IT’S A MADD MADD WORLD...

Although the final outcome wasn’t what he wanted, Mark DeRosa deserves a whole lot of credit for the managing job he did with the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic, especially given all the pitching restrictions he had to deal with. We can only imagine now what kind of manager DeRosa will be under normal situations, which should be very soon. Hail to the pride of Bergen Catholic High. …

At least for now, the Braves have concluded that top prospect Vaughn Grissom is not ready to replace Dansby Swanson as their everyday shortstop. That was the hope when they let Swanson leave as a free agent and had Grissom undergo some shortstopping cram courses with their respected infield instructor Ron Washington this winter. But according to scouts following the Braves this spring, too often it had the appearance of trying to cram a square peg into a round hole as Grissom’s defense was shaky, to the point the Braves optioned him to the minor league camp last Tuesday

with two weeks to go in spring training. According to Braves sources, the feeling was Grissom was better off further refining his defense at Triple-A while shortstop was turned over to last year’s infield utilityman Orlando Arcia. The move also allowed them to keep versatile Ehire Adrianza on the roster. The Braves also sent out lefty Jared Shuster last week but he will definitely be back soon. The 6-3, 24-year-old first-round draft pick in 2020 wowed the scouts this spring — one run, 16 strikeouts, two walks in 12.2 innings — and was only sent back because he had options. …

Another rookie who’s had a standout spring probably to no avail is Cardinals 21-year-old shortstop Masyn Winn who hit .311 with two homers, nine RBI in his first 15 games and of whom one scout raved: “That kid is better than any shortstop I’ve seen down here, but he’s never played above AA ball and they’re almost certain to start him at Triple-A. But I predict he’ll be their shortstop by midseason.”