Stats and tips for fantasy sports

Spell Relief with the O's

David Sabino — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:14:39 GMT

Don't look now but the Orioles' bullpen isn't half bad. In fact, Baltimore's revamped group of relievers is the AL's best through the first week of the season.

Led by a combination of holdovers, Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford, along with newcomers George Sherrill, Matt Albers, Dennis Sarfate and Randor Bierd, O's relievers have allowed a major league low .132 opponents batting average, and a second-best 0.84 ERA through their first 21 innings. They've also accounted for four of the team's five victories, including two by Sarfate, the former Brewers prospect who was acquired from Houston (with Albers and OF Luke Scott) and has regularly hit the high 90s with his fastball. Sherrill is the closer right now, but Sarfate has the makeup and stuff to take over the role at any minute, and he's already passed Greg Aquino as the next-best choice to close, so don't delay picking him up.

Play Ball: MLB 2008

David Sabino — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:53:42 GMT

I've finally gotten out from under the Sports Illustrated preview issue so it's back to the blogosphere. Thanks again for reading along with my spring training tour and please look for my upcoming weekly baseball stats column on SI.com tentatively titled "Diamond Digits."

Since else everybody gives their predicted standings, I wanted to get my picks on record after studying every team so closely over the last two months. So here's how I see the season going down as we stand today.

NL West 1. Rockies 2. Dodgers 3. Diamondbacks 4. Padres 5. Giants

NL Central 1. Brewers 2. Cubs 3. Reds 4. Astros 5. Pirates 6. Cardinals

NL East 1. Mets 2. Phillies 3. Braves 4. Nationals 5. Marlins

NL Wild Card: Phillies

NLDS Mets over Rockies, Phillies over Rockies

NLCS Mets over Phillies

AL West 1. Mariners 2. Angels 3. Rangers 4. Athletics

AL Central 1. Tigers 2. Indians 3. Twins 4. White Sox 5. Royals

AL East 1. Red Sox 2. Yankees 3. Blue Jays 4. Rays 5. Orioles

AL Wild Card Yankees

ALDS Tigers over Yankees, Red Sox over Mariners

ALCS Tigers over Red Sox

World Series Tigers over Mets

2008 Awards

AL MVP Alex Rodriguez, Yankees

NL MVP Matt Holliday, Rockies

AL Cy Young Award Erik Bedard, Mariners

NL Cy Young Award Cole Hamels, Phillies

AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Gomez, Twins

NL Rookie of the Year J.R. Towles, Astros

AL Comeback Player of the Year Dontrelle Willis, Marlins

NL Comeback Player of the Year Nick Johnson, Nationals

AL Manager of the Year John McLaren, Mariners

NL Manager of the Year Clint Hurdle, Rockies

Dodgers-Cardinals Recap

David Sabino — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:59:32 GMT

Operative description of the day: It turned out to be a beautiful day for baseball, especially for Dodgers fans who saw their team unmercifully take the Cardinals pitching staff out to the shed for 20 runs, 20 hits and seven walks in a 20-6 win. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house as 7,227 mostly Cardinals fans turned out for this classic matchup that turned into a three hour, 15 minute marathon that featured nearly 50 players.

However the highlight of the day for me came before the game when I found myself at the pre-game media buffet line with none other than Hall of Fame Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, one of the true giants of broadcasting. Coming from the Bronx and having a sister and good friends who went to Fordham, we struck up a conversation over St. Louis style barbecue ribs. Like that wasn’t big enough, who else did I walk right by on my way back to my seat? It was Tony La Russa’s close friend Bill Parcells, now the boss of the Miami Dolphins. Also spotted in the pressbox were broadcasters Jaime Jarrin, Mike Shannon, Charley Steiner and Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst. And for the Cardinals, bringing out the lineup card to home plate was Hall of Famer and alltime great pitcher, Bob Gibson, a very close friend of Dodgers skipper Joe Torre. As basketball players like to say; “I went out on a make.”

GOOD IMPRESSIONS: With so much offense, the entire Dodgers team made a good impression. Best of all was right fielder Matt Kemp who hit a ball off of the wall left of center field and although it bounced right to centerfielder Rick Ankiel, Kemp turned on his speed and slid easily into third base with a triple. Big bodies like Kemp’s aren’t supposed to move tha fast. In all, Kemp was two for four with two runs and three RBIs. He’s a star in the making with a fulltime job and shot up my draft list today.

