Chargers / Tillers Match up

In a late Wednesday night start, the El Toro Chargers and Tustin Tillers matched up in a fall league baseball game.

More of the same as last week in that the fall is meant for development and giving many pitchers an opportunity to throw and get live at bats for the players.

This week the expected #1 and #2 pitchers for El Toro threw as Tyler Brashears and Garrett Mundell took the mound in the first 2 innings. Neither allowed a run but were a little rusty and needed to be helped out by some nice glove work in the field. Also throwing were Daniel Cavazos (transfer from Tustin), Ben Villines, Ryan Kayoda, Brett Hammond and Jordan Wirth. That group is basically competing with each other for 2 roster spots, as El Toro will mainly go with 4 guys during the season (some would say 3). All threw well last night. Cavazos seemed to have a little more zip on his fastball as he looked pumped up to be facing his old team. Kayoda, while only a sophomore, has thrown great so far this fall and Villines and Wirth were dominate in their one inning. Hammond here is the key which could decide a roster spot or two. He's a lefty and the only one higher up in the program, and if his off speed is on, he's as hard to hit as anyone and gives a different look on the mound. If he starts rolling through lineups like he's capable off, he'll be hard to knock out from one of those other two spots, leaving those other 4 fighting for 1 spot. It's good to be a lefty!

Offensively the Chargers are going to hit. Although missing one of their top hitters from last year (Gavin Collins, out with a fracture in his hip), their lineup is solid 1-9. A stand up triple by Matt Chapman and doubles by Mitchell Tolman and Dan James paced the hitting last night. Jayson Yano continued his hot start with 2 more hits and great at bats by Nick Villar, Daniel Conmy and Sean Nearhoof produced a lot of runs. Expect to hear more of this as the season goes along.

Defensively, things are starting to round into shape. A few less kids in the dugout last night meant the coaches are starting to narrow down the roster as we proceed farther into fall. Some position spots are safe to asssume. Nearhoof at catcher (where he was the top defensive catcher in the Sea View league last year as a Junior), Chapman at shortstop, Ryan Joyce in center and Dan James at first you can pencil in now. A couple others you probably can pencil in also, however a few dominos need to drop before we see how it all shakes out and who ends up in which positions.

On a final note about last nights game, Travis Harrison for Tustin was not there. Harrision is a potential first round pick (in some early mock drafts he's going as high as 11 to Detroit) and a few people in the stands were hoping he'd show up so we could get a look at him. Don't know if he's playing in any of these fall league games as apparently he wasn't there last week either.

Next week El Toro comes back with a Wednesday night game against San Juan Hills. Windrow Park, Irvine, 7:30pm.

Hope to see you there!

Bill

Expect Fewer Home Runs In College This Year

The NCAA has changed the rules on bats they certify to be used this year in Division 1 college baseball and the early reports are to expect home runs to drop off. The NCAA has a new procedure to test the bats to make them perform more like wood bats than under the previous testing method.

There have been concerns in recent years about how hard the ball comes off the bats making it more and more dangerous to be a pitcher, so they've started trying to make the bat manufactures conform to new standards. Head coaches such as George Horton at Oregon and Auggie Garrido at Texas think the changes will be dramatic.

Aaron Fit at Baseball America had a great write up about it today detailing the new bats and how coaches think it'll affect the college game. Not everyone thinks the bats are bad, just that they'll change how the game is played. It's a good informative article and I highly suggest you read (thank you to Colin Tanner for forwarding):

Knock On Wood

If you're wondering about high school baseball, out here in Southern California, they're changing those bats also. The CIF hasn't announced their list of approved bats yet (late November early December) but like the NCAA, the bats will need to comply with the BBCOR standards (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution). Here's a link from the CIF with more details:

CIF Baseball Bat Implementation

At least I know one thing my 16 year old is getting for Christmas this year!

Bill

Monday Musings

After a great (hot) weekend of sports, here are some Monday thoughts and observations:

1) RIP George - Hall of Fame QB George Blanda passed away today at the age of 83. He played for 26 years in the NFL as both a QB and a kicker, just amazing when you think about it.

