It was a busy day in the baseball world. Cubs fans learned the fate of Mark Prior (sort of) and the United States learned the fate of its team in the World Baseball Classic.

In the WBC, team USA looked sluggish, and tired. In the end, Roger Clemens probably felt like he was pitching for the Astros again. Clemens pitched a pretty good game only giving up a couple of runs, and of course received NO support from his under-achieving offense. While stars like Lee and Damon had to sit out due to injury, the US lineup was still stuffed full with All-Stars that could only come up with one run. To be honest, if that is how you play with your tournament life on the line, you don’t deserve to move on to the next round. And today, team USA didn’t.

Roger, I hope this wasn’t your last game, you deserve better a better end to a Hall of Fame career than the one you were given tonight. You truly did conquer the game.

The other big news in baseball today had to do with the health of Cubs pitcher Mark Prior. Now, as I posted earlier in the week, Prior had been experiencing arm pain and was shut down pending tests. Well, the tests came back and it appears Prior is suffering from a shoulder strain. As is my usual style, I’ll give you the official line, and then I’ll of course let you know what I think.

Company line (Cubs Trainer Mark O’Neal is playing the mouthpiece in this case): “I’m very pleased. There’s bad news, extremely bad news, that could come out of it. Right now, if this is a posterior shoulder strain, we’re going to deal with it like you would a hamstring strain. Unfortunately, it’s in the shoulder. So yes, for us, it’s pretty good news.”

My take: WHAT!?! Did I miss something here? Ok, let me start off by pointing out that this is not exactly the tune they were singing earlier in the week. Cubs GM, Hendry earlier this week said this, “Hopefully, it’s just a little snag and he’s back with a few days setback.” Now correct me if I’m wrong but the news today sounds a bit worse than Hendry’s version doesn’t it? Hendry had him back working in a couple of days and now we hear Prior might not be ready at the start of the season? Sorry, that doesn’t seem like good news for the Cubs.

Secondly, did anyone else notice the tense that O’Neal used? Bad news COULD come out of this. IF its a shoulder strain…. It seems to me that they really don’t have a clue what is going on with this young man’s arm. Would I be shocked if they turned around tomorrow and said it is actually something else? Not at all…. and I bet the Cubs would be pretty pleased about whatever new ailment Prior had too.

“Well, it looks like Mark has an incurable variation of the West Nile Anthrax Death Virus but really we’re really quite pleased about this. This could have been really bad news so if in fact he does have this incredibly rare disease in his lungs we’re going to treat it just as if it were in his arm, but unfortunately for us its not… so he’s probably toast. But all in all, we couldn’t be happier.”

I know I’ve heard that type of double speak before… when was that? Hmm…

oh, and of course…

Come on people! I guarantee you this story doesn’t end here.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have been getting a TON of emails and comments from both Cardinal and Cubs fans. More than one of you want to know how I will prove that I actually GO to the games and actually ROOT for the Cubs. That’s actually a pretty valid concern. I know I’d be a bit skeptical about something like this. So… how do I take care of all of these concerns in one fell swoop?

Let someone go to the game with me of course!

Now, how to pick who goes with me though? Well a random drawing seems pretty obvious. So, I am announcing the first (of hopefully many) Fan For Hire Tag-Along Contest. For each $50.00 a fan donates, he or she will have their name entered once in the drawing*. When we reach the goal of $10,000 I will pick a name at random and that lucky person will get a free ticket to the game (the seat next to me of course) as well as a round trip plane ticket to the game**. So, if you’d like a chance to win a free Cardinal/Cub ticket and a front row seat to the circus that is sure to ensue when I attend my first game, donate at least $50.00.

* One entry for every $50.00 donated. If a fan donates $100.00, he or she will receive two entries in the drawing.

** Offer only open to residents of the continental United States and only if needed.

Well Cub fans, that dark cloud of dread has most likely already settled in above your head but just in case you haven’t heard, let me be the bearer of bad news. Mark Prior is having his rotator cuff examined. Prior, the talented young pitcher, has spent time on the DL in each of his major league seasons and it appears this season might not be any different. While the extent of his injury is not yet known, this is obviously an odious sign for Cubs fans. With the status of Chicago’s other brittle ace, Kerry Wood, still in doubt, the health of Prior has taken on even more importance. As manager Dusty Baker put it “We have to stay positive and keep our fingers crossed.” Not exactly the answer Cubs fans wanted to hear.

