*It rained yesterday, so the Astros did things differently (yawn).
*Fresno, in addition to playing as the Tacos, will play in 3 Amigos-inspired jerseys.
*The Chronicle says the Phillies had concerns about Vince Velasquez's medicals and not Derek Fisher's in the Ken Giles trade. Derek Fisher wasn't worried either way.
*David Paulino thought the Tigers gave up on him, and then came the Astros...
*I'm not the showcase camp kind of guy. I didn't have, like, a great arm, couldn't run fast, didn't put on a show in BP or anything. I just always put up good numbers hitting.
-Tyler White, .311/.422/.489 hitter in 1249 PAs.
*Joe Musgrove - who in 2015 struck out 99 batters and walked eight - is likely to open 2016 in Fresno, and wait for an opportunity.
*Here's NPR's Morning Edition on the political crisis in Venezuela causing MLB teams to shut down their academies.
*Hey here comes Scott Boras with some idears about the Amateur Draft.
*Red Sox owner John Henry thinks maybe the Red Sox were overly-reliant on numbers.
*Jason Heyward is buying David Ross a suite on the road all season long.
*In yesterday's links we had one about the agent for a Cuban prospect quitting due to death threats. Today Lazarito speaks...
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
