Stephen Strasburg

Well, that didn't take long. Hey, be happy we're learning about this now, as opposed to four weeks from now. Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman tipped his hand Tuesday -- and I think certainly helped fantasy baseball owners in the process -- when discussing the April destination for everyone's favorite pitching prospect, Stephen Strasburg.

"Spring training is great, but even as opposed to Double-A or Triple-A pitching, it's just not the same. When everything counts, records count and statistics count, regular season is just a different animal with a guy to go out there with the adrenaline throwing on both sides and the other team is trying to get you."

Got that? It's almost assured the kid with the 100 mph fastball will be starting the 2010 season in the minor leagues. This is hardly a surprise. It's the right move, and I applaud the Nationals when they officially make it. I've been discussing this for a few months, and getting odd stares and angry e-mails in the process, but this is yet another reason rookies are very dangerous and often trip people up in fantasy baseball drafts. See Matt Wieters from last season. You want Wieters now, but how many owners still feel burned by him? I for one took him on one of my fantasy teams. I think he will be up sooner than most folks think. Now if he was owned by a team with a slam dunk picthing staff or a team like, God Forbid the Yankees, than maybe it would be next year or the end of the season. But Washington, come on, give the kid a shot. You fantasy buffs have a great year.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are everything that most small-market teams strive to be. They aren't loaded from top to bottom with billboard-recognizable names, and they boast a core group of young, cheaper players that are putting up enviable numbers.

The pitching staff in Tampa could lead this team back to a playoff run. All five projected starters have the talent to put up win totals in the 'teens and stay below four in the ERA department. If healthy, the new closer in town could shine in his role as the sole ninth-inning hurler.

The batting order is a pleasant mix of power, speed and upside potential that could pressure the upper portion of the division come September and October. With two hitters easily taken among the first 20 picks on fantasy draft day, one being a potential MVP candidate, 2010 looks like it could be a great season for the Rays.

Base season is fast coming

I am quoting from Mike Schmidt, hall of famer. He wrote this in the March issue of the Sporting New. The following is just the tail end of his comments. This concerns one of my favorite baseball players. PETE ROSE "One the surface, it would seem Pete Rose's crime is no worse that that of Mark McGwire's. If baseball can forgive McGwire and ALL of his contemporaries,why not Pete? Gambling on the game vs.cheating in the game--one gets you banned for life, the other makes you famous."

