TUCSON - With sun bearing down on Arizona and Florida, the heat is on:

Managerial hot seat

• Mike Hargrove, Seattle. Club president Howard Lincoln said at the end of last year that Hargrove and general manager Bill Bavasi will be on "the hot seat" in 2007.

• Clint Hurdle, Rockies. He is potentially the first manager in franchise history to go into the final year of his contract.

• Jerry Narron, Cincinnati. The Reds did nothing significant in the offseason to address major holes, which doesn't bode well for a manager inherited by the current general manager.

• John Gibbons, Toronto. He is a lame-duck manager for a team for which the general manager will look for a scapegoat.

• Buddy Bell, Kansas City. It's a no-win situation with the Royals, and Bell figures to be the victim when new general manager Dayton Moore decides to bring in his own guy.

Burning questions

• Boston's closer? Don't be surprised if the Red Sox eventually cough up a couple of quality prospects to acquire Chad Cordero from Washington.

• Cubs center fielder? Alfonso Soriano is athletic enough to make the move. Hey, it's actually easier to get a read on flyballs in center than left or right.

• Roger Clemens' employer? Give the early edge to the Yankees winning the bidding for Clemens, who won't return until late May, at the earliest. Houston will be the alternative.

• Ichiro Suzuki's future? If Seattle doesn't work out an extension with the outfielder, he could become spring training trade bait.

• Can Detroit repeat? The Tigers have to realize what it took to be last year's surprise or will they become victims of their success.

New faces in the spotlight

• Daisuke Matsuzaka, the $102 million import who is expected to anchor the Boston rotation ($51 million for the rights to sign him and another $51 million to sign him).

• Philip Hughes, the rookie right-hander who is expected to make the Yankees rotation.

• Alex Gordon, the highly touted Kansas City third baseman who will force Mark Teahen to the outfield.

• Scott Thorman, who is taking over at first base in Atlanta after the trade of Adam LaRoche to Pittsburgh for left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez.

• Troy Tulowitzki, who will try to take over the shortstop job with the Rockies after 14 months of minor league experience.

Old faces under scrutiny

• Barry Bonds, the Giants left fielder who is battling legal problems off the field and chasing baseball's all-time home run record on the field. He's 22 home runs shy of surpassing Hank Aaron's 755.

• Bartolo Colon, the Angels right-hander who opted to rehabilitate a torn rotator cuff instead of undergoing surgery.

• Jason Isringhausen, who, after undergoing left hip surgery, needs to reclaim the closer job in St. Louis so Adam Wainwright can fill a hole in the rotation.

• Mike Hampton, an Atlanta left- hander who is returning from a year of rehabilitating from reconstructive elbow surgery and hoping to prove he deserves a new contract in the fall.

• Todd Helton, the Rockies first baseman who is coming back after two ailment-marred seasons. He is looking to be the cornerstone for the emergence of a young franchise.

Overheard

• The Dodgers figure to make a major move during spring training, using right-hander Brad Penny as the trade bait.

• Texas opened contract extension talks with infielder Michael Young and hopes to do the same with first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Readers' turn

Gordon Miller, of Gilbert, Ariz., writes, "Much was made of the financial condition of the Diamondbacks when (original owner Jerry) Colangelo departed. Since Randy Johnson, at 43, was re-signed recently and given a huge guaranteed contract, has their financial situation improved, stayed the same or worsened?"

Gordon, the new ownership group has brought in investors to help that situation, but this winter, managing general partner Ken Kendrick admitted they are hampered by trying to pay off the debts they inherited.

My belief is that bringing Johnson back allowed Arizona to massage the $40 million or so in deferred money that he is owed.

He may have taken a minority interest in the team, like Matt Williams did to satisfy some of his deferments. And don't be surprised if in another year or two the franchise is on the market.

For Tracy Ringolsby's response to other questions or to submit questions of your own, check out the Rockies Inbox at www.Rocky MountainNews.com/rockies.

Two cents' worth

Get ready for a shake-up at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Troy Ellerman, part of a house revolt that ousted Steve Hatchell as PRCA commissioner and wound up with Ellerman replacing him, has pleaded guilty to leaking grand jury testimony from Bonds and other athletes in the BALCO investigation to reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ellerman, an attorney who represented several of the defendants, faces up to two years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.

In October 2004, Ellerman filed a motion asking the charges in the case be dismissed because the leak of the grand jury information made a fair trial virtually impossible.

The agreement must be approved by a federal judge, and Ellerman can withdraw his admissions and go to trial if the judge rejects the two-year sentence or any of the other terms of the deal, according to the Chronicle.

Ellerman will be sentenced June 14.

MILE HIGH WATCH

• Chin-hui Tsao no longer is around, having signed with the Dodgers, but the Rockies still have a Taiwan connection.

The Rockies signed Sheng-An Kuo, 21, a right-handed pitcher with a fastball in the low 90s, solid curveball and changeup.

The Rockies were tipped off about Kuo by prospect Ching-Lung Lo, and Lo's coach. Jim Wright, the organizational pitching coach, and Jim Johnson, the organizational hitting coach, got a glimpse of Kuo when they were in Taiwan for a clinic in December, and he was signed after working out in Denver last month.

Kuo is expected to pitch with Single-A Asheville (N.C.), although he could start the season in extended spring training to help him acclimate to his new environment.

• Australian right-hander Shane Lindsay, whose work in the Hawaiian Winter League was cut short because of surgery to repair a frayed right labrum, is scheduled to begin throwing off a mound in mid-March.

The Rockies are hoping Lindsay will be ready to pitch by the end of May. Lindsay was a top-five prospect two years ago, but his development has been slowed by shoulder problems that first surfaced last off-season.

• Evergreen High School graduate Kevin Kouzmanoff will get his chance to prove himself with San Diego. The Padres like his power potential and feel that with the help of coach Glenn Hoffman, he will become a solid defensive third baseman. It's a chance Kouzmanoff never was going to get in Cleveland, where he was behind highly touted Andy Marte, and there was talk Kouzmanoff would be moved to the outfield.

ringolsbyt@RockyMountainNews.com

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