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• Among the "non majors," it's been a rough spring for the Pirates, a small-market team that can ill afford ill health. Jason Bay is returning from knee surgery, Freddy Sanchez hurt his knee in a second-base collision and may not be ready for Opening Day and Xavier Nady is coming back after a stomach infection.

• One scout sees the Reds taking a major step forward. "They're a lot more athletic," says the scout, citing new outfielder Josh Hamilton and shortstop Alex Gonzalez, a defensive standout.

• The move of Ken Griffey Jr. to right field makes sense, too. Except not to Griffey, who's done more complaining than playing this spring.

• The Phillies should hold onto Aaron Rowand, who's a "great center fielder and has great intangibles," according to one AL exec.

• The Marlins' center-field job appears down to Eric Reed and Alex Sanchez. But as one scout notes, Reed bunts "three out of four times," (OK, it's an exaggeration) and another says, "That's not going to work when the season starts."

• Jeremy Hermida is out with a bone bruise, but off of his spring, it may be a blessing. He was 2-for-35, and as one scout said, he was a "mess."

• Mets owner Fred Wilpon is talking up sidearming right-hander Joe Smith, who was pitching at Wright State only a year ago. Smith's favorable impression comes at a time when hard-throwing Ambiorix Burgos has spit the bit.

• While Chan Ho Park isn't thrilled the Mets see him as a reliever, he shouldn't reject this idea out of hand. He should recall he was quite effective as closer for Korea in the WBC.

• It will be announced that Chad Durbin has pulled an upset by taking the last spot on the Tigers' staff. Now it's down to Neifi Perez or Chris Shelton for the 25th man.

• It's 50-50 whether James Loney (coincidentally, he has a .500 batting average this spring) makes the Dodgers as backup first baseman, where his playing time would largely be dependent on Nomar Garciaparra's health. A lot of people think Loney's ready to play first base full time somewhere.

• One scout said he "loves" Dodgers outfield prospect Matt Kemp, despite the question of whether he can hit the curve. "He can run, he can throw and he can play the heck out of right field," says the scout, who points out that a lot of people questioned whether Jermaine Dye could hit the curveball, just like Kemp.

• Mark Sweeney stuck up for Barry Bonds after Sweeney's name got dragged into the story about Bonds failing a test for greenies. Poor Sweeney. Now he's been placed on waivers.

• I am only sorry I missed my chance at Manny Ramirez's grill. I knew Terry Francona wasn't going to buy it. He's never shown any interest in getting into Manny's grill.