Dodger Blue

Last week, Ned Colletti signed Brian Giles to a Minor League contract. At 39, Giles seeks an opportunity to show what he can do after having an off-year with knee surgery. The Dodgers need more outfield depth than in the recent past.
After Manny Ramirez's offensive decline last year, people realized he was aging. Though Joe Torre blames the 50-game suspension for Ramirez's decline, Ramirez should have improved as the season went on, but the opposite was true. I think being hit on the wrist in the middle of July affected his swing, although the Dodgers deny this. Anyway, Ramirez's offensive performance disappointed most Dodgers fans and made it more difficult for the Dodgers to win their division than it should have been.
Immediately after the season ended, Ramirez reportedly told some teammates that he should be a designated hitter in the American League. His legs were exhausted. The guaranteed $20 million salary proved too much for Ramirez to walk away from. However, Torre has said that he must rest him more days this season.
I can see by July that unless Ramirez turns into the hitter similar to what he was in 2008 when he joined the Dodgers, that he will become a pinch-hitter. Although he doesn't have to hit over .350 to keep his everyday starting outfield job, he needs to hit more than he did in 2009 after his suspension. Everyone knows that the Dodgers didn't obtain Ramirez for his defensive abilities. They wanted a player who could hit for a high batting average and had some power. When Ramirez's offensive production tailed off, he became a defensive liability in left field.
Everyone understands that the Dodgers have a weaker starting rotation than they did in 2009. With a weaker rotation, the Dodgers must have good defense to prevent runs. I think we will see Ramirez being replaced more for defensive purposes than we have in the past.
The Dodgers lost a possible leadoff hitter when they traded Juan Pierre. Although Rafael Furcal will lead off most of the time, the Dodgers need to have a reserve leadoff hitter for when Furcal needs to rest or if he gets injured. If Giles doesn't make the team, the most logical choice for a leadoff hitter for the Dodgers is Russell Martin. Although Martin is coming off of a poor offensive year, his on-base percentage was still decent. I don't want to waste Matt Kemp's power in the leadoff position. Casey Blake is too slow to be a leadoff hitter.
Putting a catcher in the leadoff position would tax his stamina. To me, Martin's offensive problems are caused by playing so many games. He gets tired, but he won't admit it.
Without any doubt, the Dodgers have a shortage of depth in players who can lead off. In the National League, teams who don't have a good leadoff hitter usually don't go to the playoffs. Giles always has had an excellent on-base percentage. Over his 14-year career, Giles has had a .400 on-base percentage, and this is outstanding. Though he hasn't stolen bases during his career, he has been a smart runner. I know he had knee surgery last season, but if the knee has healed properly, he should be a decent runner.
In the recent past, the Dodgers have carried only four outfielders because they wanted to carry more pitchers. To me, it was a risky decision. Over the years, many outfielders have collided and injured themselves seriously. I know the Dodgers thought they had players like Blake who can play in the outfield in an emergency until the team could promote a Minor League outfielder. I hope the Dodgers will carry five outfielders, especially with Ramirez's questionable legs. I know this will diminish the number of pitchers that they can carry, and with their weakened starting rotation, the Dodgers will need more relievers than usual because their starters probably won't go as long in games as the Dodgers need. However, having an extra outfielder could make a big difference.
The acquisition of Reed Johnson will help the Dodgers. Although he isn't the caliber of Pierre, he can play three outfield positions. He is a decent hitter. I think Dodgers fans will see much of Johnson over the 2010 season.
With the growing concern about Ramirez holding up for the entire season, the Dodgers must have two reserve outfielders. I know that Colletti has signed many players to Minor League contracts to develop greater competition during Spring Training and create more depth. Most of these names can be ignored by the common Dodgers fan.
Obtaining Giles could be a huge boost for the Dodgers. None of the people who follow the Dodgers seriously are comfortable with either Jason Repko or Xavier Paul as reserve outfielders. If Giles is healthy, he can provide the Dodgers with an experienced reserve outfielder and leadoff hitter.

a short post

This post is in reference to Tampa Taxi Shots. The writer is complaining how the city police are ruining the city. Why because they are giving out tickets for running traffic lights. Damn don't run the lights. I mentioned this when I commented on his post. My co-author, got T-boned on Hillsboro because someone ran a light. The shit head had no insurance. As United Cab does nothing for us when a thing like this happens shit out of luck. Too bad the guy wasn't stopped before he hit Tom, oh but I forgot too many cops making this a police state. Or that is what the guy who writes Tampa Taxi Shots said. One out of thirty-one men in Florida are in jail. Not sure about that figure. But I wonder how many derserve to be there. I know of one that was there and yes he deserved to be there.

Feel Gutsey

There are men, there are brave men, and then there's an Austrian skydiving expert named Felix Baumgartner, who later this year will take a flight in a stratospheric balloon more than 120,000 feet up and attempt to become the first person to break the sound barrier (approximately 690 mph) in a freefall.On January 22, Baumgartner and several members of the Red Bull Stratos team publicly unveiled for the first time the details of their "Mission to the Edge of Space," for which Baumgartner is the Test Jump Pilot. According to the company, "This is very much a step into the unknown; no freefall -- let alone a supersonic one -- has been successfully completed from the target altitude." The goal is obvious -- get Baumgartner safely back to Earth. But the challenges are innumerable. Keep reading for more details about the incredible mission."The main challenges," says Art Thompson, the team's Technical Project Director, "concern pressure, thermal -- hot and cold temperatures, and acceleration and deceleration through three layers of space." Baumgartner will wear a pressurized suit and helmet along with his parachute and chest pack with data recorders, but even the equipment presents a challenge."It's NOT comfortable being in a pressure suit," says Thompson. "People get antsy wearing it ... we wanted to see if Felix freaked out in the suit, but he was fine."Baumgartner is an accomplished BASE jumper and he's set records before which include a flight across the English Channel with a carbon wing. But he's never done anything like this. When asked if he was nervous, he answered in the affirmative. "Yes, there's fear," says Baumgarter. "But I use fear to my advantage, to keep focused."Joe Kittinger, a retired United States Air Force colonel, is the only person who knows exactly what Baumgartner will feel when he opens the capsule and prepares to jump; he set the record that Baumgartner will attempt to break 50 years ago when he made a parachute jump from 102,800 feet in Aug. 1960, nine years before the Apollo mission. Kittinger will also be the voice from the ground inside Baumgartner's helmet when the Austrian will otherwise be all alone at 23 miles above the Earth. Asked if he hesitated before he made his epic jump, Kittinger responded, "Hell no, I didn't hesitate. I was happy as hell to go back to a friendly place. Space is a hostile environment." Baumgartner will be there soon. The rest of us can watch live images of the incredible mission online, from the comfort of home. Pajamas are optional.
One more thought, I have to believe that Bret Favre will relive the last pass that threw that was picketed off. As Jim Nantz said he had a clear shot for about 15 yards if he ran instead of throwing. Of course I was watching the game. If he wold have ran, it would have been a chip shot for a game winning field, than the other guys prediction would have been mote. The only quarterback who could have made that pass, across his body and across the field would have been John Elway

