EVIL~! alkeiper

I doubt the Orioles will feel pressured to rush a catcher through the minors to reinforce a sub-.500 team. I missed 10-15 minutes of the Phillies/Rockies game, and missed six runs in the process (three apiece). What a waste of time Corey Patterson was.

Taking a look at the A.L.'s top prospects. I wrote this about two weeks ago, so if some information is old I apologize. When I originally developed the list, I neglected to remember that some trades occurred after Baseball America's Prospect Handbook went to press. Therefore the Minnesota Twins and Oakland A's gained new #1 prospects in their organization. The original writeups for the other prospects remain in italics. Baltimore: Matt Wieters, C. Absolutely dominating the Carolina League to the tune of a .355 batting average, .618 slugging percentage. Will likely advance mid-season as he is obviously above the league. Only downside here is how he will hold up behind the plate given his height (he is nearly 6'6"). Boston: Clay Buchholz, RHP. Major leaguer for good, 4.50 ERA is slightly below league average but good for a 23 year old starter. Striking out a little more than a batter an inning. Chicago White Sox: Aaron Poreda, LHP. Jumped to High Class A and is performing extremely well, with low walk and home run totals. Strikeouts are down, but the other peripherals are solid. Cleveland: Adam Miller, RHP. Off the DL and pitching in Buffalo. 2.04 ERA in four starts, still too early to draw many conclusions. Even if he proves himself, he will need to wait for an opening in the big league rotation. Possibly an option for 2009. Detroit: Rick Porcello, RHP. Jumped to High Class A in his debut and while strikeouts are low, he's allowed just one home run in eight starts. Considering he is just 19, this is a very good opening season thus far. Kansas City: Mike Moustakas, SS. Coming around after a slow start in the Midwest League. Still young at 19, but ranking is based more on high school scouting than any production thus far. I think it was a rush to rate Moustakas ahead of Daniel Cortes or Luke Hochevar. LA Angels: Brandon Wood, SS. Minor league numbers this year include a .273 batting average, 8 home runs, and a 29/5 K:BB ratio. Got the call and has yet to hit. Wood has legit power but has failed at every MLB turn as of yet. Still just 23 and can play short and third, so he will have plenty of chances. Minnesota: Deolis Guerra, RHP. Repeating the Florida State League and not doing particularly well, posting a 4.56 ERA with unfavorable peripherals. Control seems to have deserted Guerra. There is more projection than performance here as of yet. I'm not sold. Minnesota: Nick Blackburn, RHP. Not a strikeout pitcher at all, will survive on his ability to keep the ball down. To me, the idea of a 26 year old pitcher with a minor league K/9 ratio of 5.6 being the organization's top prospect is ludicrious. NY Yankees: Joba Chamberlain, RHP. Still dominant in relief, but showing signs of humanity. Oakland: Carlos Gonzalez, OF. Hitting .312 in the PCL. Gonzalez is still a tough prospect to judge because he has never played in an unfavorable hitting environment. His biggest year took place in 2006 in Lancaster, one of the best hitting environments in the country. Solid prospect, but nothing in his overall line screams stardom. Oakland: Daric Barton, 1B. League average OBP, subpar slugging percentage in big leagues. As first baseman, will need to improve to show his worth. Seattle: Jeff Clement, C. As Kenji Johjima was re-upped for three years, Clement's future will lie as the team's DH. Dominant at AAA, Clement just needs to earn playing time yet. Tampa Bay: Evan Longoria, 3B. Will man third base in Tampa for the next seven seasons. Hitting just .211 but showing legit plate discipline and power. Texas: Elvis Andrus, SS. 19 year old already in AA and hitting .271 there. Andrus lacks any kind of power but runs well. Toronto: Travis Snider, OF. Earned a promotion to AA after three weeks with Dunadin. Another case of a batter hitting for a low average but showing plate discipline. .301 career hitter in the minors, Snider is considered one of the best outfield prospects after Jay Bruce.

I can't seem to access Cawthon's site, but WWF ran an injury angle with Superstar Graham not long after, effectively ending his in-ring career.

Fantastic debut so far for Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. 6 innings, 2 runs allowed, one walk and seven strikeouts.

The Seattle Mariners have been absolutely decimated the last five games. They have allowed 9+ runs in each game, including another 12 today.

Honestly, it's like this at most parks.

Kudos to umpire Tim Welke for apologizing about missing Alex Rodriguez's home run last night. That takes some guts.

It has too many artificial quirks, but it doesn't OFFEND me.

Decrease that to 79 XBH's and you can add Alfonso Soriano to the list. 77 will get you a three season stretch for Jeff Kent, and two for Charlie Gehringer. You can add Utley at 75. So really it's cherry picking stats, and of course Uggla still has to do it. Not to discredit his accomplishments of course. The Marlins have some good hitters, but their fielding really suffers for it.

Regarding that fan, it honestly only surprises me that he did not die immediately on impact.

That match was infuriating in particular. Since it took them so long to do the blood from the ceiling spot, Russo laid in the figure-four for over a minute.

