Kevin Millar, ambassador of baseball. And KFC.

You hear a lot about clubhouse cancers these days, what with Manny Ramirez killing and taking the souls of every team member he’s ever encountered, and Gary Sheffield slaughtering an infant for every one of the 499 home runs he’s hit. But fear not, citizens, there is a cure, and that cure lies in the heart of Kevin Millar.

MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez makes the case for Millar’s presence on any team, despite his woeful 87 OPS+ last year:

Millar is more than just a carefree guy.

“Even though [Millar] has that reputation, when the lights come on and it comes to getting ready to play — even though he’s relaxed — he’s going to give you what he’s got,” [Aaron] Hill said. “[He's a] great guy to have in your clubhouse, [a] great guy to have when you’re winning and losing, and he’s just got a good attitude.”

Pretty much everyone in Major League Baseball loves this guy, and he’s routinely cited, for better or worse, as part of the winning chemistry that brought a World Series ring to the Red Sox in 2004.

But what is America without dissent, this time coming from the thorn in Tony LaRussa’s side Scott Rolen. “[He's] overweight,” he told Gonzalez, “[has] limited ability [and is a] dead-pull hitter. [He's] lucky to have a job.”

I wonder how lucky he really is. Looking at Millar’s stats, his OPS+ lifetime is 112, despite his bad year last year. Rolen’s, however, is 125, though he’s played a full season in two of the past five years. Both of them have pretty great careers behind them, but at least Millar isn’t a dick.

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Joe Blancato alden gonzalez, blue jays, kevil millar, mlb.com, scott rolen

Greg “Mad Dog” Maddux, a legend of pitching, is no longer active, but his legacy remains. Fittingly, the Braves will be retiring his number.

The Braves announced Sunday morning that they will retire Maddux’s number and induct him into their Hall of Fame during a July 17 ceremony at Turner Field.

“His fingerprints are all over the success this club enjoyed from 1991-2005,” Braves president John Schuerholz said. “Those kinds of guys who make that kind of impact deserve to be honored in the manner that we are going to honor Greg.”

For the best article on Maddux that I’ve read, see this amazing piece on ESPN.com. Or this one. While he’s not the type to open up, the man’s a legend. If only for “Chicks Dig The Long Ball.”

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Rick Vaughn greg maddux, mlb.com, pitching

Not pictured: Bronson Arroyo hurting his wrist.

Must be a slow week over at the Reds’ training camp, because Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has taken it upon himself to shed light on a often-misunderstood disease, one that doesn’t just plague the nation’s secretaries and computer nerds: carpal tunnel syndrome.

Reds starter Bronson Arroyo first developed symptoms of the disease in 2004 when he was with the Red Sox, and has battled occasional pain and numbness in his pitching wrist since then. “My fingers were weak,” he told Mayo, “like they were falling asleep. Then it went away. After I pitched the ALDS, it came back.”

Arroyo also plays the guitar, but he claims that hasn’t affected his wrist negatively.

Now that he’s on the Reds, team doctors have begun treating the disease, but there’s no telling what Dusty Baker may do to aggravate the situation.

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Joe Blancato bronson arroyo, injuries, mlb.com, reds

Sheffield has a personality as big as his numbers.

Big news today: The Detroit Tigers have released possible Hall of Famer Gary Sheffield. Jason Beck at MLB.com has the story, which came as a surprise to Sheffield and at least one teammate, Miguel Cabrera:

As Sheffield talked with reporters, he shook hands with Cabrera when he arrived.

“I’ll see you,” Sheffield said.

“Where are you going?” Cabrera asked.

Ian Casselberry at Bless You Boys shared his opinion about the release as well: “I have to say, I’m pretty stunned by this and didn’t see it coming. … his certainly allows the Tigers more lineup flexibility in terms of shuffling players around the outfield and DH spot.  Sheffield looked to me like an immovable object at DH, anchored by that $14 million contract and a manager that seemed to be exceedingly loyal to him.”

Sheffield’s career has spanned seven teams. He began life in the Majors as a Brewer before having his best years in the late ’90s for the Marlins. He also spent time with the Braves, Dodgers and Yankees before heading to Detroit to reunite with manager Jim Leland.

While his personality never quite endeared him to the press and ruffled more than a few feathers, his performance on the field was herculean. For instance, last year was the first year he had a season’s worth of plate appearances where his OPS+ was under 100 (it was 90). In his best offensive year, 1996, his OPS+ was 189 (real OPS: 1.089). That and his 499 home runs makes him a viable candidate for the Hall, assuming he were to retire today.

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Update: The Phillies just released Geoff Jenkins, which may indicate their interest in Sheffield.

Joe Blancato gary sheffield, mlb.com, tigers, transactions

This is like Christmas

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Rick Vaughn mlb.com

Zumaya will start the season on the 15-day DL.

