Number 750: Let's see how the Haters Twist the Story Now

The relevant parts of the story are shown below from MLB.com but this is how the guy reacts when he is confronted on the field by a fan, whose intentions are unknown but given the current climate, wouldn't one assume that the fan meant harm?

Of course Mortimer, one would have to be a jackass to think otherwise. Autograph signings and handshaking is restricted to one-hour before the game. Everybody knows that.

And the reaction is from a guy who is supposed to be the poster boy for steroids. Shouldn't he have reacted with 'roid rage and at the very least cold cocked the guy?

Why yes, Mortimer I believe he should have.

But no, the guy who is supposedly such an asshole in is dealings with fans reacts with what his peers are calling remarkable restraint. Which means they likely would have taken some sort of protective action.

Again, Mortimer I believe your right, most people put in that situation having been through what Bonds has been through would have taken the opportunity to take out some pent up frustration out on this delinquent. Perhaps subconsciously treating this fan as a proxy for the media and all other fans who've treated him rudely in the past. Interesting. Wouldn't that have been just delicious fodder for the haters though? Just imagine the headlines.


The haters are going to have to change the focus of their stories on the WWE murder-suicide case, as I'm sure the link to Barry was just around the corner.

Again Mortimer, your right, just like they linked a pitcher who wanted to go to Texas (Clemens alma-mater) and a kid who wanted to go to USC (McGwire's alma-mater) and made it seem like they were influenced by the most hated player in baseball. Seems like those folks should have been lambasted for lying to and misleading Congress, but we all know what the agenda was now don't we?

Just calling 'em as I see 'em. And stop calling me Mortimer. Loved you in Trading Places though.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070630&content_id=2057573&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf&partnered=rss_sf

SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants slugger Barry Bonds said during the first week of the season that the real countdown could begin when he reached the 750-homer mark. Consider it having begun, but not without a touch of the bizarre.

Bonds hit No. 750 on Friday night to lead off the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks at AT&T Park, placing him five away from tying Hank Aaron's magic 755 and six away from passing him for the lead on Major League Baseball's all-time list.

The blast off Arizona right-hander Livan Hernandez came only an inning after a male fan, identified by San Francisco police as Andrew B. Clapp, 24, and a tourist from Fargo, N.D., trotted out to left field and appeared to chat with Bonds while he was trying to play his position. Bonds casually put his arm on the fan's shoulder and walked him off the field toward the left-field foul line where they were met by security. Bonds never seemed in danger and no security ventured into fair territory during the incident.

"He just wanted to shake my hand," Bonds told MLB.com in the hallway outside the clubhouse after the Giants dropped a 4-3, 10-inning decision. "I told him to come with me so he didn't get into any more trouble."

When asked if he had felt threatened at any time during the episode, Bonds said, "No."

There was one out and a runner on first in the top of the seventh when the fan hopped over the low fence by the Giants bullpen down the left-field line and walked unencumbered over to Bonds.

Clapp was taken to the county jail in San Francisco and charged with public intoxication and trespassing on the field, both misdemeanors. A police officer contacted at the station said that Clapp still had not been released.

Several of the Giants said they were a bit shaken by the incident that occurred during their third loss in a row and 14th in their last 19 games.

"When guys go out there, you never know what their intentions are," said center fielder Dave Roberts, who dropped a fly ball later in the inning, allowing two unearned runs to score on the error. "I'm just happy Barry's safe."

"It's pretty scary," pitcher Barry Zito said. "You never know with these kinds of things. I didn't see it. I was up here [in the clubhouse] when it happened. But I heard Barry really kept his cool and handled it very well."

Since Bonds began his pursuit of Babe Ruth at the outset of last season, Major League Baseball has been overseeing security when the Giants are on the road and travel a member of the security detail from the Commissioner's office with Bonds at each game. The ballclub has been in charge during home games and there have been no previous incidents

"He just wanted to shake my hand."
-- Barry Bonds, on the fan who approached him on the field

It's now clear that with Bonds nearing Aaron's record, security must be beefed up in the left-field corner even at home, where MLB's top all-time left-handed power hitter always receives a raucous positive reception.

SAD NEWS FOR GIANTS FANS - RIP ROD BECK

For the years Beck closed for the Giants he was one of the most reliable. He may have done it some times with guts and guile and running on fumes, but way more often than not, Shooter got the job done. Robbie Nen was the same way, a little excitement along the way, but you could mark down a W at the end of the day.

A fan favorite, good guy in the community. He'll be missed and he left way too early.
RIP Shooter.

BONDS IN THE ALL-STAR GAME?? - NO QUESTION ABOUT IT

So now the media haters have made Tony LaRussa the next rabbit they're going to hound down with questions like "Will you pick Bonds for the All-Star Game?". They're shamelessly trying to turn the screws of public opinion into making this some sort of late career protest against Bonds. As if having the HOF vote later on isn't enough.

Here are the top ten leaders in OPS, the holy grail of major league stats to evaluate hitters productivity among gear heads.

Sortable Batting
1 Alex Rodriguez NYY 1.119
2 Magglio Ordonez DET 1.118
3 Barry Bonds SFO 1.075
4 David Ortiz BOS 1.046
5 Prince Fielder MIL 1.014
6 Matt Holliday COL 1.007
7 Miguel Cabrera FLA .998
8 Vladimir Guerrero LAA .986
9 Casey Kotchman LAA .967
10 Chase Utley PHI .962

Hmmmm, dude is third in baseball overall, 1st overall in the National League, and 1st among NL outfielders. And he doesn't belong in the All-Star Game?

Get a clue guys, you're not doing him any favors, giving him any lifetime achievement appointment, like has been done in the past for guys like Ripken.

DUDE HAS EARNED HIS SPOT.

It would take a monumental flip-flop on LaRussa's part to go from his lawyerly and scholarly defenses of McGwire and his current harboring of Scott Spiezio to a public rebuke of Bonds.

And it was amazing to see the guy portrayed as the most unpopular , the most hated guy in the major leagues (a title that Elijah Dukes clearly should have) hanging in at third or fourth in the FAN VOTING.

