Spikes Up is fed up with the quality of rumors these days. Two events that should be incredibly exciting – Barry Bonds’ pursuit of the all-time home run record and Albert Pujols’ season for the ages – are being spoiled by rumors. It seems they’re all about Bonds and his alleged steroid use and how that takes away from what he’s accomplishing (of course, nothing is said about the possibility that many of the pitchers Bonds or others are launching tape-measure home runs against could be on steroids themselves, thereby negating the supposed tilted playing field). And then there are those who can’t believe what Pujols is accomplishing this year (because of his supposed tender age) or all that he’s achieved in his career up to this point. But I suppose it would be more believable and less remarkable should we finally discover that Phat Albert is really 46 as opposed to just 26?

With this in mind, we went in search of rumors that didn’t pertain to either of these topics, and rather were more of the fun, speculative type than the let’s-spoil-these-historic-moments-with-allegations-and-innuendo type. So here, without further ado, is Word on the Street, Volume 3.

As long has been anticipated (in fact, we wrote about it just last week) Todd Coffey has taken over as closer in Cincinnati. But there’s much speculation that the appointment is not permanent. After all, Friday he pitched in a non-save situation, coming on in the eighth inning with the Reds up 9-4. Does that sound like a time to bring in your closer?

Either way, Coffey has been overused by the Reds. Yes, David Weathers blew another save and took the loss on Saturday, but he is not out of the closer mix just yet. Watch this situation closely. After all, Reds’ manager Jerry Narron has admitted he’s unsure how best to use Coffey. Well, Coffey may have more value than Weathers for the time being, but Weathers’ owners should not give up the ghost just yet.

Alfonso Soriano, despite the kicking and screaming of spring training, has shifted to the outfield from his more comfortable perch at second base. Why the Nats ever pulled off a big trade for a star like Soriano without checking whether he’s okay with switching positions is beyond me. I mean, my thoughts are that if you’re paying an athlete’s salary, it’s up to him to play where you ask him. But to make a big investment like that and then essentially negate its positive impact by potentially alienating the player doesn’t make sense to me.

But Soriano will be a free agent at the end of the season and you can bet the farm he won’t be returning to the nation’s capital. Any team that’s willing to let him return to the keystone corner is a team that Soriano will be interested in talking to. And, given that he is currently second in the NL in homers (15) and 10th in steals, you can bet there will be plenty of suitors willing to let him play wherever the hell on the field he wants next year.

The Baltimore Orioles’ organization has made some major changes in its approach in the last couple of years. Saddled with long-term deals to aging and fading veterans through much of the last decade, the O’s have now built a solid core of young players that they are committing to long-term. Combine that with a much improved farm system, and they seem to be following the Atlanta Braves’ model. And now they have Rockin’ Leo Mazzone in the fold – one of the key components of the Atlanta dynasty.

Among the young stars the team has now signed through at least 2009 are Miguel Tejada, Ramon Hernandez, Jay Gibbons, Nick Markakis, Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Chris Ray. And late last week, Melvin Mora joined the fold with an extension.

The word is now the Orioles will look to sign second baseman Brian Roberts to an extension next. He’s already penned through 2008, but Baltimore wants to tie him up to the end of the decade as they seek to keep its nucleus together. They’re not seeing the dividends quite yet in Charm City, but they are coming, no doubt about. It wouldn’t shock me if the Orioles were one of the best teams in baseball after the all-star break.

Mariano Rivera has gotten off to slow starts – by his standards – before. But some are speculating that he’s not 100 percent healthy right now and could land on the DL before long. Now, anyone watching Rivera toss two shutout innings of one-hit, no-walk ball with four strikeouts to earn the win against the Mets Saturday would suggest this is simply folly. But that solid outing aside, let’s take a closer look.

