Monday, October 20, 2008

Draft Class: Season 5 Round 1 Review

This years Amateur Draft class was perhaps the class that will be remembered for having a very small amount of impact players, and for being low in overall talent in general. Here is a quick glance at some first round gems. Harry Rivera appears to be the best overall hitter drafted, being taken by Minnesota with the 30th pick. Only 3 arms went in the first 10 picks that may have the potential to be front-line starters: Ronnie Hundley, Patsy Brewington and Albie Espinoza. As far as valuable position players go, SS Hunter Robertson was arguably the best player available and was nabbed by Texas with the 3rd pick. I had my eyes on outstanding C prospect Scott Ward, who ended up getting swooped up happily by Atlanta with the 38th pick. A couple of potential closers also went in the first round in Louis Black, who looks to be an extreme workhorse already, and Vic Olmeda. Hopefully, next years class will be a bit more like previous seasons. The general consensus gathered from GM's was that there was enough to plug a few holes in the system here and there, but overall it was quite the disappointment. With that, here's to the future Diamond's in the Rough that we all hope this draft was full of!

World Champion Minnesota Twins (Pt. 2?)

For the first time in Major Leagues history, a repeat World Series champion could be on the way. Now, I know what you are thinking....."It's entirely too early". Is it really though? The Minnesota Twins, currently 57-21, are absolutely dominating the competition this season. Fresh off the heels of sweeping another of the AL's more dominating (yet inconsistent) teams in Oakland, the Twins look to march their way towards another World Series, and it will be the 4th time in the first 5 seasons of the Major Leagues that they will represent the American League. Headlined by the always dominant, 4-time Cy Young award wiining Chris "Cy" Nen, have managed to mercilessly destroy almost every team in their path this season. Amazingly, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks somehow managed to sweep the reigning world champs earlier this season, but the aforementioned dismantling of the Athletics really shows this teams true level of talent. As of yesterday's games, Nen has a spakling 2.59 ERA over 121.2 IP and sits at 12-1 making him an easy front runner for his 5th Cy Young. Meanwhile, slugger Curt Falk and homegrown Virgil Mendoza have been blasting opposing pitchers away, both players OPS'ing over .950. What truly stands out about this Minnesota team is their record on the road, going an unbelievable 31-8 facing their opponents away. That's enough to rattle even the strongest willed of teams. What makes matters worse for the AL teams is that Baltimore really isn't too far behind Minnesota, and is very, very tough to face at home with their 29-9 record there, and 53-25 record overall. Look out National League, the American League sure looks to be getting tougher year in and year out!

Monday, October 6, 2008

New Season...New Champ...New Struggles...

Welcome to another season of Major Leagues, and sorry for the delay! Busy times these days, but we all have the time for some baseball!!! Another season has gotten underway and defending World Series Champions, The Minnesota Twins (31-7) seem well on their way to defending their title by running straight through the other teams as if they were comprised entirely of AA players. St. Louis over in the NL has really become a solid squad over the last year, and could definitely surprise some folks this year over in the NL....I'd be willing to bet we'll say the same about San Francisco next season. In other news, for the first time in league history that I can recall, the Cubbies are in 2nd behind the Expos....boy that Montreal squad sure has quietly gotten to be a really good team. The biggest disappointment of the season has to come from the AL West, but which team could you point to? All of these teams seem to be way more talented then their respective records (all teams at or above .500 & within 2 games of each other). Perhaps most dissapointed is the GM of the Oakland Athletics who wouldn't take the time to talk with us, but did blurt out that he was "extremely dissapointed and looking to majorly shake things up...". A few trades have occured recently, and some pretty talented International Free Agent's have been signed recently as well, proving again that missing even a day in Major Leagues can put you behind your competition and leave you scrambling. Stay tuned as we'll have a close-up look at just what has got that Oakland GM so frustrated in the next few days. See ya soon!!