Rex Hudler

To add to the "Met Effect" a bit....... Last year the Barons scored 292 runs at home or 4.29 per game. On the road, they scored 343 runs, or 4.83 runs per game, more than half a run difference. They hit only 34 HR at home and 71 on the road. Their team ERA at home was 3.23 vs. 3.63 on the road. Those numbers were actually the closest home/road differentials since at least 1999. In 2005, the numbers are....... HR's - 21 at home vs. 43 on the road Runs - 148 at home vs. 241 on the road (almost 100 more!) ERA - 3.88 at home vs. 4.33 on the road Last year at about 2/3 through the season, I did a little research and found that the Met was home to the least amount of HR's (both teams) in all of AA and AAA and only a few spring training ballparks in the Florida State League kept it from being the lowest in all full season leagues. Charlotte on the other hand, was 2nd highest behind Albuquerque. Call it whatever you want, but the numbers speak for themselves.

QUOTE(BHAMBARONS @ Jun 28, 2005 -> 03:39 AM) On Sweeney you are right on. But the Met does sap a lot of power hitter with park being in a bowl and '347 down the lines '392 to the allies and '414 to Center. I never forget what the Hurt had to say about that place after playing an exhibition game in 03 " Take a couple sticks of dynamite and light it up". Barons have hit 64 bombs only 18 at the Met. Tom, it is actually 340 down the lines, 385 to the gaps and 405 to CF. But the kicker is that the ball just does not carry there for some reason. Many well hit balls die in deep CF there, that would be out at most other minor league parks, hence the lopsided HR numbers. The Met has also almost always produced a full run differential in team ERA from home to road, and sometimes more.

QUOTE(BurlyMan56 @ Jun 28, 2005 -> 02:51 AM) I was at Ft. Myers Beach this past spring break...We also drove down to Miami Beach...Im guessing shark attacks are ujncommon there for some reason? Anyone have any history of attacks being encountered there... Shark attacks against humans are extremely rare anywhere.

QUOTE(Steff @ Jun 27, 2005 -> 09:32 PM) All those years I lived in Florida I never went into the ocean past my ankles. I would see my family out there and just cringe. I don't get the allure. Sand, salt, smelly, people going to the bathroom in it, sharks, etc, etc.. I'll take a pool over the ocean anyday. I don't go in lakes either. Ick. You're such a girl!

Sounds like he was bashing fans for the same exact things he is b****ing about. If he can admit that they hurt the league, its reputation and integrity, then why the hell should he not expect fans to be pissed? That was an idiotic statement.

Jeff Bajenaru Photos For anyone interested.........

QUOTE(Cerbaho-WG @ Jun 28, 2005 -> 02:11 AM) Young skipped over High-A ball and has held his own in AA. At this point in time, Chris Young is far and away a better prospect than Ryan Sweeney. Sweeney has slugged in the 300s the past two years and his power isn't going to appear out of thin air. This pitchers park thing limiting his power is such horses***, and I'm sick of hearing it. Until Sweeney can hit an OPS at which Young is, we need to stop saying Sweeney is the next coming. How did you come to bash Sweeney from a post about Young? But if you want to compare them, I would tend to disagree with you. I could care less abou OPS at this point. Until Young proves he can keep from striking out 150 times a year, MLB pitchers will expose his holes early and often. Sweeney is just 20, the second youngest player in his league. I fully expect Sweeney to repeat AA next year, but Sweeney will come. After watching them both, I'd rate them this way... Young - higher ceiling and also higher likelihood to flop at higher levels Sweeney - more of a sure thing, but doesn't have as high of a ceiling. He will have less power but hit for a higher average and have a solid OBP. If he develops power and many players develop it later, then he will be a good player for a long time. Both could end up being very good MLB players and I really like Young's potential, but I am not going to ignore his weaknesses either.

Charlotte now up 4-2 in the 9th. Time to get Baj up to close out the win for Arnie.

