MLB & UMPIRE ADMIT TO BLOWING A.J. CALL VS. RAYS

Well, now it's unanimous, with the possible exception of Hawk Harrelson, Ozzie Guillen and old A.J. himself. Look, there's a difference between what your supposed to do in a rundown, and yes of course coaches teach their players to do what A.J. did, and the caveat at the end of that dialogue is to "do it and try to get the call". Which means that you're telling your player, look you're in a bad spot, you're going to get tagged out anyway, try to see if you can deke the ump into a bad call. Which is what happened.

If a similar call went against the PaleHos, the aforementioned Guillen and crybaby extraordinaire Harrelson would go off in a tirade that would make the post-game fireworks seem like child's play.

As I said, HS umpires don't fall for this one. I'm glad MLB admitted it's mistake.

By the way, the reason you don't fall for that call is that it openly encourages other base runners in similar dilemmas to initiate contact in the base paths and that's an invitation for trouble.


ORIGINAL POST: OLD A.J IS AT IT AGAIN:
http://slavieboy.blogspot.com/2008/08/old-aj-is-at-it-again.html
-------------------------
FROM THE ST. PETE TIMES

ST. PETERSBURG — Upon further review, umpire Doug Eddings was wrong about the controversial obstruction call involving Willy Aybar in Sunday's game at Chicago.

Mike Port, MLB's vice president of umpiring, told the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday that it was "a missed call" and that in making the split-second decision, Eddings thought he saw runner A.J. Pierzynski "impeded more than he was" by Aybar, the Rays' third baseman.

"Looking back at that occurrence, for the first and last time, it was a missed call," Port said. "And it was not because Doug Eddings, an umpire with 10 years' experience and 10 before that in the minor leagues, didn't know the application of the rule, but just that in the moment in applying the rule, he saw something he thought was more than it turned out to be."

Pierzynski, in a rundown between second and third in the 10th inning, stuck out his left elbow at Aybar. Eddings ruled there was obstruction and awarded third base to Pierzyn- ski, who later scored the winning run for the White Sox.

Port said that after watching replays, Eddings was "the first to admit" he was wrong and said so to MLB officials who regularly review controversial plays. There is no recourse, however, for the Rays.
--------------------------------
WHERE'S A MICHAEL BARRETT WHEN YOU NEED HIM:

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gif

BUSTER POSEY CONTINUES HIS ASSAULT ON ROOKIE BALL

Buster's the man.

Three for three with three runs scored and three RBI's with a double, triple and HR.
He's hitting .438 so far. GOOD START.
--------------------
The Giants scouting and drafting have recovered nicely in the last three drafts, now if the player development system can mirror that, well then maybe we'll have something in a couple of years. Like the Rays....OMG how the mighty have fallen, the Giants now have to follow the lead of the Rays. Or like the Marlins, who at the very least have won a World Championship or two in their brief history as a franchise.

The 2006 draft it may turn out in hindsight was the turn around draft for the franchise.

Round 1 - Tim Lincecum RHP Washington
Round 1S - Emmanuel Burris SS Kent State
Round 3 - Clayton Tanner LHP De la Salle HS (CA)
Round 4 - Ben Snyder LHP Ball State
Round 5 - Mike McBride OF Florida Atlantic
Round 17 - Kevin Pucetas RHP Limestone College (SC)

All but one of these future prospects and current players were collegiate players and Clayton Tanner may be worth waiting for.

The 2007 draft was once again HS player heavy and the only top pick who was a collegian is proving to be a bit of a flop so far.

Round 1 - Madison Bumgardner LHP South Caldwell HS (NC)
Round 1 - Tim Alderson RHP Horizon HS (AZ)
Round 1 - Wendell Fairley OF George County-Lucedale (MS)
Round 1S - Nick Noonan 2B Parker HS (CA)
Round 1S - Jackson Williams C Oklahoma
Round 1S - Charlie Culberson 2b/SS Calhoun HS (GA)
Round 8 - Daniel Turpen RHP Oregon State
Round 10 - Joe Patterson LHP Oregon State
Round 18 - Andrew de la Garza LHP Coastal Carolina

Only Williams has not shown 1st round ability and he was considered a reach at the time. Of the others, all have shown ability to make a serious impact with the possible exception of Fairley, due primarily to an inability to get on the field because of injuries. The three late round collegiate pitchers have shown enough ability to make some impact on a major league staff relatively soon. The pitching staff appear to have a great future. Even Round 50 pick Mike Loree RHP from Villanova has shown that given a chance he can advance. There's gold on them there collegiate prospects, I tell ya.

The ultimate coup de grace may be the 2008 draft.

Round 1 - Buster Posey C Florida State
Round 1S - Conor Gillespie 3B Wichita State
Round 3 - Roger Kieschnick OF Texas Tech
Round 4 - Brandon Crawford SS UCLA
Round 5 - Edwin Quirate RHP Cal State Northridge

And the returns are too early for the Rounds 6-10 bounty of collegiate pitchers (Round 10 being the HS pitcher exception). Plus we don't know who will step forward from the late rounds in this group and surprise.

Bottom line is I think the last three years have given the franchise a chance to reverse the last couple of years of futility.

LET'S HOPE IT CONTINUES.
------------------
UPDATE:

Buster Posey - Rookie league - 2-4 last game, raises Avg. to .450
Conor Gillaspie - Short Season - 2-3, 3 RBI, 2-2B, .256 Avg.
Madison Bumgerdner - LoA - 5IP-3H-1ER-9K-1BB raises record to 15-3 (Linceum like), had his 38 consecutive scoreless innings streak snapped.

ANOTHER 'WEED IN THE GARDEN' STORY? OR MORE?

"TOO GOOD" JERICHO SCOTT

Now, I don't know whether to describe this a another 'weed in the garden' type story or something even worse. Maybe a little 'arsenic in the dinner'? This is more common than you can imagine. When I ran a league, we had a twelve year-old who was about 6-0, 190 lbs. AT TWELVE!!! He threw close to 70 miles per hour, with little or no clue as to where it was going. So we had a few meetings spent discussing whether he should be required to move up to the 13-year old field and it's 60 foot pitching distance.

Luckily, LL insurance would not allow an underage kid to move up in class anymore than they would allow another Danny Almonte. Thankfully, he didn't hit anyone all season. Mainly because most if not all of the kids employed a serious 'foot in the bucket' hitting style with an early 'booty in the dugout' exit from the batters box as a chaser.

He was what Dr. Mike Marshall describes as an early or accelerated maturer. In a sense that is what the Little League World Series has become. A battle of the early maturation players. The team that gets the most kids to the growth spurt first wins.
Actually, Little League accentuated that advantage by moving back the birthday for kids to be eligible a few years back, so now you have chronological aged 13 year olds playing on the mini-field. The tournament used to include only 12 year olds, if you turned 13 years old before the tournament ended (around the end of August most years) then you didn't play at this level in years past.

Ahh, the good old days. Before we had to worry about pimping the kids for T.V. money and ratings.

IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THE KIDS.
----------------
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/08/25/pitcher.toogood.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player -- too good, it turns out.

The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

OLD A.J. IS AT IT AGAIN

White Sox catcher is at it again, fooling umpires, always in the middle of controversy. Note also that Doug Eddings was the home-plate umpire during the infamous A.J. caught/not caught third strike incident years ago. I guess he's never heard of the phrase 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'


I'm not going to go all crybaby-Hawk Harrelson and say that this call cost the Rays the game, because if Rays catcher Shawn Riggins catches that throw from the outfield in the bottom of the ninth they have the White Sox base runner out at home by about a week and the game is over.

But to look at the replay of this, from this angle you can see both umpires should have a decent view of Pierzinski chicken winging his elbow to try to initiate contact, fall down after failing to make the contact he initiated and the one or both umpires absolutely blew the call. High School umpires don't fall for his one.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3551805&categoryId=2378529


UMPS EXPLANATION FROM ST. PETE TIMES:


Umps' defense

Third-base umpire Ted Barrett's explanation of Doug Eddings' call:

"As a runner, you're allowed to (make contact). What Doug ruled at second base was, even though A.J. (Pierzynski) did kind of stick his arm out to make contact, (Willy) Aybar was still in his way, so A.J., if he would have turned, he wouldn't have been able to continue on to third. So after making the throw, Aybar is no longer in the act of fielding and he can't obstruct the runner, which is what Doug ruled happened. And in a rundown, even though A.J. was going back to second, the rule of obstruction during a rundown is he gets his next advanced base and that's why he was rewarded third base.''
----------------------
FROM THE LLWS: CONGRATS TO HAWAII - WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Here is the audio of an interview with the SW Regional champion Louisiana coach Charlie Phillips. Phillips defends taking his stud pitcher out to lead off the sixth inning of the US Championship Game vs. Hawaii while his team trying to hold on to a 5-1 lead and said stud pitcher had three pitches left in his pitch count.

I know hindsight is 20-20, but while watching the game I said to myself, "He may wish he had those three pitches back later in the inning". The kid could have started the inning off for you with an out, because he gets to finish off the batter he is pitching to even if he exceeds the pitch count. But at least you start the inning off with an out. Starting off the inning with an out greatly diminishes the Hawaii teams chances of having a big inning. If you have one out, any base runner that gets on first, gives you an opportunity to end the game on one pitch with an inning ending DP.

The kid was dominating at the time, it's the last batter he is going to throw in anger for quite a while, because if you get to the World Championship, he is ineligible to pitch. Why take him out? Removing a stud gives the other team a HUGE shot of adrenaline. Whoever you use to replace him doesn't look nearly as imposing so the batters are given hope that they can get on base. I know everyone is hyped up about the new pitch count rules and they have these poor coaches all miked up and the dugouts are bugged, but I guarantee you if the mikes and the cameras aren't there, most coaches tell the kid, "You're my guy, unless your arm falls off". In this case however, the coach is still within the guidelines, his CYA is intact, I just don't see the logic, unless the kid came up to him in the dugout and said "Coach, my arm hurts" which it doesn't sound like he did. Plus, as an added bonus, when you take him out after pitching to his one batter in the sixth inning, regardless of what happens, you get to take him out on the field and let him take his bows and allow the fans to shower him with an ovation on national TV. You can't beat that feeling for a kid.

It was a bad move that may have cost his team a chance to play for and win the World Championship. But that's why coaches get the big bucks, right ;)? Anyway, he took his team further than I ever took one of mine, so what do I know?

LOUISIANA COACHES POST-GAME INTERVIEW from www.littleleague.org

http://www.littleleague.org/worldseries/interviews/game30/southwest.mp3

THE OLYMPICS ARE OVER - GOOD!!!

I made a concerted effort not to watch any of the Olympic broadcasts mainly due to stories like this:

The Financial Times finally ended its long running kowtow to China with an editorial that features this disgustingly accurate portrayal: “…the breathtaking cynicism of the Chinese authorities in declaring zones in three parks open for public protests and then persecuting, detaining or expelling from Beijing those who applied for permission to use them is a clear breach of promise made by China to help win the bid to host these [2008] Olympics back in 2001.”

Why glorify a regime like this any more than necessary? I understand why NBC and it's family of networks and affiliates wants to do it. There's billions of dollars in future business opportunities in China, so GE, the ultimate parent firm, needs to be there in a large way. Good for them.

The only events I had any interest in was:

Men's Baseball: USA wins Bronze, South Korea defeats Cuba for the Gold.
Women's Softball: USA wins the Silver, Japan gets the Gold.
Men's Basketball: USA wins the Gold.

Good for USA Basketball. It would have been so easy to crush them if they lost, but they didn't and even better, they conducted themselves with class all the way. Congrats to Lebron, Kobe, Carmelo, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. The future looks bright for USA Basketball and the Gold is whee it belongs.