2) Mike Johnson - Who? That was my 1st thought when I heard the 49er's fired Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye today and promoted Johnson who was their QB coach. I was already to start screaming "racism" as Raye is black and Johnson white. Well guess what? Johnson's black (and has quite a resume....). For those that don't know who Mike Johnson is, here's a write up I found about him from the Bleacher Report: The Walking Lemonade Stand. Sounds like a good guy, I'm pulling for him to succeed.

3) Vikings and Cowboys - Big wins for both teams, neither could afford to go 0-3. Cowboys I think can straighten themselves out but the Vikings have a tough road ahead. After a bye this week, they go on the road against the Jets, home to Dallas, then on the road at Green Bay and at New England. I think they lose all 4 of those games which effectively ends their season. We'll see.

4)Football Coach Fired For Mooning Fans - I'll let you read this piece from the NY Daily News. This guys real proud today! Coach Fired For Mooning Fans

5) Adenhart Killer Found Guilty - Last year, Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver after pitching 6 innings and getting his first win. Two other passengers in the car also died. The man was found guilty today and will be sentenced to a minimum of 55 years behind bars. The Orange County Register has all the details: Driver Guilty of Murder. Just sad all the way around... Some touching photo's in the write up.

6) Omaha NightHawks - Did anyone out there get a chance to watch any United Football League games this weekend? Truthfully I hadn't heard much about it, however this past summer I was in Omaha and got some information about the NightHawks. I knew Ahman Green was playing for them (exciting news as he's a big name from Lincoln just down the way) but I didn't know Jeff Garcia, Maurice Clarett, DJ Shockley, Dusty Dvoracek and a couple other ex "names" were also out there.. Peter King had a mention in his Monday Morning QB article this morning and it sounds like some good football is being played. Might be worth checking out. Here's the WikiPedia entry talking about the teams and the league - UFL in Second Season.

Bill

Angels - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Wow, so what happened this year with the Angels? I believe at the beginning of the year, I predicted they'd win 95 games and the AL West title. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but I honestly thought they'd do better then they have. I thought they'd continue to score runs (they were second in runs scored last year) and I liked their defense. Pitching was a concern but I thought they had enough to overcome it.

I suppose I could go down a laundry list of excuses like injuries or players not playing up to their potential, but you can do that with every team, so I'm not going to. As Bill Parcells said, "you are what your record says you are" and I'm in agreement on it. Bottom line is they just weren't good enough to make the playoffs.

There were some story lines this year that contributed to their record (they're currently 75-78) and I decided to use one of my favorite Clint Eastwood movies to highlight them.

The Good - Jered Weaver - In the movie, Clint Eastwood plays the unnamed, cocksure bounty hunter. The movie revolves around "Blondie" as he and Tuco make their way through the civil war trying to find buried confederate gold. Weaver played "Blondie" for the Angels this year, navigating thru the battlefield we call the Angels. He finally lived up to his potential as he posted an era of 2.99 with a WHIP of 1.03 along with 220 strikeouts (second in all of baseball). Without him anchoring the rotation, the Angels would have been dead by the all star break. Weaver went up against other teams number 1's and held his own, "Blondie" was definitely the Good in the Angels this year.

The Bad - Brandon Wood - In the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes was a sociopath Union soldier who captures, interrogates and kills Confederate soldiers unmercifully. Now am I saying Brandon Wood is a sociopath who kills? ABSOLUTELY! He killed the Angels this year....... Here's a guy who's a former high 1st round pick who has torn it up in the minors for years being ranked as high as a top 5 prospect in all of baseball. I don't know why that ability hasn't translated to the major leagues but if this year is any indication, Wood is not long for the major leagues. I'm not sure if it's just confidence or what, but he couldn't have played much worse this year if he tried. Admittedly I thought a stat line of .280, 20 hrs and 80 rbi's was a reasonable expectation based on the playing time he was going to get and the fact he's been billed as a stud prospect. What did he end up with? A .154 batting average, 4 hr's and 14 rbi's. That's BAD and consequently he killed the Angels as they needed his production. Forever from now on whether he's on the Angels or not (and I think they cut him loose) his nickname is "Angel Eyes".

The Ugly - Kendry Morales - Eli Wallach was great as Tuco, the comical, fast talking thief who knows the name on the tombstone where the gold is buried, forcing him and "Blondie" (who knows the location of the cemetery where the tombstone is) to become partners. Now I'm not saying Kendry Morales is ugly, but when he broke his ankle jumping on home plate after his walk off home run against Seattle on May 29th, it effectively ended the Angels season and that was ugly! The Angels never recovered from losing their number 4 batter and best hitter. If the Angels get Morales back healthy and he can continue to produce as expected (he was off to another big year as when he got hurt he was hitting .290 with 11 hr's and 39 rbi's after 51 games), that'll help solidify the lineup and give the Angels some pieces to build around.

Kendry and Blondie are the cornerstones of this Angels team and with some nice complimentary pieces (Howie Kendricks, Erick Aybar, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Torii Hunter) they're right there contending for the division title next year.

Maybe this year didn't turn out as expected, but it wasn't the Angels year. Do you blame Scioscia, Reagins maybe Mickey Hatcher for their problems? I certainly wouldn't blow up the team and I don't blame the coaches for this season. I just think it wasn't their year... It happens. I would get rid of Matsui and move either Napoli or Mathis. You need to go with one catcher. Make a decision and move forward. Stop the platooning. Make Abreau the DH and go spend the money on Carl Crawford this winter and stick him in left field. He'd cure a lot of their run scoring problems. Overall, I like the pitching staff. Weaver, Haren, Santana, Pinerio and hopefully a rejuvenated Kazmir is solid. It's not Tampa Bay Rays good, but in the upper half in all of baseball. Their defense and pitching will be solid and if they can get back to scoring runs, they'll be fine.

Anyway, that's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly as it pertained to the Angels 2010 season, here's looking forward to an active hot stove league!

Bill

El Toro Baseball

With school back in session last week, it's time to get the fall baseball season started.

Fall's the time for the coaches to work on rotations, lineups and see where different kids fit in the program. It's not about winning (or even keeping tract of scores), so my focus will be about the program and what's going on.

ET has 9 games scheduled over the next two months. Top Southern California programs such as Orange Lutheran, Edison, Chaminade and Santa Margarita are some of the teams they'll be playing.

They started off the season last night against Santa Margarita. 7 pitchers went for the Chargers although neither their expected #1 or #2 pitcher threw. A new guy each inning. A lot were curious to check out the new transfer from Tustin High School, Dan Cavazos. He's a junior who was one of Tustin's main pitchers last year. As a Sophomore, he started 10 games with a 4.35 era. He throws hard but seems to have some control issues as his walk to strikeout totals last year were about 1/1. Last night he seemed to just be working on his fastball control as he didn't throw many off speed pitches. It'll be interesting to follow to see if he can work his way into El Toro's rotation as they'll mainly go with 4 pitchers through the regular season.

From an offensive standpoint, seniors Matt Chapman (Cal State Fullerton commit) and Ryan Joyce homered in the first to get things started. One of the Chargers strengths this year is expected to be their hitting as they look to be strong up and down the lineup. They lost Chris Manning and Garrett Donohoe from their starting lineup, but with all the young talent coming up through the program and the continued development of the returning players, they look to score more runs this year.

As to the game, it was a back and forth affair that ended 7-7.

Next Wednesday (9/29), El Toro faces the aforementioned Tustin High School. A lot of excitement as Tustin features one of the top high school players in the country in Travis Harrison. Game is scheduled for 7:30 at Windrow Park in Irvine.

Go Chargers,

Bill

Monday Musings

After a long weekend of football, here are some thoughts:

1) Jets played well against the Patriots and deserved to win. They made half time adjustments that I didn't see New England making. Did NE go away from Welker in the second half or did the Jets change their coverage? I don't remember Welker being targeted much in the second half. Pats kept picking up 8 yards on first down, then next two downs throwing down field, incompletions, then 3 and out. Pick up a god damn first down and move the ball!

2) No one could be happier that the Vikings are 0-2. All the build up about Favre coming back and their recruitment of him. Good riddance.

3) Cowboys are 0-2 and the Buccaneers are 2-0. Two of the bigger surprises to me. I don't really have a routing interest either way here, but seeing as how the Cowboys were a trendy pick to make the super bowl and many predicted Tampa Bay to finish about 4-12....... It's early and things can, and will change, but it's still interesting.

