Amidst gathering speculation that Matt Wieters will start the season at AAA, I found myself in need of an everday catcher to start the fantasy season.  A proposed deal with EJ for Geovany Soto or Russell Martin (he has BOTH of them, plus Joe Mauer) was rejected, so I found myself scrambling.  I have Kelly Shoppach on my bench already, but he figures to start the season as Victor Martinez's backup and it was starting to look like I would be heading into the season with a hole in my everyday lineup.  Fortunately, Oakland's Kurt Suzuki went undrafted and was available as a free agent, so I signed him (and dropped Cesar Izturis like a bad habit) for the interim between Opening Day and Wieters eventual recall from Norfolk.  

Having resolved that particular dilemma (for the moment), I next took a long hard look at my bench, upon which were seated Ty Wigginton (3B, OF), Rick Ankiel (OF), Jay Bruce (OF), and Kelly Shoppach (C).  It became clear that I am hosed if any of my infielders gets injured, since Wigginton will be a backup at best in Baltimore and primarily in the outfield.  I set about perusing the free agent listings for an ideal solution, and after a brief fliration with Marco Scutaro, settled upon Felipe Lopez, who is eligible at 2B, SS, 3B, and the outfield, and figures to play everyday in Arizona as their leadoff guy.  He'll add hardly anything stastically (though he'll likely hit around .280), but should be available to plug a hole should any of my regular infielders get hurt, and will have a better lineup behind him than Scutaro. 

This, however, prompted a tough decision--should I drop Shoppach (who is now my third catcher) or Wigginton?  Wigginton is the sentimental choice to keep (being an Oriole), plus he's got bench power and doesn't strike out a lot.  My gut, however, knows there's no room in the Orioles outfield for him to be reliably available for fantasy points, whereas the Indians are both nervous about Martinez's elbow and looking for ways to get Shoppach into the lineup, hoping to capitalize on the 21 homers he cranked in only 350 at-bats last season.  Since either guy will be playing off the bench for the Taxibirds, I figured it makes more sense to go with the one who is more likely to be in the real-life lineup on the day I need him, so Wiggy got the boot. 

Moments later, I cruised over to the Baltimore Sun's Orioles page, to discover that Wieters was unexpectedly NOT included in today's round of roster cuts from the major league squad.  This seems like a temporary situation, however, as there are overwhelming financial reasons (something about salary arbitration and contract buy-outs--I don't really understand it all) that compel the front office to keep Wieters on the farm until May.  Speaking of financial matters, the only thing to dislike about Wieters is the fact that Scott Boras is his agent.

In other real-life Orioles news--why the hell are they handing Felix Pie (career BA: .223) the starting job in left field when they have organizational prospect Nelson Reimold (.321 with four homers this spring) and Ty Wigginton (23 HR in only 386 AB in 2008) as alternatives?  Shouldn't you start Wigginton in left, put Pie on the bench, and tell him he'll have to keep his job away from Reimold, who will theoretically be only a phone call away in Norfolk, with the gory remains of AAA pitching dangling from his maw?

With just a few more days to go before the regular season begins, I am obsessively checking the SEAL (Semi-Employed All-Stars League) homepage in hopes that BREAKING NEWS will await me.  Other than fretting over Brian Roberts' bizarre ailment, which does not look like it will keep him out of the Opening Day lineup, my current fantasy league strategy is sitting on my hands to prevent myself from pointlessly signing free agents.  Jeremy Hermida has had a monster spring!  But he hit .249 last season!  And how will his production be affected by his placement in the lineup relative to Cameron Maybin and HanRam?  There has been a distinct dearth of news regarding Jay Bruce of late–THIS CLEARLY MEANS I SHOULD DROP BRUCE IN FAVOR OF HERMIDA, right?  No?  How is Jim Thome’s back today?  Maybe I should drop him–WAIT A MINUTE, I can’t drop a first-ballot Hall of Famer in favor of a 25-year-old with just two full seasons under his belt, can I?  Of course I can–fantasy baseball is all about gambling on breakout seasons, right?  AAAH!  Hands…off…mouse…NOW!  Must…read…about…um…politics?

I followed the most recent presidential cycle obsessively, allowing entire days of my life to be swallowed up by various campaign intrigues which I cannot now remember.  I would feel bad about this, except that the guy I voted for got elected President, and it’s relatively easy to make the mental leap to presuming that my hyperventilated mashing of the Refresh button on various poitical blogs had something to do with his success, and is therefore somehow related to the General Well-Being of the World.  So what does it say about me that I am, if anything, even MORE consumed by the pre-season minutae of the upcoming baseball season, about which there is far less news–to say nothing of its decreased significance regarding the General Well-Being of the World?  I am too busy to think about this at present; I am currently attempting to determine the relative weight of Jered Weaver’s potential statistics as compared to Gil Meche, who is still unsigned and has far superior stuff, but pitches for a far inferior team and received mysteriously mediocre stat projections from both Bill James and Baseball Prospectus.  Additionally, I am deeply involved in my planning for Opening Day of the 2009 Prospect Park Wiffle Ball League, which will be played according to the Official Wiffle Ball Rules–which, interestingly, are quite different from the rules of Regular Baseball.

What the rules fail to mention is whether or not the use of a strike-zone/backstop is recommended, and if so how large it should be.  THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS AND IMPORTANT QUESTION.  The site says each team should have a catcher, but if this is the case then who serves as umpire?  ALSO, what is the meaning of this:

1. The batter can strike out only if he/she swings at a pitched ball and does not foul tip the third strike. Foul tips count as a strike for the first two strikes only. A foul tip caught in back of the batters box does not count as an out.
2. Fly balls caught in fair or foul territory
3. Ground balls caught while the ball is in motion, in fair territory. Bunting is not allowed and the batter cannot obtain a base on balls.

Am I to assume, then, that no strike zone is in fact necessary?  That an at-bat continues until the batter either strikes out or puts the ball in play?  Plus, here is the real question: does it really matter, since a world in which Felix Pie gets the starting left-field job over Ty Wigginton is not a world in which I care to live?

The nascent Second Life virtual economy is a potent economic force, and even boasts a somewhat stable currency despite the recession.  But here's my light curiosity... is this parallel world subject to real-world government taxes, or could it be used as an online tax shelter for orcs and geeks? 

The Taxi Tapes are true tales from my days as a New York City cab driver back in 2007.  I initially called this project The Daze of Dingman, and was intending to include a few different pieces in each episode.  However, I have decided, in the name of working on my focus and follow-through, to focus on the taxi stories for now.  Hope you enjoy!  Next episode will be up on Tuesday…