What's Buzzin' August 2, 2007

SAD WEEK
The world lost a couple of prominent sports figures this week. First was the unexpected passing of Wake Forest hoops head man Skip Prosser. Incredibly sad and certainly Jacket nation sends our prayers. An unfortunate side-effect is the question-mark for recruiting followers who are interested in what this means for Al Farqouq Aminu, who recently committed to WF. Even though SI.COM just did a story saying they are still committed until a new coach is named and they have a chance to talk to him, my advice to you is this - don't worry about it. Just let the young man deal with his grief and cope with how his world has just changed. If he wants to stay, great for him. If he wants to change his mind - everyone will understand. Just don't ask and just let the young man alone. If he wants to make something public, he will.

Aminu, who said he had just begun to forge a strong relationship with Prosser, called the coach's death "heartbreaking." With Parker's help, he and Woods penned sympathy cards for Prosser's wife, Nancy.

"I committed to Wake Forest. I'm going to sit down with the new coach, when he's hired, and see how it is. If everything goes well, I'm staying." Those comments would seem to provide the Deacons with further incentive to follow the most popular plan of action amongst Wake fans: elevating one of the Prosser assistants who helped recruit the Big Three. Aminu said he'd be excited if his main recruiter, Kelsey, were promoted, even though Kelsey has not been mentioned as a realistic candidate for the job.

The second significant loss in the sports world was Bill Walsh. Now, you have to understand some of my background to understand the significance of the 49ers in my life. I moved to Walnut Creek California back in 1980. I was in 6th grade and got in on the big start of what would become the dynasty of the 80's and beyond. I was swept up right from year one, and it was those early years of the 49er success and "Billy Ball" at the Oakland A's and the Atlanta Braves on TBS that fueled my passion for sports. It was the springboard for where sports fits into my life. My wife is probably rolling her eyes, but there it is.

Walsh really was a genious and probably spawned a larger family tree of successful coaches down through more than one generation than any other coach in history.

TEX STARTS BIG
Wow, Tuesday night Tex arrives, they flash a video feed of him in the clubhouse the crowd gives him a standing ovation, then on his first night in the line-up he goes deep and the Braves win. This could be fun my friends. This could be fun.

“I hope the fans are ready for a great pennant race,” said Teixeira, a switch-hitting slugger acquired from Texas in a major trade Tuesday. “I know I am.”

Now, there is typically a yin-to-the-yang, as you can see with Ranger fans, who aren't upset to see him go.

HERE WE GO AGAIN?
Could be something. Could be nothing. But there's nothing like a good ole scandal to dampen enthusiasm for the impending fall season.

"I've had a few curtain calls in my career and the fans tell you," said Teixeira, who was acquired from the Rangers on Tuesday. "After the at-bat, if they're still cheering and they're still yelling, they want you to do it. It was fun going out there."

Quick Take

Wide Receiver AJ Jenkins from the state of Florida made it official and committed to the Jackets. This was after a visit to the U of Florida and their "Friday Night Lights" and an offer from them. Snagging a few from the big boys. Nice.

Also, in beesball news, Mark Teixeira is headed back to the ATL, as he will be a Brave. More later...........

Beesball - Final Draft Results

From the great site - beesball.com:

• Results of The MLB Draft...
  • Matt Wieters: 1st Round (5th overall) - Baltimore Orioles
  • Jarrod Parker: 1st Round (9th overall) - Arizona Diamondbacks
  • Neil Ramirez: Comp A (44th overall) - Texas Rangers
  • Danny Payne: Comp A (64th overall) - San Diego Padres
  • Derek Dietrich: 3rd Round (111th overall) - Houston Astros
  • Michael Fisher: 6th Round (198th overall) - Atlanta Braves
  • Tim Ladd: 9th Round (288th overall) - Atlanta Braves
  • Wally Crancer: 12th round (369th overall) - Baltimore Orioles
  • Eddie Burns: 16th Round (498th overall) - Atlanta Braves
  • David Duncan: 23rd Round (700th overall) - Washington Nationals
  • Jared Hyatt: 33rd Round (1008th overall) - Texas Rangers
  • Luke Murton: 40th Round (1217th overall) - New York Yankees
  • Ryan Turner: 45th Round (1337th overall) - Texas Rangers
  
  
• Matt Wieters was selected by the Baltimore Orioles with the fifth pick of the first round. See Wieters/Teixeira/Scott Boras related story on the state of the Orioles along with coverage from the Baltimore Sun, an Atlanta-based "newspaper" and MLB.com.

