Williams

As the recruiting cycle commences earlier and earlier many prospects are already committing to colleges before the middle of their junior years.

I have updated my listing for early 2011 verbals at:

http://jimstefani.wordpress.com/class-of-2011-verbals-2/

Just a few observations on the early commitments:

Stanford is off to a strong start.  They do a great job of identifying prospects early and already have four early verbals.  Quarterback Evan Crower and WR Ty Montgomery are among the best at their respective positions in the nation.   For Stanford, the one caveat with respect to such early verbals is that there is a recent history of  de-commitments at Stanford.  I suspect a part of this is due to the coaching staff accepting verbals from prospects who may not necessarily qualify academically at Stanford.  In the class of 2010 such prospects as Tai-ler Jones, Blake Barker, Harris Williams, Tony Jefferson, Will Hampton, Eddie Plantaric, Chris Badger, Courtney Avery and Louis Young were at one time committed to Stanford and are now headed elsewhere.  That is an unheard of nine de-commitments and we are only in early December.  My recommendation to prospects considering Stanford is to hold off on committing  until after you have been assured acceptance to the university.  If not, those prospects may be cutting off scholarship opportunities at other schools where they could easily qualify.

Florida State, which is entering a new coaching era, kicked that era off with a big bang, landing blue-chip juniors Trey Pettis and Treasure Coast teammates Lamarcus Brutus and Keeling Smith.  They followed that up over the weekend by landing stud Class of 2010 LB Jeff Luc, a teammate of Brutus and Smith.

Florida is also off to a fine start in reloading for the post-Tim Tebow era.  DeAnte Sanders is one of the top young backs in the nation and is an ideal fit for Urban Meyer’s offense.  A.C. Leonard is a big WR who could grow into the next Aaron Hernandez.

Not all of the top Florida talent remains in-state.  Nebraska landed a gem in OL prospect Tyler Moore, arguably one of the top two or three OT prospects in the nation.  Of course it didn’t hurt the Cornhuskers’ case that his father, Brian Moore, played tight end for Nebraska and his cousin is former Nebraska defensive end Jay Moore.  In-state get Ryne Reeves is another talented OL prospect.

LSU has one of the top staffs in the nation in identifying early talent and they have already locked up two of the very best Louisiana in-staters in La’Ell Collins (OL) and Jeremy Hill (RB).  Both are national-caliber prospects.  It is a tremendous year for talent in Louisiana and look for LSU to really benefit.

The SEC is off to a great start and Tennessee is doing as good a job as anybody.  They have raided talent-rich Louisiana for blue-chip DT Anthony Johnson, neighboring Georgia for star LB A.J. Johnson and  North Carolina for OL prospect Eric MacLain.

Alabama is in the midst of a great season and is also off to a great start in Class of 2011 recruiting.  LB/RB Brent Calloway and WR Marvin Shinn could well be the top two prospects in the state and they are already committed to Alabama.  Nick Saban really has this program on a roll.

In the Big Ten, Ohio State is off to a great start landing two big-time DE prospects in Steve Miller and Kenny Hayes.  It is a strong year not just for DEs, but overall in Ohio, so look for the Buckeyes to continue to win their share of battles against the likes of Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State  and Notre Dame.

Along with Florida State, Clemson is off to a great early start in the ACC.   The Tigers have four early verbals, the best of whom being Daytona Beach Mainland teammates  Cortez Davis (DB) and Marlin Lane (RB).  They are both big-time players with big-time offers.

While we anxiously await the Texas Longhorns’ annual post-signing day barrage of early verbals, archrival Oklahoma has taken a more aggressive approach in offering and landing juniors.  The Sooners have three very talented early verbals in QB Kendal Thompson (son of former Oklahoma QB Charles Thompson), and Texas WRs Johnny Haynes and Kameel Jackson.

