Who is Jason Heyward?

Who is this Jason Heyward cat?

Coming into 2009, Braves fans were excited about the potential possessed by young starting pitcher Tommy Hanson.

Coming off a dominant performance in the Arizona Fall League and a good showing spring training, people were anxious to see Hanson get his shot at the majors.

The hype surrounding Hanson typically only comes once every five or ten years.

But despite what Santa brought us last year, Braves fans get something better now. Jason Heyward.

At only 20, Jason Heyward is probably more well-known than some guys who have spent 10 years in the majors, and he has been the biggest story in Braves camp so far.

One day Chipper Jones says he looks like a linebacker. One day Bobby Cox compares him to Hank Aaron. Another day he is smashing cars with his homeruns. Just yesterday Jim Leyland compared him to Albert Pujols.

You can even go online and by t-shirts that say “The J-Hey Kid,” which of course is a reference to Willie Mays.

Born in New Jersey, Heyward played his high school ball in McDonough, Georgia. Back then, he played first base, and was named an AFLAC All-American.

Going into the 2007 draft, Heyward was projected to go somewhere in the top 10, so even though he had caught the eye of Braves scouts and grew up in their home state, they wouldn’t have a chance to get him.

But the teams in front of the Braves all passed on Heyward.

The Giants and Mariners took pitchers at the tenth and eleventh slots. The Marlins and Indians took corner infielders directly in front of the Braves.

Somehow, Jason Heyward had fallen to Atlanta. A top ten pick who played his high school ball in Georgia and was still available at 14, the Braves made the obvious choice to take Heyward.

At this point, Heyward is the third player from the 2007 draft to be named baseball’s top prospect, following David Price and Matt Wieters.

But Heyward could be better than both of them.

Beginning his rapid ascent to the majors later in 2007, Heyward played well in a handful of games at each of the Braves Rookie League squads.

But 2008 was when Heyward really put himself on the map as someone who could live up to his huge potential.

Playing mostly at Rome, with a small stint in Myrtle Beach, Heyward compiled a .316/.381/.473 line in 127 games.
At this point, he was named a top five prospect in all of baseball coming into 2009.

Playing the first half of the season in one of the minors most pitching friendly parks (in Myrtle Beach) Heyward dominated A+ level pitching at just 19 years of age, putting up a fantastic line of .296/.369/.519.

Somehow, those numbers improved when Heyward got the mid-season call-up to AA Mississippi. In just 47 games Heyward hit .352/.446/.611 and prompted the Braves to call him up to AAA, even if it was only for a week at the end of the season.

Heading into 2010, with the label of top prospect and knowledge that he is the most recent Minor League Player of the Year, Heyward, and everyone else, expected him to compete for the Braves starting right field job.

And so far in Spring Training, he has done nothing to disappoint. With his mammoth homeruns and easy demeanor, Heyward is already a fan favorite in Atlanta.
In his first batting practice, Heyward wowed by breaking the sunroof on a car, and denting a Coca-Cola truck.

So far in Spring Training games, Heyward has a .417/.611/.833 line. Yes, his on-base percentage is over .500 now, but that doesn’t really surprise anyone does it?
Monday, he hit a 450 foot blast off of Max Scherzer for his first homer of the year. It hit the roof of a building some 30 feet behind the right field wall of the Lakeland stadium which houses the Tigers.

Oh, and he can run too. He already has a stolen base this spring and has 26 in 238 minor league games. The speed also shows in the outfield, where he has already made some great plays for the Braves.

With every day that passes, Heyward’s five tooled talent causes his legend to grow through amazing plays, monster homeruns and hall of fame comparisons.

But in reality, we haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait until he makes it to the big leagues.

Brett Kettyle

Phenom Bryce Harper’s Big Weekend

17 Year Old College freshman Bryce Harper had a monster weekend

We all know and love 17-year-old junior college freshman Bryce Harper, but he cannot be this good. Can he?

Last weekend (March 6) Harper went 7/8 with five runs, two HR, two RBI, and is now hitting .408, getting on base at a .506 clip, with six HR, and 20 RBI on the season.

Below is a recent clip of Harper taking BP and a few ABs from late February.

