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News and notes from Monday's action that won't mention the Red Sox and Yankees showed great grit and determination by finally winning a game ...

First base: Barry good. After an 0-3 start following three one-run losses to the Diamondbacks, the Giants turned to Barry Zito against the Rockies at Coors Field. Of course, he threw his first shutout since 2003 and became just the second left-hander to ever throw a shutout there -- Tom Glavine having done it twice. Even more amazing may have been this 11-pitch at-bat Zito mustered off Esmil Rogers. With Buster Posey and Brandon Belt getting the day off the Giants fielded a lineup with Aubrey Huff batting cleanup, Hector Sanchez fifth and Brandon Crawford seventh. Don't worry, Giants fans: Bruce Bochy said Belt will be back in the lineup when the teams meet again on Wednesday.

Second base: Mets win as Nationals throw it away. I wrote on Sunday about the Mets' patient approach at the plate. They drew six walks on Monday and Mike Baxter's pinch-hit leadoff walk off Henry Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth led to the winning run. Ruben Tejada laid down a two-strike bunt that Rodriguez threw away to put runners at second and third. Daniel Murphy then singled in Baxter for a 4-3 win. Jon Rauch threw two hitless innings for the win and the Mets bullpen has allowed just one run in 13.1 innings so far.

Third base: Red-hot Fredi. The curious lineup decision of the night belonged to Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez. He benched Jason Heyward to get Matt Diaz into the lineup, since Diaz was 8-for-15 in his career against J.A. Happ. I suppose playing Diaz is reasonable. But he could have easily moved Martin Prado to third base and put Diaz in left field. Instead, he kept Juan Francisco -- like Heyward a lefty swinger -- in the lineup. Gonzalez's rationale? He wanted to see to how Francisco would fare against a left-handed pitcher in case he's needed later in the season if Chipper Jones can't go. Umm, OK. But why bench Heyward in the season's fourth game? He was 2-for-10 with two walks, a double and triple, hardly a reason to give him a day off. Heyward is still a 22-year-old with superstar potential. Those guys need to play every day. Anyway, the Braves lost 8-3 to the lowly Astros, committed four errors (three by Francisco, the guy Gonzalez had to get in the lineup), they're 0-4 and Gonzalez is undoubtedly the manager on the hottest seat in the bigs right now.

Home plate: Tweet of the day.

I hope Ozzie Guillen clears up His Castro comments. My dad took us away from Cuba for better life in USA.Glad he did.

— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 10, 2012

I can't wait for the season to get going. You can't wait. Last October was the best we've had in years, and the offseason only fueled our baseball fever. Spring training is mercifully over. Let the games begin. Here are 100 reasons I'm pumped for the next seven months.

1. Albert Pujols in Anaheim. They call him The Machine, but Pujols had a few rusty bolts in 2011. He hit under .300 for the first time, his walk rate was down, and his extra-base-hit percentage was down. After a slow start through May (.267, nine home runs), he did hit much better after returning from his fractured forearm. He moves to a tougher division and will have to face the Rangers, A's and Mariners 19 times each -- with cavernous parks in Oakland and Seattle -- rather than the Cubs, Pirates and Astros. The pressure is on. The spotlight is bright. But machines are immune to all that, right?

2. Jim Thome's pursuit of a World Series title. He'll turn 42 in August and will play some first base until Ryan Howard returns. That's a pretty good story in itself (he hasn't played on the field since appearing in one game at first in 2008), but he's played in nine postseasons and reached two World Series without winning it all.

3. Jamie Moyer is back in the majors at age 49 and can surpass Jack Quinn as the oldest pitcher to win a game. Moyer's arsenal these days: an 80 mph fastball, a 70 mph changeup, a 65 mph curveball, a 55 mph slowball, a 20 mph Bugs Bunny ball and an 8 mph retirement community ball that bends time.

4. Justin Verlander's encore performance. Verlander threw 3,941 pitches in the regular season, the most since Livan Hernandez's 4,007 in 2005. Verlander added 360 more in the postseason. It's not necessarily a big deal -- Verlander's 2009 total is the third-highest since 2005 -- but you do wonder whether Jim Leyland will back off a little.

5. Roy Halladay's paintbrush.

6. Yu Darvish.

7. Yu Darvish's hair. Straight from Supercuts.

8. Adam Wainwright's return to the Cardinals' rotation. He was third in the 2009 NL Cy Young vote and second in 2010. He looked good this spring, pitching 18 2/3 innings and allowing just 11 hits. The strikeout rate wasn't great -- just nine K's -- but signs are positive a year after Tommy John surgery.

9. A full season of Stephen Strasburg, who was electric in his own return in September from TJ surgery in September 2010 -- his fastball averaged 95.8 mph, below the 97.3 he averaged in 2010 but still with enough velocity that it would have ranked No. 1 among starting pitchers. The big question for his season: How much the Nationals will limit his innings?

10. Jose Canseco's tweets.

11. Clayton Kershaw's slider. His fastball isn't too shabby, either. By the way, here's what Kershaw does in the offseason to stay in shape and get ready for the season.

12. Verlander, Halladay, Kershaw: three of the amazing generation of pitchers we get to enjoy. Maybe Darvish and Strasburg will join them. In 2011, 14 pitchers pitched at least 200 innings with an ERA of 3.00 or less. The last time we had even 10 such pitchers in one season was 1997, with 11. The last season with more than 14 was 1992, with 20. Yes, steroids are a small part of that. A small part. The best pitchers today are throwing harder and with meaner breaking stuff than we've ever seen. Guys like Kershaw and Halladay are relentless in their workout routines. It's not a lot of fun to be a hitter these days.

13. Well, Jose Bautista has a lot of fun.

14. A new generation of young hitters like Giancarlo Stanton, Eric Hosmer, Brett Lawrie, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Starlin Castro and Jesus Montero. All will play their age-22 seasons in 2012.

15. Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez.

16. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder.

17. Will Cabrera win his first MVP award? He's finished fifth in the voting three times, fourth once and second once. Two things that could prevent him from winning:

A. Austin Jackson's on-base percentage. Cabrera hit .388 with runners in scoring position in 2011 but drove in "just" 105 runs.
B. Fielder. Batting behind Cabrera and his .400-plus OBP will give Fielder more RBI opportunities. If he ends up driving in 15 to 20 more runs than Cabrera, they could split votes.

Five other all-time greats who have never won an MVP award: Derek Jeter, Eddie Murray, Mike Piazza, Al Kaline, Manny Ramirez.

18. Cabrera playing third base. With Fielder at first base, the Tigers could have the worst first baseman and worst third baseman in baseball. (And, please, don't defend Fielder's defensive prowess at first base. He's better than Adam Dunn, I suppose ... but Dunn is a DH.)

19. Defensive runs saved!

Your leaders by position in 2011:

C -- Matt Wieters
1B -- Adrian Gonzalez
2B -- Ben Zobrist
3B -- Evan Longoria
SS -- Brendan Ryan
LF -- Brett Gardner
CF -- Austin Jackson
RF -- Jason Heyward

20. The Sandman.

21. The fans in Milwaukee. The Brewers drew a franchise-record 3.071 million fans in 2011. Depressed over losing Fielder? Hardly. They'll surpass that in 2012.

(Read full post)

Michael Baumann of Crashburn Alley has a fun post on a theoretical question: If your life depended on winning the next 10 World Series, who do you pick for your 25-man roster? Money is no object. Injuries are a factor. Your team can't be too old, or it won't win down the road. It can't be too young or it won't win now. So who do you take? I like Michael's list, although I disagree with him on a couple of choices. Gerritt Cole over David Price or Justin Verlander (who isn't that old)? And he selected three relievers; I'd punt the relievers all together and draft 10 or 11 starting pitchers.

Other stuff:

