Chicago White Sox prevent Giants from doing something stupid

(USA TODAY Sports)

Now if someone will just step up and overpay for Chase Headley's services allowing the Giants to focus on signing James Shields, I would be grateful. From the White Sox standpoint, at least they didn't give him five years, which some were projecting Cabrera would get. That would have made the risk even greater. He can hit and he would plug a hole in the Giants lineup left by Sandoval, but he comes with even worse baggage than Sandoval's occasional struggles with weight watching. For that reason, I would have shied away from a Melky Returns to SF sequel.

The shopping list still includes a starting pitcher, left fielder and third baseman and will grow to include a set-up man if/when Romo sign elsewhere, so Sabean will have start shopping for pre-Christmas bargains (aka dumpster dives), which is his niche. It's still not too late to salvage the holiday season and bring good cheer to Giants fans, but the shelves are starting to look a little more bare.

from Yahoo Sports:
Chicago White Sox agree to three-year deal with Melky Cabrera | Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports:

If it wasn't official before, it's official now: The Chicago White Sox mean business.
After taking the Winter Meetings by storm, acquiring Jeff Samardzija in a six-player trade with the Oakland A's and signing free-agent reliever David Robertson to a massive four-year, $46 million deal, general manager Rick Hahn has struck again, agreeing to a three-year deal with outfielder Melky Cabrera. 

'via Blog this'

"Experimental" rule key to unlock Giants offensive high

The Giants find the secret to offensive success!! 

• Find a loophole in a rule, like MLB Rule 7.13 perhaps...
• Delay game due to replay 10 minutes
• Listen to Hawk Harrelson slippery slope snap analysis about players wearing skirts
• Watch opponent fall apart at seams 

Maybe the WSox shouldn't have walked a .196 hitter on four pitches, or turned Pagan around to the left side where he's a much better hitter and maybe you get out of the inning with AT WORST, a tie game. From there you force the Giants to score another whole run by their own selves, which they have struggled to do lately in case you haven't noticed.

The way this game was going the Gigantes wouldn't have scored on the Sox lefty if they extended the game until Sunday.

BWDIK?? 

MERCY!!!!

POSTGAME NOTES: Giants, White Sox react to play at the plate; Peavy gets first win as a Giant - Giants Extra

				POSTGAME NOTES: Giants, White Sox react to play at th... Bruce Bochy pushed hard for this rule, but this isn’t exactly what he had in mind. Bochy, a former catcher, wanted to keep catchers from getting blown up a...
				View on blogs.mercurynews...	Preview by Yahoo

Bruce Bochy pushed hard for this rule, but this isn’t exactly what he had in mind. Bochy, a former catcher, wanted to keep catchers from getting blown up at the plate. Major League Baseball did the right thing, presenting a rule that’s supposed to protect guys who have little chance on bang-bang plays. But it’s vague, and there are loopholes, and we saw one of them today.

By the letter of the law, Gregor Blanco was safe. But Blanco didn’t think he was safe. He slid across the plate and then walked slowly back to the dugout, squinting as he looked back at the scoreboard. He didn’t know the plate had been blocked until he went back to the clubhouse to watch the replay. Bochy didn’t think Blanco was safe. He dropped his head and looked down at the seeds at his feet. And then …

It's nicknamed "The Buster Posey Rule" but it should be more aptly named "The Eliminate Egregious Collisions at Home Plate Rule". That just doesn't roll off the tongue as well, so I see why they they named it after Buster.

This is what the rule change was supposed to take out of the game. 

 

It shouldn't have necessitated an "experimental" rule change, which allowed a committee to go to work and make decisions. A committee of one should have decided this and "experimental" should only refer to drug use. 

Somebody must have been smoking weed before they introduced this rule change on Major League Baseball

So a backup OF for the Marlins is still deciding the outcome of games and the fortunes of teams seasons many years down the road. Way to go Scott Cousins!!!

As for Hawk Harrelson's analysis, if the Hawk thinks putting a skirt on players is going to dampen interest then perhaps he hasn't watched A League of their Own. Mercy!!!

Ex-Giant Conor Gillaspie Finding Success with White Sox

Now we know...the rest of the story. Sometimes it takes getting traded or released for a prospect to gain the perspective and attitude adjustment necessary to succeed. Good for Conor, I always liked him as a prospect but he was blocked with The G-men as long as Sandoval was there.


from SF Gate:

Ex-Giant Conor Gillaspie Finding Success with White Sox:

The White Sox were able to tap into his talent in ways the Giants could not during his six years in their system.

Gillaspie, 26, admitted this week that his immaturity held him back in San Francisco. He was a supplemental first-round pick in 2008 who got a September call-up that year and rubbed his teammates the wrong way with a misplaced sense of entitlement.

Gillaspie said he forced himself into an attitude adjustment after the trade that helped him on and off the field. He also credited the added maturity of having a child.

"After I was traded here I decided I was going to keep quiet and just listen to people so I could create a different perception of myself," Gillaspie said. "I also told myself that I don't have to be a superstar. I just have to do what I'm capable of."

'via Blog this'

Carlos Rodon: Prospect Profile for Chicago White Sox's 1st-Round Pick | Bleacher Report

The safe pick here for the White Sox, probably broke a few hearts in the Cubs war room. The comparison in the article is to Rays David Price. If he give the WSox anywhere near that, they will be very happy.

from Bleacher Report:
Carlos Rodon: Prospect Profile for Chicago White Sox's 1st-Round Pick | Bleacher Report:

Nobody in college baseball has been better over the last three seasons than Carlos Rodon. And now, after a historically good career at N.C. State, the left-hander is finally ready to enter the professional ranks.

A 16th-round selection by the Brewers in 2011 out of high school, Rodon has been viewed as the favorite to be this year’s No. 1-overall pick basically since setting foot on campus. In 2012 the left-hander became the first freshman in conference history to win the ACC Pitcher of the Year award after posting a 1.57 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 135 strikeouts in 114.2 innings (16 starts). His remarkable season also led to him being named Louisville Sluggers’ National Freshman of the Year.

'via Blog this'

Nightengale: Giants' title should make others green with envy

I like the comparison to the Yankees as far as results as well as overall approach. A lot of organizations are making strides with the old-school Scout, draft, sign and develop approach. Some take the Moneyball / Stats approach, but most are employing a mixed or hybrid approach.

The Giants now move in behind the Cardinals in the NL in terms of productivity in the 2000-2012 era.