Maybe the media portrayals are not a realistic picture of what is actually going on. WOW, what a concept. And the media hacks on the political front get on Bush for misleading the public and shaping the agenda dishonestly. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Sometimes I wonder what they teach these SOB's in journalism school.

As much as they seemingly tried to whip public opinion into a frenzy prior to Bonds trip to Boston, it seems as if the crowd and Bonds seemed to enjoy a rather cordial relationship. The fans had their fun booing Bonds at all the appropriate times, like the black hat in wrestling, but nobody left their seats when Bonds was up.

Guess you can't believe everyting you read in the papers.

MLB DRAFT - 1ST DAY REVIEW

The first days results are in the books and although it makes some people crazy to do, we are going to do a bit of an analysis of a couple of teams first day drafts.

For comparison sake, I used Baseball America's Prospect rankings, since historically they have covered high school baseball and college baseball as well as anybody. But you could just as easily use Stats Inc., Rivals, Scouts or your local area scout's opinion for that matter. As long as they have a pre-determined "draft-board" to determine "value". Understand, everyones determination is going to be different due to the inherent subjective nature of the exercise. I use BA because it's readily available and they do a lot of pre-draft research and interviews to form this draft board consensus.

One thing I noticed though was after the first round, even as early as the supplemental round, the picks began to diverge from the list quite a bit. BA had a pretty decent track on the first round picks, not too much "reaching" down the list.

Some of that is due to the issue of "sign-ability" or prospects pricing themselves out of a particular spot where a team might like to draft them. But you would think then that they would just go down the list to the next highest ranked prospect and find value there.

I looked at the Giants (of course), the Tigers (since they drafted Casey Crosby) and the Braves (since they have a well earned reputation for drafting and developing players (the second part of this equation) and the Devil Rays (because you can take the boy out of the Trop, but you can't take the Trop out of the boy.

from baseballamerica.com (Figures in parenthesis are BA's Prospect rank before the draft).

2007 Draft: Detroit Tigers

Round Overall Player Position School State
1 (4) 27 Rick Porcello rhp Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J. NJ
1s (96) 60 Brandon Hamilton rhp Stanhope Elmore HS, Millbrook, Ala. AL
2 (101) 91 Danny Worth ss Pepperdine CA
3 (200+) 121 Luke Putkonen rhp North Carolina NC
4 (130) 151 Charlie Furbush lhp Louisiana State LA
5 (43) 181 Casey Crosby lhp Kaneland HS, Maple Park, Ill. IL

(574) 631 +57 Overall as far as value.
They get premium pick Porcello late in the first round and Casey Crosby a potential sandwich rounder in the fifth round.


2007 Draft: San Francisco Giants

Round Overall Player Position School State
1 (14) 10 Madison Bumgarner lhp South Caldwell HS, Hudson, N.C. NC
1 (33) 22 Tim Alderson rhp Horizon HS, Scottsdale, Ariz. AZ
1 (40) 29 Wendell Fairley of George County-Lucedale (Miss.) HS MS
1s (41) 32 Nick Noonan 2b Parker HS, San Diego CA
1s (200+) 43 Jackson Williams c Oklahoma OK
1s (200+) 51 Charlie Culberson 2b/ss Calhoun (Ga.) HS GA
5 (200+) 164 Chance Corgan rhp Texas Christian TX

(728) 351 A -377 Overall Ranked vs. Picked
Picked three guys not rated by Baseball Americas Top 200 Prospects. Either the Giants know something about scouting that everyone else has not discovered yet or they just flushed a golden opportunity to get better in the future.

2007 Draft: Atlanta Braves

Round Overall Player Position School State
1 (9) 14 Jason Heyward of Henry County HS, McDonough, Ga. GA
1s (84)33 Jon Gilmore 3b Iowa City (Iowa) HS IA
2 (58) 69 Joshua Fields rhp Georgia GA
2 (118) 78 Freddie Freeman 1b/rhp El Modena HS, Orange, Calif. CA
3 (171) 108 Brandon Hicks ss Texas A&M TX
4 (147) 138 Cory Gearrin rhp Mercer GA
5 (200+) 168 Dennis Dixon of Oregon OR

(787) 588 -189 Overall Ranked vs. Picked
The Braves early picks were OK, continued their tradition of finding local talent and grooming it for The Show in Atlanta.

2007 Draft: Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Round Overall Player Position School State
1 (1) 1 David Price lhp Vanderbilt TN
2 (200+) 65 William Kline rhp Mississippi MS
3 (96) 95 Nicholas Barnese rhp Simi Valley (Calif.) HS CA
4 (106) 125 David Newmann lhp Texas A&M TX
5 (200+) 155 Dustin Biell of Inglemoor HS WA

(603) 441 -162 Overall Ranked vs. Picked
Went off the reservation early with Kline, other than that not bad overall. Looking for pitching and maybe now a little more geared towards college pitchers who are closer to major league ready. Seems to be a better approach then to trust HS kids to their player development system. A least where pitching is concerned, the Rays track record has been woeful.

MLB DRAFT - 2ND ROUND

Giants are done until the 5th Round which means any hope of getting a player who can help this season is gone.

Still some value picks on the board according to Baseball America's Prospect Rankings.

For Pitchers:

Matt Harvey #11 HS Pitcher 6-4,190
Four other Top 50 Propsects on the pitching side.

