Mack’s Morning Report – 1-15 – 2001 Draft, 2014 Draft, Sickles on Mets, Baseball Games, A-Rod

USA Today

-Some of you have mentioned that you enjoy reading the morning report and you ‘sometime’ come back for another peek at the site later on in the day. I do want to remind you that there are other great writers you may be missing if you don’t visit at least twice a day.

Here’s what I’ll do… I’ll try to remember to tell you each morning in my report what original posts are coming up, and when.

I also suggest you come back to the site between 3-4pm EST to check what went up throughout the day.

-We continue to look at the draft years of 2000-2007 for the NL East teams. Specifically, we break out the players chosen in the top three rounds and an overall assessment of success (sic) in choosing players in the draft.

2001 –

Mets  -          

            #1       P Aaron Heilman   630-IP, 35-46, 4.40

            #1       3B David Wright   5,172-AB, .301, 222-HR

            #2       OF Alhaji Turay      career ended at the AA level

            #2       SS Corey Ragsdale               career ended at the AAA level

            #3       P Lenny DiNardo   257-IP, 10-18, 5.36 over six years

            Four of the 52 players drafted made it to the majors

            Three (Heilman, Wright, DiNardo) had any success at that level

Florida -      

 

            #2       P Garrett Berger    career ended at the rookie level

            #3       P Allen Baxter        career ended at the A+ level

            Two out of the 49 players drafted made it to the majors

            Two (Chris Resop, Jeff Fulchino) had any success at that level

Montreal -  

            #1       P Josh Karp              career ended at the AAA level

            #2       P Don Levinski        career ended at the A+ level

            #3       P Mike Hinckley     23-IP, 0-0, 1.93 over two years

            Four out of 50 players drafted made it to the majors

            None had any success at that level

Atlanta -     

            #1       P Macey McBride  103-IP, 6-2, 4.35

            #1       3B Josh Burrus       career ended at the AAA level

            #1       IF Richard Lewis    career ended at the AAA level

            #2       P J.P. Howell           25-24, 4.10, over eight seasons

            #2       3B Cole Barthel      career ended at the A level

            #3       OF Adam Stern      43-AB, .116

            Seven of the 53 players drafted made it to the majors

            Two (Howell, Kyle Davies) had any success at that level

Philadelphia –

            #1       P Gavin Floyd         1,151-IP, 70-70, 4.48

            Three out of 46 players drafted in 2001 made it to the majors

            Only one (Floyd) had any success at that level.

250 ballplayers were drafted in 2001 by the NL East teams

20 made it to the MLB level -  8%

Only eight had success at that level   -  3.2%

2B Chad Zurcher announced on Facebook that he is retiring from baseball. I had Zurcher as the 3^rd second baseman on Savannah this coming April, behind either Dilson Herrera/LJ Mazzilli (one goes to St. Lucie) and Yucary De La Cruz. We wish Zurcher well in whatever he chooses to do.

Sickles on Mets –

Thanks to trades, improved drafting, and the quietly efficient Latin American pitching program, the Mets have a huge amount of depth in C+/C prospects, especially on the mound. There are a lot of guys who have a chance to be number four/five starters or at least valid relief arms. In those terms this is one of the stronger farm systems in the National League: the raw material for a really nice pitching staff is here and there is talent at all levels. Given the attrition rate among pitching prospects, gathering as many pitching arms as possible is a worthy strategy. Everyone tries to do that, but the Mets have actually made it work. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2014/1/13/5303318/new-york-mets-top-20-prospects-for-2014

Mack – We just aren’t used to people like Sickles saying things like this (the underlined portion) about the Mets. The fact is we have turned out to be right. The potential 2015 rotation of Harvey, Wheeler, Syndergaard, and Montero could rank this team as one of the top rotations in baseball… as well as being one of the youngest.

Baseball games -

For me, personally, there are so many things beyond the outcome that make attending a baseball game exciting. There is nothing like sitting under the hot summer sun wearing your team’s favorite colors or feeling the heat coming off the bleachers as you roll your sleeves up while sitting under a cloudless sky or hearing the singing of the National Anthem, the sound of the ball snapping into the mitt, the sound of an organ and the songs that only make sense at a baseball game, the cheers from the crowd when your favorite player comes to the plate, the crack of the bat colliding with a 97 mph fastball or the smell of the grass and the stain it leaves on a player diving up the middle, the dust thrown up in the air as a player slides into second, the yell of an umpire on a strike-three call, the movement on a well-thrown breaking pitch, singing in unison to Take Me Out to the Ball Game, the taste of a perfectly cooked hot dog, the crunch of ballpark peanuts underneath your feet, the perfectly chalked baselines, the frat guy trying to start the wave, the fireworks, the newness of a scorecard before the story unfolds, the artwork of it after nine innings of scribble, the second-guessing with the random fan next to you, the smack of high fives after a game-winning home run and, most importantly to me, the feeling of being relaxed, brushing all cares aside for three hours as you enjoy the finest sport ever created, freeing your mind of all the turmoil and wickedness this world provides, and focusing on something so insignificant in the grand scheme of it all that you’re okay making it the most important thing in your life for however long the game may last. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/baseball-much-more-than-just-a-game/40858#WLxIrtKcv6lz0L0I.99

Marty Appel -

Ok, so I thought of this last night. It's September 29, 2014. Yankees and Red Sox have tied for first in AL East and need to have a one-game playoff to see who wins the division. But wait, it is game #163.....A-Rod has served his 162 game suspension, and although the decision says no post-season --- this ain't post-season. It is game 163 of regular season, and he shows up and insists he is eligible. And, well, he is. And, well, without joy, Girardi sends him out to pinch hit in the 11th inning, since he is out of players. Having swallowed a gummie just 4 hours and 9 minutes earlier, A-Rod is ready......John Sterling and Michael Kay are talking all about Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone.....and here's the pitch......