4) My NFC Super Bowl pick, the Green Bay Packers, are off to a 2-0 start and travel to Chicago next Monday night for an interdivision match up against the 1-1 Bears. Packers had 2 home games to start but now it gets tougher as they go on the road.

5) QB controversy in Philly? Vick looked good yesterday throwing for 287 yards and 2 td's in the Eagles win over Detroit. When's Kolb coming back? I know Andy Reid has said Kolb will start when he gets back, but if he struggles early and the Eagles lose, you know the sports talk shows are going to be all over Reid. This might get interesting.

6) Is it Max Hall time in Arizona? Do you think Matt Leinert is pretty happy now that the Cardinals let him go? If they'd kept him as the starter, he'd be the scapegoat here. Now? This falls squarely on the shoulders of Ken Whisenhunt. Oakland comes to town next week and if by some chance the Raiders can pull out a win and Derek Anderson struggles, this franchise could drop real quick.

7)Bengals beating the Ravens? Surprised me needless to say. Didn't expect that.

8) Houston's 2-0. Are they legit this year? They've beaten Indy and Washington and have Dallas come to town next week. If they beat Dallas, they might make it to November 1st before losing a game (Monday night game at Indy). Schedule lines up pretty well for them. If they can stay healthy, they could make things interesting for the Colts in the AFC South.

Bill

Five For Friday

1) NFL Predictions - With opening week 1 week away, it's time to make my predictions:

AFC East - Patriots

AFC South - Colts

AFC North - Ravens

AFC West - Chargers

I'm not on board with the trendy pick of the Jets, too many older veterans and injuries will happen. For what it's worth, I also want to pick someone else other than the Chargers in the west. They're due for a let down. I just don't know who yet...

NFC East - Dallas

NFC South - New Orleans

NFC North - Green Bay

NFC West - 49'ers

Green Bay is the biggest surprise here. I like Rodgers a lot, he's going to have a big year. This team is primed to move to the next level.

Next week I'll give wildcards, playoff predictions and super bowl winner.

2) Aroldis Chapman - Stephen Strasburg who? This is how professional sports is. It's a replacement deal. Once one stumbles or goes down with injury, someone else steps up to take over the press. Chapman's only pitched a couple innings in relief, but he's already the talk of the town. The other night he hit 103.5 in a game (when did we start going to half seconds?). I read where his fastball has averaged 99 so far. Wow..... Fun to watch. He'll be interesting to follow and see how effective he is in the postseason should the Reds make the playoffs (as an update, they were the hottest team in baseball in August).

3) USC Football - The Lane Kiffin regime is here. Offense looked great in their win over Hawaii last night but their defense needs work. They're going to be fun to watch this year as they'll be in some high scoring games. In watching last night, this occured to me. They're not eligible for a bowl game this year, so I wonder if Kiffin says "screw it", lets throw the crap out of the ball, let Barkley put up some monster numbers and see if he can win the Heisman. If you can't compete for the National Championship, maybe try to have an individual on the team get recognition. By the way, Barkley threw for 5 tds and 257 yards. Next week is their home opener against Virginia.

4) US Open - Do I really have to talk about tennis? I know I've said this before, but has any sport fallen from US popularity more then tennis in the last 20 years? US Open back in the 80's used to be must see tv. Now? Is anyone out watching it? Does anyone care? I'm curious what the tv ratings are because literally, I know no one that watches tennis now. No one. No doubt there are die hards out there but the casual fan, what point is there to watch? Having said that, here is a reason to watch the US Open, a fight in the stands - NY At It's Finest

5) Nyjer Morgan - Speaking of fights, what's up with him? He was suspended for 8 games today for his part in the benches clearing brawl the other day with the Marlins. Fun to watch the fight? Yes, very fun, but still you have to wonder what his thinking is. He's 30, doesn't make a lot of money, was just recently dropped to 7th in the batting order and he probably feels his career is at a crossroads, he's frustrated and trying to make something happen. His 8 game ban is in addition to a 7 game suspension he received back in August for inappropriate comments he made to fans during a game Aug. 21st against Philadelphia. That suspension is currently under appeal. Don't expect to see Morgan back with the Nationals next year. In case you haven't seen the fight, here he is charging the mound

Bill