Shortstop Rafael Furcal also had a good day, blasting a home run around the foul pole down the rightfield line off of Braden Looper. He also chipped in an RBI single and was 2 for 3 with two runs scored.

One of the lone bright spots for the Cards was Brian Barton, he of the aerospace engineering degree, who was two for three with a triple. His spring average is up to .381 and he’s looking more and more like someone the Cards will either keep or be able to find a trading partner for. The Mets come to mind.

Joe Mather played first base today and was one for three. He too has been hitting well while playing mostly in left for the injured Chris Duncan. The departure of Scott Spiezio opens up a spot as backup first baseman and Mather, also hitting .381 this spring after clubbing 31 homers in the minors last season, is making a case.

Delwyn Young raised his average to .095 (yes, .095) with a monster home run that landed on the patio of the Cardinals office beyond the left field fence. I’ve seen more than 20 games here in the past and that was by far the longest homer I’ve seen here. He’s out of options and the LaRoche injury could open up a job for him if only he can start hitting. Perhaps today was an indication that he’ll start to hit.

Shortstop Chin-Lung Hu was on first base twice, first as a pinch runner and then after ripping a single to right, prompting the comment “Hey, Hu’s on first.” The Taiwan native also made an excellent play in the field gunning down the slow footed Josh Phelps at first on a grounder that he fielder 10 feet behind the infield dirt in the hole between short and third.

Former Blue Jay and Yankee prospect John Ford-Griffin was two for two with two runs scored too. Like I said, almost every Dodger did something today.

BAD IMPRESSIONS: Braden Looper’s forte has been his daytime pitching, going 7-1 with a 1.80 ERA in day games last season. Today, not so much. Looper allowed eight runs, seven earned, in 2 1/3 innings. He surrendered the blasts to Young and Furcal and walked three as well. He’s supposed to be the Cardinals No. 2 starter this season, which should cement in your mind the relative value of Cardinals starters on draft day.

Cesar Izturis had another tough day in the field, being charged with two errors, the first of which was an easy inning-ending ground ball that he simply booted extended the third inning enough to let the Dodgers score seven runs. Izturis is a Cardinal because of his glove and his glove alone. If he continues to be so carefree at short, La Russa will have no choice but to find someone else, and that should be Brendan Ryan.

There was an Adam Kennedy sighting. The second baseman cleared the bases with a three-run double in the fifth, accounting for the last St. Louis runs of the day.

Troy Glaus continues to hit, and has his average at .412 after lacing a two singles to left.

MIXED IMPRESSIONS:
Hiroki Kuroda got the win and even struck out two batters in the first inning, but he allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits in his two innings. In no way was this a big enough sample size to make a judgement, but he’s not someone whose stuff blows anyone away.

Longtime journeyman George Lombard hit his second home run of the spring and singled for the Dodgers in his three at bats, but has no chance of seeing Chavez Ravine this season.

Reliever Tom Martin made a stellar kick-save of a grounder in the third inning to throw out Yadier Molina.

Ryan Ludwick also had a rough day in the field, committing the third Cardinal error, although he could have been charged with one that was hung on Izturis who failed to cover second on a hit to right. At the plate he was one for five with a double, but saw his lofty average fall to .333. Couple his recent struggles with Barton and Mather’s successes and Ludwick’s roster spot is in jeopardy.

Sadly for me this concludes my series of reports from spring training. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I did writing them for you. Please come back to my regular blog in which I talk about interesting happenings in the world of sports, both on the field and in the fantasy sense. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Day 11: Dodgers vs. Cardinals at Jupiter

David Sabino — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:20:28 GMT

It’s the 11th and final day of my journey through the Grapefruit League, and I’m back in Jupiter for two of the NL’s most storied franchises, the Dodgers and Cardinals. The ride up Florida’s Turnpike from Fort Lauderdale was quite pleasant although the weather I left and the weather here in Northern Palm Beach County are iffy at best, with a cool breeze and lots of cloud cover. In other words, if you’re not sitting in those few spots where the sun is shining, it’s going to be brisk. Luckily today I beat the rush and have a pretty good seat in the pressbox (which luckily is fully protected by a screen). One other thing about the ride which would have to go under the “mixed impression” heading. The Turnpike is the corridor where all of South Florida’s trash is sent to spend eternity as part of a landfill. While the odor emanating from them is reminiscent of Eau du Dirty Diaper, the thousands of birds, big and small, predator and prey, that they attract is worth dealing with the stench. Hawks, eagles, vultures, and dozens of other species circleing around looking for a meal and it’s, pardon the pun, breathtaking (but no where near as cool as the Dolphin in Tampa).

