March 10
St. Paul Pioneer Press
columnist Charley Walters
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Jerry Bell, president of Twins Sports Inc., said signing players to long-term contracts "is always a risk, no question about it." Twins' closer Joe Nathan, 35, who is beginning the third season of a $47 million, four-year guaranteed contract, is out indefinitely after an examination Monday showed a significant tear to a ligament in his pitching elbow. "I suppose (long-term contracts) for the players, they're a risk, too," Bell said this morning. "Maybe they could do better." Bell declined to comment on whether Nathan's injury could affect a long-term guaranteed deal for Twins MVP catcher Joe Mauer, who can become a free agent after this season. Should Mauer re-sign with the Twins, an ..."
March 9
Detroit Free Press
columnist Michael Rosenberg
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Dave Dombrowski is entering his ninth season in charge of the Tigers, and people still don't know what to make of him. He turned one of the worst franchises in baseball in the 1990s into the 2006 American League champions. But … in his first eight years, Dombrowski's Tigers have made one playoff appearance. But … they have won at least 86 games and contended in three of the past four seasons. But … they have spent far more than their AL Central counterparts during that time. You can go on and on. Dombrowski foolishly spent almost $30 million on Dontrelle Willis, but it was a small price to pay for Miguel Cabrera … on and on."
March 9
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
columnist Michael Hunt
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More than six years after it became the first big move that nudged the Milwaukee Brewers back toward respectability, the Richie Sexson blockbuster still resonates to one degree or another. Lyle Overbay, traded to make room for Prince Fielder, yielded Dave Bush, Gabe Gross and Zach Jackson. Jackson was included in the trade that made the '08 playoffs possible, the CC Sabathia stunner. Gross was moved for pitching prospect Josh Butler. Junior Spivey, traded for Tomo Ohka, and Chad Moeller led to dead ends. The Brewers gave up on Jorge de la Rosa too soon. Three years after control problems caused management to send him to Kansas City for Tony Graffanino, de la Rosa became a 16-game winner in ..."
March 8
Toronto Star
columnist Chris Zelkovich
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It's amazing how an unseasonably warm and spring-like weekend can get a little warmer and a little more spring-like with the simple flick of a radio dial. If there's anything more welcome on a March day than a spring-training baseball game on radio, I certainly haven't heard it. Even though it seemed strange that Rogers Sportsnet, which is owned by the same Rogers that owns the Blue Jays, was showing the Boston-Baltimore game on Sunday, there was no real complaint. Radio does more justice to baseball, especially the spring-training version. If anything, the weekend spring-training games accentuated what a good team the FAN 590 duo of Jerry Howarth and Alan Ashby has become in a relatively ..."
March 8
USA Today
columnist Bob Nightengale
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Eight baseball men, representing virtually every facet of the game, gathered in the twilight for a roundtable discussion on ways to improve the national pastime.It was nearly midnight by the time they walked out of a Scottsdale restaurant. They agreed. They disagreed. They yelled to be heard. They shut up to listen. They departed with a greater appreciation of one another, knowing their ideas might shake the game's foundation, but make it better for future generations. "I hope people take these ideas to heart, because they came from the heart," Los Angeles Angels All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter says. "We all love the game. We owe everything to it. Now, we want to make it better. ..."
March 8
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
columnist Todd Hayek
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If Seattle had a sports-themed amusement park, the roller coaster ride would probably be called the "Moose-a-lini," "Marinator," or "M's-Sir-Mount-able." For some, a roller coaster is a frightening event. Others enjoy the thrill of getting jolted and twisted through the ups and downs and upside-downs. Depending on the constitution of the average baseball fan in Seattle, the first decade of baseball in the new millennium may have been either orgasmic or revolting, as there were more highs and lows for the Mariners than the scariest coaster at Six Flags. That initial climb the coaster uses to gain momentum started in the mid-'90s and carried the Mariners to scream-filled playoff appearances ..."
March 7
Minneapolis Star Tribune
columnist Ethan Stanislawski
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When the Yankees traded for Nick Swisher in the offseason prior to last season, I was almost irrationally excited. I knew that they probably got good value for a player who had a down season in 2008, and I was skeptical that he could play 1B full time (which was how his role was spun before the Teixeira signing). But my irrational excitement was not caused by any value assessment, but by a much more ludicrous desire: After a decade of waiting, the Yankees had their very own meat grinder. I saw his fan-favorite status coming a mile away. I coined the term "meat grinder" later in the season, though the idea was firm in my head beforehand. A meat grinder is a variation of the much-bemoaned ..."
March 7
Florida Today
columnist Peter Kerasotis
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There are two distinct images I have from the 2003 World Series, the one that the Florida Marlins won against the New York Yankees. Both involve Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. Both will mean something special for the Washington Nationals, who played their spring training home opener Saturday and hope to escape the NL East cellar and the 205 combined losses (worst in baseball) over the past two seasons. Rodriguez, 38, might not be a leader on this Nationals team. He'll likely be the leader. Certainly, he'll be more than just the catcher for a young Nats' pitching staff. And that's where those two distinct images from the 2003 World Series come in. The first image I have occurred before Game 2, in ..."
March 7
Buffalo News
columnist Mike Harrington
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On the field, the biggest controversy thus far in Yankees camp is who will be the No. 5 starter. They have to decide between Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, one starting and one working out of the bullpen. And neither did much in his first start of the spring to help that decision along. But that's not even close to the real story that's lingering in Tampa. This is the final year of Derek Jeter's contract. And Mariano Rivera's. And Joe Girardi's. The Yankees don't negotiate during the season — and they're not planning any exceptions this time either. Jeter addressed the issue when he got to camp and pointedly announced he will not address it again. His 10-year, $189 million contract runs ..."
March 6
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
columnist Michael Hunt
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Phoenix - It was one of those days no Brewers fan would voluntarily commit to memory. Sept. 27, 2008. The 161st game of the season. Lasting just 2 1/3 innings, Ben Sheets gave up four runs in what had every appearance of a devastating loss to the Chicago Cubs. Afterward in the clubhouse, Sheets said, "That's it. That's all I have. I have a broke arm." And that was that for Sheets and the Brewers, the last in a mind-numbing litany of injuries that finally severed what could have been a beautiful relationship between the franchise and its all-time strikeout leader. Sometimes, though, things have a way of working out. The Brewers recovered in Game 162 to make the playoffs, and maybe, just ..."
March 6
Denver Post
columnist Patrick Saunders
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Today's topic is sportsmanship. You remember sportsmanship, don't you? You play hard. You respect your opponents and your teammates. You play the game with class. I bring this up in the wake of Thursday's incident during a spring training game between the Giants and the Brewers. In the first inning, Giants lefty Barry Zito drilled a fastball into the middle of Prince Fielder's back. The retaliatory pitch came about six months after Fielder insulted the Giants with an elaborate home-run celebration. In case you have forgotten, or never saw the incident, this is how it went down: On Sept. 6 at Miller Park, Fielder hit a 12th-inning walk-off homer in Milwaukee's 2-1 victory. As he rounded the ..."