With slugging first baseman Lance Berkman sidelined until at least Opening Day, the Houston Astros are in serious danger of a second straight anemic season at the plate.

In 2009, the Astros finished 14th in the National League in runs scored, 12th in home runs, and 15th in walks.

Much of the problem stemmed from Berkman's inability to stay healthy. In 136 games (his fewest since 2005), Berkman had only 562 plate appearances (his fewest since 2000).

All right, it's only grapefruit league. These games don't "count." Even so, there are a couple of former cellar dwellers that were touted as turnaround prospects, that don't look like such in spring training. One of them is the Washington Nationals. Another is the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As a consolation, the World Series champion Yankees are 5-7, with their formerly vaunted starters, CC Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain, struggling mightily. The Pirates are 2-2 against them.

The biggest news out of the New York Yankees spring training camp so far this spring has been the battle for the fifth spot in the club's rotation.

Among the five men battling for the spot, three stand out to me as potential starters for the Yankees come April. Those men would be Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves.

After the first few weeks only one has stood out as a potential fifth starter and that is Alfredo Aceves.

I had my first draft of the season a week ago and it seems no matter how well you prepare for a draft you can never quite envision how it will play out.

Even after reviewing many different ADP reports for my 10-team H2H league it still shocked me how the first round went. I ended up with the 10th overall pick and while I was initially not pleased I certainly made the most of it.

Immediate shock waves rippled through Philadelphia and Saint Louis on Sunday when Buster Olney of ESPN.com wrote that the Phillies have "kicked around" the notion of trading slugger Ryan Howard for regular MVP contender Albert Pujols.

"No way would (insert either team) do that!" cry emotionally attached fans in their respective home towns.  However, such a deal would make sense for both teams.

News broke on Sunday that the Phillies organization has discussed the idea of trying to use slugger Ryan Howard to pry Albert Pujols from the Cardinals.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro flatly denied the rumors, saying, "I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie."

Amaro may be denying it, but the idea makes a lot more sense than you would think.

The Red Sox top prospect, outfielder Ryan Westmoreland of Portsmouth, RI, has been diagnosed with a rare congenital condition (a cavernous malformation) that carries a risk of neurological damage and is potentially life-threatening.

He has taken a medical leave of absence from the club to obtain treatment and undergo surgery.

GM Theo Epstein made the announcement yesterday:

John Lannan is a pitcher who has garnered some attention the past two seasons due to some impressive ERAs, but that is where the positives come to an abrupt end. 

Is this one "plus" a reason to consider taking the gamble on him?  I certainly don’t think so, and here’s why…

First off, his 2009 statistics:

9 Wins
206.1 Innings
3.88 ERA
1.35 WHIP
89 Strikeouts (3.88 K/9)
68 Walks (2.97 BB/9)
.276 BABIP

Things You Need To Know:

Here it is, one day before "The Ides of March" and the so-called pundits, as well as the vast majority of the Mets' faithful, are in full panic mode and have come to bury Caesar long before the body is cold.

Come on everybody, 2009 was officially over on Oct 3. Or if you believe in the Julius Caesar calendar, how about 11:59PM and 59 seconds on December 31.

It's spring and no time to complain about anything that might or might not happen this summer.

The San Francisco Giants are favored by many to win the NL West. So, let's celebrate on day we enjoy our first extra hour of daylight.

OK. Celebration's over. A couple of things caught my on Saturday and, well, I'm concerned about what the summer will bring.

Giants fans who feel like playing right field at AT&T Park requires an advanced degree of some sort might be alarmed to hear that Aubrey Huff is talking about potentially seeing some action in right field.