Not so good for Baseball in the last Olympic effort. The Olympics need the major leaguers more than the majors needs the Olympics. I doubt very much that being in the Olympics every four years promotes the game internationally enough for them to shut down the season for two-three weeks to send the big guns. That we did not even send big-time prospects or AAA players indicates that MLB doesn't see the need to be there either. I think they get more from promoting the World baseball Classic to those countries that have big leaguers and a history and tradition of baseball already.

Worse for the girls and softball unless they somehow find a way to get the sport reinstated. At least the "USA is too dominant" argument is out the window.

The only other items that caught my interest was the Michael Phelps gold medal chase, the Usain Bolt assault on the speed events and the Dana Torres story

For Phelps the interest was not so much that he succeeded or failed, but the extent to which he obliterated Mark Spitz numbers in common events. Proving once again that ATHLETES ARE BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER & BETTER today than they've ever been. We should not be surprised or upset when young men or women of today destroy the records of the icons from prior generations. Phelps blew away Spitz numbers from 35 years ago. It really doesn't diminish what Spitz did in any way. He was the best to ever do it then, Phelps is now.

The Wall Street Journal Numbers Guy does an excellent comparison between the two swimmers, comparing and contrasting their achievments.

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/phelps-v-spitz-by-the-numbers-396/


USAIN BOLT

The Usain Bolt destruction of the 100 meter dash record may have been the most awesome individual performance of the Games. He destroyed the record while showboating the last 10-20 yards, theoretically costing himself another .10 second. This in an event where most experts have suggested that there would be no assaults on the record books, man had reached the limits of human potential, blah, blah, blah. Once again the experts have been surprised and have to recalibrate their stories. Where have we heard that before?
---------------
USAIN BOLT OLYMPIC SUMMARY FOR Wikipedia:
Bolt announced that he would double-up with the 100 metres and 200 metres events at the Beijing Summer Olympics, and the new 100 m world-record holder was the favourite to win both.[29][30] Michael Johnson, the 200 m and 400 m record holder, personally backed the sprinter, saying he did not believe that a lack of experience would work against him.[31] Bolt qualified for the final with 9.92 and 9.85 seconds in the quarter-finals and semifinals respectively.[32][33][34] In the Olympic 100 m final, Bolt broke new ground, winning in 9.69 s. This was an improvement upon his own world record, and he was well ahead of second-place finisher Richard Thompson, who finished in 9.89 s.[35] Not only was the record set without a favourable wind (+0.0 m/s), but also he visibly slowed down to celebrate before he finished and his shoelace was untied.[36][37][38] Bolt continued running past the post, enjoying his victory.[39] Bolt stated that setting a record was not a priority for him, and that his goal was just to win the gold medal, Jamaica's first of the 2008 Games.[40] Olympic medallist Kriss Akabusi construed Bolt's chest slapping before the finish line as showboating, noting that the actions cost Bolt an even faster record time.[41] IOC president Jacques Rogge also condemned the Jamaican's actions as disrespectful.[42][43] Bolt denied that this was the purpose of his mid-race celebration by saying "I wasn't bragging. When I saw I wasn't covered, I was just happy."[44]
--------------------------

DANA TORRES

As far as the Dana Torres story, I'm not sure I've read a better analysis of it than Elizabeth Weil's New York Times story from June 29th, "A Swimmer of a Certain Age".

