Spring headlines: Jake Peavy aims for 30 starts, Cole Hamels takes dig at Padres fans

Baseball is back! Here at Big League Stew, we'll take a quick dash around the league each morning in an attempt to keep you updated on all the springtime storylines.

•If the Chicago White Sox are to surprise anyone in 2012, it's probably safe to say that Jake Peavy will have to post a good season.

And if Jake Peavy is to post a good season, it's definitely safe to say that he needs to stay healthy. The 30-year-old right-hander recognizes this and says he's feeling like he'll be able to take the ball all season.

Making at least 30 starts is his goal, in fact.

That's all well and good for optimistic spring training talk, but the sobering reminder for Peavy is that he hasn't eclipsed 30 starts in a single season since 2007. Injuries have limited him to just 38 total starts in his 2 1/2 years with the White Sox. But it's now or never if he wants to provide any return of investment for Chicago GM Kenny Williams. Peavy will make $17 million in 2012 with a $4 million buyout for 2013 on the horizon.

• Even though he's still an entire season away from free agency, Cole Hamels says he wouldn't want to pitch for his hometown San Diego Padres, taking a shot at the team's fans in the process. "Why would I want to go where fans only support you from the third inning through the sixth?" Hamels asked Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. That's a bad stereotype, for sure, and it'll be interesting to see if Padres fans remember this if Hamels signs for big money with the Los Angeles Dodgers (another fan base that suffers from that stereotype).

• Joe Torre is the latest Dodgers bidder to bite the dust. His ownership group says they couldn't justify a continued bid without the inclusion of the Dodger Stadium parking lots in the sale.

• Why Marco Scutaro (?) was the most depressing part of the Giants offseason.

• An offseason injury to Tim Lincecum would have been the actual most depressing thing of the Giants offseason, but fans can rest easy. The Freak threw a full session with no incident on Thursday after experiencing some back tightness earlier in the week.

• The days of wall-to-wall media coverage in Japan for Tsuyoshi Nishioka are gone. Now the Twins infielder just wants to stick in the big leagues after a disappointing 2011.

• Jeff Wilpon, Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins all left Mets camp by helicopter on Thursday. Their destination: The Knicks-Heat game down in Miami. Better yet, they may have been able to write the whole thing off as a business expense since Marlins youngsters Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton were planning to sit courtside with Miami owner Jeffrey Loria. Sizing up the competition, you know ...

Spring training has started, so don't miss a beat ...
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