MY BASEBALL BIAS

The Red Sox are getting ready to play their first exhibition game tonight against the Minnesota Twins at 7:05 ET. Here’s a look at their planned rotation and lineup -

…probable pitchers when the Sox take on the Minnesota Twins at City of Palms Park (7:05 p.m., NESN and WRKO):

Red Sox-Curt Schilling, Joel Pineiro, Brendan Donnelly, Julian Tavarez, Manny Delcarmen, J.C. Romero, Bryan Corey, and Renelvys Hernandez.

Twins-Matt Garza, Scott Baker, Brad Voyles, Julio DePaula, and Jason Miller.

Here is the Red Sox lineup when they face the Twins in the first exhibition game of the season tomorrow at 7 p.m.

1. Julio Lugo, SS
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Jason Varitek, C
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Wily Mo Pena, RF
7. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
8. David Murphy, LF
9. Jacob Ellsbury, CF

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Also, Josh Beckett is gracing the front of Baseball Prospectus’ new hompage with the caption -

Josh Beckett needs to rebound from a mediocre 2006

Keith Woolner also has an article over at BP on how the Red Sox can win the World Series. Worth checking out. Remember that BP is subscription only.

Here are some intrasquad game updates from Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun.

Tuesday’s game -

The intrasquad game ended in a 2-2 tie after six innings.

Brandon Fahey singled twice and reached on an error. Val Majewski had two hits. Sendy Rleal mowed down the three batters he faced in rapid succession. Jon Knott had a double, two outfield assists and was robbed of another hit when second baseman Freddie Bynum made a nice backhanded stop of a sharp grounder up the middle and off-balance throw to first.

Bynum turned in an exceptional game defensively.

John Parrish threw a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Parrish hasn’t pitched in a major league game since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow on July 15, 2005. He had scar tissue removed from the elbow last April, and a bone spur in May. Before yesterday he had only thrown one inning in a September instructional league game.

“He was more under control than in the past,” manager Sam Perlozzo said.

Details from Roch on today’s intrasquad matchup -

Somebody won 4-2. I’m just not sure which team.

We’ll say Team 1, which got a bases-empty home run from first baseman Mike Cervenak off left-hander Kurt Birkins.

Radhames Liz turned in two scoreless innings, freezing Brandon Sing on a slider to end the sixth after allowing a single to Jason Dubois and walking Val Majewski. He also shattered Roger Cedeno’s bat on a grounder.

Dubois had two hits and an RBI.

Ryan Hubele, starting at third base, had a double off Jon Leicester. Rule 5 pick Adam Donachie showed off a strong arm by almost picking off Jon Knott at first base. I think the umpire blew the call. And I already told you about J.R. House’s two-run double.

Roch also writes that Earl Weaver visited camp today!

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More Oriole News/Links

• Coaches Juan Samuel and Sam Mejias are providing lots of comfort for the Oriole’s Spanish speaking players writes Jeff Zrebiec.
• Kubatko muses about the Orioles left-field options.
• Within this Kubatko notebook we learn that Hayden Penn could return very soon from a sprained ankle.
• Leo Mazzone is finally starting to connect with his pitchers writes Spencer Fordin.
• Jay Gibbons will play first base in the Orioles first exhibition game tomorrow.

SPRING TRAINING GAMES ARE HERE!!! 

Yes, finally.  Sorry to those of you out there who are at work today, but I’m enjoying a nice Mets/Tigers spring training game on DirecTV channel 625.  A few things to note -

• Tigers 1st round pick from last year, LHP Andrew Miller, looks really good.
• Carlos Delgado’s swing looks in fine shape; In the 4th inning, he laced a double into the gap.
• Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are broadcasting the game.  Hernandez says there is an excitement around the Mets that he hasn’t seen in a long time.

Soon I’ll be posting AL East pitching matchups for the rest of the week so tune back!

