Manny being Manny indeed! Ramirez started his season with a pair of doubles, one of them a game winner, against the A's in Japan.
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DOMO ARRIGATO…MR. RAMIREZ
Just Manny being Manny!” Manny Ramirez slammed a game-winning double in the 10th inning to scratch out a 6-5 win over the Oakland Athletics in the season opener. A “Thank you very much” is also due to young OF Brandon Moss. Moss, filling in for typical right-fielder J.D. Drew, blasted a game tying ninth inning home run to send the game into extra innings.
Welcome Home Dice-K…”Watch out for the welcome mat”. Not only was Daisuke Matsuzaka absolutely awful on many pitches, missing worse than Charlie Sheen in the Major League movies (Just a bit outside), but also literally tripped over the welcome mat that was laid out for him as he made his way to the mound. To say it was a shaky start would be simply being kind.
IT’S EITHER BIG BUCKS OR LAME DUCKS
News in Toronto is that they are nearing a deal for RF Alex Rios. The projected numbers, 6-years, $65M with a 7th year option that would push him close to the $80M threshold. There is no better time to ensure that one of your best players is under contract as Rios heads into that magic year, 27-years old. For all you fantasy fans that have been drooling over his potential, this may be the best year to select early or bid high in your draft.
Joe Nathan, often the talks of off-season movement, was shown the money instead of the door [Insert lame Jerry Maguire joke here]. Truth be told, the Minnesota Twins have the money, and with a move to a new ballpark and a financial deficit to cover, they need to be sure that they are mixing in seasoned veterans to keep the fans in their seats…or to purchase newer ones. Handing Joe Nathan $47M does just that.
Scott Rolen must be up to his old shenanigans again. How else can you account for the “mangled middle finger” that he now is sporting? With surgery to insert a metal pin all but completed, it is likely two weeks before a second surgery will remove it. How long after that? Who knows?
In other Blue Jay news, it appears that B.J. Ryan is not the Terrell Owens of baseball. He either hasn’t given his body the appropriate time to heal or he has not invested enough time in the hyper baric chamber. For all of you who drafted Ryan as a closer, quickly check your free agent list, and grab Jeremy Accardo as general manager J.P. Ricciardi has given him the nod.
Brad Lidge’s comeback career went from the ledge of stardom with the signing of a new contract and the closer position all but secured up in Philadelphia, to on the shelf as he has been slapped with the 15-day DL (backdated to March 21st) and the earliest he will be available is April 5th, in time for the team’s fifth game of the season.
NO…NO…IT’S FLAKESEED OIL
Andy Pettitte has been diagnosed with “I’m getting old” symptoms. Andy could barely toss the ball 47 times with pitching coach Dave Eiland before calling it quits. He is scheduled for a minor league appearance and it is likely if he does not make this start, he will likely miss his April 2nd start for the Yankees. I am of the opinion that it was not too long ago that Andy stopped using performance-enhancing drugs and therefore will go through the physical teardown that has been witnessed by such players as Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and dare I say, Roger Clemens?
Could Gary Matthews Jr. also be ailing from “post-enhancing” syndrome. Gary spent last year with a .175 batting average from the right side due to a weak shoulder; had knee issues as late as two weeks ago; and now comes up lame, doing what? He was doing nothing more than pulling up as he came to third base, twisting his ankle in the process. This is the same ankle that forced him out of 10 games last season. To add insult to injury, Gary had to sit out a game because of a bruised gluteus… Since his breakout year in 2006, Matthews has been an injury-plagued individual, a thorn in fantasy managers’ sides, and apparently now, even a pain in his own butt.
WINNING THE LOTTERY…OR AT LEAST A ROTATION SPOT
As spring training comes to an end, it is time to dispatch those who are worthy enough to be on the roster to the bullpen, assigning the rest to Triple-A, and announcing who has sealed the deal and nabbed the final spots in the rotation.
Enter Jason Marquis. Here is a guy who has more ups and downs in his career than all of the major roller coasters in theme parks across the nation. With that being said, it appears that everybody is sitting back, clicking up, and up the hill, simply waiting for the next big drop to take their breath away and push their hearts into their throats. From the Braves to the Cardinals; from the Cardinals to the Cubs, Marquis has found a way, yet again, to squeeze himself into a rotation, at least for the time being. With Ryan Dempster, another career roller coaster, also making the rotation, Jon Lieber is the odd man out. From the looks of it, Big Lou Pinella had to decide who is the least scary of the rides, opting for the two who are more likely to found in the kiddies section of the theme park.
From two rocky pitching careers, to two promising ones, the Cincinnati Reds appear to be heading for youth over experience. RHP Johnny Cueto came into spring training as a 5’ 10”, 185 lb. non-roster invitee along with RHP Edinson Volquez and walked out of spring training with the number four and five starting pitching slots. All though this is not “final”, it appears that the two young pitchers have all but sealed the deal. Cueto is not your typical pitcher, with a small, stout frame, but he has shown that he can deliver the ball with consistency and movement, enough to beat out veteran LHP Jeremy Affeldt as well as highly-touted 21-year old and former first round draft pick, Homer Bailey who is likely to start in the minors, giving the final spot in the rotation to Josh Fogg.
That’s the Grumble in the world of baseball as I see it. See on Thursday.
Kevin Burgoyne, A.K.A. Statistocrat
