Spring Training

Well, the 2008 regular season is upon us, and the good news is we now know who our fifth starter is --- Brian Buress. I figured he'd get the nod after his strong start, and like I said the other day, he was a great spot starter for the first half of the season, but he wilted and it seemed the more time went on, the less effective he was.Only time will tell if he can stay consistent throughout the 2008 season. Considering the expectations of the pitching staff, he'll be given ample opportunity to get a permanent shot in holding down the role.***After everything, Jay Gibbons may not be suspended, after all.In a piece in the Baltimore Sun yesterday, "The commissioner's office and the players union are negotiating changes to Major League Baseball's drug policy in the wake of the Mitchell Repor

Hey guys, I'm off to spring training, and I'll be sure to keep you updated. Tommorrow I'm on my way to Graprefruit League baseball to see the Phillies v. Reds on Tuesday and the Blue Jays v. Astros on Thursday. I'll try to keep you updated each day on anything I experience. Let me know if there is anything you guys want to know about or see. If I get lucky, I'll snap a few good pictures

From the NY Post: An off day in the Mets' schedule next week means another simulated game for Orlando Hernandez. El Duque, who was knocked around by three minor leaguers in a 60-pitch simulation earlier this week, will throw another simulated game Tuesday before proceeding with his Grapefruit League debut. Hernandez has been sidelined all spring by discomfort in his right foot that has allowed Mike Pelfrey to challenge for the No. 5 starter spot and prompted Hernandez to scale down his trademark leg kick.Non-roster third baseman Fernando Tatis' visa nightmare finally ended yesterday. Tatis, an eight-year veteran of the big leagues, is now in camp after missing almost the entire first month while the U.S. Consulate in the Dominican Republic strung out his visa bid without explanation.

We are a little more past the halfway point of spring training, and it looks like the 2008 roster is starting to take shape. The Orioles made a few more cuts as youngster Hayden Penn was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, along with Fredy Deza and Bob McCrory, according to Rock Kubatko. As well, Non-roster catcher Zach Dillon was reassigned to the minor league camp in Sarasota, Fla.The competition for the fifth starter is heating up, and Garrett Olson, who struggled in 2007, looked real good today throwing 3 scoreless innings in the Orioles' win against Minnesota. As well, Matt Albers is looking good.Peter Schmuck, a few days ago, pretty much wrote a piece that didn't put Daniel Cabrera in the best of light as his inconsistency and control problems have popped up once again. Yes, we all know th

So apparently tempers are flaring in spring training with the Yankees and the Rays. No it’s not a joke. Spring training. The fire started four days ago when a home plate collision injured one of the Yankees catching prospects. They didn’t really like that too much so in todays game Heath Phillips was ejected for hitting [...]

I can almost smell the freshly cut grass.  Looking out my window just now I can see that there are still several inches of snow that are covering the great state of Minnesota.  I won’t let that get me down.  Why you ask?  Let me tell you….  Yesterday I saw my first (of many) innings of [...]

The big talk of the O's possibly moving to Vero Beach's Dodgertown has been a topic of conversation and the Baltimore Sun has a few pieces up on their website about it.Dan Connolly believes that the Orioles need to move from Ft. Lauderdale to Vero Beach for a myriad of reasons, mainly to get the major and minor camps together (the camp is in Sarasota on the other side of the state); as well, Dodgertown has plenty of fields, amenities that Ft. Lauderdale does not have, and as well, get all the teams in one, centered location.Meanwhile, Roch Kuabtko has a piece also on Dodgertown; Peter Schmuck notes that the Reds might be going to Arizona, but the Orioles are not looking at Sarasota as an option if Vero Beach can't be done.***The devastating news from camp is that Troy Patton is out for the

The Flushing Faithful can stop panicking…sort of.Johan Santana and John Maine have shown improvement since their first starts of the spring. Most importantly they are healthy.Pedro Martinez should have taken the mound for the first time when the seven o’clock hour passes on Thursday night. Petey still suffers from foot pain but he was quoted by Newsday stating, "It still hurts. There are landings when I do feel it, but I have to put it away in my mind."Oliver Perez was shaky in his first start, but he too has his health.One who doesn’t have his health is Orlando Hernandez. El Duque has been working on his own to alter his delivery to avoid the pain caused by a bunion on his right foot.Thankfully, Mike Pelfrey has gotten off to a great start, shutting down the opposition and getting t

Finally, here are some Oriole pictures...Spring Training Photos - St. Louis Cardinals at Baltimore Orioles; March 4th, 2008Alas, I got front row seat action, as today a fellow fan gave my friend and I a comp ticket as we were looking to purchase some for the action Tuesday afternoon.Boy, did we get lucky today.Anyhow, the fellow who gave us the tickets also sang a wonderful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and got the crowd to join in.If have the opportunity to head down to Florida or Arizona for Spring Training - go. Whether you're staying for a few days, a week, or more, the atmosphere and fun of baseball before it all counts is a wonderful experience. For the most part, players are more open during this time of the year than any other.Plus, at the ball games, you meet an eclectic g

Spring Training - New York Yankees vs. Houston AstrosHere are photos of the Astros/Yankees game in Kissimmee, Florida this afternoon. After driving for a little more than three hours, I'm finally out of the car, an working on some stuff right now.Well, I'll be spending the rest of my time here watching the both Orioles and Nationals battle until Saturday. Right now, I'm at some swanky hotel paying quite a bit of money because I didn't reserve a room online or whatever before coming here. Granted, I am only five minutes from the ballpark, but I paid far more than I wanted.I'll be at the Cardinals vs. Orioles game Tuesday afternoon, and then the Nationals Dodgers game in the evening.Lots of driving, but I'll have more for you all tomorrow night. I'm beat, so I'll talk to you in the morning b

Some important take aways from the first televised spring training game of the yearAndy Pettitte apparently personally apologized to every team member, front office, person and media member for his involvement with steroids. I was not able to confirm if he apologized to the towel boy but my guess is he did. This is why we love Andy, he is a stand-up guy both with his actions and on the field. Jason Giambi looks good. He actually hit a ball to the left of CF. Giuseppie Franco is back. No sign of Gary Bussey but this man can't be stopped. I don't know if I can handle viewing this guy another 5,000 times. I have a full head of hair but am willing to buy a lifetime supply if they will just stop playing these damn commercials!Bruney struggled despite a new physique and a new attitude.

Yep, today, Red Sox Nation, are the 1st 2 games of the years, yes, only spring training games, and against college players no less but its an actual organized baseball game with a lineup card and innings and strikes and balls and outs…..and in less than a month, it will all matter! Whooo [...]

As everyone knows by now the Red Sox have come to terms with manager Terry Francona on a three-year extension that includes a two-year club option.  Absolutely no brainier.  Winning 2 World Series after a 86 year drought will get you that kind of extension.  Francona of course has his moments where I wonder what [...]

In case you missed it Pitchers and Catchers have reported for duty. We are now free from the Johan talk and soon (I hope) the Roger Clemens saga will quiet down. So we can now concetrate on actual baseball related items.Spring training is a great time of year when every player is filled with potential and we are reminded that spring is coming. The sight of players doing sprints, playing catch and taking BP fills me with joy. Its time to talk real baseball stories so lets take a look at the top story lines of the spring:Who will fill the Firstbase role?The canidates are Shelley Duncan, Morgan Ensberg, Wilson Betemit, Jason Giambi, Jason Lane, Hideki Matsui and maybe later in the season possibly Nick Johnson or Juan Miranda. Long on canidates, short on answers. I think you pencil Shelley Dun

With the Super Bowl behind us, it's now time for baseball season to get underway. Joe Girardi, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera give their early impressions at Spring Training from Madison Square Garden TV

One of my friends bragged me once about his experience of watching the New York Yankees for Spring Training session. He told me how he enjoyed baseball practice session and took a whole lot of autographs on his baseball and bat by his favorite players. As an avid sports fan, my friends and I have always wanted to get a hold of some Yankees Spring Training Schedule tickets. Imagine of having to see how these professional train themselves to do outstanding performance that they've always shown as in real matches. These trainings are the key foundation to success. We have always wanted to enjoy watching these players as they are real pros in their field, and we have always wondered what it took to get them in their top physical condition. So this season, we will try our best to go to New York Yankees for Spring Training. Don't envy us, you should join us!

000 Chicago Obamas 000 New York Needles 000 Houston Asterisks 000 Kansas City Clintons 000 Boston Red Kennedys 000 Arizona Diamondtracks 000 San Francisco Pharmacists 000 Baseball Player's... Some Puns. Mostly Politics. No Pardons. [This blog includes topical humor and satirical commentary that may not be suitable for some audiences. Parental discretion is advised.]

Always on the lookout for new, unique and interesting experiences to share with Z, I stumbled across one on the web today that hadn’t actually crossed my mind before. I’m pretty much anti-professional sports as my regular readers know, but have found baseball the most intriguing for most of my life. I have fond memories of my dad taking me to Candlestick park in San Francisco to see the San Francisco Giants play even if I usually found the games boring. So when I stumbled across a site offering Boston Red Sox Spring Training tickets I simply had to check it out. We could easily combine a unique spring training experience with a trip to Orlando for some serious coaster action as well. Now I just need to feel out Z on the idea of attending a baseball game and find out if she’s ever done so in the past. none

Florida is the best place for baseball fans to be during the Spring. Over a dozen Major League teams head to the sunshine state for their training camps. Throughout the month of March, the Boston Red Sox will be in Ft Myers playing other teams that are in the area. Now is the time to get your Spring Training Tickets for the Red Sox. The games are not yet sold out and you have your pick of some of the best seats in each ball park. I try to go to 2-3 games each year. Spring Training games are the best because you don’t have to fight the major crowds, the players are accessible and will come up to the fence to talk to the kids, and you can’t beat the weather. It really is a great time and a nice alternative to going to the beach or a theme park.

As a keenly enthusiastic sport fan—whether you are rooting on for specific competitive sports events such as the Super Bowl, NBA, WWE and especially the major league, it’s a cool stuff to seize the best seat in the house. Yeah! That’s precise folks you have to be right at the heat to where the action is to experience for sure the kick and the raucous cheers of the frenzied crowd in particular. And in the same way guys, we’re really pumped up if we’re able to really snag the San Francisco Giants Spring Training tickets and witness Barry Bonds struts once again his signature homer in the league.

John was so excited when he found out that the Chicago Cubs Cactus League tickets are now available for purchase at Team One® Tickets & Sports Tours. He said he always wished to attend one of these training but somehow something happened and he missed it. He said his friends attended before and all were very happy on the seats given. They can see everything so clearly as the action was just in front of their seats.Are you a fan of these spring training too? If yes, you should act fast to grab your Chicago Cubs Spring Training Tickets before it's sold out!*This is a sponsored post*

  March 19, 2007 Spring Training- Yankees vs BlueJays at Dunedin Florida Thanks to Kat O’Brien of Newsday for the posting the lineups.     Yankees Johnny Damon DH Melky Cabrera CF Robinson Cano 2B Alex Rodriguez 3B Doug Mientkiewicz 1B Todd Pratt C Bronson Sardinha RF Chris Basak SS Miguel Cairo LF P Josh Karstens Blue Jays lineup The internet is in and out here, so I’m rewriting the last blog entry which was lost during an out moment. Blue Jays’ lineup (it’s now starting the second inning) Reed Johsnon LF Lyle Overbay 1B Vernon Wells CF Frank Thomas DH Troy Glaus 3B Alex Rios RF Gregg Zaun C Aaron Hill 2B Royce Clayton SS P Tomo Ohka

Nate Robertson pitched five sharp innings Sunday, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-0 victory over Tampa Bay in a split-squad game. The left-hander limited the Devil Rays to a pair of singles while reducing his ERA to 0.73 through four spring starts. He struck out four and walked one. "You have to be careful in spring training not to put a lot of stock into when somebody does good," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said, "but he's throwing the ball extremely well." Robertson was most pleased with his efficiency, which enabled him to put in more work in the bullpen before calling it a day. "As long as I'm not going deep in counts and issuing free passes," he said, "and keeping my pitch count down -- those are all good things." Last season, Robertson posted career bests with 13 wins and 208 2-3 innings to help the Tigers win the AL pennant. Pitching coach Chuck Hernandez attributes the improvement to experience. "He came a long way in one year, I think more than anything from the mental asp

Well, I caught my first game in Florida today as I caught the New York Yankees versus the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater on a cool, blustery day. New friends were made, and people were psyched for their heroes on the diamond as they prepare for the 2007 season. Most of the Phillies regulars played today, while Yankee stars Derek Jeter, Hideki Mastui, Andy Pettitte, Carl Pavano, Jorge Posada & Jason Giambi saw action while Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, and Johnny Damon did not come on the trip. The Phillies won 3-2, and Andy Pettitte looked sharp and Jamie Moyer had a solid outing. Carl Pavano got hit hard by the Phillies and was victim of a huge error by third baseman Andy Phillips today. In the end, it is only spring training; however, it was good to see the stars of today in Florida getting ready for action in April.

I got the content for this post from a reader, Bill Corwin from North Carolina who attended the Nationals and Orioles Grapefruit League game in Florida on Saturday. Below is a write up of the game and his reflections.Thanks for the post & the support, Bill!Just wanted to give you a quick rundown on Saturday’s Orioles vs. Nationals game. There was a solid contingent of Orioles fans at Space Coast Stadium. And despite comments like “The O’s fans have zeros on their caps!” The Nats fans couldn’t muster much of a cheer.Sadly, the Nats were facing the O’s B-team since stars Tejada, Mora, Roberts, Ramon Hernandez, and Jay Gibbons didn’t make the bus trip. Daniel Cabrera was overwhelming and looked very sharp. The Nats he faced seemed helpless against his fastball.It was also great to see the return of John Parrish, who looked very good against 3 Nationals batters. The stadium had no speed gun display, so I can only guess at how fast the O’s pitchers threw. Freddie Bynu

It’s time for the Monday jog around spring training camps in MLB. Mike Timlin’s sister is walking across country to raise money for ALS. Al Reyes has recovered from elbow surgery and is hoping to catch on in Tampa. Orioles coach Tom Trebelhorn is missing time at camp to be with his ailing wife. Jeff Samardzija tells us why he gave up a shot at the NFL to play baseball. Billy Butler won a home run derby contest at Surprise Stadium on Sunday. The Lowell Spinners will be giving away stepstools with David Eckstein’s likeness on them. Giambi gets pumped up. Seems there’s a litle competition for the utilty job in Cleveland. The Padres are working with the “Buddy System“. Todd Helton has put on a little weight this season. Is Joe Guillen really the “devil”? A few Marlins relievers are sticking out like sore thumbs in camp. Former Red Sox, Trot Nixon isn’t really in a hurry. Michael Young likely to get a contract extension. Lance Berkman a

Here is a look at the rest of the happenings from the Red Sox spring training in Ft. Myers on Saturday. First off, I’d like to start off the segment with the fact that I was disappointed that the Boston Globe’s Red Sox blog, Extra Bases, was not updated on Saturday. Even Eric Wilbur’s Boston Sports Blog, which says it is updated daily, hasn’t been updated since February 20th. If you say you are going to provide daily updates, you should do just that. Extra Bases is usually a good source of information pretty much as it happens at Camp Matsuzaka. I even went as far as emailing Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe to see why there were no updates today but I haven’t heard back from her. She has been good in the past at answering emails. Maybe Gordon Edes, who doesn’t like bloggers, told her to stop answering fan emails. So as we go along in the updates, you won’t be seeing anything from Extra Bases used here in this post. And now its off to the ne

Here is a look at the rest of the news out of spring training on Friday at the Red Sox camp in Ft. Myers. We got most of the big news out of the way earlier so we will take a look at things a little different. Image from the Boston Globe. Jeff Horrigan has a nice article about the other Japanese import, Hideki Okajima. Even though much of the focus has been on Daisuke Matsuzaka, pitching coach John Farrell said the Red Sox other Japanese pitcher, Hideki Okajima, also could end up playing an invaluable role on the revamped staff. Okajima, who signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract after going 2-2 with a 2.14 ERA in 55 relief appearances for the Nippon Ham Fighters, is expected to join J.C. Romero as one of two left-handed relievers in the Red Sox bullpen. The 31-year-old Okajima, who has impressed so far with his command of the fastball and breaking pitches, is expected to face hitters for the first time in batting practice during today's workout. I would have to think that he

Here is your daily dose of Red Sox spring training news from Wednesday. J.D. Drew is in town. He actually arrived late last night and took part in the workout today. Drew met with the media after the workouts and was asked how he thought his shoulder would hold up: "Absolutely," he said when asked if his shoulder would hold up throughout that time. "I've been in a situation over the last three years where I've changed some things in the way I kind of manage myself off the field and that's really paid off. He was also asked about his relationship with Curt Schilling. Schilling was a member of the Phillies when J.D. Drew was originally drafted by them in 1997. Drew had wanted $10 million dollars to sign but the Phillies never met the offer and Drew was signed and drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals the following year. Schilling had asked the Phillies fans to boo Drew when he came to town. They did that and as Philly fans would took it to another level. They threw the kitche

Here is a some news out of the Boston Red Sox spring training from Sunday and Monday. New Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo arrived to camp on Monday, a day ahead of schedule. The official reporting day for Sox position players was Tuesday (Collective Bargaining Agreement states the latest a player can arrive is March 1st). If you’d like to listen to what Lugo had to say to the media, you can listen below. Loading... When asked about Manny Ramirez arriving to camp on March 1st, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he was not going to say anything. He hadn’t talked to Manny and wasn’t going to speculate on anything. Smart move Francona. It’s best to have the facts before making a comment. The following pitchers threw in the bullpen on Monday: Manny Delcarmen, Julian Tavarez, Brendan Donnelly, Joel Piñiero, J.C. Romero, Runelvys Hernandez, Craig Breslow, Craig Hansen, and Javier Lopez. All but Timlin and Tavarez were heard popping the mitts of the catchers. Kevin Youki

Here is some Boston Red Sox news out of spring training from Sunday. In a television interview with Dan Roche of WBZ-TV, Julian Tavarez stated that Manny Ramirez will not be reporting to camp until March 1st so that he can be with his ailing mother. A couple of days ago, Manny’s agent had said that his client had planned to report to camp on time with the position players on the 21st. A bunch of the Red Sox pitchers threw in the bullpen on Sunday and the popping noise that was heard was Daisuke Matsuzaka popping the glove of Jason Varitek. Manager Terry Francona told pitching coach John Farrell to have the guys not throw as hard because he was afraid they were ahead of where they should be. When asked about his velocity, Matsuzaka said he was only throwing 60-70% of what he normally would. I have been around baseball for a long time, and when someone is popping the glove, they are throwing cheddar. So if he is saying that he was only throwing 60-70%, does that mean his fastball i

Here is your daily Matsuzaka update at spring training in Ft. Myers. There is no news. According to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe, the following players were in camp today: Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, Lenny DiNardo, Kason Gabbard, Devern Hansack, David Murphy, David Pauley, Chad Spann, Abe Alvarez, Craig Breslow, Dusty Brown, Travis Hughes, Kyle Jackson, George Kottaras, Edgar Martinez, Javier Lopez, and Mike Burns. Beckett made a brief appearance before heading over to Daytona for the press conference announcing the deal between Fenway Sports Group and Roush Racing. The timing of this is oddly strange as one of Roush’s driver’s crew chief, Robbie Reiser, was suspended for four races. It is now believed the deal is worth around $60 million. Here is a tidbit of information that comes to me from Metschick, a fellow Deadspin commenter. Papelbon regaled reporters with tales of duck hunting last month with

Apparently, the Orioles are keeping their spring traning home in Fort Lauderdale after all according to the AP. The city and the O's agreed to terms to renovate Fort Lauderdale Stadium and to replace the adjacent Lockhart Stadium with practice diamonds and soccer fields. Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-os1222,0,5729146.story?coll=bal-sports-headlines

This morning, the Sports section of the local paper had a Spring Training preview. It was a sight for sore eyes, to be sure. Last season ended with such a whimper I wondered if it was the end of baseball.On the grand scale, the 2006 World Series was pathetic. The St. Louis Cardinals, only one game above .500 last year, should never have been allowed in the playoffs -- and they end up winning the World Series. And the Detroit Tigers made so many errors you started wondering if Bill Buckner was one of their coaches.On the local scale, our home team, the Texas Rangers, crawled over the finish line. The manager they had hired to make something out of this team -- Buck Showalter -- was canned. They lost one of their top players, Gary Mathews Jr., to a rival, the Angels. And the youngest GM in all of baseball couldn't seem to close the deal on any major player to improve this team.Yet, the realizing that spring training is less than two weeks away is cause for rejoicing. I often tell my old

Alexandria alum Jeremy Accardo will be in the Toronto bullpen this year after spending a few years in the Giants system. Former Brainerd OF TJ Bohn has a chance to be the Braves fifth outfielder this season after spending 5 years in the Seattle organization. Joe Bisenius could wind up in the Phillies bullpen this year after being an all-star for Duluth in 2003. The first Mallard to reach the majors OF Ryan Spilborghs will try to stay in the Rockies outfield this season. Former Mankato 1B Paul McAnulty might break through as a bench player in San Diego. Rochester alum Brent Dlugach was invited to spring training by Detroit, but will probably be the starting SS in Double-A Erie .

Lefty Tom Gorzelanny , a River Bat in 2001 is in the mix for the Pirates rotation . Former Waterloo Buck catcher Tim Gradoville is in Phillies camp after missing time last year with a broken jaw. Wisconsin alum Ben Zobrist is a candidate to start at SS for Tampa Bay . Another former Woodchuck Pat Neshek looks to follow up on an excellent rookie campaign. He also has a website you should check out.

{mosgoogle right}TUCSON, Arizona (AP) -- A swarm of fans six deep crowded around the screen that separated Ichiro Suzuki from the grandstand."That was amazing!" a teenage boy gasped when Seattle's perennial Major League Baseball All-Star finished an impromptu autograph session.Suzuki spent 10 minutes exchanging balls and photos through a small opening atop a gate one hour before Tuesday's game against Colorado. Eight rows above that scene, in Section N, an elderly woman [...]