It’s never too early

to think about next year.

The Eastern League schedule for 2009 is out, and the Bowie Baysox will be home during the time frame just before the SABR Convention in DC. The Baysox have home games against Connecticut scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, July 28 and 29.

Last year we discussed renting a sky suite for a Primate/SABR Convention meetup for one of those games, and I’d still like to do that if we can get enough people who are willing to chip in and cover the cost. I think it would be kind of cool, although if the cost is prohibitive we can always downgrade to the picnic pavilion or the tailgate party tent.

If you’re interested, and think you’ll be in DC for the convention (or live in the area), drop a post here.

Minor Postseason Observations: 9/4/2008

Odd factoid: Mitch Talbot posted a 13-9 W/L record for the second season in a row at Durham. I’d have to do some research to find out the last time that happened in the minors, where a pitcher posted the same record over two full seasons at the same level. Probably not since the end of the free minors. Talbot did make some improvements this year (HR rate down, BB rate down, K rate up) but probably not enough to land himself a major league job, at least in this organization.

David Price had his best AAA outing last night, throwing five innings of shutout ball, but still threw way too many pitches (92, of which just 57 were strikes). Neither offense did much, but the Bulls got three solo HRs, which were enough. Matt Maloney deserved a better fate. Talbot faces Homer Bailey tonight; Homer’s had a tough season all aroound, and his stock has dropped a ton, with good reason.

Yankees 2, Red Sox 0: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre won 7-1 at Pawtucket, Trenton beat Portland 2-1. Jason Lane got tossed in the first inning for arguing a (pretty bad) strike 3 call from RJ Thompson with a runner on third and…

The Postseason Begins…and so does the affiliation shuffle

The full-season league postseasons open with a playoff game in the Cal League tonight. Rancho Cucamonga forced a one-game playoff for the final postseason slot with a 5-3 win over Inland Empire Monday night.

The Indians made it official; they will be leaving Buffalo after 14 years with the Bisons, likely to affiliate with Columbus. The Mets and Blue Jays are looking at Buffalo; my guess is that the Jays and Bisons hook up, with the Mets moving in behind the Blue Jays in Syracuse.

In the PCL, Portland re-upped with San Diego. There have been rumblings that the Cardinals and Memphis would be parting ways, since the owners of the Memphis franchise declined to re-up earlier this year. The Cardinals did put a competitive team there this year, however, which might ease the way to a new relationship. New Orleans will come open, with the Mets leaving, and the relationship between the Mariners and Tacoma has been strained this year, so there could be a shift there. The Nationals will be looking after being forced out of Columbus, and while they really don’t want to go back to New Orleans they may once again have to take what’s available.

September…

Price’s AAA Debut

80 pitches, 50 strikes in four innings, allowing 3 runs, 7 hits, no walks, 6 Ks as he suffered his first defeat as a professional. He hit 96 on the board a few times and did show off his entire arsenal.

He’s not ready for prime time yet. Couple of things that concerned me:

1. Pitch selection. He didn’t mix his pitches very well. He threw sliders and changeups almost exclusively to right-handed hitters - I didn’t see a fastball until the third inning - and threw about 90% fastballs to lefties. I would want to see him spot his fastball more to righties and mix in the change to lefties.

2. Movement on his pitches. Last night, there wasn’t much. Some of the outs were hit solidly, as was the ball that Joel Guzman booted at 3B leading to two runs (although subsequent events made both runs earned). Of his six Ks, four were against lefty swingers Freddie Bynum and Brandon Fahey, neither of whom is exactly a terrific threat with the lumber.

Mechanically, he is very sound - and he is a bulldog. After Guzman kicked the ball that probably would have been a DP grounder, Price gave up…

Moving ‘em around

From the pages of Ballpark Digest:

-- There has been a proposal floated to move Lake County and the new Bowling Green team (moving from Columbus GA) from the South Atlantic League to the Midwest League. The proposal may flounder because neither league is happy with the changes that would be required to the schedule, especially the SAL (which would adopt the Southern League model of five-game series and either five-game or 10-game road trips).

