B3: Big, Bald and Beautiful

Lynchburg

2008-05-09T14:03:01Z

Hey all. Sorry B3 has been on hiatus awhile. Me and Mrs. B3 were away for a week in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary (a complete blog post on that will be forthcoming, for those curious).

Back in the saddle now, the job has taken me to Lynchburg and Charlottesville, Virginia yesterday and today. Aside from getting driving through what I think was the worst thunderstorm ever to get from Lynchburg to the hotel here in Charlottesville, it was a very productive trip.

We got a little lucky yesterday. We came here with the objective of doing a feature on Orioles top prospect (and 2007 first-round pick) Matt Wieters. That mission was indeed accomplished, but we got a lot more bang for our buck. Turns out that Daniel Moskos was on the hill for Lynchburg and we got to talk to him post-game as well (throw in an interview with Carolina League batting leader Jim Negrych and I'd say we got our money's worth. Look for all of this fine work in the coming days).

Remember, this wasn't just a matchup of two first-round picks from last year. It was the guy the Pirates did take -- Moskos -- facing the guy everyone thought they should take -- Wieters. It was pretty clear that the intrigue in that wasn't lost on Moskos, who picked a good day (since we had come all this way) to have the best start of his pro career. He pitched into the seventh inning (6 2/3 to be exact) and didn't allow a run, not walking anyone and allowing just three hits while striking out three. By my count, he induced 12 groundball outs (As an added bonus, he was facing Pedro Beato, a good pitching prospect in his own right. Beato had some nasty stuff, but was all over the place command-wise in the first inning, forcing his pitch count up and forcing him out of the game after four innings.).

The biggest reason for his success compared to some of his previous up-and-down outings? Fastball command. Now that may sound a little oversimplified since it's always about fastball command, isn't it? But it should be noted that the Pirates have asked Moskos to focus on throwing his four-seamer more often and more consistently. So some of the reasons he's been a little inconsistent is that he's, in effect, learning how to throw the pitch in on-the-job training. Last night, he simply had really good feel for the heater.

As for the Wieters-Moskos matchup? It looked like the catcher would have the upper-hand early, when he hit a ball opposite field off the wall in the first inning. But Moskos got him to ground out the next two times he faced him, so Round 1 goes to Moskos, though as the lefty put it -- Wieters did go 1-for-3 and that's about what people should expect from the guy.

As the resident draft guy, it sure was fun to see these guys play in person for the first time. Wieters is a ridiculous physical specimen and you wonder how a guy that big can stay behind the plate. But then you see him move and it makes some sense. He's incredibly agile and athletic. Frederick manager Tommy Thompson was emphatic in his praise of how Wieters has handled the spotlight and about his leadership skills behind the plate. Keep in mind that he's basically calling his own game for the first time. It's one of the bigger problems with big college programs, in my opinion -- everything is over-programmed and the coach controls everything. At Ga. Tech, Wieters wasn't charged with anything -- calls on pitch selection, location, even pickoff throws to first, all came from the dugout. Now, the O's are asking Wieters to pick up all of those skills during his pro debut season. So far, he seems to be a quick study.

Today, I put on my draft hat and go to see Howie Long's kid (Kyle), who's actually a baseball player. Then we go on to watch University of Virginia tonight, so you can check out my report on that visit over at Geeking on the Draft.

I leave you with this: On the long drive down from Pittsburgh, I'm enjoying the farms and rolling hills of Virginia. Beautiful country, really. I pass by a little road-side store which sports a big sign that says, "FRIED CHICKEN GIZZARDS." Now, I have no problem with any store selling anything and maybe that's a delicacy in these parts. What is concerning to me is that it's so popular that this place of business felt it would be a huge drawing card to trumpet that they carry the item.

Anyone know what fried chicken gizzards tastes like? And "it tastes like chicken" is not an acceptable response. If you want a recipe for this "delicacy," check one out here.

I'll catch up with y'all (see, I'm fitting right in) later.

