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Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was expected to pitch the 10th inning Saturday upon the resumption of Friday’s suspended game, will be unavailable following the birth of his baby boy. 8-pound, 8-ounce Gunner is the newest addition to the Papelbon family, which includes wife Ashley and 15-month-old Parker. Boston’s plan was to stick with…

We know where he is: Port St. Lucie, Florida. But that’s about all we know as far as Carlos Beltran’s progress from knee surgery. Reports a week ago suggested that he’d start running last Saturday. But those were erroneous and he still hasn’t been cleared to do anything resembling a baseball activity. “There’s been no…

Rangers acquire C Mike Napoli from the Angels for RHP Frank Francisco and RHP Brandon McCarthy Why it works for Texas: The Rangers were thought to have an embarrassment of riches behind the plate a couple of years ago, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia hasn’t hit or remained healthy and Taylor Teagarden has been a strikeout machine.…

With Brian Fuentes on the DL, the Angels are definitely short-handed in the bullpen. I’d argue that they’re down to two above average relievers, one of whom, Fernando Rodney, happens to be struggling, having given up four runs in four appearances after finishing with an 8.53 ERA this spring. The other, Kevin Jepsen, is the…

The Rays on Tuesday placed their new catcher, Kelly Shoppach, on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained knee and called up John Jaso to serve as a replacement. Shoppach, who was picked up from the Indians in the offseason and given a two-year contract, figured to get the majority of the starts over Dioner…

The AL East is down a second star second baseman after Aaron Hill was placed on the disabled list Monday because of a strained hamstring. While Brian Roberts appeared DL bound from the moment he suffered a strained abdominal muscle, the Hill moves comes as a surprise. Expectations were that he’d be back early this…

Since the Detroit broadcast team is my third least favorite from the 30 clubs and the Royals team is just blandly generic, I’ve now been subjected at least three times today to the fact that Jason Kendall has hit in every game this season. Yeah, Jason Kendall. It’s mind-blowing. So I check, and it’s the…

Brian Roberts, who had to overcome a back injury to open the season on time, was forced from Friday afternoon’s game against the Blue Jays due to a strained abdominal muscle. It’d be a big blow if the Orioles lost their second baseman for any length of time, though they are better covered now with…

With the minor league season starting today, Baseball America has released a list of where its top 100 prospects will open the season. Among those skipping levels this year are Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon and Astros right-hander Jordan Lyles, both of whom are moving from low-A ball right to Double-A. It’s not surprising in either…

The 2010 Blue Jays probably won’t end up being known for their pitching or their defense (or their offense, for that matter), but the team came within a Jason Frasor blown save of sweeping the Rangers to open the season. Three games in, the Rangers have just two guys hitting their weight. Vladimir Guerrero, who…

It’s not just my imagination that we’ve had more than our usual share of weird plays these first few days, is it? With the A’s up 4-0 on the Mariners in the eighth inning and Travis Buck on first Thursday, Cliff Pennington dropped down a bunt that bounced off the glove of third baseman Jose…

Here’s Royals manager Trey Hillman on Mitch Maier, as quoted in the Kansas City Star on March 30. “Full package. Honestly, no reservation saying this: I know I’ve never seen this much development at this level in one year for a position player.” And here’s Mitch Maier’s batting line two games into the 2010 season:…

In the 10th inning of a 1-1 game on Wednesday night, Curtis Granderson did something no other major leaguer has ever done before. He hit his second career homer off Jonathan Papelbon. The shot to right on a 94-mph fastball provided the Yankees with a 2-1 lead in a game they ended up winning 3-1,…

Anyone who followed along during our postseason in-game chats last year knows I’m strongly in favor of using technology to aid umpires. Someday in the not-so-distant future, it’s going to be feasible to do balls and strikes by computer, and who knows, maybe 20 or 30 years after that, MLB might actually come around to…

In its annual study released Wednesday, the Team Marketing Report concluded that the Cubs have overtaken both the Yankees and Red Sox for baseball’s highest-priced ticket. The average ticket for non-premium sections at Wrigley Field now costs $52.56, a 10.1 percent increase over last year. Boston’s Fenway Park is just behind at $52.32, a 4.1…

Here we go again. On the heels of a rather unimpressive spring (.226/.284/.419 with three homers in 62 at-bats), David Ortiz has opened the 2010 season 0-for-7, already leading to a string of articles that he’s done. Last year saw the same thing, though I think it took at least a week. And Ortiz really…

If nothing else, the AL West should be very interesting to follow. There are reasons to be optimistic about each squad, but I couldn’t help but grow more pessimistic with regards to each team as the spring went on. The Rangers may well have the most talent in the division, yet theirs is a squad…

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Jon Fay points out that the Reds seemingly had the perfect chance to deploy their pinch-hitter/middle reliever Micah Owings in Monday’s Opener. It had become clear during the top of the fifth that Aaron Harang wouldn’t be coming back out for another inning, and his spot was due up to start the…

The A’s and Mariners were tied at 3 in the top of the ninth tonight when Rob Johnson walked with one out and advanced to second on an infield chopper. That brought up Ichiro Suzuki with the go-ahead run at second. Like most managers would have in that situation, Bob Geren opted for the intentional…

I figured Craig would be all over this one, but in case you missed it, 20-year-old Jason Heyward homered off Carlos Zambrano in his first major league at-bat Monday. The majestic three-run shot put the Braves up 6-3 in the first inning, and Atlanta went on to 16-5 in a rout. Howard, who started in…

It’s usually about putting your best foot forward when it comes to setting a lineup on Opening Day. Dusty Baker, though, decided to lead with his head up his ass. The Reds played both their fourth and fifth outfielders Monday, with Chris Dickerson leading off and Laynce Nix in the seventh spot. The choice to…

I’ve gone through and projected Opening Day lineups, benches, rotations and bullpens for each team over at Rotoworld. I’m including the Diamondbacks writeup after the jump, but if you want to go right to the articles themselves, just click the links below. American League projected rosters National League projected rosters

Roy Oswalt is set for his eighth straight Opening Day start next week after getting an injection Monday in his lower back. Oswalt left his last start Friday because of tightness in his left hamstring. He complained earlier in the week of tightness higher in the area around his left gluteus. The training staff determined…

That’s the part I agree with. I’m not sure about the rest of Alyson Footer’s MLBlog entry, in which she looks at the battle between J.R. Towles and top prospect Jason Castro for the catching job in Houston. Footer thinks Towles will be the starter, Humberto Quintero the backup and that Castro will get some…