-- The Omaha Royals have suspended discussions with the city of Omaha about playing at a new downtown ballpark. The College World Series will be moving out of Rosenblatt Stadium and into the new park as part of Omaha’s extension of their agreement with the NCAA, and the Royals are concerned about getting their fair share of the pie as well. The team has talked with suburban Sarpy County officials and received permission to explore moves to the Houston suburbs and to Vancouver (which I think is the longest of long shots).

-- Columbia SC has surfaced as another potential player in the proposed Cal League/Carolina League franchise swap. The SAL had continued to have interest in the market even after the Capital City Bombers moved…

Minor Moves

As the major league trading deadline approaches...some shuffling goes on in the minors as well.

Houston moved 2006 draftee Chris Salamida to AA, and 2007 draftee Jordan Powell to high-A. Salamida, the Most Outstanding Pitcher in the NY/P league in his debut season after going 10-1 with a 1.06 ERA, bypassed low-A completely in 2007, jumping directly to Salem, but struggled there and was converted to the bullpen in 2008. He was 4-2 with 11 saves for the Avalanche, but sported a 5.75 ERA and allowed 78 hits in 67 1/3 IP. Powell, drafted in the 35th round a year ago out of college, has also proven to be very hittable so far in his minor league career; he was 1-7 with 5 saves at Lexington but allowed 86 hits in 69 IP. The Astros also sent INF Chris Jackson and P Jose Duran from Tri-City to Lexington and added 2007 draftee Brian Wabick to the Valley Cats’ roster.

Adam Eaton was assigned to low Class A Lakewood by the Phillies; he’ll be pitching for the Blue Claws tonight.

Jerry Gil is converting to pitching. The former Arizona, now Cincinnati minor leaguer decided that he was not going to see major…

MEETUP: USA Olympic Team Baseball at the DBAP

The USA Olympic Team is playing at the DBAP next weekend. I plan to be there Sunday and Monday. If anyone wants to meetup, let me know and I’ll get tickets.

The Week Ahead

Some scattered notes.

Huntsville is in town this week to play the Mudcats, which means I get a chance to get a good look at Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel (along with a ton of scouts, I would expect, with the trading deadline approaching). The Stars trail Tennessee by one game, and lead Carolina, which has been in .500 mode since the first two weeks of the season, by two. Aaron Thompson is back pitching for Carolina, Gaby Hernandez was sent down from Albuquerque to get straightened out, and Anibal Sanchez made a rehab start in Mississippi earlier this week and will likely make another in this series. Rick VandenHurk has been called up by the Marlins to start tonight, and SS Manuel Mayorson and Cs Alberto Encarnacion and Brett Hayes were sent to Albuquerque. If the rotation holds, David Welch will start for Huntsville Thursday (with the extra off day he could move up a day).

Wade Davis was promoted to AAA by the Rays this week, and made his first AAA start in Syracuse a good one, throwing seven innings of three-hit shutout ball and fanning six. John Jaso was also promoted to Durham from Montgomery, and Reid Brignac…

Southern League All-Star Game: Five Things I’ve Learned

Notes from Monday’s Southern League All-Star Game:

1. Alcedes Escobar can play.

Chris Coghlan won the MVP award - hard not to give it to the local guy whose 3-run HR broke the game open - but Escobar was far and away the best player on the field. In the first inning, he alertly took second on a run-scoring single when Rashad Eldridge overshot the cutoff man, which put him in position to score a second run on a passed ball later in the inning. In the fifth, he smacked a hard grounder through the hole to left for a single, scoring ahead of Coghlan’s bomb. He also connected solidly in his other two plate appearances, lining to left and hammering another grounder which unfortunately went right to Russell Mitchell who started a 5-4-3 DP. Escobar also converted two dazzlers on D, taking hits away from Juan Gonzalez and Ricardo Nanita, and nearly contributed a third in the ninth inning when he dove in the hole to stop Bryan Byrne’s shot but couldn’t quite get enough on the throw - the play did save a run. Milwaukee’s going to have an interesting decision to make soon - do they try to…

2008 draft signings

Open thread for posting draft signings - please post them as you hear about them.