Harper BP

Harper AB vs. Chipola’s LHP Jake Eliopoulos

Harper’s 2nd AB vs. Chipola’s LHP Jake Eliopoulos

Harper has tremendous bat speed but is still not using all of his strength. He still gets fooled and sometimes looks awkward when he misses, but he is only 17 LOL.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya

Five MLB Ready Rookies

Which Rookies Will Start in the Bigs?

We all know about what Jason Heyward is going to do to opposing pitchers this season, but there are a few other rookies you should know about. These rookies will likely make the opening day roster and make an immediate impact, and perhaps they will make an impact for your fantasy team.

All will make an impact for the big league team in the immediate future, and the rookies not on the list will either start the season in the minors or will not be up until September, making them irrelevant to the start of the season.

No. 5 Wade Davis TB SP
Wade Davis was drafted out of high school in the third round of the 2004 MLB draft by the TB Rays. Standing 6’5” 220 lbs., Davis is a burly right hander and is currently the third best Rays prospect behind OF Desmond Jennings and SP Jeremy Hellickson, but both Jennings and Hellickson will start this season in the minors. Davis made his debut last September and was impressive in six big league starts. He will be 25 in September, and the Rays have never rushed him and they feel he is finally ready to contribute in the big leagues. Last season Davis threw a career high 195 innings combined for AAA and the Rays, and it looks like TB will be depending on him to go over the 200 IP mark for the first time in his career.

No. 4 Alcides Escobar MIL SS
23-year-old Venezuelan and Milwaukee Brewers SS Alcides Escobar can do a lot of things on the diamond, but was called up last season for his glove. This year the Brewers made room for Escobar in the starting lineup after trading fan favorite J.J. Hardy and the Brewers top prospect since looks ready to go. In 38 games last season Escobar hit .304 and in nearly 50 games he is a .310 hitter. Although not known for his plate patience, it looks like Escobar will have no trouble getting on base and stealing over 30 bases in his rookie season. Clearly, Escobar does not belong in the minors and you can add another stud to an already plentiful Brewers offense.

No. 3 Neftali Feliz P TEX
21-year-old flame throwing Neftali Feliz appeared in 20 games last season (0 starts) for the Rangers and was nearly unhittable. In 31 IP, Feliz sported at 1.74 ERA, with a K/W ratio of over 4/1, and a miniscule .68 WHIP. The Rangers want to make Feliz a starter but reportedly will keep him in the bullpen this season, and it looks like it is the right decision. According to Baseball America, Feliz is the top prospect in the Rangers organization, and there are two others in the top 17.

No. 2 Brian Matusz SP BAL
23-year-old Brian Matusz is currently fourth in the Orioles rotation, but it might not be long before he and fellow top prospect Chris Tillman are atop the O’s rotation. Matusz (pronounced Mattis) was the fourth overall pick in 2008, a collegiate All American at the University of San Diego, and is Baltimore’s top prospect according to Baseball America. BA says his best tool is his changeup, and in eight starts for the O’s last season, Matusz went 5-2, with a 4.63 ERA, and over a 2/1 K/W ratio. He will be given every opportunity to make the starting rotation this season, as he clearly does not belong in the minors. In only 113 IP (19 starts) in the minors, Matusz recorded a 1.91 ERA, had less hits than IP, a K/W ratio at nearly 4/1, and a ridiculous 1.05 WHIP. All indications point to Matusz being a big time MLB prospect.

No. 1 Jason Heyward RF ATL
Jason Heyward is the number one overall prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America, even higher than last season’s No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg and his $15 million contract. Heyward is a big time power-hitting prospect, probably the best since Prince Fielder/Ryan Braun, and will only be 20 years old on opening day. Heyward is 6’4” 220 lbs. with all sorts of talent and can still move for a big man, as his 15 SB in 2008 suggest. In 238 minor league games Heyward has produced a .318 average, .391 OBP, 29 HR, 125 RBI, and will be starting for the Atlanta Braves on opening day.

Matt Anaya
Twitter.com/MatAnaya

Top Fantasy Sleepers for 2010

Dont sleep on these ballers

There is a well-worn axiom in fantasy baseball circles that says that while it is impossible to win one’s league on draft day, it is possible to lose it. That may be true, but draft day is a great time to get a head start on one’s competition.