Marc Lancaster gives us the details from yesterday’s Rays Intrasquad game -

Reid Brignac opened the scoring in the bottom of the third with a one-out solo homer off Edwin Jackson, a line drive yanked down the right-field line. Shawn Riggans added an RBI double off Jason Hammel in the fourth, one pitch after Hammel knocked him down with an up-and-in fastball. Dustan Mohr, who had walked, stolen second and advanced to third on an air-mailed throw by Josh Paul, scored on Riggans’ hit.

Not much action in the final three innings of the intrasquad, with the final score Charlie’s Angels 2, Hoff’s Hackers 0.

Thought Mitch Talbot looked strong as he worked the final half-inning, but other than that there wasn’t much happening.

That’s about it for Tuesday. Nothing too exciting other than Brignac’s homerun.

If you want an inning by inning commentary from Mark on today’s game, click here.

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STUART STERNBERG ARRIVES AT CAMP

Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg showed his face at camp yesterday. Marc Topkin of the St. Pete Times has an interview with him here.

The “State of the Rays” in Sternberg’s words -

“I’ve been a fan much longer than I’ve been an owner, and I’ve been frustrated and I’ve asked the questions,” Sternberg said Tuesday morning at the Naimoli Complex. “But once you sort of get on the inside of the fence, you see what the realities are and what’s important. Now I can’t look at it as a fan. I am a fan, I like to be a fan of the team, I’d like nothing more than for us to win a lot of games this year, but I have to look at it and see what’s in the best interests of the entire organization.”

On Payroll -

“I look at it as a whole expenditure and I know what we are spending, and the spending - as I have said in the past and will continue to say - flows throughout the entire organization,” he said. “Whether it’s in our Dominican academy, whether it’s in Venezuela, whether it’s in overseas players, whether it’s in development, upgrading our staff, upgrading our video capabilities and certainly upgrading the stadium experience.”

“If we had spent a good deal more money, I think people would be excited about the amount of money we spent but they wouldn’t necessarily be excited about the team that’s put on the field,” he said. “I’m pretty excited about where the organization is and I have to look at it in that respect.”

On Winning -

“Yes - we’re absolutely trying,” Sternberg said. “I can’t do it without any regard to the future, though. I think from a fan’s standpoint, I want to win in 2007. As an owner, as a person who’s responsible as the steward for this business, I have to balance all that - and it is quite a balancing act - with the future. How much of the future do you give up to win in the present?”

Optimistic, no?

I like what the Rays are doing in regards to payroll and player development but at some point Sternberg needs to open up his checkbook. They have a great manager and a core group of dynamic young players but they are still a few parts short. For the Rays it’s simple. You either buy some pitching, or trade a couple of guys away to get more help.

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Heard at Camp

This from Scott Kazmir on today’s game -

“I felt good, I felt strong,” he said. “Felt like the fastball was getting out of my hand a little bit more. I just felt consistent, felt like I was going towards the plate and everything like that, so I was happy.”

Here’s a breakdown of the Yankees interleague game yesterday, via Jim Baumbach (Newsday) and Peter Abraham (LoHud).

From Baumbach -

FIRST INNING:

Igawa looks smooth. Brett Gardner bunted his first pitch for a single; Igawa was a bit slow covering the bag. But he got Bronson Sardinha to ground into a double play to Derek Jeter. And then Jose Tabata grounded to second base. 7 pitches, 6 strikes.

In the bottom half, with Jeff Karstens pitching, Johnny Damon flies to centerfield. Derek Jeter grounds to second. And Matsui strikes out on what appeared from the press box to be a nasty pitch that tailed away from him.

SECOND INNING:

Igawa works very quickly. Gets the ball, turns around and throws it. A reporter’s dream. Anyway, Juan Miranda made the first out by popping out a 2-and-2 pitch to shortstop. Josh Phelps grounded to A-Rod, whose throw to first was picked out of the dirt by sure-fielding Doug Mientkiewicz. And Marcos Vechionacci grounds to Derek Jeter to end the half inning. So assuming Igawa is done, he allows only an infield hit, finishes with 19 pitches, 14 strikes. Not a bad start.

