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I love a good brawl.  And I hope these two teams really mix it up.  I heard Julio Franco is really pissed off at Ryan Zimmerman showing him up by being 30 years younger.

But the problem is that the umps are going to be so prepared when Jose Guillen steps up that no one will get any good swings in.  Bodyslams are unlikely.  We’ll see.

Upon reading a Gary Gillette chat at ESPN today, Gillette mentioned something that I had never heard or considered before: 

"I believe that it is very likely Mike Piazza used steroids, but I have no proof. But I’m also not trying to suspend him, put him in jail, or strip him from the record books, either."

I think Gillette is a fine author and he’s one of my favorite columnists at ESPN.  I was surprised to hear him say this so bluntly.  However, it appears that this kind of speculation has been floating around for years.  I found this blog post from two years ago, where the author quotes Piazza commenting on steroid testing way back in 1997:

"I think it’s unnecessary in baseball. I mean, would you drug-test billiard players or chess players? You can take a .200 hitter and give him all of the drugs you can find, and would that make him a .300 hitter? No."

It almost seems like one of those weird non-denial type things that we’ve seen in recent years.  Like when Barry Bonds regularly tries to divert us by telling us that the world has bigger problems and that we should all be spending our time trying to cure cancer instead of investigating him.

Many sportswriters have recently pondered:  does Bud Selig realize the possible unintended consequences of the Mitchell investigation?  That perhaps "nice guys" like Piazza will be revealed as steroid users as well?

DailyBaseballPicks is now up and running!  I only had one choice for a game today, but I made my pick anyway.  Go Tribe!

Learn about that future dynasty, the Florida Marlins, at Hardball Times.

The Juice’s Under the Radar Players for ’06.

Richard Justice makes an important point – again.  I’m still seeing misinformation reported about this everywhere.

The gold standard of April Fool’s jokes.

MetsBlog makes some sort-of predictions for the upcoming season.

Finally, I will be appearing tonight on Sports Talk, WICB’s weekly sports talk show at Ithaca College.

Have a burning question for Ball Four author Jim Bouton?  If yours is one of the ten best, Armchair GM will ask him in an email interview.  Click here to read more and submit a question.

If you’re a youngster like me and you weren’t around when Ball Four came out back in 1970, pick up a copy now and get acquainted with a baseball classic.

Jim Bowden wants Nook Logan on his team…surprised?  I suppose fantasy leaguers should take note, as a full-time Logan could steal 35-40 bags.  And do nothing else whatsoever.

Melvin Mora is getting annoyed that the Orioles won’t give him a huge contract extension to compensate him for a string of very lucky high batting average seasons in 2003-04.  While a good third baseman, Mora is entering his age 34 season.  To be fair, he’s been underpaid for a while now, making $10.5MM over 2004-06.  If Mora settled for a mild raise to $12MM over the next three seasons, the Orioles could perhaps come out ahead.  More likely is that he’ll be traded in July.  Teams with questionable third base situations include the Tigers, White Sox, Twins, Phillies, and Giants.

The Phillies snagging David Dellucci and his $900K salary would obviously be a good thing.  He’d definitely be one of the best fourth outfielders in baseball.

Jose Guillen also wants the big money, and he at least has not turned 30 yet.  PECOTA suggests that a five-year contract for 2006-10 should value him at just $17MM, however.  How do you think Bowden feels about this?

Of course, there’s the usual Craig Wilson and John Thomson rumors floating around, including a swap for each other.  That particular deal doesn’t make much sense for Pittsburgh. Ultimately the Braves should be able to get a very useful reliever for Thomson.

Finally, I’m hearing that there’s a "pretty good chance" the Mets try to claim Tony Graffanino off waivers.

   

Let’s see what we’ve got here.

The Red Sox placed Tony Graffanino on waivers, so that tells you a lot about the trade market for second basemen right now.  Some teams that are questionable at second base:  Blue Jays, Marlins, Mets, Cardinals, Cubs.

Braves starter John Thomson is on the block, though I’m not sure Atlanta has the pitching depth to deal him.  Smoltz has to be considered a health risk and I’m not sure what they’re going to get out of Davies and Sosa.  Then again, Chuck James could step in if either falters.  Still, it’s better to be weak in the bullpen than in the rotation.  The A’s could send Juan Cruz back their way, which would give Oakland 46 starters, all better than any member of the Royals’ staff.  Thomson could also go to KC, Texas, Houston, or San Diego.

UPDATE:  The A’s weirdly sent Cruz to the D’Backs for Brad Halsey.  Just in case six starters happen to break down. 

Armchair GM has taken on the task of categorizing all the baseball blogs out there so you don’t have to.  It’s pretty comprehensive – have a look. 

Also, a cool Mets news site I’ve recently come across:  SheaBaseball.com.

Got a fantasy draft this weekend?  My 2006 Fantasy Guide is just $9.99 and is drawing rave reviews from hundreds of customers.  Check it out.

Start gearing up for this bad boy, which will start rolling on Opening Day.  Download the free spreadsheet to get in on the gambling mayhem.

Bronson Arroyo’s Cincinnati projection at RotoAuthority.

AllCubs looks at some spring training stats.

Five Questions about the Mariners, asked and answered.

What an awesome, free site.

Cool Zach Greinke story at the bottom of Ken Rosenthal’s article.

A former assistant athletic trainer for the 1986 Mets, Bob Sikes, has a blog called Getting Paid To Watch.  Check it out, he’s got some good info in there.  Click here to read his thoughts on various Mets injuries, including Pedro and Matsui.

Expect a lack of trade rumors, fantasy advice, and email replies this weekend – I’m moving on Saturday.  Good times. 

Anyway, I thought I’d throw you some quick Friday morning reading:

Read The Danger of Closers at RotoAuthority.  I promise that it applies to real baseball too.

I posted the Cubs projections from my Fantasy Baseball Guide.  Do you agree with them?

Viva El Birdos pleads for the Cardinals to just let Anthony Reyes pitch already.

The definitive word on the Bonds saga at Sportszilla.

I love this book. Kept me up all night.

Well, I’d like to try recruiting for HoopsBuzz…again.  It’s a blog very similar to this one where you’ll establish some contacts, hopefully scoop a rumor or two, and just analyze all that is buzzworthy in the game of basketball.

I’m not able to pay you, but you will get a built in audience of at least several hundred people a day and something to put on your resume.  I’ve been kind of slacking lately as far as keeping this site alive and well, so I want to try again.  People seem to like the general idea if not the execution.

So if you’re a damn good writer, love basketball, and can post three times a week for sure, email me at hoopsbuzz@gmail.com.  Please don’t use any other email address for this.  If you applied before and want to apply again, that’s fine.  I’ll probably take around six people depending on the number of applicants.

UPDATE:  One more thing to add – please don’t apply if baseball is your true passion but you like basketball too.  I am looking for people whose #1 sport is far and away basketball.