Tuesday November 11, 2003

Let the Frenzy Begin… (Yesterday’s)

Rookies of the Year Awarded
NFL "Expert" Picks (Week 9 Final Results)

OH CANADA!

Because I didn’t get yesterday’s posting up until late, I’m going to leave it at the bottom of this page, in case you didn’t have a chance to read it. I am also going to keep today’s short. This time, seriously! It won’t be too long! Again, I am working on the update to the Bang for the Buck article from a few weeks back. If anyone has any suggestions for me, please send them to me. Thanks!

Team USA will not be participating in the Olympics in Athens, Greece, next summer. Twins prospects Joe Mauer, Jesse Crain and JD Durbin lost in the quarterfinals. Fellow Twins prospect, Justin Morneau, helped Team Canada get a spot in the Olympics. In their quarterfinal game, Canada defeated Colombia 14-6. Morneau hit 2 home runs and had 5 RBI. Then, in the semi-finals, Team Canada beat Mexico 11-1. Morneau was 2-3 with another homer, his fifth of the tournament.  Here’s what Justin had to say:

"This is the best team I've ever played on, every has a lot of fun, everyone picks each other up after a mistake or an error, we hung out together, we're all played cards, we all went to eat together. And we won together."

So, who was on the Canadian Team? It’s actually a pretty impressive list. (check here for Team USA’s roster)

First, their manager was former big leaguer, Michigan native Ernie Whitt. Whitt played 15 seasons in the big leagues, 12 of those with the Toronto Blue Jays. Their pitching coach is Denis Boucher, who pitched in parts of four major league seasons, including stints with both the Blue Jays and Montreal Expos.

INFIELDERS-

1B/3B Todd Betts played this season with Yakult of the Japanese League. Middle infielder Kevin Nicholson was a former #1 pick of the San Diego Padres in 1997. He actually got 97 at bats with the Padres in 2000. He spent the 2003 season with Altoona, the AA affiliate of the Pirates. Justin Morneau, of Twins fame, played a lot of 1B for Team Canada. Hopefully he won’t be able to compete in the Olympics for Canada because he’s starring with the Twins! Be sure to check the Archives Link because I write about Morneau frequently! Cho Hyung is just 20 years old and has quite a bright future ahead of him. He spent time in the Mariners Class A team this year, after three years at the University of Houston. One of the best names in big league history was a top hitter on Team Canada. Stubby Clapp, who played much of the 2003 season with the Braves AAA Affiliate in Richmond, is a 30 year old 2B who got 25 at bats with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001. Scotty Thorman was the Braves 1^st round pick in 2000. The 21 year old played High Class A ball this season in Myrtle Beach. Matt Logan is a 24 year old 1B who played AA ball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization this season. Catcher Pierre Luc-Laforest (or Pete Laforest) made his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003. He went 8-48 (.167) at the plate.

OUTFIELDERS-

Ryan Radmanovich was the Twins 14^th round pick in 1993 out of Pepperdine. He stayed with the Twins organization through the 1997 season, when he played at the AAA level. The next year, he went to the Mariners organization and started the season in AAA before getting called up and playing in 25 games with the Seattle Mariners. Since that year, he has stayed in AAA, with three different organizations. Now 31, he played this season with Nashville, in the Pirates organization. Jeremy Ware has spent all but 42 games of his 9 minor league seasons with the Montreal Expos organization. He finished the last few years in AAA. Jeff Guiel is the younger brother of Royals outfielder Aaron Guiel. The 29 year old Jeff has spent the past three seasons with Salt Lake, the AAA affiliate of the Anaheim Angels. Rob Butler was a huge prospect of the Blue Jays in the early ‘90s. He never became a star, but he did play parts of four seasons in a major league uniform between 1993 and 1999, his last year in pro ball. The 33 year old Butler has played for Team Canada in the past too. And finally, 39 year old Rob Ducey, is the primary DH for Team Canada. He played parts of 13 seasons in the big leagues between 1987 and 2001.

PITCHERS -

25 year old Chris Mears went 1-3 with 5 saves and a 5.44 ERA with the Detroit Tigers this season. He pitched in 29 games for the Tigers. At AAA, he was 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA. 27 year old Brett Gray pitched in 43 games for Chattanooga, the Reds AA affiliate this year. Mike Johnson pitched parts of 1997 through 2001 in the big leagues for the Orioles and Expos. Spent 2003 in the AAA Affiliate of the Giants in Fresno. Mike Meyers has pitched for the Iowa Cubs (AAA for the Cubs). He missed all of the 2002 season with an injury. Jason Dickson is another former big league pitcher. He moved quickly up the Angels minor league system after being drafted in 1994. He debuted in the majors in 1996 and went 13-9 in 1997. After that though, arm problems cost him a lot of time, including the 1999 and 2001 seasons. He ended with a 26-25 major league record between 1996 and 2000. He played for Sommerset of the independent Atlantic League this summer. Mike Kusiewicz has been in minor league baseball since 1994, yet is still just 26. This year, he ended with Sacramento, the A’s AAA club and went 3-1 there. Shawn Hill is just 22 years old. He seems like a legitimate prospect of the Expos. In 2002, he went 12-7 at Low A. This season, he started at High Class A and went 9-4 with a 2.56 ERA. He was then called up to AA Harrisburg and went 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA in 4 starts. 25 year old John Ogiltree is 6-6, 225, so he will be given a shot. This season, he pitched 45 games in relief at AA New Haven. Phil Devey has pitched in the Dodgers organization since being drafted in 1999. He has spent time at AAA the past three seasons.

So there you have it. Team Canada for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the team that has now advanced to next summer’s Olympics in Athens.
 

MORE AWARDS - Rookies of the Year Named

Yesterday, we found out that Kansas City Royals shortstop Angel Berroa and Florida Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis won their respective league’s Rookie of the Year Awards. I did pick Berroa to beat Hideki Matsui for the AL Award, but I think the NL Choice is wrong. And that’s not a put down to Willis, who did have a great rookie season. It just wasn’t as good as either Brandon Webb’s or Scott Podsednik’s, just more well documented. Be sure to check out my detailed “votes” for the major awards here and here(for the MVP).  
Today, we will find out the AL Cy Young Award winner. Tomorrow, we’ll learn the Managers of the Year. Thursday, the NL Cy Young will be named. The MVP winners will be announced next week. Here is the list of Award winners, which will be updated as awards are given out, along with who my votes would have gone to:

Well, that’s it for today. See?  Way shorter than normal. Again, be sure to check back in the archives, and check yesterday's posting as well. E-mail me any questions, comments or anything you’d like to know.

NFL “EXPERTS” PICKS (Week 9 Results)

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