Gamecocks Take Home Final Title at Rosenblatt

South Carolina star junior Whit Merrifield drove this Dan Klein fastball--the final pitch at

Rosenblatt Stadium--into right field to give the Gamecocks their first ever national title.

The 2010 College World Series had its ups (spectacular web gems, great pitching performances, and extra-inning nail-biters) and its downs (weather, long games, and disappointing crowds). But the CWS ended on a fitting note last night as South Carolina topped UCLA in a riveting, hard-fought final game. Whit Merrifield's one-out single in the 11th off Bruins closer Dan Klein brought home the winning run and was the first walk-off hit to win the CWS in a decade. The Gamecocks certainly earned the title, as they won six consecutive games in Omaha after losing their opener to Oklahoma. SC's Jackie Bradley Jr., a sophomore outfielder, received the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award, although RHP Blake Cooper (a senior who did his best Jonah Nickerson impression and threw two straight games on three days' rest) also had a case.

Even if he thought teammate Blake Cooper was more deserving, Jackie

Bradley Jr. wasn't going to complain about more Erin Andrews time.

South Carolina is traditionally known as a team of mashers, but this club was built primarily on its pitching and defense. The 'Cocks didn't have a Justin Smoak or Phil Disher to rely on, but they had a strong 1-2 punch in the rotation and one of the best bullpens in the country. South Carolina and Florida were the class of the SEC pretty much all season long. While the young Gators stumbled in Omaha--as the Gamecocks did in the (decidedly less important) conference tournament--Carolina was able to pick up the second consecutive NCAA championship for the SEC. I still believe Texas, Virginia, etc. were even better, but kudos to the Gamecocks for an amazing postseason run and for beating a terrific UCLA team. I'm excited to see what JBJ, closer Matt Price, 1B Christian Walker and Co. have in store for an encore.

A couple of final screenshots and thoughts from the last College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium:

Yes, even the big guys like Gerrit Cole and Matt Purke

take it hard when their team is eliminated.

Trevor Bauer is the most exciting player to watch in the nation. Knowing he enrolled at UCLA a semester early, is a long-toss freak, pitches like Tim Lincecum, and is one of the most dominant pitchers in the country, I've liked Bauer for a while. I didn't realize the extent of his quirkiness, however, until watching him in person and on TV in the CWS. Bauer has an insane conditioning and throwing routine. It was a treat to watch him do his crazy gyrations and exercises, then go out and put on a clinic on the mound. If UCLA got to Game 3 and won, Bauer likely would have gotten the CWS MOP, as his first two starts were masterful. The nation's leader in strikeouts, Bauer throws in the low-90s, has an extremely deep repertoire of offspeed pitches, and could be a 1st-round pick next year. Do yourself a favor: set aside an hour and search 'Trevor Bauer' on Google and YouTube.

Trevor Bauer mockingly gave the TCU symbol after he

decimated the Horned Frogs' lineup with 13 Ks in 8 IP.

Trevor Bauer didn't seem to be fazed by the loss. He even

asked to touch SC's trophy during postgame handshakes.

It was great to have some fresh blood at the CWS, with TCU a first-time participant and South Carolina a first-time winner.

ESPN still has work to do with its broadcasts. It is blatantly obvious that Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser, et al. don't follow the college game until they cover the postseason. They are not familiar with the teams or players. On the other hand, Baseball America continues to do a fantastic job of covering the event and college baseball all season long.

The lights at Rosenblatt Stadium are finally off for good.

With summer leagues in full swing, the signing deadline for draftees on August 16, and next season less than 8 months away, it's time to look forward to 2011. I already can't wait.

Ebay Buyer SCUM and SCAM

I enjoy selling something on EBAY. I enjoy selling sportscards on EBAY. I like taking the time to do everything just right for the customer and clearly stating the requirements in the item description so their is no confusion on the buyers end. By the way.... DOES ANYONE READ THE ITEM DESCRIPTIONS ANYMORE? Then when it comes time for the payment to be due you send out notices and email the winners so they can have the invoice right away. What's that??? I have not heard back from you in 5 days so I'll send out another casual reminder. What's that??? It's been 14 days? Finally after filing a NPB you all of a sudden have contact from the buyer and then you begin having to hear all of the excuses as to why they forgot to pay. Here are some quotes that I received lately:

"Very sorry about that. Payment in full will be received by Friday if that is ok. Had an unexpected auto repair that has drained the wallet. I will not welch on this - I have over 1000 feedback (100%) so I can be trusted." THE GUY NEVER PAID!!!

"hello I have place the wrong click.. i was going to make a counteroffer hit the wrong bottom.. can you cancel this please I will make another offer.. thanks hope to hear from you soon.. I really apoligies for this inconvenience."

"Hello,I thought I had paid for this card as part of a larger payment that I made for several items more than a week ago. Then we left for vacation and I had very limited email access. We got back last night and I am now catching up with emails and discovered that something had gone wrong. I just paid for the other two items for which the original payment had not gone through, but I can't pay for this one because it has been cancelled on account of the unpaid strike that you filed against me.I apologize for the mixup, it was an honest error, though I'm still not certain of what went wrong. If you check my feedback you'll see that I always pay for my auctions and I do so in a timely basis.What can I do about this? Naturally, I still want the card.Please let me know.Again, my apologies for the delay in making payment, it certainly was not intentional." EDITORS NOTE: This JERKOFF then filed a item not received against me three weeks later and I had the last laugh as I produced his signature acceptance and delivery confirmation. He was left speechless when I called him and asked why he filed the "item not sent" complaint when I called his bluff and he didn't say anything for about 5 seconds and then began stating that his wife had picked up the package and took it to his desk and he didn't see it on his desk when I heard his wife in the background hollar that he already got the card. I called him a liar and hung up. ONCE AGAIN BULLSHIT LIES!!!

