New York & Secaucus – With 2010 fantasy baseball drafts underway, MLB Network today announced it will air the MLB.com Fantasy 411 Draft Preview on Sunday, March 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger and Harold Reynolds along with MLB.com’s Cory Schwartz and Mike Siano, the two-hour show will provide detailed analysis and insight on the topics fantasy baseball enthusiasts will be focusing on as fantasy draft days continue before Opening Day, including:

• Position-by-position analysis and player rankings
• Discussion of strategy for draft day and in-season transactions
• “Breakout, bargain and bust” picks for the 2010 season
• Top picks for prospects expected to be called up during the 2010 season

Continuing with the fantasy programming, throughout the 2010 regular season MLB Network will simulcast MLB.com’s Fantasy 411, the site’s longest-running hosted program, on weekdays at 5:00 p.m. ET, beginning Tuesday, April 6. The program, hosted by MLB.com’s Jeremy Brisiel, will provide key insights from analysts Schwartz and Siano to help further fans’ enjoyment and knowledge in their respective fantasy leagues.

The MLB.com Fantasy 411 can be found on its blog at http://fantasy411.mlblogs.com and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fantasy411.

For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to http://mlbnetwork.com. http://www.Facebook.com/MLBNetwork http://www.Twitter.com/MLBNetwork

Eight games into the pretend 1977 season and the Reds are in the middle of the pack. Fourth place and 4-4, which is total bullshit. Have you seen this friggin lineup??

On the Field
1. Joe Morgan
2. George Foster
3. Pete Rose
4. Ken Griffey
5. Johnny Bench
6. Dan Driessen
7. Dave Concepcion
8. Cesar Geronimo

On the Mound
1. Tom Seaver
2. Fred Norman
3. Paul Moskau
4. Doug Capilla
5. Jack Billingham
6. Mario Soto

Of course, you have to question any system that allows the Royals to lead the AL and the Expos to lead the NL. I know it was a long time ago, but geez.

Here’s the pretend standings for both leagues as of today:

And to give you a frame of reference, here’s how the actual NL in 1977 finished the season:

For the moment, I’ll call it a small sample size anomaly.

To read all about this exercise in nostalgic fantasy, check out Play that Funky Baseball.

Before you ignore this post as just another press release, take a moment to review the nominees. This is no regular Hall of Fame to include Bill Murray, Rosie O’Donnell, and Casey from “Casey at the Bat.” That’s taking the word “legend” very literally.

New York, NY – Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant (18 W. 33rd St.) today announced the nominations for 2010 induction into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame (IABHOF). Voters include past inductees into the IABHOF and a panel of baseball historians. Results will be announced in April 2010.

HALL OF FAMERS and LEGENDS

• Big Ed Walsh – Baseball’s All-Time ERA Leader
• Michael “King” Kelly – Baseball’s First Superstar
• “Mighty Casey” of the Mudville Nine by Ernest Thayer

CURRENT LIVING EX-PLAYERS

• Dale Murphy, Long-time Atlanta Brave, two-time NL MVP
• Joe McEwing – “Super Joe,” now a manager in the White Sox minor league system

MANAGERS

• John McGraw – Legendary manager of the NY Giants
• Tom Kelly – Minnesota Twins two-time World Series winning manager

BROADCASTERS

• Tim McCarver – Network TV analyst
• Bob Murphy – Longtime Mets Broadcaster

EXECUTIVES

• Brian Cashman – GM, NY Yankees
• Bill James – Stastician, Red Sox Consultant

ENTERTAINERS

• John Fogerty – Writer/Singer of “Centerfield”
• Bill Murray – Cubs Fan, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” singer at Wrigley Field
• John Cusack – Star of “Eight Men Out”
• Rosie O’Donnell – Co-star of “A League of Their Own”

“It’s a strong and deserving class of nominees for the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame this year. All of these men — and one woman — have made significant contributions to the game,” said Shaun Clancy, owner of Foley’s, which features one of the country’s most extensive public displays of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown.

