Franco is the mastermind behind Next Level Ballplayer, a website designed to help turn guys who play baseball into ballplayers who play the game the right way. During his four-year career as a scholarship player at Miami University (OH), they won the league division three times, the overall league championship once, and participated in the NCAA Regionals (and were knocked out by the eventual National Champion Texas Longhorns). He has been teammates with over 25 guys who have been selected in the MLB draft (three of whom have made their MLB debuts) and has played against numerous guys that are currently playing in the big leagues.

We are officially less than 24 hours away from one of the best weekdays of the year. The first two rounds of March Madness, the first round of the MLB playoffs, and MLB Opening Day. Are there any other weekdays throughout the year that offer multiple, energy filled games during the work/school day? If so, please remind me in the comments section. Onto my top 10 reasons opening day can’t get here soon enough…

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In conjunction with both the start of the 2011 MLB season and our one-year anniversary, The Golden Sombrero is proud to debut the Mark Reynolds Sombrero Tracker. Considering that he has new home with the Orioles, in the fiercely competitive A.L. East, we like the odds that Reynolds surpasses his league leading four golden sombreros from 2010. So be sure to check back with us — and with our friends at Off Base Percentage, who also cherish the always-impressive feat — as we chronicle another year of sombreros. And as for Mr. Reynolds, well, you can track his swing-and-miss prowess via our tracker, which is also affixed on our left sidebar.

Last Tuesday evening was the annual Denslow Cup draft.  Luckily I was back home in Farmington so that Griff and I could get together and drink some beers and eat some BBQ courtesy of my mom and buddy/Sombrero enthusiast, Benji.  The Cup’s draft day is one of my favorite days of the year, and this was absolutely no exception.  I was totally amped all day and could barely hold my hand still to click the mouse to select my first pick.  As usual, we played in a 7 X 7 league with R, RBI, BA, Slug %, OBP, SB, and HR as our offensive categories and W, SV, WHIP, ERA, K’s, K/BB, and IP as our pitching categories.  We have tried to incorporate stats we view as essential to Big League success such as K/BB and OBP in an effort to discourage profiting from players who don’t contribute proportionately to their actual teams.  Anyway, I wanted to present my team, the Milk Steak Knives (named after both the Cup’s founder, Robert Vincent Unsell, and Charlie Kelly’s favorite dish), to our readers and offer some justification for my picks.

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It is with deep regret that I bring to you the first golden sombrero of the 2011 MLB season, mostly because he’s my favorite player.  That’s right, Gordon Beckham, the face of the Chicago White Sox for years to come, fanned four times in four at-bats on Sunday afternoon.  Poor Gordie; he doesn’t deserve such humiliation.  And of all things, a Spring Training sombrero! It just breaks my heart.

Anyway, here’s a recap of how it happened:

1^st inning: Beckham is called out on strikes against Brewers’ starter Marco Estrada

2^nd inning: Beckham strikes out swinging against Estrada

5^th inning: Beckham strikes out swinging against Estrada

7^th inning: Beckham strikes out swinging against reliever Mike Difelice

As a team, the White Sox struck out six times in the game, four of which were Beckham’s.  I don’t think it’s far-fetched to argue that this may be the only time that Beckham wears the sombrero in his career.  Still, poor Gordie.

• After surviving another round of the cuts this past week, Baltimore Orioles’ left-hander Zach Britton will likely get one more Spring Training start before he is either sent to Triple-A or chosen as the O’s fifth starter.  The 22-year-old, our No. 25 prospect, has been ridiculous this spring, giving up only one earned run in 14 innings of work while walking four and fanning nine.  But just like with any high-profile prospect, the organization has a decision to make: have him begin the 2011 season in Triple-A and control his contract for an extra year, or immediately put him to work.  For everyone over at Birds Watcher it’s a no-brainer: keep this promising left-hander in the organization as long as possible.

• The Giants’ Brandon Belt is in the same boat as Britton – he is yet to be assigned to Triple-A and is being considered (perhaps even favored) for an Opening Day roster spot.  Compared to other prospects, Belt has received an inordinate amount of playing time this spring – kind of like a big league crash course – and has played well enough (.292 BA, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, and 13 RBI) to keep himself in mix.  Our friends at Splashing Pumpkins weigh in on the situation in a piece called, ‘The Brandon Belt Conundrum,’ and establish a set of criteria that, if met, would justify the first baseman’s spot on the Opening Day roster.

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