Write this name down - Stephen Strasburg. You will certainly see or hear it again very soon. He will most certainly be the #1 pick in the 2009 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals, and some speculate he could be plugged into the starting rotation IMMEDIATELY if they so choose.
Jayson Nix of the White Sox who played on the Olympic team with him had this to say about that possibility.
"He's a mature kid," Nix said. "It's a possibility. I can see that happening. It's a huge jump. The way he's put together and with his ability, I can see that happening."
He's been clocked consistently above 100 as a starting pitcher, and has topped out at 103. He is 10-0 (11 games) this season with 147K's in 78.1 innings, which is just ridiculous at 16.94 K's/9 in. His K/BB ratio is a sick 9.8 and his WHIP (Walks & Hits/IP) is 0.80. He also posted a 23 K game, which the highlight below depicts. Full Stats here
I also heard Buster Olney talking on the radio a ways back about this kid. He said that he believed that he could be plugged into the Yankees rotation ahead of A.J. Burnett right now. Major Leaguers will catch up to the gas more so than the college players he's up against now, but what will keep them off balance is that nasty hook he throws. Watch the video again and tell me if you think guys are going to be able to touch that very often when they're gearing up for 100+ MPH heat.
I went to the record books to see how he measures up there too, and I have to say its pretty impressive.
Feel like you've been on a roller coaster ride already this season? Has your team surprised you, disappointed you, done a little bit of both? While it is natural to feel a range of emotions when it comes to the game of baseball, especially in April, I am going to give you some reasons to just sit back, relax and enjoy each game.
Leading up to the MLB season we all eagerly awaited the projections and the predictions, hoping that our team would get off to a hot start. Now April comes to a close, and many are doing all they can to not hit the panic button, while others are basking in early success. But be careful in how much you invest so early.
Let's take a look at April 30th 2008.
[caption id="attachment_1916" align="alignright" width="240" caption="CC's start to 2008 showed no signs of how he would finish"][/caption]
Nobody got out of the gate faster than the Arizona Diamondbacks. On April 30th they were a league best 20-8 outscoring their opponents by 56 runs. They would go on to finish the season 82-80 with just a +14 run differential.
The Dodgers were Manny-less and just one game over .500 at 14-13. They would finish just six games over .500 but would win a playoff series against arguably the NL's best team, the Cubs.
Tampa Bay was just 15-12 showing no real signs of the season to come. They would finish atop the NL East at 97-65, and go on to a World Series appearance.
Philadelphia was just 15-13. They would finish the season 22 games over .500 and go on to win the World Series.
On the flip side the Baltimore Orioles started off at 16-12 but would win just 68 games the entire season, finishing last in the NL East.
The A's were five games above .500 and one game out of first place. They finished the season 75-86.
For individual players, hot and cold starts can also be deceiving.
Derrek Lee was atop the MLB Home Run leader boards with 8 in April. He would hit just 12 more all season. Ryan Howard had just 5 home runs at the same point but would go on to lead the league with 48.
Rafael Furcal was on fire to start 2008 batting .367 in 109 at bats. He would only play one more month before back surgery ended his season in July.
CC Sabathia was 1-4 with a 7.46 ERA in April of 2008, but we all know how he finished. Cheing-Ming Wang already had five of his eight 2008 wins, Roy Halladay was 1-4 but would finish a 20-game winner.
The list goes on and on. April is just one month of a very long season. Teams will get hot and teams will fall off. If your team has you worried at this point you're in for a long summer.
Jonah Keri from Sports Illustrated writes,
"At this time last year the Orioles and A's led their divisions, and the Diamondbacks were on pace to win 118 games. CC Sabathia was projected to go 6-24 with a 7.88 ERA. The Phillies were just a run-of-the-mill third-place team, offering few hints of the World Series-winning juggernaut they would later become...As unsatisfying as it is to say it, sometimes stuff just happens."
So don't panic Rays fans when you see 8-14 or Cubs fans when you see 10-10. Try to balance your emotions in New York, on both sides of town. In Pittsburgh and Cincinnati enjoy the early season success, and do the same in Toronto and Seattle.
