FLB: Spring Training Notebook 2/21
• Grady Little has more than a little Mr. Magoo in him. Can't you just hear him cackling from the back of the dugout? "Oh, Little! You've done it again!" A day after speculating about keeping Chad Billingsley as part of his bullpen, the Dodgers manager hinted that if Wilson Betemit plays badly in the spring, Nomar Garciaparra could switch to third base, freeing up first for James Loney. I suppose the added eligibility for Nomar would be fine for his fantasy owners, but I'm having a difficult time understanding how that would work defensively. Garciaparra was always a dramatically overrated defensive shortstop with a scattershot arm. If I'm L.A., I don't want Mr. Hamm anywhere near the left side of my infield.
• Terry Francona told the Boston Herald that Coco Crisp is still "experiencing aftereffects" from the fractured left index knuckle which cost him more than two months last year. According to Francona, Crisp "still feels it when he swings left-handed." As a replacement for Johnny Damon, Crisp was a mega-bust in '06, though hitting at the bottom of this powerful lineup with more chances to run and less pressure to hit would be a good thing for Coco, one knuckle or two. However, he needs to be in there against righties if he's going to be at all effective.
• The Baltimore Sun reports that Kris Benson "will put off surgery to repair his torn right rotator cuff." Instead, after meeting with Dr. James Andrews, Benson will try and rehab his shoulder, with the idea of pitching this season. Either way, don't draft Benson. It's all too bad, since with the unfortunate passing of Anna Nicole, Anna Benson was all set to fill the Anna void, and become America's next reality-TV dry wit.
• Bobby Crosby was a source of a fair amount of consternation at our ESPN rankings summit a couple weeks back; some experts think he's due for a healthy year, while the savvy experts (ahem) prefer to stay away from a guy who once broke a rib on Opening Day by simply warming up his swing (really). Tuesday, Crosby hit off a tee for the first time since his bad back sidelined him in August. However, he may not be ready to play spring training games when they begin in March.
• Khalil Greene told the Associated Press his left middle finger is still sore six months after he injured it. "It's in a loosening phase," he said. "It's hard to gauge because all the weather has been sub-50 degrees." Ah, the hard life of a baseball player. (Khalil. It's negative-1,000,000 here tonight.) Anyway, the Padres don't have many other options at shortstop, so you can assume Greene will play through this for as long as humanly possible. In other news, hearing that someone else's middle finger was in the news, Michael Vick sighed contentedly.
• The Cubs avoided arbitration with Carlos Zambrano on Tuesday, signing him to a one-year, $12.4-million contract. Unfortunately for prospective Zambrano owners, this isn't the contract that's going to make the Chicago ace happy; that deal still has to be negotiated. With the way the Cubs threw around money this off-season, it seems very unlikely to me that they'd let Zambrano even get a whiff of free agency. I think you'll see him signed long-term in the next month.
• In a podcast this week, ESPN's own Eric Karabell revealed a hearty man-love for one Chris Burke, a second baseman who'll be playing centerfield for the Houston Astros this year. On Tuesday, Astros manager Phil Garner gave Eric one more reason to be stoked about the young player's '07 chances. Garner has already named a prospective batting order, and the biggest news is that it features Burke second, behind Craig Biggio. More ABs, more runs scored, more stolen-base opportunities ... this is fine news for Burke supporters. Since Burke's eligible at 2B, if he can turn the 11 steals he registered in 300+ at-bats in '06 into 20 or more this year, he's going to make some sleeper-hunters very happy.
• Speaking of exuberant wishes and caviar dreams on behalf of potential fantasy second basemen, how about that Felipe Lopez? Yes, I continue to pimp him mercilessly, though the signing of Ronnie Belliard to a minor-league deal does continue to throw a monkey wrench into my plan to have Lopez earn 2B eligibility. Still, the word about Cristian Guzman's wounded wing was better on Tuesday, as an MRI reportedly showed nothing worse than tendonitis. I've got my fingers perpetually crossed that Guzman at least lasts 20 early-season games at short.
• Who is Matt Lindstrom, and what has he done with the Marlins' closing job? Florida's own team Web site reports that Lindstrom "was clocked at 102 miles per hour during Puerto Rican Winter League action, and is establishing himself as an early favorite for the closer job." Lindstrom was a good Mets relief prospect a couple years back, but broke his funny bone in 2005, and got traded to the Marlins for Jason Vargas. He just turned 27, so it's not like he's a super-prospect now, but new Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez compared Lindstrom's fastball to Billy Wagner's on Tuesday. The situation bears watching. Oh, and my mom's name is Fredi. (Hi, mom.)
• Jonny Gomes arrived at Tampa Bay's camp on Tuesday and told the Tampa Tribune that his left shoulder, which he underwent surgery on in September, is completely healed. After a fast start in '06, Gomes was terrible thereafter, especially from a power perspective, but speculation is that his wounded shoulder was responsible. If that's true, and if 2005 wasn't a fluke, Gomes could be a very nice sleeper candidate.
• Two Erics (Wedge and Karabell) intimated yesterday that if presumptive closer Joe Borowski spits the bit for Cleveland, 87-year-old Roberto Hernandez could be next in line for saves. The Cleveland Plain Dealer quotes Wedge as saying, "Hernandez would be in that mix if we did have to. (He) has 326 saves." There's no question the Indians were burned after dealing Bob Wickman last year, going through prospective closers like Jason Giambi goes through tattoo ink.
• Finally, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Kerry Wood says he won't throw any curveballs this year, because he suspects they've led to his bevy of arm troubles. Since Wood will presumably be pitching out of the bullpen, he'd be able to get away with mostly sliders and fastballs. Boy, 20 strikeouts sure seems like a long time ago, doesn't it?
Chris Harris covers fantasy baseball, football and NASCAR for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
