The Feed

Drinking The Grapefruit And Cactus Kool-Aid, Day Three

Day Three of our look at the bold and the ludicrous statements being made around major league camps begins with a Texas twosome. First up is Ranger catcher Gerald Laird who informed manager Ron Washington "that he had nine bunt hits last season and he wants to have the green light to steal". Laird may be fast for a catcher but he is still a catcher.

Washington wasn't immune to the overly generous statement when it came to a certain minor-league contract holder who is reporting to camp today. How do you deal with Sammy Sosa, Ron?

"It's going to go just like it goes for everybody else," Washington said. "He knows that. Sammy's a professional -- he's going to come in and fit in and do his thing. [But] he's a potential Hall of Famer. If he says he needs something, I'm going to make sure he gets it."

So maybe Gerald Laird will have that green light after all. He's a potential Hall of Famer, too.

• Paul Wilson hasn't pitched in the big leagues since going 1-5 with a 7.77 ERA in 2005 but Reds manager Jerry Narron sees a place for him in the Cincy rotation. "It's not even close," Narron said. "Last spring, he had no chance. This spring, he has a legitimate chance to make our club."
• "I came here because I thought I'd get a chance to impress the team, and that's what I hope I can do," Pirates outfielder Luis Matos said. "The main thing for me is to stay healthy. When I'm healthy, the numbers are there." Matos hit .206 with two home runs last season.
• 123: Career wins for Diamondbacks righthander Livan Hernandez. He says his goal is to surpass Luis Tiant (229) as the winningest Cuban pitcher ever.
• Lou Piniella, not known for taking care of his pitchers, says things will be different in Chicago. "We'll take care of these pitchers," Piniella said. "We're not going to abuse any of them. We want them healthy for the stretch run."
• Gil Meche threw for the first time at Royals camp. “I don’t know if he was going 100 percent,” outfielder Emil Brown said, “but he had control of all of his pitches. He was hitting his spots. For a first day, he was pretty good. I saw a pretty good cutter. I also saw one 12-to-6 curveball that had a lot of bite to it.”
• "I don't care about the criticism. People sit and watch and make judgments, I understand that," Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday said. "But what about the balls I miss that some guys don't even get to? So I guess it looks better that they just let it go and chase the ball to the wall? I know I am athletic enough and have a good work ethic that I will play good defense."

And, finally, from The Reader comes a compilation that fits right in with what we're doing here every day. If you were wondering what kind of shape the average major leaguer was in when reporting to Spring Training, the answer is "the best shape of their lives."

(AP Photo/Tom Hood)

Drinking The Grapefruit And Cactus Kool-Aid, Part Two

I had so much fun perusing the dispatches from Spring Training yesterday that I thought I'd keep it up during the rest of Spring Training. It'll be fun to look back at these comments sometime in June or July to see just how far off the mark (or eerily prescient, I suppose) the good men of Major League Baseball were in their bold statements about what's going to happen this summer. Our leadoff hitter today is actually a headline from the Boston Herald about their big-ticket outfielder. It's sure to warm the heart of Red Sox fans who care about the team more than their own health and hygiene. "Hubbub lost on Drew: Boston pressure can’t sour his carefree way." Just wait, J.D., just wait.

• "People talk about our rotation being a problem this year," Washington Nationals catcher Brian Schneider said. "That was our big problem last year. There are some pretty darn good arms here. I see them every day."
• "I work on every part of the game," Toronto shortstop Royce Clayton said. "I don't want to just be known as a guy who just goes out there and makes the plays. I think I've contributed offensively -- driving in runs, moving runners, doing little subtle things that are kind of overlooked."
• Eddie Guardado saved his first seven games with the Reds before going on the 15-day disabled list with a sore elbow. In his first game back, he struck out one batter, but the first pitch to the next batter forced him to leave the game. There was too much pain to continue.That led to elbow surgery to repair a torn ligament and tendon, and Guardado feels like he "can throw a marshmallow through a stop sign" now.
• "I view Sidney Ponson being one of our starters," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I expect him to step up and take one of those jobs. Whether it happens or not is totally up to him."
• "It's a good situation," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We're creating competition, and any time you create competition, we're going to end up with the best players." The competition he's talking about is between Karim Garcia, Chris Coste and Greg Dobbs for the backup Phillies outfielder job.
• "No question I've learned a lot in my last four big-league seasons," White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik said. "There were good times and bad times, ups and downs. I'm going to learn from that and put it all together into a solid year."
• "He's a little heavier than he would like and we would like," Seattle manager Mike Hargrove said of Jose Guillen, who is listed at 195 pounds. "We've got plenty of time. We're not worried about it. He's in great baseball shape. We're trying to take a few pounds off."
• The Astros outfield has been pegged by many observers as one of the worst in baseball, defensively speaking, but Phil Garner disagrees, especially about the criticism surrounding Lee. "A few of the comments I've read about Carlos Lee I think are way overstated," Garner said. "I think he could be a solid left fielder. He played good against us. I did not see any of the things that I read about him show up when he played against us."
• ''He serves a couple of services,'' said first-year Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, who is just nine years older than Aaron Boone. "One is to fill that right-hander-off-the-bench spot, and to spell Mike Jacobs a little bit at first base -- but also to be a leader. He's been around, and he's a good guy. We need that role on this ball team because the young guys can learn a lot from a veteran like him.''

Drinking The Grapefruit And Cactus Kool-Aid

Brewers outfielder Geoff Jenkins has moved from left field to right field and back to left over the last three seasons and now it looks like he may be forced into a platoon with righty swinging Kevin Mench. It's all being done to accomodate the rookie outfielder Corey Hart and his sunglasses and Jenkins is a team player who's willing to do what it takes to help the Brew Crew win. But he would rather pack his bags and leave Cream City rather than see a drastic reduction in his playing time reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Jenkins made it clear Tuesday that he'd rather move on to another club than face any significant reduction in playing time with the Brewers in 2007.

The problem would be finding a team that would rather have Jenkins than whatever they already have on hand. Jenkins's boldness about demanding a trade that no one else is thinking about is a sign that Spring Training has finally sprung. All across Florida and Arizona the players, coaches and executives of Major League Baseball are making bold proclamations. Some will come true, most won't but here's a sampling of the positive vibes sweeping through the Show.

• "I think Kyle Lohse has a chance to have a breakout year," Reds manager Jerry Narron said. "His stuff is as good as anybody's we have. His changeup is outstanding."
• “I want to put that pressure on [my teammates] and myself,” Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins said. “We're the team to beat. I can't put it any other way. Look at our team. Look at what we're bringing and look at the improvements we've made. Then look at the rest of the division.”
• Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said one candidate to get some time in center field this spring is Rick Ankiel.
• "Bernie Williams certainly feels he can be a helpful contributor in '07," Boras said. "He wants to remain loyal to the Yankees and doesn't feel it's appropriate for him to play for another club."
• "Really, the big plum for us might be next year," Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said. He was talking about Victor Zambrano at the time.
• Twins manager Ron Gardenhire likes what he sees from pitcher Sidney Ponson. "Right up to this point we like the way he is working," he said. "He fits in very nicely here. He's doing all the work. He's got a good smile on his face. That's fun to see."
• “How’d I look?” Royals pitcher Scott Elarton asked with a beaming smile before answering his own question. “It feels good. It feels strong. Free and easy. … The house of cards is still together.”
• Fernando Tatis is trying to get back to the big leagues to stay, accepting a minor league contract with the Dodgers. "I love the game," he said. "I still feel pretty strong. I don't think I lost my ability."(

(Updated - I've turned this into a daily piece here at the Feed, just click on the Spring Training category to see all the fun.)