I saw this while reading fantasy baseball news and thought other Sox fans might like to hear how our buddy Anthony Rizzo is doing down on the San Diego farm

San Diego’s top hitting prospect leads all of Triple-A in Total Bases, thanks to a .420 BA and a league-high 6 HRs in the hitter-friendly PCL. His ETA in San Diego has become a hot topic of late, especially since the Padres first base platoon has generated a .313 average – that’s OPS (.151 OBP + .163 SLG), by the way. Perhaps if the Padres were contending, it would be reasonable to believe Rizzo could get a call in the next week or two. But, with the team sitting in the basement in the NL West, it’s no surprise that Pads GM Jed Hoyer is offering us the classic “not ready” excuse that we all know is really code for, “He’ll be here as soon as service time is not an issue.” Said Hoyer, “We talk to our coaches and scouts every day and they love the way he’s playing. But Anthony’s not a finished product … We want to bring him up here when he has the absolute best chance to succeed.” Rizzo’s Tucson manager Terry Kennedy doesn’t seem to be quite in step with the company line, saying, “If he’s not there in a month, something’s wrong.” What Kennedy should have said was, “If he’s not there in 5-6 weeks, something’s wrong.” Rizzo is owned in less than one percent of Y! leagues. He’s a power-to-all-fields, work-the-count type, but enthusiasm should be tempered given Petco’s tough hitting environment and Rizzo’s limited experience above Single-A (less than 500 ABs). Think about him (in late May) if the Freeman/Smoak/LaPorta contingent are already spoken for in your league.

-- Brandon Funston, Yahoo! fantasy baseball

I'll be rooting for him.

Jayson Werth has signed a 7 year, $126 million dollar contract with the Washington Nationals. GM Mike Rizzo had this to say about the development:

"It kind of exemplifies phase two of the Washington Nationals' process," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "Phase one was scouting and player development, building the farm system. ... Now it's the time to go to the second phase and really compete for division titles and championships."

However, I'm forced to agree with new Mets GM, Sandy Alderson.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson seemed to think Werth got the better end of the deal.

"It makes some of our contracts look pretty good," Alderson said. "That's a long time and a lot of money. I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington."

This is a very long contract for a 31 year-old outfielder who has enjoyed the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Parks for the past several years. Werth is represented by Scott Boras, who earned a very big paycheck today.

“I try not to listen to Tito, DeMarlo, or any of our coaches. I don’t want to get dumber’’

That was in regards to not knowing the ground rules of The Trop, where a Pedroia-hit ball caught on a loudspeaker.

I thought this was an interesting quote from Beckett. He's obviously fired up.

"The one thing I think we all have is not everybody has is that we've all been through this before," he said. "Again, like I was telling Jonny [Lester], don't let the past dictate your future. Just because somebody says, 'Oh well, he has bad Aprils.' (Expletive) that. What do you mean you're a slow starter. (Expletive) that. Don't start slow. I'm not picking on Jonny, I just know what I hear and things that I see and it's not OK. I'm in the same situation. (Wednesday) I pitched like (expletive). The same guy who went through and got nine straight outs is the same guy that gave up the four runs and three runs. How do you do that? That's not living in the moment. That's getting too far ahead of yourself. That's doing the things that aren't going to make you successful.

Indeed, the guys who have been struggling so far have had several innings of good work. In between coughing up 7 runs, Beckett did retire 9 straight. That's the guy we need to see on regular basis. What the Sox' starting 5 have failed to do is string those innings together throughout a start. I'm sure the Red Sox rotation will return to form, and probably quickly. Questions about our lineup will remain, but secret to winning games is quite simple: just score more runs than the other team.

"You deal with a different way of life down here, man,’’ he said. "It was like I was pitching in Zombieland. It was different, and then the first two guys I faced, I don’t think their combined height was 6 feet. How am I supposed to throw a strike to these dudes? There was a reason I did everything I could to get out of the minor leagues.’’

