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Associated Press:
Maddon Makes Debut With Cubs in Spring Tie With A's — MESA, Ariz. — Manager Joe Maddon made his spring debut with the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, a 2-2 tie against Barry Zito and the Oakland Athletics. — Travis Wood pitched two perfect innings for a split-squad of Cubs, and Mike Olt hit a two-run homer in the second inning.
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Yahoo Sports
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Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Cubs To Sign Phil Coke — 2:15pm: Coke's deal will pay him $2.25MM if he makes the Major League club with the opportunity to earn up to $900K more via incentives, reports MLive.com's Chris Iott (Twitter links). The incentives kick in beginning with his 35th appearance of the season, Iott adds.
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Bless You Boys and Bucs Dugout
Jeff Todd / MLB Trade Rumors:
Phil Coke “Very Close” To Deal With Unknown Team — Left-handed reliever Phil Coke is “very close” to signing a deal and getting into camp, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. He is expected to have a contract by tomorrow, per the report.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, HardballTalk, Metsblog, Yahoo Sports and Bleed Cubbie Blue
Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
Ross, Montero and Castillo capable of handling Lester, rotation
Ross, Montero and Castillo capable of handling Lester, rotation
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation
Christina Kahrl / MLB:
Giants fear Hunter Pence broke arm — SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence was hit on the left forearm near the wrist by a pitch thrown by hard-throwing Chicago Cubs prospect Corey Black in the sixth inning of Thursday's spring training games.
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MLB Trade Rumors, Yahoo Sports, baseballmusings.com, McCovey Chronicles and ESPN
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Associated Press:
Vogelsong Allows Slam in Giants' Win; Hunter Pence Hurt — SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Vogelsong gave up a grand slam to Kyle Schwarber, the Cubs first pick of last June's draft, but the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat a Chicago split-squad 8-6 on Thursday.
Discussion:
Bleed Cubbie Blue
Bill Price / NY Daily News:
Brian Cashman says Derek Jeter should be last Yankees captain — Derek Jeter was the longest tenured captain in the storied history of the Yankees. Brian Cashman thinks he should also be the last. — Speaking on The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN Radio Thursday, the Yankees general manager suggested …
Fox Sports:
MLB's decision on Josh Hamilton could come as early as next week — FOX Sports — An arbitrator will be needed to decide Josh Hamilton's punishment. — A decision by Major League Baseball on discipline for Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton is expected before Opening Day and could come …
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CBSSports.com, MLB Trade Rumors and HardballTalk
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ESPN:
Report: Arbitrator to make Hamilton rehab call
Report: Arbitrator to make Hamilton rehab call
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HardballTalk, baseballmusings.com and Sporting News Feed RSS
Los Angeles Times:
Josh Hamilton's future rests with arbitrator as panel splits on rehab treatment
Josh Hamilton's future rests with arbitrator as panel splits on rehab treatment
Discussion:
ESPN, Sporting News Feed RSS, The Big Lead, CBSSports.com, Deadspin, HardballTalk, Sports on Earth Writers, Halos Heaven and MLB Trade Rumors
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Regarding outfielder's reported relapse, director talks about ‘life concerns’ vs. baseball ones
Regarding outfielder's reported relapse, director talks about ‘life concerns’ vs. baseball ones
Discussion:
Gonzo and ‘The Show’ and Associated Press
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
‘Boring’ Cardinals know how to win — JUPITER, Fla. — The St. Louis Cardinals are the team the tabloids and shock-jock shows love to hate. — You looking for a juicy quote? Maybe stir up a little controversy? Sorry, wrong camp. — You looking for pizzazz, a little flair, or at least someone to brag about themselves?
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The Good Phight and HardballTalk
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Drew Magary / Deadspin:
Moron USA Today Columnist Thinks The Cardinals Poop Vanilla Sprinkles — You know, we usually wait until October here to dump on the Cardinals and have the entire city of St. Louis send us polite death threats. But Bob Nightengale ... oh, Bob Nightengale ... you forced my hand early, you abominable f**king hack.
Yahoo Sports:
Sources: Cuban Hector Olivera could have damaged UCL in throwing arm — Serious concern exists that Cuban infielder Hector Olivera has a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing arm, potentially hindering the market for a free agent who many expected to contribute in the major leagues this season, sources told Yahoo Sports.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, HardballTalk and Athletics Nation
Phil Rogers / MLB.com:
Ethier must prove his worth in crowded outfield — Andre Ethier's offensive production dropped in 2014 and he may have to bounce back in a platoon role because of his struggles with lefties — GLENDALE, Ariz. — Andre Ethier got it right. — He wasn't making waves or creating problems …
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True Blue LA
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Jon Heyman / CBSSports.com:
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers have offered to pay down …
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers have offered to pay down …
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CBSSports.com, NBCSports.com, MLB Trade Rumors and Sporting News Feed RSS
Ken Davidoff / New York Post:
‘I thought the bat looked slow’: Scouts on A-Rod — The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez at bat in the 6th inning Wednesday. — TAMPA — If this were opening night of a Broadway play, it might not reach a second show. — “I thought the bat looked slow,” a scout in attendance said.
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Sporting News Feed RSS
Patrick Saunders / On the Rox:
Rockies right-handers Chacin, Butler up and down vs. D-Backs — TOPICS — Scottsdale, Ariz. — Their lines didn't look particularly good, but there was incremental progress for Rockies right-handers Jhoulys Chacin and Eddie Butler in their Cactus League debuts Thursday afternoon against the Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields.