The Colorado Rockies were thrilled to welcome back an all-time fan favorite this winter when Dante Bichette agreed to accept their hitting coach position.

Honestly, given the unique circumstances that go along with playing 81 home games at Coors Field and then having to adjust to 81 games at sea level, I couldn't think of a better hire than a guy who has experienced that environment thoroughly, and probably succeeded in it better than anyone not named Todd Helton.

And that's not to suggest either guy mastered the constant transitions and the mental grind that goes along with it, because no one truly has in the Rockies 20 year history. But the one thing Bichette absolutely did master throughout the prime years of his noteworthy career was the proper maintenance of a truly epic mullet.

Derek Jeter talks to Joe Girardi before Tuesday's Grapefruit League game. (USA Today)Despite his Tuesday MRI showing only mild inflammation in his ailing left ankle, there's a possibility Derek Jeter could miss opening day and beyond as he attempts to return from breaking the ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS last October. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman admitted as much on Wednesday after the 13-time All-Star received a cortisone shot to help ease lingering stiffness and general discomfort.

From the Associated Press:

''We've got to do what's right for him,'' Cashman said. ''Whatever's right for him will be right for us. I'm not saying he's going to be DLed, but I can't tell you it won't be. I don't think it's anything serious, I just think it's a timing issue.''

Wednesday marks exactly five months since his surgery to repair the ankle, which was the high number on the original timetable for his recovery. To this point he has been ahead of that schedule, but perhaps he's pushed it a little too hard over the past week to maintain his pace and meet the requirements needed to declare himself ready for April 1.

That, my friends, is a beer shake. (John Schumacher)Over the years the Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League have become one of the standard bearers for creative concession items in minor league baseball. It sounds like that reputation will only grow in 2013 as food and beverage director John Schumacher is set to add a whole new lineup of items that are sure to be pleasing to the paying customers at Joseph P. Riley Park.

According to Ben’s Biz Blog, Schumacher has already been credited with the creation of the Pickle Dog, Pig on a Stick and several other items that have changed the way food and beverate are consumed in Charleston. Now he’s prepared to add milkshakes — yes, milkshakes — that are mixed with beer.

Or as Schumacher calls them: beer shakes, because it’s catchy and it’s accurate.

[Also: Watch L'il Papi home run trot]

It’s noted that the beer shakes will come in three flavors: Palmetto Espresso Porter Chocolate (which Schumacher says come from a local brewery), Guinness Caramel and Sweetwater 420 Strawberry. It’s also insisted that all three are delicious.

We have no reason to doubt that.

(AP)Well, at the very least, the Tampa Bay Rays proved they're already in their usual mid-season “perfect game alert" form on Sunday afternoon.

Yes, the Rays came two batters away from being on the wrong side of history yet again, but a Jason Bourgeois infield single against Marco Duarte ended Boston's bid for a rare spring training perfect game.

In fact, the last — and only, by my research — time a spring perfect game occurred was March 14, 2000. Ironically, it was six Boston Red Sox pitchers combining that day to retire all 27 Toronto Blue Jays in a 5-0 victory. Not surprisingly, the starting pitcher was Pedro Martinez.

On Sunday the Red Sox used four pitchers to retire the first 25 Rays in order. Starter Jon Lester set the pace by retiring the first 18 batters with six strikeouts. Reliever Anthony Carter then logged a perfect seventh before giving way to Joel Hanrahan in the eighth. In the ninth, Duarte got Mike Fontenot to ground out on a 3-1 pitch for No. 25, but the speedy Bourgeous' soft chopper up the middle ended it despite the best efforts of replacement second baseman Jonathan Diaz.

Japan's Kenta Maeda. (Getty)With Team USA on the outside looking in at the World Baseball Classic's championship round, it may be difficult for some of you to get motivated to watch these final three games.

Actually, I shouldn't say it like that. It's possibly you were having trouble getting motivated before the U.S.'s exit against Puerto Rico, and it's also possible you were rooting for another country or player from your favorite team that didn't make it to this point.

Whatever your reason, I'll attempt to remedy it by highlighting four remaining players who may not be household names (at least two will be soon) but are important to their teams and are certainly worth watching as they put their skills on display on a worldwide stage beginning Sunday evening.

Kenta Maeda, Japan: Despite missing a number of major leaguers, the two-time defending champions from Japan remain loaded with talent. One guy you want to pay particular attention to is Sunday's starting pitcher Kenta Maeda. Through two dominant starts, the 24-year-old right-hander has allowed only three base runners over ten innings while striking out 15. And those impressive numbers come with scouts pointing out that he was operating without his best stuff.

Of course he benefited from a matchup with China, but a more locked in Maeda during the championship round could make for entertaining viewing.

(USA Today)Though he fully realizes Tony LaRussa is the next logical candidate to manage Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, Cincinnati Reds skipper Dusty Baker still made it known on Saturday he'd like to follow in the footsteps of Tommy Lasorda, Davey Johnson and Joe Torre to manage the team once his days as a full-time manager are through.

Here's his exact quote on the subject, courtesy of MLB.com's Mark Sheldon:

"I would like to manage it when I'm through," Baker said Saturday. "I don't want to do it now."

Of course there's no guarantee Baker would even be ready to call it a career by 2017, so everything would seemingly point to the 2021 WBC if Baker were to make himself available and be selected. He would be 71 years old then, or as Dayn Perry of Eye on Baseball points out, about one year younger than Joe Torre was while handling the reigns this year.

If for some reason you think age contributed to Torre seemingly forgetting how to run a baseball team, Baker's candidacy may be a concern. Personally, I think it had more to do with a manager not having any type of feel for the talent around him, which tends to happen when a team basically gets thrown together at the last minute. And his hands were also tied by restrictions and strict routines for certain pitchers.

(AP)If the regular season started tomorrow we don't think that would be seen enough for Stephen Strasburg. The Washington Nationals ace was in mid-season form on Saturday striking out eight Houston Astros over five and one-third fantastic innings. Or maybe Strasburg's spring training form is simply better than most pitcher's mid-season form.

Hmm.

“It’s starting to click a little bit,” Strasburg told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post after the game.

That from a guy who during one particularly dominant stretch bridging the second and fourth innings struck out five consecutive batters. That was broken up by a Rick Ankiel home run, which accounted for Houston's only run against him in Washington's 4-2 loss.

“The biggest thing is not really stressing about how the ball feels at the end. You’re still kind of building. I know that the more times I get out there and get my pitch count up, I’m going to feel just exactly the same as I came into the game.”

Of course Strasburg's main concern is

Japan looks to become a three-time champion at the World Baseball Classic. (USA Today)

After the Dominican Republic's 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico this afternoon at Marlins Ballpark in Miami, we can now officially set up the semifinal matchups in the 2013 World Baseball Classic that will take place at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

They are as follows.

Sunday
Semifinal 1 — Puerto Rico at Japan, 9:00 p.m. ET

This will be another quick turnaround for Puerto Rico, who played on Saturday just 14 hours after eliminating Team USA from the tournament. Now they must fly across the country to San Francisco for Sunday's game with little rest and one large challenge ahead of them.

[Also: Uninspired U.S. ousted from World Baseball Classic. Does anyone care?]

On the other side, Japan will be playing their first competitive game since Tuesday’s victory over the Netherlands, though they have spent the past two days in Arizona working out the jetlag and any rust that may have settled in. They’re the two-time defending champions coming, so they’ll rightfully be viewed as the heavy favorites to advance to the championship game.