Any fan of baseball — or television, for that matter — is probably familiar with Tom Emanski and his baseball fundamentals videos that produced “back-to-back-to-back AAU Championships.”  Heck, they were endorsed by The Crime Dog himself, Fred McGriff.  Well, Bill Reiter of the Kansas City Star did us all a favor this spring and attempted…

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has been on the shelf for a little over a week with an oblique injury.  He hasn’t totally been ruled out for Opening Day, and the team’s recent run of roster decisions suggest that management does not believe the injury to be serious.  The Cards are bringing only two catchers to…

According to the Associated Press, six-time All-Star Curt Schilling has been hired as a baseball analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” and will make his debut during pregame coverage of tonight’s season opening game between the Yankees and Red Sox. He will also carry a few other responsibilities, including appearances on ESPN Radio and ESPNBoston.com.  The…

Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports that Angels left-hander Scott Kazmir is going to open the 2010 season on the 15-day disabled list. Kazmir, acquired from the Rays last season, was scratched from a scheduled start last Thursday with shoulder soreness, which has cut into his ability to get properly stretched out for…

7:28pm: Bailey told Slusser after the game that he only felt a bit of grabbing in his knee and should be fine for the start of the regular season.  He pitched through a similar knee issue last year and we all know how well that turned out. 6:34pm: Scary news out of A’s camp this…

Coco Crisp will begin the season on the disabled list after he suffered a fractured left pinky finger during Friday’s game against the Giants, according to CSN California, by way of Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He injured the finger while sliding into second base. It’s not yet known how long he’ll be…

Jose Reyes was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks in a minor league intersquad game in Port St. Lucie on Saturday, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Reyes played all nine innings in the field for the first time this spring. He is scheduled to have a day off on Sunday before resuming his…

Update: Yep, still a bargain. Bastian has the deets on the three option years: Lind’s contract: 2014 – $7 mil or $2 mil buyout, 2015 – $7.5 mil or $1 mil buyout, 2016 – $8 mil or $500K buyout In other words, seven years, $38.5 million. Wow. Nice change of pace from the inflated deals…

Nothing particularly new here, but with the recent extension handed out to Joe Mauer and the start of the season just one day away, there’s a very good chance that Victor Martinez will be the premiere catcher on the free agent market this winter. Consistent with what he has said all spring, Martinez told Scott…

As expected, the Giants sent prospect catcher Buster Posey to Triple-A Fresno on Friday night. The 23-year-old batted .321/.357/.453 with one home run, nine RBI and five runs runs scored in 53 at-bats this spring, leaving little doubt that he’ll be with the big club at some point this season. But for now, Giants manager…

Jeff Francis, who was slated to pitch the second game of the season against the Brewers, is headed to the 15-day disabled list because of pain below his left armpit. The 29-year-old left-hander missed the entire 2009 season due to shoulder surgery. He told Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post that he began feeling the…

One of the more polarizing on-the-field storylines of spring training reached its likely conclusion last night, as the Mets made a series of cuts that all but guaranteed that 20-year-old right-hander Jenrry Mejia will make the team’s Opening Day roster. Mejia, ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s No. 1 prospect, has tallied an impressive…

There was a possibility that a certain pitcher would skip the minor leagues to win a spot in the Reds rotation this spring, just nobody — or nearly nobody — expected it to be 2009 first-round pick Mike Leake. But he will. Leake will become the first drafted pitcher to skip the minor leagues altogether…

The Rangers have signed right-hander Scott Feldman to a three-year, $13.325 million contract extension, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The contract includes a $9.25 million club option for 2013, or a $600,000 buyout. Feldman and the Rangers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2,425,000 contract in January, however it was overwritten by the new…

Because four hour death marches of mound meetings and batting glove adjustments are so much more enjoyable with friends, I’ve decided to do a live chat of the Yankees-Red Sox opener on Sunday night.  Assuming I can make the live chatty software thingy work. Personally I give us [takes bite of some sort of meat]…

Russell Martin was initially expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a groin injury suffered early in spring training, but he’s far enough ahead of schedule that manager Joe Torre now expects the 27-year-old to be ready for Opening Day: That’s what we’re expecting right now. Once we made the commitment to play him in the…

Between now and Opening Day, HBT will take a look at each of the 30 teams, asking the key questions, the not-so-key questions, and generally breaking down their chances for the 2010 season.  Next — and last — up: The Padres. And there is no significance to me using the old logo this time. I…

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays have chosen Reid Brignac over Hank Blalock for their final bench spot, so Blalock “will assess his other major-league options for a few days” after saying earlier this week that he’d refuse an assignment to the minors. Topkin speculates that Blalock “could end up…

It’s one thing for Scott Boras to use Jon Heyman to drum up a market for one of his clients where one does not exist, but we now seem to have crossed over into a world where Heyman is actually handling the negotiations for Jarrod Washburn. From his latest column: 1. Jarrod Washburn. Washburn thrived…

Earlier this week Ron Gardenhire announced that the Twins would use a closer-by-committee approach to replace Joe Nathan initially, but the manager has apparently already changed his mind. Gardenhire said this afternoon that Jon Rauch will begin the season at closer, which is actually what I was expecting all along until the closer-by-committee curveball. Rauch…