These two franchises playing today have combined for 17,406 victories since 1900 and are responsible for 15 of the NL’s 42 total World Series titles, the most recent of which came two years ago from St. Louis. The Dodgers are operating as a full team for one of the last times this spring as they’ll split up for a series with the Padres in Beijing, China next weekend. Then the team will all reunite and join the Cactus League starting on Thursday the 20th. Since Joe Torre will be in China managing the travel team, longtime manager and Slim Fast spokesman Tommy Lasorda will once again bleed blue in an official capacity as he takes the helm of the domestic Dodgers.

Having been just down on the field for Dodgers BP, I can honestly tell you, as someone who grew up a Yankee fan and as a lifelong New Yorker, it is bizarre seeing spring training instructor Don Mattingly in anything other than a Yankees uniform. It doesn’t seem as weird with Torre in the Dodgers royal blue hat and warmup shirt since my first memories of him came as a Met, but Donnie Baseball in Dodger Blue is just plain confusing.

As for the action today: The Japanese media is out in force which for these two teams can mean only one thing, the Dodgers starting pitcher is Hiroki Kuroda, the first year major leaguer who had a career record of 103-89 and a 3.69 ERA in 11 seasons with the Hiroshima Carp. He’s created a buzz in Los Angeles after pitching four innings and allowing just two hits so far this spring. This will be my first-ever look the craftsman, someone more likely to get a grounder than a strikeout which should make him an excellent for with this team and I’m pretty excited about it.

The Dodgers lineup was just posted and it’s teeming with regulars. Leading off is Rafael Furcal at short, Russell Martin is next followed by James Loney, Andruw Jones, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Delwyn Young at second, Ramon Martinez at third and Jason Repko in left. Also making the trip for later insertion are Taiwanese shortstop Chin-Lung Hu and Ivan DeJesus Jr., the son of the former major league shortstop. One player not here is third baseman Andy LaRoche who will be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks after being hit by a pitch in yesterday’s game, tearing a ligament in his thumb that requires surgery.

For the Cardinals it’s the very impressive Colby Rasmus leading off playing left today (instead of his usual center), the increasingly interesting Joe Mather batting second and playing first, Rick Ankiel in center, Troy Glaus at third, Juan Gonzalez at DH, Ryan Ludwick in right, Yadier Molina at catcher, Adam Kennedy playing second, Cesar Izturis at short and on the mound the man who until Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder return is the Cardinals second starter, ex- closer Braden Looper.

Check back one last time to see what happens today.

Red Sox-Orioles Recap

David Sabino — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:21:17 GMT

Operative description of the day:

As the seats began to fill up you could tell that Red Sox Nation would be out in force. Although parts of the stadium were surprisingly sparse, a vast majority of those in attendance were clad in Sox red which outnumbered Orioles Orange by easily a 10-to-1 ratio, and many of the orange folks were the elderly ushers and security personnel who are employed here at the stadium. The Boston backers even got in a prerequisite “Yankees Suck” chant in, although the timing of it, trailing 9-2 in the top of the eighth inning of a split squad road game was curious.

Another highlight was being able to hear the dulcet tones of MASN’s Gary Thorne coming past the partition separating the print media box from the TV booth as he called the game for the Orioles home network back in the Capital District. Hysterically, he also nearly was blasted by a foul ball, just feet to the right of where I got hit on Tuesday. I felt the impact from the back wall of the adjoining box.

Also on the weather front the rains came in the form of a very light shower at gametime, but then the storm clouds passed to the west, leaving the stadium bathed in sunlight for most of the contest.