• "D-backs get their man -- Jarrod Parker". See story.

• "The eyes of Texas were on Neil Ramirez at draft". See story.

• The Astros used their first pick of the draft on Derek Dietrich. See story.

Beesball - Wieters Goes to the ......

.............. Baltimore Orioles with the #5 pick in the 2007 MLB draft..........

MLB Draft - Must Miss TV

Ok, so ESPN thinks they can may hay with the MLB draft on TV, which airs today at 2pm on the duece (ESPN2). For Jacket fans, the first 10 picks are worth watching as Matt Wieters will be picked anywhere from #1 - 10. My guess is somewhere between 5-10 because his agent happens to be Scott Boras. Boras clients tend to fall because teams get scared away from big signing bonus demands and other red tape. That happened to Mark Teixeira (who happens to be the subject of trade rumors by the way) Here's some comments about Boras:

Several agents and executives who follow the draft closely indicated Wednesday that one of the draft's top players -- Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters, West Orange (N.J.) Seton Hall Prep right-hander Rick Porcello or Groton (Conn.) Fitch High School right-hander Matt Harvey -- could drop into the latter half of the first round.

Why?

Agent Scott Boras, escalator of the baseball economy, is advising them all.

Wieters, least likely to drop to the Tigers, is expected to ask for a major league contract worth between $8 million and $10 million. If he falls to the Tigers, they are certain to be intrigued. Wieters, a switch-hitter, has All-Star potential, and could develop into a major league starter within three years.

Here's more on Boras / Wieters:

Tech catcher is probably the biggest enigma in today's draft.

"There's no question that Matt Wieters is the biggest wild card on the board and that's because of Scott Boras," said Baseball America Editor-in-Chief John Manuel. "If you go on talent alone, Matt is the second-best prospect behind (Vanderbilt pitcher) David Price. Matt Wieters has the athletic ability to play a number of different positions. We know he's listed first or second on a lot of teams' draft boards right now, but when you've got Scott Boras as an adviser it changes everything. There are some teams that just refuse to deal with a Scott Boras player.

"Matt could go anywhere from the second pick to the second round. If he does slide it won't be because of his talent. It will be because of his representation. Even if Matt does slide a little, he's still going to get money equivalent to someone that was a top-five pick."

......... and more on the Boras / Teixeira / Wieters connection:

Wieters, who helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the College World Series last year, has been compared to Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who was another switch-hitting catcher for Georgia Tech.

"I think Matt has more talent than Jason, but Varitek has more intangibles," Manuel said. "Matt has better physical tools than Jason, but Jason might be the best on-field leader in major league baseball. I think a better comparison is to Mark Teixeira."

Ironically, Teixeira, the Texas Rangers' starting first baseman, is also represented by Boras and is a former Georgia Tech standout. Teixiera was the fifth overall pick in the 2001 draft and signed a $9.5 million bonus.

..................... Wieters was named 1st team All-American again and a finalist for the Johnny Bench award............. Here are some draft overachievers if you're interested.......... Here's a very cool article on Nomar / Jay / Jason and that awesome 1994 team.

Where are they now - Jeremy Slayden

A pretty detailed look at former beesball Jacket Jeremy Slayden.

Slayden does have some speed – being a combined ten for ten in stolen bases in Lakewood and Clearwater is either a display of luck or some skill – but he is clearly a masher. He’s a walks-and-home runs (and sub-par defense) kind of player in the mold of the pre-2004 Oakland A’s. (Recently the A’s have emphasized fielding and speed a little more in their personnel decisions.) This is the kind of player than Billy Beane builds teams around.

Not surprisingly, scouts have been slow to appreciate Slayden’s skills, if they do at all. Top Prospect Alert doesn’t rank Slayden in their pre-season Top Ten or even their mid-season Top Ten. Baseball America pretty much dismisses Slayden’s pro prospects all together. Gregory Golson, an inconsistent hitting speedster who plays in the outfield with Slayden, is rated at a Top Ten prospect by both publications. Golson is an athlete scouts see as having tools and potential. Slayden is all-wrong as a ballplayer, although the stats back him up. The Phillies, seemingly one of the more sabremetric-friendly franchises in baseball, don’t particularly seem to be interested in Slayden’s development either. While Costanzo seems poised to make a run on the Phillies roster in 2008, Slayden seems fated to spending 2008 in Reading and then 2009 in Allentown. If he even gets a chance at playing outfield for the Phillies, Jeremy Slayden will have to wait until 2010 at the earliest.

