On the Futures front, it seems as if our boy Nate Schierholtz is off to a fine start representing the old red, white and blue over in China. The only beef I have with that is he should be doing his thing for the big club. There's no upside to this for Nate or the G-men, this team may not even medal. Couldn't the Giants have let them take Eddie Martinez-Esteve?
After the Schierholtz article is a nice write-up on pitcher Madison Bumgardner.
With this team, the eye has to be on the future with the occasional look back to the franchises storied past sprinkled in, since the present gives us so little to right about.
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FROM BASEBALL AMERICA:http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/international-affairs/olympics/2008/266681.html
Olympics Day One Wrapup
U.S. falls in opener to South Korea
Team USA Update: After rallying for three runs in the top of the ninth to seemingly avoid defeat, the U.S. gave the game back in the bottom of the ninth, as Jeff Stevens two-base throwing error was a key mistake that helped South Korea rally for an 8-7 win. The loss is the U.S.' first Olympics round-robin loss to a team other than Cuba since losing to Japan in 1992. The U.S. hitters had plenty of problems, striking out 11 times against a South Korean pitching staff that gave the U.S. plenty of different looks. John Gall was the worst offender, as he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, including one in the bottom of the ninth with two on.
Worth Noting: Nate Schierholtz (Giants) and Mike Hessman (Tigers) both homered for Team USA. Brian Barden (Cardinals) had three hits . . . Tae Hyon Chong struck out six in 2 2/3 innings for South Korea.
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http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=1527
Top Prospects Abound In BA Territory
Posted Aug. 12, 2008 11:15 am by Ben Badler
Filed under: Daily Dish
BURLINGTON, N.C.—Durham, N.C. is a pretty sweet place to be to get a look at some of the best minor league prospects in the game. There are four levels of baseball within an hour’s drive, and more if you want to venture out a little further.
These past few days and the following few days will be no exception, as we will have the unusual opportunity to see back-to-back No. 1 overall picks play on consecutive days. Yesterday, Rays shortstop Tim Beckham, the top pick in this year’s draft, was in Burlington, N.C. with Princeton for a Rookie-level Appalachian League game. Beckham is in town again tomorrow and Wednesday, although on Wednesday BA will be watching 2007 No. 1 overall pick David Price make his Triple-A debut for Durham. We’ll have reports up on both players later this week.
On Saturday, low Class A Augusta lefthander Madison Bumgarner (Giants) struck out eight without issuing a walk in eight scoreless innings at Greensboro. Bumgarner worked with a 91-94 mph fastball that he commanded with precision to both sides of the plate, which wasn’t surprising given that he has walked just 18 batters in 124 1/3 innings (1.3 per nine) this season. Bumgarner, the 10th overall pick in the 2007 draft, just turned 19 on Aug. 1. He frequently (and wisely) attacked hitters inside, where the Greensboro hitters often lacked the bat speed to catch up to his inside heat, then mixed his location by painting the outside corner as well.
Bumgarner did struggle with his slider, a 79-82 mph pitch that showed occasionally average tilt that more often was soft and sweepy at best. He threw cleanly but from a low three-quarters arm slot, which could inhibit the quality and projection of his slider. Bumgarner, an athletic 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, did show a good pickoff move, nabbing two different runners with his move. He also flashed an 80-81 mph changeup, though he used the pitch sparingly and didn’t use it at all until the fifth inning.
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