Among Position Players:

#34 Brad Suttle 3B Univ of Texas
#35 Kyle Russell OF Univ of Texas
#36 Will Middlebrooks HS 3B


65. TB William Kline 6-2,215 RHP Mississippi OFF THE BOARD PICK
66. KC Samuel Runnion 6-4,220 RHP HS 109th Ranked
67. WAS Jordan Zimmerman 6-2,200 RHP Wisconsin Stevens Point 97th Ranked
68. PIT Matthew Welker 6-7,220 RHP Arkansas 129th Ranked
69. ATL Josh Fileds 6-0,183 Georgia RHP 58th Prospect
70. WAS Jacob Smolinski 5-11,185 SS SS 160th Prospect
71. STL David Kopp 6-3,190 Clemson RHP 81st Prospect
72. COL Brian Rike 6-2,200 Louisiana Tech OF 184th Prospect
73. ARI Barry Enright 6-3,200 Pepperdine RHP 78th Prospect
74. OAK Gregory Desma 6-2,205 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo RF 99th Prospect
75. SEA Denny Almonte 6-2,187 OF Florida Christian School 141st Prospect
76. FLA Stanton, Michael Notre Dame HS CF R/R 6'05" 205 128th Prospect
77. NYM Moviel, Scott Saint Edward HS RHP R/R 6'11" 245 68th Prospect
78. ATL Freeman, Frederick El Modena HS 1B L/R 6'05" 118th Prospect
79. CIN Cozart, Zachary U Mississippi SS R/R 6'01" 185 59th Prospect
80. TEX West, Matthew Bellaire HS SS R/R 6'01" 200 104th Prospect
81. SD Sogard, Eric Arizona St U 2B L/R 5'10" 180 181st Prospect
82. STL Todd, Jesse U Arkansas Fayetteville RHP R/R 5'11" 210 110th Prospect
83. PHI Mattair, Travis Southridge HS 3B R/R 6'05" 210 98th Prospect
84. BOS Morris, Jeffrey HS 3B L/R 6'02" 200 132nd Prospect
85. TOR Tolisano, John Estero HS 2B S/R 5'11" 179 85th Prospect
86. LAD Watt, Michael Capistrano Valley HS LHP L/L 6'01" 185 OFF THE BOARD PICK
87. SD Chalk, Bradley Clemson U CF L/L 6'01"
88. TOR Eiland, Eric Lamar HS CF L/L 6'02"
89. CWS Griffith, Nevin Middleton HS RHP R/R 6'02" 165
90. OAK Horton, Joshua UNC Chapel Hill SS L/R 6'01" 195
91. DET Worth, Daniel Pepperdine U SS R/R 6'01" 180
92. MIN Rams, Daniel Gulliver Preparatory C R/R 6'02" 220
93. NYM Rustich, Brant UC Los Angeles RHP R/R 6'06" 225
94. NYY Romine, Austin El Toro HS C R/R 6'01" 190

MLB DRAFT - SUPPLEMENTAL ROUND

Giants have three picks in this round also, so a chance to make amends.

Devil Rays do not have a pick, The Mets debut at #42, Red Sox at #55 and Angels at #58.

31. WAS Joshus Smoker 6-2,195 HS LHP 16th Rated Prospect-Power Pitcher
32. SF Nicholas Noonan 6-0,180 HS 2B 41st Rated Prospect
33. ATL Johnathan Gilmore 6-3,190 HS 3B Iowa 84th Rated Prospect
34. CIN Todd Frazier 6-3,215 Rutgers 3B 61st Rated Prospect
35. TEX Julio Borbon 6-4, 180 Tennessee CF BA 19th rated Prospect
36. STL Claytone Mortensen 6-4,180 Gonzaga RHP 116th Rated Prospect
37. PHI Travis D'Arnaud 6-2,195 HS C 49th Rated Prospect
38. TOR Brett Cecil 6-3,220 Maryland LHP 25th Rated Prospect
39. LAD James Adkins 6-5,195 LHP 80th Rated Prospect Strong Slider
40. SD Kellen Kubacki 6-3,190 OF James Madison 66th Prospect
41. OAK Sean Doolittle 6-3,190 1B U Virginia 91st Rated Prospect
42. NYM Edward Kunz 6-5,250 RHP Oregon State 89th Prospect
43. SF Jackson Williams 5-11,200 C Oklahoma OFF THE BOARD
(with Suttle and Mangini, college 3B with bats still on the board, this better work out for the Giants)
44. TEX Neil Ramirez 6-3,185 RHP HS 71st Prospect
45. TOR Justin Jackson 6-2,175 HS SS 48th Prospect
46. SD Andrew Cumberland 5-10,175 HS SS 38th Prospect
47. NYM Nathan Vineyard 6-2,200 LHP HS 51st Rated Porspect 105 K's 12 BB's
48. CHC Joshua Donaldson 6-1,200 C Auburn 74th Rated Prospect
49. WAS Michael Burgess 6-1,200 Of HS 30th Rated Prospect (GREAT PICK-1ST RD VALUE)
50. ARI Wes Roemer 6-0,190 P Cal Fullereton 65th Rated - Great Control Pitcher
51. SF Charles Culbertson 6-1,185 SS HS ANOTHER OFF THE BOARD PROSPECT FOR GIANTS
52. SEA Matt Mangini 6-4,220 Oklahoma State 3B - Giants Position of Need and one of the highest rated pure hitters in the draft, good size. This one is going to hurt.
53. CIN Kyle Lotzgar 6-3,180 HS P 63rd Rated Propsect
54. TEX Raymond Hunter 6-3,255 RHP Alabama 121st Rated Propsect
55. BOS Nicholas Hagadone 6-5, 230 LHP Washington 60th Prospect
56. TOR Trystan Magnuson 6-7,210 RHP Lousville 199th Prospect - 5th Yr Senior
57. SD Mitchell Canham 6-2,215 C Oregon 53rd Rated Prospect
58. LAA Johnathan Bachanov 6-4,210 RHP HS 100th Rated 103 K's 19 BB's
59. OAK Corey Brown 6-2,210 OF Oklahoma St 29th Rated - High Value/ High Risk Pick
60. DET Joey Hamilton 6-2,205 RHP HS 96th Prospect
61. ARI Edward Easley 6-1,180 C Miss St 113th Rated Prospect
62. BOS Ryan Dent 5-10,190 SS HS - 0 HR's in HS (if his nickname is Bucky, this is a great pick)
63. SD Cory Luebke 6-4,200 LHP Ohio State 180th Prospect
64. SD Daniel Payne 5-10,185 OF Georgia Tech 82nd Ranked Prospect

That concludes the supplemental round.

EXPLANATION OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL ROUND AND WHY THERE WERE SO MANY PICKS THIS YEARS FROM MLB.COM

Compensation PicksThe former Club of a Player who became a free agent and ranks as a Type A or B Player shall be entitled to receive compensation in the form of a draft choice in the First-Year Player Draft succeeding the Player's election of free agency.

A Type A or B shall be a Player who became a free agent and ranks as a Type A or B Player under the statistical system of ranking Players set forth by the Elias Sports Bureau, using statistics based on a two-year average for each respective position group. Type A and Type B players necessitate that the Player's former Club receive a sandwich pick in between rounds one and two. Additional picks in the second, third and fourth rounds are exchanged from one club to another for the losses of Type A free agents.

Type A Players now rank in the upper 20% of his respective position group by the Basic Agreement, instead of the upper 30% as was stipulated in the previous collective bargaining agreement.

Type B Players now rank in the upper 40%, but not in the upper 20%, of his respective position group. Under the previous collective bargaining agreement, Type B Players ranked in the upper 50% not in the upper 30%. Before the most recent collective bargaining agreement took effect for the 2007 season, a Club would receive compensation for losing a Type C free agent. Under the new Basic Agreement, Type C free agents no longer call for a draft pick as compensation.

The Devil Rays are on the clock......1ST ROUND

Who would have thought that we'd live long enough to see the day as baseball fans when the MLB Draft would be televised. Peter Gammons lends instant credibility.

1st Pick: Devil Rays pick David Price, 6-5,215 LHP Vanderbilt.
The Royals are now on the clock.

They asked Price how he feels about being the #1 pick. He should have said rich, because he will be. Emotional was his answer, not bad for now.

Steve Phillips is one of the experts, that might be a reach. HAHA.
What's the over/under Devil Rays fans (both of them) will be chanting "Thanks for Kazmir, Thanks for Kazmir". I'd say by the third round.

Keith Law of Scouts, Inc. is the prospect expert, First surprise of the day, I thought it would be, should be someone from Baseball America.

2nd Pick: Royals pick Mike Moustakas, surprising pick, Boras client and the Royals. Seems like they would look for guys who are more major league ready. 6-0,185 3B-1B type who played short as a prep, 97 MPH gun. Not Bad.

The Cubs are on the clock....

3rd Pick: Cubs take Josh Vitters prep 3B. 6-3,195 power hitting prospect. Gammons calls him the best bat in the draft.

Pirates are now on the clock...

4th Pick: Pirates take Daniel Mosko LHP from Clemson 6-1,200 a bit of a reach. May be the first "signability" pick.

Baltimore Orioles are on the clock.....

The first steroids PSA commercial just ran good to get that one in before you lose your target audience.

5th Pick: Orioles take Matt Wieters the 6-5, 230 lb. switch hitting catcher. Good value here, an acknowledged 1-2-3 guy in the 5-hole. Another Scott Boras client. Don'y you just want to have the armored car business the Scott Boras generates?

National are on the clock.....

6th pick: National pick Ross Detwiler LHP Missouri State. 6-4, 175lbs. Another LHP, go figure. What did I say? You can never have too many of them.

Brewers are on the clock......

7th Pick: Brewers pick Matt LaPorta 6-1,215 lb. 1B from Florida. Where do you move Price Fielder? I guss LaPorta needs a new glove. Another Boras client? He'll need it, he's a college senior without as much leverage. Could be another "budgetary" pick. 20th ranked prospect by Baseball America in the seven slot.

Colorado Rockies are on the clock...........

8th Pick: Rockies pick Casey Weathers RHP from Vanderbilt. Can start or relieve. Hard Thrower. Another college senior. Second Vanderbilt pitcher taken, that's gotta help recruiting.

Diamondbacks are on the clock.....then the Giants....

9th Pick: Diamondbacks pick Jarod Parker RHP 6-2,175. Hard Thrower, first HS pitcher taken.

Giants on the clock......Beau Mills, Beau Mills, Beau Mills.....
Jim Callis from Baseball America is one of the experts so I guess they're really spreading it out and seeing who shows well. No Mel Kipers so far, A few seem kind of stiff and wooden.

10th Pick: Giants take Madison Bumgarner 6-5, 220 lb. LHP from North Carolina. HS pitcher, he's not going to help for years. GREAT. This guy is going to help our Short Season or Low-A team. See you in 2010 kid.

Mariners are on the clock..........

First shot of a "war room". I hope they all got the memo about not scratching yourself or picking your nose at inopportune times.

11th Pick: MAriner take Phillipe Aumont 6-7, 225 RHP from Canada. Not a bad pick here. Got to be hard to project with the weather and the competition. Mystery past, live with guardians, doesn't discuss his biological parents. Uh, oh.

The Marlins are on the clock.......

12th Pick: Marlins pick Matt Dominguez 6-2, 185 3B from same HS as Moustakas, the second pick. I hope they won state with those guys.

Indians are on the clock.............

13th Pick: Indians pick Beau Mills 3B 6-3,205 could move to 1B if Indians lose Hafner down the road. Way to go Giants, if this guy turn out and we're stuck with Peter Happy for 5 more years I'm going to scream.

Braves are on the clock.......Gigantes pick 22nd and 29th in the first round, I think they better get some potential immediate help. Collegiate players guys.

14th Pick: Braves pick Jason Heyward, Georgia prep star. 6-2,198 lb. OF, the Brave like to pcik the hometown kids and they have a boatload of prep talent down there. The Georgia youth programs in some areas are developing into the upper echelon of youth programs in the country. MLB.co has this kid at 6-4,220 vs. Basbeall America's number shown above. That's quite a difference. I've heard of inching, but this is ridiculous.

Reds are on the clock..............the Porcello kid from NJ is still on the board, the Reds like young pitchers or Brackman from NC State if they are looking for more immediate help.

15th Pick: Reds take Devon Mesaraco HS C from PA. Too high for a prep catcher.

Blue Jays are on the clock...........

16th Pick: Blue Jays take Kevin Ahrens 6-2, 180lb. switch hitting 3B. Comparisons to Chipper Jones are good but might be a reach here.

Rangers are on the clock...........

17th Pick: Rangers pick Blake Beaven 6-7,210 lb RHP from TX. Highly rate power picher with outstannding control , 4 BB's in 73 IP vs. 139 K's.

Porcello and Brackman are slipping, hopefully they get some Suzy Kolber love in the green room. Porcello is asking for Josh Beckett $$ plus inflation, he'll go to the Yankees.