Tomorrow is a new month and the whole thing could turn upside down in 30 days. I'll let Frank "The Tank" take it home:
I came across an article in the April 6th, 2009 issue of ESPN the magazine, that I thought was very well thought through and intriguing. Players like Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn have found themselves settling for sub par (by their standard) one-year contracts after striking out in the free agent market this off season. Most everyone blames the economy for these woes, but Eric Neel presents an alternative to that theory - defense. He believes that defense is becoming the hot new statistic that is playing a role into the valuation of players, and this has come to the forefront with the recent success of the Rays. It's a wonder it has taken this long for teams to catch on to this philosophy, but baseball has always been a statistics driven sport and defense statistics were always lacking. What I appreciate is that he differentiates between fielding % and range, because there truly is a difference. It will be interesting to see in a better economy if the trend holds true.
Check it out here. Let us know your thoughts.
If you followed the draft over the weekend, you saw the Green Bay Packers immediately bolster their struggling defense with B.J. Raji. You saw the Lions use the number one overall pick to select what they hope will be a franchise quarterback for years to come. You saw the Vikings select Percy Harvin, who comes to the NFL with a list of questionable actions but unquestionable speed. You also saw the Bears make their first pick of the weekend on Sunday, selecting defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert.
So, unless you know all there is to know about these NFL prospects as they head into Green Bay and Chicago respectively, let's search the interweb to see what people are saying about their drafts.
Let's start with Kevin Seifert of ESPN.
"In a rare marriage of need and talent level, Green Bay managed to select the best defensive lineman in the draft when it took Boston College nose tackle B.J. Raji with the No. 9 overall pick."
"The Vikings might have drafted the NFL's 2009 rookie of the year, or they could have the league's latest embarrassment." - Seifert on Percy Harvin
"Angelo addressed his defensive line with those choices -- selecting San Jose State defensive end Jarron Gilbert and Texas defensive end Henry Melton, respectively. Will Gilbert and Melton prove a better grab than anyone the Bears might have selected at No. 49? We'll file that one away for a later."
Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal - "The addition of Raji and Matthews gives Capers two players who can serve immediate roles, quite possibly as starters. It came at the cost of passing up on a possibly dominating receiver and dealing away two picks in the top 83, yet Thompson felt comfortable taking a chance."
David Haugh, Chicago Tribune - "The selection of so much raw talent reflects the faith the front office has in the improved coaching staff. Without its nurturing, this athletic group of rookies will flounder. With a little direction, a few will flourish."
Mike Spofford, Packers.com - "With the major issues facing the team being the transition to a 3-4 defense and some uncertainty both immediately and long-term at the offensive tackle spot, the Packers directly addressed those with four of their first five selections."
Larry Mayer, Bears.com - "On an eventful and productive second day of the draft, general manager Jerry Angelo and his crew selected nine promising young players in Rounds 3-7 Sunday. The group generally consists of excellent athletes with special traits who enjoyed productive college careers."
John Clayton, ESPN - "Their picks were consistent and fit needs. Defensive ends Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton have run the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds and will work with defensive line coach Rod Marinelli on the Bears' pass rush. Safety D.J. Moore had received a higher grade than his third-round selection. The Bears added wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias, who was rated in the round he was selected. Most of the Cowboys' picks were rated two or three rounds lower than their selections."
Todd McShay, ESPN - "It's hard to pinpoint a weakness in this draft. Raji is a perfect fit at NT as the Packers transition to a 3-4 defense, and OLB Clay Matthews gives them a player with experience in a hybrid 3-4/4-3 scheme. OT T.J. Lang is one of the most underrated offensive linemen in this year's class and could emerge as yet another midround O-line starter for Green Bay."
Todd McShay, ESPN - "The Bears' biggest need was finding weapons for new QB Jay Cutler, and they failed to accomplish that goal. Iglesias is, at best, a possession No. 3 receiver and Johnny Knox will probably max out as a receiver in sub packages who would contribute on special teams. On the positive side, the Bears hit homers on DT Jarron Gilbert and Moore."
