Players of the Day for Wednesday, March 2, 2011

American League

David Murphy

With their World Series loss to the Giants behind them, the Texas Rangers seek to repeat as AL West champs, but to do so they'll have to replace the big bat of Vladimir Guerrero, who went to Baltimore in the off-season. The player most likely to fill that void will be David Murphy, whose been with the Rangers the past two seasons, and has contributed well in part-time duty.

Murphy hit .291 with 12 homers, 65 RBIs and a career-high 14 steals last year.

Casey McGehee

In the Rangers' 10-6 win over their main AL West rival, the LA Angels, Murphy cracked his first homer of the pre-season, a three-run blast. He also singled and scored in three at-bats.

National League

Casey McGehee, who became the Brewers' regular at third base last year with a sensational season, picked up where he left off with a pair of homers in Milwaukee's 12-5 smack-down of the Cubs Wednesday in Arizona.

McGehee, who batted .285 with 23 homers and 104 RBI in 2010, also singled, going 3-for-3, driving in four runs.

Team Report: Colorado Rockies

The outlook for Colorado is upbeat after falling just short of reaching the playoffs in 2010, finishing in third place behind San Francisco and a collapsing San Diego squad, nine games out with a record of 83-79.

That positive finish above .500 portends good things to come in 2011, especially if their off-season moves prove to be correct and the top of the lineup -  CF Dexter Fowler and LF Seth Smith perform up to their abilities.

Tulowitzki

With MVP candidate Carlos Gonzalez (RF) batting behind them, every time one of the 1-2 hitters reaches base creates the potential for a big inning. Another element which will almost certainly help the Rockies would be a full season from #4 hitter, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the do-it-all guy in Colorado.

The infield is also counting on relative newcomers 2B Jose Lopez and 3B Ian Stewart, of whom big things have been expected but really haven't panned out. Todd Helton returns for another season at first base, and catcher Chris Ianetta will be the regular receiver.

Jimenez

A bonus in the NL West, the Rockies have the ability to score runs. Of the five teams in the division, they and the Dodgers have the most potentially potent offenses, but the Rockies need another stud start to go with Ubaldo Jimenez, who had a great first half, but tailed off in the latter part of the year.

At issue is the relative quality of the four starters behind Ubaldo, which includes the only lefty, Jorge De La Rosa, then Jhoulys Chacin, Aaron Cook and Jason Hammel. None of these starters are overly impressive, so they're likely be asked to just provide five or six solid innings, allow the regulars to do their thing with the bats and leave the rest to an amply-supplied bullpen. This is one of the most well-stocked units in the league, especially after picking up Matt Lindstrom from Houston to go with Rafael Betancourt, Matt Belisle, and lefties Matt Reynolds and Franklin Morales. Should that group deliver the Rockies to the ninth with a lead, the capable hand and arm of Huston Street will be on hand to close out the game.

That's the plan, and if the Rockies stick to it, they could have quite a bit of success in the again suspect NL West. Winning the division is more dependent on how well the Giants defend their World Series title, but the Rockies, along with the Dodgers, should make for an interesting wild card race.

Carpenter Tough in Debut; Markakis Energizes O's with 2 Dingers, 4 RBI

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 1, 2011

American League

The Baltimore Orioles raked Tampa Bay starter Andy Sonnanstine for 6 hits and 6 runs over two innings en route to a 12-6 rout of the reconstituted Rays.

Making matters worse, five of those six hits were homers, as Nick Markakis went yard twice off Sonnanstine, ending up with a super stat line: 3-for-3, two homers, 4 RBI and 2 runs.

The O's may do some damage this season to opposing pitchers, especially if Vladimir Guerrero - acquired from Texas via free agency - retains his form, and players such as catcher Matt Weiters and outfielder Adam Jones play up to their potential.

That Markakis will perform is a given. The five year pro has had enough hits in each of the last four seasons to land him in the top ten of the AL each of those years. He's a .298 career hitter and was fifth in the AL with 187 hits in 2010.

National League

The St. Louis Cardinals will be looking to rebound from a sub-par season and get back into the playoffs in 2011, and, judging by their performance in a 7-1 beat-down of the Marlins on Tuesday, they have the bats and the arms to make them a contender. St. Louis banged out 14 hits in the win and starter Chris Carpenter worked 2 2/3 solid innings, allowing just one hit and a walk, while fanning a pair.

Carpenter was 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA for the Cards last season and will be vital to their interests this time around, with fellow starter Adam Wainwright sidelined the entire season after elbow surgery. Carpenter is nursing a strained hamstring and is expected to miss a start during the Spring, though the injury doesn't seem to be one which will land him on the DL.

Ortiz Pounds Three-Run Blast; McLouth in Mid-Season Form for Atlanta

Players of the Day for Monday, February 28, 2010

American League

Notorious for slow starts, David Ortiz may have gotten the message from the fans and the front office in Boston. The slugging 1st baseman/DH belted his first home run of the Spring, a three-run, third inning blast that got Boston on the board in their 7-6 win over the Twins.

"Big Papi," as he is known to his fans and teammates, also singled, going 2-for-2. Ortiz has had slow starts each of the past two years and was actually benched for a short time last season before he started producing.

National League

On the last day of February, Atlanta's Nate McLouth was playing like it was the first day of July as the Braves wiped the Astros, 13-3, for their initial Grapefruit League victory.

McLouth went 2-for-2, with a single, double and a stolen base, scoring three times and driving in a pair.

After joining the Braves mid-season in 2009 from the Pirates, McLouth batted only .190 in 85 games in 2010.