My favorite part is when you ship the product out and then 3 weeks later you get a claim of the item was not delivered. Here's where I like to stick it to the buyer so I don't get screwed over: I don't charge for delivery confirmation or signature required nor do I describe it in the auction listing. Then when I have the proof that it was delivered and signed for I just simply hand it in to Paypal and I email the buyer the confirmation information and then watch all of the excuses come pouring out again as to how they misplaced it or the signifigant other picked up the card or some other bullcrap excuse of trying to cover their ass cause they were going to rip me off. Then after all the dust has finally settled and another few days has passed I begin to fill out the feedback forms. I do not leave feedback unless it's left for me as I see that's only fair. The feedback the seller left for after attemtping to rip me off left was simply this statement, "thanks".

This is where EBAY needs to allow the sellers the opportunity to leave negative feedback for when the buyers pull this crap. But then again EBAY doesn't care about me, you, the BP oil spill, the gum on your shoe, the dead bird on the front of your car's grill, or how your Mom is making extra money on the side teaching a pole dancing class in your Dad's garage while soliciting Amish men. The fact is once EBAY has "their" money .....YOU ARE A PILE OF STEAMY, SQUISHY, "CORN VISIBLE IN THE PILE" OF SHIT TO THEM OTHERWISE. Prove me wrong!

Draft Interview with The College Baseball Blog

We recently had a chance to catch-up with our draft/amateur baseball expert and webmaster of The College Baseball Blog, Brian Foley, to get a little bit better look at some of the players the Giants selected in the '10 draft. Here is the interview:

Q: With their first pick in the 2010 draft, the Giants took speedy centerfielder Gary Brown out of Cal State Fullerton. What's your take on him and how quickly do you see him moving through the Giants' system?

BF: Brown was injured late in the 2010 college season which cost him a chance to play in the NCAA Tourney. He is a speedster who I was surprised was drafted so high but on all the draft boards that I saw he was included as a number 1 pick. I saw him in the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was a decent player but I thought there was a couple of other better outfielders with five tools.

Q: Is Brown the guy you would have taken at pick 24? There were some really good hitters still on the board.

BF: Not at all, I would have taken Bryce Brentz and Zack Cox over him who both are going to be outstanding hitters at the next level.

Q: With their second pick, the Giants went after another speedy outfielder in Virginia's Jarrett Parker. Tell us a bit about him and how he compares with Gary Brown.

BF: I have personally seen Parker play at least eight different times and every time he has had a terrible game striking out multiple times. Parker had an outstanding sophomore year which made him jump up all the draft boards but had a tough 2009 Cape Cod League season batting .188 with a homer and 13 RBI in 29 games. This is a wood bat league so his power might not transfer over to the pro level.

Q4: One of my favorite picks for the Giants in this draft was the big lefty out of South Florida, Andrew Barbosa. What are your thoughts on him, and did he last longer than you thought he would in this draft?

BF: Barbosa was a true walk-on at South Florida and the coaches were awed when they found out he could throw mid-90's. He had a dominating season for the South Florida Bulls where he went 8-2 with a 2.40 ERA while striking out 95 batters in 86.1 innings. He also held batters to a .228 average.

Q: Give us an arm and a bat that were taken after round 10 that you

BF:Brett Bochy is an arm to watch as he was outstanding at the end of games for the Jayhawks before he got injured thus missing the last 3/4 of the season. Dan Burkhart could work himself into being a backup catcher for a long time in the league behind Buster Posey.

Giants Notes: Back at the Major League level, the Giants have hit a bit of a bump in the road after crusing along through most of June. They lost 2 of 3 to the Red Sox over the weekend, and fell to the Dodgers in game one of a three game set on Monday night. Tim Lineceum was knocked out of the game in the third inning on Sunday, and forced the bullpen into the game early which is significant because the Giants don't have another off-day until the all-star break. Luckily Barry Zito went a solid 6, allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts, but didn't get a decision due to a Casey Blake game winning 2-run homer after Zito departed. Keep an eye on the Giants bullpen over the next couple of days cause the weather is heating up and so is their work load. A couple of negatives for relievers.

Bumgarner Takes Loss in '10 Debut

Madison Bumgarner couldn't have asked for a tougher assignment to start his 2010 big league season. The 20 year-old lefty was opposed by the Boston Red Sox's dominant lineup and their prize young righty, Clay Buchholtz (who actually left the game after the first inning).

Bumgarner didn't throw particularly bad, as his line for the day was 7 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 5 K's and 1 BB. His only blemishes though came on two pitches, to Darnell McDonald and Mike Cameron in the 1st and 2nd innings, that both left the yard. Other than that though, he was nails, and Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti have to be pleased with how he rebounded after those rough first couple of innings. I think like with Buster Posey, Bumgarner is going to be given every opportunity to let this be his last call-up, and I think he's going to respond. The way he threw against Boston will definitely give him confidence. I'm kind of surprised the Giants couldn't get to the Red Sox's bullpen in order to give Bumgarner some support. The Giants offense only mustered up 6 hits and 2 runs, both driven in by Buster Posey, and they got to face the Red Sox bullpen for 8 innings rather than their stud young righty, Clay Buchholz. MadBum's next projected start, assuming that he's not sent down for some reason, would be against the Colorado Rockies in Denver, so it's not going to get much easier for him, but it's going to be a good solid test for him right off the bat. So far so good.

