MLB Bullets Won't Be Coddled

My wife's undergraduate school throttled her (and my) graduate school in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I told her "congratulations" and "nyah, nyah, nyah."

• As we approach the end of spring training, CJ Nitkowski gives his personal insight into the worst day in baseball for players like he was: "Cut Day," where marginal players find out it they've been sent to the minors or worse, released.
• Speaking of which, the Rockies released Jhoulys Chacin.
• This is a Cubs story, but the news is a little light today and it ties into "being sent to the minors." Ken Rosenthal thinks the Player's Association should file a grievance against the Cubs when Kris Bryant is sent down to the minors, even though Rosenthal admits it has no chance of success. He also draws a parallel between what is going on with Bryant this summer and what the Cubs did with Mark Grace in 1988.
• Bryant has eight home runs this spring, but Theo Epstein could just respond the way that Trevor Bauer did to a fan on Twitter: Spring Training stats don't mean anything. Bauer has been hit pretty hard this spring, but he's just working on throwing strikes and he hasn't walked anyone.
• It's looking like that terrible cut day may not come for Barry Zito and the Athletics. Joe Stiglich reports that the A's may find a role for Zito as the team's long-reliever.
• I seem to remember a few weeks ago the reports were that MLB's decision on Josh Hamilton could come any day. Now MLB is promising that they'll have a decision on Hamilton's possible suspension by Opening Day.
• Yankees outfielder Jose Pirela was hospitalized after crashing into the center field fence.
• Clayton Kershaw got hit in the face with a comebacker in Friday's Dodgers spring training game. Luckily, other than needing some dental work, Kershaw is expected to be fine.
• However, the Dodgers sent Hyun-Jin Ryu back to LA after the pitcher suffered discomfort in his left shoulder.
• Justin Verlander thinks that minor league pitchers are "coddled" in the minors and that teams should lift inning and pitch restrictions on minor leaguers. Verlander's position is interesting, to put it mildly. He doesn't think that removing the limits will make pitchers healthier, only that they'll get injured as minor leaguers when they still have time to recover and when it won't cost teams so much in lost salary.
• Matthew Trueblood thinks there would be some logic in the Reds moving Tony Cingrani to the bullpen if the team was going to be competitive in 2015. But since the Reds should be in rebuilding mode, the decision to start Paul Maholm over Cingrani is crazy.
• Everyone is picking the Nationals to win the World Series or come close or something like that this year. But as Jayson Stark points out, they've had a lot of injuries already this season and the season hasn't even started yet. Nothing major yet, but minor injuries often turn into major ones.
• The White Sox signed Adam Eaton to a five-year extension. Mike Axisa says the move give the Pale Hose some needed stability at the top of the lineup.
• Grant Brisbee tries to figure out what team might be interested in taking Ryan Howard off the Phillies hands.
• In case you're not interested in Howard, the word is that Chase Utley is available for the asking. Of course, you'd have to take on his contract and Utley has 10-5 rights, so it's not like you could just stick him in the back of one of those bullpen carts from the 1970s and take him home.
• Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart denies that Mark Trumbo is not going to be traded, despite the Snakes spending a lot of money on essentially the same player in Yasmany Tomas.
• The Astros Collin McHugh has improved by relying on his curveball more. Also, he likes to read a lot, which is relevant somehow.
• The Mariners did have troubles hitting fastballs last season, but Ken Rosenthal points out that they've taken steps to correct that.
• Giving big money to Japanese pitchers is risky. Matt Goldman examines just how risky it is.
• There's no resolution in sight for the Dodgers TV impasse. Time-Warner paid too much for the rights and they can't lower their record-high demands or they'll never make their money back. The Dodgers have refused to renegotiate the terms. DirecTV has already lost every viewer they're going to because they're not carrying the Dodgers and no other cable system will give in as long as DirecTV isn't. So essentially, get used to this for the next 20 years, Dodgers fans. I hope you love your high-paid team that you can't see.
• John Dowd, the investigator behind the Pete Rose gambling ban, says that Rose should never be allowed back in baseball. He also says that Bart Giamatti was prepared to offer Rose a deal short of a lifetime ban, but Rose wasn't interested.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred and President George W. Bush sat down to answer baseball questions. Ivan Rodriguez? Great Rangers Player or the Greatest Rangers Player?
• Andrew McCutchen doesn't like "Centerfield." (h/t Hardball Talk)
• Possible 2016 draftee Demi Orimoloye looks to be the first ever major league ballplayer to have been born in Africa. Seriously, more major league ballplayers were born in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean than in Africa.
• The Yankees have hired a nutritionist to help their players eat right. The article also says they've hired a separate nutritionist for the minor leaguers. It doesn't say whether or not they're giving their minor leaguers enough money for them to eat right. I'm guessing not. Hope I'm wrong, but it seems ridiculous to stick minor leaguers on an eight-hour bus ride with $10 in their pockets and then tell them not to eat at Taco Bell. (h/t Hardball Talk)
• You often see first basemen turning unassisted double plays, but you don't often see them do it at third base.
• The Marlins are bringing back their road grey uniforms and dropping the orange caps.
• This is a fascinating article that tries to evaluate how good is each team's third-base coach. The Cubs are in the middle.
• More wacky commercials. Sean Doolittle gives a social media lesson to the A's coaching staff.
• And finally, if you needed any more evidence that the end times (of spring training, at least) are near, here are the seven plagues that descended on spring training this year.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.