The Cardinals have 9 Play-off appearances, 3 League Championships and 2 World Championships for a (9-3-2) score.

The Giants now slide in right behind with a (5-3-2). Atlanta has an (8-0-0) record and then Philadelphia at (5-2-1) and Arizona (4-1-1) round out the NL elite.

The Dodgers (4-0-) Houston (3-1-0) and the Cubs (3-0-0) are next followed by Colorado (2-1-0) and the Mets (2-1-0).

You have to slide the Marlins in here somewhere at (1-1-1) because the one World Championship has to count for something. However, after taking the new-stadium / open check-book approach, they are still searching for an  approach that works. They are good at the scout, draft, sign, develop part, it's hanging on to the fruits of their labor that have gotten them in trouble.

Rounding out the NL is MIL (2-0-0), SD (2-0-0) CIN (2-0-0) and Washington (1-0-0). Pittsburgh still needs to crack the post-season.

from USAToday.com
Nightengale: Giants' title should make others green with envy:

"Giants GM Brian Sabean, the former Yankees' scouting director, was Quinn's first hire. Dick Tidrow, vice president of player personnel, was a former scout and pitcher for the Yankees. Dave Righetti, the pitching coach, is a former Yankees star. Hitting coaches Hensley Muelens and Joe Lefebvre and first-base coach Roberto Kelly are former Yankees. So is advance scout Steve Balboni.

"If you pin Brian down," Quinn sai, "he'll tell you the Yankee way ain't all that bad. Brian is old school. That's the way we did things in New York. He's taking the same motto we used in New York. SDSD. Scout, draft, sign and develop."

It might have been the New York dictum, but the Giants have perfected it. The Giants' legacy will be forever remembered, with a flair of New York style."

'via Blog this'

On the AL side, the Yankees are the standard-bearer at (12-4-2). Their seemingly limitless check-book balance gives them potent ammunition to take an "all of the above" approach that makes them the envy (hated) of MLB.

Boston -- still licking their wounds from the Bobby V. experiment -- are successful at (6-2-2).

BOBBY V. GUILTY OF IMPERSONATING A MANAGER ONCE BEFORE 

The Angels are making noise at (6-1-1). The A's continue their "make the play-offs, no title belts" with the Moneyball approach at (6-0-0) and the Twins -- with an SDSD approach also come in at (6-0-0).

After that level, the Rangers (3-2-0) and Tigers (3-2-0) lead the WhiteSox (3-1-1) and the Rays (3-1-0). Cleveland (2-0-0) and Seattle (2-0-0) lead the promising, upstart Orioles -- who break though this year under Uncle Buck -- at (1-0-0).

Kansas City and Toronto are still pitching a shut-out for the century.


Post-Season Awards:
COTY: Showalter and Davey Johnson (Bochy if post-season is considered)
ROTY: Trout and Harper
MVP: Cabrera / Trout / Cano and Posey / McCutchen / Braun
Cy Young: Verlander / Price / Sale and Kershaw / Ceuto / Dickey

For another night, at least, Dodgers keep playoff dream from bursting - Yahoo! Sports

Cardinals should grab the last NL playoff spot, but stranger things have happened this late in the season.

Sad to see the Rays and White Sox out of it, but the A's have played over expectations all year and earned their spot.


For another night, at least, Dodgers keep playoff dream from bursting - Yahoo! Sports:

"The Cardinals, meantime, hand their season to their veterans – Chris Carpenter first, then, if necessary, Adam Wainwright. That is their comfort, and why a Dodgers' postseason is the longest of shots.

But, on a night the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels had their seasons die, on a night the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals and Oakland A's toasted themselves, the Dodgers threw a bucket of ice water on Elian Herrera and had reason to return the next day."

'via Blog this'

SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: White Sox Announcers Are Most Biased - Business Insider

Not surprised by this one. "The Hawk" is one of the biggest whiners on-air. MERCY!!!!

SPORTS CHART OF THE DAY: White Sox Announcers Are Most Biased - Business Insider:

"The Wall Street Journal conducted a study in which they measured the level of perceived bias expressed by the television announcers for each of the 30 Major League Baseball clubs. And to the surprise of nobody that has ever listened to Ken "Hawk" Harrelson, the White Sox came out on top. And it wasn't even close.

Members of the WSJ listened to the broadcast of a single game for all 30 teams and counted the number of times the announcers referred to the team using the pronouns "we," "us," or "our," as well as the number of times they referred to a player by his nickname or were "blatantly rooting for the home team."

The White Sox announcers exhibited some level of bias 104 times during the 9-inning game. That is 352% more than the next most biased crew, the Indians (23). Only five sets of announcers did not show any biased statements at all, including the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. Here are the 25 clubs that did..."

'via Blog this'

2011 MLB Draft continues

Giants add Oregon State C Andrew Susac, a 2009 former Phillies pick out of HS. May be insurance hedge against a Posey move to another position.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14690363&topic_id=18682064

Rank 35. Andrew Susac - C
Oregon St
Birthdate: 03/22/1990
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats: R
Throws: R

The draft-eligible sophomore was a good high school catching prospect in Northern California two years ago, but teams stayed away (the Phillies took a shot in the 16th round) because of his strong commitment to Oregon St.

Now, Susac is mentioned frequently near the top of the catching list in this year's class, though there are differing opinions about his skill set. Teams that will consider him highly see the potential for him to be an everyday catcher.

He does have average raw power, mostly to the pull side, with more gap power to other fields. That could mean 15-20 homers annually, if he can make enough contact to tap into that power, something some have concerns about. He's a bit of a guess hitter and uses a big leg lift in his swing.

Susac is stocky, but not physical and muscular -- kind of like a Gregg Zaun-type. Behind the plate, he has a solid average arm and will flash a plus now and again. His hands can be a little stiff, but he's made some good improvement in his receiving skills. A broken left hamate bone forced him out of action this spring, and it remains to be seen how that will impact his Draft status.

IL prospect Charlie Tilson OF from New Trier HS was just selected by the Cardinals in the 2nd round.

