C.J. Wilson calls Angels statement on Josh Hamilton 'kind of disheartening' | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports

This is the flip side of the Kris Bryant - Scott Boras whine-a-thon. You don't like the agreement, next time, negotiate a better agreement. Next CBA negotiation, players give some on getting paid to sit out for things that would get most folks jettisoned from their job and players get some on this time-clock / tenure issue.

It's not like Kris Bryant, or generations of Bryants to follow are going to be wanting if he isn't the real deal. And it's not like Josh Hamilton would be hurting -- hell it might even help -- if some of these perverse incentives were not in place. He might have had the motivation he needs to stay on the wagon.

from Yahoo Sports:
C.J. Wilson calls Angels statement on Josh Hamilton 'kind of disheartening' | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports:

Shortly after the league's announcement, Los Angeles Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto, who signed Hamilton to his five-year, $125 million contract in 2012, released a statement in reaction to the ruling, which to many came across as insensitive and petty and has since left many critical of the organization's conduct.

In fact, according to Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register, many of Hamilton's teammates were left speechless yet undeniably affected when the statement played over the TV in the Angel Stadium weight room. Speechless, with the exception of C.J. Wilson, who has a friendship with Hamilton dating back to their time with the Texas Rangers.

'via Blog this'

Josh Hamilton meets with MLB after drug relapse: source - NY Daily News

I heard the report from MLB Network this morning on Sirius that a league source, when asked if Hamilton's issue was due to PED use, reportedly said "worse, far worse".

Like fellow Angels OF Mike Trout said, "this sucks". But this is what worse, far worse and Hamilton's prior struggles lead you to conclude.

Thought and prayers go out to Josh and his loved ones. This has to be devastating news to them as well as his extended baseball family.

from NY Daily News:
Josh Hamilton meets with MLB after drug relapse: source - NY Daily News:

Josh Hamilton, the slugging outfielder who seemed destined for baseball stardom but has been repeatedly sidelined due to substance abuse, was summoned to New York to meet with MLB officials Wednesday about a disciplinary issue.

A source told The News that Hamilton — whose struggles with crack cocaine and alcohol have been well-documented — suffered a cocaine and alcohol relapse.

According to CBSSports.com, Hamilton told MLB about his relapse. His father-in-law, Michael Chadwick, reportedly said Wednesday that Hamilton has “hit a bump in the road, keep him in your prayers.”

 The Los Angeles Times reported that the Angels are preparing for a possible suspension.

'via Blog this'

ESPN - Josh Hamilton's Most Important October Yet - E-ticket

One of the reasons I love Josh Hamilton and would love to see the Giants make a serious run at him
this off-season. Character is what you do when nobody is looking and this guy has the goods.

from ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=joshhamiltoneticket

How to win friends . . . and influence enemies

Let's end with a quick story:

After Game 2 of the 2010 World Series at San Francisco's AT&T Park, after the Giants had taken a two-game lead over the Rangers with a 9-0 win and long after the last pitch had been thrown and the field had been cleared of what seemed like a thousand Giants employees posing with the National League championship trophy, Josh Hamilton and his wife, Katie, took a walk. They walked from the visiting clubhouse down an empty tunnel, hung a left and headed toward the city, past a row of food-service carts and parked forklifts, toward a small parking lot near the Lefty O'Doul Bridge.

They were quiet. Hamilton was tired and disappointed. The game had been over for close to two hours, but it was still inside him. He'd gone 1-for-4, and his team was heading back to Texas facing what proved to be an insurmountable deficit. There were two or three Giants employees hanging around; they'd just been given the opportunity to have their photographs taken -- by themselves, with their spouses, with their children and their spouses -- with the trophy near home plate.

Out of the silence and the darkness, a voice called out.

"Mr. Hamilton!" it bellowed. "Mr. Hamilton!"

The voice was loud enough and insistent enough and unexpected enough that it startled the few people who were standing near the parking lot. They watched as the Hamiltons stopped and located the voice. They found the source: a young man, maybe 18 or 20, wearing a Giants cap, Giants jersey and orange-and-black face paint.

"Mr. Hamilton," he said, a little quieter. "Will you sign?"

Understand: There was nothing at stake here for Hamilton. Most big-time athletes have perfected the art of hearing but not seeing. They can walk through a room with their eyes focused just above the crowd, the thousand-yard stare of the rich and famous, and pretend they're all alone.