On Friday night, the Giants' bats showed up. Although they only scored 5 runs, they banged out 12 hits, including Juan Uribe's 12th homer of the year. Buster Posey had a 3-hit ballgame to get his average back up to .321, and Uribe and Sandoval each had a couple of hits apiece. The Giant who really needed to get some hits this series, Aaron Rowand, has gone 0-7 through 2 games so far. I understand that the Giants don't want to site a guy making 13 million dollars this year, but if he were making 3 million instead, he'd probably be a rare-start, defensive replacement, if he'd even manage to stick on the roster at all. I've met Rowand at Giants' events in the past and I like the way he plays the game and will always root for him, but Pat Burrell, Andres Torres and Aubrey Huff need to be in the outfield when Buster Posey's at first base. With Pablo Sandoval's sophomore slump dragging towards mid-season, the Giants can't really afford to sit their best hitters. When Sandoval was hitting .330, it would be easier to play Rowand a little more often. Here is how I'd like to see the lineup constructed more nights than not; 1. CF Andres Torres 2. 2B Freddy Sanchez 3. 1B Buster Posey 4. SS Juan Uribe 5. RF Aubrey Huff 6. LF Pat Burrell 7. 3B Pablo Sandoval 8. C Bengie Molina.

Giants Blogs Interview with NESN: For the rest of the interview done with NESN that I previewed in our last post, you can view it here, and if you do, I urge you guys to drop some Giants comments cause there was a bit of Giants/Lincecum bashing going on from the Red Sox fans. It was all in good fun though, but it definitely is making me root for the Giants and Timmy with a little extra incentive in Sunday's finale.

The "Dad Moms"

Sometimes us "Dads" can have moments where we have more than our hands full if our wife or girlfriend is working opposite schedules of us and then we find ourselves being the "Mom" for the daylight or evening hours. It’s even more fun to have our hands extra full when we have two or more children to comfort, shuttle to games, giving hugs to, applying band aids, making supper for, planning evening activities, bath time, reading bedtime stories, drinks of water, cleaning up and making sure everything is in order so Mom doesn’t have to clean up when she comes home. So to help us "Dads" out a little and perhaps understand what the ladies in our lives go through everyday, here’s an "ABC’S" of the daily Dadmom:

A is for Allocate. You wash the dishes while having Ben dry them while Jen puts them away. This is not just a chore, but it’s fun as well because the children will usually end up being more wet than what the dishes were coming out of the dishpan.

B is for band-aids. You will need these at all times. These make little fears disappear. Like kisses these will also make tears stop instantly. These will also be necessary for when even Bobo, the pet goldfish has mysteriously crawled out of the fish tank and had bitten your three-year-old daughter’s finger (according to her testimony. The fish is unavailable for a comment).

C is for ABC Checklist. Unless it has sports scores on it or how to make something more powerful, most of us men will forget the "what to do lists or ABC checklist". This is very vital that we keep this list in sight at all times. Uncompleted lists can result in no kisses from the wife! Throw the penalty flag for husband/male like conduct!

D is for diapers. Don’t forget to change them or you may regret it later.

E is for excessive. Don’t just stop at cleaning the house. Clean the garage and take out the trash as well.

F is for forgiveness. They (the children) really don’t mean to write over your freshly painted wall. They don’t mean to stuff the bologna sandwich you made them 2 days ago into the VCR deck. They don’t mean to have your computer talking to you and writing in three different languages other than English.

G is for Grill. When all else fails in the kitchen, this amazing structure will bring hungry tummies calling. Men are born with an extra chromosome known as the 25th G chromosome. Men can prepare anything on the grill including Chili. No other directions are necessary at this point.

H is for hats. Collect all of these up after your children have tried on each one making for some quite memorable pictures.

I is for Ice cream. This substance (like the band aids) will solve any problem.

J is for Jesus. Make sure you teach the children about what he has done for us.

K is for Kool Aid. Due to the high sugar content, avoid giving this drink mix to children after 7pm. Side effects are hypersensitivity and excessive bouncing on beds and off of the walls and staying up until Mommy gets home which can produce serious "no kisses" overtones.

L is for Love. You can never give enough of this!

M is for mixing. Any vegetable can be mixed with mashed potatoes (see son or daughter for details).

N is for nurse. You will have to tend to broken planes and scraped knees. You may also have to nurse Bobo the pet goldfish back to health after being sucked up into the sweeper because you casually mentioned to your 3-year-old son that you needed to "clean the fish tank".

O is for off. Make sure the TV is in the off position at all times.

P is for paint. Let the children paint pictures for on the fridge and for in your office. There really is such things as a "green sun". And don't worry about the golden retriever you used to have....nothing says, "different" like a purple retriever.

Q is for quiet. Quiet time is for us after the children are asleep. This does mean an option to turn on ESPN and quietly read the ticker scores with the volume turned down.

R is for reading. Make sure you read the children two bedtime stories. Make sure you read over the checklist. Make sure you read your Bible.

S is soap. This will be required for making bubble baths that flow out of the tub and down the steps.

T is for Tantrums. It can be frustrating and there may be name-calling. Objects may be thrown. However, we men must still read the instructions booklet for putting some things together and read the checklists no matter how much intuition us men have. These tantrums must be avoided. Check on the kids for assistance.

U is for Upright. All of the books that were taken off of the shelves will need to be put back in the upright position. This includes the fish tank as well.

V is for VCR. Check the VCR for sandwiches, toys, backward tapes, fish and various vegetables that are easily placed in the cassette slot by "little hands".

W is for wife. Make sure there’s a meal prepared for her. Roses (or flower mixture) in a vase on the table. Make sure the house is cleaned. Make sure she’s got chocolate cheesecake in the fringe (extra kisses for you!). Make sure you pray for her!

X is for … the missing chromosome in us men that was replaced by the 25th G chromosome (see G above).

Y is for Yard. Make sure the toys are picked up and put away. Make sure the yard doesn’t have any hazards in case of cutting the grass. Half a G.I. Joe is not good to play with. The other half that was projectiled through your neighbor’s window via courteously of your lawnmower is not a good thing either.

Z is for ZZZZ. That’s what your wife will probably hear from you when she walks in the door.