Here is what mlb.com had to say about Mr. Tilson:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14690097&topic_id=18682064

Rank 44. Charlie Tilson - OF
New Trier HS (Ill.)
Birthdate: 12/02/1992
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Bats: L
Throws: L

Comments: The Chicago-area high school product was known in the region for a while, but really helped his stock with a tremendous performance at the Area Code Games last summer. Tilson isn't the biggest guy in the world, reminding some of a Brett Gardner or Jacoby Ellsbury, both of whom had more of a track record as college performers. He has been a two-sport athlete in high school, and that athleticism does play well on the diamond. He has some quick-twitch actions and has a good first step down the line. Overall, his speed grades out as above average -- he's not a true burner -- but he could be a solid leadoff hitter or No. 2 type in the future, thanks to his contact and on-base skills. Tilson has a smooth swing and is quick to the ball, tending to shoot the ball in the gap with an opposite-field approach. He has below-average power and does need to gain some strength. He plays center field right now and could be an average defender there in the future. The accuracy of his fringe-average arm should allow him to play center or left field capably. His size and strength might deter some, as could a strong commitment to college, but any Gardner or Ellsbury fans out there might give Tilson a try.

The Cubs made what initially seemed like an interesting 1st round pick in SS Javier Baez, a HS player out of FL. He's 6-0, 180 with a power bat, but it looks like the consensus is he moves to 3B eventually. I wondered why a SS with Castro in tow, but a potential successor to Aramis Ramirez makes more sense.

I have NO clue what the White Sox are doing, I hope for Sox fans sake that they know what they are doing. Having said that I will stay out of White Sox business.

OK, WHATEVER DUDES!!!

Pittsburgh is adding to its initial pick of RHP Gerrit Cole by selecting toolsy, switch-hitting TX HS OF Josh Bell and power-hitting 1B from Indiana Alex Dickerson.

The Nationals have plucked FOUR highly regarded, near major league ready players by nabbing Rice 3B Anthony Rendon, regarded by some as a potential #1 overall pick, JUCO OF Brian Goodwin, TCU LHP Matt Purke and Kentucky RHP Alex Meyer. All four could help in short order.

The Rays have made TWELVE picks already, mostly younger HS players. I like Mikie Mahtook OF from LSU them however. If Super Sam Fuld can hold one OF spot long enough for Mahtook to arrive, the Rays fans (all five of them) will have a lot to cheer about from their corner OF.

WHEN # OF PICKS ON DRAFT DAY ARE > # FANS IN STANDS = MOVING VANS IN TEAMS FUTURE



Giants just added USC 1B/3B Ricky Oropesa.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14690125&topic_id=18682064

Rank 46. Ricky Oropesa - 3B/1B
USC
Birthdate: 12/15/1989
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Bats: L
Throws: R

In a class that is less than deep in college bats, Oropesa's stands out based on one tool: power. The corner infielder has always had it and was a prospect back in high school, when the Red Sox took a shot and selected him in the 24th round of the 2008 Draft.

The left-handed hitter has plus raw power, perhaps as much as anyone out west. He hasn't always swung the bat consistently enough to tap into it, but he made some good adjustments this season to show a little more overall hittability to some. He's shown he can rise to the occasion, picking up three hits -- including a homer -- against UCLA ace Gerrit Cole. He's not a clogger on the bases, but he's not a runner, either. While he's got a plus arm, he's below-average defensively overall, meaning he's likely destined to be a first baseman or designated hitter when all is said and done.

As one of the few guys in this Draft with true plus raw power, there's bound to be a team fairly early thinking his bat will play just fine at those spots.

The Giants appear to be recovering somewhat from yesterdays two picks which, according to Baseball America's rankings, were comparative reaches.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/draft-preview/2011/2611794.html

According to BA, Panik was the #67 prospect, picked in the 29th slot
Crick was the #47 prospect, picked in the 49th slot
Sousac was the #30 prospect, picked in the 86th slot
Orapesa was the #57 prospect, picked in the 116th slot

so by my calculations -- using BA as the measuring stick (because I am not privy to the Giants draft board) -- the G-men are +77 in terms of perceived value for the slots allotted.

Of course, we hope that the Giants board is ultimately the superior measuring stick and that the BA board is garbage. We won't know for sure without the benefit of hindsight and the BA team does not account for organizational needs and biases. But it's fun to play along at home.

Will add as further picks and surprises are added. They are now entering the 4th Round selections.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2011/draftcaster.jsp

The White Sox are recovering, having just picked RKP Kyle McMillen a #94 prospect with the #141 pick. Their first plus pick of the draft. JUCO RHP Jeff Soptic was picked at #100 and was rnked #110. HOW ABOUT THAT!!! Maybe the Sox are more concerned with sign-ability, IDK.

Giants are on the clock with pick #147. HOW EXCITING!!!

Giants select Arizona LHP Bryce Bandilla 6-4, 230 Jr. BA has him ranked #117, stat line shows 32 BB in 41 IP. A reliever. Who walks people. GOODY!!!! And yet it appears to be a plus pick, according to BA. He better throw hard. 44 K's in those 41 IP over 28 G's. He wasn't exactly punching them out enough relative to the # of BB's IMO, but WDIK?

The Brewers just picked a HS OF from TX Michael Reed (#160 BA) . They made hay early by picking 6-6, 220 RHP Taylor Jungmann from Texas (#8 BA) and 6-4, 220 LHP Jed Bradley from Georgia Tech (#14 BA). Both pitchers come from schools with good track records for producing pitchers. Both are highly regarded and should be close to major league ready. Later they picked Cal-State Fullerton 1B Nick Ramirez (#197 BA) who was highly regarded in most pre-season lists but seemed to have fallen off somewhat. Two top 15 pitchers and two other top position players is a pretty good haul so far.

In the G-Man division, both Arizona and San Diego seem to be really picking well.

Arizona hauled in UCLA RHP Trevor Bauer in the #3 spot and 6-4,225 HS RHP Archie Bradley in the #7 spot. How they get two picks in the first seven spots, IDK. Later, they picked Kent State LHP Anrew Chafin and Coastal Carolina RHP Anthony Meo. Three of the four are collegiate pitchers and all should develop and produce quickly. All were rated highly by BA (Bauer #5, Bradely #9, Chafin #38 and Meo #55). Impressive haul so far.

The Padres are going younger, with six picks in the top 100 they have hauled in six top prospects. #10 Cory Spongenberg (#29 BA) is a JUCO 2B who could produce quickly. Joe Ross, a 6-3, 185 HS RHP was on the Giants radar, picked at #25 and was rated by BA as the # 36 prospect. FL HS RHP Michael Kelly 6-4, 185 was selected #48 and ranked #76, HS C Austin Hedges was ranked #28 and selected in the #82 slot -- a good value. Hedges was the top HS C rated. They backed those picks up with HS C Brett Austin (selected #54, ranked #61) and collegiate SS Jace Peterson (selected #58, ranked #71).