We don't ask for much, though. A smile, a handshake, a name scribbled on a ball or a cap. Give us a chance to walk away and tell someone you're a good guy. Some guys understand this.

Hamilton stopped and approached the man. He smiled, took the ball the guy offered. As he signed, he asked, "You're not one of those guys who was dog-cussing me all night, are you?" The guy said no, of course not, he's always admired Hamilton. And by the way, could he get a photograph?

Sure, Josh said.

Inevitably, something went wrong. The camera didn't work.

At this point, most athletes -- even the nicest ones -- would have begged off politely and told the guy he was tired and had a bus to catch. Most wives would have pulled the plug long ago.

Hamilton posed for another photo, shook the guy's hand and walked away.

"That told me all I needed to know about him," said a Giants employee who witnessed the scene. "This wasn't a kid; it was an 18- to 20-year-old. This wasn't a Rangers fan; he was decked out head to toe in Giants gear. And there was no media there. Nobody ever would have known if he'd walked right past him. I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but how many guys at that level do what he did?"

And more to the point: How many truly believe they have no choice?

'via Blog this'

SF Giants Rumors: Josh Hamilton To The Giants, Maybe? | San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors)

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!

SF Giants Rumors: Josh Hamilton To The Giants, Maybe? | San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors):

"Buster Olney of ESPN.com says (via Twitter) one NL official thinks outfielder Josh Hamilton could end up in San Francisco next season.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says (via Twitter) if the Giants were to sign Hamilton, it would have to be to a high annual salary and short-term contract."

'via Blog this'

SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: Can Josh Hamilton Catch Barry Bonds? - Business Insider

A little too early to speculate, but OK, why not? Hamilton is one of my favorite (non-Gigante) baseball players. I would have liked the story better had he succeeded with the Rays, but still. The closest thing to Roy Hobbs that we have in baseball right now.

LET THE FIREWORKS BEGIN!!

SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: Can Josh Hamilton Catch Barry Bonds? - Business Insider:

"OK, OK. The Texas Rangers have only played 18.5% of their schedule. And yes, the chances of Josh Hamilton catching Barry Bonds single-season home run mark of 73 are pretty slim.

But Hamilton did manage to hit 5.5% of the home runs needed to tie the record in last night's game when he hit four home runs. And after 30 games, Hamilton has 14 home runs, the same number of home runs Bonds had at this point in the 2001 season.

And besides, who outside of San Francisco wouldn't want to see Hamilton unseat Bonds? It has the potential to be the greatest story baseball has ever told."

'via Blog this'

Josh Hamilton wins A.L. MVP award...and the link to the greatest story ever told

I Am Second Josh Hamilton



I wanted to get into the story of Josh Hamilton and how great it was during the World Series, but of course, the Rangers did not cooperate by exiting early so I had to wait for another opportunity.

Winning the American League MVP award seems like a good enough second opportunity.

It is, in almost every way that I can see, a story of redemption.

Just like the Michael Vick story.

Just like your story.

Just like my story.

In many ways, it is in fact intertwined with "The Greatest Story Ever Told".

It's a story we should never tire of hearing about.

Regardless of who the story is about.

A British evangelist by the name of Leonard Ravenhill once said:

"The wonder of the grace of God is that God can take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make that man holy, then put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it."

That is the story of both Michael Vick and Josh Hamilton. Period. End of story.

Both are practical demonstrations of the gospel of the grace of God!

The frustration that comes from those who lie in wait for a relapse, so they can sit in judgement -- like God among men -- and say "gotcha", miss the point.

The point is made poignantly by Mr. Ravenhill in a sermon titled 'It is Finished' made shortly before his death in 1994.

In it Ravenhill refers to the phrase 'It is Finished' as the 'three most important words in history'. Further, he refers to these words as 'The Greatest Words Ever Uttered, By the Greatest Man That Ever Lived'.

Those are pretty bold statements. Let's see how he backs them up.

http://www.ravenhill.org/finished.htm

Again, going down that road the people mocked Him - that's what the Bible says. "They that passed by reviled Him wagging their heads." What a bunch of dumb, blind, senseless folk. If Caesar comes down the road they bow the knee and say, "Hail, Caesar."

If the priest comes, they stand in awe. But, you see, He not only was, He IS. In this mad, insane, world in which we live, HE STILL IS DISPISED AND REJECTED OF MEN.

We shouldn't put our tongue in our cheek and say this in a whisper. We ought to shout this from the house top. To a world that is groping in darkness we ought to proclaim with a trumpet voice, "It is FINISHED,
you can't buy salvation,
you can't crawl on your knees through the holy city,
you can't go on a pilgrimage,
you can't offer your righteousness,
there is nothing you can do, but bow in humility and confess and accept it."

So it really is a simple process -- this redemption thing.

Have faith, be humble, repent or confess of what you did wrong and and turn away from it.

Seems to me like that is the process that both guys have gone through and are continuing to go through daily. It's between them and God at this point. Not for us mere mortals to come between.

We all should have our own problems to work on don't we?

In his book "The People of the Lie" author M. Scott Peck walks through some of the issues. And they are a bundle of paradoxes.

I started reading this book (highly recommend it to all) when the Vick issue initially came to a boil and I am fortunate that within our church family and community groups we hear about and examine these issues routinely.

I don't pretend to have total understanding of all the issues, however, in the process of examining, I feel like I am coming to a better understanding than I had before. For that, I am very grateful.

In the Introduction of the book -- titled "Handle with Care" -- Peck makes some rather bold declarative statements about evil, recognizing it and dealing with it.

The first thing he says is:
- This is a dangerous book
- evil people are easy to hate
- remember Saint Augustine's advice to hate the sin but love the sinner
- Remember when you recognize an evil person that truly, "There but for the grace of God go I"
- We cannot begin to hope to heal human evil until we are able to look at it directly
- judgments need to be made about people
- such judgments cannot be made safely unless we begin by judging and healing ourselves.

He concludes by saying the "battle to heal human evil always begins at home. And self-purification will always be our greatest weapon."

He goes on, in the last chapter titled "The Danger and the Hope" to talk about

The Danger of Making Moral Judgement:

Even atheists and agnostics believe in Christ's words: "Judge not, that ye be not judged.".....

If we examine the matter closely, however, we will see that it is both impossible and itself evil to totally refrain from making moral judgments. And attitude of "I'm OK; you're OK" may have a certain place in facilitating our social relationships, but only a place.

Was Hitler OK? Lieutenant Calley? Jim Jones?...

What kind of father would I be if I discovered my son cheating, lying or stealing and failed to criticize him? What should I tell a friend who is planning suicide or a pateint who is selling heroin? "You're OK"? There is a such a thing as an excess of sympathy, an excess of tolerance, an excess of permissiveness.

The fact of the matter is that we cannot lead decent lives without making judgments in general and moral judgments in particular....

You and I go through our day making decisions that are judgments, most of which have moral overtones. We cannot escape from judging.

The sentence "Judge not, that ye be not judged" is usually quoted out of context. Christ did not enjoin us to refrain from ever judging. What he went on to say in the next four verses is that we should judge ourselves before we judge others-not that we shouldn't judge at all.

"Thou hypocrite." he said, "first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Recognizing the potential for evil in moral judgments, he instructed us not to always avoid making them but to purify ourselves before doing so. Which is where the evil fail. It is the self-criticism they avoid.

The Dangers in Perspective:

The major threats to our survival no longer stem from nature without but from our own nature within. It is our carelessness, our hostilities, our selfishness and pride and willful ignorance that endanger the world. Unless we can now tame and transmute the potential for evil in the human soul, we shall be lost.

And how can we do this unless we are willing to look at our own evil with the same thoroughness, detached discernment, and rigorous methodology to which we subjected the external world?

The Solution?

Peck touches on the need to recognize the concept of Banality of Evil -- noted by Hannah Ahrendt in her book about former Nazi Adolph Eichmann -- and it's close link to the deception -- in many cases the self-deception -- of The People of the Lie. Peck notes in conclusion in the final chapter

A Methodology of Love:

...we are all in combat against evil.

...if our passion is great enough, we may even be willing to blow ourselves up in the process of "stomping out" evil.

But we run up against the old problem that the end does not justify the means.

If we kill those who are evil, we will become evil ourselves; we will be killers. If we attempt to deal with evil by destroying it, we will end up destroying ourselves, spiritually if not physically.

What to do then?....we must begin by giving up the simple notion that we can effectively conquer evil by destroying it.

Are we to throw up our hands - to regard the problem of evil as being inherently insoluble? Hardly. That would be meaningless. It is in the struggle between good and evil that life has its meaning - and in the hope that goodness can succeed. That hope is our answer: goodness can succeed. Evil can be defeated by goodness. When we translate this we realize what we dimly have always known: Evil can be conquered only by love.

It sounds so simple, so obvious. Then why don't we practice what we preach more? The problem is that although a simple concept in theory, it is difficult to put into practice. Peck calls it a "paradox" and a "dynamic balance of opposites" or a tightrope walk between making easy versus difficult choices.

He compares it to the paradox parents face raising a child. If a parent rejects all misbehavior, that is unloving. But to tolerate all misbehavior is equally unloving. A parent walks a fine line between tolerance and intolerance. Sometimes strict in the use of the rod, sometimes flexible. Peck notes that "an almost godlike compassion is required" or the patience of a saint at the very least.

It is not an easy thing to embrace ugliness with the sole motive of hope that in some unknown way a transformation into beauty might occur thereby. But the myth of kissed frogs turning into princes remains.

Peck states that the first task of love is self-purification. A difficult first step indeed. Many of us do not like to take a long, hard look in the mirror. We deceive ourselves. But the benefits are as follows:

When one has purified oneself, by the grace of God, to the point at which one can truly love one's enemies, a beautiful thing happens. It is as if the boundaries of the soul become so clean as to be transparent, and a unique light then shines forth from the individual.

Who wouldn't want that? Peck admits that the results of this approach are not perfect. The "effect of this light varies". Some are encouraged by it and change the course of their behavior (as Vick and Hamilton appear to have done) but even in failure there can be success.

...those who hate the light will attack it. Yet it is as if their evil actions are taken into the light and consumed. The malignant energy is thereby wasted, contained and neutralized. The process may be painful to the bearer of the light, occasionally even fatal. This does not, however, signify the success of evil. Rather, it backfires. As I said in The Road Less Traveled, "It was evil that raised Christ to the cross, thereby enabling us to see him from afar."

BEAUTIFUL!!! Timeless themes really. Good will conquer evil. The Truth will set you free. Love never fails.

In further explaining how this methodology of love allows good to conquer evil Peck quotes the words of an old priest who dealt with the issue on the front lines everyday.

"There are dozens of ways to deal with evil and several ways to conquer it. All of them are facets of the truth that the only ultimate way to conquer evil is to let it be smothered within a willing, living human being. When it is absorbed there like blood in a sponge or a spear into one's heart, it loses its power and goes no further."

The willing sacrifice of another is required to absorb the evil. Peck asks the question of whether this absorption of evil corrupts the good person. What would then be gained by this seemingly meaningless trade-off?

He admits that he does not know exactly how this process occurs, but he believes that it does. The victim becomes the victor.

He quotes C.S. Lewis: "When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."

....I know that good people can deliberately allow themselves to be pierced by the evil of others - to be broken thereby yet somehow not broken - to even be killed in some sense and yet still survive and not succumb. Whenever this happens there is a slight shift in the balance of power in the world.

Amen to that.

And that's why I continue to find these stories to be remarkable and timelessly beautiful to observe.

This is a fantastic book.

People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck
http://www.amazon.com/People-Lie-Hope-Healing-Human/dp/0684848597

THE TAMPA BAY RAYS ARE MOVING ON UP

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From MLB.com

Tampa Bay Rays unveiled plans today for a new 34,000-seat, retractable-roof, open-air ballpark on the St. Petersburg waterfront at the site of historic Al Lang Field in downtown St. Petersburg with projected completion date of 2012.

"Our vision is to build a breath-taking and contemporary waterfront ballpark," said Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg. "It will be an iconic landmark for the entire Tampa Bay region and showcase all that is great about Major League Baseball in the State of Florida."
------------------------------------------------------------------------


The housecleaning continues in St. Petersburg:

The Devil Rays drop the name "Devil" from their name. Hopefully the point isn't to curry favor with God, since He hasn't stopped a certain team from New Jersey from winning the Stanley Cup. And of course, more recently he obviously didn't appreciate the Colorado Rockies efforts to position themselves as His team enough to prevent them from being smitten by the heathens from Boston. Do I even have to bring up Notre Dame football people?

The newly minted Rays also appear to be distancing themselves further from the Chuck "We like him better from Afar" LaMar philosophy of gathering high-ceiling, low character young players by completing the unload-a-prospect trifecta:
#1 overall pick Josh "We coulda had Beckett" Hamilton to the Reds for cash
First Rounder Delmon Young to the Twins for prospects
Third Rounder Eljah Dukes to the Nationals for a bag of baseballs

Plus, picking up Troy Percival could give them a strong, deep bullpen which would allow them to shorten the workload for the young starters.

That's a lot of addition by subtraction. Only in the Delmon Young deal did they get anything like comparable value in return.

And that's not to mention the angling for a new stadium deal. For St. Pete this sounds too good to be true, so they will probably find a way to shoot it down. The parking in the area they are considering would seem to be problematic, but the site itself is great for baseball and it would be outdoors, by the water, good visuals for the TV cutaway shots.

The team on paper right now looks like it could be a .500 team rather easily and is maybe a front-line starter away from contention, even given the division they are in. A wild-card slot would not be too much of a stretch.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rays on the bay?
By AARON SHAROCKMAN and MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writers
Published November 10, 2007

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/10/Rays/Rays_on_the_bay.shtml

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays have developed a bold plan to
build a $450-million downtown stadium that would give fans waterfront
views and protection from rain.

The stadium, to be built on the site of Al Lang Field, would seat
about 35,000 and could open as early as 2012. Hitters there would have a
chance to send the ball into the bay.

Financing is still being worked out, but a primary source would be
proceeds of the sale of the Tropicana Field site to a developer who would
build a large retail/residential complex there. The Rays also would
make a contribution, perhaps as much as $150-million, covering one-third
of the cost.

The team also would seek legislative approval for $60-million of
state money in future sales tax revenue from food, beer and merchandise
sales in the new park.

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 - 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.

Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy, Hypocrisy...and Bonds at 740.

This is a perfect example of the hypocrisy we'll continue to see as Barry Bonds makes his march towards the home-run crown. Jeff Perlman, the author of Love Me, Hate Me, The Making of an Antihero has his own special man-crush on Josh Hamilton. Well, isn't that special? He clearly hates Barry Bonds and the example he provides, but gushes eloquently over Josh Hamilton. That's just so special.

from espn.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/070420&sportCat=mlb

Of course, this nation is so full of forgiveness, but apparently on a selective basis only. It may be full of something, but it's clearly not forgiveness.

from espn.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/07411&sportCat=mlb

Another comes courtesy of Sports Illustrated's Peter King, who is not going to mention Barry Bonds any more because he believes he cheated. Here's his take on Shawn Merriman after he tested positive for steroids:

MERRIMANMANIA. From Bruce White of Indianapolis: "Should Shawne Merriman be eliminated from the Pro Bowl due to his positive steroids test?''

No. If he's eligible for 12 games and plays at a very high level in those games, he should be able to play in the Pro Bowl. Now, if he were to miss three games down the stretch for any reason, let's say, I'd say he didn't deserve a bid because he missed too much time. But he paid his penalty according to the collectively bargained rules of the game.

All right, let me get this straight Mr. King:

You're going to protest Barry Bonds achievement with your silence, (sounds more like a reward than a penalty, hey whatever) but have no problem with Shawn Merriman being rewarded for his achievement by participating in the Pro-Bowl even though Merriman flunked a steroids test and to-date Bonds hasn't flunked one?

Sounds like your disdain for cheating is a bit selective, don't you think? Merriman served his time according to the CBA? Weak argument. Apply same logic to Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, than we can talk like intelligent, rational people.

Do you do any special contortionist exercises to reconcile your logic in these two instances?

I think I've about had it with the blatant stupidity of braying jack-asses like this.

Somebody on this planet needs to complete the Honesty and Integrity Trifecta (we'll call it the HIT for short) for me before I give them an ear on this issue.

That is, whenever I hear or read somebody blast Bonds, (and of course they know everything he's done or didn't do, because he's always been so open and accommodating with his time with the media) I ask, "what do you think about Clemens, might he be cheating to get the results he's getting at an advanced age?"
 "Oh no, no way".

How about Lance Armstrong, couldn't he have done something to help him defeat not only Cancer but his competitors, all of whom seem to be on something? Nobody except the French seems to think he does anything but win Tour de Frances.

There seems to be just as much of a mountain of real or circumstantial evidence to implicate Clemens or Armstrong from what I've seen, heard or read. But we gleefully leak information on the one hand and blissfully redact in the other? Not to mention some other guys we let slide because they're still popular, like Pujols, Prior and many others.

And I'm a little tired of hearing, "Well these guys aren't approaching "hallowed" records" as if cheating is somehow OK, up until a point. Try that the next time you rob a bank and don't steal all the money in the vault. You want to start erasing records from the record book, you better get yourself an awful big eraser, or gallons and gallons of white out.

Guys like Perry, Sutton and Whitey Ford are in the Hall of Fame and lionized in spite of careers built on bending rules. Time to put it away folks. Never mind whatever was accomplished as a result of the use of "greenies", which were made illegal in 1970.

There is a huge problem in this country among youth with use of crystal meth. Meth being shorthand for methamphetamine or "speed". Hey, Dad baseball players use it, why can't I?

There is a also a huge problem in this country with alcohol use among youth, but I don't see any major sport turning away sponsorship dollars on principle. I know it's legal and that makes a huge difference, but spit tobacco is legal also and they took a stand there. Tobacco by contrast does not generate sponsorship dollars. Seems like we're picking our spots to take a stand based on dollars to be lost or gained (wait, where have I heard that before?).

Palmeiro I can see venom being directed at. He knew the deal and still tried to get away with something. Anyone else caught under the drug testing program deserves whatever animosity they get.

McGwire, Sosa, Bonds all of them have the Lance Armstrong defense in my opinion, they've never failed a test. You want to blame them for baseball not having adequate testing, that's pretty ignorant and unfair. I don't see anyone at work unilaterally offering up urine or blood tests unless they have to and even then, under protest. You want to retroactively punish people for behavior, start by taking racists like Cobb, Anson, et al out of the Hall of Fame, then you'll have my attention. Or take out some of the cheaters you've glorified in the past. Then I'll be impressed by your position on the issue.

And by the way, Peter King and his ilk on the Football Hall of Fame have no problem whatsoever looking the other way on all sorts of reprehensible behavior when voting on membership in the Football Hall of Fame. Drug Use, Murder, Manslaughter, anything goes as long as you perform on the field. And your little piss-ant silent protest against Barry Bonds is supposed to mean something? Give it a rest you MF-ing hypocrite.

The biggest Performance Enhancer Bonds has used in his favor IMO has always been Questec. Since being put in service in 2001, the year he hit 73 homers, his strikeout to HR ratio has turned from about 1:2 before to about 1:1.25 afterwards. Only Pujols seems to be as close in terms of HR to K ratio. That's a pretty significant change in one year.

Pitchers cannot pitch to him and get him out within the constraints of the strike zone as defined in the rule book, period. And it's possible they were never able to. However, prior to 2001, Major League pitchers had an extra 5-10 inches off the outside corner to work with. Anyone care to debate that fact? I didn't think so.

It's the same problem with Alex Rodriguez. He's so locked in and so good as a hitter and a slugger that he simply can't be pitched to. And even A-Rod strikes out about 4 time for every HR.

There is still a significant portion of the guys who study the game from statistical viewpoint who do not see the numbers of Bonds, McGwire and Sosa as being abnormal.

Here's another interesting outlook from Daniel Engber's article in Slate titled "The Growth Hormone Myth: What athletes, fans, and the sports media don't understand about HGH". The gist of the article is there is really not much data out there that indicates, from an exercise physiology standpoint, that using any of this stuff works to enhance performance on the baseball field. You have to make leaps of faith or assumptions that are not backed up by any scientific data.

The following paragraphs were I thought most interesting:

The most likely reason that athletes use HGH, though, is superstition. A ballplayer might shoot up with HGH for the same reason we take vitamin C when we have a cold: There's no good reason to think it does anything, but we're willing to give it a try. The fact that the major sports leagues have banned growth hormone only encourages the idea that the drug has tangible benefits. Why would they ban something unless it worked?

This mentality has put doping officials and athletes into a feedback loop of addled hysteria. The World Anti-Doping Agency will ban any drug that athletes use, whether or not it has an effect. The WADA code points out that the use of substances "based on the mistaken belief they enhance performance is clearly contradictory to the spirit of sport." In other words, it doesn't matter if HGH gives athletes an unfair advantage. If Jerry Hairston believes he's cheating, then he really is cheating.

That twisted logic has turned the latest round of busts into a giant PR campaign for growth hormone. Every star athlete who gets caught with a vial of HGH turns into a de facto spokesperson for the drug. In a certain sense, that might be a good thing: The media hype may soon make HGH so popular that it squeezes the more dangerous anabolic steroids out of the market. That's one way to clean up the game.

Seems like a silly way to go about it though, travelling from one bogeyman to another, but that seems to be the way things get done in this country.

And who cares if Hank Aaron doesn't show up for the record breaker? As far as I'm concerned, he couldn't hold Willie Mays' jock as a player. And if Mays had played in as hitter-friendly ballparks as Aaron enjoyed, we'd be taking about Bonds breaking Mays' record. And we might be waiting a bit longer for the record to fall. Mays might have hit 800.

I'm not going to go as far as calling Aaron a coward as Rob Parker did in this Detroit News article, but I do feel it shows a lack of class and respect for the game of baseball and Bonds accomplishments.

from detnews.com
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070420/SPORTS08/704200362/1129/rss15

And Bud Selig can stay home to for all I care. He was gutless at the beginning of this whole "steroids" mess and it wouldn't surprise me if he continued to be gutless now. If you really want to label anyone a coward in this whole mess, the guy for me would be Commissioner Bud Selig, representing all of the owners.

And for all the whiners, who won't be able to face baseball with Barry Bonds as it's Home Run King can always cheer on Alex Rodriguez as he makes a run at 800, 900 or, if he can get to Wrigley Field on a regular basis, who knows maybe 1000 HR's as the mark for future sluggers to shoot for.

Then tell me that the size of ballparks, the springiness of the baseballs, the dilution of pitching, etc. hasn't been a factor all these years. Me, I'll celebrate a great achievement, by a great major league hitter, possibly the best all-around hitter of this generation and most others.

The Keith Olbermanns of the world can stay home and make love to their inflatable Rebecca Lobo dolls or whatever young lady they're currently stalking (ahem, allegedly stalking) and try to pretend that they are the moral compass not only for baseball, but for the entire free world. Give me a M.F.-ing break. Where have you gone Harold Reynolds?

Goodbye Bracketology, Hello Baseball!! As soon as the Masters is over

Well, thanks to the semi-pro Florida Gators, Team Slavik finishes tenth in the local office pool, costing us the $5 entrance fee. I HATE GAMBLING!!!! Now, I'll never be able to retire.

Bonds looks good, hitting a home run, stealing a base, and making defensive plays in LF. Maybe he'll make the All-Star Game (being held in San Francisco this year). And maybe he'll break Aaron's record, which of course will cause the end of the world as we know it. HAHAHA.

Devil Rays look good, taking one of two in Yankee Stadium. I'd be really excited about their chances if they had more pitching. Upton, Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes, three of the four Devil Rays bad-boys seem ready to make their mark on the field instead of by doing and saying stupid things. Good for them.

And the fourth bad-boy, Josh Hamilton, a former 1st pick overall, now Rule 5 reclamation project of the Reds, was one of the the feel-good stories of the spring. Yes, Johnny you too can virtually piss away your career by doing and make a comback in the minds and hearts of America. That's been proven once again by the Josh Hamilton story. Pssst, Johnny....just make sure you're a white-boy, or as they say, it just won't play in Peoria. Sorry folks, but if you can cite an example that shows where I'm wrong about this, please let me know. The tone and theme of the stories would be entirely different if any of the other three guys (Upton, Young, or Dukes) were drug users to the level and repetiveness of Hamilton. It would not be portrayed as a feel-good story, I can assure you of that. I'm still not sure the media is done demonizing Delmon Young for tossing a bat at a scab umpire (who hasn't wanted to do that?). He sure hasn't been publicly forgiven yet. I bet umpires as a group have forgiven him more than the media and the public at-large.


Nice to see baseball doing the right thing by honoring the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut with the Dodgers. And it is a nice touch to have ANY African-American who desires, wear his number on that day in honor of the event. Kudos to Griffey for coming up with the idea. MLB marketing honchos can take the rest of the year off, if necessary.

Every Dodger will wear number 42, which will be a scorekeepers nightmare. Not really, the names over the number will give them a clue.

In discussing the event this week, it was interesting to hear some of the commentary from the major players in the mass media. Some commentators made note of the declining numbers of Afircan-Americans who play the game today as opposed to 10-20 years ago and launched into a search for the answers.

It was pricless to hear Gary Sheffield interviewed and asked his opinion why the numbers are declining. His answer ran along the lines of white owners don't promote black superstars, if anyhthing they run them down or promote inferior white players instead. The NBA and NFL, by contrast, will positively promote black superstars. They almost have to in most cases. They have no choice.

After the interview, it was hilarious to hear the two clown-asses (KO and DP of ESPN)
try to make the case why Sheff was wrong and of course, these two had a better answer. I mean, who would be in a better position to know the hearts and minds of young African-Americans, Gary Sheffield or Dan Patrick and Keith Olberman?

When you ask a brother a question about the brothers and he give you an answer, perhaps you should give it some serious consideration. Not dismiss it and come up with speculation of your own. It makes white people sound stupid at best, mean-spirited and stupid at worst. PLEASE STOP.

And things like the new DIRECT TV deal and no afternoon World Sereris games are not the answer either. That's just stupid talk. I became a fan when there was ONE GAME a week on TV not the daily saturation of games and highlights available now. My dad left me handwritten notes of the results of west coast Giants games on the refrigerator. That was my version of Sports Center. And I became and remain a fan. There's never been a better time, in my opinion, to be a baseball fan.

To hear a self-absorbed, douchebag commentator whine about the DIRECT TV deal because his Manhattan association won't allow installation of sattelite dishes, smacks of elitist whining, not the concern of REAL baseball fans. Go figure out, how to link President Bush to this decision and leave the sports commentating to the full-timers.

They mentioned the entry cost of playing baseball, the equipment, fees, etc. Which are no higher on a relative basis than the were 10-20 years ago. And then they detour into celebrating what the arrival of Tiger Woods has done for the numbers of AA who are able to play golf. Ever priced how much it costs to play golf? Are the number of young African Americans playing golf really increasing enough to explain the dissapearance of number from baseball. Kids and lower income families can't afford cable or satellite installation, but they can afford golf equipment and greens fees. COME ON!! Let's be realistic.

Sheff's right, it's time for a reality check. And in the same way that owners and the baseball media closed their eyes to the PED scandal, they are metaphorically closing their eyes and ears, but unfortunatley not their mouths, to the issue of race and racism in baseball. Denial is not just a river in Egypt fellas.

Aaron passed Ruth thirty years ago, but Ruth was still the deity, THE REAL HOME RUN CHAMPION, not Aaron.

We fixate today on whether or not Bud Selig will be there when Bonds passes Aaron, as if that's a big deal, and conveniently forget to mention that Commissioner Bowie Kuhn (GRHS) did not attend the game where Aaron passed Ruth. Just another case of history repeating.

Let's hope we someday do a better job of righting the wrongs of racism and the declining numbers of African American males participating in baseball, than we did trying to FIX the PED problem. It might require that some, who have little knowledge of the subject matter, do less pontificating about the subject and more listening to those who are in a better position to know the answers. And if you don't know who you are, I'd be happy to let you know.

Judging how the debate and the formulation of a solution to the PED issue has gone, unfortunately, I fear the worst. But I'm willing to hope for the best. For all that he went through to blaze a trail for his fellow man and raise hope for a better day, Jackie Robinson deserved better.

The "Devil" Rays sure know how to Pick 'em

This is on top of the personal disaster that is/was Josh Hamilton and the moronic, borderline criminal behavior of Delmon Young. Add now B.J. Upton and Elijah Dukes.

You can take the word Devil out of the team name, and there has been talk of that since the franchise's inception, but it doesn't seem like the Rays have figured out how to take the "devil" out of the players it drafts and develops.

That's over $10 million dollars invested in these prize pigs. Do you think they may want to consult with the Rockies or some person or organization who understands that "Character Counts"?


Elijah Dukes suspended by Durham Bulls

Yet another top minor-league prospect in trouble
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The trouble continues for the trio of Devil Rays' Triple-A stars. On Saturday the Durham Bulls announced that outfielder Elijah Dukes has been suspended for unspecified reasons.

Though the Rays would not comment, Dukes' past makes the announcement less than surprising. This season Dukes, a slugging outfielder, has had a blowup with his coaches during a game and for another, did not play because he showed up late.

Saturday's news came on the heels of shortstop B.J. Upton getting arrested early Friday for DUI in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Upton was driving 51 in a 30 mph zone at 3:30 a.m. His blood-alcohol content was a 0.11. North Carolina's legal limit is 0.08.

"The Devil Rays and B.J. Upton recognize the seriousness of this matter. We will continue to monitor this situation as the judicial system runs its course," was the only statement released by the Devil Rays, from executive VP Andrew Friedman.