(Note: This fanpost was published earlier, but due to an odd inability to edit the old one, I deleted it and posted a new one with some updated information.)

The Sharks had 5 prospects playing in the CHL playoffs: Taylor Doherty (D) for the Kingston Frontenacs and Julien Demers (D) for the Ottawa 67s in the OHL, Sam Groulx (D) for the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL, and Marek Viedensky (C) for the Saskatoon Blades and Thomas Heemskerk (G) in the WHL. Only 1 of them, Sam Groulx is still playing. His team has swept both the 1st and 2nd round series it's played in. After the break I've got some analysis and commentary based on stat lines, scouting reports I've found, and the bits of playoff games I've heard on the radio for the non-QMJHL prospects (most QMJHL radio broadcasts are in French).

Update: Groulx's team was eliminated in the 3rd round of the QMJHL playoffs in 6 games.

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Being a poor Giants fan living in So. Cal, I don't get to watch many Giants games. So stuff like ESPN Gamecast and MLB Gameday are very useful for me. While both systems have their advantages, it's rather difficult to use both at the same time.

Gamecast seems to have the more polished interface. I can actually use all of its features and everything shows up the way it's supposed to. However, on Gameday, I often have problems especially when looking back at what happened in earlier innings. The scrollbars are sometimes to short to allow me to look at what happened in the entire inning. And I have yet to see the mysterious lineup tab. It's always blank, (and I don't think it's a feature for paying customers). (If anyone knows how to fix this on Firefox 3 on Linux, I'd love to know.) Gamecast also features slightly better hit visualizations, i.e., it's easier to see where someone hit the ball, and I get to see hitter's hot and cold zones for free.

But Gameday's killer feature that keeps bringing me back is it's pitch identification. It's nice to know whether Schierholtz is striking out slider's at his back foot, or checking how much break Zito has on his curveball. And of course it's great to bitch at the occasional "strike" on Gameday that was obviously a ball.

After today's dismal performance by Bob Howry, I've realized that the Giants need better relief pitching. And Sabean in his typical incompetence had it in his grasp but let it go. Who is this amazing closer?


It's Armando Benitez of course. Didn't you know that he's the seventh best relief pitcher of all time?

That Wired article is freaking weird and also shows you the possible importance of park adjustments when ranking players. According to these folks' analysis, Todd Helton is the 2nd best batter ever after Bonds. I just hope that the Giants management doesn't take their first course in advanced baseball statistics from these guys.