Giants selected Oklahoma State RHP Chris Marlowe in the 5th Round. He is a 6-1, 170 RHP who also appears to be a reliever. A 3-3 record with 3.98 ERA 22G 41IP 70K's 30BB's and only 24H allowed.
He was ranked # 99 by BA, so a good value pick in the # 177 slot.

This is the kind of pick that can really make this draft for the Giants. 6th Round, Selection #207 6-3, 235 LHP Josh Osich from Oregon State. Ranked #41 according to BA, Osich may have fallen due to arm injury concerns. A little roll of the dice on a recovery from Tommy John surgery, but he can throw. Described by Mlb.com capsule as a "closer of the future" type.

THIS IS A GREAT PICK IN THIS SPOT!!!

TAKE A BOW GIANTS!!!


http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=15436441&topic_id=18682064

Rank 50. Josh Osich - LHP
Oregon St.
Birthdate: 09/03/1988
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 235 lbs.
Bats: L
Throws: L

The big, strong lefty has plenty of arm strength, and he was all the way back in 2011 after redshirting in 2010 following Tommy John surgery. There was enough belief in his arm strength that the Angels took him in the seventh round of last year's Draft, even though he didn't pitch all year.

Osich has a plus fastball that can touch 97 mph and sits comfortably at 92-95 mph. His main secondary pitch is a changeup, which will be Major League average, perhaps a tick above, in the future. When he doesn't overthrow the changeup, it has some good dive to it. He added a slider this year, though it's below average right now, and he doesn't use it much.

While Osich has been in Oregon State's rotation all season and did pitch a no-hitter, his future is likely as a high-octane reliever. With the plus fastball and changeup and closer-type mindset, he could make a beeline for the big leagues once he's shortened up and in someone's system.

Giants 8th Round Pick, Jean Delgado is a 5-11, 150lb. shortstop from the Caguas Military Academy in Caguas, PR

from mlb.com:
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?topic_id=18674140&content_id=15423943

and from Perfect Game:
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5614

5. JEAN DELGADO – ss, Isabel Flores HS, Juncos
Slender 6-0/150, polished player, whippy bat speed with gap power, quick feet, soft hands, 6.6. runner.

From the old stomping grounds in Tampa, Alonzo HS products Joe Fernandez RHP was selected yesterday in the first round by the Marlins, disappointing the Rays fans who would have loved to see him perform in his own backyard. The Cuban exile community in Miami will love him just as much and this kid can really throw hard.

Today LHP Alex Panteleodis from the Florida Gators was recently selected by the Mets, which kind of sucks for him. Get your pay in cash Alex, and your investment advice from Mr. Einhorn, NOT Mr. Wilpon.

The Giants 9th Rounder is 6-3, 218 RHP from Miami Dade CC Derek Law

from Perfect Game:
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5633

GROUP TWO (Projected HIGH-Round Draft / Rounds 4-10)

25. DEREK LAW, rhp, Miami-Dade JC (So.)
Pennsylvania product had ++ season (7-4, 1.75, 77 IP/11 BB/105 SO); 4 pitches, commands 92-93 FB, + SL.

The Giants 10th Rounder is Kentrell Hill 6-0, 175 CF from Arkansas Baptist College

capsule from Perfect Game:
http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=5746

PROSPECT ON THE RISE: Kentrell Hill, of, Arkansas Baptist JC: Hill is an Arkansas native who attended Cisco (Texas) JC as a freshman, before transferring back to his home state as a sophomore. He’s an excellent athlete with superior speed and defensive skills in center field, and his rapidly-emerging offensive skills could make him a draft-day surprise.

In the 11th round the Cubs play Mr. Nostalgia and select Shawon Dunston 6-2, 170 CF from Valley Christian HS in (CA).

HEY!!! WHAT DO YA SAY WE BRING BACK THE SHAWON-O-METER?? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!

OK, that's it, I'm out. I've spilled all my creative juices all over the place and now it's time to clean up. If there is anyone of note drafted after Round Ten that I care about, I'll note it later. I'M OUT OF HERE.

White Sox 2011 Review: Win Now, Baby!!

The "Just win now, baby" philosophy is more associated with the Oakland Raiders mind-set (and look where it's gotten them recently) but you could also make the case that, from the top down, the White Sox organization share the same philosophy.

Baseball America recently had this to say about the organizations philosophy regarding player development.

from baseballamerica.com
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2011/2610957.html

By contrast, Williams has shown little patience as a GM, constantly borrowing from tomorrow for today.

As a result of Williams' willingness to trade prospects for veterans and the team's bungled efforts in Latin America, Chicago has one the weakest farm systems in baseball. While Williams has dealt away 53 players (and counting) who have been ranked on Baseball America's annual White Sox Top 30 Prospects lists, few have come back to bite him—though righthander Daniel Hudson did go 7-1, 1.69 in 11 starts after being shipped to the Diamondbacks for Edwin Jackson in July.

To be fair, the strategy had delivered a world championship to the South Side of Chicago in 2005 and kept the team competitive on a yearly basis since then. From Owner Jerry Reinsdorf, to GM Kenny Williams to manager Ozzie Guillen, the focus is on moving the dial on last years 88 wins total and catching the Twins then developing the 2015 lineup and roster.

Part of the reason may be the relative lack of success of the White Sox top picks. From 2001 to 2007 the list of White Sox #1 picks reads as follows:

RHP Kris Homel
LHP Royce Ring
OF Brian Anderson
3B Josh Fields
RHP Lance Broadway
RHP Kyle McCulloch
LHP Aaron Poreda

Not much too look at there. No real impact players or potential stars. More recently the draft has produce starting 2B Gordon Beckham and rising prospects OF Jared Mitchell and LHP Chris Sale.

Sale is the crown jewel of the prospect list. The only question mark seems to be "starter or closer?" It seems as if he is the #5 starter only if Jake Peavy's arm flies off.

Sale is a 6-2, 175 LHP who was the 2010 # pick. He features a 95 MPH fastball with late life and good off speed stuff to complement the fastball. Sale projects as a top of the rotation starter down the road. They may ease him into that role and attempt to keep his innings down by using him out of the bullpen and spot starting. He should be a fixture in the Sox rotation for many years to come.

I like Jacob Petricka a 6-5, 170 RHP from Indiana State next as a prospect. He features a low-mid 90's FB and a workable breaking ball. He may end up as a set-up or middle innings reliever down the road.

