Will Juan Pierre's complaints to Joe Torre get him more playing time, or a ticket out of town?

I recently saw the new Jack Black, Mos Def "comedy" Be Kind Rewind. What an utter disappointment that was. I used to like Jack Black, but his shtick is getting kind of old. Seems like he more or less plays the same character in every movie. The movie just basically floated through an hour and 41 minutes, and what seemed like a potentially hilarious concept (two guys shooting low budget versions of movies) failed to produce much in the way of laughs. In fact, I'm a little surprised that www.rottentomatoes.com has given it a rating of 65% fresh. Since that is basically the only movie I have seen recently, I cannot really give you a movie you should see (although at the risk of sounding pretentious, Persepolis was outstanding and certainly is worth checking out).

Turning to baseball, it looks like by the time this article is published, Kerry Wood will finally be named the closer for the Chicago Cubs, after pitching in three out of four games, and handling himself quite well. Although he is obviously the choice for the lion's share of saves, keep Carlos Marmol in mind, since Wood may have a tough time handling a full season's worth of work without getting hurt.

Another spring battle has been the #5 starter for the New York Mets. Today did not resolve any issues, at least not in any satisfactory fashion, as the St. Louis Cardinals rocked both Orlando Hernandez and Mike Pelfrey. Expect Hernandez to get the call, while Pelfrey gets shipped back to Triple A. With Hernandez struggling with decreased velocity (he supposedly threw a 60 mile per hour pitch yesterday!), and having to adjust to a new windup (the patented Hernandez leg kick is gone), he should be avoided in most formats this year. Pelfrey, on the other hand, continues to struggle and while he still appears to have the makings of a solid major league pitcher, there has been no indication that he is ready to contribute.

The Detroit Tigers suffered a tough blow over the weekend as Curtis Granderson suffered a broken finger and is expected to miss up to three weeks at the start of the season. This probably should not linger, and he is still a top-notch fantasy selection, but it could potentially knock his price down in auctions a dollar or two this weekend.

In Sarasota, Florida today, we were given a reminder why we should always temper our expectations when we see a hot spring from a young pitcher, as Johnny Cueto was chased from the game against the Devil Rays without even finishing an inning. He is still an outstanding prospect, and appears to be a lock for the rotation to start the season, but be wary of the inevitable ups and downs that go with young pitching, as they accustom themselves to major league hitters.

Chris Capuano looks like he needs Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. After a miserable 2007 campaign, this should be the end of Capuano's career with the Brewers. However, he will only be 30 years old at the start of next year, and could still make a comeback. For 2008 though, it looks like you can forget about him. In terms of what this means for the Brewers, it could open the door for Manny Parra or Carlos Villanueva, once Yovani Gallardo returns from a knee injury. I like Parra quite a bit this year, and he could make for a late round sleeper if the Brewers give him the opportunity.

Juan Pierre has apparently been complaining to manager Joe Torre about playing time, which of course makes sense, since he is batting below .200, and Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are batting well over .300 this spring. Pierre still has usefulness (although maybe more from a fantasy perspective), but at least from my perspective, it seems like the Dodgers would be best served by putting Ethier in left field, Andruw Jones in center field, and Kemp in right field. We will see if Torre does that, or if he relies on veterans, whether or not they merit the favoritism. Keep an eye on trade discussions as well, since Pierre could be moved, which would open a spot up for Ethier.

Since it is that time of the year, I suppose I should say something about the NCAA Tournament. A word of advice: when entering an NCAA Tournament pool, you should certainly avoid losing two Final Four teams on the opening weekend. I will not say who they are, lest I embarrass myself, but needless to say, it was a fairly unpleasant weekend. I still am picking Kansas to go all the way, but given my opening weekend, all Jayhawk fans should be depressed at that selection.

That will do it for this week's edition. And remember, yet again, as of today, Ben Sheets, Nick Johnson, and, John Patterson are all still healthy, although Patterson was cut by the Nationals, so there may be some questions as to how healthy he truly is.