The Chicago White Sox are set to retire Frank Thomas’ #35 on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, IL.

March 13, 2000

On August 16^th, Pittsburgh Pirates GM Neil Huntington announced that they had agreed to terms with their 2^nd round draft pick(52^nd overall) of 2010, RHP Stetson Allie.  However, due to the hype surrounding their 1^st round pick Jameson Taillon, Allie has not received the appropriate exposure for a prep whose fastball can reach triple digits.  Ranked by Baseball America as the 8^th best prospect headed into the 2010 First Year Player Draft, Allie possesses the size and strength that makes scouts drool.  At 6’4,” 225 lbs, he already has the build of a power pitcher- now it’s just a matter of whether he will best serve the Pirates organization as a starter or reliever.

As a senior at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, OH, Allie posted video game like numbers, going 9-1 with 1.29 ERA and 134 strikeouts in just 60 innings.  Even more impressive was the fact that he lead his team to a Division I State Championship on June 6^th, and was the game’s winning pitcher with a line of 6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB and 13 strikeouts.  On that day Allie put on a show for those in attendance, lighting up the stadium’s radar gun with a fastball that averaged 93-96 mph and touched as high as 101.  For the skeptics out there who might not believe that a prep pitcher hit triple digits, here is a video of Allie’s outing from the championship game:

(more…)

On Thursday evening, the Washington Nationals held a press conference to show off introduce their 1^st overall draft pick of 2010, Bryce Harper.  Nearly a week and half ago, the Nationals and Harper came to terms on a 5-year, $9.9 million contract- not a bad payday for a 17 year-old.  At the press conference, the young Harper donned a Washington Nationals cap and jersey for the first time, choosing #34 as a unique homage to his favorite baseball player, Mickey Mantle.  Why 34 you ask?  3+4=7.

Absent from the press conference was the 4lbs. of eye black on Harper’s face, however in it’s place was 6lbs. of hair gel used to sculpt a stylish mohawk.  It was a crime that they forced him to put on a Nationals’ cap over such a finely crafted ‘do, however I can sympathize with the general fear of being impaled by those stalagmites on Harper’s head.

When asked about the mohawk Harper chuckled before stating, ”My sister is a beautician, so she tries different things on me. The ladies like it.”

It is only a matter of time until Bryce learns that while the chicks may like his mohawk, they dig the long ball even more.

(more…)

In Tuesday’s 16 inning contest between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, Ryan Howard joined an elite club that I’m sure he would prefer not be a part of.  Howard managed to go 0-7 with 5 strikeouts- The Platinum Sombrero– before he was ejected for passionately disagreeing with 3rd base umpire Scott Barry over the check swing that ultimately notched his 5th strikeout, in the bottom of the 14th.

As if Howard’s Tuesday night performance wasn’t concerning in itself, in his last two games he is 0-11, with 8 strikeouts.  If anything, perhaps this explains why Howard had such a short fuse by his final at-bat; he knew that he was in the midst of an epic, strikeout streak and probably assumed Barry was out to get him.  Let’s look at each of Howard’s 7 at-bats from Tuesday to better understand how he became the latest to wear the Platinum Sombrero.

(more…)

As if the Chicago White Sox weren’t already having issues with their bullpen, there are rumors that All-Star reliever Matt Thornton may be headed to DL with discomfort in his left forearm.  Thornton, who hasn’t pitched since last Tuesday in Minnesota, had recently been called upon, along with right-handed set-up man J.J. Putz, to close games for the struggling White Sox.  The White Sox regular closer Bobby Jenks is still not considered to be 100% after the recurring back spasms that nearly landed him on the DL earlier this month.  As a result of Jenks’ lingering back issues and overall inability to record crucial outs(4.50 ERA, 0.1 WAR), manager Ozzie Guillen has been painstakingly exploring the teams’ other options at closer.  Perhaps it is time that Guillen, Kenny Williams and the rest of the White Sox organization consider a more radical option, 2010 1^st round draft pick, Chris Sale.

(more…)