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Saturday July 19th, 2003

1:15am

My Appologies

I want to say I'm sorry, but there won't be any posts this weekend and probably not on Monday either. I'm going to Houston for the weekend and when I get back to College Station, I will start studying for my second Physics test which will be on Tuesday. I really need to do well on this test, b/c didn't do so well with the last one. So in theory, I'll be studying all Monday. Again, I'm sorry for those of you who this will affect greatly...Check out my links for your daily fix instead??....

Friday July 18th, 2003

1:15am

Steve's a Dad

I was wondering why my boy, Steve Stanley, was getting so little playing time recently (he played in 1 game out of the Rockhounds last 7). So, I emailed Mr. Randy Rosetta a member of the local media, The Midland Reporter-Telegram, and asked him if he had any idea why Steve was getting no love. Turns out he was getting more than I knew:

7/17/03 2:26pm
Mr. Rosetta,
I'm a big fan of Steve Stanley, and I was wondering if you knew why he's only played in 1 of the last 7 games? I live in College Station so I don't get much info except what I can dig up off the internet.

Thanks a lot,

Ryan Levy


7/17/03 5:34pm
Ryan,
I'm going to check on that tonight to make sure, but I think the main reason Steve hasn't played is because he wife gave birth to their first child a little over a wee ago and the club is letting him adjust to fatherhood. If you're a father, and I am, you know what that's like.

Randy


7/17/03 10:32pm
Mr. Rosetta,
Wow, that's great news!!! Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it...

Ryan


7/17/03 12:17pm
Ryan,
Steve was back in the lineup tonight and went 2-for-3.

Randy Rosetta

Thankfully, I don't know what that's like...but I did raise a puppy, so I know it's got to be worse than that (which would pretty much suck). I want to thank Mr. Rosetta for helping me out, and going above and beyond the call of duty to keep me up to speed. And Congratulations to Steve and his wife for their first child. I wish them the best and hope they sleep well...

Junior, I've Still Got Faith

Poor Ken Griffey Jr. He has once again been struck hard by the injury bug and is once again out for the remainder of the season. He's missed 33 games already this year and now he's out for the final however many are left. That brings his up-to-date total to 140 games missed since he came to Cinci. It's a good thing that the Reds haven't traded Jose Guillen yet. Does this seem to be part of what I like to call the "Curse of the Mariners"? (Really, this has only affected Jr. and not Randy or A-Rod, who have actually become even better since their departures). Here are Griffey's stats in a before and after view since his trade:

BEFORE (1989-1999)

Team	Seasons	Games	BA	AB	R	RBI	HR	SB	OBP	Slug	OPS
Seattle	11	1535	.299	5,832	1,063	1,152	398	167	.380	.569	.949

AFTER (2000-2003)

Team	Seasons	Games	BA	AB	R	RBI	HR	SB	OBP	Slug	OPS
Cincinnati	4	378	.271	1,244	208	232	83	10	.375*	.525*	.900*

*not including this season (just '00-'02), I didn't know how to put this
years #s in. This year they are: .371, .564, .935 in 163 ABs
I still think that Junior is a sure-bet Hall-Of-Famer, but I'm afraid that lots of people will remember these last few injury plagued seasons and hold them against his terrific first 11 years. I mean, he was THE best player from 1991ish-1999. I remember when Frank Thomas passed him on Beckett's "Hot List" for the first time, it was big, big news. They were it during the early to mid-90s until Thomas "fell off" from his normal production.

I didn't really care to much for Junior for quite a long time, especially after some of the media tried to make him out to be a bad guy. I bought into it. I've seen him play at Enron Field a few times, and sure, he walks out to CF and he literally walks to first after four balls, but I did see him come over to the seats down the left field line after an inning and give his sunglasses to a little kid who was wearing a Reds jersey with that 'ole #30 on the back. I know that if Junior can get a full season in, he'll show all the critics that he's still a very special player.

