Prospects Plus: Severnio Gonzalez

NAME: Severino Gonzalez
POSITION: right-handed pitcher
TEAM: Lakewood BlueClaws
PROSPECT STATUS: not ranked by Baseball America in the Phillies top 30 prospect list
STATS VS. HICKORY FRIDAY NIGHT: six innings pitched, three hits allowed, two walks, 11 strikeouts and zero runs allowed.

POSITIVES:  Totally overpowered hitters during his six innings of works. The prospect rich Crawdads could do nothing with him. Gonzalez sat between 87-90 miles per hour on his fast ball, while showing a variety of off speed pitches. Gonzalez has shown a great ability to pound the strike zone. Some have said that he is a right hand version of Phillies top prospect Jesse Biddle. In four starts for the Blueclaws Gonzalez has strike out 31 hitters in 21 innings. During that time he has allowed 10 hits and four earned runs.

NEGATIVES: While having good stuff, Gonzalez does not have that overpowering fastball that you would like to see. In his three four starts in Lakewood, Gonzalez has little to show the need for a plus fastball.

Prospects Plus: Futures Game

For prospects fans like myself the Futures Game during All Star weekend is always a big treat. Here are a couple of notes from the game:

• Reds Prospect Billy Hamilton is going to have to move to outfield. He is a terrible infielder.
• Every time I see Profar I keep seeing a superstar and wonder what the Rangers are going to do with him.
• Dylan Bundy fastball is not hit able, you just wonder how long the Orioles are going to be able to keep him in the minors.
• Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker might be the most athletic pitcher that I have ever seen. Easy delivery and big time velocity. Its going to take a couple of years, but the finished product is going to out of this world. 
• Phillies fans are going to complain about giving up Gose and Singleton but just remember what came back in those deals and the World Series that was won. 
• Tigers prospect Nick Castellanos, who took home the games MVP award, might be the best hitting prospect in the minors. Sweet swings, he looks like he is going to hit for power. The questions because what do the Tigers do with him. He is blocked at both third and first base. Could they include him in a deal for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. Castellanos could be in the majors by the end of next season or the end of the 2013 season. 
• The Royals fan showed how much this event has grown in the last decade. Amazing job selling out the place for the game. Royals fans understand how important a good farm system is.

Prospects Plus: Yu Darvish

During the course of the baseball season, the OTWT's scouting staff will take a look at different prospects, from minor leagues, colleges and big leagues,  that we have seen either on TV or in person. We start our series with Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish. Darvish made his debut on Monday night and struggled early but showed some signs.

Stat line against the Mariners: 110 pitches; 5 2/3 innings, 8 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks and 5 k.

Positives: After a rough first two innings, Darvis slowed down and showed commands of his pitches. Pitch speed range from 95 mph fastball to 69 mph curveball. Average fastball was clocked at 93.5 mph, not bad. Watching him face Ichiro was really cool, two of the best players of the last two generations in Japan. Ichiro got three hits off of Darvish. Beisdes his stuff, Darvish showed his toughness by overcoming a first inning in which he gave up four runs, he could have packed it in but did not.

Negatives: The first inning has to be a concern. Darvish seems like the type of pitcher that is going to throw a ton of pitches, which is something that the Rangers will have to watch.

Overall: He has really good stuff and the Rangers may have one of the best imports ever.

Fun Atmosphere, Terrible Football

On Sunday, I decided to watch the Old Firm Derby on Fox Soccer. I wanted to take the in the passion of the game. Sure the passion and atmosphere were fantastic but one that was lacking was quality of play.

The quality of play might have been equal to a Major League Soccer game. Terribly weighted passes, terrible shots and not to mention terrible miss timed challenges. Nothing says a quality soccer match like three red cards.

The highlight of the match was the call by the announcer when Sone Aluko scored for Rangers earlier in the first half, "A goal for Aluko, A goal for the fans, A goal for the cause.'' Perfectly said.

I understand the history of the two clubs but if you changed the names of the clubs people would be complaining about how terrible a match it was and not praising it for the terrific atmosphere.

The future is now for some

During the course of the long holiday weekend I have been able to watch a couple of different soccer games and came away impressed by a pair of young midfielders.

On Wednesday, I watched United play Rangers in the Champions League and came away very impressed with Rangers six foot two inch 19 year old midfielder Kyle Hutton. Despite being the youngest player on the field, he played with a calmness that is shown only by older players. The Scottish midfielder is going to continue to grow and has the potential to be one of the best midfielders around.