With the blessing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Foley’s, a popular destination among baseball players, executives, umpires and fans, created the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame to recognize players, managers, executives, journalists, and entertainers of Irish descent. Inductees are chosen based on a combination of factors, including impact on the game, popularity on and off the field, contributions to society, connections to the Irish community, and, of course, ancestry.

The game of baseball has long welcomed immigrants from its earliest days, when an estimated 30 percent of players claimed Irish heritage. Many of the game’s biggest stars at the turn of the 20th century were Irish immigrants or their descendants, including Michael “King” Kelly, Roger Connor (the home run king before Babe Ruth), Eddie Collins, and NY Giants manager John McGraw. Today, major league teams regularly sign players born in Latin America, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere.

Shaun Clancy, an amateur baseball historian, created the Hall after learning about the rich heritage of Irish Americans in the sport dating from its infancy – a legacy that has been overshadowed in recent years by other ethnicities. He decided to celebrate his roots and those who helped make the game great by creating a shrine to Irish Americans in baseball in 2008.

Boxscore

I remember in the off-season that Ben Sheets being available as a free agent coming off a year missed due to injury and there was some rumbling about the Cincinnati Reds being interested. I don’t think the money situation could have ever worked out, and boy is that looking like a good thing right now.

Sure, it’s only Spring Training, but it’s very difficult to put any kind of positive spin on allowing 10 runs and leaving the game without recording any outs, as Sheets did yesterday. Clearly, Sheets wasn’t putting anything, much less positive spin, on his pitches, and he hasn’t all spring. This outing pushed his ERA to 31.15.

Chris Dickerson was the hero, being a triple shy of the cycle by the end of the 3rd. He was 4 for 4 with 2 RBI and 3 runs scored. The whole lineup piled on the hits, accumulating 16 of them.

Mike Lincoln, whom I’m afraid is washed up, was pretty crappy with a 10 run lead. Actually, he was good for his first 2 innings of work, but clearly tired out in his 3rd, allowing 4 runs.

And I’m not sure how I missed this, but John Fay’s article about the game has a gem in there that does nothing but prove Dusty Baker’s mad man-love for all things veteran.

Mike Lincoln, who is competing for the fifth spot in Cincinnati’s rotation…

I read that and did a double-take. Lincoln is competing for a fifth spot? I had assumed he was just starting a couple times because of his massive lack of work the last few years. I mean, why on earth would a team think that a guy who broke down after 23 innings in 2009 could possibly be a starter?

Sheesh. Going with the not-quite-ready Aroldis Chapman would be a better move. Thankfully, two of the Reds young guns, Travis Wood and Mike Leake, pitched better than Lincoln. Between those two and Matt Maloney, I’m hoping the Reds will make the right decision. (Youth, in case you were wondering. Youth is the answer.)

Boxscore

It was a sunny day in Goodyear. Unfortunately, it was our last one there for this Spring. We did finally get to see a game at the Cincinnati Reds’ Goodyear Stadium.

The park had no upper level and appeared to be built in a hole dug into the ground instead of constructing it atop the desert floor. I don’t know if that had anything to do with the freezing cold of being in the shade, but it was one of the rare baseball games when I’ve actively sought out the sun.

Overall, the place was lovely, but it had a not-quite completed feel to it. I expect that to change as both the Indians and Reds become more established.

The game was all Reds until the 9th, when we were standing in the Kids Run the Bases line. Jordan Smith blew the game in grand style, making extra innings seem a sure thing. Mercifully, as if the Reds knew we had a flight to catch, the game was called after the bottom of the inning.

In lieu of the slideshow I’ve used for the other game wraps, here’s a gallery in rhyme.

Edit: The Joey Votto image was so well-received at the RHM household that I needed to travel back to the halcyon days of Windows 95 and turn it into a desktop wallpaper (1920×1440).