Bryce Harper

Hey, 2 posts in a day, I'm on a roll!

Wanted to touch on the hype surrounding Bryce Harper and put to black and white my prediction of what will happen with him.

For those of you not familiar with him, a recent Sports Illustrated article was written on the phenomenon that is Bryce Harper. I attached a link to the article to see what the hype is about (click on Title "Bryce Harper" for link). The article is billed as "Baseball's LeBron".

In a nutshell, he's from Las Vegas, 16 and just completed his Sophomore year of high school. He's big, strong and very talented. I believe they have him listed as 6'3", 205 and claims he throws 96 mph. His main position is catcher. After reading the article, it wouldn't be a surprise if he also parted the Red Sea and walked on water.........

In the story, they talk about how he's dominated at every level he's ever been in, never challenged, hits long home runs and is a man playing among children. There's even talk by his parents of him getting his GED, leaving school and entering the professional ranks early. Thought this would be a good time to shed some light on some of the Paul Bunyan stories....

1) HR Derby - The article mentions how he was in an international home run hitting contest last year at Tropicana Field and hit a 502 foot home run and being awarded the Babe Ruth Award for hitting the longest home run. A quick google search showed that's correct, but what the SI article fails to mention is not only did Harper NOT win the contest, he actually came in 5th. I feel sorry for the 4 guys that finished in front of him that got zero mention (including Christian Walker from Pennsylvania who won......). Here's a link to that write up: http://www.mister-baseball.com/europeans-add-power-showcase-hr-derby-resume/

2) High School Domination - The SI article mentions how his parents feel he needs to be challenged and may leave high school early in order to turn pro quicker. I looked up his stats on Max Preps and was shocked, SHOCKED, to discover he wasn't THAT dominate.... He had a very good year, especially for a Sophomore, but in reading the article, I was expecting him to have Bobby Stahel stats...... (inside joke, another Nevada Sophomore who had an incredible season, yet never gets mentioned......). The Las Vegas Wildcats were a better than average team, making the state tournament but being eliminated in the first round. Here's Harpers stats from the season: .569 batting average, .689 OBP, 3 HR's, 22 BB, 26 RBI's and 12 Doubles. Great stats, no doubt, but not Paul Bunyanesce...... The argument I hear is he was pitched around and I'm sure he was to an extent. The 22 walks were a lot, but someone else on the team had 15 walks and someone else 13. He also led the team in average and OBP and tied for the lead in HR's and doubles. He was second in RBI's. Here is the link to Max Preps if you want to look over his season stats: http://tinyurl.com/m353vz

As a comparison, here are Bobby Stahel's stats for the season. .762 batting average, .814 OBP, 5 HR's, 29 BB's, 56 RBI's and 12 Doubles. Here's the Max Prep link: http://tinyurl.com/nnohk7

Stahel is also a Sophomore catcher in Nevada, maybe he should be the "LeBron of Baseball"!

3) Pro Prospect - He's a talent. I'm not saying he's not, but lets realistically look at his potential to become a pro player. I'm on record saying if he ever makes "The Show" it'll be as a pitcher, not a position player. I'm not sure how tall his parents are or other family members, but if he's just 16 and already 6'3", I gotta think he's not done growing and has 2"-4" still to go.... If he ends up 6'7", he'll have a hard time hitting at that height. His strike zone will be too big for professional major league hitters to exploit. There have been very few successful major league hitters ever at that height. Dave Winfield was 6'6" and obviously great but who else? Richie Sexson had a nice couple of years but is no longer in baseball and I believe he was listed at 6'8". There's a reason most of the best hitters of all time were 6'2" and under. Certainly at 6'7", Harper will never be a catcher at that size. Now there have been many successful pitchers at that height and that's why I feel if he's ever able to make it to the major leagues, it'll be as a pitcher.

By the way, this is not the first time I'd heard of Bryce Harper. His name has been out there for a few years and the talk has started to take on a legend of it's own.

I'm not knocking the boy. From everything I've read and heard, he seems like a good kid and his parents just want what we all want for our kids, which is happiness and success in life. I just feel this is an instance where the media takes a story or rumor and runs with it. They see a chance to build someone up and make them larger than life.

I wish Harper well and hope he is successfull, but let's be realistic and let him enjoy being a kid. That age is tough enough as it is without national media attention focused on you. His next 5 years are going to be under a microscope.

