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| Randy Winn fouled a pitch off his left knee in the third inning of Friday's win over the Oakland A's, this according to the team website. The foul ball caused a contusion that probably will sideline him for at least two days.
Winn was concerned that the injury could be just as bad as the one he suffered in 2006, and after the game talked to the media. "I'm hoping it's not the same (2006 injury)," Winn said. San Fran fantasy personnel are drawing little attention this March. Winn's value rests in NL-only formats. |
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| Recovered from his strained left quadriceps, according to the Giants team website, catcher Bengie Molina played four innings in his first Cactus League game. The report noted that the Giants' starting lineup on Friday resembled what might be the team's Opening Day contingent. Molina continues to get little support from the fantasy community. After playing in 134 games in '07, registering the second most home runs among catchers behind only John Buck of KC, the San Fran backstop is currently the 11th catcher list according to Mock Draft Centrals mixed league ADP chart. |
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| Mark Prior threw again on Friday, picking up the intensity on his pitch speed and count, which has now grown to about 50. "He's passing every test," skipper Bud Black told the team website. Prior is not expected to be on the active roster before May. What role he fills at that point is a complete mystery. |
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| Brian Giles is expected to test his surgically repaired knee in a Minor League game on March 14, this according to the team website. Giles could be used as a pinch-hitter when the Padres face the Rockies in Tucson on March 16, and slowly be worked into the outfield rotation in the final week of spring training. |
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| Chris Capuano 's performance against the Rangers on Friday make skipper Ned Yost lift his arm and pinched his nose between his fingers, this according to the team website.
Yost told the media on Friday it's getting to the time when Capuano and right-hander Dave Bush need to act like they are in a fight for a starting spot in the rotation.
Bush surrendered five runs, only three of them earned, in three innings of work against the Rangers on Wednesday in an outing that included a four-run inning. Capuano surrendered six runs in third inning alone on Friday vs. the Rangers. At one point six straight batters reached safely including Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton, who hit a grand slam.
"Their next outings are going to be important," Yost said. "We need to see them starting to get back into what they naturally do best." At this point neither pitcher is worthy of anything more than reserve status in NL-only formats. |
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| The strained calf Jim Edmonds sustained during Thursday's game will result in the Padres' center fielder missing at least two to three weeks, if not longer, this according to MLB.com. Scott Hairston figures to get plenty of looks in center field while Edmonds is sidelined. |
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| Chad Billingsley gave up five hits on Friday in Vero Beach including a third homer to D'Angelo Jimenez in the third inning. The Dodgers right-hander struck out four and walked one in the loss.
"He was fine," Torre said. "The wind blew a couple of them out of the ballpark. There's not a lot you can do about that. He got the ball down. I thought he used all his pitches, got his work in, which is the most important thing." Billingsly's current ADP is the late 11th or early 12th round in mixed formats. |
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| Albert Pujols hit his second home run in as many days Friday as the Cardinals defeated the Dodgers 6-4 in Vera Beach, Florida. Pujols' spring totals shouldn't influence owners debating his fantasy value, but it will, and his consecutive home run outings on Thursday and Friday will assist owners still trying to justify his fantasy worth. |
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| Nomar Garciaparra homered for Los Angeles on Friday, the same day he learned he was no longer in a positional battle. Andy LaRoche and Garciaparra were fighting for playing time at third base but LaRoche tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb during action on Friday and will miss 8-10 weeks. Garciaparra's fantasy value spikes in NL-only formats with the injury to LaRoche. |
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| Andruw Jones took advantage of the strong winds in Vero Beach, Fla on Friday to hit his first homer for the Dodgers. Jones has begun taking off some of the extra weight he reported with in his first season with the Los Angeles and is down 10 pounds from the 240 he reported with in late February.
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| With the wind gusting up to 25 mph out to left field Friday in Sarasota, the Pirates banged out 14 hits and beat the Cincinnati Reds, 13-8. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, in the first inning of the Reds loss, Brandon Phillips rode the strong breeze for a three-run homer. "It was 3-2 (count), so I might as well have told him what was coming," Van Benschoten said. "The wind helped." Phillips is one of the Big Three when fantasy owners speak of the best second baseman in mixed formats.