The Patriots dropped their first road game of the season to Tulane 76-71 Saturday, committing 20 turnovers and despite Cam Long scoring 24 points. Good to see that perhaps the leg cramp issue is behind him, at least for now. Luke Hancock was only other Patriot to reach double figures with 14. Mason had some impressive scoring runs in this game but defensively had way too many break downs. They kept it close but couldn't get the stops when they needed it. Long and Hancock were leaned on towards the end but maybe too much. Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson were noticeably absent for end of the 2nd half and I am not sure why. The Patriots front court defense was less than impressive as Tulane's big men got way too many easy scores. Overall there was just sloppiness everywhere even with guys like Andre Cornelius who in the second half got a steal seemed about a mile ahead of everyone but fumbled the scoring opportunity. You can't blame the atmosphere, anyone watching the stream I posted would say that most of these guys played in front of bigger crowds in high school. Perhaps Larranaga was trying to see what he has in freshmen Wright, Vaughns, and Williams but this game was never out of hand and their miscues were costly. I think a lot of the freshmen saw in this one the meaning of home court advantage by how many calls they didn't get. The fouls and the turnovers devastated the team.

Below is a chart from StatSheet.com and it highlights the "Four Factors to Winning at Basketball". If you have never heard of this statistical breakdown before read more about what they mean here. The key stat that stands out is the rate at which each team went to the free-throw line.

Thanksgiving leftovers: good.

Andruw Jones leftovers: bad.

Listen, I love the job Kenny Williams does on the South Side. He’s one of the top general managers in all of baseball. He’s a mover, a shaker and a risk taker…all to be appreciated for.

But adding Andruw Jones to the Sox lineup? Seriously, Kenny. C’mon!

The guy’s been an overweight, out of shape dope since signing a mega $36.2 two-year deal with the Dodgers in ‘07.

He played so poorly in L.A. (.158 average) the Dodgers cut him after just 75 games.

Jones rebounded with the Rangers, but managed similar results…a batting average tittering around .200 with occasional hints of power.

Kenny Williams came calling anyway offering a one-year, $500,000 deal.

I get the move; it’s a low risk/high reward move for the Sox. You take a washed up Jones, put him in hitter friendly US Cellular Field and hope the 32-year-old has enough left in the tank to hit 30-plus home runs and drive in 80-plus.

Maybe Jones bounces back to his All Star ways, maybe not.

Whatever the case, I know Kenny can do better. Besides, with the Sox seemingly wanting to get younger why add a dried out, overweight Jones?

You can’t dislike the deal for the money, Jones was going for bargain-barrel cheap, but there’s no doubt this wasn’t money well spent.

Now that the Buckeyes have another Michigan win in their pocket and a Rose Bowl berth to look forward to, the focus now will turn towards recruiting for Buckeye Nation.

Things on the recruiting front have been pretty quiet over the last several months, with the last commitment coming in early September. Most of the biggest names are still out there though, and the staff will look to close this class out in style.

While that means some excitement awaits in December and January, you better believe there are some anxious Buckeye fans out there. Ever since the recruiting meltdown at the end of the 2007 class, fans have been increasingly focused on closing each class out.

The staff has responded to that debacle with two stellar classes in '08 and '09, and they will look to continue that momentum to finish this class out.

Let's take an in depth look at some of the names still out there, and who the experts are saying the Buckeyes have the best chances at.

Offense

On the offensive side of things, the Buckeyes have realistically brought in most of the position players they will in 2010. With Taylor Graham at quarterback, Roderick Smith at running back, and the big trio at wideout (Brown, Louis, and Williams), the staff has stockpiled talent on top of positions that were already deep.

They didn't bring in a big name quarterback or any tight ends, both of which will be high priorities in 2011.

Outside of an unforeseen late offer, which Tressel has become famous for, the main focus the rest of the way will be the offensive line. The Buckeyes have already locked up tackle Andrew Norwell, but still have some huge names on the board they are pursuing.

The staff will always look to bring two to three offensive linemen in every class no matter, because as we have learned this season, you can never have enough of them.

The names to watch: 

OL Seantrel Henderson (6-foot-8, 310 pounds): If you haven't heard Henderson's name, you have been under a rock for the last six months. He is ranked the top offensive lineman by almost all the recruiting services, and his list of offers backs that up.

The Buckeyes are obviously going to be in a dogfight until the end to try to pick up Henderson. While Oklahoma, Florida, USC, Notre Dame, Minnesota, and Miami (FL) are all listed as possibilities for his services, Bill Kurelic and others think it could very well come down to the Ohio State, Notre Dame, and USC.