JACOB PETRICKA

Gregory Infante is a 6-2, 185 RHP, a 24 year-old signed out of Venezuela in 2006, may have a higher ceiling than Petricka. He has a good feel for his secondary pitches, features a mid to high 90's FB and keeps the ball in the park. He has battled control issues at times. When those are fixed he should be a solid middle of the rotation starter.

GREGORY INFANTE

Another pitcher who could contribute is Anthony Carter, a 6-3, 180 RHP who was a 26th rounder in 2005. Carter is being groomed as a reliever, featuring a low to mid 90's FB and a plus slider. His control needs work as well, especially if he works our of the bullpen.

In the infield, Brent Morel may be the Sox Opening Day 3B. Morel is 6-1, 200 a 24 year-old 3rd rounder in 2008. He has a compact, line-drive producing swing with gap power. A solid bat with enough arm for 3B.

BRENT MOREL

Another corner IF prospect who may get pushed to DH is Cuban signee Dayan Viciedo. Dayan is 6-1, 240 and has 30 HR power potential. He rarely walks and has near zero speed. A classic hit or miss guy. His glove would follow him to 1B or 3B if it ever gets out of the dugout.

DAYAN VICIEDO

Eduardo Escobar is 5-10, 150 SS, a 22 year-old signed out of Venezuela in 2006, Escobar brings a skilled glove with a quick release (read weak arm). He has good range, but not much bat and little or no power. Maybe an Alexei Ramirez minus the bat?

EDUARDO ESCOBAR

Among the outfield prospects, Jared Mitchell seems to be the consensus pick as the top man. Jared is 5-11, 192 22 year-old OF who was the 1st rounder in 2009. He is a good hitter, athletic with plus speed. He works counts well and has a little pop in his bat, with more power projected.

JARED MITCHELL

After Mitchell there is a bit of a split. The one who I think could crash the gate is Brandon Short. He is 6-1, 175 OF, a 22 year-old, 28th rounder in 2008. Brandon is a battler, with decent speed and arm, a good bat who seldom walks. His bat is his calling card and as a 28th rounder, he will have to work hard for everything he gets.

BRANDON SHORT

Jordan Danks is a 6-5, 210 OF 24 years old a 7th rounder in 2008 out of Texas. He needs to hit more and show some pop that fits with his size. He has plus speed and is a patient hitter. His glove is a plus as well.

JORDAN DANKS

Another prospect who may be a couple of years away would be Trayce Thompson. He is 6-4, 200 20 year old who was a 2nd rounder in 2009. Trayce is a high-ceiling, athletic player with some pop in his bat. With the power, comes a high K-Rate. When he gets more reps and his hitting approach gets more refined, he could be one to watch.

TRAYCE THOMPSON

---

“Whoever hears these words and acts on them is like the wise man who built his house on rock. The rains came, the streams rose, and the winds blew against that house; and yet it did not fall, beacuse it had a firm foundation. But those who hear these words and do not act on them are like the foolish who build their house on sand. The rains fall, the streams rise and the winds beat against their house, and then it falls, with a great crash.” - Matthew 7:21-27

Is Barry back with the Giants?

I think so. It seems as if Barry Zito has reworked his approach to accommodate the loss of velocity from his years with Oakland.

According to Aaron Gleeman at HardballTalk:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/did-you-know-barry-zito-has-a-246-era-since-last-seasons-all-star-break.html.php

what's interesting about Zito's turnaround is that it actually dates back to last season. In fact, since last year's All-Star break Zito has the sixth-best ERA in all of baseball among pitchers with at least 100 innings

The FB velocity numbers are about the same as when Zito signed his huge Giants deal, but apparently Zito is going back to "pitching backwards"--or using his curveball to set up his fastball instead of the other way around.

With Zito revitalized and Jonathan Sanchez continuing his development, the Giants may have the most potent pitching staff in the National League. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain continue to pitch like elite top of the rotation starters.

Now if only the bats begin to come around......maybe we can shake off the surprising Padres and run away from the competition. It looks like the Rockies may come around once the weather warms up and overtake the Padres as the main competition. The Dodgers may be close to pushing the panic button along with Milwaukee and Atlanta in the NL. In the AL, it seems like the Sox--both Red and White--are also close to panic-button pushing mode.

The Cubs and D-Backs may be close to being in panic mode as well. The Cubs, with the Zambrano shuffle, are showing early signs of fraying around the edges. Zambrano moving from the rotation to the bullpen does nothing to address their need for a significant left handed bat in the middle of the order.

On the plus side, the Rays, Twins and A's continue to do the most with the least and solidify their reputations as the most well run organizations in baseball. The Mets, Nats and Padres lead the surprise list in the NL.

But it is early, the weather is still football-like in many areas, so while firm conclusions cannot be drawn, trends are beginning to develop and bear watching.

The Wisdom (or is it Madness??) of Crowds and Baseball

In their recent edition, Baseball America, did a "prospect draft" of this years crop of MLB rookies. On the surface, the premise of the article brought to my mind the book "The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations" by James Surowiecki.

Baseball America started the process by culling the prospect list of their staff of reporters-- Will Lingo, John Manuel, Jim Callis and Conor Glassey.

These guys are chatting with MLB GM's, scouting directors, farm directors, scouts and coaches year round. It's safe to say that if they don't know it, it's not worth knowing as far as the future pipeline of major league stars goes. Anyway, they combined each guys list and came up with a consensus of opinion that seems to match the methodology described in the book.

Is this the most effective method? Who knows? That's why they play the games.

Every year brings a surprise or two in terms of an early bloomer or a well-hyped bust, but most years the BA list is as good as it gets.

See if you see a similar connection between BA and the book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds

The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, published in 2004, is a book written by James Surowiecki about the aggregation of information in groups, resulting in decisions that, he argues, are often better than could have been made by any single member of the group. The book presents numerous case studies and anecdotes to illustrate its argument, and touches on several fields, primarily economics and psychology.

The opening anecdote relates Francis Galton's surprise that the crowd at a county fair accurately guessed the weight of an ox when their individual guesses were averaged (the average was closer to the ox's true butchered weight than the estimates of most crowd members, and also closer than any of the separate estimates made by cattle experts).[1]

The book relates to diverse collections of independently-deciding individuals, rather than crowd psychology as traditionally understood. Its central thesis, that a diverse collection of independently-deciding individuals is likely to make certain types of decisions and predictions better than individuals or even experts, draws many parallels with statistical sampling, but there is little overt discussion of statistics in the book.