Mark DeRosa Out for the Season

It shouldn't come as a surprise to most Giants fans, but Mark DeRosa was officially pronounced out for the season and placed on the 60-day DL on Wednesday.

DeRosa hadn't played since May 8th, and when he was playing, you could tell there was something going on with him. He was hitting just .194 with a homer and 10 RBI in 93 at-bats and was really hurting the offense more than he was helping. This has to be a disappointment to the Giants, who added DeRosa on a 2-year, 12 million dollar deal this winter. My thinking at the time was that even though I didn't necessarily like the deal, but in the worst case scenario, DeRosa would be a highly-paid utility guy if the Giants had better options. I certainly didn't envision him getting hurt and missing basically %75 of the season. The addition of Pat Burrell is looking even better now and fortunately for the Giants, I don't think they're going to miss him as badly as they were thinking. Buster Posey's emergence along with the addition of Burrell should help the Giants get by without the versatile DeRosa, even though I was really looking forward to seeing what the Giants lineup would look like when everybody was healthy. The one positive in DeRosa having his wrist worked on now is that he'll have plenty of time to recover and get back to %100 for spring training next year rather than having him repeatedly placed on the 15 day DL and playing through the season in pain.

Interview with NESN: I just completed a brief interview with Boston Red Sox flagship media outlet, NESN. The Giants will be hosting the Red Sox at AT&T Park for 3 games over the weekend and the topics discussed include the upcoming series and even getting into some Barry Bonds discussion. I'm not able to post the full interview here yet, as it will be posted on NESN.com Thursday, but I here is one question from the interview:

NESN: The Red Sox' offense currently ranks 1st overall while, on the other side of the ball, the Giants' pitching ranks 3rd. How do you think they'll match up?

GBB: Well, they'll be in San Francisco, so the Red Sox won't get to use a DH. The Giants' rotation lines up so that Jonathan Sanchez, Joe Martinez and Tim Lincecum will start the three games. With the way Lincecum (3-0, 1.67 era, 24 k's in last 3 starts) and Sanchez (2.90 era and .206 BAA) have, it's tough to bet against the, no matter who they're facing. I say the Giant take 2 of 3.

Tim Lincecum Gets Back On Track

During a few of his starts towards the end of May, Tim Linceucm was not himself. He put together a 3-start stretch in which he failed to complete 6 innings, and losing 2 of those 3 games in the process. However, any concern that arouse with Lincecum's struggles in May have been pretty much wiped away as he's had a much more "Lincecum" type of month this June.

His most recent start Wednesday, clinched the series victory for the Giants over the Orioles, and Lincecum was absolutely dealing. The Giants bench got a slight scare though in the 6th inning when Migeul Tejada comeback liner nailed Lincecum right on the back-side of his throwing shoulder. The ball ricocheted right to Freddy Sanchez who threw Tejada out at first which ended the 6th inning, and Lincecum didn't come out for the 7th. His pitch count was high though the 6th inning was going to be his final inning regardless, but I'm just curious as to what would have happened with him had it occurred in the 4th inning instead? Timmy got the win though, and really was in a grove for most of the afternoon. He struck out 10 Oriole hitters, his highest total since May 4th and now is riding a modest 2-game winning streak, but he'll take it. Prior to this personal 2-game win streak, Lincecum had just 1 victory since April.

The Giants' other ace, Matt Cain, continues to do no wrong. With the arrival of Steven Strasburgh and the brilliance of Ubaldo Jimenez, Matt Cain has flown under the radar, so to speak. Cain has put together a 4-game winning streak in which he's posted video game type numbers. In those 4 games, Cain had 2 complete game shutouts to go with a 7 and 8 inning start in which he allowed just one run each. His CG shutout vs. the Diamondbacks on May 29th was nearly a perfect game. The only baserunner the D-Backs put on all day was on a 2-out double by Mark Reynolds in the 2nd inning, that wasn't even hit all that well. It's amazing to think that Cain and Lincecum are still just in their mid-20's and are just about to enter their prime. They still haven't even learned 1/2 of what they'll know by the time they're 30. Even Jonathan Sanchez has really come into his own this year. I was expecting Sanchez to step up his game this year, but not quite to the 2.78 era, 1.15 WHIP and nearly 1 K per inning level that he's currently at. He's always had the potential to be this good, and at 27, he's finally realized it. The Giants will only be able to keep these guys together for so long. So enjoy this while you can.

Giants Vs. Jays: The Giants lost game one of a three game set with the Blue Jays Friday night. Barry Zito was again nails, but Edwin Encarnacion got to him a few times and single-handedly beat the Giants and Zito, 3-2. Aubrey Huff had another 2 hits to raise his average to .309 and Pablo Sandoval drove in the Giants only 2 runs. If your keeping tabs, former Giant Fred Lewis went 0-4 with a K. On Saturday, Matt Cain looks to extend his win streak as he goes against Jesse Litsch.

Ravishing Relics

He made his major league debut on April 16, 1946 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1947, he hit 51 home runs. Many of Kiner's homers were hit into a shortened left-field and left-center-field porch at Forbes Field, originally built for Hank Greenberg, and known in the press as "Greenberg Gardens"; the porch was retained for Kiner and redubbed "Kiner's Korner". Kiner would later use "Kiner's Korner" as the title of his post-game TV show in New York.

In 1949, Kiner topped his 1947 total with 54 home runs, falling just two short of Hack Wilson's National League record. It was the highest total in the major leagues from 1939 to 1960, and the highest National League total from 1931 to 1997. It made Kiner the first National League player with two fifty-plus seasons. Kiner also matched his peak of 127 RBIs. From 1947 to 1951, Kiner topped 40 home runs and 100 RBIs each season. His string of seasons leading the league in home runs reached seven in 1952, when he hit 37. This was also the last of a record six consecutive seasons in which he led Major League Baseball in home runs, all under the guidance of manager Billy Meyer and Pirate great Honus Wagner. He was selected to participate in the All-Star Game in six straight seasons, 1948 to 1953. He holds (by himself) the major league record of eight home runs in four consecutive multi-homer games, a mark that he set in September, 1947. This info is from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Kiner

Cardinals Sign 33 Draft Picks

Among the 33 draft picks was Andy Benes's son Drew that the Cardinals drafted out of Arkansas State. Drew had signed with the Cardinals earlier this week.

