Top News:
Associated Press:
Guillen and Tigers agree to $48 million, 4-year extension — LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Shortstop Carlos Guillen and the Detroit Tigers agreed Friday to a $48 million, four-year contract extension through the 2011 season. — Guillen is making $5 million this season, the last of a $14 million, three-year deal.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
RELATED:
Sports Illustrated:
Four more years — Guillen agrees to $48 million extension with Tigers — Tigers shortstop Carlos Guillen has agreed to a four-year, $48 million extension to stay in Detroit through 2011, SI.com has learned. — Guillen, who batted .320 with 19 home runs and 85 RBIs in 2006 in helping …
Danny Knobler / MLive.com blog:
Guillen signed to extension — LAKELAND, Fla. — Maybe it offsets the news on Kenny Rogers, maybe it doesn't, but the Tigers have to be thrilled to get Carlos Guillen signed to a four-year, $48 million extension that keeps him with the team through 2011. — Oh, and Guillen's happy, too.
Associated Press:
Rogers has blood clot removed; likely out until July — LAKELAND, Fla. — Kenny Rogers is out until at least the All-Star break, leaving the Detroit Tigers to defend their AL pennant without one of their top pitchers. — Two days after saying his arm felt tired, Rogers had surgery Friday …
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yankees make roster decisions — Phelps, Nieves among those to win jobs with Bombers — TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees' 25-man roster is set to go north, a little younger and less expensive than some anticipated, and with just one exhibition game standing between Legends Field and Yankee Stadium.
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WFAN - The Fan:
Sweeny Blog: What has happened in the last 643 days — When Carl Pavano starts for the Yankees on Opening Day it will be 643 days since his last start. While I'm having a hard time unearthing records of other pitchers when they work on 643 days rest, I have uncovered the following bits of information:
Discussion:
Bats
Associated Press:
Pirates cut Kolb, keep Kelly and Wasdin — BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Dan Kolb, a former All-Star closer with the Milwaukee Brewers, was reassigned to the Pittsburgh Pirates' minor league camp on Friday and is looking for another major league job. — The Pirates had until Friday to notify Kolb whether he would make their 25-man roster.
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John Perrotto / Baseball Prospectus:
How the Pittsburgh Pirates Can Win the World Series — Brad talks with Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield about the Pirates' chances on Baseball Prospectus Radio. Click to download the mp3. — The last time Bud Selig was in Pittsburgh, he used the words hope and faith and nearly got laughed out of the Steel City.
Charlie Wilmoth / Hardball Times:
Five Questions: Pittsburgh Pirates — It isn't much of a coincidence that the Pirates finished the 2006 season with the same 67-95 record they had in 2005. Since taking the Pittsburgh general manager job in 2001, Dave Littlefield has specialized in risk aversion, resulting in team after team that wins around 70 games.
Discussion:
Bucs Dugout
Danny Knobler / MLive.com blog:
Rogers out for 3 months after surgery to remove blood clot — LAKELAND, Fla. — Kenny Rogers will be out three months after surgery this morning to remove a blood clot and repair arteries in his left shoulder. — Dr. Greg Pearl performed the surgery at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
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Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards release Rincon — MEMPHIS — Eschewing the path of least resistance, the Cardinals on Friday morning released veteran lefthanded reliever Ricardo Rincon. — The move, made hours before the team boarded buses to leave its Jupiter, Fla., spring training base, effectively sets …
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Preston Wilson says racial issues remain in baseball — MEMPHIS, TENN. — When it announced the first annual Civil Rights Game between the Cardinals and Cleveland Indians less than four months ago, Major League Baseball envisioned this weekend as a commemoration of the civil rights movement …
Jeff Horrigan / Boston Herald:
Pap survives scare: Ankle twist turns out OK — FORT MYERS - The Red Sox [team stats] received a scare in the ninth inning of the final Grapefruit League game at City of Palms Park, when closer Jonathan Papelbon [stats] rolled his right ankle covering first base.
RELATED:
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:Buchholz gives sneak peek at future: Sox prospect shows stuff
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
Tom D'Angelo / Palm Beach Post:
Major accomplishment — For Sissy Wood, the calls are part of her daily routine. — One as her husband, Jason Wood, is heading to the park. One after batting practice. One after the game. — During the spring, that means a 3:30 a.m. wake-up at her home in Fresno, Calif. "I'm a farmer's daughter," she says.
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Soriano staying in center—for now — Piniella predicts his fielding will improve — LAS VEGAS — Alfonso Soriano's transition to center field this spring has been rough, as befits a player who has spent most of his career at second base. — Asked before Friday night's game how much Soriano …
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Mets scheduled for a challenging '07 — Defending NL East champs to face every other '06 playoff team — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets will relive their final steps of the 2006 season on Opening Night 2007. — The schedulemaker has them in St. Louis on April 1, and there they will experience …