Cardinals are on the clock......

18th Pick: Pete Kozma, 6-1,180 SS from OK. This is a major reach. Maybe the first non first rounder to elevate into the first round. MLB.com comments "savvy, hard worker, no flash, WISYWIG, fundamentally sound" echo ominously like "good personality" describing a blind date. Hope Eckstein can play until he's 40.

Phillies are on the clock........

19th Pick: Joe Savery 6-3, 215 LHP from Rice. Rice has produced a lot of steady if unspectacular pitchers. K numbers are not overpowering.

Dodgers are on the clcok.........

Selig pronounces Los Angeles like an idiot. It's not Angle and there's not two ee's on the the end, "Angle-ees". What a tool.

20th pick: Dodgers pick Chris Withrow 6-3,195 P from Midland, TX. 44th Rated prospect by Baseball America (right below Casey Crosby) might make it seem like a reach but the Dodgers are usually loaded with prospects, so I can't argue with them. Athleticsm, bloodlines and clean mechanics are a Big Three. Just goes to show, it only takes one.

Blue Jays on the clock again........

21st Pick: Blue Jays pick J.P. Arencibia 6-1,195 C from Tennessee. Anothher reach from Blue Jays here I think. They must know something or their budget for signing bonuses just isn't there this year.

Giants are on the clock.........Little early for Frazier here, but I wouldn't mind seeing a 3B who can help, SOON. I'm not as sold on the kid from texas Suttle, even though BA has him ranked higher than Frazier. Maybe Mangini fro Oklahoma State.

22nd Pick: Giants pick Tim Alderson 6-7,210 HS P from Scottsdale AZ. A bookend for Bumgarner. Only 4 BB's vs. 111 K's. Either he's a great control pitcher or his Mom umpired all his games. Quirky delivery has some ??'d whether the risk of a first-round pick for him, Giants obviously have a height requirement this year.

Padres on the clock........

23rd Pick: Padres select Nick Schmitt 6-5,230 LHP from Arkansas. Late riser,a verage FB, knows how to pitch. About right for the spot. Some thought he could go even higher.

Rangers are back on the clock...........

24th Pick: Rangers select Michael Maine RHP from Deland FL 6-1,171 power pitcher. Another athletic pitcher, some liked him as an OF but can reach the upper 90's with the FB.

White Sox are on the clock...........

25th Pick: White Sox select Aaron Poreda 6-6,240 LHP from Univesity of San Francisco.
Not overpowering numbers, but thows hard, secondary pitches seem to be a problem.

A's are on the clock

26th pick: A's select James Simmons RHP UC-Riverside 6-4,215 RHP. Rated best command among college pitcher by BA. Oakland likes the collge pitchers, college players, in general.

Tigers are on the clock...........

27th Pick: Tigers select Rick Porcello 6-5, 188 RHP from NJ, Tigers can sign Boras clients. The 4th rated prospect in the 27 slot is a good deal here. Great FB, power pitching prospect.

Twins are on the clock.......

28th Pick: Twins select Ben Revere 5-9,152 OF from Lexington KY. The 135th rated prospect. The biggest reach so far. Twins must be holding car washed and bake sales for bonus money.

Giants are on the clock again......Third time is the charm.

29th Pick: Giants select Wendel Fairley 6-0,190 OF from MS. WOW. Their philosophy is directly opposite from what mine would be for the Giants. A bit of a reach but one of the more athletic players in the draft. Big club just may not see him for 3-4 years. Steve Phillips applauds the move, so I feel better about my philosophy.

Yankees are on the clock.......

30th Pick: Yanksees select Andrew Brackman 6-10,230 RHP from NC State, the 7th ranked prospect in the 30 hole. The rich get richer.

Five Boras clients in the first round, again TRGR.

If you want to talk about a couple of things that are wrong with baseball, these two examples right here would fly at or near the top of my list.

This concludes the first round

MLB Draft Today on ESPN2

Finally the Major League Draft hits the big time. ESPN2 will televise the opening round of the 2007 MLB Draft today from 2pm to 6pm. This will be a more fast-paced affair then the NFL Draft. I've listened to previous broadcasts of the draft from the Internet and it is a rapid fire affair. It will be interesting to see the presentation and how it compares to the NFL and NBA Drafts.

Heck even the WNBA and Indoor Lacrosse televise their Drafts nowadays, so it's good to see baseball take a step forward.

The Devil Rays, as usual hold the first pick and they are apparently sweating over LHP David Price of Vanderbilt, Matt Wieters a 6-5, 230 lb switch hitting C from Georgia Tech who has been compared favorably to Joe Mauer and Josh Vitters a 6-3, 195 lb prep 3B.

Given that they have Evan Longoria from last year's draft as the heir apparent at 3B and they spent a significant (for the D-Rays) on a Japanese player at 3B last year, I think we can eliminate the prep 3B. The Rays really have to go for Price here.

I know Devil Rays fans and personnel are more used to seeing guys who throw like this, but they just have to get more top of the line pitchers who are near major league ready.


Further on in the first round, my Giants have a boatload of early draft-picks, courtesy of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. They seemed focused on Beau Mills, a power hitting 3B from Lewis & Clark College, an NAIA powerhouse that has been kind to the Giants in the draft historically. Mills may have hurt those hopes by bashing three homers to lead his team to a title and elevate his draft stock.

That may leave the G-men to fall-back to Todd Frazier 3B from Rutgers of late and Toms River Little League many years ago. TRLL was the Beast from the East from the 1999 Little League World Series. Hope Frazier turns out better than Sean Burroughs did.

Locally, our attention is fixed on Kaneland (IL) High School's Casey Crosby, who has seemingly been rocketing up the charts. Crosby began the season as a possible 3-5 round possibility and is slated to go to Illinois if things don't work out. But it seems like the Illini will have to wait as Mr. Crosby may elevate into the "sandwich" , or compensation round, between the first and second rounds.

Casey's a 6-4, 205 lb. left-handed, power pitcher with great athleticism and seemingly room to get bigger and better in the future. You can never have too many good, young LHP's so I would love to see the Giants grab him with one of their compensation picks.