As for the game, what seemed like it was going to be a pitching duel got out of hand in the bottom of the eighth when Boston starter Julian Taverez ran out of gas, giving up five runs with two outs in the inning. The Orioles bats stayed hot for the rest of the game and although they outhit the Red Sox by only three, they outscored them by 10 for the final score of 12-2.

GOOD IMPRESSIONS:
His team may have gotten clobbered but outfielder Brandon Moss was a star at the plate, going three for four with an RBI and a double to left center off of starter Jeremy Guthrie that was absolutely scorched on a line. With an approach similar to that of former Sox star Trot Nixon, Moss is now batting .368 in the spring and is someone to keep an eye on for a callup once Drew gets hurt later this year.

Guthrie was in total command during his three innings, surrendering just two hits and a walk. He also struck out two. The only ball struck well against him was Moss’s two-bagger as he changed speeds and threw strikes, getting the ball up however, six of his nine outs came in the air.

Aubrey Huff is a forgotten man since he landed in Baltimore but he had a good day, blasting a long home run into the teeth of the wind. His drive cleared the bleachers in right field and bounced towards the picnic area, traveling at least 385 feet through the air. That doesn’t sound too impressive, but with the wind blowing like it was, it was a monster.

Another Miami Hurricane, Alex Cora, was on top of his game today too. Boston’s utility infielder played a flawless shortstop, making difficult plays look routine, wile going two for three with and RBI with the bat.

Red Sox reliever Danny Kolb, yes that Dan Kolb who once was the Brewers closer got out of a jam by retiring his first batter, Nick Markakis, on strikes while coming out again, throwing a perfect seventh with another K.

BAD IMPRESSIONS:
Last season’s mop-up man, Kyle Snyder didn’t help his cause at all today, giving up five earned runs in three innings in relief of Julian Tavarez. With at least 15 major-league ready arms in camp, the former Royal can ill afford to be as ineffective as he was today, especially in a situation that he would commonly be asked to perform during the regular season.

Veteran outfielder Bobby Kielty is also looking to secure a big league job, but he took the collar going 0 for 4.

Catcher Dusty Brown got a hit but his first two at bats were ugly, the hit where he had his bat sawed off by Guthrie, another in which he hit a weak check swing grounder to shortstop Luis Hernandez.

Sidearming relieve Chad Bradford was getting his pitches up in the strike zone and was hit hard, giving up two runs in one inning of work. For someone with a successful track record like him, you shouldn’t be worried.

MIXED IMPRESSIONS:

Third baseman Melvin Mora hit a massive fly ball down the left field line that started 40 feet in fair territory but was blown by the strong wind foul by 10 feet, eventually coming to a stop at third base of the Orioles practice field beyond the left field fence. For you counting at home, that was about 450 feet with the roll. Two pitches later Mora hit a ball into the right-centerfield gap for a double, proving again that he’s a professional hitter. Mora now has eight RBIs already this spring.
However Mora was also involved in one of the weirdest plays of the day when he hit a ground ball to short with one on in the first but his left spike slid out from under him and he was thrown out on a double play while still laying in the batter’s box.

Fantasy non-factor Luis Hernandez had a sacrifice fly on a ball to right that he couldn’t have hit any farther, however he’s known for his glove and committed an error, both mental and physical, on an easy ground ball. He nonchalantly threw to first base too high, pulling first baseman Kevin Millar off the bag. With Freddie Bynum and Brandon Fahey waiting to steal that spot, he can’t afford to make bad plays like that.

Tomorrow for my finale I’ll be catching the Cardinals one last time as they play host in Jupiter to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then it’s back to the cold where I’ll be counting the hours until opening day.

Day 10: Red Sox vs. Orioles at Fort Lauderdale

David Sabino — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:56:11 GMT

It’s back to the ballpark today and a return of Fort Lauderdale where a visiting split-squad of Red Sox take on the home Orioles in my penultimate remote report from spring training. The weather is threatening west of the I-95 corridor although pretty calm and clear to the East. The wind is also blowing at 25 to 30 mph from right out to left field to there could be a bunch of wind aided big flies today from righthanded batters. But the temperature is predicted to reach 86 degrees toady (apologies to everyone experiencing horrible blizzard conditions that are hitting much of the country today).