That can’t be done in the first three to five rounds, however. A player may get the league’s best combination of talents out of the top five rounds, but the simple truth is that everyone can collect superstars at the top of the board. There are, most years, more than 50 top-50 players to be had, and so everyone’s team looks loaded until the elite talent begins to dwindle.

That is when the so-called fantasy experts make their money. That is when league champions surge to the forefront, and also-rans begin also-running. That is when sleepers begin to emerge.

The following ten players are good bets to provide solid value above and beyond their average draft positions (or projected rotisserie values) in 2010, and deserve fantasy players’ attention as the top sleepers of the upcoming season.

1. Ricky Nolasco

Nolasco logged a hideous 5.06 ERA in 2009, despite the fifth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio in the league. His fielder-independent ERA (3.35) was actually a marked improvement from his 2008 figure. A mid-season demotion to Triple-A is all that kept him from logging 200 or more innings for the second straight season, and he would easily have eclipsed 200 strikeouts had he done so.

In fact, had Nolasco been anything short of horrifically unlucky in 2009, he would have been a top-shelf pitcher of Justin Verlander’s ilk. Of the 77 pitchers who threw at least 162 innings last year, Nolasco’s 61.0 percent figure in left on base percentage (basically, the number of runners a pitcher puts on base, minus the number who score, divided by the original number of runners on base) was the absolute lowest. As this article shows, that problem sometimes repeats itself across seasons, but more often than not, such situational splits even out fairly quickly.

Nolasco’s Clutch index (which measures how well or poorly a player does in high-leverage situations, relative to their norm) was also the lowest among qualifying 2009 hurlers, according to FanGraphs. That is nearly always an unreliable predictor of future performance, and a little regression could go a long way toward smoothing out Nolasco’s ERA problems.

Nolasco only narrowly qualifies as a sleeper; his ADP is inside the first ten rounds in most leagues. It also hurts that he has always tended to give up home runs, a trend that continued unabated through last year. He has Zack Greinke’s upside, though, and at 27, he still has one more season in which to discover and express it fully.

2. Carlos Quentin

Quentin, slowed by plantar fasciitis in 2009, posted a miserable .236 batting average. Much of that came courtesy of Quentin’s .223 batting average on balls in play (BAbip), however. Aside from being an impossibly low number for a skilled hitter like Quentin to duplicate, .223 was some 72 points below Quentin’s expected BAbip, which is calculated using a player’s batted-ball tendencies and speed score, among other factors. By the reckoning of xBAbip, no player in baseball received worse treatment from Lady Luck last season.

Of course, some of the problem was a direct result of the injuries, which hobbled Quentin even after his premature return to the Chicago White Sox’s futile playoff push. With those in the past, Quentin seems ready to rake again. Thirty home runs is a reachable benchmark for the slugger, who popped 21 of them in fewer than 400 plate appearances last year and had 36 in somewhat less than a full season in 2008.

3. Geovany Soto

Soto, too, struggled to reach base on balls in play in 2009. The general consensus, however, is that his conditioning (or lack thereof) had more to do with that than did his strained oblique. Indeed, most clear-headed observers might link the extra weight he carried in 2009 to the overworking or hyperextension of muscles along his side.

Skills erosion certainly was not the issue. Soto walked more and struck out less, as a percentage of his total plate appearances, than he had during his Rookie of the Year season in 2008. He maintained roughly the same batted-ball profile, as well, all of which suggests he simply needed to slim down. New Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo seems eager to work with Soto, and so far in camp, the feeling has been mutual.

At any rate, Soto dropped 40 pounds in the off-season and seems both healthier and more focused in 2010. His rookie output of 23 home runs and 86 runs batted in were good enough for him to be among the top five catchers in fantasy baseball headed into 2009, and that is the sort of baseline from which his projections should be made this season.

4. Chad Qualls

Qualls missed the last six weeks of last season, but all indications are that he will be fully ready for the start of the season, and as long as that is true, he is a valuable and under-rated closer option. His WHIP isn’t elite, but is much better than Carlos Marmol’s or Brian Fuentes’s figure to be. Both of those men go ahead of Qualls as often as they go after him in recent mock drafts, and that is folly, especially with Fernando Rodney on board to steal save chances from Fuentes.