Rays help Haiti

Brandon, Florida - Baseball after baseball, jersey after jersey, bat after bat. Carlos Pena signed and signed and signed.
Afterall, if he could help generate donations for the Red Cross for those in his neighboring country of Haiti, he'd do whatever he could.
Pena was just getting ready for spring training, working out in his native Dominican Republic when the earthquake hit Haiti. He was on the 4th floor of the gym and felt the tremors and the building sway. It lasted less than a minute. But it was a minute he will never forget.
Now Pena is back in the U.S., trying to help generate donations and giving his own. In addition to signing autographs at Brandon Town Center Tuesday, he has opened his own wallet, donating $15,000 of the Rays Foundation $50,000 gift to disaster relief. While still in the Dominican Republic, Pena and his wife Pamela donated supplies to herd across the border.
The Rays will also donate proceeds from their annual Fanfest on Feb. 20th at Tropicana Field. All of the professional players in this great country of ours should open up their wallet too. I believe that I just read where a well known relief pitcher, ( 9 million / one year ) just signed. Come on pro guys give some of the green. Tax deductagle to boot

Come back player of the year

the beginning there was hope. How much, though, is hard to say. The Bucs had been through this once before, after all, and few among us will ever forget the way that turned out - with Cadillac Williams curled up near the sideline pounding the ground with his fist and saying to no one in particular, "Not again, not again.''
Yes, again. Another knee injury, his second in as many seasons. Neither, of course, was of the minor variety. In both instances, Williams tore his patellar tendon, first the left, then the right. For any athlete, but especially for a running back, that's about as major as it gets.
Worse than torn ACLs, patellar tendon tears have been known to stop careers dead in their tracks. But nothing, it seems, can stop Cadillac's career.
A year removed from what many thought was his second career-ending injury in as many seasons, Cadillac's career is back on track and progressing better than anyone, perhaps even Williams himself, could have imagined.
With only today's game against the Falcons left to play, Williams is guaranteed to finish the season as the Bucs leading rusher.
Certainly no one saw that coming. Williams did, after all, start the season as, at best, the third back in what was supposed to be a two-pronged power running attack featuring Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham.
Fifteen games later, though, Williams has more carries (191), more yards (781) and more touchdowns (four) than Ward and Graham combined.
You could, in fact, make the argument - though you very well may lose it to supporters for tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. - Williams has been the Bucs' most valuable player this year.
One argument you probably can't lose, though, is to suggest Williams is the NFL's comeback player of the year.
No one else's comeback seems to compare to Williams' this year. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's certainly doesn't. He's only coming back from one knee injury, and it wasn't a torn patellar tendon.
Titans quarterback Vince Young might warrant some votes. But Young came back from his knee injury last year after a few weeks and didn't play much thereafter because he just wasn't as good as Kerry Collins.
Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer could certainly challenge Williams for comeback player honors. He blew his elbow out a few games into 2008 and has bounced back to have one of his best seasons ever.
The same, though, can be said for Williams, who actually seems to have come back this year as a slightly better and more versatile player than he was before he was injured.
During his breakout rookie season, for example, Williams touched the ball 310 times and gained 1,259 yards for an average gain of 4.0 yards per touch. He also scored six touchdowns, all on the run.
This year, Williams has touched the ball 216 times and gained 965 yards, for an average gain of 4.5 yards per touch. His seven touchdowns, meanwhile, are a career high and that number includes three as a pass catcher.
Williams hasn't fumbled the ball yet this year either, and that's an improvement as well. Prior to this season Williams had fumbled the ball nine times in his career and lost seven of those fumbles.
So not only has Williams come back from two devastating and potentially career-ending knee injuries, he's come back a better player, one who seems far more adept as a pass catcher and even a leader.
Williams used to be a very soft-spoken man of few words. Now, if he senses that everyone isn't on the same page or someone isn't pulling his weight, he says so, bluntly.
Maybe it's a result of having lost the better part of two years to knee injuries. Maybe it's a result of facing the prospect of never being able to play again. Whatever it is, Williams has changed.
When he came back to the Bucs this year, he came back better, stronger, more mature and more productive than ever before. That's about as complete a comeback as any player will ever have.

