Some Diamondbacks Moves

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. My holiday week has been wonderful so far, and I'm looking forward to enjoying a few more days at home with family and friends. As noted below, my apologies for not updating the blog regularly over the last few days, but I think we can all agree that spending time with your loved ones outweighs any baseball news.

But, since this is a baseball blog, here are a few good links for you to keep you up-to-date on what's going on in the world:

-Nick Piecoro's blog has information about the Diamondbacks signing Bob Howry, and also a post about how Arizona is just waiting on an answer from free agent second baseman Kelly Johnson.

-Jayson Stark of ESPN.com wrote a great article about why Barry Larkin should be a Hall of Famer. I'm biased because I am a huge Reds fan, but I agree with everything he says.

-The Mets signed Jason Bay to a big contract. Most everyone I've heard so far is ripping the Mets for the signing. Basically, it's not that Bay is a bad player, but the Mets have so many needs right now, that they put too much money into Bay. Besides, he's not very good defensively, the new Mets stadium has a huge outfield, and everyone thinks his power numbers will go down as well.

That's all for now. Have a safe and happy New Year's holiday, and I'll post if anything strikes my fancy between now and then.

You Say Johermyn, I say Yohermyn

No matter how you spell it, former Lansing Lugnuts star Johermyn Chavez was traded from the Blue Jays organization along with Brandon League to Seattle for Brandon Morrow.

Chavez hit .283 with 21 homers and 89 RBIs for Lansing in 2009, and I could make a pretty strong case that he was one of the best all around players in the league. He probably would have gotten a lot more recognition had it not been for the fact that Lansing was terrible this season. The fact that he wasn't a postseason all-star is somewhat absurd.

(Editor's Note: If you don't understand the title of this post, it's because Chavez began the year spelling his name with a Y at the beginning, then changed midseason to go with a J at the beginning. I'm sure this was a mixup in translation, but it's still odd.)

(Editor's Note Part Two: It's ridiculous for me to include something called an "editor's note". There is no editor. The same person that writes these posts also edits them. That's right, I am the writer and editor all at once. I deserve a raise.)

Holiday Blogging Schedule

The title of this post is misleading, because there really is no schedule for when (or if) I will be blogging over the holidays.

Basically, if I see something exciting or important, I'll post it when I get time. However, we are blessed to have the week between Christmas and New Years off of work, and I am going to use the vast majority of that time to catch up with family and friends that I don't get to see too often during the baseball season. Thanks for understanding.

I wish you all a very happy holiday season, and I'll try to get some stuff up over the next 10 days. If that isn't enough to fill your baseball void, I'll be back to blogging daily on January 4th.

All About the Silver Hawks, Courtesy of the Bowling Green Hot Rods

Since they are new to the Midwest League for 2010, the Bowling Green Hot Rods are doing a series of articles about all the opponents they will be facing for the first time next year.

The Silver Hawks were up earlier this week, so if you want to read what they had to write about the team (and get a good history lesson in the process), you can do so here.

I provided a lot of the information for the story, so hopefully it's all accurate.

And speaking of Bowling Green, they are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball America today published the Rays Top 10 Prospects.

The Washington Nationals: A Playoff Team?

The Washington Nationals signed Jason Marquis to a two-year deal. Normally, not that big of a deal, but when you consider that every team Jason Marquis has ever been on has made the postseason, then maybe it's the Nationals time.

Don't believe me? Click on this link to read Tim Kurkjian break it down back in August as the Rockies were trying to climb into the mix.

Offseason Entertainment

I'm excited about a new feature going up on the Silver Hawks website, starting today, entitled "Catching Up With...". Basically, this will be an offseason interview with former Silver Hawks players, and what they are doing now.

Since 2009 was my first year with the team, the interviews will focus mainly on players that were with the Silver Hawks last season. However, I'll try to sprinkle in some guys that have made it up to the higher ranks of the Minors, or even some Major Leaguers if I can get in touch with them.

We start off the series today with 2009 second baseman Jake Elmore. You can find the interview at www.silverhawks.com.

If there are any former players reading this blog that want to participate in this, feel free to email me at oserey@silverhawks.com.