I do not like to analyze the draft until we have the majority of the signings completed and some of the players start getting PT with wood bats and the like. FWIW, the short-season leagues open this week (June 17 for the NY/P, Northwest, Appy, and Pioneer, June 19 for the GCL, June 22 for the AZL).

Draft thread

I had to back away from the mock because I’ve been buried at work; we’ll do it next year, when I have more time.

The “what I would do if it were me drafting” list: note that this is not what I think the teams WILL do. Pittsburgh’s not taking Hosmer, for example. They should, because he’s exactly the type of high-upside power bat they don’t have any hopes of being able to afford unless they develop one from within. But they won’t.

1. Tampa Bay: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin GA
2. Pittsburgh: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Cooper CIty FL
3. Kansas City: Justin Smoak, 1B, U of South Carolina
4. Baltimore: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
5. San Francisco: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
6. Florida: Aaron Hicks, OF/P, Wilson HS, Long Beach CA
7. Cincinnati: Brian Matusz, LHP, U of San Diego
8. White Sox: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside CA
9. Washington: Aaron Crow, RHP, U of Missouri
10. Houston: Gordon Beckham, SS, U of Georgia
11. Texas: Shooter Hunt, RHP, Tulane
12. Oakland: Yonder Alonso, 1B, U of Miami
13. St. Louis: Tim Melville, RHP, Holt HS, Wentzville MO
14. Minnesota: Casey Kelly,…

Recent Minor Moves: NL West

Arizona:

Sent P Scott Maine to Visalia from extended spring training. Maine, a 2007 6th-rounder out of Miami, has battled through TJ surgery and a serious facial injury suffered in an automobile accident, both of which occurred before he even left the Hurricanes.

Colorado:

DL’d P Sean Smith and activated P Franklin Morales at Colorado Springs. Sean Smith - not to be confused with Seth Smith, the postseason hero of 2007 - was acquired from the Indians as the PTBNL for Jamey Carroll. Morales has been fighting his command all year - the reason he was sent down in the first place - but was activated in time to lead off a four-pitcher no-hitter on Sunday, in Colorado Springs of all places. It wasn’t artistic, though - he walked six and fanned 3 in five innings while allowing a run.

DL’d INF Eric Young Jr. (broken wrist) at Tulsa, and promoted INF Tony Blanco from Modesto to replace him. Blanco was a former Rule 5 pick by the Expos, one of a number of players whose development was very likely slowed by the time spent on the major league roster. INF Corey Wimberly has been moved back to 2B by the…

Recent Minor Moves: NL Central

Cubs:

Demoted C/1B/OF Jake Fox and P Mark Holliman from Iowa to Tennessee. Fox was squeezed out of playing time when Micah Hoffpauir was activated from the DL by the ICubs. Holliman was part of a mass shuffle that occurred when Rich Hill was sent down; he’s a finesse guy who survives by changing speeds and keeping the ball down, which is tough to do in the PCL.

DL’d Ps Edward Campusano (biceps) and Jesse Estrada at Tennessee. Estrada took a line drive in the head a week ago. Ps Grant Johnson and Michael Cooper were activated from the DL.

Sent P Billy Petrick to Daytona from extended spring training. Petrick has been held back due to shoulder problems; he will probably pitch for Daytona for a couple of weeks and then head for AAA.

Peoria manager Ryne Sandberg was suspended for three games by the Midwest League after a bench-clearing incident in a game against Clinton, in which Sandberg confronted Clinton manager Mike Micucci about a sacrifice bunt attempt that Micucci ordered with his team holding a 6-0 lead. 3B Josh Vitters was sent back to extended spring training; he’s been nursing a hand injury.