The Cardinals have also signed Ricky Martinez, a right-handed pitcher from Nova Southeastern who was undrafted. He is the son of Dennis Martinez, the former big-leaguer and current pitching coach for the Springfield Cardinals.

Highlighting the list is 3rd round selection, Sam Tuivailala from Aragon High School (Calif.). The shortstop was the Peninsula Athletic League Player of the Year, leading his team to a 26-6 record with his .429 average. In pitching duties this year for his high school team he was 3-0 with two saves and an 0.84 ERA.

Cody Stanley (4th round), Nicholas Longmire (5th round) and Greg Garcia (7th round) have also signed with St. Louis. Stanley is a catcher from North Carolina-Wilmington who led the conference with 22 runners caught stealing and was named a First-Team All Colonial player. Longmire was an All-Conference outfielder for the University of the Pacific and was the top hitter in the Big West conference. Garcia, a shortstop from the University of Hawaii, led his team with a .358 average and earned First Team All-WAC honors in 2010.

Trade Rumor: Buehrle Coming to St.Louis?

Well Ken Rosenthal suggested that the St.Louis Cardinals may go after Mark Buehrle. Its funny in a way because Mark has always wanted to pitch for his hometown team. Here is the kicker, Mark's full no-trade protection doesn't start till July 15. The big obstacle that is in the way is Buehrle's $14mil contract he is owed this season and 2011. Personally I would love to see this happen. Maybe the WhiteSox could eat up some of his contract. I know I have lost count the many times Mark has commented about wanting to play for the Cardinals before he retires. It has also been speculated that he may retire in 2011. What would the WhiteSox want from the Cardinals to make a deal like this? Shelby Miller? I guess we will wait and see. I would love to see Mark in Cardinal Red!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It has been a woefully long time since I last posted, but I have caught my breath and am back to provide sweet baseball content all summer.

With all due respect to Andy Williams, the best time of the year occurs not in December, but June. School is out, the sun is shining, the MLB Draft was last week, and (most importantly) the NCAA playoffs are in full swing. Over the weekend, eight teams clinched a berth to the College World Series, which kicks off Saturday.

Bracket 1

TCU

Florida State

UCLA

Florida

Bracket 2

South Carolina

Oklahoma

Arizona State

Clemson

There has been little consensus this season in college baseball. Virginia and Texas were seen as two possible favorites, but both of those heavyweights were toppled in the Super Regional round. Most were also surprised to see Coastal Carolina, Louisville, and Cal State Fullerton go down. Each of the teams remaining has its weaknesses, and we could be in for a wild tournament. This is also the last year for Rosenblatt Stadium, the host of the CWS since 1950.

It is tough to know what to expect in the College World Series. Nearly anything can happen in the postseason, especially in the volatile hands of metal bats and the environment of the college game. Nonetheless, I will offer some fearless predictions:

Final

Arizona State over Florida in 3 games

The Sun Devils (52-8) have had an incredible season, but they are not perfect. Starting pitchers Seth Blair, Merrill Kelly, and Jake Borup typically keep their team in the game, but none posted a FIP below 4.40 this season. I could certainly see a situation in which opposing clubs batter the ASU starters in Omaha. The Devils also have only one player with more than 10 home runs this season. With that said, ASU is ridiculously deep and talented and I loved what I saw from them in March. The Sun Devils hit .338/.436/.539 with 314 walks as a team. From Riccio Torrez to Johnny Ruettiger to Kole Calhoun to Zach Wilson to Drew Maggi to Zack MacPhee (all of whom wield a .400+ wOBA), their offense has droves of patient hitters with dangerous sticks. The Sun Devils are relentless and rarely have problems putting runs up. They also have four shut-down relievers (Jordan Swagerty, Mitchell Lambson, Jake Barrett, and Brady Rodgers) and their defensive unit is very athletic and versatile.

If ASU's starting pitchers falter, they could be knocked out quickly. With their talented roster and experience from last season's Omaha trip, however, I'll give the Devils the slight edge in this field. Florida (47-15) has a spectacular team and lost just one (!) weekend series all season. Preston Tucker, Matt den Dekker, Austin Maddox, et al. are dynamite position players, while studs such as Alex Panteliodis, Hudson Randall, and Kevin Chapman give UF a formidable arms corps. For now, I'll wait until 2011 to label them as my championship pick.

Darkhorse

TCU

The Horned Frogs (51-12) have played incredible baseball all season long. Series wins at Cal State Fullerton and Texas highlight their resume. TCU is also one of the more complete teams in the field of eight, with talented hitters, pitchers, defenders, and bullpen options. Although they are making their first trek to the CWS, the Horned Frogs have absolutely no underdog status. Don't be shocked if Freshman of the Year candidate Matt Purke has a coming-out party in Omaha (see below), the crowd rallies behind the Omaha newcomers, and TCU's wealth of talented players (including Kyle Winkler, Bryan Holaday, Matt Curry, Jason Coats, and Taylor Featherston) carries the Frogs deep into the tourney.

Breakout Stars

Omaha is a perfect time for young players to have a coming-out party on the national stage. Hardcore college baseball fans may already know them as household names, but there will inevitably be some players (think UVa.'s Keith Werman last year and Fresno State's Danny Muno in 2008) who star at the CWS and raise their fame. After all, there will be many more mainstream fans watching on ESPN in June than there are devouring box scores in February. Here are a few freshman who could potentially burst onto the national scene with good showings at The Blatt.