It's a day for dreams to come true for a lot of young players who have been working toward this goal seemingly all their young lives. Good Luck to all.



Crosby's Scouting Report from MLB.com
Biographical Data

Player Name:
Casey Crosby

Position:
Starting Pitcher

School:
Kaneland HS, Maple Park, Ill.

School Type:
High School

Academic Class:
Senior

Birthdate:
09/17/88

Height:
6'5"

Weight:
190 lbs.

Bats:
Right

Throws:
Left

Report Date(s):
04/18/07

Game(s):
Rochelle HS

Focus Area
Comments

Fastball:
On a cold day, Crosby didn't show as much arm strength as he had in the past, sitting at 86-88 mph and touching 91 mph. He'd been clocked as high as 94 in the past.

FB Movement:
Especially for a lefty, Crosby's fastball showed below-average life.

Curve:
Crosby threw his curve in the 68-71 mph range and it was with loose rotation.

Changeup:
Crosby has a change, sitting at 74-76 mph, but he slows his arm down when throwing it.

Control:
Crosby's command was below average in this start. He walked six in the outing.

Poise:
Crosby showed good poise and mound presence. He competed very well in a tight game. After walking the first two batters of the game, he promptly picked both of them off.

Physical Description:
Crosby is a tall, athletic lefty with plenty of room for growth.

Medical Update:
Healthy.

Strengths:
Crosby showed excellent poise and competitiveness, a good pickoff move and did show glimpses of a good breaking ball late in the game.

Weaknesses:
His delivery is too rigid and will need refinement. Even if his fastball improved, his secondary offerings need a lot of improvement.

Summary:
This is a deep year for high school lefties, and scouts were swarming to the Midwest to see how Crosby looked as the weather warmed up. Early on, he wasn't showing the arm strength some had seen in the past and his other pitches were below average. There's room for growth, though, and some refinement to his delivery could go a long way for the southpaw.

ALL IN THE CLEMENS FAMILY

ESPN.com is reporting that Roger Clemens first start, originally scheduled to be against the White Sox June 4th has been pushed back to June 8th due to what is being described as a "tired groin".

This sounded suspicious to us since we've never heard of this type of injury in baseball, it's much more prevalent of course in the porn industry, so we did some old fashioned investigative reporting and here's what we uncovered.

A spouse, who didn't want to be identified offered this insight:
"Oh hell yeah, he tries that old 'tired groin' line on me every time it's 'ladies night' at the Clemens' house, if you know what I mean ;). Them Yankees should just do what I do, which is pin him down and make him perform. Shit, they're paying him $1M a pop I'm just trying to have a good time. If that doesn't work, I would suggest showing him some porn first, that always works. Damn, them Yankees is stupid."

An unidentified Clemens son, who plays in the Astros organization, said off the record:
"Yeah, I used to hear that crap growing up all the time when there was work to be done around the ranch or the yard needed to be mowed. Then I'd catch his fat ass chilling in the hammock. You'd think with the money he makes he could'a least bought a ride-em mower. Said it built character. Hey, whatever. I just want to get to the big leagues so I can get some major league tail, like that fella Daddy calls Gay-Rod."

And finally from a Yankees lefthander, who followed Roger from New York to Houston and back again like some drooling Baseball Annie:
"Shit, not the groin, Dammit not the F-ing groin. Look, I didn't mind so much nursing the bad hammie, but G-D it Roger I'm not F-ing nursing a 'tired groin'. I'm not stupid, you know, I know what that means. It's bad enough he makes me follow him around the country occasionally wearing a nurses uniform, now this. And you know what ROGER CLEMENS, sometimes I don't want to work out so damn hard!!"

So there you have it.

In further developments, as of today, no Yankees conditioning coaches have been fired as a result of the Clemens groin, however in a double secret team meeting a motion was presented to have "A-Rod's girl hired as Head Performance Coach in charge of Groin Pulls". The motion was quickly seconded by Mr. Giambi and after raucous debate, the motion carried by a count of 24-1, with Mr. Rodriguez the lone dissenter. The request will be submitted by the players to management today.

That's it on the Yankees front. Good Day.

Jim Rome SUCKS.... CLASSIC.....PHENOMENAL

The Classic Jim Everett vs. Jim Rome Episode that unfortunately put this insufferable little twit on the map. Rome probably pissed down his leg during this take.

THIS IS CLASSIC, RACK HIM. PHENOMENAL.

Even though it's about a year old, this open letter from a fan does the show justice much better than I can. I hope all of Sox Nation feels the same. The guy is like a bad soap opera, you could miss a years worth of shows and come back and hear the same tired, lame garbage. And he loves to hear himself talk so much, that he repeats everything. ANNOYING, NOT PHENOMENAL.

http://www.joesportsfan.com/column.php?storyid=536



A Letter to Jim Rome
By Alex Fritz :: July 4, 2006 Email Link To Friend Printer Friendly Comment on Column

Dear Mr. Rome,

romejimApproximately five weeks ago, you welcomed a new affiliate in Boston to your radio show, "The Jungle." Over the last few weeks you have constantly said that the listeners in Boston may not "get you" at first, but that they should give you a few weeks to get accustomed to the show, and then they'll probably find that they actually enjoy it.

I have listened to your show for a year now, and I must say: "I hate you, and I hate your show."

"Why do you keep listening to my crap factory....ERRRR...show, then?" you ask.

I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. But make no bones about it, your show flat-out reeks. Listening to a bunch of dorks pretending that they actually know something about sports, while all the while cracking jokes about Tracey Gold, and worshiping you (the head dork) diminishes my faith in humanity every day that I hear your show.

Although you don't seem like it on your show, perhaps you are indeed a rational man. Hoping so, I have compiled a list of things I don't like about you, in order to help you fix your shitty, shitty show.

1. You gave yourself the nickname "Pimp in the Box." A Not only is it immature and irresponsible to give yourself a nickname, I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most states B. At least make your nickname something that makes sense. "Pimp in the Box?" What does that even mean? I'll go ahead and give you a new nickname: "Ham Sandwich on a Hot Day." Doesn't make sense either, does it? At least you didn't give it to yourself.

