The Full Schedule

There was a full slate of games earlier today in both the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues -- which means baseball addicts like me now have plenty of box scores to review.

It doesn't matter if the starters are gone after just a few innings -- what matters is the chance to see how those starters look...and the chance to see how the prospects who replace them fare as well.

Here are some notes from the games I was able to watch today...

* I will confess -- I did not watch any games live today, as I instead opted for the radio broadcast of the Orioles-Marlins game at 1:00. As a lifelong Orioles fan, I love the fact that the team always broadcasts the spring training opener. It's great to hear the voice of Joe Angel once again; it's like an old friend has returned from a vacation and now plans to drop by for a few hours every day for the next seven months.

* Judging by the performance of Birds starter Steve Trachsel, I think I was better off with a radio description, anyway. Trachsel allowed the first five batters he faced to reach and the Marlins lead 3-0 before he had retired a batter. Ouch.

* Fortunately -- through the miracle of Tivo -- I was able to catch a few other games today. In Tampa, Johnny Damon led off the bottom half of the first with a home run off of Twins starter Carlos Silva. And then in the second, Jason Giambi hit an absolute bomb -- well over the right field wall -- on a sinker that Silva left hanging in the middle of the plate.

* "Phil" (not "Phillip", according to Michael Kay of the YES Network) took the mound for the Yankees to start the third inning after starter Chien-Ming Wang opened the game with two perfect innings. Hughes looked like a young pitcher with good stuff, but he did struggle with his control at times.

* For the rest of the spring, I think I'm going to keep a running count of how many times a Yankee broadcaster says that Hughes reminds him of a "young Roger Clemens." I didn't keep an official tally today, but I know I heard it at least three times.

* Hughes allowed a hit, two walks and one earned run in 1 1/3 innings (33 pitches) and he finished his afternoon with an impressive punchout of American League MVP Justin Morneau.

* Twins' right-hander Kevin Slowey -- Minnesota's #3 prospect, according to Baseball America -- also entered the game in the third inning. Slowey struggled a bit (two hits and two walks in two scoreless innnigs) but it's easy to understand why. After pitching in Double-A New Britain last season, Slowey faced Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posado, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera to begin his afternoon. Talk about a step up in class...

* We got a chance to see 6'4" right-hander Russ Ohlendorf for the Yankees in the fifth. Ohlendorf came to the Yankees as part of the Randy Johnson trade; prior to that deal he was Arizona's 10th best prospect, according to BA. Ohlendorf threw two scoreless innings, but what was most notable (and ironic, given the opponent) to me was the fact that Ohlendorf's windup is very similar to that of former Twins ace Brad Radke.

* I didn't realize it when I first started watching the game, but apparently there was a special promotion at Legends Field for this game. That's right...it was sidearm left-hander's day. Randy Choate and Mike Venafro did the honors for Minnesota while Mike Myers did likewise for the Yankees. I would not have wanted to be a left-handed hitting minor leaguer during the middle innings of this game.

* Before I move on to the next game, let me pause ten seconds to complain about Directv. Listen, I understand these spring training games are coming through as part of the sports package and I'm not actually paying any more for them as part of MLB Extra Innings. But it's very frustrating to try and watch a game when Directv mistakenly blacks it out for an hour, as was the case with the Cardinals-Mets telecast from Port St. Lucie this afternoon. When my recording began, it was already the bottom of the fourth inning. It's stuff like this that has me very concerned about the potential deal with MLB to make Directv the exclusive provider of the Extra Innings package. These kind of mistakes happen all the time -- and not just with baseball -- and it's virtually impossible to get someone on the phone who can do anything other than read from a script about territorial blackouts...

* OK, rant over -- and my apologies for not having anything to report on the Cards-Mets game.

* In Tucson today, the White Sox and Rockies squared off for the second day in a row. And while we're on the subject of technical glitches, I guess it's OK for me to assume that Jeff Francis really wasn't hitting 102 mph on the radar gun even though that's what it said on the FSN Rocky Mountain score line?

* In the second inning, White Sox starter Heath Phillips (three hits, one walk and one earned run in two innings) made what was quite possibly the worst pickoff throw I've ever seen. The left-handed Phillips fired to first base and missed the target by at least ten feet to the left. Seriously...his pickoff attempt looked more like a single between first and second than a pickoff throw. The runner (Matt Miller) made it all the way to third, but I don't know how he got that far without stopping to laugh.

* White Sox knuckleballer Charlie Haeger took over for Phillips in the third and pitched two scoreless innings. By rule, any knuckleballer named Charlie deserves and demands your respect. But Haeger also has an 84 mph fastball (assuming the gun was accurate) that keeps hitters honest.

* Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado's #6 prospect, according to BA) looks like he has good stuff. He showed a good curveball and changeup to go along with a 94 mph fastball in his two scoreless innings. He got Joe Crede swinging on a nice high fastball in the fourth inning. The only issue with Jimenez may be his control; the stuff looks like it's there.

* Oscar Rivera came into the game for Colorado in the fifth. Rivera was signed out of the Mexican League on the recommendation of front office assistant Vinny Castilla (yes, THAT Vinny Castilla.) If Rivera makes the team, Colorado will owe his Mexican League squad a $1.3 million bonus. Not exactly Daisuke money, but also not chump change.

* The Rockies' broadcasters said that Castilla referred to Rivera as a left-handed Greg Maddux. That officially makes three ridiculous comparisons (Hughes-to-Clemens...Ohlendorf-to-Radke...and now Rivera-to-Maddux) in just one blog entry. Who do I think I am, anyway -- Jim Callis? (OK, OK...I'll stop.) Anyway, Rivera looked impressive in his first inning of work, but gave up a 2-run homer to Crede in his second inning. He did strike out three batters in two innings and showed an above-average curveball.

That's all for today -- back with more tomorrow, including observations from the Braves-Pirates game (1:00, ESPN) and Daisuke Matsuzaka's first start for the Red Sox against Boston College (6:00, NESN). See you tomorrow.