The threatening sky is a worry because of the weather in the Broward and Dade county areas yesterday. More than two inches of rain fell as severe thunderstorms blanketed the area for much of the afternoon, with thick sheets of rain that even made the pelicans take cover. Just when it seemed like it couldn’t rain any harder, Mother Nature would crank it up a notch, unleashing her fury on the tourists below. The wind is quite audible through the jalousie-style windows behind me in the press box (back to the scene of the ball barrage from Tuesday) and due to the iffy weather overhead, the teams have foregone batting and infield practice (although it’s a perfect beach day a couple of miles east of here). Let’s hope they can get this one in.

Today’s starters have been posted and it’s a matchup of what should be the Orioles opening day lineup (with three notable potential exceptions, Brian Roberts is still an Oriole and leading off, Luke Scott sits in favor of Jay Gibbons in left while Luis Terrero is playing center and betting eighth for Adam Jones who was in the covered batting cage behind the rightfield bleachers taking extra BP a little while ago). The rest of the O’s order is Melvin Mora batting second at third, Nick Markakis in right batting third, Kevin Millar at first batting fourth, Aubrey Huff at DH batting fifth, Ramon Hernandez catching and batting sixth, Jay Gibbons batting seventh and playing left field, Terrero and shortstop Luis Hernandez batting ninth.

On the hill for the O’s is the man who should be their ace this year, Jeremy Guthrie who was 7-5 with a 3.70 ERA last season after being acquired from the Indians. He and Adam Loewen are really the only Orioles starters to consider on draft day.

They’ll go up against a team that looks more like the Paw Sox than Red Sox, however Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Alex Cora and Bobby Kielty did make the trip to play today, while the rest of their regular teammates stayed home to play the Twins. Actually Boston’s lineup is a Who’s Who of their top prospects with Jacoby Ellsbury leading off, much sought-after infielder Jed Lowrie playing and batting second, then Youkilis, Lowell, Brandon Moss in left field, Cora at short, Kielty in right, former White Sox and Diamondback farmhand and first baseman by trade, Chris Carter, DH’es from the eighth slot and catcher Dusty Brown bats ninth and will be catching veteran Julian Tavarez who was 6-11 in 23 starts last year and is trying to solidify his place on the pen.

Come on back later to find out if we got this one in and if so, what went on. In the meantime stay warm and stay safe by driving slowly in the snow.

Nationals at Cardinals Recap

David Sabino — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:31:23 GMT

Operative description of the day:

Coupling a beautiful hot day but comfortably overcast day and an unusually full pressbox and I got to spend nearly the entire game in the stands, checking out the action like a fan for a change. It was a good game for that too, with the Cardinals starters staying in through seven innings, this was played much more like a regular season contest than a game during the second week of spring training.

Cardinals fans are some of the most rabid in baseball, and Roger Dean Stadium was a sea of Cardinals red. The greatest piece of memorabilia I’ve seen all trip has to be the bright red Incredible Hulk Hand beer cozy glove. Think about that for a second. Yes, that’s what it looks like. Now for the action:

GOOD IMPRESSIONS: For the second day in a row Brian Barton impressed with the stick, knocking out four more hits, including a mammoth blast to left in the bottom of the eighth for his first home run of the spring. His shot also came right after another by his biggest competition right now, rightfielder Ryan Ludwick, so his timing was impeccable. Barton has been lacing the ball every time to the plate, raising his average to .375, and is making a case for the Cardinals to keep him on the big league roster. If they don’t, the Rule 5 pickup has to be offered back to the Indians for a mere $25,000 (they picked him up for $50,000). The way he’s playing, Barton might be the Indians best corner outfield if the Cards unexpectedly (and unwisely) let him go. The Cardinals outfield is crowded but Barton is definitely crashing the party.

For good measure Barton also had second base stolen on the ball that hit Joe Mather in the fourth.

The much-maligned Cristian Guzman has always had a great glove, there’s no doubting that. He also had a credible bat while he was amember of the Twins. But since he’s struggled, both hitting and with injuries. However it’s all coming together for him this spring so far, as he’s playing a spectacular shortstop and hitting .471 following his two for four day today. He’s the leader against Felipe Lopez right now in the competition for the starting shortstop job.

Nationals starter John Lannan was very effective against what amounted to most of the Cards regulars. The second year lefty allowed two walks and three hits in three innings of work although he wisely pitched around Albert Pujols.