Cincinnati:

Released P Scott Sauerbeck…

Recent Minor Moves: NL East

Atlanta:

Demoted INF JC Holt from Richmond to Mississippi. Holt, a 2004 3rd rounder out of LSU, started the season in AAA, but hit just .215/.333/.228 in 26 games for the RBraves, and became expendable when Brent Lillbridge was returned to the minors.

Promoted P Tommy Hanson from Myrtle Beach to Mississippi. Hanson, drafted in the 22nd round in 2006 out of Riverside CC in Redlands, CA, is the probable starter for the MBraves on Tuesday night against Montgomery. In seven high-A starts in 2008, Hanson was 3-1 with a 0.90 ERA and 49 Ks/11 BBs in 40 innings, and didn’t allow an earned run until his fifth start.

DL’d OF Gorkys Hernandez (hamstring) at Myrtle Beach. Hernandez will probably be out about another week.

Sent 3B Jon Gilmore from extended spring training to Rome. Gilmore, a supplemental first-rounder a year ago out of Iowa HS ball, hit well in the GCL a year ago, but failed to show the power potential that pushed him into the 1st round, and the Braves held him back after he struggled in spring camp.

Florida:

Signed OF George Lombard as a free agent and assigned him to Albuquerque. Lombard, 32 (believe it or not),…

Recent Minor Moves: AL West

LA Angels of Anaheim:

Promoted OF Drew Toussaint from Rancho Cucamonga to Arkansas. Toussaint finally gets a shot at AA after spending two-plus season with the Quakes. He’s been around since 2004, and his debut season in the Pioneer League is still his best; he simply doesn’t make enough contact.

Placed P AJ Ford on the Rancho Cucamonga roster. Ford was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Angels last year and pitched well in the AZL. He’s from Butte, Montana; Scott Brow is the only major league player to hail from Butte. The Quakes also activated P Bobby Cassevah, who had been placed on the DL with “exertional headaches”.

DL’d P Milan Dinga (rotator cuff strain), and activated P Jordan Towns at Cedar Rapids. Both are 2007 draftees (Dinga 10th, Towns 25th).

Oakland:

Activated OF Carlos Gonzalez at Sacramento. CarGo had been on the DL with a right ankle sprain.

Added OF Aaron Cunningham to Midland’s roster. Cunningham had been in extended spring rehabbing a broken wrist. Former Marlins’ pitching prospect Scott Tyler was released by the A’s; Tyler has been battling Steve Blass disease for the past year and was hammered in nine outings for the RockHounds. He…

Recent Minor Moves: AL Central

White Sox:

No transactions of interest.

Cleveland:

Promoted 1B Michael Aubrey from Akron to Buffalo, and added OF Bronson Sardinha to the Buffalo roster. Aubrey, drafted 11th overall in 2003, has battled back problems for years. When healthy, he’s hit pretty well, albeit without a lot of power; he’s just never been healthy, Sardinha was released by Seattle despite hitting .323/.371/.419 for their AAA affiliate, and signed on with the Tribe. A 2001 #1 draft pick, he left the Yankee organization after the 2007 season.

Activated 1B Stephen Head from the DL at Akron. Head’s not unlike Aubrey, in terms of his skill set, and when Aubrey was promoted he replaced him on the Aeros’ roster.

Detroit:

Promoted OF Freddy Guzman from Erie to Toledo. Guzman, who the Tigers acquired for Chris Shelton, has been around, to say the least; it’s a sign of how bereft the Tigers are in terms of real prospects that Guzman was ranked #15 by BA.

DL’d C Jordan Newton at West Michigan. Newton, a 2006 6th-rounder out of Western Kentucky, was off to a blazing start for the Whitecaps, hitting .356/.372/.575 with six doubles and five triples (no mean feat for anyone, especially a catcher).…

Recent Minor Moves: AL East

Baltimore:

Promoted P Chris Waters and OF Sebastian Boucher from Bowie to Norfolk. Waters was picked up from the Braves’ organization prior to the 2007 season and spent almost all of last year at Bowie. He won five of his six starts for the Baysox this year and posted a 1.69 ERA before being bumped up when Lance Cormier was promoted to the Orioles. Boucher replaced Adam Stern, who’s on the DL.