Mel Kiper, ESPN - Green Bay Packers: GRADE: A
"I love what this team did to solidify its shaky defense in the first two picks alone, with the selection of two excellent players in defensive tackle B.J. Raji and outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Tackle T.J. Lang was a good pickup for the offensive line, while Quinn Johnson could be a bruising lead fullback in the league. Sixth-round pick Brandon Underwood could make this team and give the Packers depth as a backup."
Mel Kiper, ESPN - Chicago Bears: GRADE: B
"I think Jarron Gilbert is one of the steals of the draft. Wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias was a good pick, as were cornerback D.J. Moore and wide receiver Johnny Knox. Seventh-round pick Derek Kinder could turn out to be quite a sleeper if he's able to return to his strong level of play before his injury a couple of years ago."
Back in February, we at i94 sports did a survey of the mock drafts out there to try and get a feel for who they might pick on draft day. The landscape has changed significantly for the Bears since then, due to a certain acquisition. You may have heard of him - his name is Jay Cutler (Superfans collectively rejoice). Long story short, Bears are awesome now but no longer have a 1st round pick.
The Packers, however, do have pick #9 in the first round. They have a lot of work to do coming off a down year and switching to a 3-4 defense. Let's see how they're projecting out now:
The Packers draft board still is flooded with DE and DT, which make sense since they'll have some new 3-4 positions to fill on the defensive side of the ball. Interestingly enough, only 2 sites have stayed with their original prediction for the Packers. Malcolm Jenkins and Everette Brown aren't even in the discussion anymore, and there is question as to whether B.J. Raji will be around long enough for the Green & Gold's taking. The only thing I do know for sure is whomever is chosen by the Packers, Cutler was a better pick. HAHA!
The Bears have the 49th overall pick in the 2nd round, and David Haugh has some opinions on what the Bears should do. I generally agree with him, and this assessment is no exception.
Certainly, these are predictions sure to go wrong...except for Cutler, that's a lock.
- Thus far Milton Bradley is 1 for 23 on the season, he has missed several games with a groin injury and he has blown up at an umpire getting a 2 game suspension as a result. As a result, over the past few days I have heard nothing but bitching on Chicago radio stations about him, andthe fans have gone so far as to boo him at the Wrigley Field. As far as I am concerned there is no grounds for complaint against the man. If Cubs fans are looking to voice displeasure then they should turn around and boo the GM's box, or if they want to get on their phones to express outrage then it should be on Mr. Hendry's answering machine. Why? Because, what they are seeing is exactly what he paid for. It's no secret that Milton Bradley has a track record of injuries and suspensions that have kept him from reaching the 100 game mark in 4 of the last 7 seasons. He's made of glass, he's a hot head and he hates the media. Everyone knew this going in, so how is it that you blame a guy for doing exactly what he's always done? I fully expect Bradley to contribute WHEN HEALTHY, but don't expect him to miraculously become a nice guy or be on the field every day. Do me a favor and direct your anger at the guy that crossed his fingers and hoped a leopard would change his spots and not at the guy who's just being himself.
- The White Sox finally dumped the no-talent-ass-clown that is Mike MacDougal, by designating him for assignment. Sure, they may have to pay his salary if they can't trade him, but I would go as far as paying him an additional bonus to stay away from a White Sox uniform. However, he'll always be welcome as a visitor if he feels like walking 6 or 7 Sox hitters.
- Jeff Samardzija was called up today from the minors to join the big club. Lou says he will use him in the 6th or 7th inning role, typically for 1 inning. This guy is a real talent and one to watch for the future. I expect him in the starting rotation next year, or possibly late this year if (when?) Harden goes down or Marshall struggles. However, it has been rumored that Jay Cutler has been in his ear to come play for the Bears, so Lout better hold on to him tight. Not true, but I like the sound of that.