Minor League Staffs

Courtesy of Nick Piecoro's blog at azcentral.com, here is the full list of the Diamondbacks minor league field staffs and coordinators.

Diamondbacks minor league staffs:

Triple-A Reno: Brett Butler, manager; Mike Parrott, pitching coach; Rick Burleson, hitting coach.

Double-A Mobile: Rico Brogna, manager; Dan Carlson, pitching coach; Turner Ward, hitting coach.

Class A Visalia: Audo Vicente, manager; Erik Sabel, pitching coach; Alan Zinter, hitting coach.

Class A South Bend: Mark Haley, manager; Wellington Cepeda, pitching coach; Francisco Morales, hitting coach.

Short-season Yakima: Bob Didier, manager; Doug Drabek, pitching coach; Andy Abad, hitting coach.

Rookie-level Missoula: Hector de la Cruz, manager; Gil Heredia, pitching coach; Jason Hardtke, hitting coach.

Coordinators: Mike Bell, field; Jeff Pico, pitching; Dave Hansen, hitting; Tony Perezchica, infield; Joel Youngblood, outfield/baserunning; Bill Plummer, catching; Hatuey Mendoza, Latin liaison; P.J. Mainville, medical; Jimmy Southard, assistant medical; Brett McCabe, strength; Bob Bensinger, complex; and Ben Dorgan, clubhouse assistant.

Your Help?

I'm working on some new stuff for the blog and Silver Hawks website, including interviews with former players and others "in the know" concerning the Diamondbacks.

Since we still have about two months to fill before Spring Training starts, I'm hoping to be able to keep you coming back for new and fresh stuff.

One thought that I had was a reader's mailbag, where you can ask me questions about the Silver Hawks, Diamondbacks, the life of a broadcaster, or basically, anything you want. This probably won't happen until after Christmas, but I'd like to start collecting questions now. If you have anything you want to know, email me at oserey@silverhawks.com or leave it in the comments section below.

Top 100 Players of the Decade

Rob Neyer of ESPN.com has compiled a list of his Top 100 Players of the Past Decade.

I like Rob Neyer a lot, and I don't think rating the top 100 players of a decade is easy, but this list got a lot of ridicule in the comments, and rightfully so.

A few comments I have about doing a list like this:

-How do you judge a guy who played the entire decade vs. one that played only the last 4 years or so? For example, Tim Lincecum, Justin Morneau and Ryan Howard are not on the list. Couldn't you make the argument that they had better decades (even if not playing all 10 years) than someone such as Corey Koskie or Kelvim Escobar?

-Trevor Hoffman needs to be on the list somewhere. If Mariano Rivera is #24, then Hoffman has to be top 100.

-There are two former South Bend players on the list (1 South Bend White Sox player, and 1 South Bend Silver Hawks player). Can anyone find them?

Blue Jays Top 10

Baseball America is back with the Blue Jays top 10 prospects, a handful of whom you've seen playing for the Lansing Lugnuts. (NOTE: This list will change considerably once the Halladay/Lee/prospects trade becomes 100% official. I would imagine Kyle Drabek would take over the #1 spot, along with a few other changes).

Oddly enough, the #1 prospect on this list played in the Midwest League, but not with Lansing. Zach Stewart played with the Dayton Dragons in 2008, before being traded along with Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Roenicke for Scott Rolen.

As a Reds fan, I like Rolen, but Cincinnati gave up way too much to get him.

The Highlight of My Day

Normally, I wouldn't be all that excited about the West Michigan Whitecaps announcing their field staff for the 2010 season. I especially wouldn't be all that excited when 2 of the 3 coaches are the same ones that have been there for a while. However, the one new coach they added has me thrilled beyond belief.

To understand why the new West Michigan Whitecaps hitting coach is my idol, we have to go back years ago, to a small town in northern Kentucky, where a little red-headed boy was growing up as a Cincinnati Reds fan...

You see, in the late 80's and into 1990, the Reds had a team that was actually very good, and shocking the world with their play. Tom Browning and Jose Rijo on the mound, Barry Larkin and Eric Davis in the field, Lou Piniella in the dugout as the manager. As an eight-year old Reds fan, my life would soon change forever with the sweep of the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series.

