Dan Gould

Actually they pursued re-signing him very seriously and I think they'll keep him if possible. But the way the market for corner outfielders collapsed, I am sure they offered him a reduced salary while he doesn't want to sign when the market is so bad, so they mutually agreed to wait. But their interest is genuine, as he does everything well, except maybe miss the outside curveball too often. I'd much rather have him than over pay for Holliday. And there is no way they trade him during the season unless the Tigers make Migglio available and they need a spot for him.

Its a strained lower abdominal not an oblique and it was done while swinging during a soft toss drill. I don't think this can be blamed on the WBC.

The reality is that Sandoval's club brought in far and away the best talent to visit south Florida outside of the one-offs that are booked by the handful of Jazz "societies" that exist.

:party:

We are on Comcast and get MLB Network - we pay for the second tier of programming, nothing extra. Meantime, the Red Sox are supposed to be about to sign Lester to a five year deal with one or two option years, which is great news. More amazing is the fact that the Sox will pay Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Wakefield, Penny, Smoltz and Buchholz a little over 36 million this year. Including bonuses, the Yankees will pay that much just for C.C. and A.J.! Of course, you root for the team to do well, not the owners to make more money. But its still impressive when you can lock up that much talent for such a low total. Add in the contracts for Youk and Pedroia and its obvious the Red Sox are the best run franchise in the game.

I might have been right that Lugo's knee problem could be a godsend for those who don't want to see him as the starter. The Globe is reporting that he's "worried", that he has to be in serious pain to complain about it and that when he came out last night, he couldn't move and has shooting pain in his knee which started when he made a double play pivot against Tampa. Sounds like ligament damage to me, he could very well be looking at surgery.

You are probably right about Wakefield, though remember that Penny and Smoltz are both signed for one year only, so Bowden would have to show he is ready, and Buchholz will have to prove it, too. Otherwise you might see Wake for yet another season.

Well, personally I think Jed Lowrie will be fine as a starter, perhaps not what Dustin Pedroia became but very solid. His defense was better than expected last year, and his hitting suffered severely as a non-displaced wrist fracture robbed him of any power from the left side. But it was his hitting that gave him the opportunity when Lugo went down, and I think he's going to hit quite well in the majors, with gap power and a strong OBP. The real problem is that Lowrie is better suited to the backup role both because he's shown he can play 3B and 2B and because Lugo is the kind of clown who will mope if he's not the starter. So I'll bet Lugo will be the starter going in, the question is whether he can keep that job the whole season. I'm pretty sure though they'll manage to move him next off-season when they'll agree to pay some large proportion of his final year's salary. Or maybe this knee injury will be serious and Lugo will start on the DL? One can hope .... But I'll be very surprised and disappointed if Lowrie isn't a strong major league shortstop eventually. And as for Wake, we've argued this before - he is at minimum league average and usually better. But in all honesty, I'd be perfectly happy if Smoltz takes over for Wake, and if Penny doesn't cut it, Buchholz can take over for him. A rotation of Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Smoltz and Buchholz (who looks once again like the guy who threw the no-hitter) would be pretty damn good. There's been talk about both Varitek and whoever is the backup catching Wake, which makes me think that in the back of Tito and Theo's mind is the likelihood that Wake will be the odd man out when Smoltz is ready, and he'll end up in the bullpen where you can't plan his appearances.

Well in no particular order, the things I enjoyed about last night's game: Papi and Lowell going yard on the Yanks second best pitcher Saito looking very good - if he is healthy, the bullpen is a monster, and could be even if he doesn't contribute. But it certainly looks like he could, and when he's been healthy he's been a tremendous pitcher. The 22 year old they signed straight out of the Japanese Industrial league looked pretty good, though his delivery looks awkward and might lead to arm trouble in the future. Daniel Bard throws some serious heat - which I knew - but imagine if he continues to dominate in the minors until they bring him up for mid-season help. An amazing bullpen could get help it doesn't really need. Wouldn't you rather have a guy like that than a second lefty like Javier Lopez? When the scrubs were in, it was nice to see those last two guys dominate the two best Yankee position prospects and make 'em look silly (Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero).

Conrad, I guessed Manny first - he also has 14 RBIs but some were for Cleveland. Fortunately no one else guessed, and I checked Dewey and was first to get it right. Matthew - I checked with MLB Network earlier in the week and it listed this game. I'll be pissed if they dropped it like that! I heard something about a tricycle but didn't see photos.

And we're only half-way there, with Opening Day on April 6, or the 5th or whatever it is. OTOH, the best game of the year to date is tonight, with the Sox hosting the Yanks at Fort Myers, MLB Network has it at 7 PM, and I'll be parked in front of the set at least until there is nothing but scrubs on the field.

Check it out: I won myself a cool looking book.

Anyone with a gut looks atrocious when stretching like that.

Joel, this is very disappointing - please read David Weiss' comments. This release was in production for over a year. Its unfortunate that Freddie didn't live to see it but BN was hardly guilty of what you say, as David tells us that they listened to the tapes long before he fell ill.

But look at who didn't play on the DR team - A-Rod, Pujols. I am frankly happy that they lost as it means that Papi goes back to being DH. Alou was using him at 1B because he wanted both of his SS in the lineup, and Ortiz's throwing shoulder has been barking at him, though he says it has no effect on his hitting, I'm glad he won't have to do that shit anymore. Come back to Fort Myers and get that swing down and be ready for April. With enough offense, I believe the Red Sox can win 98 games and the AL East, if their starters and relievers perform as they should.

I'm wondering why its "any period of Miles" but not "any period of Coltrane". There are certainly a lot of people who didn't follow him into Interstellar Space, that's for sure. So, having no interest in Bitches Brew and beyond Miles, that was an easy choice. Braxton was an easier one - my exposure came when I picked up some used LPs with Kenny Drew on them ... and I still sold them back fast as I could. I seriously doubt that anything he recorded without a mainstream player like Drew would change my opinion ... Brubeck was third although like others, I certainly enjoy Desmond.

Excellent news - but a small part of me was hoping this would be a commercial release of the Hubbard - Junior Cook - Cedar Walton group of a couple years later.

I understand how popular the man was but that is one helluva salary in the early 60s. According to Wikipedia, the US President's salary reached that level just a decade earlier. In 2008 dollars, he was making a million a year, give or take.

And if you don't trust Wikipedia, here is the entry at Snopes.

According to Wikipedia, the name pre-dated the Korean War, so that is an urban legend. Didn't mean to impugn your integrity, Chris but on the other hand, I was going to wonder aloud how many spots $50 got you in the early 60s - 50? A hundred? Plus another 50 in weekend rotation?

Ah, Korvette ... really the first department store I knew, and most importantly the source for all of my 45s and the few LPs I had in the early 70s when my family lived on Long Island. Seems apparent to me that "saturation campaign" would refer to an ad buy that they did not live up to and probably canceled mid-week, thus resulting in a half-week being owed. Or did they make a separate arrangement with you Chris providing some sort of off-the-cuff mention of the chain while on the air?

Happy Birthday, Paul! :party:

The NYT says banned substances found on syringe with Clemens' DNA. Two reactions: Of course, what she's forgetting is that there is also Andy Pettitte with his independent recollections that Clemens told him he was using. Roger has two choices: Wait to get indicted then initiate a negotiation on a plea or get fitted for a prison jumpsuit in a variety of attractive colors. Afterward, when he's paid McNamee an enormous amount to settle his countersuit, do you think he can recover some of it by suing Rusty for malpractice?

I hadn't heard that, Paps, is that because of how he looks or because of innings restrictions?

I agree, they are playing with fire in all likelihood. If they're talking about surgery after the season that means that rehab only hopes to let him play now, and for what? Lowell reported hip trouble in June, it got worse and worse until he really aggravated it when they were chasing the Rays in September and after that he was worthless. (BTW, Tito said he's a week away from playing, not two) I don't know how A-Rod's injury compares to Lowell's but it didn't take very long for Lowell to show the stress of trying to play through it. We should start a "When Will A-Rod Go On the DL for Hip Surgery?" Pool. And how about this nugget from the NYT: So last year was quite mediocre by A-Rod's standards, and there was an "irregularity" that effected his swing and his power. Doesn't that mean that with something that went from an irregularity to a labrum tear that its highly unlikely A-Rod even matches last year's diminished numbers? I don't think they even get the A-Rod they expect for the time he manages to play this year - which won't help with the fans - because now every team will know to pound him inside with fastballs. He won't clear his hips and if he makes contact he won't have the power that he did.