Ten Things To Watch for As Pitchers and Catchers Report for MLB Spring Training

A-Rod cheated when? Tejada lied to whom?? Alomar did what???!?

Baseball's offseason has taken a turn for the worse and the wacky this week. Luckily for us fans, the offseason is finally over.

This weekend, MLB pitchers and catchers will report to spring training camps in Florida and Arizona.

That means we've got CC Sabathia headed to Tampa for Yankees' camp, K-Rod to Port St. Lucie for the Mets, and Derek Lowe trucking to Disney's Wide World of Sports in Orlando.

Yes, after a relentless wave of one distressing news item after another, it's good to start talking about something that matters—baseball.


So to help get you all excited about the upcoming season, let's run down 10 things to watch for (in no particular order) as batteries around the league begin to suit up:

1) Sabathia and Burnett in Pinstripes

The new-look Yankees' rotation heads to Tampa hoping to prove that they're worth the monster contracts.

A year after injuries decimated their staff, the Yankees pin their playoff hopes on a younger, stronger core, as well as on the health of backstop Jorge Posada. With Abreu and Giambi removed from the middle of the order, the switch-hitting catcher will need to prove he's healthy for long haul.

2) Lowe, Vazquez and Kawakami in Atlanta

Speaking of injury-decimated staffs, the Braves will move on from Smoltz/Hudson/Glavine and start fresh with a trio of durable new arms. There's a chance that they could come out of spring training with seven or eight potential starters, which would provide great relief to the bullpen.

Setup men Rafael Soriano and Peter Moylan are coming off of major injuries, and closer Mike Gonzalez is less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery. A healthy bullpen could gloss over the likely lack of run support.

3) Old Closers in New Cities

Free agent departures such as K-Rod (NYM), Kerry Wood (CLE), Trevor Hoffman (MIL), Brian Fuentes (LAA), and Takashi Saito (BOS) means new roles for established setup men around the league.

How Carlos Marmol (CHC), Jonathan Broxton (LAD), and Heath Bell (SD) take to being the closer ought to heavily impact the playoffs hopes of their teams.

4) Jake Peavy Staying in San Diego?

It has been a couple of months since we last heard Jake Peavy's name associated with trade rumors, but as the season draws near, it's becoming more likely that if the Padres are still going to move him, it's going to be soon.

Possible trade partners, Cubs and Braves, appear to be set in their rotations now, leaving San Diego GM Kevin Towers with having to search for new suitors.

Will Peavy be a Padre on opening day? It's likely. Will the trade talks impact his relationship with the ball club? It remains to be seen.

5) The Young Guns in Miami and Tampa

The two teams down in Florida will travel short distances this week to get to camp, bringing with them a cast of talented young pitchers. Tampa Bay will move David Price into the rotation alongside Kazmir, Shields, and Garza.

The Rays' front four may just be good enough to hang with any rotation in the league, including those highly paid Yankees. Meanwhile, the Marlins' staff may not have the big names or national spotlight, but their front five could help them be the dark horse in the NL East.

Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Andrew Miller, Chris Volstad, and Anibal Sanchez are as green as can be, but all appear ready to make their mark in the bigs.

6) Rehab Projects in Boston

Rather than signing massive contracts like the Yankees, the Red Sox signed multiple players to smaller deals, banking on them to return from injury successfully.

John Smoltz, Takashi Saito, and Brad Penny join the pitching staff. And should they all be healthy by mid-season, the Red Sox may as well throw out a six-man rotation and rotate closers between Jonathan Papelbon, Smoltz, and Saito to save everyone's arms for the postseason.

The best part of the signings is that the Red Sox have great pitching depth without the newcomers, putting little pressure on them to come out of spring training looking like spring chickens.

7) Three Cy Young's in San Francisco

The "freak" Tim Lincecum will show up with his first Cy Young trophy this week. Meanwhile, overpaid and over-the-hill Barry Zito will already be polishing his trophy, and newly signed Randy Johnson will lug his four trophies into the locker room.

Suddenly the Giants have established winners in the rotation (not to mention young stud Matt Cain), it's just too bad that they won't be expecting Zito or Johnson to be on the pedestal again.

Watch for the Big Unit's health as well as Zito's stuff, as getting a moderately productive season out of either of them is paramount to the Giants' success this season.

8) Geovany Soto vs. The Sophomore Slump

The days of the one-year wonder, Rookie of the Year are all but gone after a wave of superstars has flooded the league. Soto had a huge year for the Cubs but fizzled out by September and limped into the playoffs.

In his second season, Soto ought to be stronger and more prepared for the long haul, just as pitchers and scouts will be more prepared on how to attack the young backstop.

A slight drop-off in production wouldn't hurt the loaded Cubs' lineup too much, but keep an eye on Soto as he's expected to be a top-tier catcher for years to come.

9) Matt Wieters vs. The Hype

Last season, the hype was on Soto. This season, it's on Matt Wieters. Pegged by scouts as a mix between Joe Mauer and Mark Teixeira, Wieters could be the savior for baseball in Baltimore.

Fantasy players will be keeping a close eye on him throughout the spring, for sure, ensuring he makes enough of an impact to be a starter on day one. Veteran catcher Gregg Zaun was signed in the offseason, likely as insurance.

10) Ivan Rodriguez Faces Unemployment

Pudge is a first ballot Hall of Famer and the best catcher to play in our generation (if you take Piazza's defense into account)—so why hasn't anyone signed him?

Many may cite that he's over the hill or past his prime, but it seems like every new (and young) team he lands with instantly improves.

He anchored the Marlins to a World Series title in 2003 and helped the Tigers win a pennant in 2006. My guess is that the Marlins would enjoy a reunion; letting Pudge work with their young arms is far from a bad idea (take note, Tampa Bay).

Also, let's not forget that fellow first-ballot Hall of Famers Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey Jr. have still yet to land anywhere. There are still deals to be made and rosters to be shuffled as the spring training schedule draws closer.

Dirty South Sports www.dirtysouthsports.com