A book is a very personal thing. You should never share it with anyone else.

In other news, Alfonso Soriano to start in left for the Nationals against the Dodgers tonight, but the issue remains open as this agreement is good for one night only.

And who will McCourt hire to read it for him?

I was hoping to follow a game thread on dodgers.com board but nobody has a feed. There was this interesting item posted there, though, I haven't seen it posted on mlb.com like it says:

Alfonso Soriano refused to take the field for the Nationals.

"Soriano, who played most of March representing the Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic, was set to hit leadoff and play the outfield for the Nationals against the Dodgers on Monday night. But when the players went out on the field, only eight players were present.

Manager Frank Robinson then went to home plate umpire Mike Estabrook and told him that a lineup change was going to be made. Brandon Watson, who was supposed to sit out the game, went to center field, while Ryan Church switched from center to left field."

Source: MLB.com

This kind of stuff makes me sick...it's not like they're asking him to be a bench player, just get out there and play the outfield...what a spoiled jerk.

Even worse for the Nationals was Soriano's performance in the WBC. He was one of the worst MLB hitters in the tournament. The only guy worse was Mark Texeira.

Soriano looked clueless at the plate.

Kind of makes the whole Milton Bradley/J.D. Drew right field/center field thing seem like even smaller potatoes than it was.

Are you getting ready to flee the country and hightail it into Canada? I knew it.

Soriano was OK in the field at second. But he just couldn't hit anything that wasn't straight. Once he came up as the last batter in the game against Cuba, I knew the D.R. was done for.

12

Regardless, Soriano won't be getting paid while he's engaged in his bizarre sitdown strike.

Can you even imagine what deals would have been made if he was here today.

13 I was driving this morning and I actually saw a sign that said Canadian Border 5 miles.

I guess terrorists don't drive rental Suzukis.

Martin > navarro.

Wonder when Seo and Odalis will make their return outings (probably no earlier than Thursday since both pitched on Saturday at the WBC)

Clutch!

I'm tired of you hawking TBODT. It makes me sad that I sped so quickly through it over a long President's Day weekend. I am sending along another $25 for Part 2. TBODT is much too short and just barley scratches the surface of what your site offers. I feel that it should be your civic duty to wirte such a captivating book two or three times a year. But alas, like a new season of The Sopranos or my wife and kids spending a weekend with my inlaws, I will just have to wait for the next brilliantly planned and executed instalment of your "Best Of".

I do like the Uncle Junior angle, but I think it'd be pretty sweet if it was Paulie that had Tony shot.

I didnt see last week's episode, but whats the deal with Tony Soprano's dream sequences as he lies in the coma? What is that about?

Little said deciding whether to start the season with 11 or 12 pitchers will dictate which players -- and what kind of players -- are needed to fill out the remaining position spots...Going with 12 pitchers might make Guzman's infield/outfield versatility even more tempting, because he essentially could serve the purpose of two position players. Because Oscar Robles is a left-handed hitter, the right-handed Guzman would probably make the team at the expense of right-handed-hitting utilityman Ramon Martinez.

A linked bench decision is what to do with Hee-Seop Choi...With Nomar Garciaparra starting at first base and Choi unable to play anywhere else, he would be the second left-handed hitter off the bench after Ricky Ledee, especially if Robles is not on the club....Little said he would need to watch Choi play to make an evaluation. Also Choi is a known quantity -- left-handed power, but lacking consistency.

Choi is useless as a pinch hitter bc he's just not a good pinch hitter. Its too bad Choi still has an option left. Hopefully the Dodgers just release him rather than send him to Vegas.

AP, Choi, and Bradley all in the A's lineup..That'd be interesting to see.. I thought AP might be in danger of not making the team, but he's started to hit. He should make it.

Antonio Perez went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and four RBI in the win over the Mariners today. Perez is batting .344/.371/.531 in 32 at-bats.
- Rotoworld

Scott Erickson is sidelined with back spasms and doesn't expect to return until Friday at the earliest. With a 2.61 ERA in 10 1/3 innings, Erickson was in the process of establishing himself as a candidate to make the Yankees, if only as an injury replacement for Carl Pavano or Aaron Small.
- Rotoworld

Regarding the casting... I think Gandolfini brings a sensetivity or vulnerability or "everyman" characteristic that Sirico maybe lacks... But what do I know? They are actors, I'm sure Sirico would not play Tony the same way he plays Paulie and vice-versa... Do you understand all of that? I don't anymore...

Good- 8k's...
Bad- 2Hr's...

The problem with Erickson, besides the homers, was the lack of strike outs. I think at one point he'd given up more home runs, than strike outs.

Back to Choi. Hopefully Beane trades for Choi and options out Scutaro. That'd be the best of both worlds. Frank Thomas isnt healthy yet, and Choi could help the team more DH'ing, than Scutaro as a utlity guy.

Thats true. But I think with that "vulnerability" is almost telling the audience that its ok to 'relate' to Tony. But in reality, I cant stand Tony. I think he's a horrible person, constantly cheating on his wife, klling people etc...But to have Gandolfini playing the role as if he's a sympathetic figure..eh just rubs me the wrong way.

I love the show dont get me wrong. But I just cant buy Gandolfini as a mob boss. Maybe its his 'look', and his look doesnt mesh with the Carlo Gambino's or Gotti's of the real life world.

If you want to hear a realife mob boss, check this out: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/blowingupgotti/

Its 5 video clips of John Gotti talking with Victoria Gotti (Growing up Gotti) and his grandson... (During visiting hours at the Marion Prison) Gotti even talks about what it takes to be a professional athlete to his grandson..This was done in 1999 before all the steroid stuff came out. Maybe Gotti knew what was going on all along.

Anyways, its pretty funny clip IMO. Some may not find it funny though.

ERA 2.00 6.02
IP 36.0 55.1
HR/9 0.75 1.95
K/9 4.50 2.44
WHIP 1.06 1.57

Put not your trust in Spring training numbers, in which there is no help.

Sometimes I think we make too little of what must be a painful switch for some.

1) Buying one-way bus tickets for various Ja(y)sons
2) A Rick Monday Decoder Ring

That's all I can think of.