!
Rangers pitcher Adam Eaton is recovering from an elbow bruise but is still on target to pitch the second game of the year. It's really a shame he's in Texas now as it decreases his value in my eyes. I don't think he'll be doing as well as he did in San Diego.
So the word on Jim Edmonds is that the MRI revealed an inflammation in the muscle and it is pressing on the nerve. He says it's numb. He did, however, go 2-3 with a double today so he can play through it...but for how long? Be careful with him.
White Sox OF Scott Podsednik seems to have shaken off the sore shoulder and is back in business going 3-4 with a triple and 2 runs scored. He will do well atop the Sox lineup as he will run the bases freely waiting for Paul Konerko and Jim Thome to knock him in. Look for big steals from him.
After hitting his first HR of the spring, Rockies' 1B Todd Helton said that his back has been bothering him at times this spring. I can't say that he's done being a 30 homer guy, but it doesn't look too good.
Scott Kazmir has been given the Opening Day start this season for the Devil Rays. With Lou Pinella gone, these young pitchers may actually have a chance in this league. If you've read my pitching rant, then you know why I'm high on this guy, despite the high walk totals this spring.
Also in Tampa, it appears that Dan Miceli has the edge in the closer battle over Chad Orvella. Miceli's been around, so we all know what he is capable of. Look for Orvella to start stealing opportunities and become the closer by mid May, maybe even sooner.
Looks like that's it for today.
Catch you next time...
The Braves are actively shopping John Thompson now and are looking for relief help. They seem to be fairly confident that Kyle Davies can slide into the rotation to replace him. If Davies gets the shot, he could be a nice late round pickup.
The Luis Matos for Todd Walker trade is almost all but dead now. The Orioles aren’t as high on Walker now that Brian Roberts is back to game action. Perhaps also the idea of putting all of their eggs into Corey Patterson’s basket makes them a bit uneasy.
Yankees reliever Octavio Dotel threw sliders for the first time since he had Tommy John surgery. Manager Joes Torre was very impressed with what he saw. Dotel is shooting for a mid May return and he may be a nice waiver pickup if you need help in WHIP and ERA. If your league counts holds as a category, he will be good for that as well.
Reds manager Jerry Narron said that if the season were to start today, his closer would be either David Weathers or Kent Mercker, depending on who’s available. I think Weathers is the better choice, but realistically, this team needs a legit closer. I mean...Kent Mercker?!?
Offensively for the Reds, it's getting interesting too. The battle for 2B continues and it appears that Tony Womack has the inside track over Ryan Freel and Rich Aurilia. It's hard to tell if he can hold them off all year as Freel is definitely the better choice. If Womack stays hot, which there is a slim chance of that happening, look for the Reds to put Adam Dunn back at first and put Freel in left field; moving Scott Hatteberg back to the bench. The speedy Freel's baserunning shouldn't be left untapped.
Phillies 1B Ryan Howard hit his 10th HR of the spring...hubba hubba!
Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez continues his ridiculously hot spring. So far he is 21-35 with 4 HR and 3 doubles. And he's 27 years old. He is definitely a candidate to have a huge year so long as he stays healthy. There seem to be no lingering effects from last season's quad injury that forced him out of a big part of the second half.
Can someone please tell me how Glendon Rusch is pitching the second game of the season for the Cubbies? I know Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are hurt, but is that the best they could come up with?
The Royals new closer Ambiorex Burgos looked sharp today throwing 2 scoreless innings with 4 K's. He is the go-to guy in Kansas City now and will have some value even when Mike MacDougal comes back. For now, Andy Sisco seems the be their top set-up man.
The rumor out of Astros camp is that Eric Munson will make the Opening Day roster as a backup catcher. He also plays the infield, but if you remember him from a couple of years ago with the Tigers, you’ll be wise to steer clear of him.
Speaking of the Tigers...they are now actively shopping OF Nook Logan and are looking for a lefty reliever in return. Cha-ching !!! Curtis Granderson!!!
The Brewers expect to see 2B Rickie Weeks back to game action this weekend. It appears that it hasn’t been so much that he was slow to recover, but more the Brewers being over-cautious. Weeks will be a great 2B option in the middle rounds.
Devil Rays OF Joey Gathright is expected to return to action by Friday. He was sidelined with a sore shoulder. Rumors are surfacing again about a possible trade to the Marlins. More to come on this…
You can scratch Gary Matthews off your outfield depth charts. He will probably start the year on the DL and his nagging injuries will hamper him all year long.
The Seattle Mariners have officially set their rotation. Jamie Moyer gets the Opening Day start followed by Joel Piniero, Jarrod Washburn, Gil Meche, and Felix Hernandez. Even though Hernandez is listed as the 5th starter, he will not be skipped at all. He remains a solid pick for high strikeouts this year.
Word out of Twins camp is that manager Ron Gardenhire may be winning the Francisco Liriano battle with GM Terry Ryan. Liriano could stay up with the club as a reliever after all. This would definitely make it easier for him to find a spot in the rotation if an injury opens the door.
Well good for Barry Bonds. He hasn't filed suit for libel yet, but his lawyer is being heard on an order that forces the authors of "Game of Shadows" to turn over any profits they make from the book. That's the best way to do it. Hit 'em where it hurts the most. The wallet. Why should these guys make millions on something we've all ready dealt with over the past 2 years. No more I say. DO NOT BUY THEIR BOOK!!!
Rangers pitcher Adam Eaton is recovering from an elbow bruise but is still on target to pitch the second game of the year. It's really a shame he's in Texas now as it decreases his value in my eyes. I don't think he'll be doing as well as he did in San Diego.
So the word on Jim Edmonds is that the MRI revealed an inflammation in the muscle and it is pressing on the nerve. He says it's numb. He did, however, go 2-3 with a double today so he can play through it...but for how long? Be careful with him.
White Sox OF Scott Podsednik seems to have shaken off the sore shoulder and is back in business going 3-4 with a triple and 2 runs scored. He will do well atop the Sox lineup as he will run the bases freely waiting for Paul Konerko and Jim Thome to knock him in. Look for big steals from him.
After hitting his first HR of the spring, Rockies' 1B Todd Helton said that his back has been bothering him at times this spring. I can't say that he's done being a 30 homer guy, but it doesn't look too good.
Scott Kazmir has been given the Opening Day start this season for the Devil Rays. With Lou Pinella gone, these young pitchers may actually have a chance in this league. If you've read my pitching rant, then you know why I'm high on this guy, despite the high walk totals this spring.
Also in Tampa, it appears that Dan Miceli has the edge in the closer battle over Chad Orvella. Miceli's been around, so we all know what he is capable of. Look for Orvella to start stealing opportunities and become the closer by mid May, maybe even sooner.
Looks like that's it for today.
Catch you next time...
posted by Howard Bender at
11:39 PM