But alas, I am getting ahead of myself. You see, when you are a kid, you always have a favorite player. Yet when I was a kid, I found myself in a pickle. You see, I had a unique name, red hair, and always stood out from the crowd. I was also incredibly shy, and was not the flashy type at all. So in searching for a favorite player, I wanted to go against the grain.

My oldest sister Angela had already staked a claim to Barry Larkin as her favorite player, so he was out of the running. My other sister Erin was a year older, so she had the next pick of favorite players, and decided to go with Paul O'Neill. All my friends liked Eric Davis, or Chris Sabo, and soon, I was running out of options.

Being a second baseman, it seemed natural that my favorite player would also play second base. Again though, I was a bit different as a kid. I didn't want to root for the starting second baseman. Instead, I chose the guy off the bench. The pinch hitter extraordinaire. That's right, my favorite player was none other than Luis Quinones.

Luis was not a superstar. Luis didn't get a standing ovation when he came to the plate. But that was okay, because he was clutch...and he was unique.

I remember reading an article that painted Luis as a slight oddball in the locker room. The 1990 Reds had adopted M.C. Hammer's "You Can't Touch This" as their theme song for the season. In fact, it's the main reason I owned the cassette featuring this song. That wasn't good enough for my man Luis, however. Instead, Luis could be frequently seen running around the locker room, singing another M.C. Hammer classic: "Have You Seen Her?"

These antics, combined with a clutch pinch hit RBI single in game six of the 1990 NLCS, sealed the fact that I would be a lifelong Luis Quinones fan.

And so, with today's announcement that Luis is the new hitting coach for the West Michigan Whitecaps, this broadcaster cannot wait for Friday, April 23rd in Grand Rapids, when I will walk up to the cage during batting practice, and shake the hand of my hero, the one and only Mr. Luis Quinones.

Yesterday's Summary

I quickly want to summarize the baseball happenings of the last 24 hours, and I'm going to do so without linking you to various stories because that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to tie in to a discussion we had on here a little over a month ago.

To recap:

The Phillies are getting Roy Halladay (once the trade goes through)
The Mariners are getting Cliff Lee.
The Blue Jays get a lot of prospects.

The Red Sox signed John Lackey.
The Red Sox signed Mike Cameron.

The Angels signed Hideki Matsui.

The Yankees are entering the talks for Jason Bay.
The Mets and Angels remain frontrunners for Jason Bay.

Now....what's missing from this list?

How about reports about the Pirates, Rays, Reds, Padres, Royals, and Twins. Let's look at some of the signings for smaller market teams in the last couple of days:

The Brewers re-signed Craig Counsell.
The Astros re-signed Jason Michaels.
The Blue Jays signed Ramon Castro.
The Nationals signed Scott Olsen.
The Indians signed Adam Miller.

For some reason, they just don't seem to stack up.

Again, I don't know that this is necessarily a major problem as we discussed last month, since baseball is more than happy to have their big market teams in the playoffs. But when all the big name free agents are going to the same teams over and over again, and more than half the teams don't even have a chance at signing guys like John Lackey and Hideki Matsui, that's an issue.

Because of this, I feel that baseball is rapidly losing fans in middle America, and I don't think losing fans in places like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and other similar cities is good for the long-term future of the game.

Monday Links

As promised, here's your Monday update to catch you up on the top baseball stories from the weekend.

First of all, for all your Diamondbacks musings from the weekend, head over to Nick Piecoro's blog at AZcentral. He has thoughts on the big trade last week, Gerardo Parra's leg injury which was not as bad as first thought, and Arizona's interest in Matt Capps.

Then, go here for a list of all the players that became free agents after being non-tendered by their clubs. Followed by this list of those who were given contracts and are staying with their current teams.

I always liked this guy. He pitched for the Reds years ago and has an awesome name. It's somewhat sad to be signing a minor league contract at the age of 38 though.

Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN to go and work for the MLB Network. I'm not in love with his work as many baseball fans are, but I appreciate what he did over the years.

For some non-baseball news, keep reading....

When you are in the fantasy football playoffs, and you also play in a points per reception league, it's probably better that your opponent doesn't set an NFL record for most receptions per game. Barring a miracle on MNF, my fantasy football seasons (yes, multiple leagues) all came to an end this weekend.

Where I'm from originally, this is still a big college basketball game. Last night was no exception.

Speaking of college basketball, John Wall and the UK Wildcats are pretty good. If you don't like UK, you better stop coming to this blog because I'm probably the biggest UK fan in northern Indiana.

One final college basketball story, Roy Williams apparently finds it offensive for a Presbyterian College fan to yell "Don't miss, Deon" as one of his players is shooting a free throw. Is that really bad enough to kick the guy out of the arena?

Happy Monday

I hope you had a good weekend.

I'm going through the usual stops to find stories and information to post today. I'll be back later with a bunch of links and information.

For now, you can read about how the Diamondbacks signed Augie Ojeda and Blaine Boyer to contracts over the weekend. Those two aren't necessarily going to be superstars, but they are certainly important pieces to the puzzle.

Breaking News!!!

I don't know if you've heard this or not, but Notre Dame has a new football coach.

(Sarcasm heavily implied)

All Quiet on the Blog Front

Sorry I haven't posted yet today. I had a speech this morning at an elementary school career day in LaPorte, and have been scouring the baseball world for any relevants news since. Unfortunately, there's really nothing out there that relates to the Diamondbacks or Silver Hawks today.

Here's what I did find:

A few Minor Leaguers that most people have never heard of changed teams today in the Rule 5 draft.

The Yankees continue to be the Yankees.

The Red Sox are contemplating trading away an overpaid, aging third baseman.

Barry Bonds is still retired, but we needed an announcement from his agent just so we were all aware of this.

In other words, YAWN.

Diamondbacks Top 10

Baseball America has released the Arizona Diamondbacks Top 10 Prospects today.

If you want to read what they have to say about the farm system, click here.

If you want the Silver Hawks side of the story, click here.

Or if you just want the list and my opinion, keep reading:

1) Jarrod Parker
2) Bobby Borchering
3) A.J. Pollock
4) Brandon Allen
5) Daniel Schlereth
6) Chris Owings
7) Mike Belfiore
8) Marc Krauss
9) Ryan Wheeler
10) Collin Cowgill

My unsolicited opinions:

-I'm not surprised Jarrod Parker is number one, nor should any of you. He's clearly the best pitcher in the system, even with recent surgery.

-Borchering is young, and likely a Silver Hawk in 2010. Baseball America always gives preferences to younger players over older ones, because their ceilings are always higher.

-I was surprised to see A.J. Pollock at #3. He had a fine year, just not an overwhelming one. However, I think you'll see Pollock dominate the Cal League in 2010, and then it's just a matter of making the proper adjustments to continue to see success on the way up.

-Allen was acquired via a trade, so we don't have a lot to go on with him.

-Schlereth comes in fifth, but that's irrelevant now since he just was traded (see previous post). I would imagine Baseball America would update this list before publishing their top 30 Prospect Handbook.

-Owings and Belfiore are the real deal from what I hear. And they should both be in South Bend on Opening Day 2010.

-Krauss is a guy I struggle with at #8. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, or that he's not good. He has enormous power and showed some ability to hit for average. However, he was limited due to ankle injuries, and I don't think we saw everything he could do. I'd like to see him play a full season at 100% before I judge his prospect rating.

-Ryan Wheeler should be higher than #9. In my book, he's top 5 in the system (and that's coming from only seeing him play about two weeks). His swing is so smooth that it's hard for me to imagine his average ever being below .300, and the power numbers will be there as well. He's the real deal.

-Collin Cowgill at #10 is fine. Like Krauss, he had an injury last season that limited him. Again, a full season should help us determine whether the top 10 ranking is justified.