More importantly, Qualls is just good value. For players who grab an ace starter early, Qualls can add 30-plus saves just in front of pick 200, and provides enough strikeouts to carry the weight without sacrificing WHIP by walking people. There are always a million ways to come away with the best team on draft day, but this season, Qualls is a part of many winning strategies.

5. Edwin Jackson

Now a teammate of Qualls with the Diamondbacks, Edwin Jackson brings the same skills that moved him gracefully through American League lineups to a 3.62 ERA, 13 wins and 161 strikeouts last season to the National League’s inferior hitting. He now also gets to face the pitcher.

It is a wonder, then, that so many pundits are adamant in their belief that Jackson is headed for a serious and unpleasant course correction. Jackson, 26, did post a fielder-independent ERA of 4.42 last season. That was fueled largely by a falling ground ball rate and Jackson’s long-time vulnerability to the home run.

It became fairly apparent that Jackson, who had thrown 100 or more pitches only 16 times in 32 appearances with the Rays in 2008, wore down as the season wore on. He would toss 100 or times in 21 different starts for notorious task-master Jim Leyland, and crested that mark seven straight times beginning July 4 at Minnesota. In fact, from that date onward, Jackson threw 100 or more pitches in 13 of his remaining 17 starts.

That abuse resulted in a 5.07 ERA during the second half, after a first half that saw him go 7-4 with a 2.52 mark. If Arizona is wise enough to treat his arm with more caution in 2010, Jackson will reward them with a very strong showing, and will be a surprise top-tier number two starter in fantasy leagues.

6. Martin Prado

Almost any player who is eligible at both second and third base has value, provided they get playing time. Not only will Prado finally get full-time at-bats at second, with a chance to expand his role even further if third baseman Chipper Jones continues to battle aging and injury, but he will also bat second for Bobby Cox’s Atlanta Braves this season. That means 90 runs scored, in addition to Prado’s almost assured .300 average.

Batting average is an underappreciated category in fantasy; a player who can provide it in full-time work is hard to find late in drafts, yet Prado continues to fall into the twentieth round and beyond. Prado is eligible at first, second and third base in most leagues, and could well smack 10-12 home runs if whoever bats behind him can scare pitchers into throwing him fastballs. At either the corner or middle infield spot, Prado is a steal at his current market value.

7. J.J. Hardy

Hardy will benefit from the change of scenery, after constant rumors about his imminent replacement at the hands of phenomenal prospect Alcides Escobar marred Hardy’s final season in Milwaukee. A November trade to the Minnesota Twins gives Hardy a chance to prove himself once again, and at just 27 years of age, it is not at all beyond the realm of possibility.

A .260 BAbip held down his batting average, while the patient approach thrust upon him by his coaches—Hardy swung at fewer pitches inside the strike zone than all but four other hitters in the league, who accumulated 220 or more plate appearances—failed to translate into significantly more walks. Yet, Hardy is not so far removed from the two-year span of 2007-08, wherein he hit a combined 50 home runs and batted a stout .280.

Those numbers might be a bit ambitious, but his realistic ceiling still reaches 20 homers and a .270 average. That kind of production makes Hardy a very good piece of a winning draft strategy, too: because there is an abundance of speed to be had in the outfield this season, players who solidify the steals category in the middle rounds can scoop up Hardy as a hefty-hitting middle infielder with their last pick of the draft.

8. David Freese

At 26, going on 27, David Freese will finally get a long overdue chance to play every day in the Major Leagues this season. The St. Louis Cardinals have slotted him for that role, after watching Freese bring his career slash statistics in the Minor Leagues to .308/.384/.532 in the 64 games to which injuries limited him last year.

Inexplicably, analysts everywhere are unwilling to trust what the numbers tell them about the 2006 ninth-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres. He seems to have the confidence of the Cardinals brass, however, and that may be all he needs to bust out with a .280, 20-homer, 85-RBI campaign, batting fifth and scoring a modicum of runs. All of that can be had for the price of one dollar at auction or the use of a reserve round draft pick.

