Monday Morning Links

Some stuff that caught my eye over the weekend:

-Baseball America has the full list of their top 100 prospects for 2011.  It looks like 3 former Silver Hawks on the list.

-Steve Gilbert of mlb.com is updating his blog frequently during spring training and always has good information..

-Hall of Famer Duke Snider passed away.  Well before my time, but a heck of a great ballplayer.

Promo Calendar

If you missed it yesterday, the Silver Hawks new promo calendar was released.  You can check it out on http://www.silverhawks.com/.  A brief summary of some of the daily promotions are below

Thirsty Thursday presented by Budweiser, Pepsi, and 103.9 The Bear - $1 drinks

Friday Fireworks presented by 1st Source Bank and WNDU

Grand Slam Saturday - National entertainment acts and giveaways

Social Sunday presented by Pepsi and Pulse FM - Pre-game catch on the field, postgame run the bases

Block Party Monday presented by your neighborhood Applebee's- Concession items for just $1 or $2

Tuesday - Silver Sluggers and group nights

Oscar Mayer Wiener Wednesday - Free hot dog with box seat purchase

West Michigan Food....Ugh

(Second post of the day...remember to scroll down so you don't miss anything)

For those of you that know me, you know I'm not a big eater.  I have Crohn's Disease, so I have to be careful about what I eat, particularly before sitting for 3 hours and broadcasting.

However, I understand some people's fascination with food, and innovative dishes served at the ballpark.  For that reason, I give you this link from the West Michigan Whitecaps where you can vote for what creative (and somewhat disgusting) food options they will have at the ballpark this year.

Lotsof Former Hawks...

Lots of former Silver Hawks are mentioned in the latest blog post by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Click the link to read it for yourself, or read my very short summary below.

Wade Miley is impressing, Justin Upton is a competitor, Clay Zavada is happy, Miguel Montero is vocal, Barry Enright is good, Yonata Ortega is wild, Tyler Skaggs is nasty.

Yeah, that summary doesn't do it justice.  Just visit the link already.

Here's a Blast from the Past (Updated)

Do you remember Bayron Zepeda?  He pitched for the Silver Hawks in 2009, going 3-4 with a 4.58 ERA.  He then basically called it quits, retiring in the offseason and sat out the entire 2010 season. 

Well apparently he's returned.  I received a "Minor League Transactions" email that says he was reinstated from the restricted list.  I'm guessing this means that he showed up at camp, but I'll try to find out more information if I can.

UPDATE (2:01 PM):  I have been informed that Zepeda is not yet in camp, but is expected to report at the end of spring training and will be there in time for extended spring training.

Borchering vs. Davidson

Nick Piecoro is the latest to examine who should stay at third base between Matt Davidson and Bobby Borchering.

Go here to read it.

Then come back here and leave a comment as to who you think will end up staying at the hot corner. 

(Editor's Note:  The comments are not meant to attack one player or the other, but rather be a rational discussion about two talented players.  I reserve the right to not publish any comment that I feel is offensive or disrespectful)

Poll Results

The latest poll question was part two of the most hated teams in the MWL.  Not surprisingly, the votes for the Western Division teams weren't as strong as those for the Eastern Division rivals. 

Here are the results:

Beloit Snappers 1 (6%)
Burlington Bees 4 (25%)
Cedar Rapids Kernels 2 (12%)
Clinton LumberKings 0 (0%)
Kane County Cougars 4 (25%)
Peoria Chiefs 4 (25%)
Quad Cities River Bandits 0 (0%)
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1 (6%)

As you can see, it's a three way tie between Burlington, Kane County, and Peoria.  I'm guessing that Burlington is on the list because they beat the Hawks in the '08 MWL Finals.  The other two teams are from Illinois, and I think that's more just of a state rivalry more than anything else (although Cubs haters might not like Peoria for that reason).