B3 Mailbagish

2008-04-23T03:22:05Z

So between a comment here and there on the blog and some emails I've gotten, I figure every once in a while I'll answer some queries here. Let me start with an email I got as part of a new quasi-regular B3 feature: FIND THE MINOR LEAGUER. They can get easily lost, you know, and I get emails sometimes asking about someone's whereabouts. So, if you're trying to find someone in the Minors, email me and I'll put on my detective hat and see what I can find. Here's our first edition:

Jonathan, I can't find any news on Cole Rohrbough. He doesn't appear to be on any Braves roster I can find. Do you have any info on his playing status? -- Nervous Ned

OK, he didn't sign the email Nervous Ned, but I thought that was catchy. At any rate, here's what I was able to dig up. Rohrbough is still in Orlando, in extended Spring Training. Seems that he had some shoulder tendinitis during Spring Training and the Bravos wanted to be understandably cautious. Once they got the tendinitis to calm down, they had him work on strengthening the area. He's now working through their throwing program to get himself prepped to throw game innings. There's no ETA on when it will happen, but he'll pitch in a few Extended Spring Training games before he gets to head back out to a club.

The other recent question came via the comments on this blog (you guys should try it -- I hear interactivity is all the rage):

Jason, wondering if you had any insights on the whether or not the Reds continued struggles, including tonight's drubbing, will mean a more expeditious call-up for Bruce, Bailey or anyone else, and whether or not you think grabbing them now for a 10-team fantasy squad makes sense? -- jaynew

OK, first things first. If you're going to ask someone a question you want answered on a blog, make sure you get the guy's name right. I mean, how hard is that? It's only in the header of the whole blog and above that great big picture of my chrome dome. Maybe it's because his "name" is jaynew and he's asking about Jay Bruce that he got Jay on the brain... Suffice it to say others in my place would completely disregard the question.

But I'm a bigger man than that, whatever my name is. So on to his fantasy-related question. I could use some more information -- like is it an NL-only league? Is it a keeper league? You know, the typical questions worth asking. Matt Belisle has already replaced Josh Fogg in the rotation, so you have to figure he'll get at least a few starts to show what he can do. That's really the only spot for Bailey in the rotation. That being said, if he continues to pitch like that, they'll figure something out. At this rate, if Belisle continues to struggle, I could see Bailey getting another shot by the end of May. And I still love his upside potential.

As for Bruce, I thought he should be up on Opening Day and the way the OF is producing, you have to imagine he'll get his chance soon enough. I don't know how concerned the Reds are with the whole service clock thing and now you have to wonder if they're freaking out about the Longoria contract, but he's another one who should show his face sooner rather than later. I think both can contribute to a fantasy team right away, so especially jaynew, if you're league is a keeper league or in an NL-only format, then grab them as soon as it is allowed. If you're in a mixed league, I still think they can help, but I wouldn't go as nuts over them.

I'm going on vacation starting on Thursday, so I'll be back in about a week with more thrilling B3 action...

Evan Almighty (Dollar) ...

2008-04-22T03:54:40Z

Sorry I've been a little tardy in hopping on the past week. Can I blame it on being unleavened? (Happy Passover -- Pesach as we in the Tribe like to call it -- to those who celebrate).

I had wanted to say something about the Evan Longoria contract extension, but the only thing I could thing of was, "Where's my cut?" I don't want to over-estimate the power of the media here, but something is going on here. Here's how the sequence of events went:

1. The Rays decide to send Longoria to Triple-A to start the season in order to keep his service clock from getting going, thus saving them a year before having to worry about free agency and, if all went well, arbitration. Not only would that keep E-Love in a Rays uniform longer, it obviously would save the organization a bucket load of cash.

2. I write a column, which you can read here, examining -- astutely, I might add -- why the Rays made the decision they made. I give the Rays' management the overall benefit of the doubt, though they get an "incomplete" in terms of how the situation was handled. The column, it should be noted, was posted on April 9.