9. Derek Lowe

It’s easy to see why Lowe could bounce back in 2010: he hardly needs to bounce back, at all. Despite a 4.67 ERA, Lowe had a 4.06 FIP last year. No pitcher who threw more than 162 innings had a worse Defensive Efficiency Rate (DER, the percentage of balls in play a team defense turns into outs) than the .655 mark the Braves posted behind Lowe. That came in spite of the team posting an above-average DER overall, and in spite of Lowe’s marked ground-ball tendencies; the Braves have a slick-fielding group across their infield, generally.

The .330 BAbip posted by batters against Lowe last season was the highest since 2004. Lowe also walked more batters than he had since 2004, something he must correct in order to reel in his sky-high 1.52 WHIP from last season.

In the final calculus, though, Lowe has a relatively short way to go to regain some fantasy relevance, and as he will be available well into the reserve rounds of even the deepest mixed leagues, he is worth a look. Note that, before his 36-year-old arm wore down in his final nine starts, Lowe had a 4.08 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 150 innings.

10. Drew Stubbs

Stubbs wants to bat leadoff and play center field every day for the Cincinnati Reds, and if he has anything better than the worst-case scenario of a spring, he will get his wish. At 25, Stubbs is just three and a half years removed from being drafted in the first round by the Reds, and now looks ready to shine.

The power he flashed last season—eight home runs and a .439 slugging average in just fewer than 200 plate appearances—is not real. If he gets over twice as much playing time in 2010, and that’s a safe bet, he may hit 12 homers. That is the absolute ceiling for this season, and if Stubbs is smart, he won’t push to develop more power too quickly.

That is because Stubbs’s greatest asset, both on the field and in fantasy play, is his speed. Bill James has bullishly projected him for 51 thefts this year, but 40 is not out of the question. Best of all, Stubbs will provide those 40 steals without a .240 batting average or 20 failed stolen base attempts, a la 2009’s Reds center fielder Willy Taveras. He may only hit .265, but even that has value. If he hits .275 instead, which is possible, he is every bit as valuable as Houston Astros outfielder Michael Bourn, and can be gotten about 150 picks later.

Matt Trueblood

10 MLB Milestones Within Reach in 2010

Which milestones are in reach?

The last three seasons have been loaded with historic moments in Major League Baseball. During that span, five players have clubbed their 500th home runs: Jim Thome, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield. Ken Griffey, Jr., also joined the 600 club in 2008, becoming only the sixth man to reach that plateau.

Meanwhile, pitchers Tom Glavine and Randy Johnson each reached the 300-win milestone, thereby establishing their own inclusion in an increasingly exclusive Hall of Fame group. Craig Biggio collected his 3,000th hit in 2007, as well.

In 2010, however, baseball fans may have to settle for lesser moments. Rodriguez is only 17 homers shy of 600, and stands an excellent chance of reaching and exceeding that total. Beyond that, however, the definitive milestone numbers are simply not within reach for any of those chasing them. That does not mean that there exists any dearth of quirky, meaningful numbers to be reached, however. Here, then, are ten players (aside from Rodriguez) who have a chance to reach big-time milestones in 2010:

• Francisco Rodriguez: “K-Rod” doesn’t quite have Trevor Hoffman in his immediate sights just yet, but he will almost certainly reach 250 saves this season, and at 28, he will become the youngest (by a mile) ever to have done so. He was also the youngest to reach 100, 150 and 200 saves, and logged 35 saves last season despite a catastrophic decline in his peripheral numbers.

• Albert Pujols: Pujols, who needs 34 home runs to reach 400 for his career, would not be the youngest to that number; that honor is safe with Griffey. Nor would he be the fastest man to the mark in terms of at-bats; that distinction belongs to Mark McGwire. The mark would simply be another step along Pujols’ rapid, clear path to Cooperstown. Thirty-four home runs is never guaranteed, but Pujols has hit at least that many in all but one of his nine seasons.

• Omar Vizquel: From the “if you play long enough” file, Vizquel will almost certainly become the 25th man in baseball history to reach 10,000 career at-bats. Griffey will follow him quickly to that threshold, but needs nearly 300 at-bats to get the job done, while Vizquel needs fewer than 90.

