Feb 23 2010
Rays and Marlins after Blalock (Yahoo! Sports)
Rays and Marlins after Blalock (Yahoo! Sports)
Hank Blalock hit .234 with 21 doubles and 25 home runs for the Texas Rangers last year, bringing in 66 runs and…
Hank Aaron applauds Mark McGwire’s apology (AP)
Former career home run king Hank Aaron says Mark McGwire should have a clear conscience after his recent admission he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player. Aaron said other players still harboring similar secrets also should come clean. “I think baseball is cleaning up its act a little bit, I really do,” Aaron said Monday during a visit to Atlanta Braves camp.
Braves signing Dominican shortstop Salcedo (Yahoo! Sports)
Since 2007, there have been some questions about just how old Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo is.
Wagner makes big first impression with Braves (AP)
In past years, Billy Wagner got Bobby Cox's attention by writing a message on a baseball and rolling it across the field into the Atlanta Braves' dugout. Cox said Saturday the messages from Wagner would be something like “'I'm back, you know.”' “We've had Billy in our plans for a number of years but always got beat out,” Cox said.
Lidge locks in on his health (Yahoo! Sports)
The star-crossed Phillies closer knows the best way to forget the travails of 2009 is to focus on his knee and elbow.
Tigers, OF Johnny Damon agree on $8 million, one-year deal: AP (The Canadian Press)
LAKELAND, Fla. - Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Sunday that “significant progress” is being made in negotiations with veteran outfielder Johnny Damon.
Low-balled Damon signs with Tigers (Yahoo! Sports)
The World Series hero overplayed his hand with the Yankees and scrambled to get a one-year deal from Detroit.
Braves‘ Brian McCann excited to shed glasses (AP)
Brian McCann was the Braves' best power hitter in 2009, even when his vision problems were so severe he sometimes saw more than one ball coming from the pitcher. The four-time All-Star catcher says he can't wait to see how much better he can be now that laser surgery has restored his vision. No more failed attempts to wear contact lenses.
Braves Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)
Melky Cabrera can expect to get playing time all over the outfield when spring training games begin because whether he plays left or right with the Braves in the regular season—and how often—depends on the progress of top prospect Jason Heyward.
And the progress of Heyward depends in part on whether the Braves want to postpone having to pay Heyward big bucks for as long as possible.
Here’s the scenario: Heyward has been everything a No. 1 prospect should be, and more. He’s 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, a five-tool player and smart. What manager Bobby Cox will be looking for this spring is how well Heyward handles major league breaking stuff, and how quickly he can make adjustments at the plate.