Activated P Pedro Beato at Frederick. Beato had been on the DL. He was roughed up in his return, allowing 9 hits and 6 ER in 4 1/3 IP against Potomac.

Added P Shane Mathews to the Delmarva roster. Mathews was an 8th-rounder a year ago, out of East Carolina.

Boston:

Nothing interesting to report.

Yankees:

Promoted OF Matt Carson from Trenton to Scranton/WIlkes-Barre. Carson, a 2002 5th rounder out of BYU, spent all of 2007 at Trenton, and was off to a good start there in 2008, hitting .277/.331/.545 with 5 HR and 26 RBI in 27 games. He started off 7-13 with a triple in AAA.

Tampa Bay:

Added SS Shawn O’Malley to the Columbus (SAL) roster. O’Malley was a 5th-round pick of the Rays in 2006.…

Rehab updates

Dontrelle Willis was recalled from his minor league rehab assignment by the Tigers. He didn’t pitch badly in his AAA outing - 72 pitches, 4 hits, 2 runs in 4 2/3 innings - but he tweaked his hyperextended right knee while fielding a ground ball.

Rich Harden will make a second rehab start in Stockton tomorrow night. Harden’s outing in Sacramento on Thursday lasted 50 pitches, in which he allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 3 2/3 innings, with 4 Ks and no walks.

John Lackey’s third minor league rehab start yesterday went 4 innings, during which he allowed 4 hits and 2 runs, walking one and fanning 4. Lackey will likely rejoin the Angels when they return home next week. Howie Kendrick also played yesterday, going 2-3 before leaving for a pinch-runner; he’s expected to be reactivated during LA’s current road trip.

BTF Mock Draft

With the annual Rule 4 draft coming up quickly (June 5), I’d like to gauge how much interest there would be among the BTF community in staging our own mock draft. I’d shoot for doing one about a week or so before the actual draft (last week of May).

The purpose of this thread is to do two things:

1. gauge interest. How many people would volunteer to handle their favorite team?
2. discuss logistics. Doing a mock draft in real-time usually requires a time commitment from people that covers hours - if you do a three-round mock draft, including supplemental picks that’s 112 players, which means that if you allow 2 minutes/pick you’re looking at a four-hour time commitment.

Three rounds is about as far as I’d want to take it. The order is:

First round

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. Pittsburgh Pirates
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. San Francisco Giants
6. Florida Marlins
7. Cincinnati Reds
8. Chicago White Sox
9. Washington Nationals
10. Houston Astros
11. Texas Rangers
12. Oakland Athletics
13. St. Louis Cardinals
14. Minnesota Twins
15. Los Angeles Dodgers
16. Milwaukee Brewers
17. Toronto Blue Jays
18. New York Mets (from Atlanta…

Triangle Minor League Meetups: May 24 (Jacksonville at Carolina), May 30 (Pawtucket at Durham)

By a great stroke of good fortune, I happen to have both of these nights free, at a time when some decent teams with some pretty good prospects will be in town. I’ve set up links through Meetup:

Jacksonville at Carolina
Pawtucket at Durham

but post here if you want as well.

Kazmir, Maybin, and pitching

Scott Kazmir pitched on a rehab assignment in Durham last night. He was sharp, hitting 94 on the scoreboard gun several times and making just one mistake, which Diory Hernandez took over the Blue Monster in left. Kazmir’s strikeout pitch wasn’t working all that well - he had just three Ks, getting Brandon Jones twice and JC Holt once - but broke a couple of bats and induced a fair number of weak grounders and fly balls. Other than Hernandez’s HR, the only other hard-hit ball was a deep fly off the bat of Barbaro Canizares, which Fernando Perez hauled in at the warning track. Kazmir was expected to throw around 85 pitches, and actually threw 81, 50 for strikes. For Rays’ fans, he will be starting Sunday in Fenway.

