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9/27/11

Baseball: Alexander Massengill, Grant Green, Kila Ka’aihue, Rudy J. Ledesma, Joe Nathan


The University of Cincinnati baseball team has adopted 10-year-old cancer survivor Alexander Massengill as an honorary teammate through The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, head coach Brian Cleary announced Wednesday. “We’re glad to have Alex as a part of the team,” said Cleary. “I expect his involvement will be a great benefit to our players.” Alex, an avid baseball fan, was diagnosed with a medublastoma brain tumor in April 2010. After eight months of procedures and treatments at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Alex has been free of cancer since December. He recently returned back to school and was healthy enough to rejoin his little-league baseball team over the summer. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/09/24/cincinnati-welcomes-alex-massengill-to-bearcat-family

Grant Green is the best hope that A’s have in the minors right now to be an offensive minded SS. His power was on display last season but has been lacking in 2011 until recently. He’s certainly behind last years pace by a great distance which must be disappointing for both he and the A’s. But he still is showing the skill set to make him an average defender and hitter inside of the next year. But a 20/20 SS is probably not who Green will ever be. The search for the SS of the future will continue. ETA: 2012 - http://baseballinstinct.com/2011/09/25/prospect-instinct-grant-green-of-oakland-athletics

Kila Ka’aihue – Despite being given a full-time job in Kansas City and some very optimistic third-party projections heading into the season, the Kila Monster not only saw himself lose his job with the MLB team, but also his employment all-together.  He’s spent time in AAA since 2008 and has averaged just short of 29 HR per 162 games at that level in his professional career, so by now no one doubts the power that the Hawai’i native possesses.  Now that he’s been DFAed, Kila can essentially be acquired at no cost by any team of the league and, at age 27, he’s still got a few seasons before his ‘old man’ skills will likely begin to decline.  At the very least, Ka’aihue can provide some organizational depth for teams like the Giants (as long as Belt can still play LF or remains the reasonless red-headed step-child of the organization), Dodgers, Mariners or Orioles, if not start for those teams.  Worst case, as can be said for most of those who appear on this list, he could probably make some sort of Dan Johnson-like resurgence in Japan. - http://www.replacementlevelbaseball.com/2011/09/who-will-be-the-next-mark-trumbo

An 18-year-old man who died when he crashed a pickup into an Riverside (91) Freeway overpass pillar was identified today as a California Baptist University baseball player from Anaheim. Rudy J. Ledesma Jr. was believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel before his eastbound Dodge Dakota pickup crashed into a guardrail, overturned and hit a pillar supporting the Buchanan Street overpass about 3:05 a.m. Saturday, according to The Orange County Register.  The young man, who had played baseball at Cypress High School, had just moved to Riverside this month to attend Cal Baptist. - http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/58890

Joe Nathan: He may not want to leave Minnesota, but whether or not the Twins bring him back remains to be seen. Nathan had Tommy John surgery in 2010 and returned to the mound with Minnesota in June. He's made forty-five appearances since then, posting pretty good rates of 8.86 K/9 and 2.81 BB/9. His fastball is a bit slower than it was pre-injury, which might partially explain why Nathan has given up home runs many more often than he did in the past. He's turning 37 in November, which makes his odds of injury higher but potential salary lower for next season. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/9/22/2441932/the-search-for-the-mets-2012-closer-recently-injured-pitchers

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