Matt Purke, TCU

Not too often does a 1st-round pick turn down pro ball and make his way to college. Almost never, in fact. Purke did just that, though, and he hasn't disappointed in his initial campaign in Fort Worth. The electric 6'4 lefty posted a 2.19 FIP while punching out 133 and walking 28 in 103 IP, positioning himself to be a top-5 pick for next year. I could easily see Purke shutting down FSU in Game 1. Though he is one of the most dominant hurlers in the nation, he looks goofy on the mound, rocking goggles and a crooked, flat-brimmed hat. That could make Purke a fan favorite.

Deven Marrero, ASU

An unsigned 2009 17th-rounder out of American Heritage High in Florida, Marrero showed up in Tempe with high expectations. The exciting young shortstop has exceeded them, having won a starting job for the Sun Devils. Marrero is hitting .392/.439/.628 on the year.

Nolan Fontana, Florida

Fontana is about as polished as they come. The frosh shortstop has committed just three errors all season, and he's maintained a 49-28 BB-K ratio as the Gators' leadoff batter. His steady play should get noticed in Omaha.

Jackie Bradley, Jr., South Carolina

Okay, Bradley isn't a freshman. Still, the Gamecocks did not reach the CWS last year, and most fans do not know the sophomore star. Bradley is hitting .371/.477/.587 with a 38-31 BB-K ratio and 11 home runs. The 5'10 outfielder could make his name known with a big tournament.

Jeff Gelalich and Beau Amaral, UCLA

UCLA has a pair of dynamic starting freshman outfielders in Gelalich and Amaral. Both have speed and promising lefty swings. They are my picks to click, and will play important roles for the Bruins in Omaha.

Giants' Lineup Finally Clicking

Bruce Bochy has used so many different lineups throughout this year, that it's been extremely rare to see the exact same bunch thrown out there for more than 1 or 2 days at a time. However, over the last week or so, Bochy has found a starting 8 that have meshed terrifically.

The Giants are 7-2 over their last 9 games, and they have done it with offense. In that 9-game stretch, the Giants have averaged about 6 runs per game. With their pitching, if they can score 5-6 runs per night, they are going to be very tough to beat. A big part of the Giants recent offensive surge has been the play of the newest Giant, Pat Burrell. The guy who most casted off as done and washed up has really shown new life here in San Francisco. The 33-year old outfielder has played in just 10 games here in San Francisco, and has only 27 at-bats, but he's contributed plenty, hitting .407 with 2 homers and 5 RBI heading into play Tuesday night and seems to have solidified his spot in the starting lineup. Bochy has been using Burrell in the fifth spot, right behind Juan Uribe and Aubrey Huff and right in front of Buster Posey and it's really working for them. Huff and Uribe have been red hot along with Burrell. In fact, the heart of the Giants order have combined for 5 homers and 12 RBI over the last 4 games, all Giant wins, and have helped move the Giants back into a 3-way tie for first place.

The only issue Bochy's going to be facing is all that money that the Giants have sitting on the bench. Aaron Rowand, who's making 13.5 million this year, has become the 4th outfielder, and 13.5 mill is a tad high to be paying a bench guy. At the same time, who's Bochy supposed to sit? Andres Torres has taken over the leadoff spot and has been playing so well that he's gaining consideration as an all-star ballot write-in. Aubrey Huff has really been the Giants most consistent hitter since day 1 this season, and Pat Burrell has provided the Giants with the legit (30 hr a year type) right-handed power hitter, something they've lacked since Jeff Kent was here. Also, Mark DeRosa and Edgar Renteria are currently on the DL, but those guys will be coming back sooner than later, and they're another 2 who are going to need their share of at-bats. Especially Renteria who was on fire (hitting .326) when he went down. It almost seems as if the Giants are going to have to make some kind of trade or maybe have to bite the bullet and release a player. Mark DeRosa would be my choice since he's hurt and may eventually miss the season anyway, but he's signed for 2011 and the Giants have to pay him whether he's on the roster or not.

Up Next: The Giants continue their interleague series with the Orioles at AT&T Park Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon, before travelling north of the border up to Canada to play 3 against the Blue Jays.

Ozzie's Restaurant & Sports Bar Grand Opening

Ozzie's Official Grand Opening for his restaurant takes place Monday June 21. The location of his new restaurant is 1511 Washington Ave. St.Louis, MO. Monday-Friday 11AM to 1;30AM. Saturday and Sunday 10AM to 1:30AM. Notable dishes include, Kick Ass BBQ Ribs which is traditional style baby back ribs based in sweet honey bar-b-cue sauce and the Cardinal Burger which is a half pound beef patty. There is also a retail shop to purchase licensed sports apparel. There is also a second floor that is used for private parties only. It holds 20 to 100 people. Come early and stay late.

Interview With Fantasy Baseball Hot Stove

We recently were approached by Fantasy Baseball Hot Stove for a quick interview talking Bengie Molina, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Madison Bumgarner. Here is one of the questions, the others can be seen right here.

"FBHS: With Bengie Molina really struggling of late, do you foresee any plan to make Buster Posey the regular catcher?

GBB: The Giants are definitely starting to ease him into the position. Posey has been on fire since his call-up and it's becoming more obvious with each day he plays that he needs and everyday spot right now. A lot will depend on how the team is doing though too. If the Giants are in the playoff hunt come August and September, then Molina will be playing, he's too valuable to the pitching staff even when he's struggling offensively. However, if they do fall out of contention, I'd be surprised if Posey's not preparing to take over the full-time catching spot in 2011."-FBHS

Giants Split W/ Reds: Unfortunately, the Giants couldn't finish off Cincinnati, losing the final two games of the series and ending up with a 4 game split with the one of the biggest surprises in the National League. There was some good to come out of those last two games though. Buster Posey hit his first bomb as a big leaguer, and continues to make multi-hit ballgames look routine. Also, Aubrey Huff has really gotten comfortable in the middle of the Giants lineup and has his average up over .300 and just hit his team high 8th home run. I'd really like to see Pablo Sandoval heat up in front of him, cause Burrell/Uribe/Posey/Sanchez/Torres are all hitting and the Giants lineup could actually be decent with the Panda playing like he should.