In the bottom half, A-Rod flies to the deep rightfield corner. Nice grab by Tabata. Jason Giambi grounds sharply to Josh Phelps. And Jorge Posada flies to left.

THIRD INNING:

Easy 1-2-3 inning for Steven Jackson, one of the pitchers the Yankees took from Arizona for grumpy Randy Johnson. Andy Cannizaro and Wil NIeves grounded to short and Ramiro Pena grounded to second. I guess pitchers really are ahead of hitters.

With Chase Wright pitching, Robinson Cano flies to center. Melky Cabrera reaches on a dribbler in front of the mound. Wright, who I just learned is a lefthander, made a low throw to first that Phelps couldn’t dig out of the dirt. (Bet on Andy Phillips in that race.) But Mientkiewicz strikes out looking and Damon grounds to Phelps.

FOURTH INNING:

Ben Davis just replaced Posada as catcher. Jackson struck out Gardner looking and gets Sardinha to ground to Mientkiewicz for two quick outs. But then trouble ensues. Tabata walks and Juan Miranda, the Cuban defector the Yankees gave $2 million last winter, drives him in with a shot to left-center. Talk about an immediate return on their investment. The inning ends when Phelps grounds to A-Rod. Reggies 1, Yogis 0.

Jeter leads off the bottom half of the inning with a single up the middle and receives a nice applause from a crowd that also includes my parents. After Matsui fouls out to second, A-Rod singles to left-centerfield and hustles to second on an error by Gardner. With men on second and third and one out, Giambi is up. Giambi, in mid-season form, leans into a 2-and-0 pitch to load the bases for Ben Davis. And get this — Davis came about two or three feet from a grand slam, hitting a shot to the 408-mark in centerfield that goes down as a sacrifice fly. All the runners move up for Cano, but the man now wearing 24 grounds to Phelps to end the rally. Reggies 1, Yogis 1.

FIFTH INNING:

All of the big stars for the Yogis have just left the game, meaning the clubhouse is about to open. Thus, I must stop the game log here. Hope you enjoyed it.

From Abraham -

The game ended 5-1 for the Yogis. Mr. Berra was quite pleased although he didn’t like it when they cut that one inning short. “We could have scored a few more runs,” he said.

Joe Torre and Ron Guidry seem pretty pleased with Kei Igawa. He worked fast, threw strikes and seemed comfortable on the mound. Igawa told us he didn’t use his curveball as he’s still working on it. Joe liked what he saw from Steven Jackson and Jeff Karstens, too.

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George King of the NY Post offered a more cautious view of Igawa’s outing yesterday -

Tuesday, Igawa made his Yankee debut by throwing two scoreless innings in an intrasquad game at Legends Field. Judging by the results, no runs and a bunt single, you would believe Igawa was impressive.

However, he faced a lineup that had one player with major league experience so no conclusions could be drawn. One thing that is obvious is that the Yankees need Igawa to strengthen the back of their rotation. Hence the large investment for a pitcher some teams had listed as a “National League’’ pitcher because he doesn’t possess over-powering stuff.

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More Yankee News and Notes

• Mark Feinsand writes that Kei Igawa “dazzled” yesterday and Bobby Abreu insists he’ll be ready for opening day.
• Carl Pavano promises to be back sooner than later writes George King.
• Jeter and Michael Jordan went on a whirlwind European vacation last fall reports Barbara Barker.
• Don Mattingly is in-line to become the next Yankees skipper writes Bryan Hoch.
• Pat Borzi at the Times has a nice piece on the player’s acquired from Arizona this off-season in the Randy Johnson trade.

JETER CARD

In case you didn’t catch this yesterday, a TOPPS Derek Jeter baseball card was altered with a Bush and a Mantle. Can you find them? -

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HEARD AT CAMP

Joe Torre on not getting voted into the Hall of Fame by the veterans committee -

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

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AUDIO - (Click on the enclosure below)

Peter also has some audio up -

• Ron Guidry offers his two bits, courtesy of Abraham.
• Torre’s thoughts on the game, courtesy of Abraham.

