Professional Tailgating: MNF is fun

Monday Night Football has always been a big game and the Eagles played like it Monday night. We road dirty with Mark all and all it was a good night for us. 

    

   

   

    

Professional Tailgating: We're talking about practice.

As Allen Iverson once said: "we're talking about practice." The Flyers hold an open practice at Boardwalk Hall in AC and it was entertaining. 

    

Professional Tailgating: That was not good

So this is what the Big Ten is like. Rutgers get smashed by Wisconsin in a driving rain. 

    

    

    

Professional Tailgating: #chopmichigan

So Gary Nova played the game of his life last night at Rutgers beat Michigan for its first ever Big Ten win. What an amazing night. 

What a nice night for a blackout

People taking the field after the win. 

The magic ticket stub 

 

Professional Tailgating: Let's Get to your Seats

I'm one of the more positive Rutgers fans out there but Saturday something happened that annoyed me. Let's get to our seats before the game started. With a nation audience watching on ESPN News, the game kicked off in a more than half empty stadium. This should not happen. It looks bad. 

Professional Tailgating: Going Home

Saturday the gang headed to William Paterson for their annual homecoming celebration. The Pioneers won their game and we had some fun. 

Nothing says Pioneers like a bear mascot

Good sausage 

Nothing says homecoming like cupcakes 

A little different than a Big Ten game 

It's always great to see the water tower 

Professional Tailgating: Cup Final Day

For the first time, I attended a competitive Philadelphia Union match but it may have been the biggest in their history. The Union played the Sounders in the final of the US Open Cup. Here are some of sights.

 

It's a Cup Final

I have not been to a Philadelphia Union game but tomorrow that changes as I head to US Open Cup final vs. Seattle Sounders. Can't wait. 

Professional Tailgating: We're here

So Rutgers played their first Big Ten game last night and rest of the conference was treated to Classic Gary Nova. Here are some of the sights from Rutgers first conference game. 

A pregame Fat Blunt Sandwhich from the Rutgers Grease Trucks 

Rutgers fans are not a fan of James Franklin's economic policies. 

Big Ten Network was their to witness Gary Nova being Gary Nova 

A packed house 

Prospect Plus: Summer's Best

It's been a busy summer for Only Time Will Tell. Baseball games in three different states, two trips and ton of golf. But over the summer, I've been able to see some of the best prospects in baseball in the South Atlantic League and the Florida State League.

Here are the list of the top prospects I've seen during my travels this summer:

1. Dominic Smith, 1B, Savannah (SAL): The former Mets first round pick looks the part of major league power hitter despite just being a year out of high school. Smith is still a couple of years away but could be the power bat the Mets have been waiting for. 
2. Adam Brett Walker, OF, Fort Myers (FSL): While there is the concern of a college player still playing in the Florida State League, Walker has both the power and the speed that scouts crave. When we say him he had an inside the park home run. A week or so earlier he won the home run derby at the All Star game. 
3. JP Crawford, SS, Lakewood (SAL): The former first round pick of the Phillies really grew during his second year in pro ball. Last year he looked over matched, but now he seems like he has a solid bat to go along with his plus glove.

Professions Tailgating: A taste before the main course

So Rutgers beat Howard today in a sloppy game but now we can focus on what we all want to focus on that school from Pennsylvania. Here are some sights from today's game. 

Today's game shirt 

20 minutes before the game 

During the game, not a bad crowd. 

The New Look United

We new that there would be big changes at Manchester United this season but none of us thought the squad would look like this. Wow. This has been a watershed transfer window for the club. The Glazers, to their credit, have put their money where their mouth is. 

With all of the new pieces here is how I think United will lineup when the Premier League returns in two weeks. 

This has look of a very good starting 11. I think that they could go 4-3-1-2 but it could morph into anything. 

Prospects Plus: Marlins Austin Dean

Name: Austin Dean 
Organization: Marlins 
Team: Greensboro Grasshoppers 
Position:  Outfield  
Organizational Rank: 14th ranked prospect in the Marlins system, according to Baseball America. 
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 0-4 Friday night. 


Positive:  He is a good hitter with very good power potential. Dean has one of the quickest bats in the Marlins organization. Dean has good bat control and is more of a line drive hitter than a home run hitter at this point, but could develop into a 15-20 home run guy, according to Baseball America. 

Negative: Has a below average arm and he is not the fast person in the world. 

Professional Tailgating: Rutgers 2014 Football Season

Its uncharted water for the Rutgers Football program as they head to the Big 10 this season. While some think that they will not win games, I can see them going .500 and making a bowl game.

Here are my predictions:

• At Washington State: Rutgers 21, WSU 17
• Howard: Rutgers 35, Howard 10
• Penn State: Rutgers 21, PSU 28
• At Navy: Rutgers 24, Navy 20
• Tulane: Rutgers 28, Tulane 17
• Michigan: Rutgers 17, Michigan 35
• at Ohio State: Rutgers 10, Ohio State 45
• at Nebraska: Rutgers 17, Nebraska 35
• Wisconsin: Rutgers 17, Wisconsin 35
• Indiana: Rutgers 35, Indiana 28
• at Michigan State: Rutgers 10, Michigan State 35
• at Maryland: Rutgers 21, Maryland 20

Record 6-6 and a berth in the a bowl game. Now that would be the perfect start the season.