• Ivan Rodriguez: Pudge needs 112 games played to reach 2,500 for his illustrious career. Among players who primarily catch, he would be the first to reach that level. Carlton Fisk, the super-durable Hall of Fame backstop, logged 2,499 career games. Rodriguez also needs only two round-trippers as a catcher to reach 300 in that respect; he crossed that pure threshold last season, but has seven career bombs as a non-catcher.

• Trevor Hoffman: Hoffman should easily make the 15 appearances he needs to become the 14th man ever to pitch in 1,000 games. If he stays relatively healthy, he should crack the all-time top-ten list. Hoffman will also almost certainly become the first-ever closer to notch 600 saves, as he needs only nine.

• Jamie Moyer: If the Philadelphia Phillies give Moyer enough opportunity, he will allow the 14 home runs he needs to tie Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for the most allowed by any pitcher in Major League history. He also has a better-than-even shot at reaching 200 career losses, making for a second bittersweet milestone. Incidentally, Moyer is also the closest active player to 300 wins, but it seems unlikely that his 46-year-old arm still contains the 42 wins he needs to attain that milestone.

• CC Sabathia: With relatively few pitchers closing in on the upper echelon of win totals, Sabathia headlines a long list of pitchers who are nearing 150 wins. Roy Halladay, Tim Hudson, Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe and Roy Oswalt are all even closer, but then, Sabathia’s tender age (28) makes him the story. Fourteen wins would make the moment for the New York Yankees ace.

• Carl Crawford: The current active triples leaders, Detroit Tigers leftfielder Johnny Damon and Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, are tied for 179th on the all-time list. Crawford, however, may have a better chance than either to become the first active player to reach 100 triples. At present, he is eight three-baggers short, with Damon and Rollins three such hits ahead of him at 95 apiece. Crawford also needs 38 stolen bases to reach 400 for his career, while White Sox outfielder Juan Pierre needs 41 to reach 500. While speed is on the table, it bears mentioning that Griffey is only 15 swipes shy of the even 200 his father stole during his big-league career. The younger Griffey, however, has only 17 steals since the calendar turned to 2000, and has attempted only eight in the last four years.

• Bobby Abreu: One of the game’s underrated superstars, Abreu can begin building what will someday be a strikingly strong Hall of Fame resume with the handful of small but impressive milestones within his reach in 2010. He needs only 17 doubles to reach 500 for his career, and is two stolen bases shy of 350. He will certainly reach 1,300 career RBI, given good health, and will look to log his eighth consecutive season with 100 or more RBI, and ninth in the last ten. Interestingly, he has never driven in more than 107 runs during that stretch. Abreu, 35, will also look to work on his current career batting average of .2993, a number tantalizingly close to the .2995 he needs to go down as a .300 career hitter.

• Jim Thome: Though he likely won’t reach either in 2010, Thome is within shouting distance of two big-time milestones. First, he is but 36 home runs short of 600. If he can stay healthy and is treated well by the brand-new Target Field, which he now calls home as a member of the Minnesota Twins, he has an outside shot. He had better make plans to play another season, however, if he hopes to claim Reggie Jackson’s most sacred distinction: all-time Major League strikeout leader. Thome passed Sammy Sosa to cruise into second place last season, with 2,313, but now has 284 punch-outs to go to reach Mr. October. Mike Cameron, no threat to the record, will nonetheless make whiff waves this season when he and Griffey assault the category’s all-time top-ten list.

Aroldis Chapman Makes Debut (Video)

Aroldis Chapman Strikes hitter out in debut

Aroldis Chapman was reportedly consistently hitting 97 MPH, although he plunked a hitter on the knee with a 95 MPH fastball. Here is a look at Chapman’s Spring Training debut and do not be afraid to let us know what you think.

Our thanks to CTrent.

Matt Anaya

Follow us at Twitter.com/DugoutDoctors

Jay Bruce: Harlem Globetrotter?

Who knew Jay Bruce was also a hooper?

On Jay Bruce’s Yardbarker page he posted a video of his appearance with the Harlem Globetrotters. It was taken over a month ago, so Reds fans can calm down, their future face of the franchise was not playing hooky.

