Suspensions and fines were handed out for Anaheim/San Diego brawls on Saturday. Bobby J. Jones received the longest suspension, 7 games, because he blatantly threw at Troy Glaus. Aaron Sele, who started the mess by hitting Ryan Klesko with a pitch, will only receive an undisclosed fine. Despite Sele's normally good control (he's had a total of 35 wild pitches and only 79 hit batters in 9 years), Bob Watson did not have enough evidence to suggest that the pitch that hit Klesko was intentionally placed.

Klesko, who retuned to the second brawl in his street clothes, only received a four game penalty. However Scott Spiezio will serve a 5 game penalty for his aggressiveness after the brawl broke out, including assaults on San Diego manager Bruce Bochy and San Diego coach Tim Flannery, and even reports of kicking. The final person to receive a suspension was Glaus, who was only awarded 2 games. Phil Nevin and Ron Gant were also fined for their parts in the brawls. All of the suspensions are to be served during the regular season, but they may not take place right away if there are appeals. As of now, Spiezio is the only player who has said he plans to appeal.

I think Sele probably deserved at least a short suspension as I doubt whether the pitch simply slipped. I'm also quite surprised that Klesko didn't receive at least as many games as Jones for returning to the field after he had been removed from the game. The suspensions are staggered so that Spiezio and Glaus are not both out at the same time. Overall, Bob Watson did a much better job with these fines than I expected.

Anaheim's real troubles this spring stem from an ever-increasing list of injuries. Troy Glaus may not even be ready to start the season because of a recently strained abdominal muscle. He came out of a game on Thursday and has not yet returned to action. While he is still expected to break camp with the team, his progress could be delayed by the sensitive injury.

Shawn Wooten, who the Angels were relying on to platoon at 1B against left-handers and serve as their 3rd string catcher, will likely miss four months with a separated joint in his thumb. The injury occurred when he fell on the thumb after catching a popup and will require surgery to repair.

If Glaus is seriously injured, Spiezio should be able to cover his position, but the Angels will miss the extra production from Glaus. Spiezio's suspension will also be more of an issue if he needs to cover for an injured player(s), as while MLB is willing to stagger the suspensions so that they don't single-handedly cause a position shortage, I don't believe they will delay Spiezio's until the rest of Anaheim's players are healthy.

Spiezio is also the likely candidate to take over Wooten's playing time. He should play full-time at 1B rather than platoon as previously planned. The Angels have a few other options including moving Darin Erstad in from centerfield. If they were to do that, Garret Anderson would need to cover center while backup outfielders Orlando Palmeiro and Jeff DaVanon will platoon in left. Designated Hitter Brad Fullmer is also capable of covering first base when needed, but he's already expected to be playing full-time and lacks the defensive abilities of the other alternatives.

Dennis Cook bruised his rib cage in the brawl and since then has not been able to pitch. He should be fine by Opening Day as long as he doesn't over-exert himself, but the missed Spring Training time may mean he gets a slow start to the season.

They're having difficulty finding healthy catchers in Cleveland. Last week doctors confirmed that Eddie Taubensee will be out at least 2 months with lower back pain. Catching has given him a degenerative disc that causes his back to behave more like that of an old man than someone in his mid-thirties; surgery isn't even an available option. He may not be able to catch at all this season, and if his condition doesn't improve, he may need to move from behind the plate or retire.

Meanwhile, Einar Diaz has a bruised left wrist after fouling balls off it twice last week. Tim Laker, the other back-up, is unable to play because of off-season surgery to his liver and pancreas.

Diaz's troubles should clear up and allow him to be their starter, but the Indians will still need to find a back-up. Switch-hitter Josh Bard appears to be the internal front-runner, but he has only played five games above AA. He will turn 24 at the end of this month, and Cleveland may decide to accelerate his development if he continues to perform well in Spring Training. His defensive skills are reportedly already up to the major league standard, so his bat will likely be the determining factor. His statistics show that he still needs some plate discipline work, but he's probably accumulated enough basic skills to allow him to handle part-time at-bats. Jumping to the majors at this point would likely delay his offensive peak for a few seasons, but I believe he could handle a part-time role if needed.

Cleveland has another switch-hitting catching prospect in camp, but Victor Martinez is considerably more raw than Bard. Twenty-nine-year-old Chris Coste is also in camp; however he has less plate discipline than either of the younger catchers and very limited potential considering his age.

If Diaz suffers any more set backs, I fully expect the Indians to trade for another catcher. There is a good possibility that they will do so regardless of Diaz's health. Florida's Ramon Castro has been the most eligible catcher on the market for a while, but I don't see a good match up between the Marlins and Indians. Castro is also slightly less available this spring because of Charles Johnson's sprained left thumb, which has put Johnson's status for Opening Day in question even though he is not expected to be out long.

The list of alternate catching options is actually quite lengthy, including Gary Bennett, Javier Cardona, Bobby Estalella, John Flaherty, Robert Machado, Greg Myers, and Javier Valentin. However, there will be several replacement level catchers passing through waivers in a few weeks, so there is really no reason for the Indians to give up anything in trade to acquire a specific member of this group.