Joel Hanrahan, once the Dodgers top pitching prospect, came in to get one out in the seventh. It’s possible that the Nationals are grooming him to be a setup man and lefty specialist. In that case, whatever potential fantasy value he once had would totally evaporate.

BAD IMPRESSIONS: Both teams were issued warnings after Nationals reliever Chris Schroeder hit Ryan Ludwick in the helmet with a ninth inning pitch. Tony La Russa appeared to be jawing at the umpire after the play (Ludwick was fine and stayed in the game to run the bases) who then issued the warning to both benches. Um, fellas, uh, this is SPRING TRAINING.

One day after raking against the Orioles, Juan Gonzalez failed to further his comeback case going 0 for 3 and leaving a whopping seven runners on base. I still haven’t seen him play the field (he DH’d again today) but from what one of my collegues who has seen him in the outfield said, “whatever outfield arm he used to have is now officially gone.”

Former Yankee Tyler Clippard, acquired by the Nats in the offseason for reliever Jonathan Albaladejo, didn’t fare well at all in his attempt to crack Manny Acta’s staff. He allowed seven base runners and two earned runs in just 22/3 innings.

MIXED IMPRESSIONS: The aforementioned Elijah Dukes was also quite impressive early today ripping a two-run triple to right center off of starter Mike Parisi in the first and then making an excellent attempt, nearly dislodging the right field fence from its foundation, on a triple by left fielder Joe Mather. However he went 0 for three the rest of the day.

Yadier Molina finally broke the schneid, collecting his first hit of the spring after going 0 for his first 12 an RBI single in the seventh, finishing the day 1 for 5. You didn’t read it wrong, his hit came in the seventh. In fact Molina played the entire day behind the plate, an incredible rarity for a spring game this early in March.

One of the Nationals who played the entire game was second baseman Bret Boone who went one for four with a walk and a double as the DH. Despite his .383 spring average, he’s got to fill up the stats sheet more than he has since there are a plethora of options at second in Felipe Lopez, Ronnie Belliard and Pete Orr.

As for Orr, the former Brave hit a long home run, a true no doubter to right center in the seventh off of sidearming righthander Hugo Castellanos. However in the bottom of the inning he booted a grounder at third that was generously scored as a hit, but was a play that needed to be made. Orr’s value comes more from his glove than from his bat, so the error was more of a negative than the home run was a positive. In any case, I doubt you need me to tell you not to draft Pete Orr.

Tomorrow I’m likely not going to file from a game, instead continuing to work on my team-by-team scouting reports that will begin showing up in the Fan Nation Fantasty Section sometime next week. I will return to the ballpark on Friday, back in Fort Lauderdale where the Red Sox split squad will come over from Fort Myers to take on the Orioles. Red Sox Nation: Feel Free to say hi.

Day 8: Nationals at Cardinals in Jupiter

David Sabino — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:32:48 GMT

Another day, another ballgame. For the second day in a row I get to watch the St. Louis Cardinals, this time at home in Jupiter, against the upstart Washington Nationals. If you think the origin of the town’s name comes from the chief god of Rome, you’d be partially right. It was actually named after the native Hobe tribe but European mapmakers mangled the name enough for it to end up as Jupiter. With residents like Oprah Winfrey, Ralph Lauren and Tiger Woods, you’d better believe that this is a very nice part of the state located on the Gold Coast, just north of Palm Beach.

Although I won’t be going to it, there’s it’s doubleheader day here at Roger Dean Stadium as the other half of the Cardinals play against the co-tenants who are headquartered down the leftfield line, the Florida Marlins.

As for the immediate business at hand, the Nationals come packing a typical spring road crew, featuring just a couple of regulars. The most intriguing members of the starting lineup are the two, three and four hitters today, Lastings Milledge, Bret Boone and Elijah Dukes.

Milledge is slated to be the Nats regular centerfielder and the bravado he displayed as a Mets rookie last season should only help his cause on a Washington roster that was desperately in need of a boost in self esteem.

Boone hasn’t played a big league game since 2005 and, like his counterpart who went through a similar hiatus with the Cards, Juan Gonzalez, is in excellent shape and actually has a chance to make this team.