I got a kick out of that quote and felt I had to share it. Good thing he doesn't have to pitch to Pedroia on a regular basis or he'd really be pissed. Way to go, Paps. Stay classy.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Red Sox have offered starting pitcher Josh Beckett a 4-year deal worth roughly $16.5M annually. It's rumored the the total value of the deal will be worth between $65–70M. Beckett is in the last year of a 3-year, $30M deal.

Although Josh Beckett can no longer be considered the true Ace of the staff—that title belongs to Jon Lester—his peripherals suggest a consistency that belies his year-to-year ERA. 2009 saw Beckett post 20 Quality Starts with 199 Ks over 212.2 innings. Here are some numbers from at his past three seasons:

2007 – (200.2 IP) 8.70 K/9 1.79 BB/9 3.27 ERA 3.08 FIP 3.43 xFIP 6.5 WAR
2008 – (174.1 IP) 8.88 K/9 1.76 BB/9 4.03 ERA 3.24 FIP 3.24 xFIP 5.0 WAR
2009 – (212.1 IP) 8.43 K/9 2.42 BB/9 3.86 ERA 3.63 FIP 3.35 xFIP 5.3 WAR

As OverTheMonster member Drugs Delaney points out, only CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, and Josh Beckett have been 5.0+ WAR pitchers in each of the last three seasons. It's virtually impossible to find that caliber of pitcher on the free market, and costs an organization's best prospects via a trade. This looks like a wise investment for the cash-rich Red Sox. (For more on the John Lackey vs. Josh Beckett debate, click here.)

According to WEEI's Rob Bradford, the Red Sox and Jonathan Papelbon might have reached an agreement in principle for $9.35 meeellion dollars. Link.

Reaching an agreement with Papelbon an avoiding arbitration was one of the Red Sox biggest challenges this offseason. Papelbon has never been shy about discussing his salary goals, and this one-year deal makes him the highest paid reliever in history with only four years of service time. As for the Red Sox, it's no bargain but they're getting their money's worth in one of the best relievers in the league. Time will tell if Boston will pony up even bigger bucks to do a multi-year deal with the fireballer, but at least we'll be able to enjoy another year of dominating performances from Papelbon.

The Red Sox have reportedly designated John Smoltz for assignment. This has been reported by Terry Francona on a WEEI interview and by Amalie Benjamin via Twitter.

John Smoltz was apparently upset by the move and left the team without cleaning out his locker.

I'm personally a bit surprised by the move. I expected the Sox to try Smoltz in the bullpen before cutting bait. No word yet on who will take the hill on Tuesday, but it'll be Michael Bowden's turn in Pawtucket. He's my guess.

Other news and rumors: Red Sox claimed Chris Woodward off waivers from Seattle as a warm body. This adds fire to the speculation that Jed Lowrie may be headed back to the DL with more wrist/forearm issues. Woodward is not much more than a warm body.

Sweep time!

Mikey Lowell has the evening off to contemplate the meaning of life, and a surging BIG PAPI oils up his fielding mitt to man 1B for the Olde Towne Team. Yooouk is sliding over to 3B for the first game in the series.

Several sources (LA Times, ESPN) are reporting that evidence continues to mount in support of Manny Ramirez' alleged use of performance enhancing drugs. His testosterone-to-epitestosterone levels were 4:1, the lowest level that MLB considers to be abnormal.

Looks like Manny was a little sloppy and just barely failed the drug test.

One source quoted in the LA Times reported that the elevated ratios were caused by synthetic testosterone. Additionally, hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), the substance that Manny had a prescription for, was absent from Manny's test. Those facts, combined with the league's action seems to support the allegations.

I've always been a Manny apologist, but it's tough to continue to support the beleaguered slugger. I'm convinced that Manny cheated. The question now is for how long? Perhaps the bigger question for baseball: is it coincidence that Scott Boras' clients seem to be the most frequently implicated and caught?

