Dodger Pitching Takes a Walk in NLCS
In game #1, Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run home run to left field against the Dodgers left-hander, Clayton Kershaw following two BB. Later, Raul Ibanez hit a three-run home run to right field in the eighth inning against Dodgers left-hander George Sherrill following two BB. Dodgers Lost 8-6.
In game #3, Hiroki Kuroda was charged with six runs in 1 1/3 innings for an ERA of 40.50, following a month in rehab and a AAA outing. This gave the Dodgers in their worst postseason loss in 50 years, an 11-0 rout as the Phils took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series.
In game #4, Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run walk-off double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a stunning 5-4 victory, turning what appeared to be a deadlocked series into a commanding 3-1 Phillies lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series, following a BB and a hit batter.
During game #5, Jason Werth hit a two-run home run with two outs in the first, following two BB. In the Philly 4th, the Dodger pitching gave up one BB and hit two batters in a row with two outs, to give Philadelphia a 6-2 lead. In the Philly 6th, Shane Victorino hit a two run home run with two outs after Clayton Kershaw hit Jimmy Rollins, giving Philadelphia an 8-3 lead. Finally, in the Philly 8th, Dodger relief pitcher Juan Bellisario with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd threw a wild pitch to complete the Dodger pitching melt down. Dodgers lost the game 10-4 and the series 4-1.
Walks will lead to disaster……Just ask Joe Torrie……
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Defense Sets The Table
When two teams with equal talent battle for a championship, before it is all said and done, "Defense" will play a major role in the outcome. Let's look at the recent MLB Playoffs from both the American and National leagues.
The Angles recently tied a club record for errors in a postseason game with three, then went on to loose game #1 of the AL Championship Series to the Yankees 4-1. In game #2, Maicer Izturis, the Angels second baseman, fielded Melky Cabrera's one-out grounder (in the hole to his left in the 13th) and, instead of routinely flipping it to first, turned and threw wildly to second in an attempt to get the lead runner on a force play, allowing the winning run to score.
The Dodgers recently took advantage of an uncharacteristic throwing error by Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley in their come-from-behind 2-1 victory Friday in Game #2 of the NL Championship Series, again proving you must play defense to win.
Defense sets the table for offensive and can fuel a turn around inning at any level. Therefore, setting a line-up strictly around offense, (as some do) is an accident waiting to happen. The game is more than hits and RBIS, it is also assists, putouts, fielding percentage and help from position players. Teaching young athletes to take as much pride in their defense as they do in their offense should be every coaches objective.
Consider this - in the playoffs so far we have seen; a routine pop-up fall for base hit, routine ground ball played off to the side for an error, errant throws, bobbled ground balls, wild pitches, poor choices; to say nothing of base running, bunt defense and managerial decisions.
If professionals can make this many defensive mistakes, how much more important should the emphasis on defense be at the amateur level?
The Angles recently tied a club record for errors in a postseason game with three, then went on to loose game #1 of the AL Championship Series to the Yankees 4-1. In game #2, Maicer Izturis, the Angels second baseman, fielded Melky Cabrera's one-out grounder (in the hole to his left in the 13th) and, instead of routinely flipping it to first, turned and threw wildly to second in an attempt to get the lead runner on a force play, allowing the winning run to score.
The Dodgers recently took advantage of an uncharacteristic throwing error by Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley in their come-from-behind 2-1 victory Friday in Game #2 of the NL Championship Series, again proving you must play defense to win.
Defense sets the table for offensive and can fuel a turn around inning at any level. Therefore, setting a line-up strictly around offense, (as some do) is an accident waiting to happen. The game is more than hits and RBIS, it is also assists, putouts, fielding percentage and help from position players. Teaching young athletes to take as much pride in their defense as they do in their offense should be every coaches objective.
Consider this - in the playoffs so far we have seen; a routine pop-up fall for base hit, routine ground ball played off to the side for an error, errant throws, bobbled ground balls, wild pitches, poor choices; to say nothing of base running, bunt defense and managerial decisions.
If professionals can make this many defensive mistakes, how much more important should the emphasis on defense be at the amateur level?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
NCAA Questionaire Signals A New Crackdown
The NCAA walks a fine line with baseball players selected in the draft. Players are free to seek guidance, but the NCAA distinguishes between agents and "advisers," and makes it clear that athletes who fail to recognize the difference put their eligibility at risk.
The line is hazy, and teams and agents routinely wink at practices that fall beyond the letter of the law. But as the money increases and the draft becomes a prime financial battleground, the signs are pointing toward an attempted NCAA crackdown.
The NCAA Eligibility Center recently distributed a questionnaire to college baseball players that suggests tighter oversight of advisers in the draft. Many agents questioned where the initiative will lead, only seven months after an Ohio judge upheld former Oklahoma State lefthander Andy Oliver's right to representation in the draft.
The NCAA has sporadically punished players who sought assistance in the draft. Oliver was declared ineligible for the 2008 Stillwater Regional amid the revelation that advisers Bob and Tim Baratta had sat in on negotiations with the Twins in 2006. After Oliver switched to Boras in March 2008, the Baratta brothers reportedly turned in Oliver to the NCAA.
Oliver filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and the Barattas and was reinstated at OSU when Tygh Tone, an Eric County (Ohio) common pleas judge, ruled that NCAA regulations limiting the role of attorneys in counseling student-athletes are impossible to enforce and allow for the exploitation of players.