3. Exactly three days later, on April 12, the Rays recall Longoria to replace Willy Aybar, who conveniently got hurt and likely will never be a starter in Tampa again. Coincidence? I think not.

4. Just six days after he makes his big-league debut (on April 18), Longoria inks a nine-year deal that could be worth up to $44 million.

The way I see it, Longoria went from being a Triple-A infielder to signing the longest deal in the history of the Rays organization in the span of oh, about 10 days. The catalyst in this sudden turn of events? Is there any doubt it was my column? That being the case, when do I get paid?

In all seriousness, what an unbelievable turnaround. I have to say I kind of like the deal, even if it does seem incongruous to the decision not to have Longoria on the Opening Day roster. You have to think they had told Longoria's agent, Paul Cohen (who, by the way, must hang out at Long Beach State to rep all of their shortstops -- he's got Bobby Crosby and Tulo as well -- not a bad way to make a living) that once they did call him up, they wanted to lock him up long term. When Aybar went down, it just sped up the timetable.

And when you think of it that way, it actually does make a little bit of sense, doesn't it? The Rays sent Longoria down to try to avoid having to worry about arbitration or free agency for an extra year. Once they were forced to bring him up (And no, I don't think the public outcry really had anything to do with the decision. Who else would you have play third once Aybar hit the DL?), they immediately took steps, unprecedented as they might be, to ... avoid all of arbitration (assuming Tampa picks up that first option year) and, if the Rays pick up both option years after that, two years of free agency. With the uphill struggle the organization faces, especially in the division, from a financial landscape/revenue standpoint, can you blame them? Yes, there's a risk involved, but he's as safe a bet as anyone to more than live up to this contract. Do the math, even if they dole out the $44 million, this will be a huge long-term savings compared to what his earning potential would be when he hit arbitration or free agency for the first time.

There's my two cents worth.. and neither of those pennies came from Longoria himself, unfortunately.

I'll be back tomorrow or the next with a little mini-mailbag of sorts.

Tulsa and Lehigh Valley

2008-04-13T16:51:24Z

There's really nothing to tie these two places together, other than that I was in both on this trip (and I didn't get around to blogging from Tulsa on Friday). I guess you could say Lehigh Valley's got a new ballpark and Tulsa really wants/needs one.

What the Tulsa Drillers lack in amenities, they do make up for in talent. Keep an eye out for our video feature on their lineup, should be running around Wednesday or Thursday. They've got ridiculous speed with Corey Wimberly (already with 7 steals), Dexter Fowler, Eric Young Jr. and Chris Nelson all having the ability to create runs with their legs. All swiped more than 20 bags in 2007. Throw in Daniel Carte and Matt Miller and it's a very interesting lineup. They've even got some intriguing pitchers, though I didn't have the chance to do stuff with them. But Casey Weathers was the Rockies' first-round pick last year and the reliever has yet to give up a run in four outings and Brandon Hynick was MiLB.com's Class A Advanced Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2007.

We high-tailed it to Lehigh Valley in time for Saturday night's game. We were on the tired side, but it was well worth it. Coca Cola Park is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful ballparks I've been to. It's got that really nice red brick and green steel retro-feel. There isn't a bad view in the house, with terrific porches and patios at all angles. But the piece de resistance is behind home plate. The IronPigs have something called dugout suites. The only time I've seen this before is in Mobile, Alabama, and with all due respect to the BayBears, that version was much smaller and less impressive. Basically, there are a few rows of seats right behind home plate (check out the seating chart here. Behind the seats are all the amenities of a suite, but the seats are closer than any I've seen and I don't know you could find a better one in any park anywhere. I've never been a big fan of luxury suites -- it's always felt to me like you're in your living room or very secluded, but with the seats right behind the plate like this, it's like you're at the game with all the bells and whistles of the suite right behind you.