The news out of Cubs camp today added fuel to a slowly growing fire of speculation about Prior’s status. The rumors of a possible trade involving the young pitcher earlier in the spring had also stirred speculation of an injury. Prior’s name came up in trade talk for Baltimore Orioles slugger Miguel Tejada, putting his health in the in the public spotlight. When the deal didn’t go through, rumors of health trouble for the pitcher began to circulate. As spring training started, Prior had been under a “strict program” which had caused even more Cubs fans to speculate about a possible injury. And now the team announces today that Prior will undergo tests on his shoulder and might need an MRI on his rotator cuff. You’ll forgive Cub fans if they say they told you so. The rumors had become so rampant that Cub general manager Jim Hendry was forced to address the concerns of Cubbie nation.

“It’s unfortunate. The first time he’s ever complained of discomfort since we got here is today. It will be perceived any way people want to perceive it. There’s no advantage to us holding back until March 14 and then discussing a problem that we knew about earlier. Hopefully, it’s just a little snag and he’s back with a few days setback and he’s back on his program at the end of the week. Today was the first day that he ever told [O'Neal] or Larry that he had discomfort.”

Whether management knew about it earlier this spring or just found out about it today… this is bad news for the Cubs.

The Cards are playing a Spring Training game today against the Yankees and I have Tivo… I’ll try to make a few observations as I watch….

Ponson is looking good. Granted he isn’t facing the TRUE Yankee lineup but he got Sheffield and Matsui (both starters) to pop up weakly on the infield. The choice to have both Ponson and Reyes pitch today is a good one for interested fans. This will let the two be evaluated against largely the same lineup. Now certainly we fans won’t have the same perspective on that number 5 starting spot as Dave Duncan and LaRusa but it will be nice to see the two candidates side by side.

Duncan just jacked one against Randy Johnson! I think Dunc has a great chance of making the club at this pace.

Luna got a hit and stole a base in the inning as well. I still don’t understand the fascination with Luna… maybe it’s his youth?

Is it just me or does everyone still cringe when Rolen goes to field a ball while a runner is running from second to third? I can’t help but think of Alex Cintron running into him and knocking him out for the playoffs that year… I don’t even like to type those words, much less picture them happening again. Here’s to your health Scotty!

There’s another Luna hit and another stollen base. If he keeps this up, he’ll get the chance to prove whether he’s got what it takes to start in the bigs or not…. Spivey just took one off the hand… hope he’s ok. Luna may win this job just by staying healthy.

Reyes is looking good. The announcers keep talking about how “lively” his stuff is. All I know is that the ball is jumping and he has only given up one run so far. We might have the good problem of having 6 quality starting pitchers… and thats without Wainright in the picture. If Reyes and Ponson keep it up or Wainright comes on strong, the Cardinals might think about trading away Suppan or Marquis. (more on that a little later in the week). The cheeper we can go with our 3,4, and 5 pitchers, the more we can spend to resign Mulder or go out and get a stud corner outfielder (again, more about this later). I just can’t see the Cardinals sending Reyes to the pen or back to Triple A, but hey, who knows?

Juan Encarnacion, one of the Cardinals’ offseason signings, has been having a rough go of it in the WBC. Unlike Pujols, his Dominican Republic teammate, Encarnacion has been struggling mightily. After badly misplaying two balls in the field during yesterday’s game, he followed it up by going 0 for 5 at the plate today. Now I realize that Juan is probably not quite in mid-season form yet but with so many other players having great tournaments (Lee, Pujols, Beltre, Griffey Jr. etc etc) it is frustrating to watch. Encarnacion is supposed to step in and fill the shoes of Reggie Sanders both in the field and the lineup. While Encarnacion has never shown much power (16 HRs last year), he is coming off his second best season in terms of RBI (76). And, looking strictly at the numbers, he would seem to be a perfect replacement for Sanders, but there just seems to be something intangible Reggie brought to the team. Whether it was a timely homer or a key stollen base, Sanders always seemed to be clutch. That little something extra made him more valuable than just his HRs, RBIs, and batting average. Don’t get me wrong, I would love it if Encarnacion ends up being yet another rabbit out of Jockety’s hat… but I have more than a few doubts about this one. I probably should have already learned better than to doubt Wise Walt but I can’t seem to help myself. Here’s to hoping I’m wrong!