We’re a month into the season, and I’ve seen the Mudcats play six games. The Marlins loaded the franchise this year, placing #1 prospect Cameron Maybin in Carolina along with the cream of Florida’s crop of young pitching arms, and skipping two position player prospects, OF John Raynor and 2B Chris Coghlan, past Jupiter - something Florida rarely does. Already, the Marlins have promoted P Burke Badenhop (probably the least known…

Rehab, rehab, everyone’s on rehab

Mark Mulder pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits, in Springfield’s 10-3 win over Tulsa. Mulder is expected to make one more rehab start on Friday, most likely in a rematch against the Drillers in Tulsa. In his first rehab outing, Mulder went five innings for the Cardinals’ FSL affiliate in Palm Beach, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits.

Curtis Granderson will play for West Michigan tonight, following two games with Detroit’s AAA affiliate in Toledo over the weekend in which he was 3-9 with a double. Granderson made one earlier rehab appearance with the Whitecaps, going 2-4 with a triple.

Scott Rolen has begun a rehab assignment with Dunedin, going 0-3 in his first appearance there.

Moises Alou went 3-3 with a double and run scored in his initial rehab assignment for St. Lucie, although he came out after five innings. Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is supposed to make another rehab start there sometime this week; he hasn’t pitched since his initial start on April 3.

Promotions, promotions, promotions

No, not the Mike Veeck kind…

Clayton Kershaw, the #1 pick out the Dodgers a year ago, has been promoted from low Class-A Great Lakes to AA Jacksonville, where he’ll start tonight against the Mudcats. This shocks me. Kershaw is just 19, and while his Ks and H/IP ratio in low-A are outstanding, he’s had a lot of command issues (50 BB in 97 1/3 IP, less than 5 IP/start) and has been showing some signs of wearing down in his more recent outings. The Dodgers don’t have any particular reason that I can see to push him, and their track record with younger pitchers (Greg Miller, Scott Elbert, the since-traded Blake Johnson and Chuck Tiffany) hasn’t been especially good recently, with only Chad Billingley and now (maybe) Jon Meloan clearing the minors without development and/or injury issues.

Cameron Maybin has been promoted to Erie by the Tigers. Maybin is just behind Jay Bruce, who’s moved through three levels this year without skipping a beat, in the race for “best prospect not currently in the major leagues” (with apologies to Fernando Martinez). Maybin’s raw numbers are pretty good - .304/.393/.486 at high-A Lakeland, with 83 Ks in ~340 PAs the lone…

College World Series (DISCUSSION THREAD)

Friday schedule:

Game 1: Louisville vs Rice, 2 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 2: Mississippi State vs North Carolina, 7 PM ET, ESPN2

Saturday schedule:

Game 3: UC Irvine vs Arizona State, 2 PM ET, ESPN
Game 4: Oregon State vs CS-Fullerton, 7 PM ET, ESPN

Sunday schedule:

Game 5: Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser, 2 PM ET, ESPN
Game 6: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner, 7 PM ET, ESPN2

Monday schedule:

Game 7: Game 3 loser vs Game 4 loser, 2 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner, 7 PM ET, ESPN2

Tuesday schedule:

Game 9: Game 5 winner vs Game 6 loser, 2 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs Game 8 loser, 7 PM ET, ESPN2

Wednesday schedule:

Game 11: Game 9 winner vs Game 6 winner, 2 PM ET, ESPN2
Game 12: Game 10 winner vs Game 8 winner, 7 PM ET, ESPN2

Thursday schedule:

Game 13: Game 9 winner vs Game 6 winner, 2 PM ET, ESPN2 (if necessary)
Game 14: Game 10 winner vs Game 8 winner, 7 PM ET, ESPN (if necessary)
If only one game is played, the game will be in the…

Draft signings

Post ‘em here - keep ‘em coming.

Shadow Draft

I thought it might be fun for people to volunteer to do a shadow draft for their teams. I got the idea from John Sickels, who does one for the Twins every year.

The idea behind a shadow draft is this: When your team picks, make a pick based on the players that are actually available to the team at that spot. For example, if you’re doing a shadow draft for the Cubs, at pick #3 you can pick anyone except the players actually picked by the Devil Rays and Royals ahead of you. If the D’Rays take Price and the Royals take Parker, for example, you have your choice of Wieters, Porcello, Vitters, et, al. You can certainly pick the same player your team picks, if you think that’s the best option, or pick someone else.

I’m doing one for the Pirates. Because I’m working the Mudcat game tonight, I probably won’t be able to do anything in real-time after the second pick, but I’ll come home and do them later (honestly). If anyone else wants to do one, feel free to post your team and your choices here. Go as deep into the draft as you want and think…

John Sickels Mock Draft

Mock draft is underway. I’m drafting fifth for the Orioles.

UPDATE: Supplemental round about to get under way.

UPDATE: 2nd round.

UPDATE: 3rd round.

UPDATE: 4th round.

UPDATE: 5th round.

The 33 Percent Solution

John Manuel, in a premium article at Baseball America’s Web site, writes about NCAA rule changes scheduled to take effect following the 2008 season that were also discussed at some length in the News and Observer last week. The rule changes came about in response to an NCAA study that showed poor performance by college baseball players on the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) scale, in large part because baseball’s transfer rule allows players to transfer once without being required to sit out a year, leading to a high transfer rate. Manuel writes:

In the wake of the NCAA’s emergency legislation to improve baseball’s APR performance, (Mississippi State baseball coach Ron) Polk used some characteristic and heated rhetoric, calling it a death blow for college baseball.

Now, we haven’t found a coach who likes the legislation--rules that force players to sit out a year when they transfer, become certified academically in the fall to play in the spring and, most significantly mandates a minimum of 33 percent scholarship money for every player who receives athletic aid. But Polk, who once went so far as to quit his coaching gig at Mississippi State to fight the NCAA on scholarship reductions (only to…

Rule 4 Draft (DISCUSSION THREAD)

The Rule 4 draft will be held beginning at 2 PM on June 7, extending into June 8. Baseball America has the complete draft order for the first five rounds, with Arizona getting the additional draft pick (#65) if they fail to sign Max Scherzer by Thursday (a scenario which is looking pretty likely).

On Sunday, beginning at 2 PM Central Time, John Sickels will be hosting a mock draft, covering five rounds. I will be handling the Orioles, who have picks in only the 1st, 4th, and 5th rounds.

While Tampa’s front office insists that they haven’t yet made a decision, almost everyone expects the #1 pick to be Vanderbilt LHP David Price. The Royals, drafting 2nd, are likely to take Seton Hall Prep RHP Rick Porcello, even though Scott Boras is his “adviser”. Assuming those two picks go as advertised, the fun begins. The Cubs, picking 3rd, like Cypress (CA) HS 3B Josh Vitters, but might also go for Georgia Tech C Matt Wieters, who is also a Boras “advisee”, and who may very well drop to #10 (Giants) if the Cubs don’t take him, even though he’s a consensus top-5 player; it is very unlikely that any of…

NCAA Tournament

The field of 64 has been announced.

The NCAA rewarded teams that played tough schedules this year, leaving out schools like Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Tech, and putting Memphis and Troy in the field primarily because of their decision to schedule top-50 teams rather than lesser Division I lights.

Rice, the #2 overall seed, got screwed a little bit, I think. TCU has a very good team, and Baylor can also play with a lot of teams, as they demonstrated by marching to the Big 12 title game. If Ryne Tacker isn’t healthy (he left his start in the C-USA tournament early with arm trouble), the Owls might not even escape their regional, and they could definitely have some problems with Texas A&M (which looks like a strong favorite to win its regional).

Arizona State is overseeded at #5, IMO; Florida State and Arkansas are better, I think, and one could make a good argument for San Diego as well. It was kind of a down year for the Pac 10.