I actually had TNT cut off during Fuji Vice.

The new TNT is up. The show features Adrian Adonis again getting dressed up throughout the show. Nice job of Vince to bring out Bruno Sammartino and pretty much bury Adonis for his conditioning.

I stumbled onto ECW very early. First episode I watched had the aftermath of the Eddie Gilbert/Terry Funk match at the Super Summer Sizzler Spectacular, way back in '93.

I'll let Bored fill in the schedule. I wanted to start this up and post this. How is each team's top prospect doing? Let's start with a look at the National League, we'll hit the A.L. next week. Arizona: Jarrod Parker, RHP. 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA in six starts in low class A. 21 Ks against 4 BBs in 25.2 IP. Great pro start for a polished high school draftee. I am inclined to believe Parker will stay in South Bend, as the Diamondbacks' next highest affiliate plays in one of the most brutal pitching environments in the country. Atlanta: Jordan Schafer, OF. Suspended fifty games for violating MLB's drug policy. Chicago Cubs: Josh Vitters, 3B. Has only appeared in four games for Peoria, bothered by tendonitis and back in extended Spring Training. Vitters is just 18, so there is plenty of time and room for improvement. Cincinnati: Jay Bruce, OF. Hitting .328 in Louisville with a .565 slugging percentage and seven steals in as many tries. Banging on the door to the majors, just waiting for an opportunity. Colorado: Franklin Morales, LHP. Demoted after a putrid start with the Rockies, Morales joined three other pitchers in a no-hit effort just today for Colorado Springs. Control has gone south, as that no-hit effort included six walks in five innings, and Morales walked 17 in 25 MLB innings. Still young, but needs to harness control to succeed further. Florida: Cameron Maybin, OF. Low batting average in the Southern League, but showing plate discipline and power. Definate talent and on track, but not quite ready. Houston: J.R. Towles, C. Made the MLB Astros, but currently just hitting .156, albeit with some pop. Has begun to lose starts to Brad Ausmus. LA Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw, LHP. 1.08 ERA in the Southern League, striking out more than a batter an inning, has not allowed a home run and control has developed. Kershaw could wear Dodger blue by the All-Star break. Milwaukee: Matt LaPorta, "LF". .336 batting average with .688 slugging percentage in AA Huntsville. LaPorta has yet to be challenged at every level, he will soon land in Nashville and create a real issue for playing time. With Ryan Braun in left and Prince Fielder at first, the Brewers have no room. NY Mets: Fernando Martinez, OF. Struggling at AA Binghamton, but is still just 19 years old. Will probably end up repeating a level as he has not yet demonstrated pitch recognition at that level. Philadelphia: Carlos Carrasco, RHP. After a shaky stint in AA last year, Carrasco has upped his strikeout rate and cut his walks. Home runs are yet a problem, but Reading is a home run park. On track, but has struggled twice when promoted mid-season previously. Pittsburgh: Andrew McCutchen, OF. .373 OBP in AA for 21 year old. McCutchen is a leadoff hitter in the making, will likely assume that role for the Pirates by the end of the season. St. Louis: Colby Rasmus, OF. Another player making a slow start, Rasmus has hit just .193 in AAA. His plate discipline and power are yet intact, so this is just a blip on the radar. San Diego: Chase Headley, 3B. Hitting well at AAA Portland, Headley is waiting for an opening with the big club. The Padres have worked Headley at left field, but Headley remains while the club inexplicably gives a roster spot to Jody Gerut. San Francisco: Angel Villalona, 1B. Yet to hit at low-A Augusta. Villalona has a great deal of power potential and is just 17 yet. A long way away. Washington: Chris Marrero, 1B. See Rasmus. Playing at High A Potomac, has hit there previously and will advance to Harrisburg or Columbus sooner rather than later.

The ball is fair if it lands in fair territory past the third/first base. Having established a fair ball by hitting the top of the wall, it's a home run if it does not come back.

Phillies/Jays are back from a second rain delay. Jays need a righty in a tight spot and they turn to.....Roy Halladay? Damn it.

And JHawk wins the league. Congratulations. This was a lot of fun.

I turned this off after the SHOCKING~! turn of David Flair attacking his own father. How anyone can stomach Russo's shit is beyond me.

I think the DeNucci/Hennig tag match is missing, but I'd have to double-check.

Mayhem '99 was one of the worst PPVs I ever watched. Russo was horrible.

Down 3-1 against the Hellraisers, Teddy Higuera tonight tries at least to send it back to my home park for games six and seven. George Brett is out for the rest of the series, that's a blow.

I was skeptical of Hamilton last year, citing his lack of ABs against left handed pitching. He's handled them well so far this season.

Coste appeared to miss the plate with his front foot.

I hate to say it, but the Mets/Yankees game with Johan Santana probably has the most appeal. The Dodgers/Angels game is on the opposite coast so a fan with the means could make a doubleheader out of it. Oddly, the game with the most combined wins is the TB/StL matchup.