Spring training didn't exactly come in quietly, and it certainly isn't continuing quietly, either. Especially around the camps of the Phillies, the Rangers, and the Blue Jays, and from the mouth of a Panda...
* THE SINKING OF THE CLIFTON P. LEE? — The Phillies are in bad enough shape this season — nobody pretends any longer that they're not rebuilding, even if many (mostly inside the club's administration) still pretend they didn't need to start rebuilding, oh, two years ago. Now they could be without Cliff Lee this season ... and Lee could be looking at the end of his career, period.
Lee went down after the end of last July with a strain in the flexor pronator of his left elbow. He felt "discomfort" the day after pitching two innings in his first spring start. "Mild inflammation" was the original line, but it turns out an MRI showed a tear in the flexor.
"Basically, if I have the surgery, this season will be done, possibly my career, I guess. I don't know. We'll have to see."
That's another kick in the head for the Phillies, who thought a healthy Lee could be a valuable trade chip for badly-needed prospects as soon as the end of spring training, according to several reports. If Lee goes down for the count, the Phillies' lone remaining trade value asset would be fellow pitcher Cole Hamels.
And considering what passes for the front office brain trust in Philadelphia these days, who's to say they won't pull Hamels back off the block if they lose Lee, considering how little attraction remains of the sputtering club as it is now? Assorted published reports have the Phillies saying it isn't the kind of tear that requires Tommy John surgery, but a lot of the front office's actions the past few years prompt a response of "what do they know?"
* ONE RANGER DOWN, ONE SEASON LOST? — The Rangers had enough trouble surviving 2014 after key injuries took them down before the season really got underway in the first place. Now they stand to lose Yu Darvish, their best pitcher and one of the game's best, for the season — one strain in the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow and prospective Tommy John surgery can do that.
Like Lee, Darvish at this writing was seeking a second opinion. Some speculation has it that he might try merely rehabbing the elbow first, as Yankee pitcher Masahiro Tanaka did before spring training, but Darvish could also risk losing this season and most of 2016 as a result. On top of losing Jurickson Profar for the season thanks to shoulder surgery, this is just what the Rangers don't need this time around.
* THERE WENT ONE BLUE JAYS HOPE — Lots of people figured Marcus Stroman was heading for a breakout 2015 considering how sharp he looked as a rookie last season. They're going to have to wait for 2016 for any breakout. Stroman's out for the season after tearing his anterior collateral ligament during fielding drills. Which leaves the Blue Jays to ponder two options: move prospect Aaron Sanchez to the rotation and hope he looks as good as he looked in his own rookie premiere last year, or hit the trade market for a veteran starter.
* PANDA TO GIANTS: KUNG PHOOEY! — Pablo Sandoval probably had a little more fun with the annual weight jokes when he reported to the Red Sox in his customary fashion—namely, looking like Kung Fu Poundcake, to quote one of the gags. The Red Sox even had some mad fun with it. But Sandoval had anything but fun talking about why he decided to leave the Giants no matter how much money they might throw at him this past offseason.
Stated simply, the Panda wasn't thrilled with what he thought was the Giants' administration dissing him and his agents a year ago when talk of a contract extension remained on the table—enough so that he turned down more money in favour of signing with the Red Sox. "I knew early in spring training last year I was going to leave," he said to Bleacher Report. "They didn't respect my agent–contract talks, everything, the way [Giants general manager] Brian Sabean talked to my agent."
"If you want me around, you make the effort to push and get me back. The Giants made a good offer, but I didn't want to take it. I got five years from Boston. I left money on the table in San Francisco. It is not about money. It is about how you treat the player."
It now becomes more clear what Michael Sandoval, the third baseman's brother and co-agent, meant when he said Kung Fu Panda wanted "respect." Maybe, as some have opined, it was one thing for the Giants to take issue with Sandoval's well-known weight issues, but that that was just the point: the issue-taking became too public, too often, for Sandoval's taste. And, it often did make the Giants seem like carping nannies.
Even sadder: Asked whom among the Giants he would miss, Sandoval gave it straight: "Only Bochy," meaning manager Bruce Bochy. "I love Boch. He's like my dad. He's the only guy that I miss. And Hunter Pence. Just those guys."
* THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE METS — Matt Harvey looked so good in his first spring start—especially hitting near 100 mph on the radar gun—that the talk around the Mets became whether and how the Mets might slap a rein on their eager horse. Both Harvey and GM Sandy Alderson have said neither he nor they would push him too hard.
Unfortunately, it was bad enough that observers saw manager Terry Collins on this spring's hot seat without owner Fred Wilpon fueling it after the Marlins strafed the Mets 13-2 in a spring game. Collins did his best to insist there was no friction, Wilpon did his best to insist it wasn't untoward for him to take more direct interest in the team.
But the mixed message seemed clear enough: Collins — who's managed to navigate four seasons with less than stellar personnel (especially out of his bullpens) — isn't just on the hot seat, he might be an early firing squad candidate if the Mets don't look sharp in April.
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UPDATE---Yu Darvish will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2015 season. This after Darvish got his second opinion, from Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek, earlier this week. Darvish will undergo the surgery with Dr. James Andrews 18 March. All this after Darvish was shut down last August following elbow inflammation.
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