I'm sure we'll all follow him but when he doesn't turn out to be the next LeBron, don't call him a failure. Maybe, if he's lucky, he'll be the next "Stahel"!

Bill

What's Bill Thinking?

Some thoughts on a dreary Friday morning.

1. Lakers - Hate them. However, gotta give them credit. After another overtime win last night to go up in the series 3-1, I believe I heard Chick calling down from the heavens "the door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard, and the jello's jiggling"...... this series is over. God help us...... 
2. Manny - I like him and can live with the suspension for PED's but no way, no how he should be voted into the all star game. IF you're out there voting for him, please stop. 
3. Red Sox - Man, do they own the Yankees this year or what? It's got to be a mental thing by now. Yankees can deny it, but after being beaten 8 straight times, it's gotta be in the back of the players minds. Now if Boston can play this well against everyone else, life would be good!
4. Favre - Can he just retire, please........ Ok, fine, if he was healthy and a team wanted him, that's one thing. I don't fault a player for wanting to play as long as possible. The passion and income would be tough to give up. I get that. However he just had shoulder surgery, he was average at best last year, why is Minnesota looking to sign him? I don't get it. The Brett Favre of 09 is not the difference between the Vikings winning or not winning the Super Bowl. Maybe they're not happy with who they have at QB, but Favre is not the answer. Brett, go to the farm and film a couple more Blue Jean commercials and let us remember your greatness from the 90's.
5. Sanchez - Apparently Mark Sanchez has looked really good in Jets training camp. I'm a big Sanchez supporter and while I despise the Jets, I'm hoping he does well. Don't know why, but I hope Stafford's career doesn't pan out (nothing personal, I'm sure he's a great kid) and Sanchez has a Hall of Fame career (although not with the Jets!).
6. MLB Draft - I loved it. For those that either missed it or just don't care, it's growing in popularity and each year becomes bigger and better run. Unlike the other major sports drafts, you're not going to get the instant gratification of a top pick starting for your team next season. It's a process that takes several years for the picks to have a chance at making the big club and even then, may never make it. A few of the guys from the 08 draft are up on the major league club right now (mainly relievers) but most of last years top picks are in Single A and a few at AA. Now that my sons in high school, I follow the high school kids that get drafted as you have some "name" familiarity with them. From my kids High School team, 3 players were drafted this year and one went as high as the 2nd round. Makes it kind of neat. 

Bill

El Toro Frosh/Soph Baseball Update

It was a great first season for the young Chargers. Following in the footsteps of some exceptional players and teams the last 4-5 years, the Frosh/Soph boys showed they're ready to continue the winning El Toro tradition. 

On the season they went 31-5-1 including 14-0-1 in winning the Sea View league. A great accomplishment as they played some of the best young high school talent in Southern California and the country. 

A big "thank you" goes out to Coaches Dave Ferrell and Austin Fiero for all their hard work and patience. They did a great job throughout the long season. 

Here was the final roster:

Tyler Brashears
Daniel Conmy
John Greiner
Shane Jones
Andrew Kincaide
Cortland Lioi
Byron Manzo
Collin Parker
Mitch Tolman
Jake Tredwell
Nick Villar
Jordan Wirth
Jayson Yano

"Zeke" going JUCO

In my quest to stay on top of the FIU basketball program, here's the latest. 

Isiah Thomas has signed 4 JUCO All Americans that will play for the Golden Panthers next year. 

All were highly rated out of high school, but due to poor "academic standing" went the Junior College route. 

Click on the title for more details about the players. 

Go Panthers!

Bill

Angel Moves

In the offseason, the Angels made some decisions on what free agent players to retain and which to let go.

As the 1st 1/3rd of the season rolls around, I thought this would be a good time to evaluate some of those decisions.

As to main players they either lost or let go, we have Mark Texeira, Franscisco Rodriguez and Garrett Anderson. Players they brought in (or promoted from within) are Brian Fuentes, Bobby Abreu and Kendry Morales.

Let's compare how their season's have been going:

KRod versus Fuentes - KRod signed with the Met's for 3 years, 37 million (plus incentives). The Angels didn't want to go higher than 10 million a year as they felt there were other lower priced options out there either in free agency or in house. They'd been concerned about KRod's arm and didn't feel the injury risk and the 3 year guaranteed money was worth it. Instead they ended up signing Brian Fuentes for 2 years and roughly 18 million.