The lack of driving in runs is what concerns me about Sweeney. Fourteen RBI in 222 AB's is not very many. He has 11 doubles and I expect that to increase. I am less worried about his power than his low RBI total. Runs can be driven in with singles......... danman, I agree that Young still has a long way to go before being MLB ready. You are dead right that his weaknesses will get exposed at higher levels. But what I do like about him is his explosiveness. He can really drive the ball both out of the yard and in the gaps, and and he can really run. He is the ultimate example of a high risk/high reward player.

QUOTE(BHAMBARONS @ Jun 27, 2005 -> 01:10 AM) He been hitting tons of line drives it's a different stroke then he had last couple weeks he had a little bit of an upper cut but these last few games he has gone back to the line drive swing. Hit a double off the RF wall today so hopefully that is something to come. I am concerned about the lack of power but I have this feeling he is ready to explode soon he looks a lot more comfortable at the dish. It looked like he had been trying to hard to homer but now he is back to hitting line drives which is really the only way to hit one out @ the Met. Hope this helps I have a hunch that Sweeney will explode in his 2nd season in AA. I really think he will need that rather than continuing to move up prematurely.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jun 26, 2005 -> 05:31 PM) Felix was ejected, or he could have given up more. If things were going that bad, I'd have gotten ejected too!

QUOTE(BHAMBARONS @ Jun 26, 2005 -> 08:40 AM) Scott Olson made major league debut last night. Olson was sechduled to pitch Sat vs the Barons but dominated the D-rays 7K's in 5.2 IP who is Scott Olson?

I have played both Absolute Poker and Party Poker...... I prefer Absolute

15k?? Get a life, people!!!

ESPN says not so fast........ may still happen, but all parties seem to be denying anything is a done deal at this point. My question is, why did Conley Jr. eliminate IU from consideration so early?

Keep in mind that only two players per MLB affiliate are chosen. So some teams that are deeper may have better prospects not chosen when lesser players on other teams are. Baseball America chooses the teams in conjunction with MLB. MLB teams have the ability to veto a player if they choose. Gio could have fallen in this category since he has been on the DL recently. The Sox may have wanted him to rest. Or BA may have just preferred Jenks because he is closer to the Majors. The criteria they have always gone by is a mix of potential and closeness to the big leagues. Potential is a key word there, because often times prospects are chosen that are not necessarily performing well. This is not an all-star game, nor has it ever been billed as one. The Sox choices surprised me somewhat. I would have figured Sweeney or Anderson before Young. Bmac would have been my pitcher, but he is in the big leagues. Jenks is probably a good choice since he could be in the big leagues later this year. I believe I have most if not every Future's Game on VHS. One day I will convert them to DVD and have a great collection to look back on.

I hope you are wrong on this one. I have a feeling what will happen is that the HS players that were previously declaring for the draft will go to college and realize they aren't actually ready/good enough for the NBA just yet and end up staying longer. Once they get there and realize they have a lot to learn and struggle some, they may not be such a hot commodity after year one. I hope that is the actual effect of this rule, because I would hate for the college game to have to deal with another 8-10 players a year wanting to jump after one year. I do not think that is good for the college game, which I care about far more than the NBA.

badger, I don't think that a player should be excluded because of age... but I think the system should exist that discourages only but the very best. Part of the NBA's problem right now is that it has become somewhat of a "thug league", at least in perception. Middle America (outside of major metropolitan areas) virtually ignores the NBA. The NBA markets itself to two groups: 1. Corporate America for sponsorships and tickets and 2. Urban markets for image and merchandise sales. The pricing and urban focus basically excludes the common basketball fan. The thing that I think would keep the common fan interested is being able to identify with the players. A league full of kids that skipped college and players from overseas is not helping their cause. Part of the "thug" perception also comes from young players who may not be mature enough to handle millions. The NBA has become a lifestyle for young athletes more so than any other sport. I think that lifestyle, along with a lack of identifiability of the players is what drives middle America away. For every Lee Evans you bring up, there are 10 Shea Cotton's or James Lang's, players that thought they were ready and end up struggling in the NBDL or out of basketball completely by 24. And for every Lee Evans there is at least an equal number of players who help their draft status and wallet by staying in school. No matter what you do, someone will be left out, because there are exceptions to every rule. But the idea is to come up with a solution that is a positive for the most people, teams, players, fans, etc.