Suppan Returns to The Cardinals

he St. Louis Cardinals have signed free-agent righthander Jeff Suppan to a pro-rated minimum contract, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Suppan, a righthander starter, was released by the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week after he went 0-2 with a 7.84 ERA in 15 games (two starts) this season.
Suppan had success as a Cardinal from 2004-06, going 44-26 with a 3.95 ERA in 95 starts before signing with Milwaukee as a free agent. There is a chance he could join the Cardinals rotation next week. He was a starter during the Cardinals' 2006 World Series championship and their 2004 National League title season.
Earlier Thursday, the Post-Dispatch reported Cardinals GM John Mozeliak had begun to search for rotation help. Other possible targets mentioned included Baltimore Orioles righthander Kevin Millwood and Kansas City Royals righthander Brian Bannister.
With starters Brad Penny (back) and Kyle Lohse (forearm) injured, the Cardinals have plugged inexperienced arms into the rotation.
Sporting News

2010 Draft Report: Meet Zack Cox

The Cardinals first round pick Zack Cox was a very smart pick. I thought that Cox would have been picked earlier than 25.  Zack stands at 6'1 weighing in at 215lbs. He bats left and throws right.

Here is his scouting report:

Scouting Report

Hitting ability: Cox has a great, compact swing with excellent bat speed. He makes solid, consistent contact and uses the whole field. He will be a plus hitter in the future.



Power: He should have at least average power. There's some leverage in his swing.



Running speed: His speed is a touch below average but it's a little better once he gets underway.



Base running: It's not a big part of his game, but he's a heady, smart player who makes good decisions on the basepaths.



Arm strength: He has a plus arm, with an easy motion and plenty of carry from third or first. He doubles as a relief pitcher.



Fielding: Recently moved to second base, he looks better there than he did at third. He sees the field better from second and seems to have adjusted to turning the double play well.



Range: He's got average range, at best, but it might be enough for him to be an adequate second baseman.



Physical Description: He's solid, strong and compact, kind of like a young Ken Caminiti.



Medical Update: Healthy.



Strengths: Plus hitting skills, at least average power, a plus throwing arm.



Weaknesses: It's a little unclear what position he'll play, though second base looks like a better bet than at third.



Summary: A Draft prospect two years ago, Cox is back as a Draft-eligible sophomore. His best tool is his bat and he should hit for plenty of average with at least decent power. His plus arm plays just fine at third, but his overall defense at the hot corner likely won't work at the next level. Arkansas has been mixing him in at second and that might prove to be a better spot for the left-handed hitter. Regardless of the position, the bat should be enough to get him off the board sooner rather than later.

Giants Go For Speed In 2010 Draft

The Giants have notoriously gone after pitching at the top of their drafts in recent years, but they switched things up in 2010, taking a couple of speedy centerfielders with their top-2 picks in the 2010 draft.

The draft kind of crept up on us this year, and wasn't as highly anticipated on the Giants front, because they didn't have a top-10 pick for the first time in years. Instead, they picked 24th in the first round, and with that pick, they took Cal State Fullerton speedy centerfielder Gary Brown. The 22 year-old has improved each year at the plate, and has always been amongst the most polished baserunners and basestealers during his time at Fullerton. He's a very good hitter, with the potential to be a plus leadoff hitter in the future, but I don't think he was the best available hitter at that point and I feel the Giants could have made a better selection. Zack Cox and Kyle Parker went with the following 2 picks after the Giants took Brown, and I think a lot of fans would have been happy had the Giants gone with one of those guys with a little bit more thump in their bat. A guy I really liked who I was kind of hoping for was the centerfielder out of Georgia (HS), Chevy Clarke. That kid has legit 5-tool talent, and although he had an up-and-down senior year, he is going to be a tremendously bright ballplayer. I can't help but think of the Upton brothers when watching him. Not saying Brown is a bad ballplayer by any stretch, and I do expect him to catch the fast track to the big leagues seeing that he's had plenty of college and Cape Cod experience.

With their second pick, the Giants took a somewhat identical version of Brown, just a little taller with a little more power, in Jarrett Parker. The 6'4" smooth swinging lefty has a bit of pop, but is mostly a contact/speed type hitter. He did struggle a lot in 2010 which caused his value to drop (many had him as a top-20 pick coming into the year). He kind of reminds me a bit of Johnny Damon, but I don't think he'll project out to be half as good in the Majors. Again, the Giants didn't have a supplemental pick this year, and didn't get another pick in the top-50 like they usually have over the last couple of drafts, so the top of their class isn't as quality as we're used too. I think Parker will end up being like Connor Gillespie with a bit more speed, though I do have some expectations for him. Outside of Parker and Brown, the Giants did grab a couple of intriguing arms in the draft as well. I like the potential of fourth rounder Seth Rosin (Brad Penny Jr. with his motion and stuff) as well as Charlston rightie Richard Hembree, who can really bring it. Look for big lefty Andrew Barbosa to end up being one of the better value picks outside of the top-10 rounds as well... Much more on the draft to come!

Giants Win 3rd Straight: Meanwhile, back in Cincinnati, the Giants have gotten hot all of the sudden, winning their 3rd straight on Tuesday behind another Matt Cain gem. Juan Uribe also went yard again and Pat Burrell continued his hot start in SF with a couple more hits. Jonathan Sanchez will look to further continue his hot streak as well Wednesday as the Giants go for the series victory.

