Cardinals will join Marlins in tribute to shooting victims
The Cardinals will join the Marlins and possibly every other team in the majors by wearing hats to honor the victims of last week’s mass shooting in Parkland.
The hats, which are being produced by New Era in time for Friday’s Grapefruit League opener, will have the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School logo on it. The Cardinals are also considering a patch or an armband to go with their uniform and to mirror what the Marlins will be doing Friday. The exact tributes are still to be determined as games approach.
The Miami Herald reported at least 20 teams will wear the caps, and all teams could eventually choose to do so as the exhibition schedule opens.
Ten years ago, after the February 2008 shooting at a Kirk- wood, Missouri city council meeting, the Cardinals wore red Kirkwood High hats for a spring training game as a way to memorialize the six people killed.
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ASTROS Pitchers, Hinch not happy with new rules
Less than 24 hours after Major League Bas e ball announced it will limit mound visits and monitor in-game phone calls to dugouts in an effort to increase the historically slow pace of play, Astros pitchers and manager A.J. Hinch have added their complaints to the discontent around baseball.
Pitchers primarily are con- cerned that keeping their teams to six mound visits, with one per extra inning, misses the importance of thwarting sign-stealing, which is becoming easier for offenses because of video cameras. They say monitoring phone calls to the dugout is not sig- nificant because teams study signs on video before games.
Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. excoriated the rule changes with a series of messages on Twitter. Frustrated that the move disadvantages pitchers more than hitters or runners trying to steal signs, McCullers suggested that hampering com- munication between pitch- ers and catchers could lead to throwing at batters as a warning to opponents.
“You think I want to break rhythm and tempo during a game to talk about signs behind my glove?” McCull- ers wrote.
Hinch said he is unsure of how the restrictions will impact the regular season, but he is concerned for when in-game adjustments become more frequent in the post- season.
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Astros, go to chron.com.
NATIONALS Reliever Benoit signs one-year deal
Suddenly in need of more bullpen depth than a week ago, the Nationals signed 40-year-old reliever Joaquin Benoit to a one-year major league contract worth $1 mil- lion, according to a person with knowledge of the sit- uation. The news comes less than a week after Koda Glover reported to spring training with soreness in his right shoulder. The 24-year-old Glover, who missed most of last season with a rotator cuff injury, was immediately shut down. “With Koda, I sat down with him, and I told him, ‘Look, let’s just get this right,’” manager Dave Martinez said. “We got plenty of time.” Benoit has pitched for eight teams across 16 seasons since making his debut in 2001. He was one of baseball’s most effective relievers from 2010 through 2016, a seven-year period in which he pitched to a 2.40 ERA, had a WHIP under 1.00, and struck out 10 batters per nine innings. But he declined last season, posting a 4.65 ERA in 52 relief appearances with the Phillies and Pirates.
With Benoit on a major league contract, he is likely to make the opening day bullpen, barring injury.
For more coverage of the Nationals, go to washington- post.com.