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The Brian Cashman ? Ben Shpigel of the New York Times: "With a runner on second and one out in the eighth, (Joba) Chamberlain blew a 96-mile-per-hour fastball past Adrian Beltre, then got J. D. Drew to flail at what his catcher, Jorge Posada, termed a ?filthy? slider. A few hours after Manager Joe Girardi repeated how he soon wants to identify a regular setup man, Chamberlain staked his claim. ?That?s a challenge I?m ready to embrace,? Chamberlain said." The Theo Epstein ? Ben Buchanan of Over The Monster: "It's quickly becoming apparent that the Sox are going to struggle to get outs from their bullpen. While Daniel Bard was excellent in his one inning, and (Jonathan) Papelbon is generally reliable, but other than that it's going to be a crapshoot." The Alex Anthopoulos ? Case Keefer of the Las Vegas Sun: "Brett Wallace is one of the cornerstones of the Blue Jays youth movement. The Blue Jays acquired Wallace from the Oakland Athletics in a three-team swap that involved Roy Halladay, their former Cy Young Award-winning pitcher. Four months before that deal, Wallace was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals for All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday. "Getting traded twice is pretty crazy in one season," Wallace said. "But those were some pretty good players. I take that as a compliment going forward." Wallace is the No. 2 prospect in the Blue Jays organization according to Baseball America. The top prospect is pitcher Kyle Drabek, who was also acquired in the Halladay deal. Although Drabek will start the year in Double-A New Hampshire, he could be promoted to Las Vegas. Wallace will work on the switch from third base to first base and be groomed for the future this year in Las Vegas." The Mike Flanagan ? Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun: "Michael Gonzalez, the man who was signed this offseason to prevent gut-wrenching losses, sat in the corner of a stunned and silent Orioles clubhouse, his chin resting in his hands. He had been waiting for this exact opportunity for weeks to prove that all the spring concerns about his diminished velocity and spotty command were wastes of energy, to show - as he promised - that he was a different pitcher once the bright lights of the regular season shone. The spotlight was about as bright as it could get in the ninth inning Tuesday night at sold-out Tropicana Field, a one-run Orioles lead and a potentially satisfying start to the 2010 season resting firmly on Gonzalez's shoulders. He managed to get just one out as Carl Crawford lined a two-run, bases-loaded double that sent the Tampa Bay Rays pouring out of the dugout to celebrate a 4-3, Opening Night victory before an announced 36,973." The Andrew Friedman ? Marc Tompkin St. Petersburg Times: "Down to their last two outs, the Rays rallied like they did so often (11 times, including six in the first 34 home games) in their 2008 championship season. "That definitely felt like an '08 win," Crawford said. "We did that a lot that year. Hopefully we can get that feeling back." Coming off a tremendous spring, with an MLB-best 20-8-2 record, and coming into the season with high expectations, the Rays got a quick pregame speech from principal owner Stuart Sternberg that now seems prescient, as he told then how talented they were but reminded them of the hard work and determination it would take to succeed. The Dave Dombrowski ? John Lowe of the Detroit Free-Press: "One game into Austin Jackson's career, Johnny Damon ventured a prediction. "The kid is going to be a superstar," Damon said after Monday's win by the Detroit Tigers. "I've been with him for a couple of years. I thought he was ready to be a big-leaguer a few years ago, but with the logjam we had in New York, it was almost impossible to get him up there." The Mark Shapiro ? Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer: Said Ross Atkins, director of player development, "With the infusion of trades, the exciting results of the last two drafts and the progress of some of our young Latin American players, we feel as balanced and as deep as we have been in a long time." The Bill Smith ? Adam Peterson of Twinkie Town: "The Twins bats made it clear from the top of the first that tonight was a different ballgame. Where it seemed leadoff hitter Denard Span was down 0-2 before stepping into the batter's box Monday night, he started the game with a five pitch walk. After Orlando Hudson bunted an ugly line drive to first, Joe Mauer nailed a Joe Saunders fastball over the center field fence to put the Twins up 2-0. Singles by Morneau and Michael Cuddyer along with a Jason Kubel walk loaded the bases for Delmon Young, who drove in Morneau with a sacrifice fly to right field. 3-0 Twins. After the first, the Twins bats didn't hit the Angels too hard, going 6 for their last 27 at bats. But a high Justin Morneau home run to right field in the third and a J.J. Hardy blast to center in the fourth was all the Twins would need." The Kenny Williams ? Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune: "Sox manager Ozzie Guillen recognizes the importance of depth on a starting rotation, based on his 1998-1999 seasons as a player with the Braves. "You had (Greg) Maddux, (John) Smoltz, (Tom) Glavine and all those guys there," Guillen said. "It was a tough night to sleep in Atlanta when you had to go play them. I expect the same stuff with this pitching staff. No matter who we pitch, we have five guys there who are very hungry. All I can ask is (for them to) go there and give us a chance to win." " The Dayton Moore ? Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star: "This is clearly a big year for Hochevar, and the last thing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft needs is a distraction. He?s trying to get off to a strong start and put a disappointing 2009 season behind him. ?Obviously, I have high expectations for myself,? said Hochevar, a right-hander. Hochevar didn?t come close to meeting those expectations last season, when he posted a 7-13 record and a 6.55 ERA that ranked as the highest posted by anyone in either league who pitched at least 140 innings." The Billy Beane ? Dan Merqury of Athletics Nation: "Dallas Braden made a definitive statement tonight, wowing the Oakland crowd with ten strikeouts over seven innings. The lone Mariners run came when Franklin Gutierrez doubled with one out in the top of the 4th inning. He got no help from his teammates but needed none, as Dallas Braden was called for a balk on a pickoff move, followed by a wild changeup in the dirt, allowing Gutierrez to score. Braden scattered four hits and one walk in his seven sparkling innings." The Jack Zduriencik ? Geoff Bakers of the Seattle Times: "What kept the M's in this game, of course, was some fine pitching by starter Ian Snell, who struck out four, popped out five and had the A's off-balance all night. The only run he gave up over six innings was a solo homer by Suzuki. That's usually enough to win a game, but not when your offense can't get anyone past first base." The Tony Reagins ? Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register: "The Angels? young talent seems to be bunched ? one wave has reached the majors (Jered Weaver, Kendry Morales, Erick Aybar, et al) and the next wave is still in ?A? ball with things somewhat sparse in between. ?It does come in waves, you?re correct,? Angels director of player development Abe Flores said, pointing to the Angels? draft position (and lack of a first-round pick in some years due to free agent signings) as one factor." The Jon Daniels ? Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News: "As much as the diehard Rangers fan in you wants to see more of Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland, they are right where they need to be. Feliz is commanding the eighth inning in Arlington while Holland is working the kinks out in Oklahoma City. Beyond that, the intriguing pitchers who populate the top of the prospect chart need to be heard about and not seen (in Arlington, anyway). Martin Perez turned 19 over the weekend. Tanner Scheppers needs to do more than turn heads in the Arizona Fall league. Flame-throwing Wilmer Font should break some bats in Hickory (wherever that is)." Click here to read Wednesday's National League edition of Scoop. |
Each AL team is represented below, marked by a not-so-subtle nod to the general managers we focus so much of our site's attention towards and our namesake.