Eye On Baseball

By C. Trent Rosecrans

When Mariners pitchers and catchers reported to the Peoria Sports Complex on Saturday morning for physicals, each locker had an orange shirt inside. On the front, was a picture of a Great Dane and on the back had the number 56 and the name Halman, along with a quote from Jackie Robinson:

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

The shirts were a tribute to Greg Halman, the Seattle outfielder killed this past offseason and made by the Mariners' Mike Carp, Halman's close friend.

"He impacted so many lives, it's incredible," Carp told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. "I only knew him for a short time compared to a lot of other people. But I'll never forget him. He's one of the most special people on I'll ever meet."

The Mariners are also planning on wearing a No. 56 patch on their uniform to honor Halman.

Carp's tribute was just supposed to be for his teammates, but when word got out on Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the internet on Saturday, fans wanted to know if they could get one. So, Carp and Alex Liddi, are in talks to sell the shirts at Mariners' team stores.

"I'm going to go in [Sunday] and talk to the team about it," Carp told Baker. "But I think it would be neat if we could come up with a way to sell them and use the money to help the family or give it to charity. It would be a great tribute to him."

Here are pictures of the shirt -- orange to honor Halman's Dutch heritage -- from Baker (@gbakermariners on Twitter):



This is just the basics, make sure you read all of Baker's story about how Halman helped Carp.

As soon as we find out how to get your shirt, we'll let you know.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

Derek Holland tried his hand at taking Will Ferrell's job during the World Series, and on Friday he took his shot at Willard Scott's gig.

Holland, the Rangers' left-hander, tried his hand at doing the weather on Dallas' WFAA. And, well, he did it in his own, usual goofy way.



Holland said he had long wanted to be a weatherman and studied journalism at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Ala. They obviously didn't cover the green screen in his courses.

Unfortunately he can't give up his Ferrell doing Harry Caray schtick -- but I do give him credit for thinking ahead and wearing a green shirt so he could go headless. I'll also give credit to WFAA's Pete Delkus (a former Twins farmhand) for calling him out on his Ed Bassmaster impression, which got annoying, and the fact that his Caray impression was more of Ferrell than the late Cubs and Cardinals announcer. The good news, for Holland and Dallas-area TV viewers, is that pitchers and catchers report next week.

Hat-tip: Big League Stew

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

The starting point, it appears, for Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes is $40 million.

A report on Cafe Fuerte, a Spanish-language blog based in South Florida, quotes a source as saying the Marlins offered Cespedes a six-year, $40 million contract. It also said he has no immediate plans to meet any other teams. However, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweeted that he's heard the Marlins' offer was less than the $40 million reported by Cafe Fuerte.

Cespedes visited Miami earlier this week and then returned to the Dominican Republic on Thursday. During his visit, Cespedes told reporters he'd like to play for the Marlins.

The 26-year-old outfielder has drawn the interest of not only the Marlins, but also the Cubs, White Sox, Tigers, Orioles and Indians.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

Did you know the Marlins retired the No. 5? Me either.

Well, it's been unretired, MLB.com reports. Originally set aside to honor Carl Barger, the team's first president and chief operating officer, the team has allowed outfielder Logan Morrison to don the number.

Barger died on Dec. 9, 1992, before the Marlins ever played a game. The Marlins retired the number because his favorite player was Joe DiMaggio.

Morrison, though, is doing it to honor a different No. 5, his dad's favorite player, George Brett. (I won't say what it means about me that Logan Morrison's dad and I have the same all-time favorite player.) Morrison was born in Kansas City and on Twitter, he said his father always told him to play the game like Brett. Morrison's father, Tom, died after Morrison's rookie year in 2010.

So, here's what Morrison, who had previously worn No. 20, had to say about the number change on his Twitter account:


Morrison also shared a picture of what his new jersey will look like.

The team will add a plaque in its new Miami ballpark to honor Barger.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted that the door to Morrison changing numbers may have been pushed open when the team offered to unretire No. 5 to woo a certain free agent first baseman who, like Brett, had worn the number for many years in the state of Missouri.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

We finish our look at spring training's position battles with the National League East, home of some of the most intriguing teams in the game -- and the Mets.

Previous spring position battles: AL West | NL West | AL Central | NL Central | AL East

Atlanta Braves
Fifth starter: Mike Minor vs. Randall Delgado vs. Julio Teheran

There's not a team in baseball that wouldn't drool over having to make this decision. The three are expected to be the keystone to the rotation in the future, but Minor's still the oldest of the bunch having just celebrated his 24th birthday the day after Christmas and therefore expected to be the first to make an impact in the majors. Delgado turned 22 on Thursday and Teheran celebrated his 21st birthday last month. The left-handed Minor made 15 starts last season for the Braves, going 5-3 with a 4.14 ERA. Meanwhile, Delgado dazzled in his seven starts, going 1-1 with a 2.83. Teheran didn't live up to the expectations many had for him -- but he was just 20 and made only three starts. He'll be fine. More than fine.

Miami Marlins
Center field: Emilio Bonifacio vs. Chris Coghlan vs. Yoenis Cespedes?