There does seem to be one small negative to those seats, at least in the early going. Players were mildly complaining about it affecting their ability to see the ball. Once nightfall hits, it's not a problem, but the lack of a wall behind the plate has made it tough in daylight for outfielders and infielders to pick the ball up when it's put in play. Maybe it's something players adjust to, but it's worth keeping an eye on to see if it's an on-going issue.

The Natural state of things...

2008-04-11T00:11:15Z

Greetings from Springdale, Arkansas. Just like with the old ATM blog, I'm going to try to make this a travel-blog whenever I hit the road.

Today, I'm in Northwest Arkansas for the first-ever game at Arvest Ballpark, home of the Naturals. This is the Royals' Double-A affiliate, with the old Wichita Wranglers moving this way (The Wranglers had finished last in Texas League attendance for the past three years, if you were curious).

The club here started up their own blog here on MLBlogs and you can check out all the photos of the park. They don't do it justice. It's a beaut, right up there with all of the other new Minor League parks that have been cropping up (I'll be in Lehigh Valley over the weekend, by the way). It's kind of below ground level, sunken in, so when you first pull in, you can look down on the field for a really neat effect, especially coming in surrounded by cows and farmland. Kind of Field of Dreams-ish, in a way.

It helped get the adrenaline going, something important considering I was up at 4:50 a.m. to fly out of my home in Pittsburgh to Cincinnati and then onto a connecting flight to Tulsa. Then there was the drive, handled capably by multimedia producer extraordinaire Joe Cronin, to Northwest Arkansas. All I need is a train ride and I can make a movie with John Candy.

The weather certainly cooperated. It has rained a lot in these parts, but the skies parted and the sun came out to provide a perfect setting for baseball. The usual pre-game festivities unfolded, though there was an extra something with the governor of Arkansas on hand, among other dignitaries.

Royals owner David Glass was here and boy was he a happy guy. Not just because this is a Royals affiliate. He lived her (Wal-Mart is based here) and has wanted baseball here for a long time. Now he has it and it's an affiliate of the big-league club he owns. Couple that with the Royals' wins against the Yankees and the guy was floating. We had the chance to talk to him a bit -- look for the feature on MiLB.com next week sometime. The best part of it is something you won't see. We asked if Mr. Glass wouldn't mind sitting in the first row of the seats to give us a different look (and so he wouldn't be looking directly into the sun). I assumed he'd walk around to the stairs and come around the railing. Instead, the grandfather of six basically vaulted over the railing and gracefully into the seating. Just what I needed, the owner of a Major League franchise to trip and break something for an interview. Luckily, no owners or former CEOs of Wal-Mart were harmed in the filming of this feature.

The game hasn't started out so well for the Naturals (named for the fact that Arkansas is known as the Natural State because of things like the many natural waterfalls that can be found here, and NOT because of the Bernard Malmud book/Robert Redford-starring movie). San Antonio's Will Inman had given up just one hit into the fifth inning and the locals were down, 4-0.

The only other negative, most would say, was the traffic pattern coming into this place. People were lined up waiting to come in well into the game. There were promises made that things would be addressed, but there can't be a quick fix to that, can there? Evidently, there can -- some of the issue stemmed from an inability to use an overflow lot for parking. It's a grass area and all the rain recently made it unparkable. Even without it, though, the atmosphere here made it well worth the wait.

Travel bookshelf: I'm not really an iPod guy, so I can't share with you what music I brought with you. I do like to bring a book with me, something mostly to help me pass the time on planes. I like to mix it up with baseball and non-baseball titles. On this trip, I've got one of each and I'd recommend both. The baseball book is called Crazy '08, written by Cait Murphy. It's a fantastic volume on the 1908 baseball season and one of the best-researched books I've ever read. If you're a fan of baseball history like I am, this is a must-read.

The non-baseball book is Three Cups of Tea and it's the kind of story that you wouldn't believe if it weren't true. It's about this guy who was a mountain climber who tried, and failed, to scale K2, wandering lost into a nearby village in Pakistan. Taken by the horrible conditions, particularly when it comes to the education of children, he takes it upon himself to build the village a school. He's now built 53 of them throughout Pakistan. This is truly one of the most inspirational stories I've ever read and if it doesn't move you to doing something to help someone somewhere, then you've got a heart of stone.

