Yest I posted my first fanpost on here and while it wasn't pulitzer winning, I thought it was valid nonetheless. It had 6-7 comments, even a poll question. It was the one entitled "3 Questions". One of which expressed hatred for AJ and Cousins (maybe this is why it got kicked?) Another asked if we should've retaliated- is this why it got kicked? The other was about Ryan Doumit.

As for the retaliation one, Cousins play was def old-school; if you're gonna play old-school, its def a 2-way street and while nobody may want to talk about purposefully hitting a batter, its a part of the game and a legitimate question.

The first one? I presumed most everybody hated AJ and Scott (tho the .158 hitter is from the Bay Area, so maybe his mom read it or something)

 

Someone please enlighten me- did no one read it? Technical glitch? Too edgy a topic? Did a flamewar/troll get a hold of it after I went to bed here on the EC last night??

 

Thanks,

Jason (Giants fan since 87)

This one has to rank near the top in my opinion....Sure, work hard over 162 days to win your division and then get beat by some wild card team in ONE GAME?! WTF is he smoking/thinking?

 

NEW YORK (AP)—Lew Wolff has a way to shorten baseball’s postseason: Make the first round best-of-one.

"I’d make it one-game-and-you’re-out for the first series," the Oakland Athletics owner said Wednesday. "It would be exciting. It would be great."

 

That's gotta make you feel confident if you're an Oakland fan. Of course, if you live Oakland, you're probably used to crazy owners.

 

 

I love Fox's extra closeup of Evan Longoria yamming his glove up Rollins' butt as he tags him out....and the ump blindly calls him safe. I'm rooting for the Rays mind you, but all in all, there have been some bad calls in this Series, basepaths especially. The Crawford missed call at 1st the other night ended up costing the Phils 2 runs.

Feel free to make this the Game 4 thread and talk about whatever....

Variables-please chime in, especially as the night wears on!

 

 

Well, we are a day away from the proverbial cup of coffee. Looking to compile a list of players/prospects who you expect/hope to get the callup.

Looks like Jon Niese was limited to 2.2 good innings last Friday; I presume more of a pitch limit thing than an injury. Does anyone have more insight?

Also appears the ChiSox will call up Jerry Owens for some help on the basepaths.

I would have to figure Dallas McPherson as well, unless the Marlins absolutely hate him.

WHO ELSE??

Any Crash Davis's?

ATLANTA (AP)—The Atlanta Braves say longtime broadcaster Skip Caray, the son of famous Chicago Cubs voice Harry Caray, has died in his sleep. He was 68 years old.

The team says Skip Caray died in his Atlanta home on Sunday. He had several ailments in the last year but had recovered enough to continue calling Braves home games at Turner Field.

Caray was drawn into broadcasting by his father, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Skip Caray was in the middle of his 33rd season with the Braves. The St. Louis native started in local radio and later joined his father at the University of Missouri calling football.

He joined the St. Louis Hawks NBA broadcasting team and followed them to Atlanta in 1968.

Got to be right up there with March Madness... I mean this is the equivalent of #13 or 14 Winthrop or Colgate going for the National Championship! Fresno St is running guys out there on 37 days rest, guys with ERAs in the 7s and 8s, guys with dislocated fingers and torn thumb tendons. Then theres Georgia, with the best SS and best CL in the nation. Not to mention Erin Andrews.

Curious as to why Scheppers (sp?) is not allowed on the Fresno St bench? Is it bc he has been declared inactive or has he already signed a contract? Seems kind of weird whatever the exact reason is; I presume somebody knows on here.

My prediction....game of shadows early on, then the bats heat up. Gonna root for the WAC to pull it out, 9-6.

Let me preface this by saying I was a Sacramento Kings fan as I grew up in NorCal. Now, I dont even really root for the Kings nor do I watch much of any NBA. Its all about March Madness.......I remember back in '02 we (NorCal) were crying and wailing about how game 6 was fixed when the Lakers beat the Kings to force a game 7 and then the Lakers won game 7 and went on to win the championship. Well, it appears that was the case, as this was the only playoff series that year that went 7 games....