Its title is an allusion to Charles Mackay's Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, published in 1841.

We feel more comfortable with the opinion of an expert or guru when many times the collective wisdom will do as good or better a job. It's easy to assume that if we find the "right" person that they will lead us to the "right" answer. Many times, the greater wisdom is in the consensus or collective opinion. And it plays right into the baseball culture of going by "The Book" as well as the corporate culture of CYA.

On the home front, the Giants managed to put the Big Two, Buster Posey (ranked 7th overall) and Madison Bumgarner ranked 14th on the list. Further down, I found Zach Wheeler (49th) and Thomas Neal (96th). Not bad placing four out of 100.

The Rays placed seven in the top 100 including:
#6 OF Desmond Jennings
#18 RHP Jeremy Hellickson
#34 RHP Wade Davis
#35 LHP Matt Moore
#54 SS Reid Brignac
#67 SS Tim Beckham
and # 68 RHP Alex Colome.

The future is bright for the Rays.

The Cubs and Indians placed five players apiece.

The Giants and nine other organizations were up next with four players.

This tells me that the Giants are roughly middle of the pack in terms of absolute number of prospects, although they are top-heavy on the list with Posy and Bumgarner posting where they did. Sadly, the Giants appear ready to block Posey this year and maybe save a year in control unless he wows them like Longoria did the Rays a couple of years back.

The other top players on BA's list included:

The Braves 20-year old OF Jason Heyward, who topped the list. He already looks like a star.

The Nats RHP Stephen Strasburg looks ready to pay dividends on his big bonus paid last year.

Marlins OF Mike Stanton was third and Yankees C Jesus Montera ranked #4.

Rounding out the Top Five was Orioles LHP Brian Matusz.

The law of small numbers and the usual caveats about injuries can quickly turn a bumper crop of four or five players, who could contribute to a team's fortunes, into a low yielding field of one or two contributors.

Which is why this stuff is so interesting, it's very fleeting and no matter how smart you may be, you can look like a colossal screw-up due to issues entirely out of your control. It's partly what draws us to fantasy leagues and March Madness bracket-ology.

You didn't need to look too far into the spring training notes to find Hank Blalock signing a minor league deal with the Rays and Khalil Greene getting released by the Rangers last week to see how quickly the fickle fortunes of baseball can turn. A couple of years ago, you might not have sounded crazy picking Blalock over former teammate Mark Texeira as a prospect. And now one is on Broadway and the other is trying to light up Central Avenue.

The Khalil Greene case is even more crazy. A year or two ago he looked like he was going to be the type of hitter who could contend for the batting title or pound out 20-25 HR's for you and now he can't even stay on the field. It's like the hitter's version of Steve Blass--where he has just lost the ability to compete effectively at this level--albeit for a slightly different reason.

Both cases are confounding and hopefully Khalil pulls out of it--because he seems like a great kid--but it goes to show how powerful intangibles like mental and emotional skills really are in generating and maintaining optimal, elite performance.

Anyway, back to BA. After that, they went further and had eleven different staff members draft a full team from each of the thirty organizations top thirty list of prospects. They added Cuban signees Aroldis Chapman and Noel Arguelles. Sounds like a fun exercise.

Among the Gigantes:

Posey went first in the #7 slot and Bumgarner next at #11 to close the first round.

Zach Wheeler went in the 6th round.
Thomas Neal in the 10th round.
Dan Runzler in the 14th round.
Tommy Joseph in the 14th round.
Roger Kieschnick in the 15th round.
Nick Noonan in the 19th round.
Ehire Adrainza in the 23rd round.
Waldis Joaquin in the 27th round.
Brandon Crawford in the 30th round.

Not a bad haul, but again a surprisingly low eleven Giants out of 330 players overall drafted. A pedestrian, to-be-expected 1/30th of the players picked, or a C grade for the organization. Not quite the basis for the bright future I have been envisioning, but lets hope the BA people are wrong here.

The Red Sox graded out the highest in this exercise with 16 prospects drafted, the Indians second with 15, and then the Rays and Twins with 14. When is somebody going to write a book or gush romantically about the Twins organization or maybe the Rays Andrew Friedman if they manage to secure another W/S berth with the budget they have to work with. There's not much room for error there in either organization.

The top four teams in the grading turn out to be A.L. teams. Not a good sign if you're looking for the N.L. to return to dominance in the All-Star game or World Series competition.

It was good to see Casey Crosby make the list at #34 and Toms River NJ's own Todd Frazier #50.

I would not have minded seeing the Giants draft Frazier a few years back.

I can't wait to get back to baseball. It's 50+ degrees here in Chicago and feeling like mid-spring already. We'll probably pay for this big-time down the road, perhaps by having the Cubs home opener snowed out, but let's get back to the diamonds and PLAY BALL!!!!!

Frank Thomas Retirement Press Conference

I heard some interesting tidbits from the Frank Thomas retirement press conference last week here in Chicago. I wish I could find an audio or a transcript of it.

Frank was one of the more outspoken players in his stance against the growing PED issue and was held up, along with Griffey, as one of the top sluggers in the era who did not cheat. He was prodded to comment on the recent McGwire apology and his thoughts on the era in general. While he generally avoided the question he did mention a couple of other issues he said contributed greatly to his ability to develop as a premier power hitter.

First, was his early career development under Sox hitting coach Walt Hriniak. I devoured Hriniak's hitting book and used a lot of his tenets in developing my approach in teaching hitting. I loved the aesthetics of the swing and the results it produced. Hriniak worked with Thomas, Robin Ventura with the Pale Hose in addition to his work with many of the Red Sox hitters of that era. Wherever he went, it seemed as if increased production would follow.

Second, he mentioned baseball's general approach through the umpires of taking away much of the inside part of the plate from the pitchers. The old-school pitchers like Drysdale and Bob Gibson of knocking guys down or sending "message" pitches went the way of the dinosaur early in Thomas' career and hitters were able to crowd the plat and dive into pitches with impunity.

Combined with the improved body-armor technology and the implementation of Questec pitchers literally had no safe haven to pitch to.

Finally, he mentioned how his career really blossomed when he learned how to distinguish between the pitch on the inside corner that he could drive down the line and keep fair as opposed to the one that was maybe a little off the plate and would hook foul.

One part improved pitch recognition plus one part improved hitting mechanics equals one very dangerous hitter.

Sounds like something straight out of the Ted Williams book on hitting.