Sacrifices

Sacrifice. It has many meanings and many purposes. One could say that from a religious point of view that it’s a killing of a victim on an altar. In another sense of terms it means destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else. Another meaning is something given up or lost as for example the sacrifices made by parents. In baseball a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:

* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.
* The ball is hit to the outfield.
* The batter is out because an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield catches the ball (or would have been out if not for an error).
* A runner who is already on base scores on the play.

It is called a "sacrifice" fly because the batter presumably intends to cause a teammate to score a run, while sacrificing their own ability to do so. Eddie Murray (128), Cal Ripken Jr (127), Robin Yount (123), Hank Aaron (121), and Frank Thomas (121) are the current leaders for most sacrifice flies of all time.

But the kind of sacrifices I’m referring to are one the ones being made every day. White collar and blue collar folks are all making sacrifices on daily basis for their families. A family of four where the husband was a successful business man and now has been unemployed for the last two years because of a failing economy and so the Business he worked for had to “downsize” and as a result he was let go by the business. No severance package and no benefits are given to him for all his hard work and years of dedicated service to the business. Everyday he’s filling out numerous applications and yet no return phone calls or only short interviews that leave him with the dreaded words spoken, “we’ll be in touch”.
What about the hundreds of military servicemen and servicewomen who have paid with their lives to establish freedom and justice in Iraq or other foreign countries? Many have sacrificed their lives so others could have freedom.

What about the police in our country who everyday is fighting a never ending war on crime and drugs?

What about the single mother that holds down two jobs so both of her children can have the things that they need for school and in life in general such as food on the table and clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet? The mother lets go of her own desires and makes sure that her children needs are always met before her own needs and desires are met.

When it comes to sports cards or your sports collection could you make the sacrifice if you needed to? Could you give up something you owned and collected for years so it could help to meet the needs of others or the needs of your own family? In order to meet the needs of my copay for Highmark Blue Cross I ended up having to sell my autographed Adam Lind collection (which Marie from A Cardboard Problem knows and saw the guy who bought my cards-talk about a small world) and a few other things I’ve collected over the years from my personal collection. I did not have a $1,000.00 in banking to meet our deductible and with two kids that kind of leaves me with limited funds 99.9% of the time so I began liquidating my sports card collection and we ended up selling our PS3 that we got for Christmas. It was a gift from my Aunt Pam to me (she said I should have some fun with toys too) and I hated to sell it and it didn’t help seeing my son crying about it but I explained to him it was something that I had to do in order to meet the finances. He cried for a little while but told me it was okay and that he understood. Later that night he was still upset though and it burned a hole in me to have to do it but I had no other choice. The way I see it…. If it’s going to let me pay the copay and give me some extra money to get them both some well needed new shorts and pants for my growing son and growing daughter (they’re both having growth spurts at the same time……argggghh) and a few pairs of shoes for them both then so be it. It’s not easy and it is difficult at times but we get by and I see to it that they have what they need. I’m still hoping to perhaps somehow over the next couple of months find a way to get another PS3 to replace the one we sold as we all miss it dearly. However that just depends upon what’s left after getting our envoy 4 new tires that are badly needed. Just can’t win sometimes.

Burrell Gets Start In Pittsburgh

Within a week of signing Pat Burrell to a minor league deal, the Giants wasted no time in getting his bat onto the 25-man roster and into the starting lineup.

Burrell played just 5 games in Fresno but performed well in that brief stint, going 5-16 with a homer and 6 RBI. The Giants are hoping they will get that type of production upon his arrival, and not the Burrell that hit just .213 with 16 homers and 77 RBI in 146 games in about 1 1/3 season in Tampa. He got his first start as a Giant on Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, but went just 1-4 with a strikeout. Bochy had him hitting out of the 6 hole in between Aubry Huff and Buster Posey. As expected, Burrell got the start in left field, pushing Huff into right and Andres Torres to center field. I don't think we'll see much of that outfield alignment at AT&T Park, but I do expect Bochy to use that mix on occasion during road trips. As good as Aubrey Huff has been in his stint in the outfield for the Giants, I believe asking him to handle right field at AT&T on a nightly basis would be wishful thinking. Also part of the Giants lineup change Saturday had Pablo Sandoval dropped down into the 8th spot. It's no secret that Pablo has been struggling really all year long, so Bochy is going to try and do whatever he can to maybe alleviate some of the pressure off of Sandoval.

While Sandoval has been struggling, 2 guys who have really picked up the slack have been Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff. We talked a lot about Posey in our last post here, and he's done nothing but continue to rip since. He's still got his average up around .450 and seems to be hitting the ball on a line in almost every at-bat he takes. Huff, in my opinion, has been the most consistent hitter for the Giants over the first 2 months. Huff entered play Saturday at .302 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI. His RBI numbers would probably be a bit higher had there been some more consistency at the top of the order, but right now he's projecting out to be right around .295 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI and I think any Giants fan would take that line from Huff come September. Also, Freddy Sanchez has really caught fire since his return and is finally showing Giants fans why Sabean gave away their #2 pitching prospect last summer to get him. Sanchez has hit safely in all but one of his 16 games since his return from offseason shoulder surgery and it has his average up at .389. Now I don't expect him to hit .350 plus all year, but in order for me to feel good about the Giants deal with Sanchez, he's going to have to stay healthy from here on out and hit around .310-.315 and it looks like he's indeed ready to do so.

Up Next: The Giants finish off their 3 game set with Pittsburgh on Sunday, and if they want to be in the playoff race in September, these are the types of series they have to win in June and July. Tim Lincecum will oppose Ross Ohlendorf as Timmy tries to break his personal 2-game losing streak and win his first game since May 15th.... Also, we'll be taking our monthly look down on the farm in our next post, so look out for that Monday or Tuesday!