In one of several allegations of corrupt refereeing, Donaghy said he learned in May 2002 that two referees known as “company men” were working a best-of-seven series in which “Team 5” was leading 3-2. In the sixth game, he alleged the referees purposely ignored personal fouls and called “made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6.”

“Team 6” won the game and came back to win the series, the letter said.

 

 

    Coincidentally, thats the last time I cared about the NBA. Now I can rest easy tonight knowing that the NBA really is worthless!

So here goes: what is the most SB in a year by a major leaguer who finished the year sub .200. The amount of at-bats should not matter bc the parameters of my question. So it could be a pinch-run type guy even if he stays sub-mendoza for the baseball year.

I ask bc Jason Bourne (err, Mike) sits at .197 with 15 SB right now.

Did a quick net search but no luck; no clue where to turn. I figured Esix Snead had a shot but his career major league average is .308 (OK, sample size!) He did have 1 minor league season where he hit .186 with 64 SB, but that was his only full season below 2-bills.

 

Vince Coleman 12 SB for the 96 Reds.

Herb Washington stole 29 for the 74 A's but he NEVER HAD AN AT BAT. So I'm technically not counting that. Geez, interestingly enough, Herbie stole 31 bases and had 33 runs in his major league career without ever logging an at-bat. That has to be some kind of record in itself I would think.

Again, asinine that I haveto disable my popup blocker to preview a post. So I'm guessin fastball and swingin on this one!

So this is a question that I could've asked multiple times already in the past year, but they just DFA'd Rajai Davis to make room for......another middler infielder that couldn't handle A ball last year. Manny Burris

 

About the only thing making sense is sticking Bowker at first because well, they have no one else that can hit there, and he might be able to. Saw Fred Lewis make a throw the other day and it didn't look half bad. I'd heard he had a pea-shooter, so I guess I was pleasantly surprised. How is he looking out in left?

 

My first Diary -errrr Fanpost and yes I am complaining, but it was a really slow page load

I guess I realized it but I didn't realize it. Rick Ankiel hit 43 HR last year. 11 of which were in the majors in only 172 ABs. It looks like he will take over CF- quite an athlete.
Josh Hamilton meanwhile will be manning CF in DFW and is hitting a respectable .607 this spring after extending his hit streak to 9. Pretty excited to see both these guys have a chance at a full season at the plate.
Who else is lighting it up this spring? just noticed Eugenio Velez has 9 SB for my soon-to-be-last-place Giants.

Too amusing not to mention......the Astros appear to be Lost in Translation, per mlb.com: The Astros' original official diagnosis of Matsui's issue was hemmorhoids, but that was changed when a vocabulary mixup caused some anxiety with Matsui's family in Japan. That prompted the club to change the official diagnosis to a more specific term.

"The word [hemmorhoids] carries a negative connotation in Japan," Wade said. "That's why we had to go back and readjust it to anal fissure. It translates into a word in Japan that has a different meaning. That's why we flipped it over to the more graphic actual problem."

Poll

Better stats this year?

21%

Ankiel

27 votes

78%

Hamilton

101 votes

128 votes | Poll has closed

Looks like the G-Men are letting Pete Happy go to Philly, which as a Giants fan I can't say that I am too disappointed, but I realize whatever we put there may very well be Sub-Pedro.
What are the options? Dallas McPherson?? Frandsen-but he has no pop right?

Just noticed the Rangers got Jason Jennings for pennies on the dollar, whereas Houston had to deal Hirsh, Taveras, and Purpura's severed head. It looks like the rotation could actually be slightly better this year, and how far off is Hurley??
How long will Broussard start at 1st?
Is Botts/Salty a better option come June??
Are they destined for another 75-80 win season?

how a 32 year old second baseman who has scarcely batted over .260 outside of Colorado is worth 16.5 mil over 3. This I presume is the official toasting of Chris Burke, the once heir apparent to Biggio. Yes, he had a rough year last year, but I don't think Houston has ever really given him a fair shot at being their starting 2B. In that regard, A MOVE shouldn't surprise, but this move is obviously questionable.
Side note, I do like the Bourn deal and hope he can be a decent leadoff CF/ LF minus the 15 foot radius around El Caballo.

