AGRI Biz

Drafted: Sixth Round, 2007 (Parkland, FL) Height: 6′3″; Weight: 220 lbs. Born: Aug. 8, 1989 Rizzo, like Jon Lester, is a cancer survivor. The 20-year-old discovered he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the spring of 2008 while playing at Class-A Greenville and missed the rest of the season. He returned to baseball last year and hit .297 with 12 home runs and 66 RBI while splitting the year between Low-A Greenville and High-A Salem. All ...

Drafted: First Round, supplemental, 2005 (Aurora, IL) Height: 6′3″ Weight: 215 lbs Born: September 9, 1986 The 23-year-old righty put together another strong season in Triple-A last year, going 4-6, 3.13, in 126 IP…but he struggled in a brief promotion with the big league club (1-1, 9.56). In an interview, Portland Sea Dogs pitching coach Mike Cather told me that he has never met anyone who works harder than Bowden…so if hard work counts ...

Red Sox minor league pitcher Junichi Tazawa visited Birmingham, AL, to consult with orthopedist James Andrews this afternoon. As of the posting of this article, neither the player nor the team had received the results of the exam—or at least not that they have made public. The right-hander started experiencing discomfort in his right elbow late last season. During the course of spring training there were times when he has felt ...

“Pitching wins championships.” If the Giants are to win the National League West title—which I believe they will—it’ll have to be on the basis of its pitching staff because its offense certainly doesn’t look like it’s capable of scoring a bevy of runs. The offense finished 25th in MLB last season in batting average (.257), 26th in MLB in runs scored (657), and dead last in OPS (.699). This is not ...

The 2009 edition of the Colorado Rockies finished the season in second place in the NL West with a record of 92-70…that was good enough to earn a postseason berth as the NL wild card team. The 2010 edition of the Rox should be pretty good, but it won’t quite measure up to the performance level of last year’s squad. The club will have difficulty replacing Jason Marquis, who went 15-13, with ...

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL West by three games last year after posting a 95-67 record; unfortunately for Los Angelians, the 2010 season doesn’t hold nearly as much promise. The ballclub is in trouble… that’s “trouble” that starts with “T” that rhymes with “D” that stands for “d-i-v-o-r-c-e-”! Team owner Frank McCourt, of the Boston McCourts, and his wife (Jamie) are getting a divorce. The problem for Dodgers fans is ...

The Arizona Diamondbacks finished a disappointing 2009 season with a record of 70-92 and in last place in the NL West—this after having posted winning records in each of the two prior seasons. They should be considerably improved in 2010, if only because they have added veteran leadership and should get bounce back years from a couple of key performers. Some pundits have speculated they could win the division this season—to that ...

The Padres said goodbye to all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman last winter and then spent much of last spring trying to trade ace right-hander Jake Peavy, finally dealing their ace to the Chicago White Sox for a bevy of prospects. This winter they have been at the center of a swirl of rumors centered around the likely trade of slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, a deal that some believe was made ...

The first contest period in the Fourth Annual www.SOX1FAN.com Comment Contest ends one week from today. The second contest period begins on Opening Day. The author of the best comment that is left on the site during spring training will win a FREE pair of Red Sox tickets and autographed memorabilia. If you frequent the website, you know I give away free Red Sox tickets and free autographed memorabilia every month, beginning in Spring ...

Drafted: Undrafted international free agent Height: 5′11″ Weight: 175 lbs Born: January 5, 1990 Iglesias broke into Cuba’s top league at the tender age of 17, and then defected during the World Junior Championships. He signed with the Red Sox last September for four years and $8.25 million (a deal that included a team-record $6.25 million signing bonus). He immediately headed to the Arizona Fall League where he blew people away with his defense ...