I'm trying not to be alarmed by spring results, but Joe Kennedy keeps getting knocked around, this time for seven hits and four runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Mariners. There's almost certainly going to be a period where the A's lose at least one starter for some period of time, and when Kennedy is already probably going to be shaky as the fifth starter, the options behind him (Halsey, Windsor, Komine?) really don't look good.

I do like this sentence from the Seattle PI story about the A's-Mariners game: "Shortstop Bobby Crosby, slugger Nick Swisher and outfielder Shannon Stewart also were excused from the game, which the Mariners won 6-5 on an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth." Wait, what position does Swish play?

Oy! I completely forgot that Ricky Ledee was in camp with the A's. With the outfielder injuries already suffered, there could be a spot open for him, but he strained his quad a little while back and he hasn't been cleared to run yet, so he's going to have a hard time winning a temporary bench spot. (Besides which he's a nonroster player and I'm not sure it's worth the 40-man maneuvering necessary to get a guy like Ledee onto the roster except in truly dire circumstances.)

Finally, in non-A's news, Sam Perlozzo has announced that Jay Payton is likely to get most of the playing time in left field for the Orioles. I love Jay Pay like anyone else, but he's not an every-day player. On the other hand, the Orioles don't really have any options, and it's not like Payton's in camp as an NRI or something - he was signed to a significant contract to come to the Orioles, so they were certainly going to use him. And with Corey Patterson in center, it's not like he was going to get much time there (though he will apparently play some center against tough lefties, when Patterson goes to the bench).