StrosFan76 and Shamus, if y'all are not out putting rice in Wade's radiator, can someone closer to Houston than I please es'splain......

This diary should be more level-headed, now that I've slept a little after watching one of the most frustrating games I've ever seen for a multitude of reasons:

1. The Nevada-Hawaii game ended about 245 AM out here on the EC.
2. Chris Ault made some very very questionable coaching decisions, especially in the last 5 minutes of the game.
3. Instant Replay was in use, but Nevada got shorted on TWO turnover calls that obviously were crucial to the outcome of a 28-26 game.
   

The first was an apparent fumble by a Hawaii WR but the play had been whistled dead (early) for some reason and thus was apparently not reviewable.
A Nevada WR fumbled on a ball where it may or may not have even been a controlled catch in the first place. No reviews of the play were made by officials for some reason. This would have been a completely reviewable play.
The icing on the cake was probably an obvious Hawaii catch that they for whatever reason decided to review just for good measure shortly thereafter.

Nevada did get the benefit of a crucial 4th down no-call BUT this did not make up for the 2 lost turnovers.

I know Hawaii IS THE WAC, but this was a pretty crappy way for them to keep undefeated and pushing toward BCS money (yes, perhaps a little conspiracy theory).

If anybody actually stayed up watching the game, first question is what's wrong with you? (jk). What were your thoughts/observations on the entire game?

And for the other 99% that didn't watch it but do have an interest in college FB, please use this thread to discuss today's games/who you think will/should be playing for the Nat'l Championship.

"Calzones! I smell Calzones! Costanza!!"

George is not happy when he doesn't get his calzones and also not happy when he doesn't get round 2. This is the official death watch. Now 9 outs to go.

So, who manages next year? Mattingly? Girardi? ...Torre? John Turturro?

Who goes home with the trophy in November? My money (well, hope) is on the Rox, especially after hearing they voted Coolbaugh's widow a world series share.

Poll

Yanks manager in '08?

26%

Mattingly

38 votes

43%

Girardi

62 votes

14%

Torre

21 votes

14%

Turturro

21 votes

142 votes | Poll has closed

Can't really remember who, but between Sportscenter and BB Tonight, seems like a couple of the ESPN guys have been saying Tulo should win the ROY over Braun. Sounds good and all, what with the Rocks on a run, but just like any other Rocks hitter, he is less than stellar, even less than average on the road. If this sounds like an anti-Coors bias, it probably is, but look at the stats:
HOME: .330-14-55, .962 OPS
AWAY: .257-9-38, .721 OPS

Braun's splits:
HOME: .328-16-46, 1.046 OPS
AWAY: .322-17-48, .946 OPS

Poll

NL ROY

77%

Braun

119 votes

22%

Tulo

34 votes

153 votes | Poll has closed

is Jerry Meals. He is an umpire that just tossed Brian Wilson out of the game in the 8th inning. Giants up by 1, Wilson holding on to a 1 run lead with a runner on 1st. And he hits the batter intentionally to put 2 men on and move a guy into scoring position?! Pa-leazzzzz!

Him tossing Wilson was almost as funny as Bruce Bochy getting in his face (actually, it was more like getting on the top of his head). Bochy is either a giant or Meals a midget. Bochy's head is 3x bigger than his- looked like he could swallow him whole.

The Rockies announcers can't even understand why the opposing pitcher got tossed.

Didn't see a Daily Diary, so y'all use this for random events of the day/prospect notes etc.

Poll

Is Bruce Bochy on performance enhancing drugs?

33%

No, he's always had a big dome

13 votes

23%

Wade Wilson is the only coach on juice

9 votes

43%

Yes, look at his melon!

17 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

OK, so its a 2-horse race (They don't do 1 player per league do they? This would make a good race bw Cust/Sosa if so), which just got more interesting tonight.

Ankiel GS, HR (5), now .333 for the contending Cardinals.

Hamilton HR (18), massive problems overcome for the mildly contending Reds.

Who do you vote for?

Poll

Comeback POY?