Schafer is the one juicer to have when you're having more than one

2008-04-10T01:22:24Z

Play this in the background while reading the rest of this post.

It's amazing that people didn't realize what was going on. I mean, this was the Jordan Schafer from a while ago:

And this is him now:

OK, in all seriousness, this isn't something to joke about. It's just a natural instinct I have when I'm disappointed by people. To me, the news that Schafer was suspended for HGH use was harder to take than most of the rumors and reports swirling around the big-leaguers. Schafer is by far the most legit prospect (no offense meant, Angel Salome) to get bounced for taking performance-enhancers.

But it's not just that he seemed to be a real up-and-comer (heck, they even talked about him leaping to the big leagues from A-ball to be the starting CF...imagine what would've happened if this had come out then?!?!?). He seemed to be the kind of player you rooted for -- a real hard-nosed scrapper, a guy who would run through a wall to help you win a game, a guy who didn't look like much, but had tools aplenty and was starting to figure it out last year after a rough 2006 season.

Turns out, it now seems, that a light didn't just go on developmentally. Schafer had some help. His "breakout" year of 2007 may have been chemically induced, or at least helped along. The first question that comes to mind is: How did they know it was HGH? Sure, the Minors have good testing mechanisms for performance-enhancers, but there's no way to test for that substance. The only thing that's seems plausible is that Schafer was heard talking about taking the stuff, or someone he was blabbing to gave him up. If that's the truth, then not only does Schafer get demerits for taking illegal substances, he drops even further for chatting it up with others too loudly, kind of like one of those thieves who rob a bank and then brag about it all over town, just begging to be caught.

You could play psychoanalyst for a moment here, if you wanted to. Maybe Schafer, though talking up HGH to others, subconsciously knew he was doing the wrong thing. He couldn't stop because, frankly, it was helping him. So he talked louder and louder until someone else stepped in to end the charade.

No matter how you slice it up, it's a sad situation all around.

New name, slightly different schtick

2008-04-09T12:56:35Z

ATM: He Said, She Said is gone, but certainly not forgotten. It was time to take things in a new direction.

Don't look at this like a split, like a rock band breaking up to do solo albums. It's not like that at all. Think of it more like spinoffs. ATM was like the Minor League "All in the Family" and now we'll have versions of "The Jeffersons" and "Maude." This will be my domain from now on. Lisa Winston will have her own blog and I'll pass along that information when I have it. Frequent contributor Kevin Czerwinski is up and running with his blog, Minor Leagues, Major Thoughts. Check it out -- he'll have great news and insights over the course of the year as well.

As for me, I'll be doing the same thing, just hopefully more of it, reporting from the exotic locales of the Minor Leagues, weighing in news and trends and trying to get some interactivity going with polls and questions, etc.

So hope you enjoy our new trifecta and don't be bashful about weighing in on anything. For starters: What do folks think about the new B3 branding effort?

Jays jabber

2008-04-08T02:37:43Z

Brett Cecil, whom Toronto selected with the 38th pick in last season's draft, is slated to make his season debut tonight for Dunedin. I had the chance to sit down with Cecil for about a half hour Friday afternoon and he proved to be an honest, engaging guy. Most players I've encountered usually sugar talk about their injuries or are very secretive but Cecil was pretty open about his shoulder bothering and even fessed up to getting a cortisone shot, which is something that the organization didn't let on to.

Now granted, I didn't ask anyone in the front office about a cortisone shot and I probably should have. But by now, I'm relying on someone mentioning it to me when I speak with that person so Cecil gets props for that. He's only scheduled to throw two innings or 35 pitches, whichever comes first.

Last week when I spoke to Detroit prospect Cale Iorg, he mentioned his affinity for George Washington. Jonathan Mayo, my esteemed colleague, went to great lengths to find a picture of our founding father to throw into my blog so I'm hoping he can do the same for Cecil, who said he'd love to have dinner with Brandon Lee if he could.

