grantpaulsen.com » 2008

MLB 2008 Draft: Top-Five’s

May 29th, 2008

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB

Their not booing, they’re “Bruce-ing”

May 27th, 2008

Midway through last summer I made a road trip to see Jay Bruce play. Bruce, the top player in the Cincinnati Reds’ farm-system and the best prospect in all of baseball, was a 20-year-old AAA center-fielder when I went to see him.

I had driven down to Richmond, Virginia to check out Bruce and his Louisville River Bats take on the Richmond Braves. Bruce made a nice running grab in the game, but I didn’t get to see as much of the five-tool player as I would have liked. Bruce, the 12th-overall pick in the 2005 draft, was thrown out early in the game while arguing a called third-strike. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB

Kershaw Debuts, Tillman Keeps Dealing

May 25th, 2008

I’m watching Clayton Kershaw’s big-league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals right now. Wow. He just struck out the side in his inaugural major league inning. Sandwiched between Kershaw’s three opening-inning k’s was a walk and a RBI double from Albert Pujols.

Kershaw wasn’t commanding his fastball very well in the first, having thrown 26 pitches and struggling to throw strikes during a five-pitch walk at some point. But it was easy to see why everybody loves this kid. He is filthy. Oh, and he throws in the upper-90’s as a left-hander, which is just unheard of. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB, Baltimore Orioles

Minors & Majors - May 24th

May 24th, 2008

Guets on today’s installment of Minors and Majors included …

Buster Posey: A Florida State catcher and a potential #1 draft pick
Matt Wieters: The top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league system
Jake Arrieta: One of Baltimore’s top farm hands, drafted last year from TCU
Jonathan Mayo: MLB & MILB.Com writer & wealth of knowledge to talk prospects & draft.

Here are a few of the quotes from today’s guests … Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General

Thursday at the Diamond

May 22nd, 2008

The Orioles lost a well-played game tonight. Brian Burres pitched 7.2 strong innings, yielding just a run while not walking any batters. But he didn’t get any run support and as a result didn’t figure into the decision. Robinson Cano delivered a two-out, game-winning hit with runners at first-and-second in a one-to-one game in the bottom of the 9th. Jim Johnson, who’s been terrific (having pitched to a 1.93 era) took the loss.

The play of the game took place a few hours before Cano’s game-winning knock, though. Nick Markakis made a leaping catch on the warning track in right-center field and then doubled up Johnny Damon at first-base. He threw a dart that short-hopped Kevin Millar about two feet from the first-base bag, which Millar picked nicely while staying on the bag. The pick was nice but it wasn’t what made the play worth remembering. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB, Baltimore Orioles

Potential Top Pick Named Conference POY

May 20th, 2008

Florida State catcher Buster Posey is a couple of weeks away from becoming a millionaire. But that doesn’t mean that he isn’t already money. Posey, who could very well be the first player chosen in the Major League Baseball Draft to be held on June, 5th in Orlando, Florida, was named the ACC Player of the Year on Monday.

Posey is considered the best catcher in college baseball, and that fact coulped with Tampa Bay’s lack of an elite catching prospect makes him a legitimate candidate to go #1 overall. The junior from Leesburg, Georgia, leads the ACC in 10 statistical categories right now. Batting average (.471), hits (96), runs scored (75), and runs batted in (68) are among them. Those digits are silly for anybody, but they are even more impressive considering that he is a catcher. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB

MLB Draft: Mock Top-10 with help

May 18th, 2008

Today on my baseball talk-show on XM Satellite Radio, Minors and Majors, I moderated a mock top-10 with a couple of brilliant baseball minds. Phil Stanton (of collegebaseballinsider.com) knows more about college prospects than Lebron James knows about the free-throw line. And Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus is a sage when it comes to both minor league prospects and the draft. Well really when it comes to anything about baseball in general. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB

NFL: Three and Out

May 16th, 2008

1. Arlen Spector should go away.

What is going to come out of another investigation into spy gate? We get it Mr. Spector, the Patriots cheated. They taped their opponents. They did it during week-one last season, and they did in during the tapes of the handful of games we saw this week. And they probably did it during another season’s worth of games. Nobody said that the Patriots were playing by the rules. It’s no coincidence that their opponents often have a hard time communcating with their quarterback from the booth, either. They do whatever they have to do to get an edge, and that is part of the reason why they have been the NFL’s best team for the past six-years. But they have already been reprimanded for cutting corners, and there is nothing else to learn about what they have done. Why not just let this die now? Bill Bellichick isn’t getting any less likeable (because that would be impossible), and nothing good will come out of an ivestigation. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, NFL, Washington Redskins

Battle of the Beltway

May 16th, 2008

The most storied rivals in the history of baseball will scrap again tonight at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. Okay, so that is a bit overstated, but the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles have now become one of baseball’s household “regional” rivalry matchups.

Tonight’s matchup between the last-place Nationals and the surprising Orioles is worth checking out. Shawn Hill, who has yet to figure into a decision this season, will toe the rubber for Washington. He’ll oppose Garrett Olson (2-0, 2.95), who has been Baltimore’s most pleasant surprise this season. Hill is 27 and Olson is 24, the elder is a righty and the younger is a lefty. Neither throws the ball through a wall, but each has been hitting their spots early on this season. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB, Baltimore Orioles

Orioles Magic

May 16th, 2008

Kevin Millar is at it again. No, he didn’t turn on another fastball or drive in any runs. He just did what he does best. Millar reminded us all of how much fun playing pro baseball can be. So what’s the latest installment of Millar being Millar? Well, check this out –> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YacN3Ek2B_8.

I should have seen this coming. After each of Baltimore’s first few wins at home this season, Millar would take control of the CD player in the locker room at Camden Yards. He’d blast “Orioles Magic” on a loop, seven or eight times in a row, and he would hop around the locker room singing to the song and getting some of his teammates to join him. Jeremy Guthrie, who was the Orioles’ Opening Day starter, generally chimed in on the fun by banging on the team’s dining table. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB, Baltimore Orioles

MLB 2008 Draft: Top-Five’s

May 29th, 2008

Their not booing, they’re “Bruce-ing”

May 27th, 2008

Kershaw Debuts, Tillman Keeps Dealing

May 25th, 2008

Minors & Majors - May 24th

May 24th, 2008

Thursday at the Diamond

May 22nd, 2008

Potential Top Pick Named Conference POY

May 20th, 2008

MLB Draft: Mock Top-10 with help

May 18th, 2008

NFL: Three and Out

May 16th, 2008

Battle of the Beltway

May 16th, 2008

Orioles Magic

May 16th, 2008

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