2. Occasionally, you land a decent interview. Morgan Ensberg, however, is not a huge interview. Good third baseman? Yes. Decent dude? Sure. Highly sought interview? No. Earlier today, you asked me to stay tuned for a big Rob Schneider interview. The following are oxymorons: Jumbo shrimp, classy RVs, and a big Rob Schneider interview.
shrimpcooked500_400

3. Your constant barrage of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson jokes. Seeing Jim Everett treat you like the girl that you are was a great television moment back in 1994. Also in the news that year: The O.J. Simpson murders. While they weren't especially funny then, they are unbelievably not funny eleven years later. But that doesn't stop you from bringing it up every week, does it, Jim? Of course not. You're Jim Rome and you'll do whatever the hell you want.

4. Clones. Yes, the people who call into your show often imitate your style of talking. That is because they are idiots. They enjoy your unique blend of over-pronouncing words and dead air. I do not.

rome5. The e-mails that you read on the air. Every f**king e-mail, same god damn format: "Dear Jim, something stupid. Signed, Ironic celebrity name." Clever. Real f**king clever. What really upsets me is when you read an e-mail (which I'm pretty sure you, yourself, actually write) and then claim to be offended by it. How about this: read it to yourself first and if it truly is inappropriate, don't read it aloud. You do know how to not read aloud, don't you? That would explain some things.

6.You have a goatee. Two types of grown men are allowed to have goatees: professional athletes and movie villains. You, Jim, are neither. Your facial hair would not upset me so much if you didn't go the pussy route and steal Gary Oldman's look. You claim to be extreme, Romey, then let's go ahead and get you an extreme goatee, too.

7. "Jim Rome is Burning" on ESPN. You're lucky that "First and Ten" is on right before that piece of shit you call a show. After sitting through a half-hour of Skip Bayless crying about God knows what, you are almost watchable. But not quite. How many TV shows have you had now, Jim? Three? Four? I can't imagine why your shows don't have any staying power. Oh, wait... yes I can. No matter what format you use on television, as long as you are on the show, chances are high that it will fail. After all, you can't polish a turd, Jim. You just can't polish a turd.

In conclusion: You suck out loud.

Cheers,
Alex Fritz

PS. Go bang your monkey, Jim.

Vintage Sweet Lou

This is the true ejection champ. Bobby Cox is just a pretender, who pads his numbers by whining sooooooooo much about balls and strikes. An automatic heave-hoer among umpires.

Actually what I'd like to see if Lou go face to face with Commissioner Weasel Face in the same manner he did this umpire and demand the Commissioner answer the following:

HOW CAN YOU SUSPEND ME INDEFINITELY FOR MAKING CONTACT WITH THIS TWERP UMPIRE WHEN YOU CAN SEE FROM THE REPLAY THAT THE UMPIRES MADE MORE CONTACT WITH ME THAN A-ROD DID WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND?

HOW COULD YOU AND YOUR BAND OF IDIOT OWNERS CANCEL A F#@#$NG WORLD SERIES?

HOW COULD YOU EMBARASS THE GAME OF BASEBALL LIKE YOU DID WITH YOUR APPEARANCE IN FRONT OF CONGRESS?

HOW COME YOU CAN'T USE YOUR BEST INTEREST OF THE GAME POWERS TO DO AWAY WITH THE DESIGNATED HITTER?

HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO KEEP YOUR JOB AND GET PAID SO MUCH WHILE DOING SO LITTLE?

HUH, ANSWER ME YOU LITTLE M-F'NG, FERRET FACED BASTARD? ANSWER ME?

Kicking a little dirt on the Commish's shoes and getting a little spittle and tobacco juice on his face is just an added bonus.

That would be like, so cool.

JUST PLAY: STICKBALL

Stickball, still the consummate city game, shown here being played in Harlem. Note the fancy scoreboard. And the materials are simply the end of a broomstick, minus the bristles and a "spal-deen", a pink ball about the size of a hand-ball made by Spaulding. They cost about $1 apiece, if that. No fancy gloves required and you really learn to field a pop-up or grounder with these babies.

So for less than $5 dollars, kids can have enough equipment and materials to play baseball on a daily basis. You can draw a strike-zone on the wall of almost any building that can be used as a backstop. That's' your catcher and umpire. Further disputes are settled by odds-evens shoot or force of personality, as most disputes are settled by kids on the playground.



A great picture of the greatest stickballer of all-time, Willie Mays.

Here's a web site with some history and rules of the game.
http://www.streetplay.com/stickball/

So for the life of me, I can't understand when I hear people say that economics is a barrier to entry for kids to play baseball. IT'S NOT. You needs a few friends, a broomstick and five dollars. Even for most kids today, the five dollars can't possibly be the hard part. Plus they can play this game for hours at a time without any parental supervision or interference. That would seem to remove some of what's wrong with youth sports today.

Kids were playing this game on NY city streets back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. They can certainly play it today. Step away from the X-Box once in a while.




In doing the research for this blog post, I came across this site that documents the sports programs of prominence in Harlem, NY. Note the photo of what appears to be a successful (winning) Little League program. Further below I added details about the legendary Rucker Park. The premier summer basketball league in the country.

http://web.honorscollege.cuny.edu/student-projects/neighborhoods/harlem/sports/sports.htm

A neighborhood is defined by the ways it comes together, and a common manner of achieving this has been through athletics. Few activities bring together such masses of people from diverse outlooks and unite them under a common banner, and in Harlem it has not been different. Since the formation of Harlem as a black community, the teams of the neighborhood have carried this identity with pride and proved it in sports contests. Not only have sports reflected the area’s makeup and pride, they have also ensured its continuing strength and resilience as a place of opportunity. Today many Harlem sports organizations have gained national fame and because of its unique history the neighborhood is a focal point of black pride for sport enthusiasts everywhere. The sports we chose to focus on here – baseball, basketball, and boxing – are the most historically important in knitting together Harlem’s diverse inhabitants and are also continuing to thrive in the area.