The late actor and son of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee was a person for whom Cecil has a great deal of respect. I'm always interested to hear who players would pick to meet from history and this one certainly caught me by surprise.

"He wanted to do his own kind of movies," Cecil said. "He was an independent person and a great actor. I really liked his acting, the way he was able to change in character. He did that pretty well. He didn't want to be know only as Bruce Lee's son."

As for getting back into game action, Cecil hasn't pitched in nearly three weeks, he said he's not anxious, just excited. When he was throwing this spring, he said he had been working on getting ahead in the count earlier with greater frequency while using his fastball so look for that tonight.

"Usually I'd throw a first-pitch changeup or curveball to get ahead," he said. "But I'm going to try and get ahead with my fastball and work both sides of the plate." -- Kevin C.

Tiger Talk

2008-04-04T02:27:34Z

This spring has been all about pitching for me, whether I'm ranting about the staff that the Rome Braves are going to have or the group that Northwest Arkansas is going to throw out there. Well, there's another group of pitchers that deserves some mention even if they may not put up numbers as gaudy as I expected from the aforementioned teams.

The Lakeland Tigers figure to have a pretty darn good staff, which will of course be anchored by the Detroit's first-round pick Rick Porcello. He'll get most of the attention this season and rightfully so but look who he has falling in behind him. Southpaw Duane Below will get the start Friday night against Tampa and I believe he's one of the most underrated pitchers in the Minor Leagues.

Below went 13-5 at West Michigan last year, tying for the Midwest League lead in victories. He had a 2.97 ERA in 26 starts and struck out 160 in 145 2/3 innings, allowing only six homers. He's a lot like Burke Badenhop, one of the starters that Detroit sent to the Marlins in the Miguel Cabrera deal, in that he doesn't overwhelm anyone. But he clearly knows how to get the job done.

Lakeland manager Andy Barkett said before Thursday's game that he could see why some scouts would underrate Below, adding that if they only saw him pitch once, it would be impossible for them to get a real feel for the kid.

"But if you watch the guy compete day in and day out, he's a guy you want on your staff," Barkett said. "He is someone that will have to prove himself at every level. I want guys on my staff who can win and so does [Detroit manager] Jim Leyland. If Duane shows that he can win at this level and the next one and so on he'll be fine."

Jonah Nickerson will get the start Saturday night in Lakeland's home-opener against Clearwater. He showed me two years ago during the College World Series that he's a bulldog and he's carried that attitude over into the pros. He's a tough kid who went 11-7 with a 4.24 ERA in 25 starts at West Michigan. Nickerson finished up well, going 5-1 with a 3.32 ERA and two complete games in his last 10 outings.

Matt O'Brien, a 15th-rounder from the 2004 draft, will start Sunday against Clearwater. He was 8-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) last season at three levels, including Lakeland. The wild card in the rotation, though, could be while Luis Marte, a native of the Dominican Republic whom the Tigers signed as free agent in 2005.

Barkett had Marte last season in extended spring training before the youngster before the youngster went on to pitch in the Gulf Coast and Midwest Leagues, where he combined to go 3-2 with a 2.30 ERA in 17 games (four starts). He was 1-0 and had 15 strikeouts with a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings for West Michigan in the playoffs.

"He's the best guy you never heard of," Barkett said. "He's got three average to above average Major League pitches and he's a bulldog. He's a sleeper now but he won't be after the season."

So this looks like a pretty good staff, at least on paper.

By the way, Barkett gets some props for coming up to me during batting practice and introducing himself. Not many managers would do that.

While we're on the subject of Barkett, his hat is just a bit different than that of the other Flying Tigers. While he has the Tiger with the wings logo on the front of his hat, he has gold, embroidered palm leaves on the bill giving him a bit of a General Douglas MacArthur look. He said it was the team's idea and that he "guesses" the league doesn't have an issue with it.

