EVIL~! alkeiper

Wanted to add a couple quick notes about the games themselves yesterday. -Steve Susdorf went 4-6 with three doubles, raising his average to .412 in his first five games. Susdorf was one of the outfielders for NCAA champs Fresno St. I get the feeling he's Lakewood bound before long. -Travis D'Arnaud looks like a very strong catching prospect in the near future. He's praised for his catching skills, and he's hitting .348 so far in 25 games. (It's a half season league so they just kicked off in late June.) It strikes me though that he really looks like a kid yet. -No comments on the pitchers, Williamsport does not display radar readings and I don't have the type of scouting eye to spots things this far from the Majors. -The NY-Penn League is a different experience but it is a lot of fun. Everyone is very approachable.

I'm going to name my team the Giants. We need at least one team with that name. The Giants select Bill Skowron. Skowron made the All-Star game in five consecutive seasons for the Yankees, starting the game four times.

Nope, didn't even watch it. Real baseball in Williamsport was a much better option. To Spiff, the Cubs actually had 12 ex-Phillies that season.

The Knight of Kennett Square, Herb Pennock. Pennock twice won 20+ games for the Yankees, three times leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings. He went 5-0 in World Series play. In his post-baseball career, he was the GM of the Phillies who helped build the Whiz Kids.

My PYBO finally showed up today.

Has anyone seen the Baseball America midseason Top 25? I can only find the top five. Edit: Found it. Their new top 25: 1. Clayton Kershaw, lhp, 20, Dodgers (AA) 2. David Price, lhp, 22, Rays (AA) 3. Matt Wieters, c, 22, Orioles (AA) 4. Colby Rasmus, of, 21, Cardinals (AAA) 5. Jason Heyward, of, 19, Braves (LoA) 6. Cameron Maybin, of, 21, Marlins (AA) 7. Matt LaPorta, of, 23, Indians (AA) 8. Rick Porcello, rhp, 19, Tigers (HiA) 9. Andrew McCutchen, of, 21, Pirates (AAA) 10. Travis Snider, of, 20, Blue Jays (AA) 11. Chris Tillman, rhp, 20, Orioles (AA) 12. Neftali Feliz, rhp, 20, Rangers (AA) 13. Trevor Cahill, rhp, 20, Athletics (AA) 14. Austin Jackson, of, 21, Yankees (AA) 15. Dexter Fowler, of, 22, Rockies (AA) 16. Brett Anderson, lhp, 20, Athletics (AA) 17. Michael Bowden, rhp, 21, Red Sox (AA) 18. Jarrod Parker, rhp, 19, D'backs (LoA) 19. Tim Alderson, rhp, 19, Giants (HiA) 20. Mat Gamel, 3b, 22, Brewers (AA) 21. Wade Davis, rhp, 22, Rays (AA) 22. Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, 21, Rays (AA) 23. Mike Moustakas, 3b, 19, Royals (LoA) 24. Fernando Martinez, of, 19, Mets (AA) 25. Madison Bumgarner, lhp, 18, Giants (LoA) Just missing the cut: Lars Anderson, 1b, Red Sox; Adrian Cardenas, 2b, Phillies; Alcides Escobar, ss, Brewers; Michael Saunders, of, Mariners; Max Scherzer, rhp, Diamondbacks.

Good pick on Murcer. Elston Howard next pick made nine consecutive All-Star squads, won an MVP award in 1963 and collected two Gold Gloves. Howard struggled to establish himself, not earning the starting job until he was 31 thanks to the presence of Yogi Berra. Once he did though, he enjoyed 4-5 great seasons.

Often the best piece of news you can get as a fan is that the game the day before your's was rained out. Doubleheader in Williamsport tomorrow between the Crosscutters (Phillies) and the Oneonta Tigers.