• Chip Buck asks: Where should Jacoby Ellsbury hit in the Red Sox lineup?
• Jon Shields on Felix Hernandez, who has lost weight (check the photo in Jon's post), talked about staying in Seattle, and said his slider "went on vacation" last year.
• Game 162 of 2011 is history, but Chris Glover looks through the lens of that game for the Tampa Bay Rays and what it means for 2012.
• Craig Brown has a response to Royals manager Ned Yost saying Yuniesky Betancourt will start three or four times per week. Royals fans suddenly aren't enjoying spring training quite as much.
• The Pirates have locked up Andrew McCutchen long-term. Should the Braves do the same thing with Jason Heyward?
• Susan Petrone looks at the spring training histories of Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson, who both got beat up in their first spring outings.
• Will this be a breakout season for Yovani Gallardo?
• Brandon Belt says he wants to be more aggressive. Chris Quick takes a closer look.
• Will Chris Davis ever become a quality major leaguer? There's no denying the power, but the strikeouts and defense have prevented him from holding a full-time job. He turns 26 in March, so this may be his last chance to earn a starting job. Jon Shepherd has an interesting comparison for Davis: Eric Karros, a guy who struggled at the start of his career but ended up with some quality seasons.
• View from the Bleachers is doing season player previews. Here Chet West's take on Carlos Marmol, the Jekyll and Hyde of closers.
• Considering Scott Rolen's injury history, the Reds may have to rely on Juan Francisco to play third base at some point this season. But is he in Dusty Baker's doghouse?
• Hudson Belinsky has a look at how Chris Iannetta has hit away from Coors Field and how he changes his approach.
• Finally, make sure you vote in the Value Over Replacement Grit's March Moniker Madness tournament to determine the best name in baseball history.

Former Cuban national team first baseman and Atlanta Braves prospect Barbaro Canizares seems to have found his power stroke this winter as he is leading the Mexican Pacific League with 15 home runs and 37 RBIs and a .319 average through 38 games.

Canizares, who in 2004 was kicked off the Cuban team for trying to defect, signed with the Braves in 2006 as a free agent. Unlike former Cuban national team teammate Kendrys Morales, who found success in the majors with the Angels, Canizares has played just five games at the major league level.

Now a 32-year-old minor league veteran, Canizares -- the International League batting champion in 2010 -- spent last summer with Oaxaca in the Mexican summer league after the Braves released him on April 3. The right-handed hitting Cuban, however, is looking for a shot at a spring training invitation, perhaps with an American League team looking for some punch off the bench as his defense has been his weakness, according to several scouts.

Playing for the defending champion Ciudad Obregón Yaquis, Canizares has teamed up with Ryan Spilborghs, Doug Clark and Alfredo Amezaga to lead the Yaquis to the top of the standings in the early stages of the regular season’s second half after finishing in third place behind Mexicali and Culiacan in the first half.

Williams undefeated in Venezuela

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Jerome Williams is making a strong case for a permanent spot in the 2012 rotation. Pitching for the Magallanes Navegantes, Williams is 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA through six starts with 26 strikeouts and 12 walks while holding opponents to a .219 average.

After bouncing around the National League with San Francisco, Chicago and Washington between 2003 and 2007, Williams hooked up with the Angels last June and went 7-2 at Triple-A Salt Lake before being inserted into the Angels’ rotation, where he made six starts and finished with a respectable 4-0 mark and 3.86 ERA.

The Angels kept Williams on their 40-man roster. Given the possible departure of free agent Joel Pineiro, Williams is poised to be on their Opening Day roster.

Francisco proving he can play

With doubts about the health of Cincinnati Reds third baseman Scott Rolen still lurking, up-and-comer Juan Francisco is jockeying to become the heir to the hot corner in Cincinnati with strong power numbers while playing for the Licey Tigres in the Dominican winter league.

Through 28 games, the 24-year-old Francisco is currently riding an 11-game hitting streak which has upped his average to .315 with three homers, 14 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .387. His last home run allowed him to pass Dominican legend Felipe Alou for 15th place in the all-time career home runs list in the Dominican league.

Rolen was shelved last September and underwent shoulder surgery. Although recent reports place him on course to come back for spring training, the left-handed hitting Francisco could be an inexpensive option for the Reds, who have plenty of questions with their pitching going into the height of the free-agent market.

Padilla eyes a .400 season

Jorge Padilla, who is fighting his way back to the majors after his ill-fated tenure with the Washington Nationals in 2009, is threatening to become the first player to hit over .400 in Puerto Rico since Edgar Martinez batted .423 in 1991-92 for the now-defunct San Juan Metros.

Padilla, an outfielder with the Caguas Criollos, is hitting .475 with an OPS of 1.296. The Criollos, who saw a five-game winning streak snapped by the Ponce Lions on Thanksgiving, have a one-game lead over Ponce in the four-team league.

Padilla, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1998 and has since floated through the Mets, Royals, Blue Jays, Nationals and Marlins organizations, was granted free agency by the Marlins on Nov. 1.

