MLB

When you see Jesus Montero step to the plate, you see more of an NFL linebacker than a baseball player. The 6'4'', 225 pound, 20-year-old catcher hails from Guacara, Venezuela. Signed as a 16-year-old by the New York Yankees in 2006, Montero was tagged as the heir to Jorge Posada—high standards for just a teenager.

Many times, the low man on the totem pole does not get recognition for the job he does for an organization.  Giants batting coach Hensley "Bam-Bam" Meulens is that man in their organization this spring.  The Giants are leading both leagues in wins with 17.

Over the past couple of seasons, the rapid decline of David Ortiz has been somewhat spectacular. 

Ortiz has not hit 30 or more home runs since 2007. His batting average dropped to .264 in 2008, and .238 last year. Meanwhile, his OBP dipped to an anemic .332 last season.

Did you hear? Sounds like Magglio Ordonez is going to have a big year.

Literally sounds like.

The audible feeling is that Maggs is going to look more like the Ordonez of 2006-07 than the impostor who wore his uniform for all but the final month of the 2009 season.

More than once this spring training Manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski have alluded to the sound that Ordonez’s bat is making when it connects with the baseball.

For as long as the Diamondbacks have played at Bank One Ballpark/Chase Field, there have been "Team Shops" to sell the team’s merchandise. In the early years, there were "Team Shops" not only at the stadium but also around valley malls.

This, of course, made it easy for fans to pick up team merchandise at a location close to where they live. My wife of course hated the idea since it meant more outlets for me to visit and bring home “yet another piece of Diamondbacks gear”.

Rejoice, fellow Mets fans! It's 2000 all over again....

Well, sort of...

It appears the Chicago Cubs will carry a rookie, Tyler Colvin, as their fifth outfielder when the come north for the regular season. And to me, it might be a shame.

The Cubs have a lot of money tied up in their outfield. Between the albatross contracts of Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome, the corner outfield spots are pretty well locked up because of financial obligation.

Meanwhile, the Cubs brought in Marlon Byrd and Xavier Nady as free agents this winter to replace "Baseball's Kanye West," Milton Bradley. More money spent on veterans.

The Tigers have a pitching conundrum on their hands.

Two rotation spots remain for three players: Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Nate Robertson. All three have had impressive moments in the spring, but all three carry scars of a couple seasons of ineffectiveness.

The question of which two to take has racked my brain the past two weeks, but I think Zac summed it up best a few days ago by saying:

We are less than two weeks away from opening day, so that means, it’s prediction time.

Who’s going to win each division?

Who will win the World Series?

Who will take the MVP and Cy Young awards?

How the hell should I know?

Does anybody get these predictions right?

With injuries, fluctuations in performance, Ron Washington making out lineups while snorting a few lines of his “manager’s little helper,” and other unforeseen circumstances, it’s anybody’s guess.

Yesterday I took a look at which batters were ripping up the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues.

So naturally, today I will look at which pitchers are in midseason form.

Here are the spring training All-Star pitchers. Stats are through March 25, 2010.

SP: Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves—3-1 with a 1.35 ERA and 17 K’s in 20.1 IP

Hudson is fully recovered now from Tommy John surgery and could turn into the Braves’ ace as the season moves along. Last time Hudson was completely healthy, he did win 16 games.