Other Things Worthy of Noting

This Saturday afternoon get ready for a pitching match up for the ages...Mark Prior vs. Dontrelle Willis!! As you may know, I think Prior is going to be one of the game's greats by the time he's through with this game....and this kid Willis, well he's just fun to watch. Oh yeah, both their ERAs are below 2.00....

Former 'Stro's SS, Julio Lugo, was acquitted of beating his wife, after she "admitted" she exaggerated the situation...Way to go Julio...I'm still glad you're a Devil Ray and not an Astro...

Thursday July 17th, 2003

1:26am

Ncaa Football 2004

Yeah, it came out yesterday. For some strange reason, I thought it was coming out in August, but nope. This is the only game that I own on the PS2 (this series of games, i guess). I mastered 2002, and skipped buying 2003 b/c I got '02 really late and I wanted to get my money's worth. I've only played one game, so I'm not quite used to it yet, but I'm sure I'll be fine by the end of the weekend. The one thing that really bothers me about it is that on the box it says "NCAA Traditions Come Alive", but when ever I score a touchdown aTm has CHEERLEADERS....GIRL CHEERLEADERS celebrating. We all remember when there was a movement to have a cheerleading squad here at aTm. Even though the girls said it would be for competition cheerleading only, an overwhelming amount of former students let the school administration know that their $$ would be going elsewhere, instead of to building new buildings on campus. Come on EA Sports...get in the game*
*(for those of you who are video game illiterate, "Get in the Game" is EA Sport’s slogan...haha)

From Pat

My great roommate, Pat, has emailed me some of his thoughts on some things and I'd like to share a couple of them with you, the viewing audience. I have edited these for public viewing, but I made sure you understood his tones...

This email was titled "'Screw' Steinbrenner"

Ryan,
Check this out. I looked at everyone’s all-star bonuses this morning (Zito does get one) and I came across something. Almost every player receives some sort of bonus whether it be 15 G's or 125 G's. EXCEPT:
Mora
Blalock
MacDougal
Guardado
Carter
SORIANO
MATSUI
POSADA
GIAMBI-UNKNOWN
CLEMENS-UNKNOWN

WOW! out of 10 guys 3 Yankees don't get 'squat' and two other are unknown. What 'on earth' does that mean? What a cheap 'guy'. He spends an arm and a leg on a Cuban exile who hasn't pitched in the Majors, but he won’t give Soriano a bonus. Soriano's already only making a fraction of what Matsui and Contraras are making. Is it just me or is there something wrong with this?

Also I ran across someone’s picks for the All-STAT Team: (First guy starts)
American
C: Varitek-Posada
1B: Delgado-Giambi
2B: Boone-Soriano
3B: Blalock-Koskie
SS: Nomar-A-Rod
OF: Ramirez, Mora, Nixon, Wells, Anderson, Bradley, Huff, Young
DH: Martinez-Thomas

National:
C: Lopez, Rodriguez
1B: Helton, Klesko
2B: Kent, Vidro
3B: Lowell, Rolen
SS: Rentaria, A. Gonzalez (Marlins)
OF: Pujols, Bonds, Edmonds, Wilson, Jenkins, Gonzalez, Walker, Giles,
DH: Sheffield, Boone

Thanks Pat...I totally agree with you on the Steinbrenner thing. I can't believe he doesn't give out bonuses for All-Stars. Also, thanks for the All-Stat team. I think it's interesting to see those guys compared to the starting line-ups for the All-Star team...Gee, I don't see Matsui on there, why is that?

Here's some more stuff that Pat brought to my attention...

Entitled: "America's Pastime my 'Butt'"

Ben from Brussels, Belgium: Will baseball think about expanding into Europe?

Well, I don't know about expanding, but we really do want to internationalize our sport. We are hoping to go back to Japan to open up. It was unfortunately cancelled this year, and frankly we hope to be playing in Europe as early as next year, if not, certainly the year after. But we do hope to bring Major League Baseball to Europe within the next year or two.

I'm not sure where he found that chat, but it sounds like something he got off MLB.com. If it's true...IT'S MORE STUPID THAN EARNING WORLD SERIES HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE FROM THE ALL-STAR GAME!!! Bud, we're not the NBA. Or the NHL. And did you not see how badly NFL Europe has done? The reason NHL does well in Europe, is because hockey is one of their sports, it's not one of ours (which is probably why the NHL is having so much money problems). The reason the NBA is benefiting from Europe is because the players over there are much more fundamentally sound than our kids coming up playing "street ball". Baseball is different. The last time I was in Scotland (my Mom is from there, that's why I've been more than once...Hey Mom...just giving your people a shout out), most of the people didn't even know what baseball was. Why would they go to games? Also, how on earth will we be able to fly back and forth during the already rigorous 162-game schedule? Oh, I bet you'll next want to shorten the season so this can work out for you.

Armando Benitez

I just read that Armando went to the Yankees. That's fine with me. Let George spend more money, on crappy overpaid guys. He's going to be really mad when he sees him blow his first save...and his second...and his third...

Wednesday July 16th, 2003

12:39am

All-Star Game

Man, that was a heck of a game. It was exciting, and I'm definitely glad I watched it. It seemed that the AL came to play, and that's what they did. I'm also very pleased with the way the managers both used their benches. I liked that Matsui was the first starter to come out for the AL, and that neither manager used the "non-deserving" players (i.e. Mike Williams, Benitez, Lance Carter, and Dimitri Young). The game was played well and I'm giving the credit for that to the managers and the players. The only complaint I have is that I didn't see Dontrelle Willis, but honestly, I'm still waaay impressed with the managing. If Bud Selig considers this a success, then that's fine, but I still don't think that the World Series Home Field Advantage should be at stake. Pat and I wrote down things we didn't like or things that caught our attention during the game and here are some (probably more things we didn't like):

• Surprisingly, Fox announcers, from the time the Pregame intro came on until the post game show was over, used the phrase "This time it counts" only 11 times....I was expecting 30-40 times (which is approximately how many times Pat and I used it while we yelled at players on the TV...we kind of get into the games)
• Fan voting for MVP on Sprint PCS Phone---Stupid
• Posada sending his kid out when they announced his name in the starting lineup--for the second year in a row--not funny...for the second year in a row
• Dusty shoulda taken the entire 2002 Giants coaching staff, not his 2003 Cubs coaching staff (this is coming from a Cubs fan)
• How hard can A-rod play with a microphone clipped to the front of his jersey?
• Sprint Virtual Manager has to go
• Cool it w/ the stupid instant replays
• A note to Major League Baseball----QUIT SELLING OUT----There were plugs during the actual game, not just commercials, for the upcoming movies Seabiscuit, S.W.A.T., Bad Boyz II...... and the worst ever intro to the game where they interpreted The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen into The Major League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...Could that have been any more cheesy????

More Thoughts on the HR Derby

I was watching "Pardon the Interruption" today and the guy filling in for Mike Wilbon said that it was ok for all of those thousands of kids in the outfield during HR Derby to be there and that they should be able to rob home runs because they were "having fun". Note to the fill-in guy...the winner of the HR Derby gets a fat wad of cash, not to mention he wins a HOUSE for some normal person. Keep all the kid's feet on the ground (and get rid of about 1/2 of them, I was worried someone would get hurt).

A-Rod: A Class Act

I was reading this week's "Sports Weekly" and there was an article where former "retired" All-Stars picked their All-Stars and Rickey Henderson (no longer retired) had this to say:

"Rickey Henderson, one of the greatest players of all time, has to go with the man generally regarded as the greatest player of his time: Alex Rodriguez. "I think he's the classiest guy," Henderson says. "He goes about playing the game the right way. He plays with intensity in his heart and has a desire to win each and every day."
---Sports Weekly July 9-16, 2003 pg. 6

I can't agree more with Rickey. He makes the most money in the history of professional athletics, and yet he still has a tremendous respect for the game and the history of the game. He also always says the right thing every time the mike is in front of him, which is pretty dog-on often. Just today I found a picture of A-Rod helping out the Boys and Girls Club in Chicago:

Shortstop Alex Rodriguez of the Texas Rangers unloads new computers from a delivery truck with the help of some Chicago area children, a total of 10 new computers are being donated by Rodriguez to a Boys and Girls Club on July 15, 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. Rodriguez has pledged to donate a Hewlett Packard (HP) computer to the Boys and Girls Clubs every time he records an RBI (Run Batted In) this season, along with each computer Microsoft will provide $1,000 in software to the Boys and Girls Club as well. (Photo by Tacos Katopodis/Getty Images)

I'd also like to point out here that every single Rangers game I've been to (about 12-15), I've seen him take about 5-10 minutes to sign autographs. Oh yeah, he's also one of the best players to step foot onto a diamond in my lifetime. If you're going to have your kid look up to someone, let it be someone like this guy.

Please note that the photographer of the photo above has privilege of being the first guy named Taco I've ever heard of.

New Pat Green CD

The new Pat Green cd, Wave on Wave, came out today. I haven't listened to it in its entirety yet, but what I have heard sounds pretty good. I was going to order it online, but my computer crashed as I was putting it into my "Shopping Cart" and I was about to leave to go over to my gal's place, so I said, "I'll order it when I get home". Well, I'm driving down the road and on the radio the DJ says that if you go to Hastings (a local Video/CD store), that you can pick it up for $10.99, plus you get a free Pat t-shirt. I thought to myself, "Hey, I almost spent $13.99+S/H online, today must be my lucky day." So on the way home I swung by Hastings and got me the cd and the shirt. Not bad, huh?

Update

Today, Olsen got a bit crazy while I was at class...check out the "Things Dog Has Eaten Lately" section for details...Also, please note the new icon for the "Official Texas A&M Baseball" site. A special thanks to Sean, my brother, for that. It only took him since June 19th (the day he agreed to make it for me) to make it. I'm just giving you a hard time man, thanks...no really, thanks...

Tuesday July 15th, 2003

All-Star Hoopla & Rickey

2:07am

I know that right now every show that has a sports section is going on and on about the All-Star game and this and that. Last night's home run derby was actually really exciting, and I'd like to throw props out to Garrett Anderson for his nail-biting victory. I think Garrett is the most under-rated player in all the land and I'll always root for him. The thing is I don't think the All-Star game is living up to its standards. It's not truly an ALL STAR game anymore. There is too much crap going on behind the scenes with all the politics and money making schemes. I vote on my All-Star ballot for the best statistical player at each position. Sure, I fudge for a couple of positions where I throw in one of my favorite players even if he's not THE best player (i.e. Jim Thome or Nomar Garciaparra), but only if he's having an All-Star type season. Case-in-point...A couple years ago, when Nomar was hurt, I didn't vote for him...When Biggio was finally overtaken by Jeff Kent as the best NL 2Bman, I voted for Kent...& I didn't vote for Adam Dunn this year b/c his batting average is lower than the price of an extra-value meal. It should be the best 9 players of this season on the field...period.

Now that Bud Selig (aka. Lucifer...Father of Omar Quintanilla) has this whole "This year it counts" theme going, he should let things be fair. I don't care if the entire Braves team makes the game...if they're the best players. Sure, the fans have the power of the starting spots...that should stay the same...but come on, let the managers have free reign of the other roster spots. Deserving players didn't get taken b/c other players had to be there or specific positions had to be filled. This whole thing with Zito and Clemens...shouldn't happen! If you're trying to put the best players on the field, then put the best and not make this a tear-jerker fare-well tour. Pedro and Hudson have far, far superior numbers than Clemens, but were overlooked b/c Selig realized that if Roger wasn't on the team in his last year, it would make him look bad. It wouldn't if you didn't control the roster and let the manager make his own decisions. Nolan Ryan didn't make it in his final season. Yes, Cal Ripken did, but he was voted in and that's different. If you want, go ahead and send Roger, but do like you did with Tony Gwynn and let him just enjoy the festivities and not play. Also, the 32nd man voting...Kenny Lofton over Brian Giles??? Give us all candidates that are legit, not just manager's former players. Basically, if you want the ALL STAR game to mean something, cut out all the politics and greediness

The Home Run Derby...this is another topic.

The participants of this event should be selected separately from the game by the fans on the All-Star ballot. Even if they don't make the real All-Star team, let the fans see their sluggers. Like I said earlier, I love Garrett Anderson, but honestly he's not a "slugger". Same thing with Luis Gonzalez in '01, what was he doing there? It needs to be the guys who fans go early to BP to watch, the guys who can just mash the ball. Glenallen Hill was one of the most amazing guys to watch in BP. He and Sammy would just match mammoth shot after mammoth shot, and the fans at the ballpark early loved it. That's what I want out of HR Derby, not the guys with 20-something HRs who make the All-Star team and are invited by default b/c Bonds or Jr. Griffey don't want to play.

I need to also correct some confusion I may have caused about 9 seconds ago when I spoke of Luis Gonzalez. I am very upset at myself for not including Louie on my favorite player list two weeks ago. I have corrected my mistake and have my Updated Favorite Player list (includes S.Koufax also) under "Favorite Baseball Players" in my Bio. I also want to make sure that no one thinks I'm upset at Gonzo for winning the HR Derby in '01...That moment is in my Top-10 Favorite Major League Moments, but in all honesty, Luis shouldn't have been in the HR Derby. I'm glad he was, but by my new rules I've outlined above--No Gonzo in HR Derby.

I want to congratulate the Dodgers for being the first team to wise up and sign Rickey Henderson. The guy is a legend...yes he can help your ball club. I hope you win the NL West now, even though I still don't like Fox or whoever the heck owns you.

Monday July 14th, 2003

What Could Have Been

12:46am

I was thinking about what a great year Jamie Moyer is having, and I got to thinking, "He's been consistently good for a while, I wonder what his numbers look like over the years?" So I looked them up, and they are good. Then I thought back to something Peter Gammons said about 2 weeks ago on Baseball Tonight. He mentioned the winning percentages of Moyer, Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez as being in the top whatever since 1996 (when Boston had Clemens and Moyer). Man, what could their staff be like if they kept Roger and Jamie? Well here's what it could have looked like:

Player	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total	Win%age
Moyer	13-3	17-5	15-9	14-8	13-10	20-6	13-8	105-44	.682
Clemens	10-13	21-7	20-6	14-10	13-8	20-3	13-6	111-53	.677
Pedro	13-10	17-8	19-7	23-4	18-6	7-3	20-4	117-32	.785
Totals	36-26	55-20	54-22	51-22	44-24	47-12	46-18	333-129	.721

That's without a #4 or #5 starter. To make this a little more realistic, let’s toss in Tim Wakefield (Boston Red Sox 1995-Present):

Player	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total	Win%age
Moyer	13-3	17-5	15-9	14-8	13-10	20-6	13-8	105-44	.682
Clemens	10-13	21-7	20-6	14-10	13-8	20-3	13-6	111-53	.677
Pedro	13-10	17-8	19-7	23-4	18-6	7-3	20-4	117-32	.785
Wakefield	14-13	12-15	17-8	6-11	6-10	9-12	11-5	75-74	.503
Totals	50-41	67-35	71-30	57-33	50-34	56-24	57-23	408-203	.668

To make this even more realistic, I'll toss in a 7-7 starter for each year as the #5 starter:

Player	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	Total	Win%age
Moyer	13-3	17-5	15-9	14-8	13-10	20-6	13-8	105-44	.682
Clemens	10-13	21-7	20-6	14-10	13-8	20-3	13-6	111-53	.677
Pedro	13-10	17-8	19-7	23-4	18-6	7-3	20-4	117-32	.785
Wakefield	14-13	12-15	17-8	6-11	6-10	9-12	11-5	75-74	.503
"#5 Starter"	7-7	7-7	7-7	7-7	7-7	7-7	7-7	7-7	.500
Totals	57-48	74-42	78-37	67-40	54-41	63-31	64-30	464-259	.642

Their winning% average (.642) from their starting pitching alone, would place them in 1st place in the American League every single year, except 1995 (Cleveland-.694), 1998 (NY-.704), and 2000 (Seattle-.716). Talk about Curse of the Bambino...

I'm On the Internet

I meant to point out on Friday, that Aaron from Aaron's Baseball Blog answered his Q&A Post, and two of the questions (really one 2-part Q) were from me. Here's the excerpt with his answers:

Best sporting event you've ever attended in person?

This one is easy. While I was a student, my high school (Highland Park) won the Minnesota high school basketball tournament, the final 2 games of which were held at Williams Arena, where the U of M Gophers play. I attended both games and the title game was, by far, the hardest I have ever rooted for a team in my entire life. The fact that every single person sitting near me was rooting just as hard for the same team was amazingly exciting. Plus, it was a hell of a game and we won! After the game, everyone went back to the high school for a little pep-rally that lasted well into the night, during which all the players (including current Gopher star Mo Hargrow ) were treated like the Beatles. It was really just an awesome experience and the most "a part" of a team I have ever felt.

Worst, most gut wrenching, silent the entire 4 hour drive home, sporting event you've ever been to?

Well, I didn't go to this one, but last year's ALCS loss to the Angels was pretty bad. The Angels just kept getting hits and Adam Kennedy kept hitting like Babe Ruth . It was really quite sickening to watch.If I am only counting games I was at, I would have to say the Timberwolves ' first-round loss to the Rockets several years back. It was the first year Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury were together and it was the first season the Wolves ever made the playoffs. The excitement in the Target Center was awesome and the game was tight the whole way, but Hakeem, Barkley and Mario Elie (yes, Mario Elie) were too tough. Of course, if I knew Marbury would be leaving a couple years later, maybe it wouldn't have been so heartbreaking. Or maybe it would have been even more heartbreaking, who knows?

I'm sure that you're all dying to know my answers to my own questions, so here we go:

Oddly enough, neither of my answers have baseball roots, although I've never been to an NFL game (I'd love to go see the Falcons this year in Houston...hint, hint) and only about 8 Houston Rockets games.

Best:
The best game I ever went to was the 2002 Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma Football game, where we upset the #1 team in the nation. It was just nuts, there were 87,000 crazy people screaming, hugging, and jumping around.

Worst:
The worst game was also an Aggie football game, but it was in the 2000 season. We had a 19 game home unbeaten streak (that's like 4 entire seasons worth of home games) and we lost to a crummy University of Colorado squad. It was about 39 degrees (in Tx that's damn cold), raining and of course we lost. The 75,000+ fans just silently walked out Kyle Field as if it were a funeral. I had a buddy who was a 5th year senior and it was the first time he'd ever witnessed a loss at Kyle Field. I guess we just take our college football a bit seriously down here. It gets in your blood and takes over, because I didn't even like football 'til I got here.

I'd like to hear everyone's answer to my question(s), so be my guest to send'em in...maybe you too can "be on the internet"...

On a More Serious Note

I found out last week that one of aTm's football draft picks, Terrence Kiel, was shot in Houston. The article said he was not seriously hurt, but we all wish you the best TK and hope you get well soon so you can get out and crack some skulls in the NFL.

Updates

I've updated my bio, so check that out...Also, I think I'm going to turn "Random Thoughts" into "Random Thoughts & Some Quotes"...Ya'll try to have a good Monday...peace

Sunday July 13th, 2003

Hudson Revisited...Again

1:38am

On Friday, Tim Hudson finally got win number 7 for the year. I've been ranting and raving about how he's been getting the shaft from his offense, but he finally just took it upon himself and only allowed 3 hits and no runs in a complete game. Actually, I ran across a statistic that I should have looked at earlier...Run Support/Start. Hudson (5.16 R/S) is actually getting support equal to teammate Mark Mulder (5.16 R/S) and better support than the third component of the "Big Three", Barry Zito (4.99 R/S). Mulder and Zito both made the All-Star team with not as good (although still excellent) numbers:

Player	Starts	Wins	Losses	CG	ERA	IP	ER	R	K/BB
Hudson	19	7	3	0	2.85	136.0	43	50	82/37
Mulder	19	12	6	7	3.03	139.2	47	47	84/30
Zito	19	8	6	2	3.49	126.1	49	51	76/48

Their numbers are incredibly similar, which really surprises me. The only thing that jumps out at me is the complete games, which Huddy doesn't seem to have, although he does have the most innings pitched. Huddy also has the largest difference between R to ER (7; Mulder, 0; Zito, 2). He also has the fewest losses of the 3, which leads to my previous discovery of his insane amounts of no decisions. I really don't know what to conclude from all this, except that Tim has just had some bad luck.

Well, from TAMABINPO to you, Tim, "Good Luck".

Josh Barfield Part II

3:26am

As I mentioned yesterday, I used to play ball with Josh in high school. He went to private school (John Cooper, I think) until high school, when he enrolled at Westfield HS. I knew who he was long before that through Little League and a friend who grew up across the street from his family. Josh's dad, Jesse, played ball in the bigs for quite awhile with the Blue Jays and the Yankees. He won the HR Crown in '86 and was known for an incredible throwing arm. I've met Mr. Barfield many many times at our games, at the little league parks and at my friend's b-day party every year (also met Mike Jackson...my roommate’s least favorite player on earth...he and Mr. Barfield are really close friends). Anyways, Josh was the only freshman on JV that year and he was our starting SS and played pretty well. The next year, the Barfields moved to the Klien school district so Josh could play at Klien HS. You may be familiar with this school b/c that's where David Murphy (Boston's #1 pick this year), Chris George (KC Royals SP) and some other guys went. They continued to play deep into the playoffs for the next few, until Josh graduated.

After his Sr. year (.411 BA, 13 Hrs, 54 RBI in 112 AB), he was offered a full-ride to Baylor (also where D-Murph went), but he was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 4th round of the Draft (2001) and signed. He joined the Padres Rookie-level team, Idaho Falls and played 66 games there (.311-4HR-53Rbi-12SB). In 2002, Josh was promoted to Fort Wayne (Low-A) and he did really well, earning himself a promotion to Lake Elsinore (High-A). He struggled a bit with the Storm, but had an overall good year. This year he got to go to Spring Training with the Padres and Homered in a game vs. the Rangers (why not, everyone else does). Right now, he's with Lake Elsinore again, and he's tearing the league up (.347-11-82-10). Not bad for a kid who won't be 21 'til December. Today at 4:30 CT, he'll be playing in the Future's Game on Espn2, so check that out. I can't wait for Josh to break in to the league and start playing everyday with Khalil Greene (Padres #1 pick in '02)...they'll be quite a two-some up the middle in about 3 years.

Year	Team	League	Age	BA	AB	R	H	RBI	HR
2001	Idaho Falls	Pioneer	18	.310	277	51	86	53	4
2002	Fort Wayne	Midwest	19	.306	536	73	164	57	8
2002	Lake Elsinore	Calif.	19	.087	23	2	2	4	0
2003*	Lake Elsinore	Calif.	20	.347	363	63	126	82	11

*through 7/12/03

Year	Team	League	Age	BB/K	SB/Att.	OBP	Slug	OPS
2001	Idaho Falls	Pioneer	18	16/64	12/16	-	.437	-
2002	Fort Wayne	Midwest	19	26/105	26/34	.340	.403	.743
2002	Lake Elsinore	Calif.	19	1/4	0/0	.120	.087	.207
2003*	Lake Elsinore	Calif.	20	29/80	10/13	.391	.543	.934

*through 7/12/03

Tim Moss Signs

1:49pm

I just read that another nemisis of ours, t.u. 2bman Tim Moss, signed with the Phillies. One less longhorn to worry about...

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