"I'll be able to let the umpires know I'm in charge," he said as he took off the hat, laughed and showed the bill. -- Kevin C.

The Start of an era

2008-04-03T18:23:01Z

Rick Porcello will make his professional debut Thursday night in Tampa against the Yankees' affiliate in the Class-A Florida State League. The Tigers' top pick in last year's draft and easily one of the most talked about Minor Leaguers this spring doesn't seem fazed at all about stepping onto the mound at George Steinbrenner Field (formerly Legends Field). He might as well be back on the hill for Seton Hall Prep up in the frigid temperatures of North Jersey based on what he's showing.

I got the chance to sit with Porcello for a few minutes yesterday afternoon out in Lakeland - which by the way is even more of a ghost town now that Spring Training has ended. When asked if he was nervous, he didn't flinch.

"I'm more excited than nervous and I'm anxious to get the season started," Porcello said.

He admitted to being a tad star struck when he first arrived in the Detroit clubhouse earlier this spring but that awe quickly disappeared as he began to realize that Justin Verlander and Co. were now his co-workers and not just the players he'd been watching on television.

"The first couple of days it was tough to focus," he said. "You watch those players for so long but you get used to it after a while. You adjust to it. Big-league camp was a great experience. I learned a lot from being in the same clubhouse with those guys. It was tough at the time to come back down.

"The days are long and you're in the sun all day. But it's good preparation for the season and I'm ready to go."

Porcello's dad, Fred, will be in Tampa Thursday night to watch his son's professional debut.

I also got the chance to speak with Cale Iorg, the highly regarded prospected Detroit grabbed in the sixth-round last season. He's Garth Iorg's son and Dane Iorg's nephew and his brother Eli is playing in the Astros farm system. Cale is a bright, friendly kid who will start his first season in pro ball Thursday night alongside Porcello. I'll have a feature about him up on the website next week.

Here, though, is a bit of info from my conversation. I like to ask players oddball questions sowe don't spend 20 minutes discussing only baseball. When I asked Iorg which person from history with whom he'd like to have dinner, his answer surprised me. I get a lot of stock answers to that question and most players usually just rattle off the names of former ballplayers but he said George Washington.

"I'm a big fan of George Washington's," Iorg said. "He was an amazing man to lead a new country into it's biggest battles. Just the way he lived and worked. All he wanted to do was help out. He didn't want to lead. He just wanted to serve."

Interesting, huh? Anyway, Iorg's dad won't be on hand for his pro debut because he's a roving instructor with the Brewers. But, he'll be in Brevard County in two weeks working with Milwaukee prospects and he'll get to see his son then. -- Kevin C.

Master of his domain

2008-04-02T16:24:52Z

Clearwater won't start the Minor League season until Thursday but I got to sit and watch the team go through BP and infield drills this afternoon at Bright House field. It was fun watching a team actually prepare for something meaningful. The Threshers were playing an exhibition game later in the evening against a group of Philadelphia players who are in extended spring training. Before the game I had the chance to sit in the clubhouse with last year's top pick, Joe Savery, and the discussion turned to something about him that no one knows.

"I can quote every Seinfeld episode word for word," Savery said. "I watch Seinfeld every day. I'm just a Seinfeld kind of guy. I watch that and SportsCenter. I even saw Seinfeld live. I might even wear my Seinfeld t-shirt in here one day.

"I love the episode where Kramer sees Joe DiMaggio in the coffee shop. Or the one where George has a man give him a massage. Or how about the one with Donna Chang. I love that episode." -- Kevin C.

