MLB SPRING TRAINING NEWS & NOTES!
by Bob Acton of
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Yes the sweet sounds of the crack of a bat are resonating fromcities in Florida and Arizona these days as spring training isin full swing and Rocket Roger Clemens got taken deep early inhis throwing session yesterday. In Kissimmee, Florida Roger threw66 pitches to the some minor leaguers but it was his first oneto son Koby that was deposited beyond the fence. The younger Clemenswas drafted by Houston last year, while the eldest still hasn’tmade up his mind about retirement.
At Jupiter, Fla., Joe Borowski appears to be the leading candidate to replace Jones with the Marlins. Borowski's best season came in 2003, when he had 33 saves and a 2.63 ERA. He missed much of 2004 with a shoulder injury, and then broke a bone in his right forearm in spring training last year.
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After the Cubs released him in June, Borowski joined Tampa Bay and set a club record with 21 consecutive scoreless innings. But then he gave up 15 earned runs in his final 14 1-3 innings of the season.
This is one of the stories you like to read about as Borowski was a career minor leaguer riding the buses and just looking to earn a pay check.
My sleeper pick for 2006 the Pittsburgh Pirates received some unsettling news regarding pitched Kip Wells and a blood clot in his arm. Wells did not pitch well last year with an 8-18 and ERA of 4.36 but he logged 182 innings and they are loaded with left handed pitching.
At Dunedin, Fla., Toronto Blue Jays right-handers Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett had opposite outings during the team's first intrasquad game. Halladay needed just seven pitches to retire three hitters. Burnett needed 19, allowing one run and two hits with a strikeout.
Halladay, whose 2005 season ended July 8 when he broke his left leg pitching against Texas, makes his first spring start Thursday against Tampa. Burnett, who signed a five-year, $55 million contract with Toronto in December, is scheduled to make his Blue Jays debut Friday against Team Canada.
The Jays on paper look loaded and are many experts pick as the real challenge to the Yankees, but with all these additions, chemistry becomes an issue!
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