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| John Van Benschoten took the pill to the hill on Friday and didn't have successful lines. The right-hander gave up four runs on five hits over three innings of work. Van Benschoten walked three and struck out two and outside of deep NL-only formats has little fantasy value. |
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| Chris Young tossed three scoreless innings on Friday, with three strikeouts and one walk. Young is seemingly on his way to a solid season. |
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| Andy LaRoche has torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb during action on Friday and will miss 8-10 weeks, according to the LA Daily News. Nomar Garciaparra will likely move up on fantasy draft boards for now. |
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| Scott Hairston had a strong day at the plate on Friday as he notched two hits and three RBI, while registering his first home run of the season on the first pitch of the game. He notably broke a 2-for-10 skid to start the spring. |
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| Yunel Escobar led the Braves with two hits on Friday, and continues to perform well at the plate. He now has 12 hits in 22 at-bats. |
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| Brian McCann went hitless on two at-bats on Friday, with one strikeout. He headed into the game with only one hit on 13 at-bats. |
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| Edgar Gonzalez had another strong showing on Friday as he pitched three scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts against the White Sox. Gonzalez has not allowed a run in five innings of work this spring. |
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| Jesus Merchan went 3-for-4 at the plate on Friday and knocked in four of the Diamondbacks' 10 runs against the White Sox. He now has six RBI on the spring. |
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| Young pro Brandon Moss went 3-for-4 and picked up his third RBI of the spring on Friday in a 12-2 loss to Baltimore. Moss should continue to push for at bats and many anticipate him having a bright future in Boston. |
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| Aaron Cook was scratched from his scheduled start on Friday, according to MLB.com. "He's got inflammation in his right shoulder," a team spokesman said Friday, calling Cook "day-to-day." They claim that holding him out was a precautionary move, in which case, he should be back on the mound soon. We'll have more updates as they come in. |
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| Rafael Soriano reported minimal pain in his elbow after throwing a bullpen session on Friday, according to SportsTicker. "My elbow feels better today than yesterday," he said. "Yesterday all I did was play catch. Today it was just a little bit sore, but not the same." Soriano had rested his elbow by just playing long-toss this week, so this was an important step. Now let's see if he and his troublesome elbow can stay on the mound for a while. |
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| The strained calf Jim Edmonds sustained during Thursday's game is serious enough that the Padres sent him to get an MRI on Friday, according to SportsTicker. "I worry that it’s worse than it appears," Padres manager Bud Black said Friday morning. "But you don’t know. We don’t know much as of right now." This doesn't sound too promising, but we should have a better idea of his status once the MRI results are released. |
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| Mike Hampton was unable to complete his outing against the Tigers on Friday due to a strained groin, according to SportsTicker. Hampton missed all of last season following Tommy John surgery, so hopefully this ailment won't keep him off the mound for long. At this point, the Braves dubbed it a mild strain and list him as day-to-day. |
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| Johnny Estrada received a cortisone shot in his right elbow on Thursday, according to the Washington Post. "I can't do anything, just run," Estrada said. "It stinks." He's working his way back from surgery on the elbow and his knee, which appears to be fine. Whether Estrada will be available when the season begins is entirely uncertain right now. |
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| Padres manager Bud Black said that Jim Edmonds will skip at least two games due to the calf injury that forced him out of Thursday's contest, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. With his history of injuries, it may actually be a while longer before we see Edmonds back in the mix. |
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| Lou Palmisano underwent an MRI Wednesday to determine if he has a torn meniscus in his left knee, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. If he requires surgery, it'll cost the prospect about three to four months of action. |
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| After being pulled from Thursday's game after two innings due to back pain, Adam Eaton admitted that he's had two sets of X-rays taken on his back over the past two weeks, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I'm still an optimist," Eaton said, "so I'd still like to go out there in the next 5 days and go out there and be healthy and ready to go. But at the same time, I'm not going to do what I did last year and go out there and pitch hurt and hurt the team." Doctors were looking for stress fractures in the vertebrae of his back but apparently didn't find any. It sounds like they may shut him down for a while to rest up. |
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| Ryan Church hopes to return to exhibition action on Saturday, according to the New York Daily News. That may be wishful thinking, as he awoke Thursday with dizziness, though he felt fine later in the day after taking medication. Church will have to be free of concussion symptoms for two consecutive days before receiving medical clearance to play. |
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| Duaner Sanchez expects to return to game action on Saturday or Sunday, but manager Willie Randolph wouldn't commit to Sanchez being ready for opening day, according to the New York Daily News. "It's step-by-step. I don't want to say yes. I don't want to say no." He's working his way back from shoulder surgery and hasn't pitched since last Friday due to tightness in the back of the joint. We'll have to see if he can pitch this weekend without a setback before speculating on his status for the regular season. |
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| Not only was Jason Hirsh held out of Wednesday's game due to a sore right shoulder, but he won't take part in Sunday's game, either, according to the Denver Post. While the Rockies say they're being cautious, it's possible that Hirsh won't be ready for the start of the regular season. |
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| Tony Abreu is slated to make his spring exhibition debut Friday or Saturday, according to the LA Times. He has yet to play this spring, because he's been slowed by pain in his surgically repaired abdomen. Abreu is slated to back up Jeff Kent, who is dealing with a strained hamstring, so it's good timing if Abreu can get on the field and prove to be healthy. |
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| Jeff Kent said his strained hamstring is mild enough that he expects to take batting practice Friday and likely would play in Friday's exhibition game it were a regular-season contest, according to the LA Times. "Because I've got time, I can take time," he said. Kent turns 40 today, so any little hitch in his physical status is going to be a cause for concern. At this point, he plans to skip a week of exhibition games and play it safely. |
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| On Wednesday, Danny Richar aggravated the back injury that bothered him while playing winter ball in the Dominican League, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "He's got this back problem, and this was a guy that was already behind," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "We'll see. Hopefully he can bounce back and not fall too far behind." As Guillen pointed out, Richar had fallen behind in the competition for second base because he arrived late to camp due to visa promblems. At this point, Juan Uribe is the leading candidate to start at second, so Richar has his work cut out for him, even if his back injury doesn't linger. |
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| Doug Slaten said he expects to toss two more bullpen sessions and another batting practice before beginning Cactus League play, according to the Arizona Republic. He'll also need to receive medical clearance before taking part in pitchers' fielding practice, but it sounds like he might be able to test his surgically repaired knee out in game action sometime next week. |
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| Dan Haren mostly threw sinking fastballs and splitters after joining the A's, but he's been working on elevating his fastballs this spring with the Diamondbacks, according to the Arizona Republic. "Going up in the zone, elevating, especially after throwing a few down there, can be useful," he said. "Changing their eye level . . . if they swing at it or not," he said, "just to change it and then maybe go back to the split or breaking ball from there, just change it up a bit." You have to love a 15-game winner, who carried a 3.07 ERA and 1.21 WHIP last season, who wants to keep improving his game. |
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| Peter Moylan was scratched from Thursday's exhibition game due to some soreness in his elbow, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He's just a little tender," said manager Frank Wren. It sounds like Moylan might be able to pitch on Friday, in which case this obviously would just be a minor ailment. |
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