As Spring Training winds down, early-season injuries seem to be ramping up. MLB.com today broke the story that Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya will start the season on the 15-day DL with shoulder problems.

Zumaya hasn’t been healthy since his rookie year in 2006, when he threw 83.3 innings and showcased a fastball that routinely hit the triple digits. And in the ‘06 post season, Zumaya went down with wrist soreness attributed to playing too much Guitar Hero, making that injury quite possibly the funniest of 2006. Since ‘07, Zumaya has only thrown 57 innings and has posted a combined WHIP of 1.58.

Zumaya told MLB.com reporter Jason Beck, “It’s a tough day. They’re packing everything up. My stuff’s not packed up. It really stinks. [But] I don’t want to go up there, pitch a couple innings and then [realize] my shoulder’s achy. Right now, it’s tough, man.”

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Joe Blancato injuries, joel zumaya, mlb.com, tigers

McCann left today's Spring Training game with, as Al Michaels would say, "a hand."

MLB.com just broke the news that Braves all-star catcher Brian McCann left today’s Spring Training game with an injury after taking a Mark Teixeira foul ball off his hand. It’s likely a precautionary move, but even if it’s not a major injury, the all-star catcher will more than likely miss the rest of Spring Training.

Teixeira was McCann’s teammate in 2007 and 2008. You think you know a guy!

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Update: AJC.com is reporting that McCann’s injury ’tis but a flesh wound:

“Braves Nation could breath a collective sigh of relief Saturday after Brian McCann’s finger injury was diagnosed as a mere bruise.

“The All-Star catcher was struck in the right ring finger by a foul tip off the bat of former teammate Mark Teixeira in the first inning of Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees.”

Bobby Cox told AJC the team “caught a break.” No foolin’, especially since McCann’s backup is David Ross, whose OPS+ over the past three years has been 130, 68 and 88 (that’s actually pretty great for a backup catcher), whereas McCann’s has been 143, 100 and 104.

Joe Blancato bobby cox, braves, brian mccann, david ross, injury, mark teixeira, mlb.com

Ron Washington: The real-life, baseball version of Morgan Freeman.

MLB.com has a Q&A with Rangers skipper Ron Washington. Most of what they cover is nuts and bolts stuff, but toward the end they get into Washington’s philosophy and how he’s dealing with a young team experiencing a lot of growing pains.

“It was tough from the fact that we put some young players in some tough situations as far as being able to succeed,” he said. “But the rest of it, I’m a teacher. I believe I’m a teacher. That was the situation I was put in, and I believe in my ability to teach. Everybody wants to be put in the perfect situation, but it doesn’t always happen in life. I trust the message I send is correct. It’s what’s put in front of you every morning, but it’s no tougher than anything else I’ve ever experienced in this game.”

They also talk about the future of the catchers corps, and Washington sings the praises of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Washington also looks like he was created by God to look exactly how an old baseball player should look.

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Joe Blancato jarrod saltalamacchia, mlb.com, q&a, rangers, ron washington

This past Friday, Eri Yoshida of the Kobe 9 Cruise made history as the first female to play in the Japanese professional league - as a knuckleballer. She entered in relief in the ninth, walked the first batter she faced, then struck out the next.

MLB.com has more:

“I wasn’t thinking about anything other than just going out there and giving it my all,” Yoshida, who emulates Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, was quoted as saying by AP. “I think this was a bad result, but the stadium is great and the fans were really cheering me on. I want to be able to pitch more innings and become a pitcher who can be relied upon.”

Yoshida, who started playing baseball while in the second grade, said she hopes to stick with the Cruise.

I imagine we’re still a ways away from seeing a woman enter the MLB, partially due to the fact the sport clings to tradition no other, partially due to the popularity of softball as a girly alternative to baseball. Take this asinine Nike commercial, for instance:

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Joe Blancato cruise, eri yoshida, japan, knuckleball, mlb.com

I Googled "Braves Bullpen" and this came up. I don't know.

No, I don’t know what’s going on in that picture. I’m as disturbed as you are.

Atlanta’s top relievers aren’t doing so hot. Witness the carnage:

Over the past four games, Cox has seen his prospective relievers total 8 1/3 innings and allow 21 earned runs. That equates to a 22.68 ERA, which has been primarily accounted for by struggles from Logan and fellow left-handed reliever Eric O’Flaherty.

…

Closer Mike Gonzalez surrendered three earned runs in one inning Wednesday night, and he then talked about how excited he was about his increased velocity. This outing against the Nationals came just a few hours after Rafael Soriano decided to tell the Braves that he was feeling some discomfort in his left side.

It’s only Spring Training, but it’s always ominous when your bullpen implodes before the season starts. Either Bobby Cox needs to get some help on the line or he needs an exorcist to cast out the Curse of John Smoltz, last seen lurking ominously around the bullpen making spooky “Woooo!” noises.

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Rick Vaughn bobby cox, braves, john smoltz, mlb.com, pitching