Smues, you'll need to take one of these names. Mutuals Yankees Giants Cubans (or Cuban Giants) Lincoln Giants Bacharach Giants Black Yankees Mets (or Metropolitans) Superbas Robins Atlantics Bridegrooms The last four are Brooklyn names. I did not get to write about my last three picks yet. Joe Gordon was the Yankees' second baseman from 1938-46. He made the All-Star game every season except his rookie year. Three times in his Yankee career he drove in 100+ runs, and three times he reached the top ten in MVP balloting, winning the award outright in 1942. In his Yankee career he hit .271/.358/.467. His counting totals are hurt a bit by missing two years due to World War II. He is a contemporary of Red Sox HOF second baseman Bobby Doerr, and often considered the better player. I did not realize until now that Gordon was actually the second baseman on the Indians' 1948 title team. It is fitting that I took Allie Reynolds next. When the Yankees traded Gordon after an off season, they received Reynolds in return. Reynolds is one of the most famous swingmen in baseball history, filling both starting and relief roles for Casey Stengel, who never used a traditional rotation. Reynolds not only collected an excellent 131-60 record with the Yanks, he also saved 41 games. In the World Series, Reynolds had a 7-2 record with another 4 saves to his credit. His strikeout totals are not superficially impressive but he played in a low strikeout era; he frequently finished in the top ten and led the league in 1952. He finished second and third in consecutive years in MVP balloting in the 1950s. With my club, he will take a regular turn in the rotation. Phil Rizzuto fills the need both for a shortstop and leadoff hitter. His .351 career OBP and 149 stolen bases make him a fine candidate for the role. Again, those stolen base totals are not impressive but he finished top ten eight times in that category. Teams just rarely ran in his era. The dropoff here at shortstop between Rizzuto and the next player is pretty significant, IMO.

I found that mildly amusing, but flaming is inappropriate.

I'll be around tonight if CC picks.

What a shame. For a couple years, Murcer was an elite player.

Joe Gordon My internet service may be intermittent the next few days. Instead of holding this thing up, if someone can text the draft picks to me, I can text my pick back and keep things moving. 570 236 9458

I'm actually a bit surprised Mattingly lasted this long. I figured someone would be nostalgic and jump on him second round.

It has to be a real NYC baseball pro team.

Yeah, I never voted. I'm sorry, but I can't get worked up over whether or not Burrell gets a pinch-hitting shot in the eighth inning. Besides, it's more compelling that Burrell is now possibly the greatest player never to make the squad (him or Kirk Gibson).

Wright is a good defensive third baseman. Burrell is an iffy left fielder. Wright's advantage in defense negates Burrell's advantage in offense, IMO. Also, remember the difference in home ballparks.

Phillie fans will be up in arms, but Wright is a better player anyway.

http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/ This site has olympic results, participants, etc. for every game dating back to the inception in 1896. Some familiar names. http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/a...-tsuruta-1.html http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/a...ri-saito-1.html http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/a...en-coage-1.html http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/a...n-patera-1.html

There are tempting hitters on the board, but my team needs an ace starter. Lefty Gomez 189-101 record with the Yankees from 1930-42. 6-0 in the postseason, his teams won all five World Series they played. Gomez was selected to seven All-Star teams, and started the game five times! He is the only pitcher to win the All-Star game three times. Gomez twice won pitching's triple crown, in 1934 and 1937. Truly an elite pitcher in his era.

Rather than watch the Home Run Derby on Monday, I'm electing instead to head out to Williamsport to see the Crosscutters play the Oneonta Tigers. Oneonta has Pleasant Valley HS product Aaron Fuhrman on their roster, with any luck I'll get a chance to see him pitch.

Oddly, I had VOD issues as well yesterday. Shows would come up with a busy message, then it reverted back to the previous week's menus. Generally I find day one is iffy, after that things are fine.

They should trade them regardless. Can this team honestly win the AL East?

My next selection is not as famous among baseball fans. Charlie Keller was an absolute hitting monster in his day. With the Yankees he compiled a .410 OBP and .518 slugging percentage. Unfortunately Keller missed nearly two years during World War II, and suffered a career altering back injury in 1947. To give you an idea of Keller's talent, Keller hit about .360 over two seasons in the IL, but was trapped since the Yankees already had Dimaggio, Selkirk and Henrich. Keller will play left field on my club.

If you have more sacrifice hits than walks, that can happen.