PLAY CATCH FOR MILLIONS!

I couldn't help but be amused yesterday when I saw an MLB.com article entitled: Prior continues recovery, plays some catch. My first reaction was, "Hey, I know how to play catch, why doesn't somebody pay me millions of dollars to be injured most of my professional career, and to make headlines for just playing catch?"

In similarly dejecting injury news, the Nationals placed five players on the short-term DL. Who? Three top pitchers, a catcher, and shortstop Christian Guzman. With this announcement, the Nationals don't even have a 40-man roster. Sigh.

Also, one of my favorite ball players, Marquis Grissom, who was very kind to me and signed a ball during Spring Training last year, has retired. He was traded to the Cubs from the Giants in the offseason. It doesn't come as much surprise to anyone -- as a once better-than-average player, he was beloved by fans and teammates here in San Francisco. He's noted for how generous he is with rookies, and what a positive force he is in the dugout. My hope is that once he's finished playing with his 47 children, he'll re-enter the game as a coach or manager. He's got the spirit to improve any organization to which he's attached.