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| Kiko Calero pitched off the mound for the first time this spring on Friday, this according to the team website. The right-handed reliever has been nursing a non-surgically repaired rotator cuff injury in his right shoulder and has been brought along slowly this spring. |
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| According to the A's team website, Daric Barton's injured left hand was examined by a local orthopedic specialist on Thursday and the ailment was believed to be serious. A day later Oakland manager Bob Geren reported Barton's hand is probably not as serious as first thought.
"He went to a doctor yesterday, and he's day-to-day," Geren said. "He's not hitting today, but hopefully he'll be hitting in a couple of days. If he's day-to-day, he's all right. I'm not concerned."
Barton missed his sixth consecutive game on Friday and is not projected to be back in the lineup again this weekend. |
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| Cubs rookie outfielder Kosuke Fukudome was 1-for-3 with a double and scored a run for the Cubs in a 6-4 win Friday over Ichiro's Seattle Mariners. Ichiro Suzuki would love to see a line of 1-for-3 at this point in the exhibition schedule, as the two time batting champ is 0-for-10 so far this spring. It's only spring, but those using a late first or second round pick on Ichiro, and others spending $30-$40 dollars for his services, would like to see him break out of his current funk. |
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| Brandon McCarthy won't be ready for the start of the Rangers regular season, at least it's looking that way, according to MLB.com. The possibility of Luis Mendoza being called up to replace McCarthy is becoming likely.
McCarthy, who was making his first Cactus League appearance of the spring, had to cut short his outing against the Brewers on Friday with more pain in his right elbow/forearm area. McCarthy was supposed to go two innings and 30 pitches, but was pulled after one inning and 19 pitches. The coaching staff pulled the right-hander when McCarthy experienced pain in his elbow.
"It happened on the third curve ball I tried to throw," McCarthy said. "I felt good out there. My fastball was alive and my curve ball was good. Everything felt good mechanically and it just flared up on me."
McCarthy has been bothered by pain and inflammation in the elbow/forearm area for the past three weeks and will be shut down and likely placed on the disabled list to begin the season. |
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| Hank Conger, C, Los Angeles Angels | Friday 3/7, 8:13 PM CT |
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| The Angels reassigned catcher Hank Conger to their Minor League camp on Friday, this according to the team website. Conger will spend the season on the farm and has no current long-term fantasy value. |
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| Lance Broadway had a headache inducing outing on Friday as he surrendered six hits and six runs (five earned) on only two innings of work. Broadway is clearly not ready to challenge for a spot in the White Sox rotation. |
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| Jermaine Dye blasted his second home run of the spring on Friday, off former team-mate Jon Garland. The reliable Dye is off to a favorable start. |
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| Glen Perkins bounced back from a slow start nicely as he only surrendered two hits over three innings of work on Friday, with three strikeouts. Perkins had a 3.14 ERA over 28.2 innings of work in 2007. |
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| Carlos Gomez put his speed on display on Friday as he registered a single and a run scoring triple, while also picking up his third stolen base of the spring. He was part of the Santana deal, and is paying off well for the Twins early on. |
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| A.J. Burnett stumbled out of the gate for the Blue Jays but finished up strong as he allowed only one run on four hits over three innings. He is still dealing with a right index fingernail issue which limits his curveball but his changeup was still strong as his featured pitch. |
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| Alex Rios, RF, Toronto Blue Jays | Friday 3/7, 7:05 PM CT |
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| Alex Rios had another tough outing at the plate on Friday as he struck out once in two at-bats. He now only has two hits on 15 at-bats this spring. |
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| Adam Lind, LF, Toronto Blue Jays | Friday 3/7, 6:59 PM CT |
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| Adam Lind went 3-for-4 on Friday. He will need to continue to perform well as he fights for playing time in a solid Blue Jays outfield. |
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| Ivan Rodriguez went a perfect 3-for-3 on Friday, with two RBI. He should remain a steady performer for the Tigers this season. |
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| Brian Anderson had his streak snapped of reaching base safely in eight straight games in a blowout loss (10-0) to the Diamondbacks on Friday. Anderson has been performing well and taking advantage of injuries to outfielders Jerry Owens and Carlos Quentin. |
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| Young pro Brandon Moss went 3-for-4 and picked up his third RBI of the spring on Friday in a 12-2 loss to Baltimore. Moss should continue to push for at bats and many anticipate him having a bright future in Boston. |
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| Aubrey Huff, DH, Baltimore Orioles | Friday 3/7, 4:44 PM CT |
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| Aubrey Huff had a good outing on Friday as he blasted a two run homer as the Orioles hammered the Red Sox 12-2. Huff notably hit .280 during his first season with Baltimore in 2007 and is recovering from off-season surgery. |
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| Mariano Rivera returned to action on Friday and pitched very well as he went one inning and retired the side on a mere eight pitches, according to MLB.com. |
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| Red Sox manager Terry Francona said this morning that Daisuke Matsuzaka is expected to travel to Japan for their opening games, assuming his wife has no complications with her pregnancy, according to the Boston Globe. It's not clear if she will be induced, but the Sox had been concerned that he might not be able to make the trip, so this is great news. |
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| As expected, the O's sent Matt Wieters to their minor league camp on Friday, according to the Baltimore Sun. "Tools, good work ethic, demeanor. Like I said, and I told him today, he looked like he'd been here before," manager Dave Trembley said. "He's receptive. Looked like a baseball player." The fifth overall pick in last year's draft is slated to begin the season with Single-A Frederick. |
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| Adam Jones, CF, Baltimore Orioles | Friday 3/7, 3:09 PM CT |
