It starts early this year for Jays pitcher A.J. Burnett. I’m of course referring to his propensity for injury and the development of a torn fingernail on his right index finger that is preventing him from throwing his hammer curveball early on this spring.

“It makes it pretty tough to get to that pitch. It’s pretty tender,” Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg told the Toronto Star.

This is not as significant of an injury as we’ve become accustomed to with Burnett, and it shouldn’t be reason to worry or knock him significantly down your fantasy rankings…yet. Last year it was his fourth start before he threw a single breaking ball, so there is still time for him to adjust and be prepared for the start of the regular season. Nevertheless, it’s tough to remain optimistic about a player who has been on the DL four times in his two seasons with the Jays.
“It’s giving him a chance to work on his other pitches. But he’s a little frustrated with his change-up right now. We’ll probably go to the drawing board and see if we can come up with another grip,” Arnsberg added.

Arnsberg and Burnett are working to build a training regimen that will keep the veteran hurler healthier this season, but it remains to be seen if they can pull of that miracle. Despite the obvious risk, there are many people who remain quite optimistic that A.J. can build upon a solid stretch in August and September in which he went 5-2 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 2.7 K:BB rate, and 8.8 K/9IP. He’s a top 25 starting pitcher in fantasy leagues on upside alone, but could fall at least 10 spots if you factor in risk.

As I spend a chilly Sunday afternoon writing my latest Line of Questioning column for Mock Draft Central and watching the Michigan State Spartans annihilate the Indiana Hoosiers in mens hoops, I felt compelled to give you something a little lighter to fill the day. Below you will find some baseball related links from the Onion. If you don’t know what the Onion is you need to get out more. It’s a satirical paper that writes spoof stories based on real current events and they are gut-wrenchingly funny in almost all of their efforts. A few of my recent favs are below…

1. World Series Flyover
2. Canseco’s Party
3. Player to be Named Later

My “Line of Questioning” series of articles over at Mock Draft Central continues with a look at the AL Central. In this series I’m looking at the top 10 questions that I think fantasy owners want answered in each division. There are probably other questions left out that you’d like answers to, but I picked the ones I thought were the most interesting. You’ll find the AL Central article here.

Just a quick post to make my readers aware of the new address for 108 stitches. You will still be able to access the site with the URL you’ve become familiar with (108stitches.wordpress.com), but I’ve finangled my way through the administrative steps to get my hands on the web address: the108stitches.com.

So please start using that URL despite the fact either will get you to your intended destination. Thanks and just to let you know I am always open to your feedback! I will receive your feedback if you post a comment on the “Ask the Expert” page, and it won’t necessarily post to the site. Thanks.

Just a quick post to let readers know that the player rankings page was updated tonight. You’ll see some shifting as I aim to dial these in prior to draft day!

Anyone who knows me well enough, realizes the unfortunate reality that I’m a very negative person. That said, there are a handful of days each year that cause me to smile from ear to ear and the day pitchers and catchers report is certainly one of them.

It marks the day we can officially put football, basketball, and hockey behind us and focus on the best sport there is…baseball. Man oh man we missed ya.

Welcome to 108 stitches! This blog hopes to go in depth on baseball, one stitch at a time. As someone who has been actively involved in the fantasy sports industry, both part time and full time, my slant on things will likely lean towards how fantasy owners should react to this information. I’m sure the occasional distraction will present itself as well. I hope you enjoy it!