Carlos Gomez wrote a piece over at The Hardball Times yesterday in which he thoroughly breaks down Daisuke Matsuzaka’s delivery in trying to answer these questions -

1) How efficient is he with his mechanics?
2) Will he keep his velocity/stuff throughout his career?
3) What about potential injury risks?

He looked at four aspects of Dice-K’s delivery -

• Tempo
• Arm Action
• How well does he use his body
• Release

His findings? -

1) How efficient is he with his mechanics?
VERY efficient and aggressive, especially with his lower body. Yes, the lead arm issue bothers me.

2) Will he keep his velocity/stuff throughout his career?
I can’t only look at his mechanics to answer this one. We know how many innings he has logged in his professional career. However, if he keeps his aggressiveness and tempo, there is a good chance that he’ll keep his stuff well into his career. Yes, the lead arm issue bothers me—I’ll get back to this one.

3) What about potential injury risks?
All I see is potential shoulder issues. Yeah, I know, MOST (if not all) pitchers have shoulder issues at some point. I’m talking about shoulder issues that greatly contribute to decline (think Pedro Martinez).

In closing, Gomez believes that Dice-K will manage about 3 years of ace stuff. He’ll continue to throw heat, with a slight decline each year in velocity due to an increase in weight and natural wear. He also believes Matsuzaka will fulfill his contract with the Red Sox with only a few trips to the DL. After that, he signs another four/five year deal and ends up with shoulder problems just like Pedro.

I agree somewhat. I think it will be interesting to see how he handles patient lineups, especially the Yankees. I’m also curious to see how deep into ballgames the Red Sox actually allow to go. Will 1oo pitches be a benchmark, or will they allow him to throw 120 to 130 pitches a game?

RIOS LOOKING FOR MORE POWER

Alex Rios, OF

Alex Rios is looking strong again this spring after a staph infection sapped him of most of his power in the second half of the 2006 season. Manager John Gibbons likes what he sees.

From the Toronto Star -

“He’s looking real good,” manager John Gibbons said after yesterday’s warm-up game. “He goes into that BP (batting practice) and just puts on a show.”

“I do see a confidence in him that I hadn’t seen in the past,” Gibbons said. “In the past, he was still trying to see if he belonged. He was dealing with questions about whether he could hit for power. But that’s behind him.”

Rios’ thoughts on 2006, constant trade rumors, playing in Toronto and tight shoulders -

“I was feeling great at that time. I was at my peak,” the 26-year-old recalled yesterday.

“This is a business. You can’t take anything personal,” he said. “If they were shopping me, they thought they needed something else.”

“I love this place. I like everybody here,” Rios said.

“They felt tight when I got here and bothering me, but I’ve been stretching a lot and getting some treatment and it’s feeling better,” Rios said.

Rios is 6 feet 5 inches tall. Quite an impressive frame. He was on fire in the first half of the year in 2006 and I’m sure the Jays are hoping for more of the same.

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More Jays Notes/Links

• Reliever Jeremy Accardo will need to work extremely hard to earn a spot in the pen for 2007 writes Richard Griffith.
• Mark Zwolinski profiles pitcher Shaun Marcum’s control.
• The Blue Jays are showing an interesting array of hairstyles at camp this year.
• Frank Thomas doesn’t long to play the field anymore writes Robert MacLoed.
• MacLoed reports that Rios is still bothered by a sore shoulder and Lyle Overbay is getting noticed for his fine defensive play.
• Jeff Blair writes that the Jays continue their open audition for middle relief help.
• Pitchers Dustin McGowan and Casey Janssen are impressing Gibbons this spring writes Jordan Bastian.

Heard at Jay’s Camp -

Jeremy Accardo - “I didn’t do as well as I should towards the end of the year,” Accardo admitted. “I made some dumb mistakes and in the AL East they’re going to cost you. The AL East is the best of the best. You need to step up. I just didn’t do a couple of things and it cost me.”