Baseball

Derek Norris, the Washington Nationals come-from-nowhere prospect, followed up an impressive rookie-league season in 2008 with a breakout year for the Hagerstown Suns and has won the “MiLBY” Award for being the best hitter in all of Class-A baseball.

With the new year in full swing, the A's need to stick to their New Year's resolution and continue to get younger and stronger. However, with the recent offseason moves made by Billy Beane, it's hard not to notice that they've strayed just a tiny bit from their Youth Movement.

The A's third base situation is probably their biggest priority, since they've traded away top prospect Brett Wallace to Toronto in exchange for another highly regarded prospect, Michael Taylor. Now, the A's have Jake Fox to provide some kind of insurance to the injury-prone Eric Chavez.

The Rawlings glove that resides in the back seat of my car all summer long has been replaced by the winter gloves, my Nike cleats still caked with dried mud and infield turf have been abandoned in favor of a pair of Cabela Snow Runners, and the Louisville Slugger has been packed away in favor of a snow brush.

As snow piles up outside the window of our Massachusetts home and hockey is being played at, of all places, Fenway Park, the thought of spring training couldn't be further from reality.

Also featured on Rotoprofessor.com !

Joseph Abstein was a Boston fan until his team moved to Milwaukee in 1953.

Joe still roots for the Braves, but he has a perspective on championships that most modern fans may never understand.

Lew Burdette Beat the Yankees

After the Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953, I lost a little interest in the team, but only because it was so difficult to follow their daily fortunes.

As with the rest of the articles in this series, I started out intending to list the Top 10 games of the last decade; but then realized I would have to leave too many great games off the list if I limited it to just 10 games. So, as a result, I hereby present you with my Top 20 Sox games of the last 10 years.

This is Part II of the list, it contains Games 1-10:

Games No. 10, No. 9, No. 8, and No. 7 (Tie): No Problems in the 21st Century
Apr. 4, 2001; Apr. 27, 2002; Sept. 1, 2007; and May 19, 2008

When one thinks of the Giants' top prospects, he or she typically thinks of the promise of Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, and Thomas Neal, or perhaps the horrific downfall of Angel Villalona.

But the team's sixth-round pick in 2008, left-handed pitcher Eric Surkamp, deserves to be discussed as well.

Surkamp is a tall lefty out of NC State, standing 6'5". He was 21 years old during the 2009 season.

Surkamp isn't the hardest thrower out there, but he isn't Jamie Moyer either. His fastball ranges from 86-91 mph, and he has excellent command of the pitch.

Pending Monday's physical, Juan Uribe will rejoin his Giant pals in what one can only hope to be an encore as the super utility man that he was last year.  With Juan back in the mix, as well as recent acquisition Mark DeRosa, the Giants have two quality ballplayers known to be great locker room presences for a very young team. 

The question remains, however, if they have done enough to build a lineup to support Pablo Sandoval and one of the strongest staffs in the majors.

In the off-season between 2008 and 2009, Geovany Soto was riding high. The Chicago Cubs catcher had just won the National League Rookie of the Year award, having socked 23 home runs and posted an .868 OPS in his first full season of Major League work.

Perhaps in retrospect, the young backstop rode a little too high. He came to camp in poor shape, and admitted during the season to a positive test for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic.

While my bio claims that I know about 2000 players currently in affiliated baseball (and I stand by that claim), my knowledge begins to fracture as you get lower and lower in the minors.

I have a decent sense of almost everyone in Triple-A and a good amount of Double-A, but particularly when you get to Low-A and short-season leagues, all I know are top prospects, high draft picks, and A's players.

However, one player in the short-season Appalachian League caught my eye recently: Elizabethton Twins catcher Josmil Pinto.