There is no new poll question right now for two reasons:
1)  It's getting closer to Opening Day and I want the countdown to be featured next to each new post
2)  I have no idea what to ask right now

Hales on the Radio

We're getting to that time of year when I'm going to have more, shorter updates on the blog as opposed to fewer longer ones.  Basically, it's going to be a quick post with a short link to something so you know what's going on with the Silver Hawks and at spring training.  So basically, check back often and make sure you scroll down when you get here so that you don't miss anything.

Today's second post:  South Bend manager Mark Haley was on WSBT Radio and Weekday Sportsbeat last week talking about the award that he won and the Diamondbacks system.  Special thanks to Darin Pritchett and Rick Carter for their support of Mark and the Silver Hawks.  Click here for the audio.

More TV Time for Yours Truly

A couple of weeks back, I had a nice live TV appearance on the morning of the Silver Hawks job fair.  On Friday, my mug was back on local TV with a story about the stadium renovations.

For an updated look at what's going on and to see my smiling face yet again, go here:
http://www.wsbt.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=7d080fff-61ce-470e-ad04-629f09d0b2d1&cat=empty&src=front

Sometimes Life Isn't Fair

Yesterday, I received an email from the Diamondbacks with the latest roster moves for the minor leaguers.  Unfortunately, this one told of the release of former Silver Hawks catcher Ryan Babineau.

To be honest, there are a lot of fans that may not recognize the name.  Babineau came to South Bend in the spring of 2009, ready to start his first full season of Minor League Baseball.  He had starred at UCLA, and then spent the last half of 2008 in Yakima.  He was projected to be the #1 catcher, known more for his defense than his offense.

In 2009, he lasted just 10 games before he got hurt.  The problem was in his hip, and surgery would eventually end his 2009 season almost before it began.

Ryan perservered though, worked hard, and made his was back in time for the 2010 season.  This time, he made it 11 games before hurting his hip again, undergoing yet another surgery.

Throughout the two years, I got to know Ryan a little bit and saw how he responded to adversity.  He was one of the good guys, who was a great team leader and would do whatever it took to play the game.  In addition, his family was very supportive towards the Silver Hawks, often emailing me or checking in on my blog often.

Unfortunately, and understandably, the Diamondbacks couldn't wait any longer.  They have younger catchers who have passed him on the depth chart, and the decision was made to let him go.

While I feel bad for Ryan and still wish him the best, I don't worry that he'll succeed in wherever he goes next. 

Good luck Babs!

2010 Media Guides on Sale

Some leftover media guides from the 2010 season are on sale now at the team store.  I realize this isn't for everyone, but some people like to collect them and they can be had for only $5 right now.

Spring Training Links

I do this occasionally, but I like to remind you of some of the best places to follow updates and reports from Spring Training.  Typically I'll link to these if I see something Silver Hawks related, but if you want some general information about the Diamondbacks and other teams, these are the places to go.

-Obviously, the national websites like ESPN.com, Sportsline.com, and CNNSI.com have good info on the major league teams.

-The main team webpage is http://diamondbacks.mlb.com/.  This will have your basic information, news releases, etc.

-Steve Gilbert is the beat writer for the above site.  His blog is here:  http://taoofsteve.mlblogs.com/.  Right now he has more info on Clay Zavada being a no-show to camp.

-The main paper that covers the team is the Arizona Republic, and their specific Diamondbacks page can be found here:  http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/

-For more from the Republic's beat writer Nick Piecoro, here's his blog link:  http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/Page0. 

-If you want more Minor League info, try http://www.futurebacks.com/. 

-Finally, if you just want to follow the Silver Hawks, there are four great ways to do so:
1)  http://www.silverhawks.com/
2)  This blog, which I don't have to link to because you already found it
3)  www.facebook.com/southbendsilverhawks
4)  www.twitter.com/Silver_Hawks

Enjoy!

Article on Jarrod Parker

The South Bend Tribune picked up an AP article about Jarrod Parker for today's paper.  It has some quotes from new GM Kevin Towers about how he will be used and brought along this season as well.

