Day 13 is an unlucky one for two of spring's darlings. Both Philip Hughes and Daisuke Matsuzaka ran into some trouble in their Sunday outings. Matsuzaka got banged around by the Baltimore Orioles a little bit, not that that stopped the Boston Globe from making a terrifying threat in the lede to their article about the game.
Daisuke Matsuzaka had been so impressive, so early, Drew Barrymore was being lined up for the sequel to "Fever Pitch."
Jason DuBois, formerly of the Cubs and Indians and soon to be of the Orioles AAA affiliate took Dice-K deep and the Globe was similarly understated when they asked the outfielder about his blast. "Going international? That's scary," said Dubois, when informed that his swing soon would be discussed from Akita to Yokohama.
Joel Sherman of the Post, meanwhile, took some time to introduce Hughes to the favorite tool of the New York tabloid journalist - the rush to judgement. He struggled mightily yesterday against an Indian lineup that resembled the one that will contend for a playoff spot this season and Sherman killed him for it.
But Hughes sure has made it easier for the Yankees to have him begin the season in Lackawana County rather than the Bronx. He did not make a case this spring to rise to the big team. Perhaps the strongest case he made is that we need to stop comparing 20-year-olds to Roger Clemens.
We don't Joel, you do.
- Rickey Henderson shares what Rickey Henderson thinks about who has the best chance to break Rickey Henderson's single-season steals record. "(Jose Reyes) is the most likely in my eyes," Henderson said. "With his approach and the way he plays the game. He loves the game. He looks like when he's out on the field, he's having fun. There's no pressure on him." This isn't to say that Rickey Henderson is willing to count Rickey Henderson out of the running, he's still not officially retired, after all. "It'd make it a lot more easy for me knowing that I can't compete with the guys. In my mind, I don't see that. If I thought I couldn't compete with them, I'd have retired last year."
- The Dodgers released reserve infielder Damian Jackson. "I no longer have anything to do with baseball," an angry Jackson said before clearing out his locker, furiously shoving equipment and clothes into his duffel bag and knocking down two chairs on his way out. He was batting .125 this spring, hit .198 last year and the Dodgers would have been his seventh team in the last six years. In other words, it's been a while since he's had anything to do with baseball.
- Chris Duffy has the right attitude for a guy with 71 strikeouts and a 655 OPS when it comes to approaching his at-bats. "For most people, it's easy to get caught up in the numbers," he said. "I'm going up every time trying to get a hit. But I'm more pleased with myself just putting the ball in play and getting my timing down. That's starting to come."
- Mark Prior? We don't need no stinking Mark Prior. Not when Angel Guzman's in town. "You've got to like the young man," manager Lou Piniella said. "He's throwing the ball 94-95 miles an hour, he's getting his breaking ball over, throwing some nice ground balls. He's pitching like he wants a job on our staff, whether it's in the bullpen or the rotation." Prior has really slipped when he no longer even gets the benefit of the doubt over a guy who was 0-6 with a 7.39 ERA.
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