With spring training nearing an end, I thought it was a good point to look at pitchers to see who is dominating so far. Leading the strikeout list is the usual suspect, Randy Johnson of the New York Yankees. He’s also pitched 24.1 innings this spring training, which is the most of any pitcher. As we look at the top 15 strikeout leaders so far, let’s also look at innings pitched and see who is a real fire baller this spring training.

Nomar Garciaparra is showing a slight sign of life. Of course, when you are one for twenty, there’s no where to go but up. It’s been some time since we checked in on Garciaparra and he’s had some hits since then. Garciaparra still remains a question mark for the regular season. While his average is starting to improve slightly, he is still struggling in spring training.

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies is definitely not looking back this spring training. As of this writing, Ryan Howard is destroying the baseball and feasting on spring training pitching. Looking at what he did last year in limited action, there should be no surprise. Ryan Howard looks like the real deal and that has Philadelphia Phillies fans excited. Take a look at what he’s accomplished already this spring training.

It sure hasn’t been a good spring training for Nomar Garciaparra so far. Sure, it’s only spring training, but this is the time when hitters are normally tearing the cover off the ball due to soft pitching. Has Normar Garciaparra lost his ability or is he just in a mental funk? Let’s take a look at the number so far.

Ok, it’s not official just yet, but it’s close. Roger Clemens, as reported by the USA Today, announced that he’s about ready to retire. The World Baseball Classic will be his last official games in uniform. Clemens stopped short of issuing an all-out retirement speech and it’s not official. He “reserved” the right to come back if the “playing itch” comes up.

Part of the decision might be because he is having trouble deciding which team to play for should he come back. It appeared evident, trough his recent activities, that the decision would be very tough. Roger Clemens is a competitor with a capital C. I can’t imagine that he is truly done, but time will tell. Until further notice, Roger Clemens is closing out his remaining playing days.

Baseball Betting Daily Stat: Betting on MLB exhibition baseball continues to be a coin flip. The favorite and the underdog are coming in close to equal on a constant basis.

Cleveland 7 @ Toronto 4
* AJ Burnett (TOR) got had a mediocre outing today. He gave up two walks, five hits and two earned runs over three innings. Burnett did strike out one batter.

Baltimore 3 @ Los Angeles 9
* Newsflash: Nomar Garciaparra (LA) gets a hit. He went 1 for 3 today.

San Francisco 4 @ Seattle 2
* Kenji Johjima (SEA) goes 0 for 3 and is only batting .100 for spring training. The good news is Jamie Moyer (SEA) pitches three solid innings, giving up one hit and striking out four. His ERA for spring training is 1.80 and he looks ready for another good year.

MLB Exhibition baseball action for March 05, 2006

Los Angeles 5 @ Oakland 8
* Freddie Bynum (OAK) has a good day going 2 for 2 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs.

NY Yankees 3 @ Toronto 2
* It’s Matsui Time. Hideki Matsui went 3 for 3 including a double. Matsui, as you might know, elected to not play in the special world baseball event.

Florida 3 @ St. Louis 4
* Mark Mulder (STL) had a fabulous outing today. Mulder breezed through three innings, striking out three and only giving up a lone hit.

Baseball betting is a fun activity that can yield monetary profits. However, most sports bettors fail to reach a high level of profitability in sports betting, because they ignore some fundamental concepts. Today, I am going to share some sports betting tips that can be applied to baseball betting as well as any sport. You might already know some of these, but it’s absolutely vital that you follow them to achieve your goals.

Jose Guillen, who was thought to be heading out the door, got a second medical opinion on Saturday. Surgery was determined to be a non-necessary procedure for Guillen’s injury. On Friday, Dr. Edward St. Mary recommended the tendon surgery that would have put Guillen out of baseball for up to three months—and possibly destroyed his year.

Another day in paradise. Today’s action was a mixed bag of fun.

Colorado 3 @ Los Angeles 5
* Adam Kennedy (LAA) had a good day, going 2 for 3 with 1 RBI.

Atlanta 10 @ Houston 6
* James Jurries went 3 for 4 with 1 RBI and scored 4 runs.

Philadelphia 9 @ Toronto 7
* Clay Codrey (PHI) got the win. He put in 3 innings of work giving up 2 hits and 1 earned run. He also struck out one batter.