Oliver re-entered the draft in June, with Boras as his adviser, and signed with the Tigers for a $1.495 million bonus as a second-round pick. He is seeking damages in a second phase of the lawsuit, with a jury trial scheduled to begin in October.
Major League Baseball, of course, has a huge stake in the economic ramifications of the draft. Rising bonus payouts have prompted commissioner Bud Selig to call for a hard slotting system with no exceptions. This year MLB recommended that teams reduce draft bonuses by 10 percent, but Baseball America reported that the total payout for the first five rounds stayed even between 2008 and 2009.
Righthander Stephen Strasburg, selected first overall by the Nationals out of San Diego State, set draft records with a $7.5 million bonus and a $15.1 million guaranteed payout while using Boras as his adviser.
The bottom line here is the NCAA's attempts to limit or crack down on advisers could: put draft picks at a distinct disadvantage in negotiations or punish players who seek assistance. So, what is a player to do? If your Stephen Strasburg it is a no brainer, but what of the inner city kid who can not afford the services of Boras? Who speaks for him? and What is he potentially giving up if he makes a mistake with either the NCAA or MLB?
The line is hazy, and teams and agents routinely wink at practices that fall beyond the letter of the law. But as the money increases and the draft becomes a prime financial battleground, the signs are pointing toward an attempted NCAA crackdown.
The NCAA Eligibility Center recently distributed a questionnaire to college baseball players that suggests tighter oversight of advisers in the draft. Many agents questioned where the initiative will lead, only seven months after an Ohio judge upheld former Oklahoma State lefthander Andy Oliver's right to representation in the draft.
The NCAA has sporadically punished players who sought assistance in the draft. Oliver was declared ineligible for the 2008 Stillwater Regional amid the revelation that advisers Bob and Tim Baratta had sat in on negotiations with the Twins in 2006. After Oliver switched to Boras in March 2008, the Baratta brothers reportedly turned in Oliver to the NCAA.
Oliver filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and the Barattas and was reinstated at OSU when Tygh Tone, an Eric County (Ohio) common pleas judge, ruled that NCAA regulations limiting the role of attorneys in counseling student-athletes are impossible to enforce and allow for the exploitation of players.
Oliver re-entered the draft in June, with Boras as his adviser, and signed with the Tigers for a $1.495 million bonus as a second-round pick. He is seeking damages in a second phase of the lawsuit, with a jury trial scheduled to begin in October.
Major League Baseball, of course, has a huge stake in the economic ramifications of the draft. Rising bonus payouts have prompted commissioner Bud Selig to call for a hard slotting system with no exceptions. This year MLB recommended that teams reduce draft bonuses by 10 percent, but Baseball America reported that the total payout for the first five rounds stayed even between 2008 and 2009.
Righthander Stephen Strasburg, selected first overall by the Nationals out of San Diego State, set draft records with a $7.5 million bonus and a $15.1 million guaranteed payout while using Boras as his adviser.
The bottom line here is the NCAA's attempts to limit or crack down on advisers could: put draft picks at a distinct disadvantage in negotiations or punish players who seek assistance. So, what is a player to do? If your Stephen Strasburg it is a no brainer, but what of the inner city kid who can not afford the services of Boras? Who speaks for him? and What is he potentially giving up if he makes a mistake with either the NCAA or MLB?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Concussion Safety Programs
This year, educational concussion safety programs are making headlines. The Illinois Athletic Trainers Association and the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch have teamed up for a concussion safety awareness campaign in their state.
In the state of Maine, high schools are making a major effort in pushing for student-athlete safety when it comes to concussions and return-to-play decisions. William Heinz, MD, an orthopedist at Orthopaedic Associates in Portland, and Paul Berkner, DO, Medical Director of Health Services at Colby College, recently established the Maine Concussion Management Initiative. Its goal is to provide ImPact testing to all Maine public high schools for free.
"The (ImPact) test gives us a fingerprint of the brain, tells us how the brain is functioning from a cognitive sense," Heinz told the Portland Press Herald. "It's a very accurate way of monitoring concussions and trying to decide when kids are ready to go back to play. And that's the important thing."
To that end, a highly anticipated batting helmet from Rawlings, the S100, was tested by two All-American high school baseball teams in August, and the players gave it some pretty good reviews. With its extra padding and Polypropylene liner, the S100 is being touted as the safest batting helmet currently available.
With the American Association of Neurological Surgeons reporting almost 27,000 head injuries in amateur baseball in 2008 and the figures for 2009 still mounting, orders for the S100, which cost about $100, have increased.
In the state of Maine, high schools are making a major effort in pushing for student-athlete safety when it comes to concussions and return-to-play decisions. William Heinz, MD, an orthopedist at Orthopaedic Associates in Portland, and Paul Berkner, DO, Medical Director of Health Services at Colby College, recently established the Maine Concussion Management Initiative. Its goal is to provide ImPact testing to all Maine public high schools for free.
"The (ImPact) test gives us a fingerprint of the brain, tells us how the brain is functioning from a cognitive sense," Heinz told the Portland Press Herald. "It's a very accurate way of monitoring concussions and trying to decide when kids are ready to go back to play. And that's the important thing."
To that end, a highly anticipated batting helmet from Rawlings, the S100, was tested by two All-American high school baseball teams in August, and the players gave it some pretty good reviews. With its extra padding and Polypropylene liner, the S100 is being touted as the safest batting helmet currently available.
With the American Association of Neurological Surgeons reporting almost 27,000 head injuries in amateur baseball in 2008 and the figures for 2009 still mounting, orders for the S100, which cost about $100, have increased.
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