Tomorrow we’ll talk a little about the 2007 MLB Draft, but I want people to keep players like Jeremy Slayden in mind. Guys like Slayden are unheralded and ignored by scouts, but they perform time-and-again on the field and deserve attention as great ball players. My prediction is that Jeremy Slayden will have a better baseball career than Mike Costanzo. Let’s see if it happens …

Beesball - Season's Over

In a disappointing turn of events, the Jackets found out today that their season is over. They failed to give the selection committee enough ammunition to make them the last ACC selection. A weak non-conference record (losses agains UGAg, GA St, GA Southern, Kennesaw St) and not enough conference wins just did in the Jackets. Yes, they have a VERY strong case that they should be in, but at the end of the day they shouldn't be placing this decision in the hands of the committee.

Danny Hall's not happy about it:

"Are they capping the league, that the ACC can only get seven teams in?" Yellow Jackets coach Danny Hall asked. "They can try to justify this thing any way they want. Bottom line, they just wanted to take seven and not eight ACC teams because they didn't want to hear it from the [northern and western leagues]. That would be my answer to any spin they want to put on it.

"They're basically saying the RPI doesn't mean anything."

It's nothing short of disappointing, but it is what it is. This just wasn't one of Danny Hall's better clubs. Well, it's off to the Cape Cod leagues for some and off to Scott Boras's office for others.

Until next season......................

Beesball - Only Just Starting

From "GTJT622" at the Hive, an interesting look at our beesball team records after 40 games in the past decade:

'07: 26-14/13-7
'06: 31-9/12-8
'05: 30-10/16-5
'04: 23-17/5-5
'03: 32-8/11-1
'02: 32-8/8-6
'01: 30-10/9-6
'00: 32-8/13-2

Bottom-line - we're squarely in this thing and in 2004 Tech hosted a regional and super-regional, so anything can happen.

A Perfect Day To Be a Jacket?

Is there such a thing as a perfect day? Well, today came as close as to perfect for a Tech fan - especially if you're tired of hearing about football and hoops. Why, well let's review.

TENNIS BABES WIN ACC CROWN
The ladies only won their 3rd ACC title today, capped off by Kristi Miller's singles victory over the #1 player in the country. Just an impressive team victory today, and believe it or not - the MVP was a Tech freshman - Amanda Craddock. Wow, just wow.



GOLF TEAM CO-VICTORS IN ACC CROWN
Our men brought home an ACC co-championship for the 2nd year in a row, splitting the title with VT. Just an outstanding effort and Cameran Tringle followed up his freshman singles title with a 2nd place finish, missing by only one stroke.



SOFTBALL GALS SWEEP BC
A sweep of Boston College extends the ladies' winning streak to 10 games. Nice going!!





BEESBALLERS SWEEP #20 WOLFPACK
For good measure, the diamond gang completed a sweep of NCST with a 7-3 victory Sunday. No walk-off losses this weekend. Great going gang!! Could they be peaking at just the right time? Looks like it.



I mean, what else do you want? Come on - bask in the moment!!!!

GO JACKETS!!!!!!

Beesball - Beating UGAg Always Fun

Doesn't matter the sport - beating the Dawgs is always a good thing. Last night the gridiron gang took down UGAg 8-2. Luke Murton went yard, and Tech cycled in about 6 pitchers to keep everyone from wearing out. Just another mid-week match-up I guess.


Anyhow, an outstanding day it makes.............

Where are they now - Matt Murton

A nice write-up on the former Jacket with statistical breakdowns................. don't forget little bro Luke now reps the Jackets.

Murton is a prime example as to how those “throw-ins” can sometimes end up as major steals in trades. Though Garciaparra was considered the crown gem the Cubs acquired on July 31st, 2004, it’s looking more and more like Matt Murton will eventually be the most valuable asset the acquire by the Cubs in that trade.

Beesball - Jacksets Lose Opener

Jackets lose the season opener to Ga Southern 11-4.