
Update:Jon Lester had a good rebound game for the Boston Red Sox today against the Tampa Bay Rays. Lester threw 2 2/3 innings and gave up one unearned run on two hits, while striking out four. Lester allowed 4 runs in his spring debut in just one inning. Lester felt pretty good today, and said after the game,"All in all, I felt like I threw the ball pretty well today.Timing-wise, it's still a little bit off. There's still a little bit to go there. I felt like I made some adjustments and got the ball downhill pretty good."

Update: The Baltimore Orioles are all in when it comes to the Great Matt Wieters Experiment.Manager Dave Tremblay said today that he hopes that Wieters is able to catch in 130-140 games this coming season. Wieters finished off the 2009 season as hot as any catcher in baseball, and that includes Joe Mauer. Wieters may only be barely past rookie status but he is saying and doing all of the things managers hope for from veteran players this spring.

Update: Grady Sizemore went 2 for 2 against the San Diego Padres today, as the Cleveland Indians pounded Aaron Poredo for 7 runs in 0 official innings pitched. Sizemore hit a grand slam off of Poreda in the 4th inning, when the Indians exploded for 9 runs in a 10-5 victory. Sizemore also scored 2 runs for the day.

Update: Former Red Sox prospect Chris Carter had a huge game for the Mets against the Braves, as he went 2 for 3 with a double, homer and 4 RBI. He is now batting .625 with 8 RBI this spring.
Fantasy Impact: With no clear favorite at 1B in New York, it is certainly worth watching how guys like Carter and Ike Davis perform. David Murphy is listed as the starting 1B now, but if Carter and Davis continue hitting like they are hitting, it will be hard not to consider them for the roster, if not the starting first base job.

Update: Jose Bautista had another big game for the Blue Jays this spring, as he went 2/3 with his 3rd homer. He is batting .643 this spring with 3 homers and 6 RBI in just 5 games.
Fantasy Impact: Jose Bautista has been a good source of power ever since entering the league. In each of his 4 seasons, he has hit at least 13 homers and played in at least 107 games. He should not be considered on draft day, but he could be a solid pickup, as he is capable of going on streaks like this during the regular season.

Update: After giving up 6 hits and 3 runs in his first start (2 IP), Penny settled down with 4 innings of 1 hit ball with two strikeouts today against Washington.
Fantasy Impact: Brad Penny has certainly had a roller coaster career, with an incredible 2007 season in which he won 16 games and posted a stellar 3.03 ERA. He struggled mightily with Boston last year before going to San Francisco, where he dominated once again. I would not count too much on Brad Penny for your fantasy team, but he could certainly be a good sleeper pick.

Update: After his debut on the mound on Tuesdays against the Detroit Tigers, Stephen Strasburg was given just a little more of an opportunity by manager Jim Riggleman to make the Nationals Opening day roster."We'll make a decision about whether he's on the ballclub or not," said Riggleman. "But I think in his mind, he's doing the right thing.

Update: The Minnesota Twins may already be in "relief" mode as far as trying to compensate for the loss of closer Joe Nathan. Bob Elliott tweets that the Twins have shown an interest in Toronto Blue Jay reliever Jason Frasor, who appears to be the odd man out in the battle for the Jays closer position.Earlier this week it was thought that the Chicago Cubs were showing interest in Frasor also as a possible answer to Angel Guzman's possible career ending injury.Frasor has closed for the Jays at various times the past 6 years.


Update: The Oakland A's got some good news,bad news today. P Justin Duchscherer has been scheduled to throw to live batters this Friday for the first time since undergoing a minor back surgery to relive pressure on his sacroiliac.On the bad news side, P Joey Devine reports that he is suffering from some elbow tendinitis.The A's have told him to rest for the next 3 to 4 days to see how it responds.Both pitchers are probably not going to be ready for Opening Day, although Devine is still close.


Update: This hasn't been the best week for St. Louis Cardinals stars Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. First,Pujols has sat out all of this weeks games as he tries to rebound from a sore lower back. Now outfielder Matt Holliday has been scratched from today's lineup by manager Tony LaRussa. also. Holliday told TLR that he "felt something in his rib cage." LaRussa wasted no time in sitting down his left-fielder. There are no other reports on how serious the injury may or may not be.