Baseball Historians

Homer Bailey got it done today as the rookie pitched two shutout innings in the Reds 7-5 loss to the Rays (no Devil there).  Edinson Volquez, who’s one of the guys fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation, wasn’t nearly as effective and he gave up three runs in the fourth inning.  Scott Sauerbeck […]

I finally splurged and picked up the MLB.TV premium package.  I’m watching the Red Sox/Twins game on my desktop computer right now while I write on the laptop.  Very nice and this game doesn’t even have the premium feed.
Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello both threw two shutout innings as the Tigers took another spring training […]

The Giants were unimpressive in their first Spring Training game against the Chicago Cubs, losing 12-6. They will have a lot to improve on over the next month. Noah Lowry started the game, and appeared to have control issues, hitting a batter, throwing a wild pitch, walking three, and giving up two earned runs in […]

This looks to be the projected lineup, starters, and bullpen for opening day 2008 according to SpringTraining08.com. The batting order is very strong in the middle so hopefully we see our fair share of homers this season. Pitching looks good but not great. Mostly because there is a little bit of inexperience in the bullpen […]

Spring training has officially begun for the World Champion Boston Red Sox.  The Red Sox beat Boston College and Northeastern University by a combined score of 39-0.  In the 24-0 victory over BC, Josh Beckett looked sharp, throwing 2 perfect innings while striking-out 4 of 6 batters faced. Beckett was successfully followed by Kyle Snyder, Javier Lopez, Manny Delcarmen and Bryan Corey who threw […]

Alright, the guys got a win under their belt as eleven different players had hits and Matt Belisle and Josh Fogg got it done on the mound in a 6-1 win over the Twins. The big hit was a three run blast by Jerry Gil in the fifth inning that gave the Reds the […]

        What started out as a spring training pitching duel, turned into a one sided 12-2 Cleveland victory. Houston was in it through 5 innings until the Indians broke it wide open in innings 5 through 9 with a constant attack at the plate. Chad Paronto, Geoff Geary and Stephen Randolph had themselves a […]

Virgil Vasquez made the most of his surprise start today as the Tigers took care of the Blue Jays 4-1.  Vasquez pitched in place of Nate Robertson, who’s wife had a baby boy earlier in the morning.  Congratulations to Nate and his wife. 
Vasquez threw two no-hit frames to start the game and he gave up […]

According to Mariner manager John McLaren, once promising outfield prospect Jeremy Reed is not a candidate to spell right fielder Brad Wilkerson, McLaren prefers a right hand hitter in that role. Reed, however is expected to compete for 1 of 2 reserve outfield positions on the roster.
Source: The Seattle Times

To take the mood of camp one step further, Trey Hillman, yesterday, said he wants to focus on fundemental baseball this year, starting now in Spring Training.  To every fan of the game, this translates to small ball.  Every team in the Majors can hit home runs, or clear the bases off a solid triple hit […]

A day later than expected, the Phillies got a victory in their first spring training game.  Yesterday the Phils beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-1.  Philadelphia blew the game open with a 7 run 5th inning.  Greg Dobbs led the charge with a 3 run home run.  New acquisitions, Geoff Jenkins and Pedro Feliz produced well […]

The Reds opened up their spring schedule yesterday and….lost. The finals was 8-1 with the big inning being a seven run fifth inning for the Phillies. Jamie Moyer of all people appeared unhittable Jay Bruce was the only hitter to tag him for a hit. Adam Rosales drove in the lone […]

The White Sox took the field for the first time on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies. Still showing some signs of their great World Series run from a year ago, the Rockies won the game 7-3. However, overshadowing the performance on the field was the support that the White Sox showed the grieving […]

I know these games don’t mean anything and I know it’s Jeremy Bonderman’s first time against real competition but this afternoon’s spring game was a microcosm of his 2007 season.  Against the Mets B team, Bonderman was tagged for two runs including one in the first inning in a pretty mediocre start.  Jason Grilli and […]