Aside from a fascinating look inside some of the training protocols that are credited with getting Ms. Torres this far, the following Q&A is very, very thought provoking. Give it a look.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/magazine/29torres-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
-------------------------
UPON HEARING THAT TORRES is likely to make the Olympic
team at age 41, many people have the same question:
How is this possible? Kinesiologists counter with a
different query: Why are you so surprised? “Dara is
extremely impressive, but she’s not as unique as
people think,” says Michael Joyner, a competitive
athlete and anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic who
writes scholarly papers about aging and sports. “Ted
Williams hit .388 when he was 39. Jack Foster did very
well in the Olympic marathon when he was 40. Karl
Malone earned a triple-double in an N.B.A. game at 40.
Jeannie Longo won a French time-trial championship in
cycling at age 47.” Torres’s events — short swims —
are also well suited to competitors of advanced age.
Compared to, say, running, swimming is more
technique-intensive and produces fewer injuries.
Sprints are also kinder to older athletes, in that
strength falls off more gradually than aerobic power.
In April, at 37, Mark Foster, a freestyle sprinter in
England, came out of retirement and earned a spot, for
the fifth time, on the British Olympic swim team. “For
those of us who pay attention to this stuff,” Joyner
said, “Dara’s performance is unusual but not totally
unexpected.”

So why do we assume a middle-aged swimmer must be all
washed up? Because for nonelite athletes, sporting
achievements fall off precipitously with age. Body
composition changes toward more fat and less muscle.
Strength and aerobic capacity decrease as well. But a
primary reason that athletic performance degrades in
adulthood is changes in priorities. People tend to
devote more time and energy to jobs and families than
to sports. Even committed athletes downgrade their
workout goals from achieving personal bests to staying
in shape. Academics refer to this reduction in
physical activity as hypokinesis. The phenomenon is
not limited to humans. A 1985 study showed that rats
with unlimited access to running wheels exercised less
as they aged. “But look at people who maintain
activity levels,” says Joel Stager, a professor of
kinesiology at Indiana University. “It’s a different
story! A lot of what we assume is aging is just
progressive hypokinesis. How many people at Dara’s age
have maintained their training consistently? I’m going
to say there are very, very few.”
-------------------------
Any way,great job China. My impression of your country has not changed one iota. Still an oppressive, dictatorial regime that unapologetically tramples human rights and makes no bones about it. No amount of smoke/mirrors or fireworks or Olympics sideshows can distract me from that.

"The reality is that the Chinese government's hosting of the games has been a catalyst for abuses, leading to massive forced evictions, a surge in the arrest, detention and harassment of critics, repeated violations of media freedom, and increased political repression," said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch. "Not a single world leader who attended the games or members of the IOC seized the opportunity to challenge the Chinese government's behavior in any meaningful way.

I say AMEN! to that. The enduring legacy and eternal shame of these Games in my mind will forever be that, for two weeks, human rights and freedom were set aside or outright trampled in the chase for money and a share in the Chinese market. SHAME.

ANOTHER 'WEED IN THE GARDEN' STORY

This story shows the type of nonsense that goes on behind the scenes before you get to see what you see on ESPN as far as the LLWS goes. It perfectly illustrates the type of 'weed in the garden' type of environment that can creep in when the focus is on:
a) year-round baseball specialization vs. well-rounded, multi-sport athletics,
b) travel ball environment instead of neighborhood play,
c) trophy collecting vs. player development.

PLAY BALL!!!!

-------------------------
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-08-14/news/kendall-little-league-cheaters/1

Kendall Little League Cheaters
They outscored opponents 140-3 in baseball.
By Gus Garcia-Roberts
Published on August 14, 2008

Ricky Rivera tells the story like a fisherman
recalling the time he battled the big catch and lost,
chuckling without shame at the doomed mismatch.

His is the tale of the bionic 12-year-old baseball
players.

Last month, local Little League All-Star teams began
competing in the worldwide, two-month tournament that
would determine the teams to play in the national
Little League World Series, which begins August 15.
For their playoff opener, Rivera's Homestead All-Stars
faced the Kendall-Hammocks Optimist (KHO) league
All-Stars.

Whatever hopes Rivera's 12-year-old players harbored
for making it all the way to the nationally televised
tournament in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, were dashed
by the first inning.

The first six Kendall batters deposited the Homestead
pitcher's offerings cleanly beyond the 200-foot
home-run fence. The next inning, those same hitters
switched to left-handed and smashed six more home
runs. Kendall coach Nestor Miranda was using Rivera's
ace pitcher for batting practice.