Notable players that dropped out of last year's top 10:

#2 Gerardo Parra (no longer a prospect since he made it to the Majors)

#4 Mark Hallberg (hit .257 for Mobile -- should still be in top 30 I would imagine)

#5 Wade Miley (will still be in top 30, but not a surprise he dropped out of top 10)

#6 Kevin Eichhorn (pitched just 10 games for Missoula)

#7 Cesar Valdez (went 7-6 with a 4.78 ERA in Reno)

#8 Billy Buckner (majors)

#10 Reynaldo Navarro (I actually thought he improved this year. Would like to see his average higher, but he should still be ranked between 11-15 at worst, I would think)

Schlereth Likely Traded

The Arizona Diamondbacks are part of a big three-team trade, but are not getting any attention for it. Why? Because the big winners appear to be the New York Yankees in acquiring Curtis Granderson. As I'm writing this, it's not a 100% done deal, but it's very likely.

Make no mistake about it, the Yankees acquiring Granderson is huge. They need an outfielder, and he's a relatively young (28) talent. There probably is some concern about his declining batting average the last three seasons, but his home runs and RBI totals have all increased.

So why do we care? Well, as the headline of this post indicates, former South Bend Silver Hawks pitcher Daniel Schlereth is apparently part of the deal. Here's how it breaks down:

Yankees get Curtis Granderson (from Tigers)
Tigers get Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth (from D'Backs) and Austin Jackson and Phil Coke (from Yankees)
Diamondbacks get Edwin Jackson (from Tigers) and Ian Kennedy (from Yankees)

This doesn't happen very often, but I think this is a good trade for everyone involved. The Yankees get the outfielder they need, the Tigers get to unload some salary and get some very good young players, while the Diamondbacks get a much needed starter (Jackson) and a guy in Kennedy that could be a #5 starter, or at the very least eat some innings in the bullpen.

I only saw Schlereth pitch once against Dayton in 2008, but I was very impressed. He wasn't a Silver Hawk for very long, but I think most people that watched him here would have liked to see him pitch with the D'Backs for a number of years.

Official Statement Regarding My Candidacy for the Notre Dame Job

While I am honored that many of you have voted for me as the person who should be the next head football coach at the University of Notre Dame (see poll on right), I am respectfully withdrawing my name from consideration for the position.

While the honor and prestige that comes with this position is second to none, I do not feel that it is a good fit for me at this time. While some may think that my three years as team statistician for the Covington Catholic Colonels (class of 2000) and my years of getting run over on the sidelines while filming University of Dayton Flyers (class of 2004) football games is enough experience, I'm just not sure I'm ready for this leap.

My concern is not in developing good players, as my track record speaks for itself. Lifelong friend and quarterback star Brett Dietz will attest that he would not be where he is today without me running horrible routes and dropping passes for years in his backyard.

However, at this time, I'm completely focused on maintaining the best baseball blog on the internet, and the time commitment that I put into this blog would certainly be damaged by trying to balance the responsibilities of a head football coach at the University of Notre Dame.

I wish Notre Dame the best of luck in their search, and I hope that there are no hard feelings.

Go Irish and Go Silver Hawks!

Former Silver Hawks Pitcher Traded

Well the first trade of the Baseball Winter Meetings went down yesterday, and it involved a former South Bend Silver Hawks pitcher.

Brian Bruney ('01-'02 Silver Hawks pitcher) was traded from the New York Yankees to the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later.

The article points out that Bruney missed a lot of the season with an injury, but do you know where he places the blame for the sore arm? The umpires.

According to the article, "The 27-year-old right-hander was 5-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 44 regular-season appearances but pitched just once for the Yankees from mid-April until mid-June because of a strained right elbow, an injury he blamed on time he spent warming up during an umpires' video review."

Notre Dame/South Bend Exhibition Game

The date of the annual Silver vs. Gold Exhibition Game has been changed. Instead of Tuesday evening as it has been the last few years, it will now be Monday, April 5th, at 5:30 PM.

For those of you unfamiliar with this game, it's an exhibition game between the South Bend Silver Hawks and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It's been a great game for the community the last couple of years, with the Silver Hawks owning a 2-0 record.

Opening Day of the Midwest League season is still Thursday, April 8th, at 6:30 PM against the Great Lakes Loons.

Baseball America Top 10s

Since the last time I linked you to the latest rankings, a few more teams that have affiliates in the Midwest League have been posted over at www.baseballamerica.com. Click on the team names below to see who BA considers the top prospects in each organization (and see some familiar names in the process).