P.S. - He also did mention that he felt he had an advantage athletically being a two-sport athlete over other players early in his career and this gave him a lot of confidence that he would succeed.

It did seem as if when the multi-sport athletes like Thomas, Bo Jackson, Kenny Lofton and Deoin Sanders among others came into the league it forced other players to up their game in terms of strength and conditioning in baseball.

BUERHLE PERFECTO

WOW. What a game. What a catch by Dewayne Wise in CF to bring back Gabe Kapler's potential HR.

You want Dewayne Wise on that wall, you need DeWayne Wise on that wall.

INCREDIBLE. BASEBALL HISTORY.

HEAVE THE HAWK....YEEEEESSSSSS!!!

I swear I think I would rather hear three hours of Bud Selig describing intimate details of his sex life than listen to this jackoff describing baseball games.

Such a whiny, gas bag of a homer.


HEAVE THE HAWK WEBSITE - SIGN THE PETITION
http://www.heavethehawk.com/whyheave.html

Why so angry with the Hawk you ask? In today's tilt between the Pale Hose and the Cubs, Harrelson goes on and on about how one pitch--called a ball to Soriano--turns around the inning and leads to the White Sox eventual demise.

Here's the play by play from ESPN's GameCast.

Chicago - Bottom of 8th SCORE 5-1

Scott Linebrink pitching for Chicago
S Linebrink relieved G Floyd.

M Hoffpauir hit for S Marshall.
M Hoffpauir safe at first on error by second baseman C Getz.
A Soriano singled to center, M Hoffpauir to second.
R Theriot popped out to second.
M Bradley struck out swinging.
D Lee homered to right, M Hoffpauir and A Soriano scored.
G Soto homered to left center.
M Thornton relieved S Linebrink.
J Fox hit for M Fontenot.
J Fox flied out to center.

1. Notice the 5-1 lead by the White Sox entering the inning.
2. Notice the Sox have Linebrink, a very effective set up man, whom they are paying good money to hold leads for ONE INNING before handing the ball to closer Bobby Jenks.
3. Notice how the fateful inning begins with an error by 2B Getz--making the eventual runs scored unearned. He makes that play, no runs score.
4. Notice how even after the pitch in question--which the White Sox catcher clearly "pulls" up into the strike zone, an indication to even decent HS umpires that the pitch is indeed a ball--Linebrink "recovers" to retire Theriot and Bradley.
5. Notice how even after DLee homers--if Linebrink retires Soto--who is hardly crushing the ball--the Sox are out of the inning with a lead.

But to Hawk, one "questionable pitch" is enough to totally unravel your highly paid set up man. Not to mention what it does to one douchebag of an announcer, who having played the game, should clearly know better.

One pitch should not be enough to unravel your set-up man. If it does, you're clearly in for a LOOOOOOOONG season. One pitch does however, unravel whiny,ignorant, obnoxious LL parents and White Sox announcers.

Sounds like it might be time to get a new announcer. Or knowing Hawk's propensity for misplacing blame, a new setup man.

RAYS ADVANCE TO ALCS TO FACE THE BOSOX

Why not, they've been going at it all year for supremacy in the AL East.

The Rays were in the enviable position of being a visiting team facing an opponent in the playoffs, but having the overwhelming support of a majority of the opposing city's baseball fans.

Cubs fans turned instantly into Rays boosters after being once again unceremoniously dumped in the first round. Their pain would have been compounded exponentially if the White Sox would have been allowed to advance past the Rays.

The Rays have been the best team in the AL virtually the entire season. Their 97 wins is actually an artificially low number based on their pre-season decision to send Evan Longoria down to the minors to start the season. If you'll recall, the move was made to kick a year of service time down the road to benefit the team. The logic of the move was subsequently made moot when the Rays signed Longoria to a long-term deal after seeing him in action for a whole month after recalling him.

This was about the only loony-tunes type move I can recall Rays management making since taking over, and yet it appears to have worked out in spades for them.

The series against the Sox is for all the marbles. I believe the team that wins should be the overwhelming favorite to win the World Series. The Cubs were likely the best team the NL had to offer, and we know the results. The Phillies and Dodgers shouldn't scare either AL team. I think the Rays may be listed by Vegas as the underdog should they get there, but does anyone believe that after beating the Red Sox, either of the two NL teams would pose as much of a threat to them? The high they would be on might carry them to a WS sweep, much like the W-Sox in 2005.

GO RAYS!!!!

<"( );::::::;~ ~;::::::;( )">

THOME SENDS SOX TO TAMPA BAY

TAMPA BAY RAYS - LOOOOOOOKING GOOOOOOD!!!!!!


With one mighty swing, Jim Thome lifted the White Sox over the Twins and into the ALDS playoff series against the Rays.

I like this match-up for the Rays much better than the Twins. Both teams offenses have shown a tendency to disappear at times, but the Twins can manufacture runs better when they are not bopping the ball. The Sox experience under the heat of the playoffs could be a factor, but this is a team that has seemingly been playing the season on cruise control waiting to flip the switch once the playoffs begin.

The Sox are hurt missing Joe Crede at 3B and Carlos Quentin in LF. These two injuries may be too much for the pitching staff to overcome. Carl Crawford appears to be ready to return for the Rays, hopefully at full strength.

The pitching match-ups should be the key:
Kazmir, Garza and Shields/SonnanStine
vs.
Buerhle, Vasquez and Floyd/Danks

The series should be decided by the set up men and closers of the two teams:
The Rays staff of Trevor Miller, J.P. Howell and Jason Hammel, setting up the trio of Grant Balfour, Dan Wheeler and Troy Percival--if he is healthy--gives the Rays a bit of an depth advantage. The Sox offer Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton and Ocatavio Dotel setting up the ninth inning for Bobby Jenks. The Sox set up men have been relatively inconsistent this season. That may tip the series in favor of the Rays.

Watch out if the Rays advance, especially if they do so easily over the Sox. They have played the Red Sox and the Angels very tough this year, both at home and on the road. If a scenario develops where the Rays sweep or win in four and the Sox-Angels go the distance, I like the Rays to advance to the Series, and hopefully face the Cubs. If that were the case, you might see Cubs fans treat the Rays as conquering heroes for eliminating the White Sox. Just don't expect the loving feeling to last for too long.

I like the Cubs to handle the Dodgers and the Brewers to bop the Phillies setting up a Midwest showdown in the NL between the Cubs and Milwaukee. If that develops, the Cubs advance to their first World Series in 100 years.