And just one more thing: Padres

2008-03-24T04:48:08Z

And, for the grand finale, Kevin's got the Padres preview. It's a system that's improved lately, and Kevin's got a pitcher relatively new to the organization for our final AJOMT:

Will Inman, RHP: There were some folks in the San Diego hierarchy that were unimpressed with what they say out of Will Inman after he joined the organization following the mid-season trade that brought him from Milwaukee. To point to his 3-3 record and 4.17 ERA in seven starts with San Antonio and say boy was that bland isn't being fair considering he was 1-5 with a 5.45 ERA in eight starts for Double-A Huntsville before the deal. One scout I spoke to said Inman looked tired and that could have been the case. It's difficult to argue with his body of work prior to his Double-A meltdown. He was 20-5 in 47 Minor League appearances (38 starts) with a 1.77 ERA in 233 1/3 innings. He also had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly five-to-one. Perhaps he just needed some time adjusting to the better hitters in Double-A. Before anyone rushes to judgement, give Inman this season to see what everything is all about.

And just one more thing: Giants

2008-03-23T22:00:37Z

The penultimate (yes, I love that word) organization preview was my look at the Giants, which went up on Saturday. The system is vastly improved, largely by all the early picks the Giants had in last year's draft. As a result, that club in Augusta is going to be a lot of fun to watch. For my last AJOMT (And Just One More Thing), I'm going with a southpaw who called Augusta home last year.

Ben Snyder, LHP: The fourth-round pick from the 2006 draft out of Ball State, Snyder's brother Brad is an outfielder in the Cleveland Indians system. Snyder is the quintessential pitchability college lefty, with several pitches he can go to and throw for strikes. His stuff won't wow you, but he mixes it up well and has outstanding command. It certainly worked in the South Atlantic League as he finished second in the league in ERA, third in wins and tied for third in strikeouts, all while walking just 32 in 151 IP. He led the organization in wins, while finishing second in strikeouts and in ERA, finishing behind only the Minors' ERA leader, Kevin Pucetas. The jump to the California League (though Double-A is the true test) is always in interesting one for a guy who relies on command more than pure stuff. With another year like his first full season, Snyder will have to find his way onto the main preview a year from now.

And just one more thing: Dodgers

2008-03-21T15:33:17Z

My Dodgers preview is up today and boy, are there a lot of arms to talk about. Here's one more that didn't quite make it into the main story:

Justin Orenduff, RHP: A supplemental first-round pick in 2004, Orenduff came out of Virginia Commonwealth and moved quickly, reaching Double-A in his first full season and helping Jacksonville win the Southern League title in 2005. But he got hurt in 2006 and made just 10 starts, getting shut down for the rest of the year and requiring surgery. He made it back to throw 109 innings last year for Jacksonville in what was an up-and-down year performance-wise, though the important thing was that he made it through healthy. That makes 2008 a big one for him. He got some time in big-league camp and will head to Triple-A Vegas hoping to be the first guy who gets the call when there's a need. When he's on, he's able to work quickly and efficiently, keeping hitters off-balance with good command of his three-pitch mix. I saw him pitch back in 2004, in a much-ballyhooed meeting with Justin Verlander, then at Old Dominion. The game lived up to the hype. Orenduff struck out double-digits and lost. I don't know if he'll ever be THAT good, but here's hoping the '08 season shows he's able to be all the way back to pre-surgery form and able to help the Dodgers out at some point this season.

And just one more thing: D-Backs

2008-03-20T19:20:29Z

Once upon a time, the Arizona Diamondbacks had one of the best systems in baseball. They used that depth to trade for Dan Haren. Lisa writes in today's Diamondbacks preview that there's still talent, it's just in the lower levels of the system. That being said, here's an extra guy who should play his ball in the upper levels in 2008:

Chris Rahl, OF: Coming out of the Cal League can always be a bit of a shakeup for a hitter and it can take a little while for them to recover. So was the case for outfielder Chris Rahl, yet another member of the amazing crop of Chesapeake-area Virginia kids. A fifth-rounder out of William and Mary in 2005, Rahl raked in his full-season debut in 2006 when he hit .326 with 13 homers, 80 RBIs and 18 steals. In his promotion to Double-A Mobile, he hit .259 with eight homers, 51 RBIs and 15 steals. Look for an '08 closer to his '06 numbers than those of '07 in a likely move to Triple-A Tucson.