Additional details from the forthcoming book on Alex Rodriguez by Sports Illustrated's Selena Roberts have been leaked by the New York Daily News. Roberts alleges that Rogriguez used steroids and/or HGH dating back to high school and during his Yankee career. Here's a tasty morsel:

Roberts broke the story that A-Rod failed a steroid test in 2003. Yankees teammates, Roberts writes, nicknamed Rodriguez "B-tch T-ts" in 2005 because he put on 15 pounds in the offseason which included round pectorals, a condition called gynecomastia that can be caused by anabolic steroids.

2005 was A-Rod's second year with the Yankees.

José Canseco, a former teammate of Rodriguez, concurs, speculating that A-Rod juiced in high school.

"Was he on steroids in high school?" Canseco said in the book, the Daily News reported. "I think probably so. I worked out with him when he was 18. He could lift almost as much as I could."

While that offers no empirical evidence it is peculiar that Rodriguez, at 18 years of age, could lift nearly as much as an admitted steroid user in the midst of his professional career.

The Daily News also alleges that Alex Rodriguez "pitch tipped" when he played for the Rangers by letting opponents at the plate know which pitch was coming in lopsided games. A-Rod allegedly expected players he helped would return the favor when he was having an off night and needed to improve his overall numbers.

If this is true, A-Rod could (and should) become one of the game's most reviled players. And if this is true, A-Rod should be black-balled from the Hall Of Fame no matter what his career numbers are.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

The problem plaguing Jed Lowrie's left wrist was damaged cartilage. Although there's no word on the precise injury or severity, Lowrie underwent surgery yesterday in Arizona to repair the damage. This is the best option for the Red Sox and should ensure that Lowrie is healthy and productive for the remainder of the season.

"Everything that was done today puts him on track to start swinging the bat in six weeks, which is what the hope was when this came up," Boston manager Terry Francona said.

Expect Lowrie to need some minor league starts to get back up to speed. I put the over-under for his return to the BoSox at 8 weeks.

Per the Associated Press, Nick Green is batting .240 through eight games as Lowrie's replacement. Shortstop Julio Lugo, recovering from right knee surgery, planned to begin a rehabilitation stint Tuesday at Triple-A Pawtucket but the game was rained out.

If the Red Sox bats can continue to hit as they have the past few games, I don't expect we'll be overly inconvenienced by Lowrie's absence. In fact, it would be helpful to see if Lugo has anything to offer the Sox or another team when he's finished with his rehab starts.

The Baltimore Orioles. A once-proud franchise that was a powerhouse in mid-sixties and early seventies, they've fallen on hard times and bad management. Growing up, the only reason to root for the Orioles was Cal Ripken, Jr. That, folks, is changing.

The birds still need a lot of help on the pitching end of things, but they have an extremely underrated line-up with a lot of young talent. NIck Markakis and youngster Adam Jones are going to fixtures in Camden Yards for a long time to come. They, along with Aubrey Huff and Brian Roberts have proven to be a formidible challenge for opposing pitchers this season. The Orioles should score a lot of runs this season.

Mark Hendrickson, Jeremie Guthrie, Alfredo Simon, Koji Uehara, Adam Eaton. This is not a rotation that's going to help the birds win. The Orioles really need to secure some pitching talent in order to compete in the AL East.

Baltimore's bullpen can be shaky at times, but I'm a believer in Chris Ray and George Sherrill over the long term.

So how do the Red Sox' chances look for the upcoming series? It's hard to say. Our own pitching staff is wounded and depleted and the O's have a hot line-up. I'm glad that the Olde Towne Team got a day off and is returning home to the Friendly Fenway. With any luck, that'll get the bats going again.

Strengths

The Orioles have a formidable line-up that shouldn't be underestimated. They hit for decent power and run the bases very well. Keep an eye on Adam Jones this season, and you could see numbers very similar to Shane Victorino in Philadelphia. Markakis is a special player.

Weaknesses

You can never have too much pitching, and the Orioles have virtually nothing to begin with.