I personally think the NBA is missing out here. I really believe that the NBA popularity is down right now at least partly because their players lack an identity that they have historically gained while playing in college. College basketball is so much more popular than the NBA and watched by so many more people, I believe the NBA is losing fans because they don't know who the players are. Another factor adding to this is the infusion of overseas players. That said, I do not think a one year push toward college is enough. Marvin Williams was a good if not great player for North Carolina, but nationally he doesn't have the identity and following he would have had he stayed 3 or 4 years (or even 2 at minimum). People that live in NBA cities still follow the NBA at least to some degree. It may or may not be as much as in the past, I don't know. But I am pretty confident in saying that the NBA has become pretty insignificant to people in the rest of the country. Outside of NBA cities which contain large urban areas, the NBA could disappear tomorrow and most would care about as much as they do about the NHL. The NBA's most recent rise in popularity began back in 1980 right after Bird and Magic joined the league. It just so happens that was right after they played against each other in what is still the highest rated NCAA Basketball game EVER. Following Bird and Magic was Jordan, who became well known in just 2 years, but did so by winning a National Championship. The bottom line is that the NBA could benefit by raising the age restriction both in terms of the maturity of the players, but also in the identifiability of them. All that said, I still think that baseball has the best system. If a player enters a 4-year school, he must stay for three years. If a player is drafted, but does not sign with a team, he is still eligible to go to school. If a player cannot qualify for school, then a Junior college is an option, where he would be eligible again the next year. Doing it this way would take some adjustment time, but I really believe that only the very elite players would sign with NBA teams and the rest would end up in college for three years minimum. I think helping to protect the college game would in the long run help the NBA. Just one man's opinion............

So why is Jenks in the boxscore for the Barons in tonight's game???

ummmm I thought Jenks was promoted to Charlotte???

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jun 20, 2005 -> 07:18 PM) Joe Crede is what we have seen. I really don't see someone who does what he does breaking out and becoming Scott Rolen, or even David Wright. Until last year, Adrian Beltre had been no better than Crede. He certainly broke out.

QUOTE(sayitaintso @ Jun 20, 2005 -> 05:16 PM) Good old Joe is back. He was taking a break the first few weeks of the season. You mean the one that is hitting .304 in June with 4HR and 8 RBI in the first 20 days this month?

I watched it three times and didn't see him step off. When a right handed pitcher turns to throw to first on a pickoff throw that is not considered stepping off. Stepping off the rubber and therefore becoming a fielder is interpreted as stepping back off the rubber first. That he did not do. In my mind it had to either be a balk or a single base on an overthrow. ---- Chiguy, as I previously mentioned, it doesn't matter what base a runner is headed to. What matters is what base he has earned at the time of the throw (note, not at the time the ball goes into the stands). It doesn't matter whether he is going back to first or one step from 2B, the ruling would be the same. The award is based on the base last reached by the runner when the errant throw leaves the fielder's hand. ---- Maggliopipe, what you have there is a common misconception, originating on some LL field somewhere. The rule book says for the runner to be safe, he must meet the throw and for him to be out, the throw must beat the runner. There is a solid explanation for those that insist a tie occurs that involves the speed of light versus the speed of sound, but we'll not get into all of that. lol ---- Another common misconception is "the hand is part of the bat". It's not. The hand is part of the body. Look at the end of your arm. If a player gets hit on the hand and is not swinging, he is awarded 1B. If he is swinging and gets hit, then the ball is dead and the pitch is a strike. Either way, getting hit in the hand is no different than getting hit square in the face, other than it hurts differently.

QUOTE(MnSoxFan @ Jun 20, 2005 -> 03:24 PM) Come on you wuss, this is baseball, never get bored at a baseball game You would have yesterday....... I love Minor League ball, but they can make a baseball game turn into a 3 1/2 hour borefest sometimes.