Rivera has not had back-to-back scoreless appearances since early this month. He had given up 23 hits in his first 21.2 IP (a .311 opponents’ BA after holding them to .177 last year). How about just 14 Ks and a K/BB ratio of just 2.8? Both are well below his norm. But the ultimate evidence of Rivera’s lack of domination is that he’s throwing 4.37 pitches per plate appearance – by far the highest he’s ever had. Watch Rivera closely over the next few weeks and be aware that he could possibly join an already impressive collection of Pinstripers on the DL at some point this season.

Word out of St. Louis suggests that the Cards, with a ton of greenbacks invested in Pujols and Scott Rolen, may have to part with the third of their trio of perennial all-stars, Jim Edmonds. The Cardinals hold a 2007 option on Edmonds, but may not have enough coin to bring him back. Of course, it wasn’t long ago that Edmonds himself suggested 2006 would be his final season anywhere, as he hinted at retirement. The way things are going now – 1 for his last 15 – maybe it is time for Edmonds to jump on an ice floe.

In Boston, Kevin Youkilis has impressed the brass enough with his transition to first base that the Bosox are going to simply give him the everyday job. That will spell the end of J.T. Snow’s brief Bosox career. Snow is being peddled around and at least two of the suitors include his former clubs.

The Angels aren’t overly impressed with Casey Kotchman and his .152 BA (and you probably aren’t enamoured with it, either), so are considering bringing Snow back. The Giants, concerned over Lance Niekro’s shoulder woes, are also interested in Snow. They obviously don’t believe that either Mark Sweeney or Jose Vizcaino could handle the position. Imagine that.

And finally, the Cubs, forced to use Todd Walker out of position with Derrek Lee out for an extended period of time, are also said to be eyeing Snow as a possible replacement. Snow isn’t hitting a lick this year, but has a closet full of Gold Gloves and is an experienced leader who could help a winning team.

Much has been made of the Twins’ woeful starting pitching, expected to be a strength this year. Kyle Lohse has been the first casualty, farmed out after a not-so shocking dismal start to the year. In his stead, Francisco Liriano has finally taken a spot in the rotation. But other than Liriano and Johan Santana, no Minnesota starter’s job is safe right now.

The Twins will keep looking for solutions, and one name being bandied about as a possible internal answer is Matt Garza, a minor leaguer who is turning some heads right now. After breezing through his first eight starts at High-A Fort Myers (5-1, 1.42, .169 OBA), Garza got the call up to Double-A and simply blew away the competition in his first start. In 7.2 shutout innings, he yielded just one hit and two walks, fanning 13 to earn the win.

Now some are clamouring for him to make an even bigger jump – all the way to Minnesota. That seems a bit over the top, considering only a year ago, Garza was just wrapping up his career at Fresno State University before the Twins grabbed him 25th overall in the draft. However, Minnesota has been known to be aggressive in promoting its young talent, so don’t rule it out completely. One thing’s certain: now that Detroit has joined the Chisox and Indians as a legitimate AL Central threat, the Twins need to do something fast before they get completely buried.

Somehow, Carl Pavano’s pain in the butt has moved to his elbow, and he’ll be lost to the Yankees for quite some time. So Jaret Wright can breathe a big sigh of relief. When it looked like Pavano was close to rejoining the Yanks, the word was that Wright’s days in the rotation were numbered. But Wright has been looking good this month (1-1, 3.63, 14 hits in 17.1 IP) and is now rumored to have solidified his role in the rotation possibly for the rest of the season.

NEXT: Spikes Up returns next week, May 29. Basketball fans should check out Three in the Key. It’s switching to Thursdays and will next appear on June 1.
 
Comments? Questions? Criticisms or witticisms? You can reach me at rob@creativesports.com if you’d like further information or have a question you’d like me to answer in an upcoming column. Have a suggestion for a column or want to hear analysis about a particular player? Feel free to write. I might even answer!

Rob Blackstien is a freelance writer and the principal of Pen-Ultimate (www.pen-ultimate.ca), a Toronto-based writing and editorial services firm. Position Battles, a column he writes for www.rotoworld.com, also appears on usatoday.com and foxsports.com.