GPS

All we hear about these days is the little box on top of the dash board called GPS, some people let it run there life.

I have never liked these things and here is another good reason why.

PORTLAND, Ore. – In a holiday hurry, Jeramie Griffin piled his family into the car and asked his new GPS for the quickest way from his home in the Willamette Valley across the Cascade Range.
It said he could shave 40 minutes off the time of the roundabout route he usually takes to his future in-laws' place.
Following the directions, he and his fiancee headed east on Christmas Eve and into the mountains, turning off a state highway onto local roads and finally getting stuck in the snow.
They had no cell phone service and ran short on formula for their 11-month-old daughter. After taking exploratory hikes, trying to dig out and spending the night in their car, the distraught couple filmed a goodbye video.
Like two other parties of holiday travelers who followed GPS directions smack into Oregon snowbanks, Griffin and family were eventually rescued. But their peril left law enforcement officers and travel advisers perplexed about drivers who occasionally set aside common sense when their GPS systems suggest a shortcut.
"Did everybody just get these for Christmas?" asked Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger, leader of one rescue effort.
In Griffin's case, in fact, the GPS device was a Christmas gift, from his parents. He used it for the first time to plan the trip to Central Oregon.
It's one he'd made many times before, following a route travelers have found reliable since at least the days of the Oregon Trail. But, he said, a shortcut the GPS device suggested was attractive.
"We were in such a hurry to get over there, we programmed it in the driveway and went ahead," he said.
In hindsight, he said, he should have double checked the route against a paper map — and packed extra formula for the baby. "We would be better prepared for the unknown," he said.
The AAA and the National Association for Search and Rescue say they don't sense a surge in trips that go amiss because of a blind reliance on GPS directions, but they hear about them from time to time.
"It's usually about every other month," said Christie Hyde of the national travel association AAA. It's a small number compared with the millions of GPS units in service, she said.
She's heard, she said, of one driver who made a right turn as directed and had to be towed off railroad tracks, and another party led near the edge of a cliff. I am a firm believer in the good ole fashion map and use your brain should handle it.

Go Bucs

The Bucs just gave their owners a vivid job stimulus package to consider.
Coming off last week’s drab 26-3 loss to the Jets that dropped Tampa Bay to 1-12, players, coaches and Buc executives faced an uncertain future. The club responded with a 24-7 triumph at Seattle’s Qwest Field, where the Seahawks had been 4-2.
The Glazers, seeking a tangible sign of progress amid the gloom, saw the Bucs reel off the final 24 points for their first regular-season win on the West Coast since 1999.
It was a gratifying effort for players who are already fighting for their place on the 2010 roster. For GM Mark Dominik, the lopsided win was a sign that the organization is going in the right direction.
And beleaguered rookie coach Raheem Morris was all smiles in the closing moments, knowing he had taken a significant step in showing ownership that the club was progressing.
“Job security is not an issue for coaches,’’ Morris said Monday. “We don’t have any. You just go out there and present your best self every day. That’s all I can do. We make decisions based on how do we beat our next opponent. There will be no decisions based on serving Raheem Morris, Mark Dominik or any player.’‘
Buc players fighting for jobs appeared to want the game more than their Seattle counterparts, who were badly outplayed in the second half in front of home fans who raced for the exit gates early.
“There’s always guys on the bubble,’’ Morris said. “There’s always coaches on the bubble. How you respond to being on the bubble is what defines you as a man, as a coach or as a player. Those defining roles will come out in the next two weeks.