KRod has been everything the Met's had hoped saving 14 games in 14 opportunities and a sub 1 era. Fuentes hasn't been quite as effective as he has a 5.30 era but does have 13 saves in 16 opportunities. Obviously the edge goes to KRod here but this is year one of the contract. As I said, the concern is injury with KRod, so we'll have to see what transpires in years 2 and 3.

Bobby Abreau versus Garrett Anderson - The Angels decided not to bring back their long time player due to age and the contract Anderson was looking for. The 37 year old Anderson was hoping for a 3 year 18 million dollar deal with the Angels but was told no way. After the Angels walked and signed Abreau for 1 year 5 million, Anderson was forced to except an offer from the Atlanta Braves for 1 year 2.5 million. Abreu has played in 48 games with a .293 batting average, 15 stolen bases, 25 rbi's and 23 runs scored. Anderson's been battling injuries, playing in 34 games, with a .261 batting average, 2 hr's, 16 rbi's and 11 runs scored. I think the edge goes to Abreu as more than just stats, Abreau has helped the Angels with his patient approach at the plate forcing pitchers to make more pitches, helping other hitters.

Mark Texeira versus Kendry Morales - Texeira was the big pick up mid season last year when they traded Casey Kotchman. Morales was a young guy in their farm system they promoted when they failed to resign Texeira. I like Texeira, and I like him a lot. But committing that much money and years to 1 guy is crazy.... The Yankees went 8 years and 180 million to sign him. Reportedly the Angels went 8 years and 160 million. You can't fault the Angels for that offer. Let's look at how Texeira is doing compared to Morales. Texeira is batting .279 with 16 homeruns, 44 rbi's and 36 runs scored. Morales as you can imagine is not doing quite so well, but he's quitely having a nice season. His average is .288 with 8 homeruns, 32 rbi's and 21 runs scored. Big edge to Texeira, but since the Yankee's are paying 22.5 million for the Texeira production, I have no issue with Morales and his 330,000 contract.....

In today's game, it's not just about getting the best player, but a mixture of very good high priced players and young inexpensive players your trying to develop. While I don't agree with every move by the Angels (why Brandon Wood is not on the roster is beyond me.......) I don't have an issue with what they did on those 3 positions/players. I would have loved to have Texeira back (even at the high cost) but the bet on Morales has paid off so far. If the Angels brought back all three of those players (KRod, Texeira, Anderson), I feel they'd be in the same position they are now.

As for money, this year the Angels are committed to roughly 15 million for Morales, Fuentes and Abreu. If they'd resigned Texeira, Rodriguez and Anderson, they'd be on the hook for close to 40 million (depending on what they paid Anderson) and in my opinion, they'd be right about where they are now in the standings (currently second to the Rangers who have the best record in baseball).

As with any of these deals though, you need to wait a couple years to see what becomes of these players. It'll be interesting to follow.

Bill

What's Bill Thinking?

Here's what's on my mind this overcast Monday morning:

1. UCI - Eliminated in the College Baseball World Series - I guess I was dissapointed in their early exit... They were the number 1 ranked team in the country the last month of the year but Virginia was too tough and beat UCI in both contests of the Irvine Regionals.
2. Austin Wood - The relief pitcher for the University of Texas pitched over 12 hitless innings in Texas' 25 inning, 3-2 victory over Boston College on Saturday night. Truly an amazing accomplishment!
3. Orlando / Lakers NBA Finals - I'm happy with this matchup. I really think Orlando will take out LA. They swept them during the season and was the only team in the league to hold a winning record on both the Lakers and Cavaliers in the regular season. Should be a good series. Dwight Howard is a monster in the middle and the Lakers have no answer for him.
4. Angels - I was dissapointed in their loss to Seattle on Saturday. Leading by 3 with 2 outs in the 9th, Seattle hits a 3 run homerun to tie it (and eventually win in the 10th). I was just as satisfied with the Angels win on Sunday. Down by 2 with 2 outs in the 9th, they came back and scored 3 runs to win it... Talk about a roller coaster ride! They were down 8-1 in the 6th, but didn't quit. Maybe this is the kick start they needed to get their season rolling
5. Insignificant Sports - Does anyone care/realize that both the NHL Finals and Tennis' French Open are going on? You barely get a mention of it in the news and well I'm sure they're both being broadcast, I watch ESPN and FSN all the time and I hardly ever hear any times the games / matches, are on...... Sign of the times I guess.

Bill