Rivera Honored/Yankees No-Hit in Panama City
What began with great ceremony as the Yankees traveled to Mariano Rivera's hometown in Panama City to play with exhibition the Marlins, turned out to be an ugly day at the plate. The Marlins, who closed out their 2013 campaign with a no-hitter from Henderson Alvarez sent Brad Hand to the mound. Hand is in the battle for a spot in Miami's rotation and had had a nice spring but topped even that as he hurled five perfect innings, striking out six. Steve Cisheck, A.J. Ramos, and Arquimedes Caminero would follow to finish the no-hit bid bringing back memories of when Roy Oswalt, Brad Lidge, Kirk Saarloos, Billy Wagner, Octavio Dotel, and Pete Munro held the Yankees hitless in 2003.
Hamilton Nearly Ready for Game Action
Josh Hamilton, who was out of commission early this spring with a strained calf muscle, is nearly ready for game action. Hamilton, who is also trying to put a disappointing 2013 behind him, just needs get some base running in before he makes his Cactus League debut for the Angels hopefully in the coming week.
Iglesias Out Indefinitely for Tigers
Jose Iglesias has been dealing with pain in his shins this spring that now figures to keep him out of the Opening Day line up with reports saying he could miss most of the 2014 season. While nothing is official or even known about the condition as of yet, Detroit could look to add Stephen Drew who has still yet to sign with a club this off season.
Machado Suffers Setback
Orioles third baseman, Manny Machado suffered a setback in his bid to return for Opening Day after off season knee surgery. Machado tore a ligament in his left knee in one of the more gruesome injuries last season and had been making positive steps to come back to begin the season. It appears he's going to be a bit behind now.
Wren Standing Pat on Pitching Rotation For Now.
Braves GM, Frank Wren says it's unlikely the Braves go outside for any more rotation help following the signing of Ervin Santana last week and the rather gloomy outlook for Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy who both appear to be headed towards their second Tommy John Surgeries. In addition to Santana, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, Freddy Garcia, and David Hale seem to be the likely arms to fill out the starting staff.
Twins Extend Perkins
Glen Perkins, who is closing games for the Minnesota Twins these days and doing quite well at it (something I wish I knew he'd do before I dropped him in my now defunct dynasty league years ago) has reached a club friendly extension for the next 4 years that will pay him $22.1 million over that span. A good day for Perkins and the Twins fans as Perkins is a local product.
