Baseball and Stuff – Austin Woods, Zack Greinke , Manny Machado, Rhiner Cruz

Baseball and Stuff – Austin Woods, Zack Greinke , Manny Machado, Rhiner Cruz

Austin Wood (#30 on the MWAH Top Prospect Rankings) looks like he’s going to be jumping up the prospect lists pretty soon.  On a cold opening night, his fastball was sitting 97-98 with a smooth and effortless delivery.  Contradicting what I’ve previously been told, his slider was a definite strikeout pitch.  He loses his release point often though, and when that happens he’s dangerously erratic.  His fastball tends to miss high more often than not.  Still, 5 IP 1 ER 1 BB and 10 K’s is nothing to sneeze at.  His development reminds me a bit of current Angel prospect Garrett Richards.  Both went to big time college programs (Oklahoma and USC), both were relievers in college that put up awful numbers.  Both are big-bodied pitchers with very good fastballs and both tend to miss up.  Wood’s fastball and slider are better than Richards but Richards has a very good curve and change.  There’s no doubt Wood has “front of the rotation” type of stuff. link  

Buster Olney on Zack Greinke:

"He's got to alter the perception that he can be a troublesome clubhouse presence, a reputation he earned in his years with the Royals. A lot of teammates there thought he was not invested in the rest of them. There are already some teams who won't consider Greinke because of the uneven nature of his exit from Kansas City."

Worst Game Score By A Prospect - We have a four-way tie for last with a game score of 42: Mets Double-A righty Zack Wheeler (3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 SO, 3 BB), Pirates Triple-A lefty Jeff Locke (4 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 4 SO, 0 BB), Diamondbacks high Class A righty Anthony Meo (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 SO, 5 BB) and Astros Double-A righty Ross Seaton (5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB). link  

Manny Machado Watch: 5-for-15 (.333) thus far with a homer, a double, one walk, and four strikeouts for Double-A Bowie. The BB/K/AB bears watching, especially given this aggressive posting: he didn't hit especially well in High-A last year, and the Orioles are showing exactly how highly they think of him by having him open the season in Double-A. link 

Rangers sign INF Ian Kinsler to 5-year, $75 million deal with option for 6th year:

Today in 1947: Brooklyn Dodgers GM Rickey announces purchase of Jackie Robinson's contract from Montreal Royals.

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp was named the National League Player of the Week for the first week of the season 

Rhiner Cruz, RHP, Astros -  Like Castillo, Cruz is another Rule 5 pick with a live arm. Unlike Castillo, Cruz is no newcomer to pitching. Houston plucked Cruz out of the Mets system, where Cruz had spent the past season pitching for Double-A Binghamton. The story on Cruz is a common one: he can throw serious heat, but his command and secondary offerings are lacking. Those who enjoyed Cruz’s major-league debut against the Rockies on Saturday night saw both sides of the coin. Throwing from a three-quarters arm angle, Cruz got a blazing fastball and slider past Michael Cuddyer. On an 0-2 count, Cruz threw a 98-mph fastball that went whizzing behind Cuddyer, who had the wherewithal to get out of the way. Cruz would strike Cuddyer out on another slider. Brad Mills experienced life with a Rule 5 pick last season, when he babied Aneury Rodriguez long enough to keep the righty in the system. This season, the front office is asking Mills to teach two Rule 5 picks (Cruz and shortstop Marwin Gonzalez) how to handle the majors, with the idea being that both can develop into serviceable players. Just hope that Cruz doesn’t maim someone first.  link

Baseball: Shoulder Injuries, Christopher Meloni, Rob Ellis, Zack Greinke, Roy Oswalt

The thrower’s shoulder must be lax enough to allow excessive external rotation but stable enough to prevent symptomatic humeral head subluxations, thus requiring a delicate balance between mobility and functional stability. We refer to this as the “thrower’s paradox.” This balance is frequently compromised and believed to lead to various types of injuries to the surrounding tissues. Frequently, injuries can be successfully treated with a well-structured and carefully implemented nonoperative rehabilitation program. The key to successful non-operative treatment is a thorough clinical examination and accurate diagnosis. Rehabilitation follows a structured, multiphase approach, with emphasis on controlling inflammation, restoring muscles’ balance, improving soft tissue flexibility, enhancing proprioception and neuromuscular control, and efficiently returning the athlete to competitive throwing. Athletes often exhibit numerous adaptive changes that develop from the repetitive microtraumatic stresses occurring during overhead throwing. Treatment should include the restoration of these adaptations. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2009;39(2):38-54 - http://blog.iqperformance.com/2012/02/shoulder-injuries-in-the-overhead-athlete/

Christopher Meloni is in negotiations to join Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman in Legendary Pictures' baseball drama "42."  Boseman stars as Jackie Robinson, while Ford will play Branch Rickey. Meloni will play Leo Durocher, the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Meloni is best known for playing Det. Elliot Stabler on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for more than a decade.

Rob Ellis  Ellis was the first position player to go directly from the draft to a major league roster. Perhaps not the wisest choice. The Brewers drafted Ellis in the 1971 draft, out of Michigan State University. He debuted with Milwaukee on June 18, 1971 and got a pinch-hit single in his first major league at-bat, but it was all downhill from there. After another 128 plate appearances, Ellis sported a .198 batting average and was sent to the minors for a few years. Ellis was back with the Brewers for 28 games in 1974 and 1975, batting .289 in that span. He ended his career with zero home runs. http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/2/2/2761586/straight-to-the-majors-players-who-skipped-the-minors-on-their

Greinke, the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner, has created a bit of a stir of late. It began during the winter meetings with a report that Greinke had parted ways with his agents and is currently going sans representation. That's a noteworthy development because Greinke is eligible for free agency in November, and if Brewers general manager Doug Melvin wants to reach out and start a dialogue, the person he needs to engage is … well … Zack Greinke. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7529650/for-now-zack-greinke-going-agent

Roy Oswalt (RHP): In 1997 & 1998, Oswalt posted a combined record of 6-9 with a 3.17 ERA in 20 starts with Auburn during his first and second professional seasons. Oswalt was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 23rd round of the 1996 MLB amateur draft out of Holmes Community College (Ridgeland, Mississippi). Oswalt has pitched in 339 career regular season MLB games over eleven seasons, as a member of the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies. Oswalt is a three-time All-Star (2005, 2006 & 2007). He is currently a free agent. http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/02/02/major-league-alumni-auburn-doubledays/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed