*Picking this year's tourney is going to be insane. I haven't watched much hoops at all this year. In fact, I don't think I've watched a full game despite the fact that A&M is actually *gulp* good this year. The parity and loss of top level talent, in addition to the freer, less technical game played today will make upsets the rule of the first round.

*Yes, this column made my year.

*Back from Vegas with pneumonia. It sucks, but at least it waited until the end of the trip. More on the trip in another post.

*Andrew Zimbalist siding with Bud Selig? Cue the flying pigs. He's right, however. The recent admission that 1.7 percent of players tested positive is very interesting. (By the way, that's 24 positive tests, down from 83 the previous season.) That is very much in line with the minor leagues. I'm curious how the PA will react to this.

*Jeff Kent had an interesting take on defensive statistics. First, it's interesting that UZR and VORP is mentioned as a given, as something everyone should know already. More importantly, I think Kent might be on to something. He questions the ability of statistics to judge positioning. I don't know how UZR or any of the defensive rating system adjusts for this, but I think it's an important point. Positioning is a big factor in infield defense. It relies on advance scouting, tendencies, and the coaching staff, as well as the fielder's ability to adjust quickly to the pitch. We're still a ways from knowing that a player can cover X feet to the left and Y feet to the right, but I think positioning is going to be a bigger factor in baseball than we think it is.

* That leads me to a second point. I saw an article crediting a manager with "handling his bullpen well." Ok, but why do we credit the manager for this? How is he doing this? Is the pitching coach involved? The training staff? It was one of Keith Woolner's Hilbert Questions five years ago, but we're no closer to understanding coaches than we were then. Don't steal my idea, but we need someone sitting in a dugout all season, analyzing how these decisions are made. Be one heck of a book, don't you think?

* I don't mean to pile on, but ESPN's new layout blows. The multipart stories make me load more ads, I get it. Doesn't make me like it.

* I can't begin to count the ways in which this article is wrong. Tommy John does not make anyone throw harder. I could go have my elbow done ... oh, wait, it already was. YOU could go have your elbow done by the best in the business and I'm guessing you won't be on the mound this season. Bad article.

* Looking forward to hearing games on XM. We may have to do power rankings of announcing teams sometime this season.