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Baseball Today: Saturday, February 23

AP Photo

REPLAY: One of the benefits of winning the World Series is you get to celebrate at the White House. The Red Sox, last there in 2005 (above), will be returning Wednesday for another ceremony with President Bush, though they'll probably have to think of another number to put on the back of the jersey they'll no doubt be presenting him. (projo.com) It'll give the Sox a little break from the routines of spring training; but, as Sean McAdam points out, there's not a whole lot to be decided this spring. And, because of the Japan trip, what will be decided will have to be done early.

AND YOUR POINT IS . . . ? Manny Ramirez has switched agents, dropping Greg Genske in favor of Scott Boras, but if the Sox pick up the remaining two options on Ramirez' contract, Boras won't have anything to do until 2010. (projo.com)

FEELING FINE: David Ortiz' surgically repaired knee ''feels good,'' so good that he's working out at first base. (projo.com)

JUST LIKE BEING THERE: In case you couldn't catch Spring Break on NESN, the Boston Globe's Gordon Edes provided a nice snapshot of the first day of full-squad workouts.

CAN YOU HANDLE IT? The Globe's Bob Ryan says ''There is no woe. There is only Whoa!'' if you're a Red Sox fan these days.

THE OPPOSING VIEW: Contrary to what virtually everyone in Red Sox Nation thinks -- and probably contrary to what's actually going to happen -- Baseball Analyst's Patrick Sullivan concludes the Red Sox would be better with Coco Crisp, and not Jacoby Ellsbury, in center field.

IT WOULD BE HIS SECOND VICTORY OF THE SPRING: Because according to old friend Steve Silva, Crisp has already beaten out Pokey Reese in the battle for Biggest Hair On The Sox This Century.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE LASTING IMPRESSIONS: The blog Hacks With Haggs interviews new Sox reliever Dan Kolb, who tells a memorable story about his first trip to Boston in 1999.

COMING BACK: Keith Foulke's struggles during his last two years in Boston have obscured the fact that the Red Sox wouldn't have won the 2004 World Series without him. After taking last year off, he's in the A's camp this year and, feeling healthy again, is ready to resume his career. (mlb.com)

WE'RE MOVING FORWARD: Willie Randolph says he isn't worried about his job, even in light of last year's historic collapse by the Mets (si.com) One of the reasons, of course, may be this new pitcher he has . . . (New York Daily News)

LET US MAKE IT UP TO YOU: David Wright says he's been telling Mets fans ''we owe you one'' after last season. (New York Post)

THE REAL CRISIS: Andy Pettitte says admitting to HGH use and testifying before Congress may have been difficult, but they paled in comparison to how he felt when his son was involved in a serious accident this offseason. (Newsday)

AND I MEAN THAT: Last August, the New York Post reported that George Steinbrenner's response to nearly anything anyone said to him was ''Great to see ya.'' And, according to the Post, those were his exact words to Pettitte yesterday.

MY BUDDY: Apparently, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have patched up their differences. (New York Post)

STAYING PUT: Good news for Yankee-haters: Jeter has no intention of shifting to another position (New York Daily News), which means the Yanks are guaranteed another year of wretched shortstop defense. (New York Post) The Replacement Level Yankee Weblog's SG looks at all sides of Jeter's game, including the part of it in which he wears a glove.

I LIKE OUR CHANCES: Johnny Damon has proclaimed the Yankees as ''one of the teams to beat'' in the American League. (New York Daily News)

MISSION UNFULFILLED: Peter Abraham points out that Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi and Hideki Matsui were brought to the Yankees in consecutive years to keep their dynasty rolling, but they've yet to win a single World Series in that time. (The Journal News)

SO MY QUESTION IS . . . If there actually was someone someone taking pictures at Casa Canseco that fateful day, as reported by the New York Daily News, why didn't they get shots of this? (yahoo.com)

ON FURTHER REVIEW: Incidentally, the Clemens camp -- in light of this new "evidence" -- is now backpedaling a bit on Clemens' insistence that he wasn't there. (New York Daly News)

A GLIMPSE INSIDE: SI.com's Tom Verducci has a fascinating personality profile of Clemens, and asserts: "Let there be no confusion about this when it comes to Clemens: The man is convinced he is telling the truth'' . . . even if no one else is.

MOVE OVER, RED SOX-YANKEES AND DODGERS-GIANTS: Sounds like those Minnesota-Tampa Bay games will have a new intensity, if comments by ex-Ray Delmon Young and his former teammate, Carl Crawford, are any indication. (St. Petersburg Times)

OH, THOSE DIAPER DANDIES: Dick Vitale thinks the Rays ''are going to turn the corner'' this year. (Bradenton Herald)

A-A-O: Adapt-adjust-overcome. That's the motto of new Royals manager Trey Hillman. (yahoo.com)

THE MONEY GAME: Having won his arbitration case, baseball's newest $10-million-a-year man, Ryan Howard, is said to be looking for a contract that exceeds the eight-year, $136 million pact signed by Alfonso Soriano (Philadelphia Inquirer) . . . K-Rod, on the other hand, had to settle for $10 million after an arbitrator rejected his request for $12.5 million (Los Angeles Times) . . . Both sides say there are no hard feelings after Oliver Perez won his arbitration case against the Mets. (New York Post)

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Barry Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, ''will not answer'' whether or not he believes his client is being blackballed. (yahoo.com) But in a blind, one-sentence item in the notes portion of a column, the St. Petersburg Times' Marc Topkin wonders if Tampa Bay might be interested.

SO FAR SO GOOD: Rocco Baldelli feels good right now, and says the only goal he has this year is ''just to be out there'' all season. (yahoo.com)

A GOOD START: A.J. Burnett, counted on to be the Blue Jays' No. 2 starter this year, breezed through his first BP session. (Toronto Globe and Mail) In addition, B.J. Ryan's rehab from reconstructive elbow surgery is said to be ahead of schedule. (mlb.com) And new third baseman Scott Rolen is anxious to shed the label of malcontent that was hung on him during his years in Philadephia and St. Louis. (foxsports.com)

NEW BEGINNING: The Miami-Dade County Commission finally approved a stadium deal, and the grateful team says it will change its name to the Miami Marlins when the place opens in, they hope, 2011. (Miami Herald)

HERE AND THERE Craig Wilson has left the Reds' camp (Cincinnati Enquirer) . . . Andruw Jones is a little heavier than the Dodgers would like (Los Angeles Daily News) . . . Dusty Baker's track credit in developing young talent is spotty at best, which is why they're a little worried in Cincinnati that he's talking up career minor-leaguer Norris Hopper whenever he's asked about top prospect Jay Bruce (yahoo.com) . . . Tony La Russa is battling a St. Louis radio personality who has accused him of managing ''many players who have been tied to using performance-enhancing substances'' (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) . . . Former Braves pitcher Rick Camp is out of prison and attempting to put his life back together. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

OLD FRIENDS: Anibal Sanchez has resumed throwing (mlb.com) . . . The Giants are thinking about a left-field platoon, which doesn't make Dave Roberts happy. (San Francisco Chronicle)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 10:34 AM to Martone | Permalink