Florida claimed LHP Steve Kent off waivers from Seattle last week, bouncing him from the Northwest Coast to the Southeast for the second time in less than 18 months. Seattle drafted Kent, who was born in Frankfurt, Germany, out of Florida International University with their 9th round pick of the 1999 draft. However, the Angels snatched him away in the 2001 Rule 5 draft and sold him to Tampa. The Devil Rays kept him on their major league roster all season, as was necessary to retain the rights of the Rule 5 pick. Then in November, they inexplicably decided to kick him from the 40-man roster and lost him on waivers to the Mariners who reclaimed him.

Seattle brought Kent to camp this spring to audition for a job as the second lefty in their pen, but he did not impress. As a Rule 5 pick, Kent was jumped from A+ to the majors, and while he probably performed much better for the Devil Rays than many pitchers would have in his shoes, he clearly needs additional development time. The Mariners wanted to send the 24-year-old to AAA to work on realizing the potential he displayed with a 73:34 K:BB, 50 H and 2 HR allowed in 65 IP at A+ San Bernardino in 2001, but the Marlins thwarted those plans. Kent will receive cursory consideration for the second lefty relief job in Florida, however I expect they're merely hoping he slips through waivers when they send him down before the season starts, so they can stash him at AAA.

A.J. Burnett was removed from his Spring Training start Saturday due to pain in his forearm. Witnesses report that he bent over in apparent pain and signaled to the dugout after the pitch immediately preceding his removal. However, as he's had no other problems this spring, the Marlins believe he's merely suffering from some forearm tightness. Evidently, they don't even plan to test the arm to insure there isn't a real problem, which seems ridiculous given Burnett's high-risk injury status.

I would not be at all surprised if after a week of Burnett experiencing pain whenever the 26-year-old attempts to return to the mound, Florida uses the medical resources at their disposal and discovers a serious injury. While I realize the tests themselves can sometimes cause discomfort, sidelining players for a couple days, I think that's a small price to pay for the time saved by immediate diagnosis. Teams certainly shouldn't avoid tests for financial reasons. Everyone seems intent on insisting that this is unrelated to the acute elbow bone bruise he suffered last year. Burnett has pointed out the sensation was not the same as what he felt when he injured his arm last season. However, that doesn't mean he hasn't done something equally or more serious.

Mike Lowell strained a muscle in his lower back and has been sidelined with back spasms for over a week. The Marlins believe they will pass in time and aren't concerned that he'll need to spend time on the DL. He hopes to return in time to play the last four or five games of the pre-season schedule and believes that should give him sufficient spring at-bats to comfortably start the season. However, his slow recovery concerns me, and I suspect he'll at least be a bit rusty if he's even able to start the season on time. Back spasms are also an injury that tends to recur periodically.

Abraham Nunez strained his left hamstring in early March, sidelining him for the last two weeks. The injury has not shown significant progress and Nunez is now unlikely to break camp with the team as even if he regains use of the leg before Opening Day, he'll have had insufficient time to prepare for the season this spring. Unfortunately, Nunez's injury likely gives Manager Jeff Torborg the excuse for which he was looking to carry Gerald Williams. Hopefully, Nunez will be healthy after a minimum stay on the DL and Williams will have performed poorly enough for Torborg to realize his mistake, putting an early end to the experiment.

Florida starter Brad Penny received a five game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Montreal Expos this spring. Penny hit Vladimir Guerrero in the shoulder during a spring game, and Guerrero charged the mound. He is appealing the suspension and accompanying fine, but if it is upheld before Opening Day, Penny will miss his first scheduled start of the season. Of course, he maintains that an inside pitch merely got away from him and he was not throwing at Guerrero.

Penny objects to the policy that results in him receiving a longer suspension in order to insure he misses a start and is truly inconvenienced by the suspension. Guerrero will receive only a three game suspension and Jose Macias, who threw punches in the resulting brawl was suspended two games.

If Guerrero doesn't appeal the suspension, he'll miss the first three games of the season. Fortunately, the Expos open the season on the road, so those attending Montreal's home opener won't be denied the team's star. MLB has even arranged for Macias' suspension to begin after Guerrero's has ended so the Expos will not be too short handed.

Personally, I believe pitchers need to throw inside and balls will occasionally get away from them, so every hit by pitch should not necessarily result in a suspension. Meanwhile, although a pitch is sometimes aimed at a hitter, batters should know better than to attempt physical retaliation when they're hit. The league has procedures in place to censure pitchers. By responding violently to the HBP, the batter merely opens himself to potential injury in a fight and/or suspension; both of which cost his team. Aramis Ramirez's season was essentially ruined by his decision to charge Ben Sheets last year. These players are adults who should be able to control their emotions and set aside their personal pride for the good of the team. Charging the mound is a wholly selfish action.