The Orioles' Keys to 2009 Success

Frankly, I don't think the Orioles stand a chance of doing very well in 2009. They have a good line-up, but it's not as strong as the Red Sox or Yankees in years past to mash without decent pitching to back it up. The Orioles future is looking brighter, but they need to groom and spend wisely on top-shelf pitching.

How the Red Sox can beat them

Shell the Orioles' starters and wear out the bullpen. The Orioles can beat anyone on a given day, but they can't match up in a long series.

***

For more in-depth Orioles coverage, check out Camden Chat.

***

Josh Beckett was suspended for 6 games today for allegedly throwing a head-high pitch at the Angels' Bobby Abreu. Bob Watson, who handed out today's suspensions on behalf of MLB, said that Beckett will also be fined an undisclosed amount of money. The severity of the discipline was due to "aggressive actions after the pitch that incited the bench-clearing incidient," according to Watson.

What a load of horse-crap.

Beckett went on record after the game by saying that the pitch was unintentional and a result of the late timeout by the umpire.

"I've never hit anybody in the head, and it's not really on my list of stuff to accomplish. But people can think what they want to think," Beckett said after Sunday's game. "I know Bobby Abreu. He knows I'm not trying to hit him in the head. Obviously, there's been a lot of emotion in this series with them -- not only facing us, but obviously the tragedy that all of them went through."

I have no reason not to believe Josh Beckett, and it's easy to imagine how a pitcher could lose command due to a late timeout. ESPN reported that Beckett was in the middle of his throwing motion when the timeout was granted by the umpire.

After the wild pitch, there was jawing from all sides. At this time it's not known who said what to whom, but perhaps that factored into the decision. In all, this isn't a major blow to the Red Sox. Josh Beckett will miss only one start, assuming the suspension is not reduced upon appeal.

Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher was suspended one game and fined. Manager Mike Scioscia and players Torii Hunter and Justin Speier were fined, but not suspended.

Nick Swisher closed out the Tampa Bay blowout of the New York Yankees yesterday by pitching a scoreless inning. He allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out our old friend Gabe Kapler (for shame, Gabe!)

In other news, Nick Swisher may be a zombie:

After the game Nick Swisher commented on his scoreless inning, "Brraaiiiins."

Editor's Note: Please visit OTM's sister site HalosHeaven.com for Angels coverage.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem and Greater California have won 100, 94, and 89 games in the past 3 seasons. They've been a model of success, despite some very questionable free agent signings and a penchant for center fielders. The Angels' success can be attributed in large part to stout pitching, both in the rotation and out of the bullpen.

In 2008 the Halos thumped the Red Sox 8 games to 1 during the regular season. Yet each year Halos fall flat in the playoffs, often as a result of an anemic offense. Angels' management tried to rectify that last year by trading for rent-a-slugger, Mark Teixeira, sending Casey Kotchman and prospect Stephen Marek to Atlanta.

Big Tex helped power the Angels into the playoffs and delivered during the playoffs, batting .467/.550/.467 against the Red Sox in the ALDS. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to put the Red Sox away. Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar posted OPSs under .240 and made costly errors at inopportune moments. And who can forget this particular gem?

The Angels look a little different in 2009. The outfield resembles a normal 5-man depth chart, with Hunter, Abreu, and Vlad Guerrero starting; disenchanted Gary Matthews, Jr. is the 4th man and the ever-scrappy Reggie Willits is their utility outfielder; Juan Rivera acts as the usual DH. The biggest deficiency on this team is the absense of power hitters at the corner infield spots. Speedy swiss-army knife Chone (pronounced: "Sean") Figgins mans 3B while youngster Kendry Morales is the first-sacker.

On the pitching end, drama-queen Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez took the money and ran to New York's AAAA Squad. Can Brian Fuentes close with the same effectiveness? The initial results are not favorable, but most pro relievers can shut down the other team for 3 outs given a few runs of wiggle-room. The guys to watch are Scott Shields--can he continue to be effective?--and José Arredondo.

As we enter the first Red Sox vs. Angels series of 2009, can the Red Sox take advantage of a banged-up rotation? The Halos top 3, John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Ervin Santana, are all stuck on the DL with various injuries.