But hitting, it turns out, wasn't KHO's specialty —
pitching was. At an age when most pitchers clock
40-mile-per-hour fastballs, Miranda had six starters
who could easily throw 70. Rivera's players couldn't
manage a foul tip. By the third inning, with Kendall
winning 20-0, the scoreboard operator mercifully took
the rest of the night off.

And when they weren't bashing Little League
competition, these same kids played as Team Miami —
also coached by Miranda — an elite squad in the
expensive and high-pressure "travel ball" circuit.

But the stink of scandal followed. Kendall was a
prepubescent version of the Yankees, its dominance
breeding hate in tinny bleachers across the county.
Parents don't like seeing their children trampled.

And they filled the e-mail inboxes of Little League
officials with complaints.

Then, three weeks after Rivera's protest, Little
League's Pennsylvania offices finally grinded to life.
The night before Kendall was slated to begin a state
championship tournament, Miranda received a terse
e-mail from the tournament committee, addressing the
team's connection to travel ball, and the fact that
the league played by different rules during the
regular season.

The committee claimed KHO had skirted Little League's
rules in handpicking an All-Star team that already
existed elsewhere — as Team Miami. The matter-of-fact
memo concluded by barring KHO from the state
tournament and revoking its Little League charter.
Coral Springs, a team that KHO had beaten by 18 runs
three days earlier, would take its place in the next
day's game.

Miranda and parents led their banned players on a sort
of sit-in at the game they were no longer allowed to
play. They wore team jerseys and hats as they wandered
the pregame field, trailing local news cameras.

"All those violations added up to give Kendall-Hammocks an
advantage that none of the 7,500 teams around the
world had," explains Lance Van Auken, media relations
director for the league. "These are not obscure rules.
These are just the basic rules of Little League play
that have been on the books since the 1940s."

2008 LLWS - POOL PLAY REVIEW

It looks like my predictions for pool play fell into line, with the exception of the team from Mexico finishing ahead of Curacao in Pool C. A bit of a surprise, but not by much, as I said it was a virtual coin-flip.

The Venezuela vs. Japan extra inning tilt was a classic, too bad it will not be a preview of the Championship Game. It could very well be the International Final, but Mexico is very, very tough.

The Italian team played very respectably and provided what I describe as 'the weed that grows in the garden' type problem that is prevalent in the sport at this level. The announcers made the point that the Italian coaches commendably would not allow their kids to throw curve balls, never mind sliders. And the results showed, the pitchers got pounded, as hitters that advance this far can and will pound the fastball. Virtually every other team had multiple pitchers throwing various styles of breaking pitches. The Italian approach is very pro-development, but unfortunately it is very anti-competitive. I wish that was not the case, but it is.

I'll stay with my Japan-Hawaii final for now.

How cute was it to see Stacey Dales try to do serious interviews with 12-year olds. Their one word responses were priceless, but maybe the sleeveless, low-cut look was a contributing factor. I know it was for me.

Go Citrus Park. I would not mind seeing them upset my finals prediction and crash the party, Louisiana is going to be tough. A lot depends on where each team decides to toss their stud pitcher. Do you point him to the final or do you try to get there and hope your #2 is just good enough? And what if the other team goes nuclear and throws it's #1 vs. your #2? Coaches must be going crazy at this point.

GIANTS PRESENT & GIANTS FUTURE

It looks like the Giants have finally given in and do what I've been asking. They've jettisoned some of the dead wood and promoted some "prospects". Posey is in the fold, having signed a record deal at the last minute so as not to let other agents/draftees use the figure to jack up their own demands. See, these guys collude quite often.

