Now Warming Up…Spring Training MLB!

Let's start with the Opener.

***Position battles are underway across spring training.  But it remains the month of February (for at least a few more hours), so mostly we get to see who is vying for bullpen work.  Tanner Scott will now close for the World Champion Dodgers, Ryan Walker is closing in San Fran, Jeff Hoffman looks like the guy for the 9th in Toronto, and Ryan Pressley will finish games for the Cubs.  Other than these few changes of closers, most teams are set with the same pitcher from 2024.  Teams generally leave the last few positions in their bullpens as the rotating door to bring up and send down pitchers.  With bullpens working more innings every year, teams churn through their bullpen arms constantly.  

Now to the Set Up Man.

*** The story of Derel Bender, the Minnesota Twins minor league catcher who allegedly told opposing hitters what pitch they were about to see, is a crazy one.  According to others, Bender told his teammates he wanted the season to be over, and opposing hitters claim they were tipped off.  Now, as Bender tells his story to multiple outlets (against the wishes of his now former agents), he claims it is all untrue.  There is no video of this game to provide any evidence.  According to reports, his former teammates refuse to speak to him, which, to me, speaks volumes.  Too often people make a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling, to quote a Jimmy Buffett lyric.  Without video evidence, it is truly a case of “he-said/he-said.”  What do you make of this story?

Now the Closer.

***Coming back to the Automatic Ball Strike robots being tested this spring, Terry Francona, the veteran manager now with the Reds has instructed his team against challenging any pitch call from the umpires. Why practice something players will not get to do during the season? Francona has consistently been one of the great MLB managers and this sentiment is accurate and refreshing. I heard that importing this “ABS” system of calling balls and strikes as the “sanitizing of our game that is, by nature, imperfect.”  Baseball purists would agree while recognizing that robot umpires will become a reality in an upcoming MLB season very soon.

“The two most important things in life are good friends and a strong bullpen” – Bob Lemon