Brooklyn Cyclones:
PP: The Mets didn't have many high picks in the draft this year, but what did you make of the rest of their draft? Any personal favorites?
Hyde: It was a thin draft in terms of numbers. The Mets didn't have a first rounder and failed to come to terms with their fifth and sixth rounders. A lot rests on the development of their first pick, second round lefthander Stephen Matz, who signed for late-first round money. The Mets are also very excited about the raw athleticism and the power/speed combo of fourth-rounder Darrell Ceciliani, who hit .234/.313/.310 in 42 rookie ball games with 14 stolen bases.
(Josh) Thole is 22 years old, he had his cup of coffee this year in the majors and he impressed me with his offense at the plate finishing with a .321 batting average in 53 plate appearances. He had a bit of 1-19 slump but he still showed promise in his major league debut. Even though he was slumping Thole didn’t look foolish at the plate like outfielder Fernando Martinez. Thole’s defense left a bit to be desired as he allowed 3 passed balls in only 17 games. On the plus side he did throw out 2 base runners out of 6 attempted steals on him. He also caught two really good games at the end of the season. Having said this Thole does not belong on the team yet. He needs to start 2010 in AAA Buffalo and work on his defense. He needs to also learn about the intangibles of being catcher, such as slowing down the pace of a game or going out to talk to a pitcher who is struggling. That is not a knock on Thole; those instincts will come in time. It’s important to remember that he was not originally a catcher; the Mets converted him to catcher in the minors. I believe that in 2011 Thole will be on this team as our starting catcher and there lies the dilemma: signing a veteran catcher to a 1 year deal and not completely overpay for said catcher for the one year he’ll be on the team.
Panama proved to be a stiffer test, but the U.S. jumped to an early lead and cruised to an 8-0 victory in their second game of the Pan Am Championships at La California Stadium, Monday morning. Grayson Ivey was the only U.S. player with multiple hits, going 2-3, and Alex Martinez and Matt Vogel both had two RBI. Vogel also started the game on the mound, striking out seven in three innings of work. The U.S. scored in each of the first three innings for a 6-0 lead. J.P. Crawford doubled to start the game for the second straight time. After he stole second, an errant pickoff attempt allowed him to score for a 1-0 U.S. lead after one. Ryan Kirby added an RBI single in the sixth and Dempsey Grover also had a run-scoring single in the seventh to round out the 14U squad's scoring.
http://web.usabaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091019&content_id=7495174&vkey=recap_usab
Mets Alumni:
According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Brewers have hired Rick Peterson to be their pitching coach next season.The Brewers were next to last in the National League last season in team ERA, spotting one of 5.37.The former Met pitching coach will be formally introduced to the Milwaukee media at a press conference later today.
2010 Draft:
When you have already been named the consensus #1 overall pick by the time you hit your 17th birthday your name is going to circulate. Not only is this a name to remember but a name to remember for the top 3 picks in this year's draft: C Bryce Harper. Harper has been featured on the front of Sports Illustrated as "The Chosen One", he has had a video segment on ESPN, and he has more internet interest than last year's phenom Stephen Strasburg. Harper has decided to skip his junior and senior year of high school by taking his GED and now will be attending the College of Southern Nevada. This makes him eligible for this year's draft. Harper has chosen Scott Boras as his advisor so it is an almost a foregone conclusion that negotiations will go right up to the deadline. Right now I have Harper going #1 overall to the Washington Nationals and this will more than likely not change all the way up to the draft.
Dusty Rhodes, Star Pinch-Hitter in ’54 Series, Dies at 82By BRUCE WEBER
Dusty Rhodes, whose pinch-hitting heroics led the New York Giants to win the 1954 World Series, a championship the Giants, who moved to San Francisco four years later, have yet to repeat, died Wednesday in Las Vegas. He was 82 and lived in Henderson, Nev.
The cause was heart failure, said his daughter Helane.
A fun-loving, hard-drinking country boy from Alabama, Rhodes spent seven seasons with the Giants, from 1952 to 1957 in New York and, after a hiatus, 1959 in San Francisco. He was popular with the fans and with his teammates, including his black teammates — Willie Mays and Monte Irvin remained his friends — a notable characteristic for a Southerner in baseball while the game was still in the early days of integration.
Rhodes was a left-handed hitter, confident, powerful and streaky — twice he hit three home runs in a game — but his outfield play was, to put a positive spin on it, indifferent, which frustrated the Giants’ irascible manager, Leo Durocher.
“I ain’t much of a fielder and I got a pretty lousy arm, but I sure love to whack at that ball,” Rhodes acknowledged in an interview with The New York World Telegram and Sun in 1954.
As a result, Rhodes was never a regular in the Giants’ lineup for a full season, and his career statistics were undistinguished — a .253 batting average with 54 home runs. But Durocher, a notorious player of managerial hunches, picked his spots to send Rhodes into the game, and in 1954, at least, Rhodes responded with such brilliance that he earned the inevitable nickname: the Colossus of Rhodes.
That year he hit .341 and smacked 15 homers in just 82 games during the regular season, following it with one of the most remarkable postseason performances in major league history.
Dusty Rhodes, whose pinch-hitting heroics led the New York Giants to win the 1954 World Series, a championship the Giants, who moved to San Francisco four years later, have yet to repeat, died Wednesday in Las Vegas. He was 82 and lived in Henderson, Nev.
The cause was heart failure, said his daughter Helane.
A fun-loving, hard-drinking country boy from Alabama, Rhodes spent seven seasons with the Giants, from 1952 to 1957 in New York and, after a hiatus, 1959 in San Francisco. He was popular with the fans and with his teammates, including his black teammates — Willie Mays and Monte Irvin remained his friends — a notable characteristic for a Southerner in baseball while the game was still in the early days of integration.
Rhodes was a left-handed hitter, confident, powerful and streaky — twice he hit three home runs in a game — but his outfield play was, to put a positive spin on it, indifferent, which frustrated the Giants’ irascible manager, Leo Durocher.
“I ain’t much of a fielder and I got a pretty lousy arm, but I sure love to whack at that ball,” Rhodes acknowledged in an interview with The New York World Telegram and Sun in 1954.
As a result, Rhodes was never a regular in the Giants’ lineup for a full season, and his career statistics were undistinguished — a .253 batting average with 54 home runs. But Durocher, a notorious player of managerial hunches, picked his spots to send Rhodes into the game, and in 1954, at least, Rhodes responded with such brilliance that he earned the inevitable nickname: the Colossus of Rhodes.
That year he hit .341 and smacked 15 homers in just 82 games during the regular season, following it with one of the most remarkable postseason performances in major league history.
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