GIANTS PRESENT:

Welcome to The Show

The 2008 stats for the three Giants promoted Wednesday:
Minors BA HR RBI
1B Travis Ishikawa AA Connecticut, AAA Fresno .299 24 94
3B Ryan Rohlinger AA Connecticut, AAA Fresno .289 13 65
C/1B Pablo Sandoval A San Jose, AA Connecticut .350 20 96

--------------
See you in September

The Giants gave up on Jose Castillo, designating the third baseman for assignment, and optioned first baseman John Bowker and backup catcher Steve Holm to Triple-A Fresno. All the fresh faces will be in today's lineup, manager Bruce Bochy said.

These guys are going to need name tags.
-----------------
GIANTS FUTURE:

FROM sfgate.com

Posey is a Giant

Our man John Shea is in Atlanta and will be on a conference call with GM Brian Sabean to get details. However, I can tell you it's a done deal. The Giants have signed first-round draft pick Buster Posey, the Florida State catcher and 2008 Golden Spikes winner.

Baseball America reports that Posey will get a signing bonus of $6.2 million and no major-league contract. If BA is correct, Posey's bonus will surpass the Giants' record for an amateur by a staggering $3.7 million.

Interestingly, despite all the draft-time talk that Posey wanted $12 million, he is getting only $200,000 more than last year's No. 5 pick, Georgia State catcher Matt Wieters, got from the Orioles. Giants fans can only hope Posey has the kind of first professional season Wieters has had.

FROM sfgiants.com
The San Francisco Giants have signed catcher Buster Posey, their 1st pick and the fifth overall selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Sabean announced tonight. The Giants have come to terms with 30 players from this year's draft, including 27 of their first 31 selections.

PARIS HILTON FOR PRESIDENT??

Now here's a candidate the country can wrap it arms around. Judging from some of the gossip columns, it seems like many of us already have.

Is it as disturbing to anyone else that in less than five minutes this doorknob sounds more intelligent and coherent--about an issue that concerns every American citizen--than the two major party candidates combined?

Perhaps it's just me.

Anyway, I would be willing to suspend the 35+ age restriction and vote repeatedly, enthusiastically and passionately for this candidate. Can't say that about the other candidates.

HANDICAPPING THE 2008 LLWS

http://www.littleleague.org/series/2008divisions/llbb/series.htm


Not that you should be doing this and you certainly should not be wagering on the results of these games, but just for laughs, here goes:

POOL A:

Southwest: Lake Charles, LA
Northwest: Mill Creek, WA
Mid Atlantic: Hagerstown, MD
Great Lakes: Jeffersonville, IN

If Indiana wins a game, I'll be surprised. Maryland is not bad but it looks like Mill Creek may have the better pitching. Lake Charles is a LL powerhouse, traditionally very strong teams come out of there.

POOL B:

West: Waipahu, HI
Southeast: Citrus Park LL, Tampa, FL
New England: Shelton, CT
Midwest: Rapid City, SD

The Hawaii team looks head and shoulders above anything on the American side, I'll be surprised if they lose a game until the final. Tampa is of course my sentimental favorite. Rapid City may just be happy to be there, two and barbecue, or whatever they do in Williamsport.

POOL C:
Carribean: Curacao N.A.
Mexico: Matamoros LL
Asia-Pacific: Guam LL
Europe: Emilia, Italy

Tough choice between Curacao and Mexico, almost a coin-flip. Guam must be a base team (American) and Italy is my second sentimental favorite.

POOL D:

Japan: Tokyo, Japan
Latin America: Maracaico, Venezuela
Canada: White Rock, BC
MEA: Dharan, Saudi Arabia

Another tough choice here between Tokyo and Maracaio. Canada gets a tough draw, they deserve better. Dharan is another American team.
----------------------
Lake Charles, LA vs. Waipahu, HI for the American final.
Curaco vs. Tokyo for the International final.

It looks like we may set up for a Tokyo vs. Hawaii championship, with the team from Hawaii defending the sport and winning a close game.

Except that they have such an easy run to the final, the American representative might not be the fourth or fifth best team in the tournament if it was an open bracket.

I'm not sure if the top four International teams wouldn't clean house in a best two out three series set-up or an open bracket, double elimination type format.

But we shall see what happens.