David O'Brien quotes Fredi Gonzalez as saying the Braves would like to add a right-handed bat for the bench. O'Brien also said Tommy Hanson's outing on the back fields against AA Mississippi's roster did not go well performance-wise, but his back held up fine, and that's all that matters.
Rob Neyer asks his question of the day in Washington Nationals form. The main theme: relevance. And it's certainly appropriate considering that was the running theme during the Jayson Werth signing. The Nationals are not close to competing, but they do seem to finally have an idea of where they want to go thanks to Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper.
The Nationals signed Oliver Perez to a minor league deal, according to Tim Brown. Like everyone has already said, why not? The Mets are paying the cash, and the Nationals can just sit back and hope something good might come from it. If not, no loss.
Phillies starter Roy Oswalt was hit in the neck by a line drive off the bat of Manny Ramirez during the Phillies-Rays game today. Oswalt never lost consciousness or felt dizzy, and X-Rays came back negative, so it doesn't appear to be anything serious. No doubt Phillies fans said, "Here we go again," when they first saw it.
Jayson Stark writes that Chase Utley is stuck in no-man's land when it comes to his knee. The signing of Luis Castillo only confirmed this. Also in the piece, the Marlins are not committed to starting Matt Dominguez at third base, and the Nationals want to throw Nyjer Morgan off a bridge, or trade him, whichever is easier.
FanGraphs makes the comparison between Dan Uggla and Mets second baseman Brad Emaus. Like Uggla, Emaus was a Rule 5 pick who is likely to get a shot at second with the Mets this season. Breaks like Uggla don't come along everyday, but considering the Mets won't compete, it's not much of a gamble. There is no reason not to offer him a shot and see if it pans out.
Tiger Woods is apparently backing John Smoltz's golf game. Smoltz is playing in a Nationwide Tour event in May, and I for one am interested to see how he does.