13%

Co-Winners

15 votes

6%

Sosa

7 votes

7%

Cust

8 votes

30%

Ankiel

33 votes

0%

Buddy Carlyle

1 votes

40%

Hamilton

44 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed

Well, let's go for some irony here...gonna start off the prospect diary without talking about any actual minor leaguers.

Carlos Pena hits 2 more HR today, his 1st 30-homer season. Having quite a productive year for the Rays.

Jeff Bagwell Day at Houston. Fittingly, scored 5 runs to get a come from behind win. Rookie Mark McLemore pitched well, improving to 3-0.

Great game by the 12 year olds right now....

Guillermo Rodriguez, Giants C, hit his 1st ML homer after 12 years in the minors. OK, so there's your minor league connection

I know there is already a Michael Vick diary, but I wanted a poll and a more directed question. Actually, two-fold....

1. What do YOU think Vick should get?
   
2. And what do you THINK Vick will get?

I will post my answer in the reply section so as to leave the intro clean.........................

Poll

What do you THINK Vick will get?

11%

36 mos. jail, lifetime NFL ban

12 votes

7%

NO jail, 1 yr NFL ban

8 votes

9%

24 mos. jail, lifetime NFL ban

10 votes

7%

Other, please specify

8 votes

21%

24 mos. jail, 2 yr NFL ban

22 votes

26%

12-18 mos. jail, 1 yr NFL ban

28 votes

15%

6-12 mos. jail, 1 yr NFL ban

16 votes

104 votes | Poll has closed

from BA. Long, but WORTH IT....

Dirk Hayhurst is a 26-year-old righthanded reliever in the Padres system who has spent parts of three seasons at high Class A Lake Elsinore.

Though he made it all the way to Triple-A Portland last season, Hayhurst began this year back with the Storm, officially making him a California League veteran.

But after going 0-1, 1.80 at the Lake, Hayhurst was promoted to Double-A San Antonio in early May, and made two appearances at Triple-A Portland before settling into the Missions' bullpen. Currently, Hayhurst is 3-1, 3.77 in 45 innings in the Texas League.

The 2003 eighth-round pick out of Kent State is writing a diary for Baseball America this season, delving into the side of the minor leagues fans seldom see.......

A mother brought her son past the bullpen a few days back. As they approached, we instinctively acted as if our attention was wrapped up in the game;  looking away from them, avoiding eye contact.

They made their way directly to us, eyes trained on us, hoping to catch our attention. Soon they had closed the distance and were standing right in front of us, staring expectantly through the fencing with wide eyes and nervous smiles.

"Hello," said the mother. We said nothing in return and continued to act as if we couldn't see or hear her. She stumbled at our coldness, and cast hear eyes around sadly. She looked at her son, who never took his eyes off us, smiled, and then mustered enough courage to try again.

I can't explain to you what its like to avoid someone on purpose. When I write about the concept it just seems too rude and heartless. Maybe it is, but I still do it all the time. In my line of work, sometimes you have to ignore people. You have to tune out the noise of the game. There is no shortage of kids who want balls just because some other kid got one. No shortage of folks who want scraps signed with illegible autographs because everyone else is doing it. No shortage of begging, and pleading for stuff they don't really need, just want because someone else has.

Besides, my signature is just that: words written across something to spell my name. And my name is not important (hence, non-prospect diaries!). Yet to baseball fans, signatures are very important. They're so important in fact, even the mascot signs balls. It doesn't even have to be my name, or a name at all, just the fact we players scribbled on a scrap for fan is enough. Its all about the context.

For me, it's a dead ritual, and doesn't make sense. Maybe this is because I know who I am. Because everyday I see the mistakes and shortcomings I deal with that humanize me. I disagree that I am somehow more valuable because I do this job.  Fans however, see my clean uniform and their boyhood dreams incarnate. When my hand presses a pen to paper, they find it magical. I don't understand why this works the way it does, but its lack of logic in no way negates the reality of it.

"My son," said the mother as she looked at her boy, "would really like to meet you."

Again, she smiled nervously and again she was met with silence.