- The worries about the White Sox youngsters has all but faded away. Chris Getz has settled in nicely to the leadoff role for the White Sox by getting on base at a .400 clip, stealing 3 bases thus far and playing solid defense. Josh Fields has surprisingly moved into the 2nd spot in the batting order and has done a decent job in the spot and played much better at third base. Brian Anderson has taken over in CF after the injury to DeWayne Wise, and has settled into the 9 spot in the batting order. He's starting to pick it up and has brought his average up to .250, which isn't great but it is improvement over what we've seen in the past. I can live with an average-at-best hitter in the that spot if I'm getting the best defense money can buy.
- Jay Cutler. Go Bears.
- There are worries about a few of the old guys though, meaning Jose Contreras and Bartolo Colon. Contreras hasn't found any rhythm or control yet and Bartolo's stuff has been sub par thus far. Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard should be on alert for a call to the starting rotation should this trend continue.
Derrick Rose was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year for 2008-09, and few were surprised. Rose claimed the award over fellow rookies O.J. Mayo and Brook Lopez in a landslide victory, nabbing 101 first place votes (92.5%) to Mayo's five.
So while his impression on the Bulls and the league may still be taking shape, I thought we could take a look and see how Derrick compares to previous winners and some previous Chicago winners.
Rookie of the Year
Year
Player
Team
PTS
RBDS
AST
Record
Previous
2008
Derrick Rose
Chicago
17
3.9
6.3
41-41*
33-49
2007
Kevin Durant
Seattle
20
4.4
2.4
20-62
31-51
2006
Brandon Roy
Portland
17
4.0
4.4
32-50
21-61
2005
Chris Paul
N.O./OKC
16.1
5.1
7.8
38-44
18-64
2004
Emeka Okafor
Charlotte
15.1
10.9
0.9
18-64
Expansion
2003
LeBron James
Cleveland
20.9
5.5
5.9
35-47
17-65
2002
Amare Stoudamire
Phoenix
13.5
8.7
1.0
44-38*
36-46
2001
Pau Gasol
Memphis
17.6
9.8
2.7
23-59
23-59
2000
Mike Miller
Orlando
11.9
4.0
1.7
43-39*
40-41
Chicago Winners
1999
Elton Brand
Chicago
20.1
10.0
1.9
17-63
13-37
1984
Michael Jordan
Chicago
28
6.5
5.9
38-44
27-55
1962
Terry Dischinger
Chicago
26
8.0
3.1
12-26
18-62
1961
Walt Bellamy
Chicago
31.6
19.0
2.7
18-62
*Denotes Playoffs
Rose is only the third player since the 2000-01 season to be ROY and lead his team to the playoffs, and neither the Suns in 2002 or the Magic in 2000 were able to win a playoff series. His team's eight game improvement in the win column ranks as the fourth best improvement in that same time frame behind Chris Paul's +20 and LeBron's +11, and even those two were unable to get their respective teams into the playoffs.
The sky appears to be the limit for Rose and the Bulls, and his inagural season isn't over yet. They have stolen home court advantage from the reigning champion Boston Celtics and return home to Chicago to what will no doubt be lively United Center crowd.
When the St. Louis Cardinals came to Wrigley this past weekend, they came sporting the National League's top offense and the NL Central's best record. As a team they are hitting .288, second only to the Dodgers. They have scored 77 runs, number two behind Los Angeles. They have 17 home runs, second to only the Rockies. All this coming off a 2008 season where the led the NL in batting average at .281.
The driving force behind their offense is a man known well by his opponents and everyone in major league baseball, Albert Pujols. To put in to perspective how good Pujols is I give you this stat: He's the only player in baseball history to have managed at least a .300 batting average, 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and 99 runs scored in each of his first eight big-league seasons. But there is more to the Cardinals offense than just Albert.
In 2008 there emerged a talent from seemingly out of nowhere. Ryan Ludwick, who had been invited to spring training by the Cardinals in 2007, put up the following numbers: .299 / 37 HR / 113 RBI. His slugging percentage of .591 ranked him second in the NL behind his teamate Pujols. The pair couldn't do enough to push the Cards into the post-season, but they quickly became one of the top offensive duos in baseaball.