Padilla, now 32, last saw major league action with the Nationals in 2009 when he appeared in 29 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter, and compiled a .120 average, going 3-for-25.

A good ol' time was had by all on Tuesday's Baseball Today podcast, as Keith Law and I discussed many topics, including:

1. The Red Sox are fading but it only matters because the Rays are good. We take a closer look at this legit race.

2. Meanwhile, any loss for the "contending" Cardinals is a big one, and someone who didn't swing a bat or throw a pitch is responsible for Monday's loss.

3. More Tigers talk! If Justin Verlander's crew played in the AL East would they beat the Rays?

4. An emailer wants Bruce Bochy included among the top managers. Do we agree?

5. Justin Masterson over Felix Hernandez? For this year, a case can be made.

Plus: Excellent emails, Casey Kelly, "Winter's Bone," Tim Wakefield and much more on a packed Tuesday edition of Baseball Today!

The Reds have lost eight of their past 11 games to fall to 11-11 and third baseman Scott Rolen has landed on the DL with a strained left shoulder. In the short-term this won't hurt the Reds much as Rolen has been struggling with a .216/.246/.417 line. His replacement is 24-year-old left-handed hitter Juan Francisco, whom the organization has long billed as the future third baseman. Chad Dotson over at Redleg Nation isn't a fan of Francisco's, comparing him to Wily Mo Pena -- which means power potential, but lots of strikeouts with little awareness of the strike zone. I'm inclined to agree, although I think there are worse backups to rely upon.

The bigger question: How good is this Cincy offense? The team is hitting just .229/.309/.386 over those 11 games; and that's despite playing seven of those games at home against Pittsburgh and Arizona. Overall, the Reds still lead the NL in runs scored thanks to Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Jonny Gomes, but there is a bit of a mirage going on here: the Reds are hitting /285/.356/.469 at home, .229/.309/.349 on the road. The split wasn't so severe last season when the Reds had a .796 OPS at home and .754 on the road, but The Great American Ballpark is clearly a great hitters' park, enough so that it can cloud the evaluation of the Reds' hitters if you don't examine the numbers more closely.

The long-term issue with Rolen's injury is that he was really good last season, a key component to the Reds' division title. He had the second-best OPS on the team, played 133 games (his most since 2006) and produced 5.0 WAR (wins above replacement) according to FanGraphs. Francisco projects to not much better than replacement level, so the Reds could be looking at a significant win deficit if Rolen doesn't eventually return and come close to his 2010 level of play.

Follow David Schoenfield on Twitter at @dschoenfield. Follow the SweetSpot blog at @espn_sweet_spot.

Via OMGreds.com, this is a cool baseball card. Granted, I'm a sucker for group shots. One of my all-time favorites is the classic Dodgers' Sluggers from the '57 set.

That said, when I first saw a card titled REDS HEAVY ARTILLERY depicting Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Juan Francisco, my initial reaction was "Juan who?" Granted, Francisco did play with the big club last year, but he debuted in the middle of September and by then I'd stopped paying any attention to Cincinnati. Does Francisco really fit in with those other guys, though? I looked him up. He's got real power, but the strike zone is a mystery to him and he's No. 2 (at best) on the depth chart at third base, behind Scott Rolen.

The new card is an homage to the 1961 version of Reds' Heavy Artillery, featuring Vada Pinson, Gus Bell, and Frank Robinson.

Robinson was an obvious choice, and Pinson had hit 20 homers in 1960. Bell, though, was an odd choice. Where both Robinson and Pinson were still young, Bell was a grizzled veteran who'd managed only a dozen homers in 1960. Better choices would have been outfielder Wally Post -- who'd hit 17 homers in just 77 games after coming to the Reds in a June deal -- or even catcher Ed Bailey. Meanwhile, Bell hadn't hit more than dozen home runs since 1957. My guess is that the card existed simply because a photographer was able to get Bell, Robinson, and Pinson together one afternoon.

Today, thanks to the wonders of the computer, Topps can do whatever they want, and quickly (here's a disturbing example). But with the only other "sluggers" on last year's team being Brandon Phillips and Jonny Gomes -- with 20 bombs apiece -- it's not hard to figure why Francisco got his shot at carboard immortality.

To take the next step, he just needs to figure out the difference between a ball and a strike.