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Today’s pitch count is 7.

1. The Arizona Diamondbacks catcher job is up for grabs. Chris Snyder is making the decision difficult as he’s proving to be a leader for the club. Miguel Montero, the other DBacks catcher competitor, is still bothered by a nagging injury to his finger that he fractured during winter ball.
2. The St. Louis Cardinals pitching rotation has a whole lot of question marks. The are two open slots for four or more pitching candidates. It seems that Matt Clement will not be ready to pitch by Opening Day.
3. “He’s right on track to have a big year,” pitching coach Bill Farrell said about Red Sox starter Jon Lester. Lester came to camp 20 pounds heavier and looks very strong.
4. Cubs outfield prospect, Sam Fuld, had a superb Arizona Fall League showing. Could Fuld be the front runner for the center field job in Chicago?
5. ”Very impressive. The ball jumps off his bat.” That’s what Cubs manager, Lou Pinella, said after watching Kosuke Fukudome take batting practice.
6. The Colorado Rockies contest for starting second baseman has a whole bunch of candidates.
7. Josh Fields is the front runner for the White Sox third base job.

Ian Kinsler and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a five-year deal that could be worth $32 Million. The 25-year-old was the center of attention in the 2007 Regular Season, starting off the year with nine home runs in April. Although many Fantasy Baseball owners traded him when his value was sky high, Kinsler may be an excellent second baseman for Keeper Leagues.

Kinsler, a solid fantasy baseball performer, has a powerful swing and excellent speed around the bases. In the 2007 Regular Season, his production was cut short as the two-year veteran missed 32 games due to a left foot injury. Brian Walton of CREATiVESPORTS believes that the youngster’s, “third season [will be] a complete and productive one.”

The Fantasy Baseball 2008 Guide projects the Arizona resident to hit for a .274 average, with 19 home runs, 70 RBI’s, and 18 stolen bases. As evident, Kinsler is still developing into an All-Star caliber second baseman. But, his current production is sufficient and he is clearly one of the best second basemen in Major League Baseball.

Kinsler and Michael Young are the future of the Texas Rangers’ organization. They should also be the cornerstones of your Fantasy Baseball franchises, too.

Typically, the minimum amount of time required to recover and rehab from Tommy John surgery is 12 months. B.J. Ryan underwent TJ surgery in May of 2007, but is trying very hard to be ready by opening day.

So there is rampant optimism throughout Jays camp that Ryan’s return is legitimate. The next question is, “What about Janssen?” Manager John Gibbons wants to leave him in the bullpen, where he had a breakout season in 2007, while GM J.P. Ricciardi wants to put him in the rotation and bump Litsch to Syracuse.

If Ryan can return and close games out by the start of the season, Jeremy Accardo would slip into the set-up role. Keep an eye on the rehab status of Ryan as Spring Training progresses. Neither Ryan nor Accardo should be drafted in early to middle rounds of mixed league drafts. You can consider a very late round flier on Ryan, but Accardo should only be drafted if Ryan falters or your league uses the holds stat.

Tim Dierkes has tagged me with a little game of “get to know a baseball blogger” and I must oblige as it has been reported on this very blog that Tim is Superman, and what he says… goes.

Here are 5 things that you, most likely, didn’t know about me.

1. When I was 9 years old and in the middle of a massive snowball fight, I maneuvered behind one of my opponents to sneak up and make a snow tackle (please, remember that I was 9). He was crouched down, so I built some speed, lept on top, and then noticed all of my friends in a different part of the field (I lived on 25 acres). I had just jumped on top of a dead body. In the snow storm, the night before, this guy had attempted to walk home from the local bar. Apparently, he fell into our yard, passed out, and never woke back up. And I jumped on him…
2. I have visited 46 of the 50 states. I am only missing Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Alaska.
3. When I played ball in school, I hit left handed, but threw right handed. I did this because as a very young child, when I finally got a chance to play wiffle ball with the big kids in the cul-de-sac, I was too scared to get far away from my yard. And that meant, to stay close to my house, I had to stay in the left hander’s batter’s box. That was probably the best baseball decision of my life, and I made it as a three year old.
4. I collect newspapers from very memorable days in sports history. The paper has to be from the home town of the team or player in question (no-hitters, championships etc.), or from the town where the historical event is taking place The Masters, U.S. Open etc.). I have Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire’s home run chase, as well as the Barry Bonds chase. I have most Atlanta papers, of any importance, since 2000, when I moved here. But, my most prized posessions are Nolan Ryan’s 6th and 7th no hitters, Pete Rose’s 4192nd hit  and Carl Yastrzemski’s 3000th hit. If anyone lives in major metropolitan areas and are willing to send me a few copies when something special happens sports wise, shoot me an e-mail. I’d be more than thankful.
5. I’m an avid tennis player, playing at least twice a week. I’ve participated in the playoffs at USTA 3.5 and won two ALTA city championships, but still can’t hit a backhand with any regularity.

Now that that is over, I will tag the guys over at Sox & Dawgs, Science Fiction Baseball, & Fantasy League Baseball

My oh my, what a difference a year makes. Last year we had three top tier catcher options with Joe Mauer, Brian McCann and Victor Martinez. In 2008, only one of those guys remains a top option, Victor Martinez. Joining Martinez this season is only one other catcher for top billing status, and that guy is Dodgers backstop, Russell Martin.

McCann and Mauer have been relagated to 2nd tier status and are joined by Jorge Posada, who had a fantastic year in 2007.

Over the next few posts, we’re going to look at the player profiles in the catcher postion and talk a little draft strategy. There are a number of different strategies regarding catcher acquisition this season, but only four make real sense.

1. Pay big bucks, or use that early draft pick on Martin or Martinez. You’re, most likely, going to have to snatch these guys in the late second round or third somewhere.
2. Draft Mauer, Posada, or McCann in the early middle rounds (5th - 8th rounds) and bank on position scarcity screwing everyone else who didn’t use option #1 or #2.
3. Take the boring route (read: somewhat solid numbers, not much wow factor) and grab a veteran like Kenji Johjima, Ivan Rodriguez, or Bengie Molina in rounds #10 through #18.
4. Or, you could gamble on one of the young, rising stars like J.R. Towles, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, or Geovany Soto in rounds #12 through #21.

So far, in mock drafts, I’ve been using either option #2 or option #4 for the most part.

Coming next… player profiles for tier 1 and tier 2 fantasy catchers.

New Cincinnati Reds manager, Dusty Baker has his hands full with his team’s center field situation. The Reds have three players competing for the CF job, and top prospect, Jay Bruce may not like the results.

The problem is that the Reds also need a leadoff man. Baker would like whoever wins the CF job to also be the teams leadoff hitter. Bruce’s other competitors (Ryan Freel & Norris Hopper) are a better fit for the leadoff slot, but that in itself won’t kill Bruce’s chances of every day play at the start of 2008.

Baker has also suggested that the Reds are still looking outside the organization for a leadoff/CF. Their prime target right now is Kenny Lofton. If the Reds sign Lofton, Jay Bruce may start the season in the minors.

In an interview Sunday night, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella mentioned that Bob Howry was the early front runner to earn the closer job for 2008.

Howry, Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol are expected to compete for the closer’s job in Spring Training. Don’t think that Howry closing is a done deal. Remember last season’s closer flip flop when Ryan Dempster was supposed to move to the rotation and Marmol was going to take over in save situations?

Write Howry’s name in light, light shades of pencil on your depth charts.