WallyWorld

Was there this past weekend and I agree Hanson doesn't look impressive so far, but I'm reserving judgment until games start for real.  I don't think he's really letting it go yet.

re: Callaspo, I've read the reports too but to my eyes he didn't look any different than he normally does.  It's not like speed was ever part of his game anyway.  Just like Trout's weight, I think it's a total non-issue.

yeah, HoHoKam is close by (Mesa) but old and gross.  I went to Salt River last year - it's brand new and really nice.  Definitely worth a trip.  I'm also a fan of Surprise Stadium (where the Rangers and Royals play), though it's a bit off the beaten path.

good for Jerome. I have a feeling he needed that.

would be nice to see Jerome have a good outing today. dude has been pretty shaky.

No one knows what happened there. Probably mostly mental. We'll see how Rodney does this year to see if it's a fluke.

 

If you say it's Butcher's fault then you should also be criticizing the Tigers pitching coach.

yeah, fair point.  I guess I'm suspect of Butcher's abilities, but admittedly I don't think fans can know much about how effective one coach is vs. another.

Definitely not Butcher's fault. It was pretty well known that Kazmir'z elbow wasn't letting him put the sharp break on his slider and his velocity was down.

I don't doubt that was the case, but for argument's sake, how are we explaining Fernando Rodney?

5 ip 0 er 7k's for Kaz coming

Hard not to look in Butcher's direction if Kazmir ends up having a good year.  Huge if still though,

holy crap, i just realized we're facing Kazmir!  There's absolutely no way he does anything but dominate us today.

how does Wilson look?

douchey.

Freddy Garcia is one of those pitchers that looks like he's throwing meatballs up there all the time.  Seems like he should always get rocked, and yet he manages to sort of hang in there and end up with decent stats.

Howie with a HR in the first, 1-0 good guys

his 3rd of the spring i believe?

f'n terry smith

haha. there's nobody closer to the team who's more out of the loop than Terry, it seems.

they sure are being careful with Hamilton.

thanks dudes and dudettes.

i've been before so I should really know this, but I can't remember: anyone know if bringing in outside food/beverages is allowed?

man Enright has been awful so far this spring.

meanwhile Toronto essentially going all in this year is looking smarter and smarter.

Could always stick Trumbo out in the OF with Trout back in CF. Then use Bourjos as a defensive replacement for Trumbo later in the game.

 

Which is what I would expect for NL games.

yeah, good call.  didn't even think of that.  however, this all assumes that Pujols is ready to play 1B by then.  It's possible he'll be the pinch-hitter.

This is gonna be a tough opening series @ the nati... they're loaded

yeah that's what I was thinking.  Particularly without a DH (which means no Trumbo or Pujols essentially for at least the first few innings).

Downs didn't have a good second half last year.  I'm a little worried about him going into this year.

The closest thing to an opening day line up so far?

Cept no callaspo or aybar

Or wells

No Aybar for awhile - he's playing in the WBC.  Romine, Harris, Hall, Rodriguez will all get plenty of looks this spring for that utility role.

1-8-2, with consistently awful pitching.

Granted, the pitchers from the projected 25-man roster haven't thrown much in games yet, but still . . . 3 straight years missing the playoffs, an awful start to last year, now a somewhat suspicious start to the spring . . .

I know ST games don't mean anything, but you don't want to see the team get used to losing, no matter what the situation is.  At the very least, our minor league depth appears as bad or worse than feared, and there has to be some slight concern over what the next few years could look like. 

Chad Cordero. R-U-S-T-Y.

rusty implies that the ability is still there - not sure it is in Cordero's case.  Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for the guy, but it's been an eternity in baseball time since he's been good.

not to be a downer, but what a crappy start to the spring so far for Maronde.  He was nails last year.

i feel good about Vargas.  Doesn't hurt that it's a contract year for him too.