Posted by Brian Joseph on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 2:27 am

Less than a week before Opening Day ‘09, the news around Major League Baseball is fast and furious. To keep you up-to-date with the latest roster moves and injuries heading into the ‘09 season, each day until Opening Day, BDD will recap the days headlines for each team in the Majors. All the team news has been verified by two independent sources unless otherwise noted:

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles trimmed their active roster to 26 by reassigned C Robby Hammock and infielder Jolbert Cabrera to minor league camp. The move awards C Chad Moeller the backup role behind Gregg Zaun… Four players are in competition for three rotation spots with Alfredo Simon, Adam Eaton and Mark Hendrickson the front-runners. The other candidate, Brian Bass, could land a bullpen spot over Danys Baez or Matt Albers.

Boston Red Sox

Brad Penny made positive strides in his final spring start in Boston’s 7-3 loss to the Twins. Penny went five innings and allowed three runs on five hits and had no discomfort. The successful outing puts Penny in line for the fifth starter spot.

New York Yankees

Yankees co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner admitted some tickets at the new ballpark are overpriced. In response, the entire baseball world said, “DUH!”

Tampa Bay Rays

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports revealed Yahoo’s first MLB power rankings of 2009 and the Tampa Bay Rays are currently ranked as the top team in the game.

Toronto Blue Jays

From the Whiny Ex-Player Department: Former Blue Jay Joe Carter feels that his home run in 1993 to beat the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series just doesn’t get the attention it deserves. He thinks it should be considered the No. 1 World Series moment in baseball history. We’re glad to see Carter has his ego in check.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

Chicago White Sox

Very little news to report from White Sox camp so here’s the top story: 82-year-old Billy Pierce, one of nine players to have their number retired by the White Sox, will throw out the first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field replacing President Barack Obama who declined the team’s invite.

Cleveland Indians

Without any major news from Indian camp, a quick look at their promotional schedule shows the club will have a handful of Bobblehead Days throughout the season — Kerry Wood (April 25), Cliff Lee (May 9), Shin Soo Choo in a Miami Vice look (June 13), Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn from the movie Major League (June 15), Grady Sizemore on a surfboard (July 18), Victor Martinez (August 1), Travis Hafner (September 5) and a diving Grady Sizemore (September 26).

Detroit Tigers

LHP Nate Robertson is unhappy with his bullpen role for the upcoming season. “Maybe my time here is nearing its end,” said Robertson. The quote appeared in a Lynn Henning report for The Detroit News. The 31-year-old is owed $17 million over the next two seasons which might be the reason he was not released… The Tigers picked up RHP Brooks Brown from the Arizona Diamondbacks for C James Skelton, a Rule 5 selection the D-backs were forced to offer back to Detroit after Arizona removed him from the 25-man roster… Unofficially, Jeff Larish has beaten out Brent Clevlen for the final roster spot.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals signed C Shin Jin-ho to a minor league deal. The 17-year-old is still in high school and is expected to join the team after he graduates and play in the Arizona intructional league next fall.

Minnesota Twins

Initially tapped for Opening Day, Scott Baker was instead placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder stiffness. Instead of Baker, Francisco Liriano will start Monday’s game against Seattle.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

Los Angeles Angels

No official word on who the Opening Day starter will be for the Angels. All signs point to Joe Saunders but so far manager Mike Scioscia has refused to make that official.

Oakland Athletics

DirecTV and DISH Network subscribers might be blacked out of seeing Athletics games this year due to contract issues between the satellite providers and CSN California.

Seattle Mariners

OF Ichiro Suzuki continues to struggle with fatigue and results from tests done on their Japanese star are expected to be released on Friday.

Texas Rangers

Although it doesn’t count, 3B Michael Young currently has an 11-game hitting streak that he extended on Thursday in their 9-3 win over the Royals. Young hit a double in the first.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Atlanta Braves

Backup catcher David Ross may or may not be healthy enough to start the season on the Opening Day roster. With each passing day, it looks as if he will instead begin the year on the DL. If Ross does hit the disabled list, Clint Sammons will be the backup until Ross is healthy.

Florida Marlins

Anibal Sanchez has earned a spot in the rotation after it was announced that LHP Andrew Miller would start the year in the bullpen. It is expected that Miller will join the rotation on April 15 — the first day the club needs a fifth starter.

New York Mets

The Mets will open Citi Field with an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies lost to the Nationals on Thursday 12-10 but 1B Ryan Howard continued to impress as he launched his 10th homer of Spring Training.

Washington Nationals

1B Dmitri Young was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hip and back injury. Excuse the lack of surprise on this end… Infielder Alex Cintron was reassigned to the minor league camp on Thursday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

Chicago Cubs

Another day has passed and the messy bullpen situation in Chicagoland is still not clear. The decision should be made this weekend.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds and Gary Sheffield did not meet on Thursday but Sheffield and manager Dusty Baker did speak. Baker doesn’t know if a bench role with the Reds would fit what Sheffield needs as he is after playing time. What he would get as a Red is some at-bats versus LHP and a bench role.

Houston Astros

While it seems as if Russ Ortiz is the player expected to be named the fifth starter, manager Cecil Cooper continues to hold back the official announcement and considers Jose Capellan still in the running. The decision will be announced on Saturday.

Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers officially named Jeff Suppan their Opening Day starter on Thursday… OF Tony Gwynn Jr. failed to make the club as a backup outfielder and is expected to be waived or traded.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates lost to Manatee Community College by a score of 6-4 on Thursday. It was the first time the Pirates lost the annual game in 11 seasons. The Pittsburgh team contained mostly Double-A and Triple-A players while the college team contained mostly, well, college players… LHPs Donnie Veal and Sean Burnett were awarded roster spots along with RHP Craig Hansen… With one bullpen spot remaining, either Evan Meek or Jesse Chavez will get the final bullpen spot.

St. Louis Cardinals

OF Joe Mather was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, the final cut of Spring Training. Some expected Mather to fill in for injured 3B Troy Glaus but Mather was surpassed by 25-year-old David Freese.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

Arizona Diamondbacks

To keep Rule 5 pick James Skelton, the D-backs sent RHP Brooks Brown to the Tigers to retain the rights to Skelton. After the deal, Arizona assigned Skelton to Double-A Mobile.

Colorado Rockies

Huston Street was officially named the Rockies’ closer today relegating Manny Corpas to a setup role.

Los Angeles Dodgers

34-year-old Doug Mienkiewicz, a non-roster invitee, still has a shot at making the Dodgers Opening Day roster. He has three home runs in 24 spring at-bats.

San Diego Padres

The split-squad Padres lost to the Seattle Mariners 18-3 and the San Antonio Missions 7-3. Both squads featured a mix of players from all levels of the organization.

San Francisco Giants

Closer Brian Wilson says he’s ready to pitch and will be available for Opening Day duty, if needed.