No, no, it's totally on schedule. The vitamin B-12 is doing wonders for my carpal tunnel syndrome.

He was definately the best hitting catcher ever, BUT he played in the steroid era and many people believe that some of those numbers were artificially enhanced.

It amazes me that certain players take all the heat from the steroid era, while others just coast on by wihtout any mention.

I have heard stories of him walking into the clubhouse and warning people to stay away because he was on his cycle.

Sorry about that, Jeff. These types of conversations should probably be taking place over at the discussion boards at alexpatton.com, but it seems that no one is lurking over there except for the same morons who were peddling free Viagra and hot naked pictures of Lindsay Lohan last year. I just can't deal with those idiots, so I'm posting the theoretical stuff here.

Why is this Mulvey commentary full of DiNardo and Sarloos? Those guys aren't even worth talking about. And Mulvey could be the next Anthony Young.

Just thought I'd mention it. Like you, I'm skeptical.

The closest Baseball Reference similarity scores for catchers belong to Johnny Bench (861) and Yogi Berra (845).

Piazza's 1997 season (40/124/.362) was the highest Adjusted OPS+ season ever for a catcher at 185. His 1995 (32/93/.346) is 2nd at 172. Johnny Bench's 1972 (40/125/.270) ranks third at 166.

Across his career, Piazza also ranks first at catcher with an OPS+ of 142. Gene Tenace, interestingly, ranks second at 136, though he didn't play exclusively at a catcher.

Alex - how's your labrum - Hopefully this doesn't effect the timing of the release of your software. :)

Patton is on a different spring training schedule than the rest of the Baltimore pitchers, as he is trying to work out the stiffness in his left shoulder. It's possible the stiffness could be related to a labrum tear, according to the Baltimore Sun. "It's pretty tight right now, but it's getting better every day," Patton said. "I'm doing a lot of stretching and a lot of exercises to strengthen it and get it looser. They said most likely it's a slap tear. They know there's something going on in there, but they don't know how serious it is yet or what it is." Patton hopes that he'll be "released" from his reduced schedule after four bullpen sessions, and he's "pretty optimistic" that he'll pitch this season and avoid surgery. Patton is competing for the fifth spot in the O's rotation.

Absolutely, the Ryan talk is he's going to start the season pretty close to Opening Day. However, until I see him striking out David Ortiz in a game that counts or not seeing him on the news in a hospital room, I'll still heed the 12-18 months rule of thumb.

Actually, he was a total stiff as a catcher, but he really worked at it and became a decent receiver. Actually, I think he was a really hard worker who became a great player despite going completely unnoticed, and, except for nepotism, he may never have been drafted. He WAS probably the best hitting catcher ever, although I have to mention that Yogi and Campy each won 3 MVP trophies on very talented teams and Johnny Bench was pretty damn good, too.

I'm not quite sure why there is hesitation here. Bedard stepped up big time last year on a bad team. Now he's in a better pitchers' park with a better team with a better defense, not to mention a good bullpen. Every pitcher is an injury risk, and this guy hasn't really had a pitcher's injury since 2002. Since Johan is out of the AL, there is no clear #1 guy. If you don't want Bedard, I'll be happy to take a chance that he's that guy, that he stays healthy, that he's worth $30.

This guy has a long list of injury history dating back to his minor days. Sure he broke through in 07 but are you going to pay top $ to find out if he can stay healthy AND sustain it?

There is no way Wolf gets an $8 bid in 5x5. One thing to look at, however, are the strikeouts. 94 in 102.2 innings is a lot for Wolf. Counting on more than 120 IP, however, is the rub. I think he is worth a $2 bid at best; I hope your league is deep, or has a reserve list.

Throwing was always a problem for Piazza, but except for that small detail he was actually a pretty good catcher. Nice traget, soft glove, good rapport with the pitchers. Uniform covered with dirt at the end of the game. Offhand I can't think of a catcher who compared to him as a hitter.

You might be right Jeff, though I've been reading a lot of chatter about B.J. Ryan (he was the closer with the Blue Jays last year before he got hurt, if you're an N.L. only guy) who had TJ early last year and might be back within 11 or 12 months. Apparently, the recovery arc from the surgery is narrower than it has ever been, according to the stuff I've been reading about Ryan.

Amazingly, he was the Dodgers best starter the first half of '07. Then the inevitable elbow injury hit. Could it be his left-handedness? He actually looked like the old Wolf for awhile. He's definitely worth a bid if he's pitching in Petco. However, have someone ready in reserve for the next inevitable injury.

The bid looks low, but the unfortunate comp here is Jeremy Sowers in 2006.

And Kendrick didn't have the pedigree that Sowers did.

And Kendrick pitches in CBP.

Someone's going to pay more than $1, but it's going to be an awfully bumpy ride.

Another crafty lefty. Why are they so effective? I guess because the hitters don't see that many of them. Like lefty servers in tennis. I heard him mentioned as trade bait to the AL a couple of times, so be careful when drafting him. Lowry's ERA's are mind-boggling except for 2006, especially with his K/BB.

Command sucks, but he's a workhorse. I guess being a lefty makes your faults seem less important. And in Arizona, his mistakes will only be magnified. At least Paul Byrd doesn't look like he should be better.

OWtsuka!

Lyon is an accident waiting to happen. Pena can't get into the country because he changed his name. Qualls is the closer by default.