Archives › Craig Calcaterra

That sound you hear is Aubrey Huff grinding his teeth in anxiety: When spring training began, manager Bruce Bochy said the 2008 first-round draft pick would take some grounders at first and maybe play a few innings there. But the Giants are giving Posey a longer look at first as they try to gauge what…

From his latest column: The Cardinals have dropped hints that if Albert Pujols wants to become the game’s highest-paid player, it won’t be able to afford him, writes Joe Strauss within this Q and A. That would be based on internal conversations. Hee hee. Oh, in that Q&A, Strauss says that he thinks that Pujols’…

I was on Sirius XM’s MLB Home Plate this morning and I was asked something I hadn’t considered before that moment:  In light of the Rangers’ decision to give Ron Washington a second chance, will it now be harder to fire him for poor performance than it would be to fire any other manager? I…

I had some fun tweaking fans of small market teams with that scout’s quote about the Yankees and Joe Mauer yesterday, but RAB’s Joe Pawlikowski is having none of that: As it stands, the Yankees have $144 million locked into the 2011 payroll before they work out contracts for Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. They’ll…

I don’t recall a spring training game being talked up as much as yesterday’s Yankees-Phillies tilt, which the New York press breathlessly reported as Joba Chamberlain’s make-or-break day.  Certainly Chamberlain needed a good outing — he’s been pitching terribly so far this spring — but it’s not like the Yankees are so shortsighted that they’d…

Some assorted Internet, newspaper and Texas Ranger player reaction to the Ron Washington cocaine news: Jeff Passan: “By treating Washington’s incident as a slip-up and allowing MLB to investigate whether he had any sort of a drug problem, the Rangers did a disservice to their players, fans and anyone else with a vested interest in…

Randy Galloway of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram drops a bomb in last night’s column: Ron Washington and the Rangers were being blackmailed over his positive cocaine test. Galloway reports that numerous team sources have confirmed that the blackmailer — a team employee who was fired in the offseason — was making “strong demands.” The obvious…

Cliff Lee has been suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Chris Snyder’s head during Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks. Seems a bit on the harsh side to me. I’m no fan of headhunting, but he didn’t hit him and I don’t recall Lee ever getting in trouble over…

As soon as Elijah Dukes was released today people starting snarking “just watch, the Mets will sign him.”  Howard Megdal of the New York Baseball Digest doesn’t consider that to be snark at all.  The upshot: Dukes is better than Gary Matthews, who the Mets will probably start, so at the very least he’d fit…

Jeff Shultz of the AJC spoke with John Smoltz today to see if he’s retiring or not.  Smoltz wouldn’t use the word, but placed his odds of pitching again at 50-1 and said “My desire to work out every day is still there.  But my desire to throw 50 to 70 times a day isn’t.”…

Since the Ron Washington news broke a couple of hours ago I’ve gotten several comments and have seen random mutterings from the blogosphere suggesting that a baseball figure being connected to cocaine represents something different and new and horrible. I laughed at this at first, but then I realized that if you’re under the age…

It’s a big release day today because if players without guaranteed contracts are cut today they can be disposed of with 30-days’ termination pay as opposed to a full year’s salary. That may have had something to do with Elijah Dukes’ thing, of course. It’s also why the White Sox just cut Daniel Cabrera. Daniel…

Wow: Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington tested positive for cocaine during the 2009 season, SI.com has learned. Washington, 57, has been subject to increased drug testing since his failed test, which was administered by Major League Baseball last July, and he has passed all of his subsequent tests. In deciding to support Washington and retain…

You can blame/thank the Reds for all the green you see in teams’ uniforms today. It was them — or more specifically, their GM Dick Wagner — who started the tradition in 1978.  While it went over pretty well, the initial reactions were fun: After workouts, the Reds dragged their perspiring bodies off the field…

Well, he’s going to be on a blog — Ben Goessling’s MASN blog — doing Q&As, taking reader questions and stuff like that.  It will be a weekly feature. The only interesting front office blog or blog-like experience I’ve really ever seen was Padre assistant GM Paul DePodesta’s, which was kind of interesting for a…

From the Department of Stuff You Never Expected a Few Months Ago comes Carlos Silva: starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Looks like it’s gonna happen, as Silva threw four scoreless innings yesterday. In fact, he hasn’t allowed a run in his last seven innings. Ted Lilly’s injury is obviously a contributor here, but between…

11:07:  A couple of conflicting reports are emerging regarding Dukes. A few minutes ago former Nats’ GM and current XM radio host Jim Bowden said “After latest incident, credit Nats for making right decision.” No mention of what the “incident” was. Bowden can be a tremendous tool at times, but he also still has some…

When the Ricketeseses took over a few months ago they said that they were going to ensure that Wrigley Field maintained “it’s essential character.”  Apparently part of that character — in addition of the urinal troughs, which will not be touched — includes a big billboard above the left field bleachers: The Cubs filed a…

Jed Lowrie has been suffering from fatigue lately. Turns out it was for good reason:  he has mono. No word on who he was kissing to get it. Between this and K-Rod’s pinkeye we’ve had a couple of illnesses this spring that are usually associated with youngins. Next up: someone on the Dodgers gets hand,…

I slam Jeff Francoeur a lot for the things he does poorly, but I should be fair and note one thing he does really well, and that’s kill runners from the outfield.  MLB.com has a feature on that today.  Most interesting quote comes from Andre Dawson, who was rumored to have a bit of his…

Gordon Edes passes along word that scouts are saying that Mike Lowell “isn’t moving well.”  Edes notes, however, that Mike Lowell never really moved well anyway.  Edes has a point. For his part, one Miami writer thinks the Feesh should bring back Lowell.  I suppose warm and fuzzy memories count for something, but unless the…

There was a reason the Phillies didn’t want to include Domonic Brown in the Roy Halladay trade. He’s really good, see, as evidenced by the fact that he went 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs against the Tigers yesterday. One of the homers came off Justin Verlander. Big celebration after the game? Nah:…

An ugly scene involving the former Twins and Yankees second baseman comes to a close: Former New York Yankees star Chuck Knoblauch pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of assaulting of a family member in exchange for a year of deferred adjudication, according to court records. The Houston native was accused of choking his…

Reporters like to talk to scouts before games. They’re more available than front office people, usually just sitting out in the stands or walking around the ballpark before games. They’re less guarded, too. Like the reporter they’re kind of out there on their own on the road a lot, and when you engage them they’re…