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9/22/11

Baseball: Tyler Pastornicky, Louis Spadaccini, Jurickson Profar, Nick Altrock, Manny Ramirez


Tyler Pastornicky SS ATL (21) – Acquired by the Atlanta Braves with shortstop Alex Gonzalez from the Toronto Blue Jays for shortstop Yunel Escobar and pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes on July 14, 2010, young Tyler earned a promotion to Triple A Gwinnet by hitting .299 with 106 hits, 13 doubles, 20 steals and 6 homeruns while walking 24 times and striking out only 34. He makes very good hard contact and, at the same time, maintains excellent control of the strike zone.  This tells us that Pastornicky has the ability to eventually keep that batting average around .300 in the bigs.  All he’ll need is the opportunity.  Unfortunately for him, Pastornicky has plenty of competition in the Braves system at shortstop. Matt Lipka and Andrelton Simmons are also trying to claim the title of Braves shortstop of the future. I look for Simmons, and his gold glove potential, to win the spot in the future, Lipka to be moved to the outfield and Pastornicky to either slide over to 2b or be used as trade bait. But for 2012, it looks like Pastornicky is going to be the man with the inside edge for the job. So he’s going to get first crack at cementing his future in Atlanta. - http://baseballinstinct.com/2011/09/19/touchem-all-southern-league-top-prospects-hitters

37-year-old Louis Spadaccini has been the coach of the Sts. Neumann-Goretti High School baseball team for the last five years.  Spadaccini is charged with a list of crimes including endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault.  Police say on Sunday afternoon, Spadaccini arranged to meet a 14-year-old player from one of his teams.  He picked the child up near the boy's home and took him to the Holiday Inn on Packard Avenue.  Police say once there he gave the boy alcohol and a single prescription pill. - http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=8361579

Jurickson Profar (Rangers) - TCF: The 18-year-old native of Curacao might be the most confident player in the minor leagues, and that’s not meant to be read as an insult. The difference between cocky and confident is a narrative crafted by performance, and Profar’s performance so far this season more than justifies his own belief in his skills. At the plate, Profar shows the approach of a seasoned major leaguer, which puts him in favorable hitting situation and allows for above-average on-base ability. His hit tool projects to be at least plus, with some scouts throwing 65s and 70s on its future. He is balanced from both sides of the plate, with a smooth swing and some loft, but his power potential isn’t as exceptional as the hit tool; some scouts and team personnel see plus power developing down-the-line, while others see 15-20 home run potential at his peak, giving only average power. - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=14844 
Fifty years ago Wednesday, the last baseball game was played in a drafty old heap on Florida Avenue NW called Griffith Stadium. On Sept. 21, 1961, the Senators fell to the Twins, which must have made for some uncomfortable irony, seeing as how the Twins had been the Senators a year before. Only 1,498 people bothered to show up to watch Washington lose, 6-3. Nick Altrock was one of them. Altrock was 85, and he was a sort of human bookend when it came to Griffith Stadium. He claimed to also have been at the very first game there, though whether he meant a game in the 1890s, when baseball was first played at the site, or in 1911, when the stadium was rebuilt after a fire, I’m not sure. - http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?node=admin/registration/register&destination=login&nextstep=gather&application=reg30-local&applicationURL=http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/nick-altrock-a-life-rich-in-the-stuff-of-baseball-lore/2011/09/20/gIQAv1f0iK_story.html  
Former World Series MVP Manny Ramirez, who retired in April after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, hopes to play for a winter league team in his Caribbean homeland. Winston Llenas, president of the Cibao Eagles, a winter league team in the northern Dominican Republic for whom Ramirez played in 1993-94, told The Associated Press during a Tuesday phone interview that Ramirez is expected to start training with his former team next week. Llenas said the 39-year-old Ramirez told team officials he wants to "play before the Dominican fans and to perhaps motivate other Major League stars to also play in the country." - http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6998020/manny-ramirez-play-team-dominican-republic-official-says

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