Spring Training

Encarnacion strikes out. First strike out of Spring Training.

There you have it, the first taste of baseball for Minnesota Twins fans. Not a lot of action, but it was good to see Scott Baker continually get the first pitch over for a strike. That's something the Twins coaching staff emphasizes,  and it sure would be nice to see that be a trend for baker and the entire pitching staff. First pitch strikes keep the game moving along, help keep pitching counts down, and keep the fielders on their toes.

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kid.  A once starter that will now be the Cubs closer, even though it is yet to be decided in Spring Training, he will become one of the most dominating closers in Cubs history.  His has the pitches and the potential to close out at least 45 games and have an ERA of 2.50.  It will be a different transition for him, but he probably owes it to the fans and the organization for not giving up on him. 

Continue reading "Carlos Zambrano Injured!!!"

After having 120 different lineups last season,  Sweet Lou Piniella wants to find the right combination during spring training.  His latest idea is probably one of the best he has came up with since juggling everyone around.  Lou suggested Fukudome would bat third, followed by Lee and Ramirez.  The whole lineup would probably look like this:  Soriano, Theirot, Fukudome, Lee, Ramirez, Derosa, Soto, and Pie.  It is a great combination of speed at the top and power in the middle.  "I've been thinking about our lineup and what makes sense and what we can try," Piniella said Friday. "Let me warn you, it's only Feb. 22, so there's plenty of time to adjust this thing."

Continue reading "POTENTIAL 3,4,5 HITTERS: FUKUDOME, LEE, RAMIREZ"

When I got up this morning, it was ten below zero in Minneapolis. At about the same time, pitchers and catchers at the Twins spring training camp in Florida were getting ready for their second day of workouts.

Continue reading "In Baseball, Spring Is Already Here"

ber he had arthroscopic surgery on the knee to clean it out and is expected to fully participate in Spring Training. Certainly the Boston medical staff will keep and eye on him and make sure he doesn’t reaggravate the knee. The is little doubt Ortiz will be ready for opening day, but will it take some time before the power returns to the level to which we have become accustomed?

Continue reading "Boston Red Sox Spring Training Stories To Follow"

For baseball fans, one of the sure signs of Spring is the start of Spring Training. We mayb not have much in the way of signs of Spring right now, but there were a couple of news items over the weekend that show that

Continue reading "Signs Of Spring Training"