Swoop Delivered Roses Yesterday

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going with Swoop at he delivered roses to some baseball fans on Valentine's Day.  It was a good time and the look on people's faces when they opened the door and saw Swoop standing there with roses was hilarious. 

There's video here:  http://www.fox28.com/Global/story.asp?S=14027141 (just ignore the fact that my last name is pronounced wrong).

Pitchers and Catchers Report

Ah yes...the four greatest words in the English language:  Pitchers and Catchers Report. 

This happened for the Diamondbacks on Sunday, leading us to a barrage of links today.  Away we go...

1)  Steve Gilbert's official take for MLB.com.

2)  Steve Gilbert has more info on his blog.

3)  Nick Piecoro has a lot of information on his blog, including Clay Zavada being a no-show and considering retirement.

4)  Nick again with the D'Backs working on their identity.  Odd, I thought they were still going to be the Diamondbacks :) 

5)  Finally, here's a story about how the Diamondbacks need to be positive.  You know what makes you positive?  Winning more games.

Non-Roster Invitees

The list is out of non-roster invitees to the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training camp.  I count nine former Silver Hawks on the list.  Did I miss any?  Check out this link and count for yourself.

I'm busy this afternoon with a Swoop's Reading Club appearance, so no more posting for today (or the weekend that will be full of wedding planning for me).  Have a safe weekend, enjoy the temperatures warming up (slightly), and I'll be back with more posts on Monday.

Haley Honored by Diamondbacks

Congratulations to manager Mark Haley, who has been given the inaugural Joe Garagiola, Jr., Award as the organization's Player Development Person of the Year for 2010 from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hales received the award at the organizational meetings in Arizona this week, and we all know it is a much deserved honor.  As we have often discussed, it's rare to find someone that is as devoted to a single-A team as Mark is to the Hawks.  It's even rarer for those at the lower levels of the minors to receive awards for their dedication, as usually that is given to someone in AA or AAA who has been around longer.

Congrats Hales!

Read the full story here.

Ouch! Wrong Kind of Press

A former Silver Hawks pitcher is in the news, and while it is good news for him, the basic premise of the article is a big slap in the face.

2005 Silver Hawk Ross Ohlendorf just got a hefty pay raise, going from $439,000 to over $2 million per year.  However, as the article clearly points out, Ohlendorf got this raise in arbitration after winning ONLY ONE GAME LAST YEAR!

Now granted the Pirates are horrible and Ohlendorf's ERA wasn't abysmal (although it wasn't good), that's still a gigantic pay raise for someone that won only one game.

Footnote:  It's important to know that when a player goes to arbitration, there is no middle ground.  The arbitrator must rule either for the player or for the team, and there is no compromise.  So clearly in this case, Ohlendorf was asking for $2 million.  The Pirates offered $1.4 million, which is still a substantial raise.  The arbitrator must rule either for $1.4 or $2 million.  He/She can't split the difference.

Some Love (Sort of) for Chris Owings

In the latest "Ask BA" column on Baseball America's website, the question is asked about the best offensive shortstop prospects.  In a roundabout way, Baseball America says that Chris Owings is a good offensive player, but won't have a great impact in the majors. 

In fact, here are the exact words:

That leaves Jurickson Profar (Rangers), Hak-Ju Lee (Rays) and Chris Owings (Diamondbacks) as the best bets after Machado to be shortstops with solid bats. That said, I don't foresee Profar, Lee or Owings making a big offensive impact.

If you want to read the whole article (which includes an updated draft order), click here.

My take:  I have a hard time saying that someone who is 19 and was the leading hitter on a single-A team until he got hurt won't have a big offensive impact.  If they are saying will he hit .330 every year with 40 homers, then the answer is probably no.  But you can have a big offensive impact without blasting a ton of home runs.  Like always, we'll just wait and see.  Here's hoping "C-O" proves them wrong.

Wow...Simply Wow

In today's era of college coaches leaving for greener pastures, leaving the student-athletes they recruited behind, a story like the one found on http://www.espn.com/ today is quite rare.

