Hunt and Peck: Jaime Garcia is looking forward to 2015

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I cannot help but be excited to see him back, even if I know deep down he will probably break my heart again.

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what else is going on in baseball...

• John Axford live-tweets the Oscars. - Cut4
• Jeff Samardzija on sabermetrics: nyeh. - Hardball Talk
• CC Sabathia intentionally gained a bunch of weight. - Deadspin
• The Dodgers and Mariners see large payroll jumps. - Fangraphs
• Commissioner Manfred says he "doesn't think it would be impossible to go back to 154 games". - Sports Illustrated
• Great analytics rankings! - ESPN

what the cardinals are up to...

• Jaime Garcia is preparing to be a starter, but would go to the 'pen if necessary. - MLB
• Adam Wainwright's workload in the spring will be limited, but Waino doesn't want that to translate to the regular season (but it should, at least a little). - Redbird Rants
• <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Boy, <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelWacha">@MichaelWacha</a> really seemed to enjoy the interview we just did..or maybe he&#39;s just being polite. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLCards?src=hash">#STLCards</a> <a href="http://t.co/Bk5Dh4zFzf">pic.twitter.com/Bk5Dh4zFzf</a></p>&mdash; Jim Hayes (@TheCatOnFox) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCatOnFox/status/568840535005224961">February 20, 2015</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

• Catching prospect Mike Ohlman studied Mike Matheny upon learning he had been traded from Baltimore. - MLB
• <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>RHP Jordan Walden (<a href="https://twitter.com/JWal52">@JWal52</a>) will wear number 53. Last worn by 1B Matt Adams in 2013. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLCards?src=hash">#STLCards</a> <a href="http://t.co/M83tTeTC11">pic.twitter.com/M83tTeTC11</a></p>&mdash; MLB Jersey Numbers (@NumbersMLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/NumbersMLB/status/570270741083459584">February 24, 2015</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

KNOW THINE ENEMY...

the nl central

• Joey Votto thinks the debate about his hitting approach is "really, really silly". - Sports Illustrated
• <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Cubs hire Manny Ramirez as hitting consultant. &#10;&#10;Probably won&#39;t be consulting the outfield. <a href="http://t.co/gnmnTXgSrE">pic.twitter.com/gnmnTXgSrE</a></p>&mdash; CBS Sports (@CBSSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSSports/status/570272643368161281">February 24, 2015</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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