The troubled Dukes has a world of talent but can’t seem to keep himself out of trouble. If decisions were made on baseball skills alone, he would absolutely have a rostr spot sewn up. As is, he’ll have to have an excellent spring to make the squad and probably wouldn’t begin the year as a starter in any case.

I might be the only fantasy player in the nation who had today’s starter, lefty John Lannan, on his fantasy team last season. He went 2-2 with a 4.15 ERA in six starts and is in line to grab one of the back of the rotation slots.

The Cardinals have a few of the same players who made the trip to Fort Lauderdale (just to get smoked 10-2 yesterday) in the lineup again today, including Brian Barton, this time playing center, Joe Mather (LF), Gonzalez (DH) Yadier Molina (C), and Cesar Izturis (SS), in the same spots. However the injection of former MVP Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus should make this a better game to watch.

Reliever Chris Perez, who was scheduled to pitch yesterday is back on the docket today. Hopefully, he gets his work in today.

Check back around 4PM to find out what happened.

Cardinals-Orioles Recap

David Sabino — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:16:35 GMT

Operative description of the day: The highlight of the trip so far: In the top of the eighth inning, a foul back came into the pressbox (which is incidentally the closest to the field that I have ever seen) and went screaming no more thaqn three feet over my head, hit the back wall, and then hit the back of my head, which I had previously covered up for the first salvo. It triggered a round of applause from my fellow members of the media and now I have a pretty cool souvenir and story to go along with it.

As for an impression of the action, I must be living right. At nearly every stop I’ve run into great prospects who happen to put all of their tools on display for me that particular day. Today it was Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals and Adam Jones of the Orioles who both showed that they deserve their lofty ratings. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cardinals pitchers today showed that they’re all likely going to ride some more busses in the minors.

GOOD IMPRESSIONS:
Adam Jones was the centerpiece of the booty the Orioles got from the Mariners for Erik Bedard. After seeing him today, I’m not so sure that in the end history will be as far on the side of the Mariners as observers have been ever since the deal. Jones didn’t only hit the ball today (3 for 3) he crushed it, hammering it to all three fields and even pulling a foul ball down the leftfield line that nearly took out the Cardinals bullpen who barely had time to scramble out of the way. He’s locked into center with Markakis in left and the platoon of Jay Payton and Luke Scott in left. Eventhough he looked overmatched at times last year, based on what I saw today, Jones has rocketed up my draft board. He’s the goods.

The Cardinals top youngster Colby Rasmus wouldn’t be outdone either, driving in both of the Cards’ runs with a second inning RBI single and a blast to the nearly empty right-centerfield bleachers, through the teeth of a 20 MPH wind. It was a blast. Rasmus hit 29 home runs in the minors last year and if tha blast is any indication, he’ll be hitting a fair share out of Busch Stadium in the near very future.

You’re not going to believe this, but Juan Gonzalez looks very good at the plate. As someone whose seen him countless times before throughout his big league career, I can honestly say he looks like the old Juan Gonzalez at the plate. While pulling the ball on each of his two hits, he’s getting great top spin and gave one first inning pitch from Adam Loewen a very long journey just foul and onto the Orioles practice field beyond the left field fence. After seeing him for myself and knowing Tony La Russa’s M.O. pretty well, I’d be shocked if Gonzalez wasn’t the Cardinals starting right fielder when they open the year at home against the Rockies.

Melvin Mora is the epitome of a professional hitter and he was locked in today, missing the cycle (in an exhibition game for goodness sake) by a triple. His home run was blasted out to left. He also drove in four of the O’s 10 runs on the day. He’s hard to recommend in AL-Only leagues because like Bedard and possibly Brian Roberts before him, Mora might be dealt at some point this year, especially with Scott Moore and Mike Costanzo ready to play third base.

Roberts’ audition for the Cubs continued today as he stole his fifth base of the spring, scored two runs and drove in another.

Luke Scott was 3 for 4 and is a great sleeper.

BAD IMPRESSIONS:
The Cards pitchers, starting with Anthony Reyes, were terrible, and that’s being nice. For someone who had such a great reputation and minor league career, he’s struggling to get anyone out, and most of the contact against him is hard.