Cardinals (Quad Cities River Bandits)

Padres (Fort Wayne TinCaps)

Dodgers (Great Lakes Loons)

The Diamondbacks are coming up on Wednesday, and I'll of course have a lot more information on that when it happens.

More Cape Cod League Countdown

Allan Dykstra of the 2009 Fort Wayne TinCaps checks in as the #37 player of the decade over at Right Field Fog, a blog about the Cape Cod League.

I posted this in the comments on that site, but Dykstra has a degenerative hip condition that effects him, but no one knows to what extent. He has good power, but a horrible average. It took a huge final month to get his average up to .226 after entering August below the Mendoza Line.

Daniel Vasquez Suspended 50 Games

Whenever I see the headline "Four Minor Leaguers Suspended", I think about how idiotic it is that people are still getting busted for performance enhancing drugs in baseball. I then click on the link to see what names are listed this time.

Unfortunately today, the name was one that we all know. Daniel Vasquez, relief pitcher for the Silver Hawks in 2009, was suspended 50 games after testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance. Vasquez was 4-1 with a 4.57 ERA last season, pitching mostly in relief.

That's all the information I have right now. Sometimes positive tests can be a result of taking a supplement that you didn't know contained the banned ingredient. Then again, sometimes it is a result of doing something you aren't supposed to be doing. I won't judge Vasquez without the facts.

All I know is that he's suspended for the next 50 games, beginning on Opening Day 2010. For a guy who will be 24 when next season starts, has never pitched above low-A, and had an ERA over 4.50 last year, a positive test doesn't bode well for his future in baseball.

It's Snowing

It's officially snowing in South Bend for the first time this winter. I don't think it's going to accumulate much and I won't complain because I read online somewhere that by this point last year, northern Indiana had already seen 20 inches of snow.

I honestly don't mind snow in general, but I am not a real big fan of large quantities of snow. Given that South Bend's annual snowfall is listed at 81 inches, I could be in for a long winter.

Actually, the only reason that I sometimes complain about the snow is because I drive a car with rear-wheel drive that doesn't handle all that well in wet/icy conditions. Don't worry about me though, because I've taken all the necessary precautions to prepare my car for the winter time.

Anyhow, I still get blog visitors from all over the country and world, so for those of you in Florida, Texas, California, Alabama, and other warmer weather climates, just be grateful you're not in South Bend this weekend.

Also, be sure to scroll down a couple of posts and add your comments for who you think should be in the baseball Hall of Fame.

MLB.com Article on D'Backs

Somehow, I missed this over the Thanksgiving holidays. It's a good article about the Diamondbacks system, and T.J. Hose was awarded as the pitcher of the year by MLB.com.

My Hall of Fame Ballot

Voting has started for the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2010. Each voter of the Baseball Writers Association of America is allowed to vote for up to 10 candidates. They don't have to vote for 10...they don't have to vote for anyone if they don't want to. Also, they don't have to explain their vote, which is very interesting. If you didn't want to vote for Cal Ripken, Jr. a few years ago, that was your choice.

That being said, I sometimes think an explanation is needed in some cases. So although I'm not a member of the BBWAA (nor will I ever be), I thought I'd let you know who I would vote for, and in some cases, why.

I would love for everyone that reads this to comment below and tell me who you would vote for (remember, anywhere from 0-10 votes. Also, it sometimes takes a while for comments to be approved, so if they don't show up immediately, don't worry).

Now, onto my ballot (in alphabetical order):

Roberto Alomar - Yes. I want to say no because it's disgraceful that he spit in the umpire's face a while back. However, he was arguably the best second baseman of his time. That's good enough for me.

Kevin Appier - No. Good pitcher, definitely not HOF material.

Harold Baines - No. I go back and forth on him. I told my friends that I would vote for him the other day in an email, but now I go back the other way. The guy played forever, and accumulated solid stats. I just don't know if he passes the "when you think of this guy, you think Hall of Famer test."

Bert Blyleven - Yes. This guy was a great pitcher. Are we really going to hold it against him that he fell 13 wins shy of 300?

Ellis Burks - No. Good player, not a Hall of Fame player.

Andre Dawson - Yes. Best player at his position for a decade or longer. He could hit and he could run as well as anyone in the game at that time.

