What with colds of the head and stomach all around and sub-zero on either scale outside, what better than to read about baseball. The New York Times, as usual, has a great story this morning, today on the three Molina brothers who all catch:

The three DiMaggio brothers had superb careers and featured one of the most famous Joes to ever hit or throw a ball. The three Alou brothers combined for strong careers during a collective 47 seasons. But only the three Molinas all ended up behind the plate and only they, of all those 18 other groups of brothers, can each claim a World Series championship. "To see your other two brothers in the major leagues with you, it’s an amazing feeling," Bengie Molina said. "It’s unbelievable. It’s something you can’t put into words."

The Red Sox apparently are still maybe trading and making changes:

Over the weekend, news broke of the Rockies and the Red Sox discussing a trade involving the 33-year-old. It is believed that the Rockies are seeking at least one, perhaps two, of the Red Sox young pitchers - Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen - with the Red Sox more interested in shopping reliever Julian Tavarez and third baseman Mike Lowell...Helton has posted eye-opening offensive numbers with the Rockies, particularly between 1999 and 2004: Dipping below 100 RBI just once; peaking at 49 home runs; hitting at a .372 clip once; getting on base at one time with a .469 average; slugging .698 once. Helton has been one of the premier offensive forces in the National League, but that production has dipped the last two years.

What with their appearances at the end of last season, I would be happier to see Hansen and Delcarmen go than lose Tavarez and Lowell. And if he is at first, where does Youk play? If it is third with Lowell part of the deal that would make the dissassembly of the greate4st Sox in-field in recent memory complete - which is kind of bizzare when you think of it.

Over at CubsNet.com, there is another problem with the upcoming season - not who will play but how the entire universe is stacked against them from the get go:

All else being equal (and ignoring the wild card), the Cubs have a 16.7% chance of reaching the postseason at the beginning of the season. The same is true, of course, for every other team in the NL Central. Each team in every other division save the American League West, however, has a 20% of winning its division; the AL West teams have a 25% chance. Consequently, the Atlanta Braves, for instance, have approximately a 20% greater chance of winning its division than the Cubs have of winning the NL Central. The Texas Rangers have a 50% greater chance.

Isn't the real issue that they suck?

The Hardball Times has an interesting article on projecting the 2007 season fr ten great hitters. Like all futurism, the only guarantee with baseball projectionism is significant error but in these troubled times we need all the emotional help we can get. It will be interesting to see if there is any validity to relying on the 2006 blip for Frank Thomas as he enters his first year getting to know the Jays medical and training staff.

And, finally, if you are in Kansas City, you can go meet nerds like you:

SABR stands for The Society for American Baseball Research, an organization for anyone who loves reading and talking about baseball. The word “geeks” is a pejorative for someone who puts a premium on using his or her brain. Well, SABR members tend to be pretty bright, but geeks they are not. In fact, SABR now boasts of more than 7,000 baseball researchers and fans from all sorts of professions and backgrounds. Some of them are even famous. The Monarchs Chapter of Kansas City SABR will meet Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Johnson County Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St. in Overland Park.

Maybe the Kingston Society for Playing Catch should form a SABR auxiliary. Or maybe an Auxiliary SABR auxiliary, a group that supports the other group but does not really participate or understand, part of the larger fan club idea.