Thor'sLinks: Camping out in Tempe

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Everywhere In Baseball

Now that camps are open we can formally shut down any dedicated section for off-season trades and signings. At this point, just lots of DFA, waiver and outright action with some Minor League signings sprinkled throughout.  We could still see one or two serious deals but, really, for the next few weeks it will be more about guys being sent home to AAA. Unless that is a very big name, that traffic will be too voluminous for daily linkage............

Maybe, though, it would be worth it to open up a section dedicated to injuries. Zack Wheeler has missed the past couple of seasons due to TJ already. And Wheeler is not feeling so good after some bullpen sessions..........

We already told you that Alex Reyes is lost to TJ right at the outset of camp. This is projected as calamitous for the Cards, and everybody is talking about it. How the loss of a guy who has had only 5 starts in his entire career can tank a franchise like the Cards and garner more Internet photons than the Angels losing Richards AND Heaney AND Skaggs is somewhat baffling..........

I lost track of this one. Yu Darvish is entering his contract year My guess would have been that the Rangers would have been looking to lock him up and keep him out of an Astros uniform in 2018, but nope. No contract extension talks appear to be in place. It's tempting to spend the season thinking about the chance to drop Big Money on an ex-Rangers hero. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?...........

Interesting theory. Joe Maddon thinks that Bryce Harper is a head case, so Joe Maddon gets into Bryce Harper's head for one weekend, and Bryce Harper loses his shit for an entire season. Joe Maddon must have super powers if that is to be believed..........

Chris Sale seems to regret his uniform shredding episode last year. He should. Not sure if I ever caught his apology to teammates and fans (his actions did result in a suspension which briefly took him off the field). So, Chicago, count this as it. If you didn't get one before, this is as good as you're going to get now that he is with the Red Sox............

Speaking of Chicago, Jimmy Rollins smells a rat. I, on the other had, smell an organization trying to put a better product on the field than what Jimmy Rollins and company delivered last year. Seriously. Dude. You guys finished 16 1/2 games out of your Division and 11 games out of the playoffs.. That is called suckage...........

I don't wish ill on anybody, but that doesn't mean I have to wish good things on them instead. King Felix is trending towards retirement, and I am perfectly fine to see that trend progress as nature intended. I am NOT holding out hope that he has turned any corners.........

I don't care what you say. Now that Carter Capps is in the running as the Padres closer, I am on the side of the fence that says his delivery motion should be rendered illegal. I don't care that it is consistent. I don't care that it is intentionally trying to deceive. I care that it leaves the door open to somebody taking 15 hops to the plate under the guise of those same lame excuses...........

Maybe the real reason that Brian Dozier didn't get traded after all, is because teams desiring to obtain him didn't feel that his 2016 season was repeatable? At least not to the extent that it made hard negotiations worth it..........

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The Duffle Bag

This is what minor league players should be doing to supplement their incomes. Stop riding buses, take turns being Uber drivers like MLB'er Nick Franklin did, carpool those cross-country road trips, and those acting as passengers expense back to the team their travel............Always creepy. Phil Hughes hangs on to the rib that was surgically removed, as a souvenir..........College kids watch movies, and screw around. News at 11..........Hey Justin Verlander! Marrying a global super-model is how you get a sporting world to hate you forever, don't you know?..........He may have made some shitty pizza, but at least he put his profits to an incredibly good cause..........I scored a 67. But, then, I am not a baseball fashionista..........

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Halo-Oppo-ly

Week 2 of our Chance/Community Chest cards!

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