Strengths

The Angel's main strength is their pitching, though you wouldn't know it from the opening day roster. John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, and Ervin Santana are all sidelined with various ailments, but schedule to return around the beginning of May. Slot those guys into the 1-3 slots with Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders and you have an excellent staff. Mike "suicide squeeze" Scioscia also has a pretty good bullpen with Fuentes, Shields, and Arrendondo holding down the back of the 'pen, but they fall short of being dominant as the last series demonstrated. Speier had an off year in 2008, but is typically a very good reliever. Darren Oliver will be the situational lefty. Jespen rounds out the 'pen with a whopping 10 MLB appearances.

Los Angeles also benefits from playing in a weak division. The A's and Mariners shouldn't pose a problem for the Angels. The main competition will come from Texas, especially if the Rangers can unload some of their catching talent for an upgrade to their starting rotation.

Weaknesses

The Halos line-up suffered a big hit with the departure of Mark Teixeira who was the Angels' version of Manny Ramirez last year, batting .358/.449/.632. They once again will depend on Vlad Guerrero, aged 34, for the majority of their production. The addition of Bobby Abreu will help somewhat, to the detriment of the outfield defense.

Angels' Keys to Success in 2009

Health. The front of the rotation starters have to return healthy and effective, or the Halos don't have a snowball's chance in hell. Howie Kendrick also needs to stay healthy and provide the Angels with a patient, high-OBP bat to set up the middle of the line-up. Improvement by Rivera--who has never received the playtime he deserves--would certainly help.

How the Sox Can Beat Them

The Red Sox can out hit the Angels, plain and simple. We need to stay patient against the starters and try to get to the bullpen, which the Sox have the talent to thump. The Angel's depleted rotation will likely be the Halo's achilles heel this series.

***

Finally, Over the Monster would like to again offer its deepest condolences to the Adenhart family and Angels organization. Nick Adenhart, 22, was killed early Thursday morning in a hit-and-run car accident. What a waste of a terrific young kid and promising pitcher.

***

Nick Adenhart, 22, of the Los Angeles Angels was killed early Thursday morning in a tragic, hit-and-run car accident just hours after pitching. A minivan reportedly ran a red light, striking the sports car that Adenhart was driving, causing the car to hit a telephone pole. All three passengers in the sports car were killed.

Adenhart was one of the Angels' top pitching prospects. Although he struggled last year, both in the majors and the minors, he was a very promising, young player. In his first and last game this year Adenhart went 6 innings with no earned runs. He gave up 7 hits, struck out 5, and walked 3.

Condolences to the Adenhart and Angels families.

Anyone know a  good, free place for recent (2006+) stats? I'm looking for stats like BABIP.

The Boston Red Sox and Jason Bay have put contract negotiations on hold. Theo Epstein commented that it was clear that both sides were not going to be able to come to agreement during spring training, due in part to the current economic climate.

"I think there's a desire to get something done on both sides, there's just a mutual recognition right now that it's going to be next to impossible to get something done," said Epstein.

It seems as though Jason Bay is hoping for an economic turn-around in the second half of 2009. (Aren't we all!)  Don't expect Bay to take a mammoth recession discount for the time being, Sox fans.

"You play for six years and you earn the right to be a free agent, and you don't want to sell yourself short," Bay said, according to MLB.com. "That doesn't mean that there doesn't have to be some concessions. But you put yourself in this position, and I think it's in my best interest to kind of explore."

"I've got a year left," Bay said. "If something comes up that makes sense for me, I'll definitely consider it."

Bay batted .293 with 9 home runs in 49 regular season games with the Red Sox last season.

“Why did I sign with the Nationals?” Tavarez told a group of reporters. “When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you’re just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J. Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It’s 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me.”

That's classic!

Much has been made of the Red Sox' offseason approach, especially in contrast with the Yankees' baseball stimulus package. Jayson Stark of ESPN wrote an article that nicely summarizes the two rivals' move.