Note to the Orioles P.A. announcer: Orioles fans will chant LUUUUUKKKE, when they’re comfortable with Luke Scott. Until then, a simple Luke would be fine when he comes to the plate, because you’re the only one saying it the other way.

With a chance to win a job created by the release of Scott Spiezio, Josh Phelps didn’t capitalize, going 0 for 3 with a strikeout while leaving three runners on base. St. Louis will certainly be in the market for a utility man who can play first.

MIXED IMPRESSIONS:

Another candidate for the rightfield job is Brian Barton (the one with the dread locks). An undrafted free agent from the University of Miami, Barton is on the verge of having a useful major league career. However he doesn’t possess the classic baseball player smoothness or poise. He appears more frenzied, or at times out of control, but for good reasons like his eagerness to make something happen. However missing cutoff man and getting picked off first base isn’t a way to endear you to your bosses.

For someone who missed almost all of last season, Adam Loewen was sharp today, however beware low win totals and having to face the monster offenses in the AL East.

Tomorrow the journey is up to Jupiter to see the Nationals against a Cardinals split squad.

Day 7: Cardinals vs. Orioles at Fort Lauderdale Stadium

David Sabino — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:03:28 GMT

Today my traveling road show pulls into Fort Lauderdale, formerly the notorious headquarters for Spring Break and spring home of the Orioles for the past decade. The sun is shining and temperatures are expected in the low 80’s, but it’s clouding up just west of here and we could be in for one of South Florida’s famous soaking thunderstorms in a little while.

If you’ve been reading this blog and have ever been here before you might have raised an eyebrow at the fact that I named this my favorite spring training stadium. Well here’s why. As a youngster I used to come here all the time to see the Ft. Lauderdale Yankees, the Class A Florida State League affiliate of the Yankees. Among the players I got to see don a class A uniform were longtime major leaguers like Rex Hudler, Jim Deshaies, Carlos Martinez, Kevin Maas and a couple of guys named Al Leiter and Jay Buhner. This is also the place that one spring training I saw a White Sox outfield prospect by the name of Michael Jeffrey Jordan play in an exhibition game. While the Orioles look towards a move north to Vero Beach, this building continues to deteriorate. The seats are all faded, the lightstands look like they haven’t been painted since Mickey Mantle trained here, and the facilities are worse than most municipal recreational baseball facilities (you should check out the O’s makeshift Cybex setup under a tent in the parking lot). Yet, this place is still home when it comes to my love for the game, and once it’s gone, I’m going to miss it.

Now onto today’s game. The Cardinals sent a very interesting (and for these purposes, useful) travel team the hour or so drive down I-95 from Jupiter for this game. Today’s starting pitcher, Anthony Reyes, has a lot to prove after having one of the worst pitching seasons in recent memory and losing his spot on the staff in ’07. He had been one of the game’s most promising pitchers and is now pitching coach Dave Duncan’s top priority. Also in the lineup of note for the Cards are rookie Colby Rasmus in center field and leading off. He has an outside shot at making the club with a strong showing in center, but more than likely will open the year at Triple A with right field going to some combination of Brian Barton (the dreadlocked one, not to be confused with third baseman Brian Barden), Ryan Ludwick and today’s third hitter and DH, Juan Gonzalez. Igor (or Juan Gone if you like) hasn’t played in a major league game since but appears to be in excellent shape, especially for someone who has played but one major league game since 2004. Another player to watch is hard-nosed infielder Brendan Ryan who is playing second and batting ninth today. He’s 4 for 8 this spring and pushing Adam Kennedy (2 for 9) for a first string spot. I also can’t wait to see Chris Perez, a closer prospect who saved 35 of 37 games between Springfield and Memphis.

On the Orioles side, the specter of a potential Brian Roberts-to-the-Cubs trade hangs over the club although after the departures of Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada, this is certainly not a surprise. Roberts is in today’s lineup, leading off, followed by mainly regulars in Mel Mora (3B), Jay Gibbons (DH), Kevin Millar (1B), former Astro Luke Scott (LF), Ramon Hernandez (C), Luis Terrero (RF for Nick Markakis), former Mariner Adam Jones (CF) and rookie Luis Hernandez (SS).

Check back after the game to find out what happens. In the meantime I’ll be watching the small planes go into and out of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport just beyond the leftfield fence.