Just to give you guys some background, I'm originally from the Tampa area and I still keep tabs on my high school as well as what's going on in the area for baseball.  A few weeks ago something caught my eye, that something was that a kid from the county north of where I went to high school had pitched a no hitter.  Now, I know that it's high school and it happens a lot more often than in leagues higher up, but it's still an amazing accomplishment.

Patrick Schuster, a senior LHP for Mitchell High School of New Port Richey, Fl, tossed his fourth consecutive no hitter against Pasco High School last night.  Pasco High is known for having a really competitive team year in and year out, and was 17-7 before the game. Schuster fanned 17 batters in a 7 inning no-no (24 total batters faced is the minimum for a high school game) for a 5-0 win.  In the past 4 games he has a total of 60 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched.  For the year, he is 8-0 with 55 IP, 0.54 OBA, .064 ERA (I know it's a bad stat, shut up), 110 K's, 24 BB's.  I wish I had more stats for you guys, but nothing else is really available.  He has only had one bad outing, but still threw 6 innings.  He has already signed with the University of Florida to play ball there, but also has caught the eye of pro teams, so that may not be out of the question when that decision comes.

Here is my take on this kid.  Yes he has a low 90's fastball.  Yes he has very strong slider for an out pitch (according to scouts) but he pitches in a very weak conference in Florida against many teams who are at schools who focus on (what else) football.  His one bad outing was against a very damn good team who I never beat in high school, Alonso High, but that tells me that this kid has what it takes to get the job done.  If he played in the county south, and this is only speculation, he may not have done what he has this season, but you don't know that.  Either way, it would be a good idea for the M's to check this kid out if they can.  I wouldn't waste an early round pick on him, but if he's available in the mid rounds, say round 10-20, it may be worth the pick.  I'll keep you guys updated on this kid through the rest of the season and playoffs.

Ok, so I know that some people may frown upon this, but I'm going to do some shameless self promotion.

If you can't wait until next Tuesday to come to Safeco and watch some ball, come out to the field this Saturday for the Mariner High School Classic.  Starting at 12:30pm, the Mercer Island Islanders will face off against Kennedy High School in Game 1 of a doubleheader.  Attendence to the game will be FREE, so you will finally be able to sit behind home plate and not give up your last paycheck do to so.  If you drive to the field, park in the garage for only $5!  When's the last time you could do that for a game?!?!  There will be some concessions available, to what extent though I'm not sure.  So, if you're in the area, stop on by and enjoy the game.

Beltre may be playing in the WBC.  He's on the final roster, but as the rules dictate, he can be replaced with another player as long as the move is finished before the first game of the tournament.

The main concern is his surgically repaired ligament in his left thumb.  What is the general consenus here?  Let him play in the tournament or should he sit this one out and just go along with the teams rehabilitation program that I'm sure they've set up for him.

Link

So in a wild spring training that has seen the Griffey drama to go along with the "when will ManRamz sign?" episode, some interesting news comes from the Twins camp.

Boof Bonser has decided that he will undergo surgery to have his pitching shoulder cleaned out.  Now, this may just be something that happened because of his training habits in the offseason, the fact that he didn't properly get prepared, or just total freak accident, but one can't help but to wonder if this would have happened if the M's acquired him for Washburn last season.

Link to doom

Ok, so i'm studying up for exams next week and one of the topics is the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"  and well, being as how the stories can be somewhat looked at and tied together, I just wanted to know who or what, in your opinion, is your version of the Seattle Mariners' albatross? (good luck charm that got taken away from you)

For those that don't know the story, an albatross follows a ship though fog and ice and is thought to be a good luck charm.  The mariner kills it and everybody dies.  That should save you about 20 minutes of reading and understanding it.