First baseman Derek Lee did it again today, hammering a two-run home run against Japan. The long ball was Lee’s third of the tournament and couldn’t have come at a better time as it pulled Team USA back into a 3-3 tie with the very competitve Japanese ballclub. I hate to admit it but it looks like D. Lee is starting right were he left off last year. Of course, Pujols has had a pretty good run with the Dominican Republic (.556 batting average along with 4 walks) so hopefully those two will treat us to another great run for the batting title, MVP, and maybe even the Tripple Crown.

Can I just say right now that the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is one of the best developments for baseball in a long time? I know George (I hate everything good) Steinbrenner thinks it’s a bad idea and you hear all sorts of comments like “What if someone gets hurt?” PLEASE! The players are going to be playing right now anyway whether it is Spring Training (ST) or the WBC. Now sure, the effort and competition is probably not there in ST but as a fan, wouldn’t you rather watch a game where the players are actually trying? I know I would. As a coach or manager or too rich for my own good owner, I would rather let my players get some “real” practice. For the game itself, letting players represent their countries and playing for pride is a BRILLIANT move.

Bottom line… I just cheered when Lee hit a home run and when Brad Lidge struck someone out, and outside of the WBC that would never happen.

Well, it looks like the word is out on my little site here. I have been getting emails most of the day from people with some sort of opinion about the site. The Cards fans seem to think I am a fraud and the Cubs fans seem insulted…. Well, whatever your feelings are, be sure to let me know. I can’t post anything with profanity in it but I’ll try to post as many of the emails and comments that I get. They’re all quite entertaining. Oh… and don’t forget to donate!

I am auctioning off the space for a name on the back of my Cubs jersey that I will wear to any of the Cards/Cubs games that I attend this year. This is a great advertising opportunity and the bid price will be added to our current total donated of $2250.00. We are a quarter of the way to our first game! Keep it up everyone! Oh, and if you want to bid on the item… you can find it here: Fan For Hire Ebay Auction.

We’re Also Random!
RandomCrapOnline.com has written a post about FanForHire.com. Hopefully we’ll be getting a lot of attention from the blogosphere as well as the media but remember, RandomCrapOnline.com had them all scooped!

Ex-commissioner Fay Vincent thinks Bonds should be investigated and he called his successor (Selig) to pass along the suggestion. At this point, I think Selig has to do SOMETHING on this issue or he risks losing any credibility he has left. In my mind, Vincent’s tenure was defined by the way he dealt with Pete Rose. In much the same way, I believe Selig’s will be remembered by what he does on the steroid issue. I think Selig and the rest of baseball took a pretty big hit with the congressional hearing. I mean they had to be threatened with legal action before they did anything about the issue. Anyway, I am getting a bit off track. Back to Bonds…

I have read a few different articles about Bonds and people saying that he merely exploited loopholes in the system. Um, sorry, but isnt doing illegal drugs against MLB’s rules? Sure, Bonds says he never “knowingly” did roids… yeah, and I never knowingly sped but I still have the tickets that say its against the law. Ignorance is NOT an excuse and he should be treated as any other criminal who happens to play a sport. Now, I don’t think Selig has the guts to go into the record books as I feel needs to happen, but I HOPE he has the guts to stop a cheater and a criminal from breaking one of the greatest records in the game. Now, if they throw “track and field” type testing at Bonds and he turns up clean (somehow) and he faces whatever kind of discipline needed for the criminal stuff, then let him play. Personally I would like to see players who get caught doping banned for a year and a second time they are out of baseball. That would make sure everyone, including Bonds, knew exactly what was going into their bodies. Anyway, I am sure this issue isn’t finished but I think thats all I’ve got on it for now.

EDIT: I just read an article on Bonds that I think is a MUST READ on the subject. Here’s the link: Skip Bayless’ Bonds Article.

Team USA needed a win against the underdog South African team to move into the next round of the World Baseball Classic… boy did they get one. Roger Clemens tossed a one hitter, Ken Griffey Jr. homered twice and drove in seven runs. First baseman Derrek Lee also helped the cause with a home run and four runs batted in. The game got so out of hand (the final score was 17-0) that the mercy rule was invoked, ending the game after only 5 innings. It looks to me like Junior’s comeback year last year was no fluke. I hope he can stay healthy enough to show fans his silky smooth home run swing 30 or 40 times this year. With so much being made about Bonds (I’m going to post on this in a little while) and all the uproar about steroids, its nice to see players like Griffey hammer the ball. Power hitters like Lee, Griffey, Pujols, and A-Rod are exactly what baseball needs right now. When Griffey hits one out, the first thought through my head isnt “I wonder if he’s on the juice.” To me, thats baseball like it oughta be.