Baseball
by Ray Pettit

Location: Marcus Garvey Park (labeled as Mt. Morris Square on map)

Baseball seems like a mismatch with Harlem, as a slow game in the bustling center of change that Harlem stands for. Still, baseball has found room to survive and thrive within the neighborhood, as seen in the recent accomplishments of the Harlem Little League team. In 2002, this unheralded team reached the Little League World Series Semi-Finals, enough to not only “capture the attention and love of Harlem,” as Howie Evans said in the local Amsterdam News, but garnering national attention as well. Harlem is also home to the East Harlem Stickball League, which plays authentic stickball every summer in varying locations throughout the neighborhood. These young ballplayers and older stickballers are not the first players to be based in Harlem; the sport has an extensive history in Harlem. Two Major League Baseball teams, the Yankees and the Giants, played on the Polo Grounds along the Harlem River. The stadium has been torn down and replaced with housing, along Frederick Douglass Boulevard and 155th St. However, a plaque still exists on the exact spot that Willie Mays, a resident of Harlem, made “The Catch.” Harlem Baseball fans were not limited to these two teams though, for many Negro League teams, such as the Cuban Stars, the Black Yankees, and the Brooklyn Royal Giants (who were based in the now absent Harlem Oval on 125th St.) played in the area. From the highs of Babe Ruth on through Willie Mays and the Little League World Series team, Harlem has seen its fair share of baseball excitement, and it continues thrive.

Basketball
by Andy Lawler

Location: Rucker Park

Today when people think of basketball and Harlem, their thoughts turn to one team, namely the Harlem Globetrotters. However, the Globetrotters were actually founded in Chicago. The owner correctly assumed the name Harlem would be effective in drawing the target crowds for an all black basketball team, and his lie reveals the power Harlem had as a black sports neighborhood. The team actually based in the neighborhood was the Harlem Rens (short for Renaissance and also variously known as and descended from the Spartan Braves of Brooklyn, Spartan Five, and New York Renaissance Big Five). Not only was the team created in Harlem, but in 1923, when the Rens were formed, it became the first full-salaried, black professional basketball team under owner Robert Douglas. In the 1920s, the team and its games were an afterthought, as dual admittances with a dance at one of Harlem’s many clubs. The team grew in popularity as the game matured, and was nationally hailed until it folded in the 40s. Unsurprisingly, people continued to play basketball in Harlem and in 1946 Holcomb Rucker started a basketball tournament that has gained legendary status. Discontinued briefly, Holcomb’s son Phil has brought the tournament back on Friday’s during the summer, and EBC games are played Monday through Thursdays. Legendary players both new and old have played at this Mecca of street ball, including Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, and Stephen Marbury-just to name a few. Some lesser-known but equally important players built their reputations outside the NBA at Rucker, including players like Pee Wee Kirkland and Joe “The Destroyer” Hammond. Today Harlem is one of the most popular locations basketball players go through to establish themselves, due to its past and continuing vitality.

Michael Vick is Truly Beneath Comtempt

I hope this is what Vick sees is his dreams nightly, a dog like this with an attitude, and he immobilized, with a couple of raw steaks stuffed in his pockets.

IF WISHING ILL WILL ON MICHAEL VICK IS WRONG,
I DON'T WANT TO BE RIGHT.


I know it's not right to wish ill of others and as much as I disliked Michael Irvin as a player with the Cowboys, when Philly Fan cheered when he got hurt I thought that was classless and over the top. But for Michael Vick, I can only hope that if he is allowed to play next year, that he suffers an injury the likes of which make the Joe Theismann injury look like a paper cut. And the crowd delivers a standing ovation as he lies there in pain.

And save a trip to the DL and/or emergency room for Clinton Portis and that idiot Samuels from the Redskins. Defending this jack-ass is condoning this type of behavior. To say it goes on all the time and you know of places where shit like this goes on all the time to justify it is simply asinine, I'm sure most people could say the same thing for activities like drug dealing, that doesn't mean it should continue to occur. Or that if Michael Vick chooses to do it, he should be allowed to because he makes the kind of money he does. There's something wrong with Portis and that giggling buffoon Samuels.

I'm not sure what Arthur Blank is waiting for on this colossal F-up. If this kind of crap happened to one of his flunkies at Home Depot , they'd be on the unemployment line in minutes.

1) The Weed in the Water Bottle Incident
2) Flipping of the Fans in Atlanta (those are your customers)
3) Mastermind of a Dog Fighting Enterprise

You know your screwed when the late night comedians lampoon you. He's given them enough material to last for some time. Problem now is, I'll bet the mere mention of his name makes the crowd angry enough to ruin whatever comedic bit they attempt.

Managers Gone Wild

I thought I was creative and imaginative in finding ways to get ejected from games, but this guy is an all-time classic.

Notice how it appears he thinks the home plate umpires strike zone is a tad bit WIDE. And the base umpires did not seem to be using those square white things called bases to properly make safe/out calls. The belly crawl and grenade toss is simply icing on the cake. Notice also, two players doing there level best and failing to suppress laughter.

Cubs Baseball, Another Century of Frustration??

The Cubs today showed the kind of futility that should keep them from the post-season for God knows how long into the 21st Century. The team seems to be focusing their anger and disdain on guys wearing the same uniform lately, as today's Barrett-Zambrano dust-up seems to illustrate.

Now, that by itself won't keep them out of the post-season, playing as they do in the worst division in baseball, what makes this team so special and capable of maintaining their legacy, is a Bad-News Bears-esque disdain for 1)catching the ball well, 2) throwing the ball and 3)displaying even basic base running acumen.

Fundamentally, still one of the worst teams in the major leagues. Ironically, the lack of basic fundamental play, was the main reason the media honks in this area gave for running one Johnny "Dusty" Baker out as manager. Even after spending quality Wrigley Bucks on free-agents this past off-season, as well as luring Lou Piniella away from the booth, these Cubs if anything seem to be regressing to an even lower level of baseball, if that's possible.

This team may not be as good as the Devil Rays, at about 4 times the payroll. Todays debacle came after the team supposedly had a players only meeting to straighten out some of the bone-headed play and lack of cohesion. Looks like they may have just been playing cards behind closed doors.

Oh well, better luck next century.