Scott Kazmir, the staff ace and arguably the second best lefty in all of baseball is going to miss a good chunk of spring training.  While warming up yesterday, Kazmir felt some soreness in his arm at the very end of his warm up.  He will undergo an MRI to check it out.  So for […]

Just coming off from back surgery that limited him to only 47 games last year, Joe Crede is back and ready to battle with Josh Fields who replaced him when he was hurt last year.  Crede, an excellent fielder, needs to prove to the team that he is fully healed and ready for the grueling […]

In a surprise move, Charlie Manuel named Brett Myers the Phillies Opening Day on Tuesday.  Most assumed third year pitcher Cole Hamels would get the nod for the start.  Hamels went 10-5 last year and was easily the top starter.  Myers suspects that the move might be a form of thanks for him returning to […]

The Tigers dismanted Florida Southern today, as they should have.  The final was 17-4 with five Tigers going yard in the game.  Miguel Cabrera and Placido Polanco both homered in the first inning and then Brandon Inge (who played DH), Michael Hollimon and Scott Sizemore all went yard in the contest. 
On the pitching side, Jordan […]

Yes, the Rangers’ pitching was terrible last season and yes, offensively they put together the fewest runs by a Rangers’ team in a decade. But despite that, Manager Ron Washington now believes the main priority for spring training is defense.
I obviously understand why Washington is concerned with the fielding because the statistics show how […]

The idea of the Cardinals going after Barry Bonds has been batted around lately and, according to Tony LaRussa, Bonds has been a target of his for the last two. When I go back to my review of the club’s off-season moves, I will touch on the Card’s lack of depth at the outfield position, […]

It looks like De La Rosa is going to get the nod to start the first Spring Training game of this 2008 Season, switching with Tomko, who will now pitch the game Thursday.   The Royals skipper, Trey Hillman, said that it just worked out better this way.  In my humble opinion, this just shows that […]

Could the Mariners have some interest in adding Barry Bonds? Recent speculation around the certain future Hall of Famer indicates Tampa Bay, St. Louis and somelike like Seattle could sign Bonds to a 1-year deal low-base salary laced with performance incentives. IF Seattle truly has interest, many issue would need to be addressed; where would […]

The 2008 Spring Training season is set to start tomorrow for several teams; however the Giants will play their first game on Thursday (2/28/08) against the Chicago Cubs. Projected opening day catcher, Bengie Molina is nursing a strained left quadriceps muscle that will likely keep him away from catching duties for the next few days, but […]

There has been a lot of talk lately about the Rays being a possible landing spot for the unemployed Barry Bonds.  You may know Bonds’ name for being the single season home run record holder and the career home run leader.  Bonds who has played for only Pittsburgh and San Francisco in his career is […]

One of the main reasons I love Spring Training more than the preseasons in the other major sports, is how often players can play their way onto the big league rosters with a good Spring campaign.  Save for the catchers (covered in Part One), I’m going to go infield to outfield, and detailing the possible […]

I know that is early in the season.  Heck the season hasn’t even started yet, and everyone is talking about the “what-if’s.”  There is a buzz in the air at spring training.  Who will emerge as the next Rockies from last year, or the Tigers a couple years before that, or the Marlins when they […]

Second Base: The Cardinals re-signed Aaron Miles to a one-year contract and signed D’Angelo Jimenez to a minor league contract and have invited him to spring training. Miles, Adam Kennedy, and Jimenez will all have the chance to compete for the starting second base job, probably leaving last year’s feel-good story Brendan Ryan out of […]

The Tacoma News Tribune is reporting that manager John McLaren has named his 2008 starting rotation. Baring any unforseen injuries or set-backs the rotation is deep, talented, and impressive: Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn, and Miguel Batista.

Legendary Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus is going into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Niehaus is the 2008 winner of the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence. He will be honored during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony July 27, at Cooperstown, N.Y. The announcement. Niehaus worked with the California Angels from 1969-1976 and […]

This is just a quick note that Brad Lidge’s surgery was successful this morning.  He is still expected to miss 3-6 weeks.  In the meantime, Tom Gordon will move to the closer role.