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| Adam Jones sat out of Friday's preseason game due to his stiff back, according to the Baltimore Sun. "They told me he could play today but I'm going to hold him," manager Dave Trembley said. Jones left Thursday's game due to the ailment, but it sounds like he could be back in the mix over the weekend. |
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| Freddie Bynum received bad news when an MRI revealed that he has a slight tear in the meniscus in his right knee, according to the Baltimore Sun. However, he was able to run, hit and throw on Friday. "I'm trying to test it right now to see where I'm at," said Bynum. "Today was my first day doing anything. I'm still clueless. I don't know how it's going to feel tomorrow, so I just have to wait and see." He's hoping to avoid surgery, which would cost him a few weeks and a shot at competing to win the starting shortstop job or a utility role. |
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| As expected, Francisco Liriano made his spring exhibition debut on Friday. He allowed a walk and two hits over 1 2/3 innings in his first action against major league opponents since September 2006. He's still expected to be ready to go at the start of the season, though he'll be on a pitch count of about 80-100 each game. |
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| Wilkin Ramirez injured his left shoulder while diving for a line drive during Friday's exhibition game, according to MLB.com. There wasn't an immediate diagnosis regarding the severity of the injury. The prospect has had injury issues in the past, so let's hope this is minor. Ramirez wasn't going to make the Tigers roster this spring, regardless. |
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| The Yankees scratched Jorge Posada from Friday's exhibition game due to a sore lat, according to the AP. "Everything is fine hitting," Posada said. "I threw today and didn’t feel it. I didn’t push it, obviously, so it’s just day to day." Posada will be available to DH this weekend and could be back behind the plate by Monday. |
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| A sore shoulder will limit Alex Rodriguez to DH duties until early next week, according to the AP. "Just a little bit," Rodriguez said. "I certainly wouldn’t miss a game during the regular season, or have to DH. But I think right now, it’s just being smart." No problem with being smart in early March. A-Rod was in the lineup Friday as the DH, so it really doesn't appear to be any concern. |
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| Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News thinks that Gerald Laird has the inside track in the competition for the starting job at catcher in Texas. Laird is battling young Jarrod Saltalamacchia for playing time, and if Salty loses out, he'll begin the year at Triple-A. That's not what his fantasy owners want to hear, because Salty definitely has much more upside than Laird. |
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| Troy Patton, P, Baltimore Orioles | Friday 3/7, 10:17 AM CT |
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| Troy Patton has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will require season-ending surgery, according to the Baltimore Sun. "It's kind of disappointing to miss the season, but I'm kind of anxious to get it over with and hopefully feel better and pitch better next season, have a little bit more velocity than I've been pitching with and I'm looking forward to feeling good throwing a baseball," he said. The surgery likely will be performed next week, but you can yank Patton off of your draft sheets for this season. |
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| The Mets have expressed interest in acquiring Marcus Thames from the Tigers, according to the Detroit Free Press. The trouble is that manager Jim Leyland is attached to Thames, which may make a deal unlikely anytime soon. The Mets could offer up Joe Smith, Jorge Sosa or Matt Wise to help shore up the Tigers bullpen. |
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| Manager Eric Wedge is concerned that Asdrubal Cabrera could get overwhelmed in his first full big league campaign, so he's considering dropping Cabrera down to the bottom of the batting order to remove some of the pressure, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We've talked about moving Asdrubal to the bottom of the order to protect him," Wedge said. "I still think he'll end up being a two-hole hitter. He might be that coming out of spring training." Upon being called up in August, Cabrera took over the No. 2 spot in the order and ran with it, so it's safe to expect him to end up there sooner or later. If Wedge does bump Cabrera down in the batting order early on, David Dellucci, Jason Michaels and Franklin Gutierrez would get a look at the batting second. |
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| Julio Lugo, SS, Boston Red Sox | Friday 3/7, 8:23 AM CT |
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| Julio Lugo is expected to return to exhibition action on Friday, according to the Boston Herald. "If this was the regular season, I’d be playing," Lugo said. He's just dealing with a minor back ailment that should have no effect on his fantasy draft or auction values. |
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| Scot Shields has been dealing with a sore shoulder this spring and is not expected to take part in an exhibition game until next week, according to the LA Times. Shields has worked more innings than any other reliever in baseball over the past four seasons, but neither Shields nor manager Mike Scioscia believe that's why Shields faded late last season. "He maintained his velocity," Scioscia said. "He maintained the crispness of his breaking ball. I don't think it was workload-related. I think it was more of a rhythm and mechanical issue. He's got a complicated delivery." Let's hope they're right and that Shields can return to form as one of the top non-closing relievers in fantasy. |
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| Javier Vazquez will miss his scheduled start on Friday due to the birth of his child, according to the Chicago Tribune. "Javy threw in Puerto Rico," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "A one-game setback is not going to affect (him)." Guillen's right, it's far too early in the spring for this to have any effect on his regular-season or fantasy value. He'll be back in the mix next week. |
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| On Wednesday, Danny Richar aggravated the back injury that bothered him while playing winter ball in the Dominican League, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "He's got this back problem, and this was a guy that was already behind," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We'll see. Hopefully he can bounce back and not fall too far behind." As Guillen pointed out, Richar had fallen behind in the competition for second base because he arrived late to camp due to visa promblems. At this point, Juan Uribe is the leading candidate to start at second, so Richar has his work cut out for him, even if his back injury doesn't linger. |
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