WHAT KEEPS US ALL UP AT NIGHT

Rob Neyer profiles Angels GM Bill Stoneman, and Giants GM Brian Sabean over at ESPN. When asked what keeps him up at night, Stoneman spoke for baseball fans everywhere, not only his fellow GM’s:

The same thing that keeps a lot of GMs up at night: health questions. The unexpected. Something serious that might cost us a good player. That stuff you don’t control. We’ve got pretty good depth on the bench. Some of the same guys we had last year, plus Eric Owens. But you still don’t like to lose your No. 1 guys, and that’s something you just can’t control.

On that note, Mets pitcher Pedro Astacio and Yankee second baseman Alfonso Soriano are hurting.

Speaking of pain, the Boomer Wells story has become a sore for sight eyes. While the Yankees continue to deliberate on how to punish Wells, Rocket Clemens fired away at Boomer on Michael Kay’s radio show yesterday.

Link at your own risk.

HEY, GOOD LOOKIN’

Everything is a-okay in Red Sox Nation this morning. Pedro Martinez was his usual impressive self in his spring training debut against the Twinkies yesterday. Last year, Thomas Boswell used the phrase “imperial disdain” to describe Barry Bonds at the plate. I think it applies to Prince P on the mound as well.

Kevin Kernan has a nice little piece on Jason Giambi’s relationship with Ted Williams in the Post, while Joel Sherman offers a puff piece on Cliff Floyd.

NOT A BELIEVER

While the Orioles are making waves about aquiring Junior Griffey, Lee Sinns isn’t sure it would be a wise move:

I think that Griffey’s days as a top of the line player are over. He was never the best player in baseball. He was never as good as Bonds, even when Bonds wasn’t the Bonds of 2001-02. He was never the best player in the league. Even in his “mvp” season, Frank Thomas was much more productive than him and Griffey was only barely the most productive player on his own team, with Edgar Martinez giving him a great run for his money.

Griffey’s also not had a sharp all of a sudden decline. He’s been in a consistent state of decline for years–

YEAR SLG OBA OPS RCAA OWP RC/G
1997 .646 .382 1.028 65 .731 9.04
1998 .611 .365 .977 51 .692 8.00
1999 .576 .384 .960 45 .669 8.28
2000 .556 .387 .942 27 .614 7.87
2001 .533 .365 .898 18 .628 7.02
2002 .426 .358 .784 -2 .476 5.16