Baseball Beat: Thursday, April 17th

Here is the rundown for the Thursday, April 17th edition of Baseball Beat. Charley Steiner is traveling to Atlanta with the Los Angeles Dodgers today, so Chuck Wilson will be hosting. All times Eastern.

1:05 p.m.
Guest: Adam Rubin, New York Daily News (Mets Beat)
1:25 p.m.
Guest: Rob Bradford, Boston Herald (Red Sox Beat)
1:45 p.m.
Guest: Gerry Fraley, Sporting News
2:05 p.m.
Guest: Albert Chen, Sports Illustrated
2:25 p.m.
Guest: Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star
2:45 p.m.
Guest: Nick Piecoro, Arizona Republic (D'Backs Beat)

Guest Summaries:
Rubin discussed the New York Mets including an update on Pedro Martinez health, Jose Reyes’ return to form, and the surprising story of Nelson Figueroa. Bradford discussed the Boston Red Sox including last night’s loss in New York, overused bullpen becoming a concern, reasons for David Ortiz’s slump, and Coco Crisp as the key to any Boston moves. Fraley join us from the Milwaukee Brewers/St. Louis Cardinals game and discussed Tony LaRussa’s bullpen management, C.C. Sabathia’s struggles, Trey Hillman has brought fundamentals to Kansas City, and how the Texas Rangers are a train wreck. Chen discussed his Sports Illustrated piece on Chien-Ming Wang. This was an in-depth segment on Wang. Posnanski discussed the Kansas City Royals including how the rotation of Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke, and Gil Meche give the club hope, Hillman instilling greater fundamentals to the roster, popularity of his blog, and mention of his book with Buck O’Neil. Piecoro discussed the Arizona Diamondbacks including Randy Johnson’s first start of the year, Justin Upton’s hot start, and Mark Reynlds second year in the majors.