In my “Daily Dose” column this morning I wondered why the Reds decided to have last year’s first-round pick, Mike Leake, completely skip the minors to join their rotation. To me it makes little sense on several different levels, because at 22 years old giving him a couple months at Double-A or Triple-A would probably…

Here’s something new. And something that, once we get a couple of weeks under our belt, will hopefully be fun.  Power rankings. Yes, lots of places do them. No they don’t mean a thing, especially in baseball. But I’m a college football fan who is kind of addicted to arguing over arbitrary rankings that are…

Ron Washington just confirmed that Neftali Feliz will be the Rangers’ eighth-inning setup man in front of closer Frank Francisco. Feliz established himself as an elite starter prospect in the minors, but joined the Rangers’ bullpen for his big-league debut last August and was nearly unhittable down the stretch, tossing 31 innings with a 1.74…

The President threw out the first pitch at the Phillies-Nats game a little over an hour ago.  You can see video of it here, at least until Major League Baseball’s lawyers go and shut down the Sporting News for what I presume is some retransmitting and/or rebroadcasting the descriptions and/or accounts of the game without…

Not only did Jim Edmonds earn a spot on the Brewers at age 39 after sitting out all of last season, he’s in their Opening Day lineup starting in place of Corey Hart in right field and batting fifth behind Prince Fielder. Hart was brutal this spring, batting 11-for-64 (.172) with 18 strikeouts while Edmonds…

Brewers’ owner Mark Attansio just told the assembled Milwaukee beat writing brigade that the team is having ongoing “discussions” with Prince Fielder regarding a contract extension. No word if there have been offers exchanged or anything. Not that anyone should fret if they’re not talking money yet. First contact was made on this subject during…

Earlier USA Today ran a story saying that the average salary in baseball dropped 17%.  Now they’re running a correction: CORRECTION: The average salary of players on opening-day rosters was incorrectly stated in the original version of this story. The average player salary is $3.27 million, a 1% increase from $3.26 million in 2009. I…

The Red Sox have scheduled a press conference about Josh Beckett for three o’clock this afternoon, which likely means the two sides have officially agreed to the contract extension that was reported to be close last week. Beckett’s new deal is expected to cover four seasons and pay the 31-year-old right-hander about $68 million. Toss…

Stories all over the place in recent days about Adam Dunn wanting to stay in D.C.  Dunn is certainly saying the right things: This is the place I want to be at. I want to be here. This team is obviously going in the right direction. I’m all for it. That’s why I don’t want…

Last week, when the Rays were still deciding whether or not to keep him around, Hank Blalock made it abundantly clear that he would not accept an assignment to the minors. I don’t have any plans on playing minor-league baseball this year. At this time in my life, if there’s no major-league opportunities for me…

The Daily News’ Flip Bondy took a tour of the Mets’ new Hall of Fame inside Citi Field, and it sounds pretty nice: It’s hard to be pompous when you have the Mets’ modest history. Luckily, that isn’t the feel or intent of this Hall of Fame, which has a refreshing, lighthearted feel. The Mets…

That’s not me talking. Remember, I’m a big fat fanboy. That’s Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, throwing cold water on the optimism that has pervaded Braves Nation Universe Republic Township this spring: Me, I’m still skeptical. I eagerly await the coming of Jason Heyward, but I also wonder if the age on this team…

ESPN’s Gordon Edes reports that the Red Sox and Josh Beckett are in the final stages of negotiations over the four-year, $70.5 million deal that was first reported last week. I’m assuming his poor command and lifeless fastball from last night has no bearing on the deal.

Jerry Manuel announced the Mets’ Opening Day lineup yesterday. Here it is: 1. SS Alex Cora 2. 2B Luis Castillo 3. 3B David Wright 4. 1B Mike Jacobs 5. LF Jason Bay 6. CF Gary Matthews Jr. 7. RF Jeff Francoeur 8. C Rod Barajas 9. SP Johan Santana In other words, Omar Minaya just…

For those of you wondering about K-Rod’s hasty trip to Venezuela over the weekend, the Post’s Kevin Kernan reports that it was occasioned by what sounds like a dreadful truck crash involving two of his brothers and three other passengers. The truck rolled down a hill several times after the driver fell asleep. No fatalities,…

Never make predictions, especially about the future. – Casey Stengel That’s some great advice, Casey, but it’s Opening Day, we’re all happy and giddy and optimistic and everything, so let’s moot the entire season right now by telling you everything that’s going to happen.  As the headline says, 100% correct or your money back. THE…

Here’s a question for you:  Which of the following people who participated in last night’s festivities seemed the most awkward and out-of-place? Neil Diamond, wearing a “keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn” jacket that’s only a half-century too late; Pedro Martinez, throwing the first pitch out as if he were all retired and everything, which frankly,…

Red Sox 9, Yankees 7:  The Yankees were supposed to have a great bullpen. The Red Sox weren’t supposed to have enough offense because of all that run prevention they had imported. Well, The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men gang aft agley, and all that. The Yankees blew a 5-1 lead. The Red Sox…

The 2010 season started beautifully on Sunday night with a thriller between the Red Sox and Yankees. If you could ignore the dog-and-pony show that comes with an ESPN Sunday night telecast, you were able to enjoy quite the treat – even if you don’t have a horse in the Yankees-Red Sox race. But believe…

While the Red Sox and Yankees give us a pretty decent Game 1 of 2,430, here are some news and notes from around baseball … * As expected, the Rockies placed Huston Street on the disabled list Sunday with a sore shoulder. Street already experienced a setback with the injury during spring training, so while…