Matt Wieters (0 DXL)
Today's the day and I figured that I should at least address Wieters. Wieters may be the rebirth of the Orioles or PECOTA's Waterloo, but we do know that he's going to be the ultimate test of the tall catcher problem. Along with Joe Mauer, whose leg problems can in some ways be attributed to his height, Wieters is one of very few catchers over 6'3". Keith Law was the first to mention this that I can remember, though I'm sure it had been addressed elsewhere. His ideas on it (he was against at the time, though I'm not sure if he still is) got me to ask some of my father's students to test it. They did some calculations and physical tests and, yes, there is more stress on the knees and hips during all phases of the crouch. Testing the muscles' response was more difficult, but the additional stresses didn't seem to speak well there. I've long been for moving Mauer from behind the plate, and if Wieters is as good, I'll be an advocate of moving him as well. Not completely, but both play in the AL and that DH slot should be used for more than just hiding a glove. Now, let's all hope that this is the last time that I have to put Wieters' name in UTK.

For those of you who don't want to spend the $2, USA Today has posted the rosters for the American League and the National League for the Leagues of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR).

Some executives will tell you privately that they feel duped for giving out long-term deals to aging players who they now believe extended their careers by taking steroids. Other executives will tell you that they just feel like the heavy drug use was a product of the times.

Piniella also declined to anoint Carlos Marmol as his closer over newcomer Kevin Gregg, despite Marmol's dominance as the set-up man.

"He has earned it, but the other kid has done well," Piniella said. "Let them compete. I think it worked very well last year [with Kerry Wood, Marmol and Bob Howry] when we went into camp and let them all compete. I feel comfortable with Marmol, no question. But remember, we traded for this other young man and he was a closer [for Florida] with success, so give him a chance too.

"What we need to develop is a seventh-inning pitcher. That's going to be a bigger job than [picking] the closer."

It's hard for any team to get better after losing Matt Holliday, but rebound seasons from Troy Tulowitzki and Garrett Atkins and a power infusion from Ryan Spilborghs should go a long way in establishing a solid offense.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are actively shopping Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher, as Ken Rosenthal wrote Monday, and it figures they will move one or the other by the start of the season. Nady is eligible for free agency after 2009, but it makes more sense to me for the Yankees to deal Swisher; they're in a win-now mode and Swisher is coming off a terrible year, with no guarantee that he'll bounce back. Nady, on the other hand, hit .305 with 25 homers and 97 RBIs last season, and he's just 30 years old, and it may be that the Yankees will want to keep him around as the contracts of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui expire next fall.
The Yankees have asked around about a possible market for Matsui, but as other GMs will attest, this is not the best winter -- actually, it's the worst winter -- to be marketing a pricey corner outfielder.

``The financial ecology is swelling into gigantic, incestuous, bureaucratic banks -- when one fails, they all fall,'' Taleb wrote in ``The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable,'' which was published in 2007. ``The government-sponsored institution Fannie Mae, when I look at its risks, seems to be sitting on a barrel of dynamite, vulnerable to the slightest hiccup.''

It is, however, a very clear sign that we’ve gone too far. A good idea—protecting pitchers from injury due to overuse—has been warped, with ill effects for the industry. The marginal innings that veteran starters aren’t throwing—and we’re talking about maybe 10-20 a season for some large number of pitchers—are not just going to inferior pitchers, but they’re driving roster decisions that have changed the way the game is played. As much as La Russa-influenced tactics have helped redesign reliever usage, the lack of those extra pitches and extra innings has forced teams to carry 11, 12, and sometimes 13 pitchers as a workaround. That change has reduced the amount of platooning and shortened benches to the point that many teams have non-functioning reserve corps.

Johan Santana needs to get smarter now that his stuff is slower, writes Bob Klapisch. Within this piece, there is an acknowledgment from former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson that Santana's stuff has diminished; Peterson feels that Santana can make the adjustment to lesser stuff.

Which players selected in the 2008 immediately take over as their organization's No. 1 prospect? It looks like lefthander David Price beats shortstop Tim Beckham with the Rays, but what about third baseman Pedro Alvarez with the Pirates? First baseman Eric Hosmer over shortstop Mike Moustakas with the Royals? Catcher Buster Posey over first baseman Angel Villalona with the Giants?