Nathan and Rincon signed to extensions

The AP reports that Joe Nathan has signed a two-year contract extension through 2007, with an option for 2008. No word on whether the Count plans to keep his Congressional seat representing the 2nd District in Indiana. (Did you know that Indiana has a Rep. Chocola in Congress? It's true.) Meanwhile, Juan Rincon, per Terry Ryan's new policy of passing out two-year contracts to anyone who thoughtfully remembers to ask how the wife is doing, also signed a two-year deal. No terms disclosed, yet.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2005073

I missed the game today, but apparently Joe Mays was pretty sharp in his spring debut. Two scoreless innings to start the game, 1 hit and 1 walk, 3 strikeouts. The game recap says he threw all his pitches but the slider. Very encouraging. It's easy to forget that Joe Mays was one of the top starters in the AL way back in 2001. (And, yes, I had to look that up just now to make sure I had the year right.) I think Win Shares even rates him as the top AL pitcher that year, and his adjusted ERA (142 ERA+) actually did lead the league. He probably was a bit lucky, I know, but he did have fine control and an apparent knack for throwing off the batters' timing just enough to induce a weak grounder or pop-up. Kinda like Carlos Silva, but much better.

Of course it would be a huge plus to have Mays back in pre-injury form, but even if he's just league-average in his first year back from surgery, I'll be pleased to have that in the #5 slot. If he does as well as Jon Lieber did in returning from surgery last year (14-8, 4.33 ERA, 176.2 IP), who couldn't smile to see that?

I also notice that JC Romero is already in late-season form, but since it's March 4, I won't comment any further. Keep an eye on that Rowland-Smith fella, JC. You wouldn't want to be outpitched by the Rule 5 kid, would you? I bet he'd be happy to wear the Barbie backpack, too. I'm just sayin'.