High & Inside: 3/15/11

post from Beyond the Box Score on 15 March 2011 11:03:45 PM. © Beyond the Box Score

Links from around the baseball blogosphere...Paul Maholm's Value to the Pirates | FangraphsJoe Pawlikowski explains why the Pirates should shop Paul Maholm at the trade deadline.Investigating the "Best Shape" Phenomenon | Baseball ProspectusAs it turns[...]

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http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/3/15/2051355/high-inside-3-15-11

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Blogger Central at the National Sports Collectors
Convention

post from Sports Locker on 15 March 2011 11:01:36 PM. © Sports Locker

I'm continuing my blog posts on Opportunities for Improvement with the National Sports Collectors Convention. Last week I blogged about a Ron Santo charity, simple ticket prices and a free sneak peak.

These are all ways to improve partnerships, pricing, marketing and vendor opportunities with the National. Hitting those keys areas can make the National more than just a sports memorabilia show - it can become a premier conference standard.

My question to the National: Is this the media most influential to your buyers?
The answer: Probably not.

Most collectors and hobby enthusiasts are not referring to page 2 of the ESPN website for their hobby news. They are reading sites like this and this and forums like this. It's time the National made it easier for their most influential outlets to cover their event. They need to have a Blogger Central.

What is Blogger Central?
It's a conference room with tables, chairs, outlets, free wifi and a place for bloggers to collect their thoughts and report on the National Sports Collectors Convention while they are at the event. Bloggers who want to write about the National should have to request credentials so they can have access to an area to report on their experience. Credentials should include:

Access to Blogger Central room to report
Access to some of the National organizers for interviews
Access to behind the scenes of the National

Some of the blogs may not get the hits and media attention that some ESPN2 writers do, but in my opinion they are more influential to the buyers at the National.

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http://sportslocker.blogspot.com/2011/03/blogger-central-at-national-sports.html

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Arizona RHP Kennedy to start opening day (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 15 March 2011 10:29:23 PM. © MLB News Blog

Ian Kennedy has been picked to start on opening day for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said Tuesday that Kennedy will pitch April 1 at Colorado. The right-hander went 9-10 with a 3.80 ERA last season, his first with the Diamondbacks after coming over in a trade from the New York Yankees.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/03/16/arizona-rhp-kennedy-to-start-opening-day-ap
/

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As MLS Season Starts...

post from Royals Review on 15 March 2011 10:02:11 PM. © Royals Review

As MLS Season Starts...

A reminder to check out the SB Nation blog for your Wizards... err Sporting KC. The Daily Wiz.

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http://www.royalsreview.com/2011/3/15/2053258/as-mls-season-starts

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Excerpts from voicemail by Bonds' ex-girlfriend
published

post from 22gigantes on 15 March 2011 09:03:51 PM. © 22gigantes

"Hey, what up girl? I beat my ex in divorce court today."Just saw this over at California Watch, a website that does a great job of investigative reporting. You should bookmark it. I can spend hours on it myself.

Anyway, one of the senior writers over there, Lance Williams, just published an article that many San Francisco Giants fans may find very interesting. If Williams' name sounds familiar, it's because he was one of the San Francisco Chronicle writers (along with Mark Fainaru-Wada) who wrote the famous "Game of Shadows" book that exposed Giants slugger Barry Bonds and the BALCO steroid scandal in 2006.

Williams just posted an article at California Watch detailing the voicemail messages that Bonds left on his then-girlfriend Kim Bell's answering machine back in the late 1990s.

Prosecutors in Bonds' upcoming perjury trial want to play the recordings for the jury, saying they show just how violent Bonds became while he was allegedly on the juice.

Bonds' defense team says they're irrelevant.

I find them, at the very least, interesting. Ever wonder what a multi-million dollar superstar does in his spare time? How he treats his lady friends? If so, you gotta read this stuff. I'll admit it's nowhere near as fascinating as douchebag Scott Petersen's voicemail messages to his girlfriend, Amber Frey. But interesting, nonetheless.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/22gigantes/ySKM/~3/iLZjeZiCVGE/excerpts-from-voice
mail-by-bonds-ex.html

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Rockies 4, Cubs 2: Esmil Rogers Graduates to
Rotation With Distinction

post from Purple Row on 15 March 2011 09:01:43 PM. © Purple Row

It's hard to argue Esmil Rogers doesn't belong in the rotation after he delivered the Rockies' second best spring training start of the year.

It is not official by any means. There is still two weeks of Spring Training left to play. Yet after today, any circumstance that leads to Esmil Rogers not being Colorado's fifth starter in April would have to be considered an upset.

