Daric Barton just can't get going this spring. He's already been fighting off an elbow injury that was keeping him from throwing, and then on Sunday came the report (I first saw it here) that Barton has appendicitis and was scheduled for surgery.

I guess this is why the A's wanted catching depth.

Also, for Barton, this is a good time to get an injury pile-up out of the way, so long as he doesn't make it a yearly habit. He's not losing a shot at the major leagues or anything by not being able to play, and, by doing this in spring training, it just means that his season start could be delayed a little. He'll end up with fewer at-bats at the end of the year, maybe, but it seems to me to be far better to lose those at-bats in April than in July or August, in terms of getting into a groove and not having to come back from missing a few weeks and get back into a groove.

Of course, ugly memories of Adrian Beltre always loom.