Fraba Baseball

Posts Tagged ‘media’

Neftali Feliz. It’s rare to find a pitcher who can throw upwards of one hundred miles per hour on a regular basis. Feliz is one of these. Any pitcher like this at the major league level is extremely dangerous.

Gordon Beckham. A true five-tooler in every sense of the world when it comes to baseball. From fielding, to hitting, to speed (which happens to be exceptional), Beckham has one of the brightest futures in major league baseball.

Justin Smoak. A wonderful balance of power and fielding. His power is rivaled by few, and Smoak should have a career filled with home runs, and possibly some HR titles. Remember this name.

Chris Tillman: Another pitcher with incredible speed. Many have drawn comparisons to Jake Peavy. HIs strikeout count is always high, and batters fear his presence.

Jason Heyward: If you saw the 2009 futures game during All-Star weekend, you may remember Heyward’s great batting practice session. This Atlanta Brave will make his mark in the majors soon enough, and should give a huge boost to an already promising young team.

Derek Holland. A scary fastball and a curveball with huge movement. He’s teammates with Neftali Feliz, giving the Texas Rangers one of the best pitching futures in baseball.

Austin Jackson: Another all-around player with everything you could ask for in a hitter and a fielder. This future Yankee will most definitely make his mark within a year or two.

Matt LaPorta: This left fielder and first basemen had a stint in Cleveland earlier this season, but remains in the minors for now. Until then, a power-hitting monster is making a big impact on the Indians’ farm club, and many predict this 24 year old to be one of the game’s biggest power hitters over the years to come.

James McDonald. This 24 year old Dodgers pitching prospect is drawing comparisons to some of the biggest names in the game. Expect to see him suiting up as a Dodger shortly.

James Dobbins loves the MLB in its present state, but always looks forward to the emergence of the game’s next big names. He consistently posts his thoughts at RootZoo’s sports talk forum, and looks for new sports trivia questions whenever possible.

If you’ve kept up with the news at all, you’ve probably seen a lot of coverage about Pete Rose and whether or not he belongs in Cooperstown. My thoughts about this issue will follow.

Rose was exiled from baseball after being caught gambling on games involving a team he managed about 20 years ago. While he violated a code of conduct, this has nothing to do with anything done while he was a professional baseball player.

All of his 4200+ hits came before this happened, and there’s no evidence (nor are there any accusations) that he gambled on baseball as a pro ball player. To exile him as they did was really taking things too far in my opinion.

This ban came about 20 years ago. At the time, there were no allegations of steroids or PEDs in baseball. A lot has changed since those days. Players like Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and even Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz (as recently revealed) were all caught testing positive for steroids. Rose’s achievements had nothing to do with this, nor is his gambling incident anywhere near as tainted as steroids are.

Now, If Bud Selig does lift the ban, it does not automatically get him a spot in the hall of fame. But, I believe that if Selig does, it is most likely that Rose will make it. But you can never use “Bud Selig” and “Sense” in the same sentence, but you never know.

And these are my thoughts about Pete Rose. Charlie Hustle deserves his place in Cooperstown along with the rest of the greats who probably did things considered unethical during their times (Babe Ruth, cough cough). He’s had just as much humility as anyone and is clearly sorry for his actions. It’s time to forgive him and remember him for his talent, not one mistake.

Jonathan Blanchard is an NBA hopeful, but has plenty to do before he can think about getting there. He is always happy to discuss basketball at his preferred NBA Basketball forum and is always hungry for sports trivia wherever there are questions.

Alex Rodriguez and Kate Hudson a new celeb couple?

2008 Topps Baseball Updates + Highlights Traded Series Complete Mint Hand Collated 330 Card Set. Loaded with Rookie Cards Including Kosuke Fukudome, Evan Longoria, Justin Masterson, Jay Bruce, Jed Lowrie, Max Scherzer and Others! A Great Selection of Stars Including Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Daisuke Matsuzaka, Papelbon, Ortiz, Ramirez and Many More! $49.99 This is the 2008 Topps Baseball "Updates + Highlights" Series complete mint hand collated 330 card set. According to Topps it will not be issued in factory set form this year. It includes 197 Veteran and Traded Players, 45 Rookie Cards, 10 Season Highlights, 60 All Star Players, 8 Home Run Derby Contestants and 10 Classic Combo cards. LOADED with "Rookie cards" with the new rookie logo on them inc...

2009 Topps Baseball Updates + Highlights Traded Series Complete Mint Hand Collated 330 Card Set. Loaded with Rookie Cards Including Gordon Beckham, Tommy Hanson, Chris Coghlan, Andrew McCutchen, Neftali Feliz, Matt Laporta and Others! A Great Selection of Stars Including All Star cards of Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, and Updated cards of Ken Griffey Jr.-Mariners, Matt Holiday-Cardinals, Mark Teixiera and C.C. Sabathia-Yankees and Many More! $49.95 2009 Topps Baseball Updates + Highlights Traded Series Complete Mint Hand Collated 330 Card Set. Loaded with Rookie Cards Including Gordon Beckham, Tommy Hanson, Chris Coghlan, Andrew McCutchen, Neftali Feliz, Matt Laporta and Others! A Great Selection of Stars Including All Star cards of Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, and Updated cards of Ken Griffey Jr.-Mariners, Matt...

2007 Topps Baseball Traded, Updates and Highlights Series Factory Sealed 330 Card Set. Loaded with Rookie Cards and Stars Including Joba Chamberlain, Hideki Okajima, Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, Tim Lincecum, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr., Daisuke Matsuzaka, Barry Bonds and Many More! $17.95 This is the 2007 Topps Baseball "Updates + Highlights" Series Factory Sealed 330 card set. It includes 185 Veteran and Traded Players, 57 Rookie Cards, 10 Season Highlights, 60 MLB All Stars, 8 Home Run Derby and 10 Classic Duo cards. LOADED with "Rookie cards" with the new rookie logo on them including Joba Chamberlain, Hideki Okajima, Hunter Pence, Ryan Braun, Cameron Maybin, Juston Upton, Tim L...