Late Spring Training Round-up
Dontrelle Willis so far in Detroit? Sucking:
"Tigers pitcher Dontrelle Willis' honesty was more evident than his skill Friday. Following a wild outing in which the left-hander allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings in the Tigers' 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays, Willis admitted, "I was terrible." On the heels of the Tigers' seventh consecutive loss, Jim Leyland agreed. "You can't pitch like that," the manager said. "Nobody can." His first spring with Detroit hasn't been the best for Willis, who's walked 10 and allowed nine earned runs in his last 8 2/3 innings. "I have to do a better job of going out there and making guys hit the ball," he said. "It doesn't matter how hard you throw, I just want guys to swing and swing early. I haven't been doing that. "I never shy away from calling it as I see it. ... I just didn't do my job today. It could have been a whole lot worse, but that doesn't mean I can't do my job. "I feel strong, though. I would tell you if I didn't."
Yuck.
Felipe Lopez benched in Washington? Likely. Which is why he is being shopped. Surprisingly, there may be a team or two interested. The latest rumor? The Cubs. Wait until they find out he can't hit.
Joe Crede really going to block Josh Fields for the White Sox? Apparently. Turns out teams were NOT actually interested in beating down Chicago's door to get to a post-back operation on-the-wrong-side-of-30 Crede. Huh. Who could have seen THAT coming?
Cut Washington erstwhile opening day starter John Patterson can't break a pane of glass with his fastball? Assuming he has the command to hit the pane of glass? Not exactly a good scouting report. But apparently not one that bothers the Astros, who are kicking those flat tires.
Patterson, the Washington Nationals' opening-day starter last year, has been limited to 15 starts the past two seasons because of arm injuries. He underwent surgery in September to repair a nerve problem. Wade said any possible deal with Patterson, 30, would hinge on him passing a physical and that he would be sent to Class AAA Round Rock to rehabilitate. "He needs time, from what I understand," Wade said.
Uh, yeah. "Time". By time, Wade hopefully means "8 years ago".
And, finally, from the SF Giants files, they seem to realize that there team is going to be, um, awful. At the least, they are trying to do something about it. Course, if they won't deal either Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum, it's not likely they will be able to start fixing what ails them. Jeebus but they are bad. At any rate, given that you can shake a tree and a first baseman falls out of it, it is absolutely amazing that they are just now realizing they are the one baseball team with players over the age of 12 in the entire world that does not actually have a decent first baseman. Anywhere. Which leads them to beg the Angels for Casey Kotchman. From the Chronicle:
"No match," Angels General Manager Tony Reagins said. "Not now."
The Giants are looking for ways to improve a roster that has failed to meet limited expectations while slogging through the Cactus League schedule. They managed just four hits - all singles - in an 8-1 loss to the Angels at Tempe on Thursday. At 6-17-2, they have the worst exhibition record in the major leagues. Their .253 batting average is the lowest in the Cactus League, and their 7.11 ERA is the worst in the majors. They haven't been so hot catching the ball, either. Lacking Omar Vizquel's stabilizing play at shortstop, their infield continues to look a fright. Third baseman Eugenio Velez committed an error on a routine grounder hit right to him when he inexplicably sidestepped it and tried to field on a backhand.
"We need to turn it up here," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. "We're not even playing decent ball. We've talked about it. We've addressed it numerous times. . . . You see it. The guys are taking a ton of groundballs every day. "We've got to keep working here. Believe me, we're aware we're not winning games. We'd like to win some in the next week here. But the last thing we need to do is start hanging heads."
Hee. For funsies, if you are bored this weekend waiting for the season to start, pick up the 2008 Baseball Prospectus and peruse the organization section on the Giants along with the biting write-ups on various Giants players. To answer their question at one point, no, it is NOT too early to begin to use the verb, "to Sabean".