Then on Saturday, I watched the Arsenal Aston Villa game and loved what I saw from Ciaran Clark (picture above) and also came away impressed. During the game Clark scored Villa only two goals in the 4-2 loss. Clark, who stands six foot two inches tall, is a commanding presence in the middle of the field to go along with the smallish Barry Bannan. The duo is going to team up for the next couple of years to give Villains face something to cheer about. Clark has played at various levels for England but has recently committed to play for Ireland at senior level. Clark has all of the tools to be a great box to box midfielder in the Premier League.

Both Clark and Hutton are tall figures and show that playing midfield is no longer a small man's game.
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Maybe its time

With Rangers getting closer and closer to almost becoming Leeds United, maybe its time for both Celtic and Rangers to run away from the Scottish Premier League and head for greener pastures. Rangers 's club's bankers Lloyds are owed £30million by the end of the campaign. With a TV contract that is nothing to celebrate the only way that they maybe be able to meet the payment is to sell half of the first team. Maybe its time that both clubs look for a new idea to generate revenue, something like the North Atlantic Soccer League.

The league, which has been rumored for sometimes, would include top teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Portugal and Scandinavia. The league would almost be like a smaller version of the Champions League.

The league would create some interest all of Europe. Traditional powers like Porto, Celtic, Rangers, Ajax, PSV would bring large fan bases and large of amounts of money to a league that would be interesting to watch. Under my proposal the 20 team league would consist of Rangers, Celtic, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Benfica, Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, Standard Liege, Anderlecht, Malmo, Gotenberg, Brondby, HJK, and eight other teams to developed from a playoff.

Some think the creation of the league would kill the leagues in Portugal, Scotland, and Belgium, but that does not have to happen, if UEFA decides to give out spots in the Champions League to the winners of the leagues that are left behind and give a spot to the winner of the proposed North Atlantic League, it might all workout in the end.

Sure it might not be the best idea to soccer purist but its only a matter of time before something like this happens and before we turn our backs on the idea we have to look at what the impact will be and if UEFA handle it correctly it could be a win win for everyone involved.

The Champions League Playoffs are interesting

In some years the final round of Champions League Playoff can be almost a bore, but this year that could be different with one tie Arsenal vs. Celtic. The team that drops this tie could be in financial trouble. Both clubs count on the Champions League group stage money in order to fund their spending, so going out before that stage could be a mess for both. Rangers went out in an earlier playoff round last year and they are still trying to dig out from the lost revenue.

Here are some predictions for the playoff round:

• FC Sheriff v Olympiakos: Olympiakos
  
• SV Red Bull Salzburg v Maccabi Haifa: Red Bull Salzburg
  
• FK Ventspils v FC Zurich: FC Zurich
  
• FC Copenhagen v Apoel Nicosia: FC Copenhagen
  
• Levski Sofia v Debrecen: Leveski Sofia
  
• Lyon v Anderlecht: Lyon
  
• Celtic v Arsenal: This has PK written all over it, but I can not see Wenger going out at this point.
  
• FC Timisoara v VfB Stuttgart: VFB Stuttgart
  
• Sporting v Fiorentina: Fiorentina
  
• Panathinaikos v Atletico Madrid: Panahinaikos, the shocker of the round. Last years the Greeks booked a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
  

Some leagues are up and running, while others about to start. It feels like it has been a long time since we have all had club football.

OTWT Scouting Department Draft Views

For the last year, Nationals fans have been billed yesterday as the day that turned around the franchise. On Tuesday all Nats fans rejoiced as they selected San Diego State righthander Steven Strasburgh, hopefully this will be the moment the franchise turns around.

Here are some other views on the draft:

• MLB Network coverage is not bad, it was pretty good for their first, but there is so much room for improvement. The room makes it looks really cheap, but you have to remember the first time that ESPN did the NFL Draft it was in hotel ball room and look what that has turned into.
• Enjoyed the fact that MLB Network brought in Jim Callis from Baseball America he has always been a favorite, he could become their Mel Kiper Jr.
• I don't understand why the Pirates did what the did. Ok so Sanchez could be a good player but not the outstanding player that could have gotten. Rule one of drafting that high is never draft a guy with a questionable bat.
• I know that there are issues with North Carolina pitcher Alex White, but how can the Braves take Vandy's Mike Minor. Watch the two of them and tell me who is the better pitcher.
• When people thing about baseball in the SEC they think of Florida, Ole Miss, Georgia; but few programs have produced the number of the first round picks over the last couple of years that Vanderbilt has. Price, Alvarez, Weathers, and now Minor.
• Over the last couple of years the Rockies have played it conservatively when it came to the draft but this year they did not by drafting left handed pitchers Tyler Matzek and Rex Brothers. Sure Matzek will take a ton of money to show, but in the end it could be the best pick of the draft.
• The Detroit Tigers never shys away from players with signability issues. In 2006 it was Andrew Miller, in 2007 it was Rick Porecello and this year it was Missouri High School righthander Jacob Turner. Turner has the best arm of any of the high school righthanders.
• According to Baseball American, the Texas Rangers have the number one farm system in baseball and during the draft might have added two of the best arms in Matthew Purke and Tanner Scheppers to an already stocked system. Its only a matter of the time before the Rangers return to the playoffs.
• Keep an eye on South Carolina pitcher Sam Dyson, who was drafted by Oakland, and Clemson pitcher Christopher Dwyer, who was drafted by Kansas City. Have seen both on TV and both have a ton of talent and power arms. They could be two steals in this draft.
• The best name drafted was when Atlanta drafted Riaan Spanjer-Furstenburg, a first baseman from Nova Southeastern, 478 overall and the Braves thought that Saltalamaccchia was tough to put on the back of a jersey.
• Love the fact that Mike Trout was at the show, it would be great if MLB Network could get more of the players to the draft it would make it more fun and would add a nice touch.
• Now that the 2009 draft is over its time to look ahead to the 2010 draft with a name: North Carolina pitcher Matt Harvey.

Money makers from the Olympics

With Argentines being crowned Olympic Champions it's always good to see who may have made some money based on their performances in Beijing.

Here are five that I think made them selves some serious cash during the Olympic soccer tournament.

1. Angel Di'Maria, Argentina (above): Everyone talks about Messi and Roman but the Benfica wingers performance was key. Scored the extra time winner in the quarterfinal against the Dutch and the winner against Nigeria in the final. It's only a matter of time before he makes a big money move.

2. Maurice Edu: USA: Showed great versatility in playing in the center of defense, a position that he never played. His performance led Rangers to come calling.

3. Gianni Zuiverloon, Dutch (right): The defender just made an off season move to West Brom. During the tournament Gianni made great runs down the wing opening up space for the Dutch forwards.

4. Thiago Neves, Brazil: Despite being on a terrible team, Neves performance impressed many including Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.

5. Promise Issac, Nigeria: The attacking midfielder will be on ever big clubs shopping list, he never stops. Trabzonspor in Turkey will have a hard time keeping hold of him.

Coming a long way

Almost a decade ago, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had a choice of a hard throwing right hander out of a Texas high school or an outfielder out of North Carolina that was called ""The Natural,"" with the number one overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. At the time the Rays selected the outfielder from North Carolina Josh Hamilton while the Marlins picked Josh Beckett.

At the time, scouts around Major League Baseball expected Hamilton to be one of the next big things. According to the Baseball America 2002 Prospect guide Hamilton was expected to set baseball on fire. At the time he was rate the top prospects in the Rays system and in the top 20 overall.

"""A five-tool player Hamilton is excepted to excel at all phases of the game,'' his scouting report said. ""He has outstanding power potential with great leverage, quick swing, and an ideal body.''

But for the for the first six years of his career, it looks like Hamilton would never measure up to his high school exploits, but this year that has all changed. During the first six years of his career, Hamilton battled substance abuse including a heroin addiction and at times talked openly about ending his life. Last year the Rays left him off their 40 man roster and the Red took a chance on him and it paid off for everyone involved as Hamilton showed he was done with drugs and was moving forward with his career. At the end of last season, the Reds decided to move the tattooed one to the Texas for Edinson Volquez.
Since his trade to the Rangers, Hamilton has looked like Roy Hobbs, at this point in the season he has as many home runs as he has tattoos, which is a lot. He might be heading for the triple crown and not the triple crow of drug addiction.

Rangers Fans Love their Soccer

Here is the deal of a lifetime: One son for one ticket to the UEFA Cup final between Rangers and Zenit. Now that is a deal that you can not turn down. I wonder how the boys mother feels about the deal or does she even know about it.

Thanks to The Guardian for the photo.

The NHL Playoffs = Great Injuries

Ruptured spleens, broken orbital bones, and crushed testicles it can mean only one thing the NHL Playoffs. Hockey players do not know when to slow down, every year you see a great variety of injuries and this year is not different.

• Shawn Avery, Rangers: ruptured spleen.
  
• Kimmo Timonen, Flyers: blood clot in his ankle.
  
• Brandon Coburn, Flyers: swollen and battered face
• Patrick Thoresen, Flyers: puck to the groin.
  

This is only a sampling of it, but when is the last time you heard of another athlete taking one in the family jewels to help his team out.