Atlanta Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren announced today that the Braves have agreed to terms with infielder/outfielder Scott Spiezio on a minor league contract for the 2008 season. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. Spiezio will begin the season with Triple-A Richmond, which opens play on Thursday (April 3) against Rochester.

Power Showcase President Brian Domenico recently confirmed that the 2009 Power Showcase National Finals will be held at the Tampa Bay Rays? Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, January 2-4, 2009. ?Holding the 2009 National Finals at Tropicana Field will provide the representatives with an experience they will never forget,? remarked Domenico. ?How many people get to set foot on a Major League field, let alone the opportunity to participate in a home run derby against the top high school power hitters in the World.? According to Domenico,?In addition to providing a memorable experience, one of our goals is to give these players a glimpse of what it is like to be in the Major Leagues in an effort to inspire them to continue to work hard so that someday they might accomplish their dream and return to Tropicana Field as professional baseball players.?

'Striking Out' is a new edition to RealGM's baseball pages this season, which will touch on three of pressing issues (good, bad, and ugly) for all 30 major league teams. First up are the Giants who are looking to avoid losing twice as many games as the anniversary (50th in San Francisco) they celebrate in 2008. Strike One: Miserable Opening Day Lineup The Giants' opening day lineup in 2008 is easily their least talented since the 1985 season when they lost 100 games. Jim Davenport's team finished last in the NL in runs (556), hits (1,263), and OBP (.296) while they were second to last in slugging (.348) and strikeouts (962). Opening Day Lineup, April 9, 1985 * Season totals in batting/OBP/slugging Dan Gladden (.243/.307/.347) Manny Trillo (.224/.287/.288) Chili Davis (.270/.349/.412) Jeffrey Leonard (.241/.272/.393) Bob Brenly (.220/.311/.391) David Green (.248/.301/.347) Chris Brown (.271/.345/.442) Johnnie LeMaster (.000/.059/.000) Atlee Hammaker (.085/.085/.085) Opening Day Lineup, March 31, 2008 * Career totals in batting/OBP/slugging Dave Roberts (.268/.342/.370) Rich Aurilia (.276/.330/.439) Randy Winn (.286/.345/.424) Bengie Molina (.275/.309/.411) Ray Durham (.277/.351/.436) Aaron Rowand (.286/.343/.462) Jose Castillo (.256/.297/.380) Brian Bocock (no previous MLB experience) Barry Zito (.088/.108/.088) The 1908 St. Louis Cardinals were shutout a MLB-record 33 times; is that number now in jeopardy? Strike Two: Starting Zito On Opening Day Zito is being paid like an ace, but there is no mistaking the fact that Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are ahead of him on the depth chart. He had a 1.98 ERA over 13.2 career innings at Dodger Stadium, but Bruce Bochy, in this supposed new meritocracy era of Giants' baseball, should have given Cain the start. Zito wasn't quite as awful as advertised but propping him up with these artificial ace accolades is disingenuous and not doing any favors for anyone. Strike Three: Starting Shortstop's Highest Level Of Baseball Is Single A Johnnie LeMaster didn't get a single hit for the Giants in 1985 before they dealt him to the Indians for Mike Jeffcoat and Luis Quinones in May, but the 12-year veteran had something Brian Bocock doesn't have: MLB experience. Bocock's highest level of baseball came last year when he played 87 games for Single-A San Jose where he hit .220/.293/.328. Clearly, this is an emergency situation caused by injuries to Omar Vizquel and Kevin Frandsen, and the Giants would love to put Eugenio Velez there if he was even 10% competent in the field. But in short, this does not bode well, please cue 'How To Disappear Completely' by Radiohead. - Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM and the creator of the Reina Value.

Indians' All-Star catcher Victor Martinez left Monday?s season opener against the White Sox with a strained left hamstring, as reported by Yahoo.com. Martinez suffered the injury while running the bases during the second inning.

Rain in the New York area postponed the Yankees' 2008 Season Opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday afternoon, according to MLB.com. The game will be played on Tuesday night at 7:05PM EST, with Chien Ming-Wang facing off against Roy Halladay.

Torii Hunter believes that the Minnesota Twins will miss him more than Johan Santana this season, according to the Star Tribune. "Yeah, well, you know for me, I think pitchers give you one game, that's it," Hunter said Sunday at the Metrodome. "Pitchers give you one, that's it. So you miss Johan; Johan, he's going to win one game for you, but the other four, it's somebody else's turn." "I think they'll miss a position player before they miss a pitcher. So, you're going to miss Johan, but I think they've got four or five pitchers out there -- you know, Scott Baker and other young guys, but they have so much talent, and I think that's going to be key for those guys, is pitching. Hitting, I don't think they're going to have a problem at all."

Kansas City Royals' outfielder David DeJesus left the team's Opening Day game against the Tigers with a sprained ankle, according to the Associated Press. The team has listed him as day-to-day. He injured the ankle in spring training last week.

Alex Rios and the Blue Jays have extended their talks on a six-year contract extension that could be worth about $64 million, according to the Associated Press. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said on Monday that he will extend the discussions a few more days. "We're too close to let it get away at this point," Ricciardi said, "so we'll extend it a little bit longer. Like I said, if I didn't think we were close there would be nothing to talk about but we're too close so we'll just keep talking." The deal could include a 2015 option that would increase it's worth to $76 million. The two parties have more time to negotiate, with the Blue Jays' 2008 Season Opener in New York pushed back to Tuesday due to rain.

Kosuke Fukudome took a first pitch fastball from Ben Sheets over Tony Gwynn, Jr. in centerfield for a double in his first at bat as a member of the Chicago Cubs. In the ninth inning, he hit a three-run homerun off Eric Gagne to tie the game at third.

The Reds have severed ties with veteran reliever Mike Stanton, according to a Yahoo.com report. Before Monday?s season opener against Arizona, the Reds bought out the final season of Stanton?s two-year contract. The 40-year-old lefthander was designated for assignment. Stanton?s deal, which will pay him $3M this year, also included a club option for 2009. First-year Reds' Manager Dusty Daker said the news left Stanton ?in shock.?