Andres Galarraga - No. The Big Cat falls short in my book.

Pat Hentgen - No. Not really close.

Mike Jackson - No. You're kidding, right?

Eric Karros - No. Good hitter. Being a good hitter doesn't put you in the HOF.

Ray Lankford - No. Again, not really close.

Barry Larkin - Yes. Granted I'm biased being a Reds fan, but he won an MVP, won a World Series, was a 12-time All-Star, won 9 Silver Sluggers, was a three time Gold Glover and would have won more had it not been for Ozzie Smith. He also was a main part of transitioning shortstops from all glove and no hit types to the modern day shortstop that does both.

Edgar Martinez - No. I basically feel the same way about him that I do about Baines. I go back and forth. I just can't pull the trigger on him right now.

Don Mattingly - No. Great player, but falls just short on my ballot. If you want to vote him in, that's your call. But again, this is my ballot, and I say no.

Fred McGriff - Yes. If for no other reason than he rocked the Tom Emanski videos.

Mark McGwire - Yes. It's a Hall of Fame, and no one was more famous in the 90s that McGwire. Steroids or not, he should be in the Hall.

Jack Morris - No. One great game does not make someone a Hall of Famer. His numbers are good, but again, I just can't pull the trigger on him.

Dale Murphy - Yes. This is the first time I've ever put a Yes next to his name. What changed? I don't know. I guess I've been convinced of how dominant he was in the early 80's. The overall numbers are still underwhelming, but back-to-back MVPs is hard to argue with.

Dave Parker - Yes. My dad says yes on Parker. I'm more inclined to say no. But I don't argue with my dad about players from before I was born. If he says yes, then I'll go with him.

Tim Raines - No. A lot of people will argue this. That's fine. But again, it's my ballot, I can only vote for 10, and Raines doesn't make the cut this year.

Shane Reynolds - No. No explanation needed.

David Segui - No. Although kudos to him for actually admitting steroid use.

Lee Smith - Yes. He was the all-time leader in saves when he retired. That's good enough for me.

Alan Trammell - Yes. But only if Barry Larkin gets in first (and Davey Concepcion should be added by the veterans committee)

Robin Ventura - No. But I would induct him into the "I Got My Face Pounded In By Nolan Ryan Hall of Fame"

Todd Zeile - No. Good ballplayer, would have loved him on my team, but not in the HOF.

There you have it. My Hall of Fame Ballot. I voted the maximum of 10 people in this year (Alomar, Blyleven, Dawson, Larkin, McGriff, McGwire, Murphy, Parker, Smith, Trammel). Again, I think the beauty of this is that it's my ballot, and I can vote for who I want.

Any arguments? Complaints? Want to submit your own ballot? Click on comments below and tell me who you would vote in. You don't have to go through the whole list with explanations like I did. Just tell me who's in for you!

Your Favorite Offseason Sport

The poll results are in, here are your favorite sports in the offseason:

College Football (40%)
Pro Football (20%)
NHL (20%)
NCAA Basketball (16%)
Other (4%) -- I'm curious as to what this would be.
NBA and Local High School Sports did not receive any votes.

My favorite is NCAA Basketball, followed by the NFL and College Football, for what it's worth.

Single A All-Stars

Minor League Baseball and Topps (the baseball card company) have teamed up to name the all-stars at each level in the minors.

Here's who they selected for single-A (and if you are web savvy, you can follow links from this page to see the other levels). There are no Silver Hawks on the list, but there are some Midwest Leaguers from this past season.

Krauss on the Cape

Last week I told you about my college buddy who was blogging over at www.rightfieldfog.com about the Cape Cod League.

He's doing a countdown of the top 50 players this decade, and 2009 Silver Hawks outfielder Marc Krauss made an appearance at #45. You can read all about him here.

From the Mound to the Hill

Okay, so the title of this post would be my headline for the story you're about to read. The story tells of former Silver Hawks pitcher Ross Ohlendorf spending his offseason as an intern in Washington, D.C. Now granted he may not technically be on Capitol Hill, but isn't that a catchy headline anyhow?

Regardless of the headline, here's the story of Ohlendorf (he was on the 2005 Midwest League Championship team).