If you're wondering who the hell this Ludwick guy is, and where he came from, you're not alone. So I'll give you a history. Drafted in 1999 in the second round by the Oakland Athletics, Ludwick was traded to the Texas Rangers prior to the 2002 season, and after just 23 games in a Ranger uniform his season was over due to a fractured hip. The injury forced Ludwick into a grueling rehabilitation in which he had to relearn to walk following surgery on the hip in August of 2002.
"They don't exactly know," Ludwick said of what caused the injury. "It was a stress fracture possibly from running on a hard surface. Or, I ran into a wall that week, too. So it could have been running into a wall going after a fly ball."
The hip injury wouldn't be his last, all of which could have ended his career: a fractured ulna bone, two right knee surgeries, a left femur stress fracture and the hip fracture. Ludwick continued rehab and continued to play.
In 2003 he was shipped to the Cleveland Indians after playing just eight games with the Rangers, and there he would stay until 2005, playing in just 73 games for the Tribe, never batting higher than .220 and compiling just 13 home runs.
He spent the 2006 season playing for the Toledo Mud Hens, the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and things began to progress. He was named to the International League team for the 2006 Triple-A All-Star Game. Unfortunately with really no room on the roster for him, the Tigers were forced to release Ludwick prior to the 2007 season.
From there he signed with the Cardinals as a free agent in 2007. He started the year in Triple-A Memphis, hitting .340 in 29 games before joining the Cardinals for the rest of the season, hitting .267 with 14 home runs and 52 RBI in 120 games.
The came the "breakout" 2008 season, although Ludwick may not choose to consider it that,
"I got hurt a lot. I got to the big leagues at 23. Any time you get hurt and you're away from the game, it's tough to get back. When you do get back, it doesn't happen overnight."
To Chicago Cub and Milwaukee Brewer fans it may seem otherwise. They got to know who Ryan was real quick. In 2008 against the Cubs Ludwick batted .300 with three home runs and nine RBI while scoring eight runs in. Against the Brewers Ryan batted .326 with four homers, eight driven in and 10 runs scored.
There are some who think that 2008 was a fluke for Ludwick.
Chris Harris from ESPN:
"...I'm just not super-high on Ryan Ludwick. I won't go so far as to say his 2008 season was a total fluke. After all, he's got a full-time job as the Cardinals' right fielder, and he'll have a lot of RBI and run-scoring opportunities. I just don't see a repeat, especially not in batting average. The guy had never hit better than .267 in a big-league season before '08, and wasn't known as a guy likely to approach .300 even during his minor-league career. And perhaps most revealingly, his batting average on balls in play last year was a whopping .349, insinuating that he was more than a little bit lucky."
Then there are those who look deeper into Ryan's history and believe that 2009 will give us more of what we saw in 2008,
"One thing to remember is that Ludwick was always a highly thought of prospect but he always was had injury problems. If he stays healthy in 2009 I think he’ll have another huge season for the Cardinals." (from Cardinals Locker)
Thus far, Ludwick is proving to be more of his 2008 version than his pre-2008. Ryan is batting .405 with 5 HR and 15 RBI in his first 10 games of the 2009 season, including at least one hit in every game and at least two hits in six of those games.
He appears to be starting right where he left off, and batting behind the MLB's best hitter he should be able to put up big numbers once again.
The current baseball standings after 2 weeks of play have things looking a little crazy thus far. Yes, I am aware it is currently still April and there's plenty of time for a return to normalcy, but in all likelihood the "experts" got some predictions really wrong. Here's a look at each division as compared to Baseball Prospectus' predictions (these projections were updated 4/10, so they're not the true preseason predictions).