OL Matt James (6-8, 280 pounds): The recruitment of James has been very quiet, mostly because he shut things down during his football season. Now things will start to heat up as James starts to take his visits.

Count on him exhausting his potential visits before even thinking of making a decision. At this point, it appears as if things will come down to Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Cincinnati.

Obviously what ends up happening with both Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly could have a huge factor in James making his decision. I personally don't have a great feeling about him becoming a Buckeye at this point, and I think Kelly heading to Notre Dame would solidify his decision for the the Irish. 

Other names with outside chances: OL Chaz Green and OL Brandon Linder .

Overall, outside of the offensive line, don't plan on seeing anyone commit to the Buckeyes on the offensive side of the ball.

The bulk of the remaining commitments should come on the defensive side of the ball, where the Buckeyes are in the hunt for lots of guys on the defensive line and in the secondary.

We will take a look in depth look at them in Part Two.

 

Harold Baines on Baseball Hall of Fame ballot next month.

Harold Baines missed by only 134 hits of reaching 3000 hits. The only players with more hits than Baines that are not in the Hall of Fame are Craig Biggio, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds and Pete Rose.

Baseball-reference.com lists his .289 lifetime batting average as 389th in history. He is 54th in home runs with 384. He is 29th in runs batted in with 1628.  Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas and Sammy Sosa are the only retired players not in the Hall of Fame with more runs batted in than Baines.

Lack of Speed, Low OBP

A major minus for Baines is his lack of speed with 34 stolen bases in 22 seasons and was also caught stealing 34 times. Another stat that will hurt him is his .356 on base percentage which is 520th alltime on the list.

He hit very well in the postseason with a .324 average in 102 postseason at bats with five homers and 16 RBI’s. He is not known for his fielding either. One co-worker at the newspaper had driven to Illinois to see the White Sox and he said Baines was a butcher in the outfield.

Two Innings on Defense in Last Nine Seasons

From 1993 to 2001 he spent a total of two innings in the field after becoming a DH so that tells me he was not too good of a fielder.

He led the AL in slugging in 1984 with a .541 percentage. The only time he finished first was when he was oldest player in the AL in 2001.

Stats Compare With Four Hall of Famers

Baseball-reference.com compares his stats with four Hall of Famers, Tony Perez, Al Kaline, Billy Williams and Jim Rice.

Personally I would vote for Baines if I had voting privileges mainly because of his hits, home runs and runs batted in but I can see why a voter that focused on him being a two tool player would not vote for him.

I think Baines is one of the good people in baseball but as much as I would like to see him voted into the Hall of Fame I will be surprised if he gets more than the 5.9 percent of votes he received last year.

 

 

 

When I think of baseball players who served their country during World War II and the Korean War the first player I think of is Ted Williams.

He missed the entire 1943, 1944 and 1945 seasons during World War II. 1942 was his last season before becoming a soldier and he hit 36 homers and drove in 137 runs.

When he returned for the 1946 season he hit 38 homers and drove in 123 runs. It is safe to say that he would have hit at least 100 homers and driven in 375 more runs if he had played those three seasons.

He never missed a full season after World War II ended and even though he served in Korea  he didn’t miss an entire season during that conflict but only played a total of 43 games in 1952 and 1953.

Two Major Leaguers Died in World War II

 

 

Elmer Gedeon: Gedeon was the son of former major leaguer Joe Gedeon who played in seven major league seasons making his major league debut in 1913.

Elmer only had 17 major league plate appearances in 1939 with the Washington Senators.

Gedeon was on his 13th bombing mission when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over France and lost his life when his plane was hit and the cockpit filled with flame on April 20, 1944. He had celebrated his birthday only five days before dying.

Harry O’Neill: O’Neill only played the Philadelphia Phillies in one game in 1939 but was a wartime hero who died in action during the fighting on Iwo Jima in 1945.

One Major Leaguer Died In Korean War

Robert Neighbors: Neighbors only made 11 plate appearances in seven games for the St.Louis Browns in 1939.

He died at the age of 34 during the Korean War when the plane he was piloting was hit and he and his crew never returned and were listed as missing in action and their bodies were never recovered after the war.

All Three Are Heroes Today

Elmer Gedeon, Harry O’Neill and Robert Neighbors saw very little major league action but they were heroes during the wars they fought in and are still heroes today for paying the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

126 minor leaguers were killed during World War II which seems like a huge number compared to the two major leaguers killed but there were hundreds of minor league teams at the time and thousands and thousands of players explaining the huge discrepancy since there were only 16 major league teams at the time with a total of 400 players.

We salute all of these players who served their country. Their statistics may have suffered for those those who were fortunate enough to return to the baseball diamond but their service to their country will always be appreciated by fans like me who realize the security of our country is more important than baseball will ever be.

Thanks to the administrators of the Baseball In Wartime who are honoring those baseball players who laid down their bats and gloves to serve their country.

The site has an article and photos of players who participated in the Battle of the Bulge including Warren Spahn, Ralph Houk and Hoyt Wilhelm.

http://www.baseballinwartime.com/index.htm

Salisbury University – The men’s squad will begin their season this weekend by participating in the Pride of Maryland Basketball Tournament. They will open competition by facing Goucher College on Friday, November 20th. The women’s squad will open their season as well this weekend with an opening matchup against Pace College on the 20th. They will be participating in the Jackie Ammons Memorial Tournament.

Purnell Watch – Oliver Purnell and the Clemson Tigers are 2-0 to start the 2009-10 season. The Tigers defeated Presbyterian University 84-41 on November 13 and defeated Liberty Unversity to day by a score of 79-39. Purnell is a native of Berlin, MD and led Stephen Decatur High Schoool to a 1970 state championship.

It has been two years since Barry “Balco” Bonds was indicted for four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice.

A trial that was supposed to begin last February was postponed indefinitely by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston before jury selection was underway and now nine months later there is no timetable for when the trial will take place.

 

Key Evidence Disallowed

When Greg Anderson the former trainer of Bonds told Judge Illston he would not testify in the trial it prompted the judge to disallow the admittance of some key evidence against Bonds including positive drug tests and doping calendars that Anderson could have verified to the veracity of that evidence.

Anderson has already proved that he will be loyal to Bonds even if it means more prison time since he has served over 15 months already solely to prevent himself from having to testify against Bonds.

It is intriguing to try to understand Anderson’s loyalty toward Bonds. Has Bonds offered to award Anderson financially for his loyalty?

 

Anderson’s Loyalty To Bonds

If he has already or plans to reward Anderson in the future Bonds would be subject himself to felony charges if found out. If Bonds is paying off Anderson it would have to be by cash money payments with no paper trail left behind.

Time will tell if Bonds ever goes to trial since two years after the original indictment we are no closer to a trial than we were in October of 2007.

Bonds will probably never play on a major league baseball diamond again but at the same time he may never enter a federal prison the way Judge Illston is conducting his perjury trial which may or may not actually happen.

It would not surprise me to see this trial delayed for years to come and perhaps never take place.

 

Cartoon-like Features

The question is not so much if Bonds took steroids because the evidence was there for baseball fans to see every time he took the field with his cartoon like features.

We may never hear the testimony that could seal his fate and reveal him to be the cheater he was while Hank Aaron played by the rules and set the alltime home record only to see it broken by a cheater.

An interesting sidenote  is that Troy Ellerman who leaked the testimony of Bonds, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi before the grand jury has spent more time in prison than any other figure connected with the BALCO laboratory. Meanwhile Sheffield and Giambi continue to play baseball and Bonds could have played if not for no team wanting to hire a cheater.

Nathaniel Vinton of the I-Team blog wrote this about Ellerman:

After a lengthy investigation during which reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams were nearly sent to jail rather than reveal their sources, Ellerman admitted to leaking the testimony. He was forced to resign from the California bar, and served 16 months in prison – longer than any other figure in the BALCO case.

So Bonds walks free while the wheels of justice turn agonizingly slowly leaving baseball fans wondering if Bonds will ever have to face the perjury charges.