"For $423 million, the Yankees obviously got some nice pieces," said one scout. "But in terms of filling needs, I think Boston did just as well, if not better."

The four free agents [the Red Sox] imported -- John Smoltz, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito and Rocco Baldelli -- cost this team 4 million fewer guaranteed dollars ($12.5 million total) than the Yankees will pay Burnett alone this year.

Nevertheless, the upside of those men gives the Red Sox four potential impact players without the price tags, or long-term inflexibility, that come with handing out contracts that run through 2016.

...

"I think the biggest difference from this year to last year is, now we have depth," [Red Sox starter Jon] Lester said. "Last year, we had some depth, but we had guys in the minor leagues who either (A) didn't have big league experience, or (B) had very little experience. So having these guys -- Penny, Smoltz, Saito -- they can help us out in different ways where, in the past, we haven't been able to get over that hump.

Stark comes away with a decidedly pro-Red Sox opinion, and it's easy for me to agree with him. C.C. Sabathia has a ton of mileage on his arm and not the most athletic body type. He's not the sort of guy I'd want to sign to a 7-year contract. Burnett, who has already been a training-room fixture during his career, was handed a 5-year deal. Both starters are formidable when healthy and fresh, but the Yankees are gambling a lot of money and two roster spots over the long term. In my mind, Teixeira's contract is more defensible.

Smoltz has been called a physical freak and is already exceeding the Sox' expectations in his rehab. If any of the gambles pay off, I'd bet on Smoltz.

Saito opted to pass on Tommy John surgery and instead tried a new, experimental procedure that may accelerate the body's own healing mechanisms. Over the past three years Saito has held opposing batters to a remarkable line of.182/.246/.264. If Takashi can come anywhere near those numbers the Red Sox have found a valuable piece for their bullpen.

Even if none of the Red Sox' reclamation projects work out the team has a clean slate in 2010 and the front office can alter its approach.

Read Jayson Starks entire article here.

Over the past couple weeks baseball fans across the country were forced to wonder why Ben Sheets, the immensely-talented yet oft-injured starting pitcher, remained unsigned. A few days ago Sheets appeared headed for the top of the Texas Rangers' rotation with a 2-year, incentive laden contract that reportedly guaranteed $10 M. That deal is kaput after a MRI revealed a torn flexor tendon.

Yes, boys and girls, Ben Sheets is once again injured and probably headed to the operating table.

Ben Sheets, photo by Nick Laham, Getty Images

Sports Illustrated has reported that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003. The full details have yet to come to light, but Alex Rodiguez's name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance enhancers in a 2003 baseball survey.

A-Rod won the HR crown and the was the MVP in 2003, his last season with the Texas Rangers before being trading to the New York Yankees.

Neither A-Rod nor MLBPA head Donald Fehr would comment on the report.

The Red Sox traded David Pauley, DFA'd last week, to the Baltimore Orioles for righthander Randor Bierd.

The Baltimore Orioles also came to terms with Nick Markakis on a 6 year $66 M extension. The 25 year-old Markakis hit .306 last season for Baltimore, leading the team, and got on base at a .406 clip. His career OBP is a remarkable .375. Markakis was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.

Markakis is one of the best, all-around, young hitters in the game. I don't think this qualifies as a "steal" for the Orioles, but it's certainly fair and guarantees that he won't be skipping town anytime soon.

Hello sportsfans!

The Hot Stove is reaching a boil as free agents agree to contracts and trades are made. Here are some of the highlights:

1. CC Sabathia agrees to a $161 M, 7 year deal with the Yankees. The deal allegedly includes a player opt-out clause after the 3rd year.

2. Franscico Rodriguez agrees in principle to a $37 M, 3 year deal with the New York Mets.

3. The Mets orchestrate a 3 team, 12-player deal for J.J. Putz. The Mets sent RHP Aaron Heilman, OF Endy Chavez, LHP Jason Vargas and three minor leaguers (unknown to me at this time) to the Mariners for J.J Putz, CF Jeremy Reed and RHP Sean Green.

Cleveland was the 3rd team involved, sending OF Franklin Gutierrez to Seattle for 23-year-old second baseman Luis Valbuena. Cleveland also received reliever Joe Smith from the Mets.

This was the first trade by new Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik.

4. More news from New York: the Yankees have agreed in principle to deal that sends Melky Cabrera to the Milwaukee Brewers for Mike Cameron, straight up.

[EDITORS NOTE: This deal now seems dead. The Brewers asked the Yankees to throw in a prospect, and the Yankees asked the Brew-Crew to eat some of Cameron's salary. Isn't that funny?]

5. The Yankees have also sweetened their offer to A.J. Burnett to include a 5th(!) year. The purported offer is for $80 M over 5 years.

6. The Diamond Backs agreed to a 1-year, $3.5 M deal with Felipe Lopez to man 2B in 2009. Orlando Hudson is obviously not expected back. Augie Ojeda was re-signed to remain the utility IF.

7. Ramon Vaquez is on the verge of signing a 2-year, $4 M deal with the Pirates. Whoop-dee-doo.

8. The Washington Nationals have offered Mark Teixeira an 8-year, $160 M deal. I expect the Red Sox will match the years and come in around $180 M.

9. The Cubs & Padres are currently at an impasse with a possible Peavy trade.

Actually, that's backwards. A 16 year-old girl in Japan throws like Tim Wakefield

The knuckleball - the fluttering, hard-to-hit pitch that's rare in the major leagues - is propelling a 16-year-old girl to the pros in Japan. Eri Yoshida was inspired to learn how to throw the knuckler after seeing a video of Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. On Monday, she broke the gender barrier by being drafted for an independent league team as Japan's first female professional baseball player. "Hope I can see her pitch one day," Wakefield said in a message he texted to the Red Sox. "I'm honored that someone wants to become me. I wish her the best of luck. Maybe I can learn something from her." The 5-foot, 114-pound high schooler was chosen by the Kobe 9 Cruise in the Japanese League, which starts its inaugural season in April. The Cruise are a far cry from Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants. Making the squad is more like earning a tentative slot on a farm team than warming up in the bullpen for the Red Sox.

-Associated Press

Maybe they should sign Doug Mirabelli, too. Dougie wants to deep again!

Replay will go into use with three series scheduled to open Thursday: Philadelphia at the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota at Oakland and Texas at the Los Angeles Angels. For other games, replays will be available to umpires starting Friday.

For the initial deployment, Instant Replay will only be used to help Home Run rulings.

I'm all for this as long as the replay officials can keep the interruptions brief. For opponents who argue that this will cause games to be intolerably long, I have a suggestion: speed up pitching changes.

What's your take?

The Red Sox are among many clubs closely monitoring Mark Teixeira, who is approaching free agency and could be dealt this month unless Atlanta's fortunes take a dramatic turn for the better. The Sox' interest in the switch-hitting first baseman indicates some concern about the health of designated hitter David Ortiz, who has not played since the end of May because of a wrist injury.

-- Boston Herald

Is the Sox' intention a 3-month rental to power into (and through) the post-season, or would they try to sign Teixeria to a long-term deal? Given the prohibitive prospect demands, you have to believe it's the latter. Where does that leave the Sox roster? We just re-signed fan-favorite Mike Lowell to a multi-year deal and Youkilis has come into his own as a tremendously valuable 1B. I can't see the Red Sox dealing either of those two. Could Teixeira or Youkilis be shifted to LF, signifying the end of Manny's Red Sox tenure? It's hard to see where Teixeira would fit in.

I'm concerned about Manny's attitude this year. If you recall he started off in baseball nirvana, meditating on being positive. But a belligerant and angry Manny has been occupying MBM's locker as of late. I can't ever remember Manny acting like this during his entire career. He's been silly, moody, and flakely, but never openly hostile towards teammates or club officials. What gives? I hate to even think "roid rage," but I'm really at a loss to explain away Manny's poor behavior.