Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Carlos Beltran is “furious with the Mets” for how they’ve handled his knee surgery publicly and may let that impact his return timetable: He wonders if he should have been playing last year (in other words, was he properly diagnosed?). More important, he pushed to initially…

From the Brewers’ official PR Twitter account: Brewers announce it will honor MLB Commissioner & former owner Bud Selig with statue at Miller Park’s Home Plate Plaza, unveil set for 8/24. OK, first off, let’s put an end to the snark-fest that has already started.  You and I can could mock this if it was…

Last season Ty Wigginton started 38 games at first base, 35 games at third base, and 23 games at designated hitter for the Orioles, but with offseason signings Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins now manning the corner infield spots MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko speculates that Wigginton could be traded before Opening Day. Tejada, Atkins, and Wigginton…

I said to my daughter Amy, I said, ‘we’re five outs away from seeing something that very few people sitting in this ballpark have ever seen, and that is the Cubs actually going to the World Series.’ As soon as I said that, (Luis) Castilla hit that foul ball, (Moises) Alou goes up to get…

Over the weekend D.J. Short wrote a lengthy, interesting article about whether or not the Mets have rushed Fernando Martinez’s development. I think the answer is a resounding “yes,” but you should definitely read his piece and decide for yourself. As a follow-up to that, Martinez was named MVP of the Caribbean Series after hitting…

No one has seen him take grounders there yet, but the Orioles’ two Hall of Fame third basemen think that Miguel Tejada will be just fine moving from shortstop to third base.  This is a fun quote though: “I think there is a physical side and then there is a mental side,” Ripken said. “But…

Dierkes has put together an “all-star” team of players who have yet to be signed.  The scare quotes denote the fact that, generally speaking the pickings are slim. Maybe I’m being overly harsh, but I think maybe four of those guys truly deserve to start in the Majors. A few others have an argument for…

Former Mets GM and ESPN talking head Steve Phillips was on the Today show this morning, opening his heart about his treatment for sex addiction. No word on if he was angry about being totally overshadowed by Tiger Woods in that department, but there was a lot of remorse and apologies to his family and…

Remember how Philip Morris changed its name to Altria so people wouldn’t always be reminded of the fact that they sell things that give you cancer? And how ValueJet changed its name to AirTran so people wouldn’t always be reminded of all of those people who died in that crash?  And how Datsun changed its…

I know it’s quite an honor for a guy to be given the Opening Day start — hell, if you listen to Jack Morris’ Hall of Fame supporters, Opening Day starts are more important than wins, strikeouts and ERA — but really, it’s just one game. And it’s one that you’re probably going to sell…

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors hears that former Athletics, Twins, Red Sox and Blue Jays outfielder Bobby Kielty is converting to pitching and that he actually has a pretty good slider. There aren’t a ton of recent examples of position players with any kind of mileage on them converting into pitchers.  Tony Pena is…

Jermaine Dye may one of the more forgettable free agents still out there, but the Indians may be interested in him, says Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. Pluto notes, like everyone else, that Dye’s defense is something of a train wreck anymore, but he also notes something else people overlook when talking about the…

What, there was some championship game last night other than Los Leones del Escogido from the Dominican Republic beating Venezuela’s Leones del Caracas in the Caribbean Series? Oh, that.  Look, if you want to talk about that parade of commercials and half-dead rock bands that was occasionally interrupted by a football game, Mr. Florio and…

Sunday: Roch Kubatko of MASN hears that Takahashi has rejected offers from the Mets and Orioles.  Scratch two more teams off the list. Saturday, 6:09pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News tweets that the Giants are assuming Takahashi will accept a minor league offer elsewhere. Saturday, 2:39 pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets…

The Mets certainly don’t need any more ragging, but sometimes it’s hard to resist.  A rough offseason filled with negative storylines has bred a mile-high pile of superb quotes and observations.  Here’s the opinion of one veteran sports agent, courtesy of the New York Post’s Joel Sherman: “How can you have that payroll and still…

UPDATE: ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports that Giles will earn $500,000 if he lands on the big league roster.  The contract also contains another $200,000 worth of performance-based bonuses. 9:18am: According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers have signed outfielder Brian Giles to a minor league contract. Included in the deal is an invitation to spring…

Last night, I found myself in a pretty interesting to-and-fro with Sam Page of the excellent Amazin’ Avenue about whether Fernando Martinez was rushed in his development. It was spurred on, at least initially, by what Martinez told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com this week: “I know I’m a big league player, and I can perform…

According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, the Blue Jays have acquired left-hander Dana Eveland from the Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Eveland was designated for assignment earlier this week. The 26-year-old southpaw was touched up to the tune of a 7.16 ERA in 13 games (nine…

According to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, the Nationals have signed veteran left-hander Shawn Estes to a minor league contract. Estes, who turns 37 later this month, didn’t appear in the majors last season, but was 3-4 with a 3.07 ERA in 13 starts with Triple-A Albuquerque in the Dodgers organization. Of course, Mets fans know…

It’s not like there’s some kind of Nazarite oath afoot here that will sap Tim Lincecum of all of his power in the event his locks are shorn, but I still don’t like this one bit: His hair is 3 inches shorter. He said he cut it before last month’s baseball writers’ banquet in New…