Daily Roundup- Tuesday, March 3rd

Over the next two to three weeks, MLB camps will see a very thin list of super star players because the WBC will be invading camps and taking away the very best to go represent their countries.
I’m not a fan of the WBC considering that its played in Spring Training when players should be loosening up, they are going full throttle. Some of those backing out of their commitments to their country should be applauded. While it is a privilege to represent your nation, your financially committed to a team and its fan base depends on you for production. If you’re a David Wright or Jose Reyes, you have to remember that you can’t expect fans to buy the excuse that you’re tired in August and September from playing in the WBC in March.
It’s the only tournament of champions we have that has international competition being endorsed by MLB because its one of their creations. But again, not a fan of the WBC because of the effects it will have on the players in August and September and as a Met fan I do not want to see my best players tire down the stretch. Especially knowing that 15 of the players are going down there to play, that seems like a very big number.

With 24 players gone from their rosters, the Mets and Yankees have time to focus in on other players who are just as important to their future success. The Yankees had their eyes set on their 160 million dollar pitcher, C.C. Sabathia and Chien Ming Wang who was pitching for the first time since going down with a season ending injury. While the Mets focused in on their future staff ace Brad Holt.

The Yankees must be happy about the whole A-Rod circus leaving town and finally being able to focus on what Spring Training should be about, developing their stars and making sure they will be exactly what they paid them to be. I am looking at C.C. to win 18-20 games for the Yanks. It’s a conservative estimate and it’s the same estimate I gave to Johan Santana the first year he was with the Mets just because there is a real adjustment period that he will go through while dealing with the rigors of playing in New York and the constant pressure of expectations he will carry with that contract he signed.
I think the key for the Yankees and their biggest surprise will be the effectiveness of Chien Ming Wang. With him being matched up with the number three of every team’s rotation it will be a favorable match up considering he was their de-facto ace for the last couple of years. The guy averaged 19 wins in 2006 and 2007 so he knows how to win and that’s what the Yankees need. The overwhelmingly similar character trait in the Yankee glory years was that no one player stood out for their individual accomplishments and Wang follows that mold. The guy goes out and wins and I see him having more wins than A.J. Burnett or C.C. Sabathia. I can see him going for 20-23 wins, but because he doesn’t strike people out or overwhelm hitters with swing and miss pitches, he doesn’t dominate head lines. The fact is, he’s a winner and the Yankees should be counting their lucky stars that they plucked this guy out of the wood work to start for them. If he comes into his own, and they can get 15 wins out of Burnett (and I’m predicting that to be a stretch because I would say he’s going to win a maximum of 15 games but most probably have a record of 12-14 or 13-11) and have at least 18-20 wins out of Sabathia, the Yankees should run away with this division.
The Mets haven’t had this kind of pitching phenom since that kid in Tampa Bay that we traded for so we could eventually one day get Johan Santana. Holt is the kind of fast riser that many outside of the Mets were comparing him to Joba Chamberlain, which is an unfair comparison but when considering that the Mets hurry their prospects up the chain it’s a valid one. It can end up good sometimes (see: Wright, David) or it can end up hampering their development and cause them to slow their rise up (see: Martinez, Fernando). Hopefully the Mets do right by this kid and let his pitching put him in the big leagues instead of management’s need to see one of their prospects shoot up the ranks. Plus, doesn't his name alone justify that he's going to be a star?



One of the biggest reasons these guys get plucked out of the wood work and become stars after being drafted in the 60th round is because of scouts like Art Stewart. In this Joe Posnanski piece, he writes a beautiful tale about love being found, with a half century break in the middle for the love of the game.

Ahhh, the love of the game. Sometimes the things you love hold you back from the things that love you because you’re never aware of anything else. I don’t know what that means, but when I wrote it, it made sense so I’m keeping that in there. The story of Art Stewart can probably be echoed by many a scout who has lived the suitcase life of traveling in small towns and trying to find the next big thing. But Art’s unique story is something that bears telling and I’m glad that there are good journalists who don’t try to chase down Angel Presinal and goes after stories that still make us believe that baseball isn’t all evil, you just sometimes have to wait a real long time to re-find your “flame” again.



As is to be expected by one of the best to ever do it, Peter Vecsey brings the truth to the game as he reveals some hidden nuggets on contractual matters and also drops true verse about teams possibly being better without their best players.

Its one of those I don’t believe it kind of things but its also one of the most overhyped storylines. You know, when a team loses its star player, the entire fan base begins to crash and poo poo their loss as if the rest of the players are just going to start wilting. It depends. Carmello Anthony is not a leadership emoting type of player. No one is following Allen Iverson, in fact if he were allowed to play by himself against a team I’m sure he could talk himself into it. Greg Oden needs to be on the court for five minutes for me to properly assess exactly what the Blazers saw in Benjamin Button when they drafted him number one overall.
I would say that the Heat are lost without Dwayne Wade, and the Cavs minus Lebron and the Lakers minus Kobe. Why? The common denominator is their talent compared to the next best player on the roster. They are so much better than their two’s that its conceivable that the team will legitimately tank. Carmello is not that much better than J.R. Smith that the Nuggets will tank, plus they have the leadership of Chauncey Billups to get them over. The Blazers are loaded with young talent to really pay attention to the fact that Oden is gone, and plus they did fine last year without him. The Pistons were a contending team without A.I.. But as soon as the balling legend came on board, it seemed like the Pistons forgot how to play team ball and were sucked in Allen’s personal vacuum. The fact is, these players don’t dictate their team’s tempo and can’t carry their teams anywhere. Much like Tracy McGrady can’t do anything with any team (Remember he hasn’t gotten out of the first round) and I guarantee you that if he returns do you really trust him enough to carry them through the first round? I don’t. But hey that’s for Houston to decide.
As always a verbally pleasing article by one of the best to ever do it.