After a moment I broke and said hello to the young boy. He smiled and tried to hide behind his mom like young kids do when they are nervous. Mom asked him if he could be a big boy and say hello in return? He did, in a mute voice, then ducked behind his mother again. I bent down at the fence to get on the boy's level, steadying myself with one hand on the links. As I did this, the mother knelt down quickly and put her hand on mine. My comfort zone was just violated, but before I could say anything, she spoke, in a soft and sad voice saying, "My son has liver cancer. It's terminal. He really wanted to do this before . . . um, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with him."

I was silent again, but this time for a different reason. I stared at the young boy, then at his mother whose face was serious and stalwart. The fellas around me had started talking with the young boy where I left off, though they were unaware of his condition. I walked away from the scene and over the some of the guys and whispered what I was just told. We looked at each other and, without a word of discussion, scooped up the youngster and placed him the pen with us.

We sat him down in one of our chairs and took seats around him. There he sat while we lavished him with attention. We asked him about everything a young boy loves to talk about: toys, baseball, candy, parks, games . . . We acted amazed at his stories and affirmed how he would become a big leaguer someday. We made him feel special, because he is. Finally, when our time was up and he had to go, without request or prompting, we produced a baseball and signed it for him.

When we gave the boy that ball, there was no dead ritual involved. Our names were no longer scribbles to be collected, and the ball was no longer a souvenir. That baseball was now a letter, and each signature was a testament of hope, encouragement, and joy. I can't explain to you how much happiness it gave that mother and her son to share those moments with us.

I still can't explain why people treat us so special for putting on a baseball uniform.  But in those few moments together, it didn't really matter--in those few moments, baseball made perfect sense.

-from RoundRockExpress.com:

Homeruns Will All Be For Coolbaugh

Express players to donate all funds from minor league ritual

ROUND ROCK - What has for years been a tradition in minor league baseball will now become a tribute to baseball veteran Mike Coolbaugh for the remainder of the 2007 Round Rock Express season.

When Round Rock returns home on Aug. 1, the team will begin a stretch of 20 home games in 34 days. Every time an Express player hits a home run, the traditional helmet will be passed around The Dell Diamond seating bowl. Only now, all of the money placed into the helmet will be donated to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund.

Coolbaugh, who spent three of his 16 professional playing years with the Houston Astros' organization and was named the organization's Triple-A Most Valuable Player while with Round Rock in 2005, was killed Sunday when a line drive foul ball struck him as he coached first base for the Double-A Texas League Tulsa Drillers. The 35-year-old San Antonio resident  left behind two sons, Joseph, 5, and Jacob, 3, and his wife, Amanda, who is expecting their third child in October.

"Mike Coolbaugh wasn't just a dedicated baseball player, he was someone who genuinely cared about everyone around him," said Express veteran Travis Driskill, who also has two young sons. "It's hard to imagine a loss of that magnitude. We can all grieve, but we can all also help his family."

The passing of the helmet has long been a staple of the minor leagues. After a home-team player hits a homerun, his helmet is passed around the crowd and stuffed with dollar bills. Round Rock has hit 42 home runs at The Dell Diamond this season.

In addition, donations for the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund can be dropped off weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at The Dell Diamond, located at 3400 E. Palm Valley.

All donations collected will go directly to a fund set up for the family at Spirit Bank in Tulsa, Okla. Checks can be made payable to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund and may be sent to the Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Fund, c/o Spirit Bank, 1800 S. Baltimore Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119. In addition, all fine money from the Texas League, plus an additional $1,000 for each of the league's eight teams, will go towards the fund. The Nolan Ryan Foundation and Spirit Bank have each donated $5,000 to the fund.

Well, indiansfan, I DID make the trip to Kinston. It was last minute and I ended up getting back home at 2 this morn. It was great!!! One of the best times I ever had at a baseball game. Again, why I think the minors are better than the majors as far as the fun you can have.

I will post some comments here in a minute, but I will say my observations were secondary, as I spent most of the night talking to Carl Long, a former negro leaguer who played with Satch, Mays, Clemente, Charlie Pride, Hank Aaron, many others. He played for the Birmingham Black Barons in 52 and 53, then some in the Pirates org before injuring his shoulder and retiring after 57. The Kinston Indians front office was very very helpful when I contacted them and asked if Mr. Long was going to be at any of the games this wknd. They personally called me and got me a ticket right next to him behind home plate. Minor league baseball at its finest. Beautiful, old historic, renovated stadium as well...covered grandstands.