Rogers made a specific effort to work more quickly on the mound, and the results were as dominant as I have ever seen the 25-year-old Dominican. He worked five shutout innings on just 60 pitches, striking out three while allowing just one baserunner. That was Carlos Pena, who sprayed a single to left field only to foolishly challenge the laser arm of Carlos Gonzalez. Pena was thrown out by fifteen feet at second base.

Other than that, Rogers retired every Cub he faced, notable in that all but two projected Opening Day starters for Chicago were in the lineup - Kosuke Fukudome and Starlin Castro. Rogers also effectively kept the ball on the ground in getting seven groundball outs to just three air outs, and the Cubs rarely got the barrel on the ball.

Efficiency. Ground balls. Strikeouts. No walks. If he continues as such, he's overqualified for the fifth starter role.

But that role was already taking shape before Rogers even took the mound. With Clayton Mortensen optioned to AAA today, the only remaining contenders with Rogers are John Maine (who likely won't be available Opening Day) and Greg Reynolds.

Today also ironically represents a step back in the likelihood of Jordan Pacheco starting the season with the big club. Rogers' strong start gives the Rockies' brass confidence in carrying a fifth starter, lowering the possibility Pacheco takes Aaron Cook's spot on the roster. Also, Ian Stewart will start tomorrow in a spring training game, a day ahead of schedule. If he responds well, the Stewart-to-the-DL path may be closed for Pacheco as well.

Offensively, it was not as impressive for Colorado, as the club managed just four hits against Randy Wells and his relievers. One came as an infield hit from Carlos Gonzalez in the fourth, immediately to be followed by a line drive single to right field by Jose Lopez. Todd Helton followed with an opposite field sac fly to the left field warning track for the first run of the day.

Chris Iannetta walked to start the fifth (he also reached on a HBP in the second), and Hernan Irribarren got the Rockies' third hit on an infield single to second. Chris Iannetta stole third after running on a slug bunt attempt, which Rogers missed. The throw to third was poor, and Iannetta was safe. Irribarren, the trail runner, broke late for second, and was safe after another poor throw.

So with two runners in scoring position, Esmil Rogers spanked a Randy Wells pitch to left field for a sacrifice fly. Alfonso Soriano missed his cutoff man by fifteen feet, and the ball rolled pathetically into the Rockies dugout to score Irribarren, surrounded by guffaws and laughter. It was not a banner day for defense for the Chicago northsiders.

Alfredo Amezaga walked and Ben Paulsen solid single in the eighth, allowing Wilin Rosario to drive in the Rockies' final run with, of all things, a comebacker to the mound.

In other roster spotlight news, Edgmer Escalona was hit hard in the ninth by Cubs minor leaguers, allowing two doubles, a single and a sacrifice fly as the balls just kept flying past his ear. This is significant, as the Rockies have a full 40man roster, and Escalona entered the day as a favorite among those to get a DFA when Jason Giambi is added to the 40man roster at the end of Spring Training.

The Post has a video of Esmil Rogers talking about his outing today through a notable interpreter.

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http://www.purplerow.com/2011/3/15/2053143/Esmil-rogers-fifth-starter-rockies-cub
s

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Sizemore could make spring debut Sunday (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 15 March 2011 08:49:26 PM. © MLB News Blog

Grady Sizemore passed another running test and might be in the Cleveland Indians’ lineup by Sunday. Sizemore ran the bases for the second time in three days Tuesday, 10 months after having microfracture surgery on his left knee. “If everything goes well, and it has been going extremely well, we’re looking at the 20th for [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/03/16/sizemore-could-make-spring-debut-sunday-ap/

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Colorado Rockies Aaron Cook Breaks Finger

Colorado Rockies’ RHP Aaron Cook has had a spring training to forget. Cook hasn’t thrown a pitch for this spring because of a sore shoulder and now he might not throw a pitch for at least another month. The 32-year-old right-hander broke a finger on his pitching hand as a result of slamming a door [...]

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http://theghostofmoonlightgraham.com/2011/03/16/colorado-rockies-aaron-cook-break
s-finger/

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As Baileys injury not as bad as feared (AP)

Tests revealed Tuesday that Oakland closer Andrew Bailey has a strained forearm, news that came as a relief to the Athletics after they feared he had a serious elbow injury. There is no timetable for his return, but Bailey will resume throwing once the discomfort subsides. “It’s good news for us, definitely.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/03/16/as-baileys-injury-not-as-bad-as-feared-ap/

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