Bruce had a rough year last season, battling injuries and he will be looking to establish himself as one of the best power hitters in the National League, and an All Star appearance is not out of the question.

BTW, I drafted a team and smoked two HR with Bruce in MLB The Show. Both were crushed off Chris Carpenter and one was a bomb, while the other was an accidental two-strike missile.

Matt Anaya

Dock Ellis’ Psychedelic No-No

Doc Ellis and the LSD No No

Once upon a time there was a pitcher by the name of Dock Ellis. He pitched for a half dozen teams including winning 19 games for the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971. Ellis also started for the National League in the All Star game that season, but will always be remembered for one thing.

Dock … take it away.

Thanks to @GillianJacobs for finding this one. Love her!

Ellis had an eventful playing career. He was the pitcher that gave up Reggie Jackson’s famous All Star blast that is still going. He also beaned Mr. October in obvious retaliation, was maced by a Cincinnati security guard, and beaned nearly every single Cincinnati Red in a 1974 game. Ellis sadly died in late 2008.

Twitter
@MatAnaya
@DugoutDoctors

Giants/Brewers Rivalry?

Is there are rivalry brewing between MIL and SF?

An unexpected Giant rivalry could be Brewing.

When you think of rivalries with the Milwaukee Brewers, one would never think there is one with the San Francisco Giants.

Cubs, Cardinals, yes no question. Twins are in a different league, but you can never underestimate the Wisconsin/Minnesota rivalry (stepped up a level with a beloved Green Bay Packer wearing the purple), but the San Francisco Giants?

The Giants and Brewers are not even in the same division.
The Giants play in the National League West, and the Brewers play in the National League Central.

Yet a rivalry might have been born in Spring Training. Giants’ left-hander Barry Zito hit Prince Fielder in the back with the first pitch of the at-bat in the first inning. This is Spring Training.

Fielder just stood there and looked at Zito before picking up the ball and tossing it back toward him. The plate umpire didn’t issue any warning or say anything to Fielder or Zito, at least it didn’t appear like he did.

Fielder then got to first base and loudly clapped his hands together in Zito’s direction.

As the inning ended, Zito walked off the mound and Fielder just laughed with first-base coach Ed Sedar.

All of this stems from Fielder and his Brewer teammates doing their “bowling pin/explosion” celebration last season after Fielder hit a walk-off homer. The Brewers were way out of contention at the time and the Giants were still fighting for the playoffs and made it known publicly they didn’t think the celebration was all that respectful.

After the game last September, bench coach Ron Wotus questioned the Brewers’ professionalism, “You would like to think professionals would have a lot more respect for the game and their opponents. That was choreographed.”
So, six months later, and a whole off-season to settle down, Zito retaliated.

“They gotta do what they gotta do,” Fielder said. “But it’s not going to take (the celebration) away. It’s chronicled. I hit the home run and they gotta hit me. That’s what they gotta do.”
Yet, was it worth it in Fielder’s eyes?

“Hell yeah,” Fielder said. “That’s something I did with me and my teammates. It has nothing to do with them. You’re damn right it was worth it.”

Zito on the other hand, didn’t cop to purposely throwing at Prince.

“We were just trying to go in there hard,” Zito said. “It’s not something that was thought about for months and months. I’m just excited to get out there for my next game and see where my stuff is at.”

With a post 4th of July series set for Milwaukee on July 5, 6, 7, 8 and a late September series in San Francisco on September 17, 18, 19 there will be opportunities to add chapters to this budding rivalry.

Far from a Yankee/Red Sox level of rivalry, yet an interesting story coming out of Spring Training.

Jay Maguire

Below is the incident that is has made this a rivalry.

Would you be upset at Prince?

Mariners Prospect Dustin Ackley’s First AB

2009 2nd overall pick Dustin Ackley’s First Spring AB

Mariners fans, Dustin Ackley is the future of your offense as he is a dynamic player on both sides of the ball. He’s versatile and can play all over the field, while his strength is in the batter’s box.

Take a look at his first spring AB and let us know what you think. BTW, Baseball America has him up next season.

Matt Anaya

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