Hey all, going to make a roadie to Kinston this wknd. Sat and Sun games. Main reason is to see Carl Long, a former negro leaguer. Figured it would be very cool to meet one of those guys while they are still around. He goes to every game there from what I hear.
2 question lines....
Has anyone been to a Kinston game/ does anyone live nearby there?

Besides Max Ramirez, who should I be watching? They play Frederick (Orioles).....Thanks in advance for your reply Joe

I'm bored and I don't see one, so poof!

Or is that presto? Heckfino.

Chan Ho Park goes tonight for my beloved Astros. I think this youngster could replace Woody Williams in the rotation. I just hope Purpura doesn't deal him at the deadline.

Felix Pie with HR #4 already. Adam Miller getting hammered by Durham. Moo!

Scherzer and Cueto pitching in the SL.

Izzy Alcantara still working on his martial arts for Leones de Yucatan, HR (4).... Francisco Cordova pitched an inning for Cd. Mex. Diablos Rojos....Kit Pellow hitting .321 with 25 HR for Saltillo....Reggie Taylor .357 with 18 HR for Tabasco...The Mex Lgs are great!

So, this thread might turn out to be funny, might not. We shall see; maybe atleast something to do in the A-S downtime.....
"I am a bad person because........."

 I made this comment when Pujols was down to his last out and needed 3 HR to advance: "Where's Brad Lidge when you need him?"

Discuss....

So, looks like Lidge will be back Friday in Chi town...I made a cruel joke to my brother during the All-Star derby about who should pitch to Pujols when he had 9 outs in the 2nd round. Ya, I know, but I am hoping he can contribute to the pen here. The question is, who goes? Albers has looked pretty good this time around, so...
Does McLemore get kicked back to RR based on his 1 bad inning? Most likely I guess. I don't see Moehler getting the boot, based on his 1 million dollars. Anyone have insights/hypotheses/predictions/soothsayings?

Adam Jones 2 more HR (21), .309
Koshansky HR (12), .322
Others??

This is OT and not minors, but Gary Sheffield hits the ball HARDER than anyone in the game today (anyone I've seen in my 20 years of watching baseball I think). Bonds back when he was on the, errr, in his prime maybe a semi-close 2nd.

Feel free to discuss this bc the top prospects mostly missing from the regular box scores today...

There should be enough info to keep this diary separate from the daily events thread...As a Giants fan, looking forward to seeing Henry Sosa.
Wlad Balentien is a player that intrigues me a lot as well. Saw Fautino de los Santos earlier this year; promising young lefty for the Sox. Jay Bruce and Votto for the Reds...many more.
I've rambled enough. Let the countdown begin....

Poll

Whats MORE annoying?

53%

Steve Phillips

57 votes

46%

Windows Pop-Up Sound After Every Batter

50 votes

107 votes | Poll has closed

Bueno Suerte para todos....

Silly Mariners, DFA'd Jason Davis yesterday after just trading for him. IndiansFan is laughing somewhere in Ohio....

Not much going on yet: Matt DeSalvo had another strong outing in AAA, now 2.21 ERA on the year with 61 IP, 46 H, 28 BB, 62 K. Not sure if the Yanks will give him another shot yet. Prob not (Torre).

Lincecum goes tonight: 14 IP, 20 K, 4 BB, 7 H, 0 R last 2 starts. Thats acceptable, but he could have struck out 22 MORE people. Send him back to Fresno.

Cooper Brannon, former Marine who lost a pinkie to a grenade: On the back of his RC card it states one of his nicknames is "niner". Thats classic right there.
Off to a decent start in AZL. Throw out the one game where he had 3 BB and 3 H in 0 IP and he has 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 R. Yes, I know the part about "throwing out" the bad outing. But you have to presume some inconsistency as he enters professional ball for the first time. Might have to keep an eye on the K ratio of course

Who else... We know D'Arby Myers es en fuego: .370, 4 2B, 3 SB in 73 AB.

Troy Patton debut for AAA....Tomball, TX has now produced Patton AND The Eli Young Band