AL East
Baseball Prospectus Ranking
Current Standings
Team
Current W-L
5
1
Toronto Blue Jays
10 - 4
1
2
New York Yankees
7 - 6
2
2
Boston Red Sox
7 - 6
4
4
Baltimore Orioles
6 - 7
3
5
Tampa Bay Rays
5 - 8
This division isn't too bad, except for the Blue Jays early run. I suspect they got this one right with a race between NY and Boston. The Rays will be around too, but I'm not sure they're bound for a repeat AL title.AL Central
Baseball Prospectus Ranking
Current Standings
Team
Current W-L
5
1
Kansas City Royals
7 - 5
4
1
Chicago White Sox
7 - 5
2
1
Detroit Tigers
7 - 5
3
4
Minnesota Twins
7 - 7
1
5
Cleveland Indians
4 - 9
This division is where my heart is and admittedly I am the most bias here. However, everyone always wants to crown Cleveland for some reason, but guess what - Cliff Lee was a fluke and Fausto is not as good as he was as a rookie. I've said it before, this one is a dogfight the whole year. The White Sox are opening some eyes though with quality pitching and a barrage of offense.AL West
Baseball Prospectus Ranking
Current Standings
Team
Current W-L
3
1
Seattle Mariners
8 - 5
4
2
Texas Rangers
5 - 7
1
2
Oakland A's
5 - 7
2
4
L.A. Angels
4 - 8
Seattle on top is shaking things up a bit, with everyone else below .500. The Angels have had a rough go with pitching injuries and a death, but I expect they'll be on top. Seattle has very underrated pitching if Bedard returns to form, so they could make a splash. NL East
Baseball Prospectus Ranking
Current Standings
Team
Current W-L
5
1
Florida Marlins
11 - 2
1
2
N.Y. Mets
6 - 6
2
3
Atlanta Braves
6 - 7
3
4
Philadelphia Phillies
5 - 6
4
5
Washington Nationals
2 - 10
Florida to finish behind the Nationals? Really? They have tons more talent and good young pitching, hence the 11-2 start. I don't expect them to go away. The Mets are full of themselves and haven't proven they're a true contender to me yet, and the Phillies weren't that dominate last year where you can crown them. This division might be the one with the big upset winner.NL Central
Baseball Prospectus Ranking
Current Standings
Team
Current W-L
1
1
Chicago Cubs
7 - 4
3
2
St. Louis Cardinals
8 - 5
4
3
Cincinnati Reds
7 - 5
6
4
Pittsburgh Pirates
7 - 6
2
5
Milwaukee Brewers
4 - 8
5
6
Houston Astros
4 - 9
Not many suprises here. I don't agree at all with the #2 ranking for the Brewers. They're not even close to the team they were last year, because of their pitching. I expect them to stick right where they are. The Pirates and Reds are going to make this division interesting next year or the year after I believe, but not quite yet.NL West
Baseball Prospectus Ranking
Current Standings
Team
Current W-L
1
1
L.A. Dodgers
10 - 3
5
2
San Diego Whale's Vaginas
9 - 4
2
3
Arizona Diamondbacks
5 - 8
4
4
Colorado Rockies
4 - 8
3
4
San Fransisco Giants
4 - 8
This isn't all that suprising. San Diego will go away soon enough and it'll resort back to how they have it predicted.
What do you see? What are your surprises and predictions?
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Nobody got out of the gate faster than the Arizona Diamondbacks. On April 30th they were a league best 20-8 outscoring their opponents by 56 runs. They would go on to finish the season 82-80 with just a +14 run differential.
The Dodgers were Manny-less and just one game over .500 at 14-13. They would finish just six games over .500 but would win a playoff series against arguably the NL's best team, the Cubs.
Tampa Bay was just 15-12 showing no real signs of the season to come. They would finish atop the NL East at 97-65, and go on to a World Series appearance.
Philadelphia was just 15-13. They would finish the season 22 games over .500 and go on to win the World Series.
On the flip side the Baltimore Orioles started off at 16-12 but would win just 68 games the entire season, finishing last in the NL East.
The A's were five games above .500 and one game out of first place. They finished the season 75-86.
For individual players, hot and cold starts can also be deceiving.
Derrek Lee was atop the MLB Home Run leader boards with 8 in April. He would hit just 12 more all season. Ryan Howard had just 5 home runs at the same point but would go on to lead the league with 48.
