I'm going to be real honest with you all today. Despite getting a flu shot two months ago, I seem to have come down with a bad case of the flu. I really have no idea what animal is associated with my flu, but I'm fairly confident it's not Cubs flu.

But since I've spent most of my Sunday skipping church and praying to the porcelain god instead, I'm going to keep this fairly short.

• In his new autobiography due out in February, Mike Piazza will deny that he ever used steroids. Sorry, Mike, but Murray Chass' years of medical training has diagnosed you from a distance.
• Albert Pujols will play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic while his Angels teammate Mike Trout will decline. However, Team USA is getting Giancarlo Stanton.
• Since his native Panama got knocked out in the qualifying rounds, Bruce Chen will play for China. He's the first major leaguer to play for China. Chen had played for Panama in the past two WBC tournaments. I guess that qualifies as Royals news.
• Geoff Blum is joining the Astros broadcast booth as part of the replacement for new Cubs color man Jim Deshaies. Blum hasn't officially retired yet, but one would assume that's just a formality at this point.
• Andrew McCutchen will be on the cover of MLB 13: The Show video game. Good to see a Pirate can win something.
• Kevin Cowherd complains in the Baltimore Sun that the Orioles have been quiet this off-season.
• Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe thinks Jackie Bradley is very close to the majors.
• Here's the closest I could come to any other Royals news. Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star wonders if maybe Alex Gordon should remain the Royals lead-off hitter because they don't have any better options.

And tomorrow I won't feel as sick as I do today, Buster.