This is up in the air until Cespedes makes his decision, although it seems more and more like he'll be a Marlin. There's no question the Marlins want him and there's no question they want him in center field. If he does sign with Miami, the team will have to see how ready the 26-year-old is for the big leagues. He may not start in Miami, but the goal would be to have him there for the long-haul. Bonifacio is coming off a career-best .296/.360/.393 season with 40 stolen bases, but he was aided by a .372 batting average on balls in play -- something that will likely drop, but should still be high because of his speed. He also increased his walk rate, which helped as well. Coghlan won the 2009 Rookie of the Year, but a knee injury in 2010 has hampered him since his first season. He hit just .230/.296/.368 with five home runs and seven stolen bases in 298 plate appearances last season and his future is up in the air.

New York Mets
Second base: Daniel Murphy vs. Justin Turner vs. Ronny Cedeno

Murphy's likely to get the nod, as long as he can field the position adequately. Murphy made the majority of his starts at first base last season, but with the return of Ike Davis, Murphy needs a home thanks to his .320/.362/.448 line. Turner hit .260/.334/.356 as the team's primary second baseman (71 starts), but is probably no more than a utility player in the long run. Cedeno was signed from the Pirates to back up Ruben Tejada at shortstop, but he could figure in the second base situation if worst comes to worst.

Philadelphia Phillies
Left field: John Mayberry Jr. vs. Domonic Brown vs. Laynce Nix

The job is probably Mayberry's to lose after hitting .273/.341/.513 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI last season. Brown, the team's former top prospect, struggled in his 56 games and 210 plate appearances with the Phillies last season, hitting .245/.333/.391 with five homers. Brown has the talent, but it has to actuate for him to earn more playing time. The left-handed Nix is a backup, but could add depth to the outfield with the absence of Ryan Howard at first base. A good fielder, Nix struggles against left-handed pitching, so he's not an everyday type player.

Washington Nationals
Center field: Rick Ankiel vs. Roger Bernadina vs. Bryce Harper

Well, Harper won't be in center field, but he's basically fighting for that spot. If he makes the team out of spring, he'll be in right and Jayson Werth will be in center. That still seems unlikely, as good as the 19-year-old is. Ankiel won a spring-training battle with Nyjer Morgan last year, leading to Morgan's trade to Milwaukee. The Nationals brought Ankiel back on a minor-league deal, but he's still probably the favorite. He hit .239/.296/.363 with nine home runs last season. Like Ankiel, Bernadina hits left-handed. Last year he put up a .243/.301/.362 line with seven home runs in 91 games and 50 starts in center field.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

The Athletics, Blue Jays and Orioles had been said to have interest in Manny Ramirez -- but strike the Orioles from that list.

FREE AGENT TRACKER

Baltimore's Dan Duquette told reporters Friday that the Orioles probably won't be adding Ramirez, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.

"I don't think there's going to be a fit for Manny," Duquette said. "We've looked at that all winter and I'm not sure there's a fit there for the Orioles. I wish Manny a lot of luck, but I just don't think he fits in our ballclub right now."

Duquette said he didn't foresee the Orioles signing any more players before the team starts camp.

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By C. Trent Rosecrans

Friday had good news and bad news for Royals fans outside the Kansas City area (and trust me, they exist).

The bad news? Fox Sports Kansas City officially announced (via MLB.com) they've hired Rex Hudler and Steve Physioc as the team's TV broadcast team.

The good news? MLB.TV announced that for the first time the home and away broadcasts will be available for all games.

The problem with that is MLB.TV is subject to blackout rules in the local area and the team also plays the White Sox 18 times, so for those Royals fans in Kansas City and for the 18 games with Hawk Harrelson, there's always the mute button.

The Royals ousted one of the franchises' all-time greats, Frank White, after the season because he was too critical -- and any doubt about that was erased when they hired a cheerleader like Hudler. You'd think the Royals fans that were left had paid a high enough price watching the Royals for the last 20 years or so, but no, you've got to add a duo of screamers to replace a legend with insight and integrity. It's also sad that it comes at a time when the Royals should be entertaining to watch, featuring a core of young, talented players.

Hudler and Physioc spent 11 seasons together calling Angels games. The two will actually only work 50 games together in 2012, with Ryan Lefebvre doing play-by-play for 90 games. Both Physioc and Lefebvre will do radio games, joining Denny Matthews, Bob Davis and Steve Stewart. Hudler will serve as the color analyst for 120 games, while former Royal Jeff Montgomery will do color in the remaining 20 games broadcast by Fox Sports Kansas City.

As for the MLB.TV news, the home and away feeds will be available on MLB.TV Premium for $124.99 -- up about five bucks from last season. It also includes a free copy of At Bat 12, which cost $15 last season. The regular MLB.TV subscription is $109.99. The premium edition also includes support for the Xbox 360 for the first time.

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Move over Kate and Prince William, Boston's getting its own royal wedding -- Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis is engaged to Julie Brady, sister of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, according to the Boston Herald.

The two, according the report, had been dating for "at least" a year and "recently" were engaged.

The report says Brady and her 5-year-old daughter will move from Califormia to Florida when spring training begins. Brady is one of three of the quarterback's sisters.

Youkilis has had a wedding before, but never married. In 2008, he had a marriage ceremony with Enza Sambataro, but never filed the paperwork to make it legal and split up in 2010.

I'm guessing beer and fried chicken won't be on the reception's menu.

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