If you happened to miss it, click here to read about the Wake Forest baseball coach who has donated a kidney to one of his players. 

This quote from the coach sums it up best:  "If [Jordan] makes it back to the playing field, that would be a great story. But I just want him to have a normal life and have the chance to be a normal college student," Walter said, according to USA Today.

Can we go ahead and give this coach the ESPY for Sportsmanship? 

New Page Design

I'd once again like to thank Andrew Bowen for his excellent work in making my blog design a thing of beauty.  If you are wondering, the pictures are of Bobby Borchering (on the left as you look at it) and Matt Davidson (on the right).

Andrew is one of our group sales representatives, but clearly he has an eye for graphic design.  He also has red hair, like me, so he's definitely a good person to have around the office.  Sadly, Andrew's baseball talents aren't anywhere near his design talents, so this is probably the first and last time his name will ever appear in the same post as Bobby Borchering and Matt Davidson.

Happy Monday

At least it's a happy Monday for the Packers and their fans...not so much for the Steelers.  As mentioned in Friday's post, I strongly dislike the Steelers (given that I'm a Bengals fan...it's probably just jealousy).  Therefore, I'm happy that the Packers won last night and congratulations to Aaron Rodgers for adding the final insult in what has been a tough year for Brett Favre.

Now that football is over, it's time to mostly turn to baseball (and I say mostly because I still like college basketball). 

A couple of things for you to check out today:

1)  Go to http://www.silverhawks.com/ and register to win two airline tickets from the Silver Hawks and Allegiant Air.  It's the lead story on the page, so you can't miss it.

2)  Vote in the poll to the right if you haven't already.  I'm also accepting ideas for my next poll question (since I'm at a loss right now).  Leave your suggestions in the comments or email them to me at oserey@silverhawks.com. 

3)  A PSA for all the guys out there.  You have one week until Valentine's Day.  DO NOT FORGET.  And as a shameless plug, you can let the Silver Hawks help.  We have given away 5 dozen roses to be delivered by Swoop.  We have one more dozen that we will raffle off to anyone that makes the qualifying purchase.  I can tell you that we don't have anyone registered yet for the 6th and final set of roses.  All the details can be found here.

Super Bowl Week

I don't have much baseball-related content this week, but keep your eye on http://www.silverhawks.com/ for some exciting promotions that will launch next week.

In the meantime, can we talk quickly about the ridiculous nature of Super Bowl week?  This whole Big Ben going out to a piano bar story is absurd.  I hate the Steelers, and even I can see how crazy this story is.

Being in the media (to a certain extent), this is my least favorite week for media coverage.  Every little thing gets blown way out of proportion.

Anyhow, let me go on record as saying that I want the Packers to win, I think the Steelers will win, but since I could never live myself for picking the Steelers, my official Super Bowl prediction is:

Packers 27, Steelers 24

Clay Zavada's Comeback Trail

Steve Gilbert from mlb.com has an article about Clay Zavada and his ups and downs over the past few years.  It's a good read about the lefty who revived his career right here in South Bend with the Silver Hawks.

Thursday Morning Links

Let's give you some good reading material today, in case you are still snowed in wherever you may be...

-Former Silver Hawks pitcher Josh Collmenter will become the first athlete to have his number retired at his old high school.

-Two former Silver Hawks made Baseball America's 32nd Team.  Confused?  Click here to read all about it.

-Over at the main page, you can enroll your kids as Swoop's Sidekicks or sign up for our Valentine's Day promotion.

-Nick Piecoro has some information on Miguel Montero, Jarrod Parker, and prospect rankings in his latest blog post.

-Finally, if you're not already, please follow us on facebook and twitter.

FutureBacks.com Ranks Top 60 Prospects

A lot of times we link you to a top 10 or top 20 prospect ranking.  Apparently, that's not good enough for the fine folks over at futurebacks.com.  They rank the top 60 prospects in the Diamondbacks farm system, which I can only imagine is a ridiculously hard task.

You can view their rankings here.