Frank Thomas was cut by the Blue Jays, but was it because of his performance?

As Andy Williams once sang, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! No doubt the inspiration behind Williams’s performances of this Christmas seasonal came not from the joy of the winter holidays, but rather from the collision of sports greatness that comes with the spring. You name it we’ve got it… baseball, golf, playoff basketball, playoff hockey, the NFL draft, the WNBA draft, and NASCAR. OK, maybe those last two were a stretch. Either way you need about 8 televisions to keep abreast of everything that’s happening. Since you don’t have that many televisions unless you own a sports bar, here’s the next best thing: Your daily grumble!

First and foremost I must address the fantasy injury that sent chills down the spines of millions… and millions of fantasy owners across the land. Yes it’s true; Wandy Rodriguez was placed on the disabled list. Surely owners will be casting many a nervous eye to the waiver wire to fill the hole created by this loss. In all seriousness though Wandy might not have been the most important Rodriguez to fall over the weekend, but he was off to a great start, building upon one of the gaudiest home splits in baseball last year.

As for that other Rodriguez, fantasy monster Alex Rodriguez left the Yankees game versus the Orioles Sunday after straining his quad running out a fielder’s choice in the 6^th inning. They Yankees have already announced that A-rod is day-to-day, and fantasy owners will have to hope and pray that this will not require a DL stint. If there is any beneficiary to this injury it will be Morgan Ensberg, as fellow reserve infielder Wilson Betemit is already on the disabled list with an acute case of conjunctivitis.

Not wanting to be outdone, Chipper Jones aggravated his preexisting quad strain, and might miss the Braves game today.

Moving around the horn, the Phillies phinally placed Jimmy Rollins on the 15 day DL with a sprained ankle after he missed 9 games with the ailment. Rollins looks to miss at least fourteen more games, as the Phillies were smart enough to use Rollins as a pinch hitter on Saturday, thus preventing a retroactive move. Eric Bruntlett looks to extend his stay at SS and should get a serious look in NL only leagues.

Other players deserving cursory glances today include any pitcher in the Brewers bullpen not named Eric Gagne. After a brief stint as an effective closer during which he six saves, Gagne blew his third save of the season and gave up back-to-back home runs to Edwin Encarnation and Paul Bako. While Gagne has been seriously shaky ever since being traded to the Red Sox last year, this blown save shouldn’t be held against him as he was pitching for the 4^th straight day yesterday. All the same, save speculators should take note of this situation, as it remains one of the most likely to change. With a plethora of bullpen talent in which a great deal of money is invested, the Brewers should not hesitate to make a change should Gagne continue to falter. Tune in to Keith Schirripa’s  Pen Names each Saturday to find out more!  

As for the lamest news of the day, it appears that after years of displaying the fiscal responsibility of M.C. Hammer, J.P. Riccardi decided that winning baseball games is not as important as saving money and cut the indomitable Frank Thomas. Let’s be clear, this is a money move by the Jays, as Riccardi has been forced to admit that he gave the Big Hurt too lucrative a contract to begin with, and could not afford to see Frank log the 376 at bats that would have kicked in his 10 million dollar option for 2009. While Thomas has certainly started the season slowly, he is perennially slow out of the gates and he already led the Jays with 3 HR and was in the top 5 in RBI after leading the team in both stats last year. The team’s attempt limit Thomas’s at bats by relegating him to a part time role met with loud objections from Frank as he was obviously well aware of his incentives. Yet Ricarrdi continues to pretend this is a talent move and said in his own words "I don't know that we have the luxury of waiting two to three months for somebody to kick in because we can't let this league or this division get away from us." This observer is more than incredulous, as the Blue Jays seem to be ready to turn to fellow quadragenarian Matt Stairs as their full time DH. Stairs did have his best year in recent memory last year for the Jays, but I’m skeptical that he can repeat that performance as a full time DH.

On to the lesser sports! In Hockey the Red Wings joined the Penguins, Rangers, and Avalanche in the second round of the Tourney by closing out the Nashville Predators in front of a shut out by Chris Osgood. I grew up in metro Detroit and it was great to see Osgood starting playoff games for the wings again.

The NBA playoffs continued to excite with the Lakers Nuggets series getting started with a huge game from Pau Gasol leading the Lakers to a win as he narrowly missed a triple double with 36 points, 16 boards, and eight assists. I’ll let him off the hook since he managed to block 3 shots and went perfect from the charity stripe. If he wasn’t already, Gasol looks like a clear first round pick next year.

Another guy making a case for first round status is the beast Dwight Howard who destroyed the Raptors to the tune of 25 points, 22 boards, and 5 blocks. It’s just another day at the office for this young Clark Kent impersonator.

But perhaps the best game of the day (prior to my deadline), and the biggest NBA news of the day was the young Philadelphia 76ers defeat of the heavily favored Detroit Pistons.  This occurred despite a big game from Rasheed Wallace.  Sheed and the Pistons were no match for the a great 4^th quarter from Reggie Evans as the 76ers came back from 15 down to steal a win.  The NBA cares.

Finally, congratulations to Danica Patrick for winning her first race, and proving she’s more than just a driving marketing ploy.

That’s all for this week, but remember, 90% of all statistics can be made to say anything you want, 50% of the time!