"Clearly, they can't see it, they can't hit it, they can't even find it, because Chapman is heading for the most dominating season by any relief pitcher in the history of relief pitching..."It's almost become second nature now, I've heard it discussed so often," Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Rumblings. "But I like it. It creates interest in our club, and that's all good. Everybody has a theory on it. Everybody has an opinion."

That "everybody" includes the general manager, of course, not to mention Chapman himself. And their unanimous opinion is that some day -- very likely as soon as next season -- Chapman is going to morph into a starter.

"It won't be this year, obviously," Jocketty said. "But he would like to start. His preference has always been to start."

Does this mean that Willis can opt for free agency, or does he have to go to AAA?

Shouldn't the Reds be interested?

Do you prefer Clay Zavada, Jeff Francis, Aroldis Chapman or someone else in the pen?

so sez teh Fey

UPDATE: The extension is worth $16.5 million, with $2m in bonuses each year ($1m for games finished, $1m for games stared, which is a bit odd). The deal is steep but fair for a premiere setup man, but I'd bet we have ourselves a cheap closer for 2013-15.
-Weez

Roy Halladay rescues Amazon native after anaconda attack

On a recent fishing expedition to Brazil with buddy Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals (and former major league closer B.J. Ryan), the Good Doctor helped to rescue a local fisherman who had been wounded by — gulp — an anaconda.

Best part:

You also might be wondering: Where in the world was Carpenter while all of this was going on? Was he like Marlin Perkins chilling in tent while Jim Fowler wrestled tigers out in the bush on "Wild Kingdom"? Not quite. Now, don't get too excited by this, Cards fans, but Carpenter injured his toe on the trip, banging it on the side of the boat. He also caught some nice fish — apparently everyone did — and he shot a caiman (a cousin to the American Alligator). Shot it. Take note, Nyjer Morgan!

Small-market, low-revenue teams to get chance at extra picks...

Wanna see what Petey does? It's pretty sweet.

Theres' no such thing as a free breakfast. In the end, this guy was told to pay $237 tax on the eight donuts he collected from the prize.

This story features an unrelated picture of Paul O'Neill with a donut on a plate. Good times.

Hit-and-Run Car Accident Causes Critical Injury

Recently-retired Major League Baseball player Jim Edmonds was critically injured in a Los Angeles car accident, which officials say, involved a hit-and-run driver. According to a City News Service report, the major injury collision occurred on Victory Boulevard near Fulton Avenue the night of March 31, 2011. Officials say a dark colored sedan was heading west on Victory Boulevard when it struck a man who was walking on the street. Officials are still looking into whether the man was attempting to cross the street or walking along the side of the roadway. He was apparently a few feet away from the crosswalk. The driver left the scene. No further description of the suspect or vehicle is available. Anyone with information about this accident is asked to contact LAPD at 818-644-8000.

My heart goes out to the critically injured victim of this hit-and-run car accident, who is apparently fighting for his life. I pray that he makes it through these injuries and goes on to make a complete recovery. He and his family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Leaving the Scene of a Car Accident

Based on this news report, the dark colored sedan struck the pedestrian. The driver did not even stop to look at what happened. He or she simply sped away from the scene leaving the severely injured Edmonds lying on the roadway.

California Vehicle Code Section 20001 (a) states: "The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to a person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of a person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident."

If you have any information about this incident, the driver or the suspect vehicle, please visit our dedicated hit-and-run website at www.hitandrunreward.com to find out how you can leave an anonymous tip and become eligible to receive a $1,000 reward. This website is a part of our effort to partner with the community and hold these hit-and-run drivers accountable.

Pedestrian Accidents

According to California Highway Patrol's 2008 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) 104 people died and 2,716 were injured in pedestrian accidents in Los Angeles. Also, countywide, pedestrian accidents claimed 214 lives and injured 4,985 people during the same year.

Really silly old people being really old and silly

Consequences of Cueto injury?

This is a development that could create some havoc with the Reds rotation. Johnny Cueto left his Saturday start vs. the Rockies after only one inning. Cueto was supposed to throw 50-60 pitches over 3-4 innings.

You may recall that Cueto exited his March 11 vs. TEX after two innings because of stiffness in his forearm and biceps. After a couple of days off and having his next start pushed back, he has been long tossing.

In his one inning, Cueto allowed two earned runs and three hits with no walks and one strikeout. He hit leadoff batter Seth Smith before giving up three-straight singles and a one-out sacrifice fly.

Cueto exited the ballpark to see a doctor and said he would speak later.

The Michael Young saga went public for the first time Monday, though neither Texas Rangers officials nor the six-time All-Star described how they got to the point where a trade appears to be the only way to resolve their differences.

Rotowire (subscription) says:
Young requested a trade several years back when he was asked to move to third base for Elvis Andrus, but this request seems to have more bite to it. Texas management has indicated that would attempt to accommodate Young's request, but Young's contract allows him to be dealt to just eight teams (St. Louis, Minnesota, Houston, Colorado, San Diego, Yankees, Angels and Dodgers) which will make finding a trade partner more difficult.

Clayton poured himself into the part, and spent several weeks cultivating a Spanish accent in an attempt to make the character believable.

"The guys found it hilarious," Clayton said. "I'd come in every day for two months saying, 'Hey you guys. We gonna win to-day!' and all this other good stuff in the same [Latin] accent."

Here's the main body:

Deal the Cards: An unhappy ending to the Cardinals' once-promising season is right over the horizon. But there are forces at work that make it tough to look at what happened to this team as just One of Those Years.

"I look at that team, and I don't get it," said one NL exec. "At the end of the day, they've got two aces in the rotation [Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright] and a third guy [Jaime Garcia] who could be the rookie of the year. They have the best player in the game [that Albert Pujols dude]. … And it's hard to find a better group in the 3-4-5 holes than Pujols, [Matt] Holliday and [Colby] Rasmus. They haven't had their key guys hurt. So they're just not clicking on all cylinders, and I'm not sure why. I don't get it."

What makes this troublesome is that this is going to be the structure of the team for years to come, assuming they give Pujols his $300 million to stick around. He, Holliday, Carpenter, Wainwright and Garcia would then be signed, and in place to serve as the core of this team, through at least 2012.

So considering that just those core players could be raking in close to $80 million a year by 2012 among the five of them, the best description the same exec could come up with for this roster template -- especially for a franchise with a 2010 Opening Day payroll of $93.5 million -- is "top-heavy."

"If you're locked in at those dollars for those guys, you've got to win with that," he said, "because it's going to be them and a surrounding cast built with a lot of low-dollar guys. So you're at the mercy of those guys performing and staying healthy -- because if they go down or don't perform, you can't replace them."