Rafael Furcal was on fire to start 2008 batting .367 in 109 at bats. He would only play one more month before back surgery ended his season in July.
CC Sabathia was 1-4 with a 7.46 ERA in April of 2008, but we all know how he finished. Cheing-Ming Wang already had five of his eight 2008 wins, Roy Halladay was 1-4 but would finish a 20-game winner.
The list goes on and on. April is just one month of a very long season. Teams will get hot and teams will fall off. If your team has you worried at this point you're in for a long summer.
Jonah Keri from Sports Illustrated writes,
I came across an article in the April 6th, 2009 issue of ESPN the magazine, that I thought was very well thought through and intriguing. Players like Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn have found themselves settling for sub par (by their standard) one-year contracts after striking out in the free agent market this off season. Most everyone blames the economy for these woes, but Eric Neel presents an alternative to that theory - defense. He believes that defense is becoming the hot new statistic that is playing a role into the valuation of players, and this has come to the forefront with the recent success of the Rays. It's a wonder it has taken this long for teams to catch on to this philosophy, but baseball has always been a statistics driven sport and defense statistics were always lacking. What I appreciate is that he differentiates between fielding % and range, because there truly is a difference. It will be interesting to see in a better economy if the trend holds true.
Check it out 
"In a rare marriage of need and talent level, Green Bay managed to select the best defensive lineman in the draft when it took Boston College nose tackle 
Larry Mayer
Back in February, we at i94 sports did a
Thus far Milton Bradley is 1 for 23 on the season, he has missed several games with a groin injury and he has blown up at an umpire getting a 2 game suspension as a result. As a result, over the past few days I have heard nothing but bitching on Chicago radio stations about him, andthe fans have gone so far as to boo him at the Wrigley Field. As far as I am concerned there is no grounds for complaint against the man. If Cubs fans are looking to voice displeasure then they should turn around and boo the GM's box, or if they want to get on their phones to express outrage then it should be on Mr. Hendry's answering machine. Why? Because, what they are seeing is exactly what he paid for. It's no secret that Milton Bradley has a track record of injuries and suspensions that have kept him from reaching the 100 game mark in 4 of the last 7 seasons. He's made of glass, he's a hot head and he hates the media. Everyone knew this going in, so how is it that you blame a guy for doing exactly what he's always done? I fully expect Bradley to contribute WHEN HEALTHY, but don't expect him to miraculously become a nice guy or be on the field every day. Do me a favor and direct your anger at the guy that crossed his fingers and hoped a leopard would change his spots and not at the guy who's just being himself.
- The White Sox finally dumped the no-talent-ass-clown that is Mike MacDougal, by designating him for assignment. Sure, they may have to pay his salary if they can't trade him, but I would go as far as paying him an additional bonus to stay away from a White Sox uniform. However, he'll always be welcome as a visitor if he feels like walking 6 or 7 Sox hitters.
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Derrick Rose was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year for 2008-09, and few were surprised. Rose claimed the award over fellow rookies O.J. Mayo and Brook Lopez in a landslide victory, nabbing 101 first place votes (92.5%) to Mayo's five.
So while his impression on the Bulls and the league may still be taking shape, I thought we could take a look and see how Derrick compares to previous winners and some previous Chicago winners.
If you're wondering who the hell this Ludwick guy is, and where he came from, you're not alone. So I'll give you a history. Drafted in 1999 in the second round by the Oakland Athletics, Ludwick was traded to the Texas Rangers prior to the 2002 season, and after just 23 games in a Ranger uniform his season was over due to a fractured hip. The injury forced Ludwick into a grueling rehabilitation in which he had to relearn to walk following surgery on the hip in August of 2002.
From there he signed with the Cardinals as a free agent in 2007. He started the year in Triple-A Memphis, hitting .340 in 29 games before joining the Cardinals for the rest of the season, hitting .267 with 14 home runs and 52 RBI in 120 games.
The came the "breakout" 2008 season, although Ludwick may not choose to consider it that,
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