RAYS IN FIRST PLACE AT HALF-WAY MARK

If anyone had told you that at the beginning of the season, you'd have laughed at them. But it's true and they are giving every indication of being in this thing for the duration of the campaign.

Rocco Baldelli may add something to the roster in the stretch, but if Gabe Gross keeps coming through in the clutch as he has, why bother?

They really need the bullpen to remain healthy and the Rays have some young arms in the minors yo offer pitching depth if needed later in the season.

The Cubs and the White Sox maintain Windy City hopes of an all Chicago Series.

The Mets and Yankees seem poised to fall off the pace in their respective divisions and given the Mets treatment of Willie Randolph, I'll root for that to happen.

The Twins and Tigers are showing signs of life in the AL Central as are the Brewers in the NL Central Division. The Indians seem to be trying to figure out whether to pack it in for this season (trade C.C.) or hang in there for the long haul (keep C.C.).

In the AL West, the Angels and A's will battle into September, I'm not sure if Texas has the pitching to join them. In the NL West, the division of apathy, whoever can strng together an 8-10 game winning streak should be able to hold off the also-rans. look for the D-Backs to right the ship eventually.

CUBS & WHITE SOX - PREVIEW OF 2008 WORLD SERIES?

Not so fast my Windy City brethren, what about those Rays from Tampa that ran through both teams like a runaway freight train?

The Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at the Trop this week after having taken three of four from the Chicago White Sox earlier in the season. Both the Cubs and White Sox are in first place in their respective divisions. The Cubs had the best record in baseball at the time of the Rays series. The Rays have also played the Red Sox and Yankees, the networks favored children, on better than even terms.

So the question that is beginning to develop is "How serious a contender is this Rays team?" Can a rotation of Kazmir, Garza, Shields, Sonanstine and Jackson continue to carry this team through the dog days of July and August, and into the white-hot heat of a September pennant chase?

They are winning the close games, the mark of a strong bullpen and generally a versatile offense that can score runs in a variety of ways. They are better than .500 against every division in the American League, demonstrating dominance across the board against the other contenders.

They generally play the Yankees very well, which will be important as they try to hold them off down the stretch. The only concern at this point may be the home/road splits. The are playing extremely well at the Trop, but they need to bring the road record closer to .500 to close the deal.

I think they will be able to do this as the season progresses primarily because after the All-Star break some team will begin to pack it in somewhat (Royals, Mariners, etc.) and the Rays should be able to pick up some momentum there.

The longer this team hangs around, the longer these younger guys who have not been beaten down by the Rays prior tradition of not being competitive are allowed to see themselves atop the division and in the pennant/wild card chase, the harder it's going to be to knock them out down the stretch.

The Rays youthful exuberance and energy, I believe, will trump the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels experience. As long as the testing for amphetamines is as serious as we've been led to believe.

Good to see the old St. Petersburg Pelicans uniforms from the Senior Professional Baseball Association used as throwback uniforms. The league, which I believe was patterned after the Senior Golf tour, was a good idea that never quite caught on.
But I do remember going to a couple of the games at Al Lang Field and it was a lot of fun.

Go RAYS. My favorite team in that league that uses the goofy DH.

ODDS OF WINNING - SO FAR

According to the standings below, only 10 AL teams and 8 NL teams have a realistic shot (> 10:1 odds) of making the playoffs. Almost half of the teams are effectively eliminated and we're only at about the 1/3 mark of the season. That doesn't sound like competitive balance to me.

In the AL:
OAK 70.4%
CHIW 67.5%
BOS 66.0%
TB 53.0%
LAA 42.5%
CLE 29.1%
MIN 16.9%
TOR 16.3%
TEX 14.9%
NYY 10.6%

In the NL:
ARIZ 86.8%
CHIC 81.8%
ATL 57.4%
STL 35.6%
LAD 35.4%
PHI 32.7%
HOU 27.0%
NYM 13.1%

Pre-season playoff hopefuls Detroit (2.8%) Seattle (0.2%) would seem to prefer not making the playoffs then to sign THE B-POPE. Milwaukee at (2.5%) also needs to kick it into gear and soon or their hopes are dashed. Way to go Bud.

The Gigantes come in at (0.2%) chance of making the playoffs - a 500 to 1 shot. Happy Fiftieth Birthday indeed. Way to thank the fans for their years of unrewarded support. Start taking a page from the Cubs marketing handbook.

FROM WEBSITE coolbaseballstandings.com
http://www.coolstandings.com/baseball_standings.asp?i=1

We've been hearing a lot about how the latest iteration of baseball's drug testing has changed the game from more of a power to speed game or maybe more of a veterans game to a young man's game and this has given teams like the Rays a chance to compete against the more financially gifted Yankees and Sox.

I think the jury is still out on that one, but it is a bit amazing how the tone of the message has changed, a virtual 180 degree shift, from "well testing will never stay ahead of the cheaters" to "wow, it looks like the shame game is more effective than onerous testing".



WHERE HAVE ALL THE HR'S GONE AND WHY. SOMETIMES THE MOST OBVIOUS ANSWER ISN'T THE CORRECT ONE (from SportsEconomist.com)

The commentators are giddy that the number of HR's are down in the early part of the season, even though it seems as if the abnormally cold, early season weather could be more of a factor than the disappearance of some of the big homer BALCO guys (Bonds, Sheffield, etc.)



BALL-BAT COLLISION ILLUSTRATED


A factor that I believe has gone under reported has been the loss of velocity of pitchers. Not just the most notable examples of Barry Zito or Mike Mussina, but across the board. The White Sox commentators are "searching" for an answer to Bobby Jenks loss of velocity from 97-99MPH top speed to 92-93MPH. We're talking about guys in their prime years, without any reported injuries and yet the velocity dropped precipitously. WTF, right? The missing factor in the discussion is the disappearing velocity of the pitchers.

It's interesting to note that you don't see the radar gun readings for pitchers displayed on the screen on any baseball telecasts anymore. Wonder why that is?

As the illustration above shows, in the all important ball-bat collision, a loss of velocity from EITHER bat speed or ball speed, will result in a loss of exit speed of the ball and therefore a loss of distance the ball travels. But pitchers using never really fit the MSM agenda until Roger Clemens entered the fray.

I sense such a seismic shift in the tone and tenor of the debate from the WWLIS that I can only speculate that an ESPN/MLB deal of epic proportions is in the works and that the "you don't shit where you eat" theory is currently in effect.