Prospects Plus: Marlins Avery Romero

Name: Avery Romero 
Organization: Marlins
Team: Greensboro Grasshoppers
Position:  second base
Organizational Rank: 9th ranked prospect in the Marlins system, according to Baseball America.
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 3-4 with two double Friday night. 

Positives: He's almost as valuable a prospect as a second or third baseman, because his bat is the real appeal here.  He has good bat speed which should give him above average power down the road.  

Negatives: Romero doesn't have a true position. Scouts don’t believe that Romero has the athleticism and quickness needed to play shortstop in the pros. Scouts do believe he has adequate talent to handle the hot corner or play second, as well as provide enough offense to play either position.

Fore: Metuchen Golf and Country Club

Last week, I had the honor of playing Metuchen Golf and Country Club in Edison and I really enjoyed it. The course had great greens and a really nice design. The holes where all playable which is something that is lacking in today's golf world of super sized golf courses.

If you get a chance, its worth playing 18 holes.  

Professional Tailgating: Eagles go home

The Eagles took a trip back in time on Sunday. Instead of having training camp at The Linc, they went back to original home Franklin Field. Here are some of the sights from the day. 

Prospect Plus: Orioles Chance Sisco

Name: Chance Sisco 
Organization: Orioles 
Team: Delmarva Shorebirds
Position: Catcher
Organizational Rank: 10th ranked prospect in the Orioles system, according to Baseball America.
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 1-5 with a double during a double header on Friday night. 

Positives:  Sisco has a good arm and soft hands, as should be expected, and his body does indeed look more like a catcher than infielder. At the plate, he should be able to bring his solid contact skills and quick bat to bear in the minors, while power may take a few years to really show up. Smooth lefthanded swing, according to Baseball America. He has bat speed with the ability to make solid contact and while you have to dream, there is future above-average power in the bat. 

Negative: Still learning how to catch, only started catching two years ago. He, like most catching prospect, will be a long term prospect. 

Fever Pitch Day

Every year we get excited for our Rutgers  season football tickets to come in the mail and yesterday was the day. It was extra special because this year is their first year in the Big Ten. 

Fore: Golden Horseshoe Green Course

I've played the Golden Horseshoe Green Course a couple of times and each time that I play it, I fall more and more in love with it. Monday was no different. 

It's a classic Reese Jones design built around the rolling hills of Williamsburg. The course plays for golfers at all levels. 

If you down in Williamsburg it's well worth playing. 

Soccer jerseys all over

While traveling on the Cape Merry Ferry, I came across this man wearing an Atletico Mineiro Ronaldinho jersey. This man gets full marks for his kit selection. 

Prospects Plus: Sometimes Baseball America is right

I was looking through the Baseball America 2003 Prospects book and found Miguel Cabrera's scouting report. Its amazing to see him tapped as a star at this young age. 

Prospects Plus: Cape Cod League All Star Game

On Sunday night, the best in the Cape Cod League took to the field in for leagues annual all star game. Here are five players that impressed me while watching the game. 

1. Kyle Code, P, Kentcky: touched out at 97 mph but sat between 94-96. Has a really good motion for a pitcher that is 6 foot 7 inches tall. Looked in total command during his inning of work. A ball didn't leave the infield. 

2. Ryan Perez, P, Judson: throws both right and left handed with good off speed stuff. Tops out at 93 while throwing from the left hand side. Tops out around 90 when he threw from the right side. A really interesting prospect to say the least. Perez struck out the side during his only inning of work. 

3. AJ Murray, !B, Georgia Tech: leads the Cape in HR and RBI. Showed some good defense during his stink in the game.  Murray was named game MVP. 

4. Gio Brusa, LF, Pacific: nice left handed swing. Hit the ball hard she he was at bat. 

Prospects Plus: Red Sox Wendell Riijo

Name: Wendell Rijo
Organization: Red Sox
Team: Greenville Drive
Position: 2B
Organizational Rank:18th best prospect according to Baseball America
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 1-2 with a homerun and two walks

Positives: In his first at bat Friday night, Rijo fell behind 0-2 and then was able to turn on a fastball from Yacksel Rios and hit it over the left field fence. Hits from a wide-open stance, with his hands high, before taking big step to close to even in his stride. Quick hands, solid batspeed.

Negatives:  Is prone to lazy mechanics and will tend to field balls off to the side that he has time to field in front. 

Prospect Plus: Red Sox's Trey Ball

Name: Trey Ball
Organization: Red Sox
Team: Greenville Curve
Position: Left handed starting pitcher
Organizational rank: 10th ranked prospect in Red Sox system.
Friday night's stats vs Lakewood: 6 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts




Positives: Projectable left-hander with great athleticism. Thin frame with lots of room to fill out. Efficient, low-effort delivery. Repeats delivery well for his age. Not a lot of miles on his arm. Fastball sits around 90-93 mph and tops out around 95 mph.When thing I noticed when I was watching him Friday night was that he looks the part, has the body of the starting pitcher. 

Negative: So raw. Coming from Indiana, he did not faced the toughest competition when he was in high school. When a couple of infielders made errors, Ball didn't seem to deal with it well, the mistakes seem to bother him. 

Fore: Rutgers University Golf Course

On Sunday myself and three friends went to Rutgers to play Rutgers University Golf Course and boy was it fun. 

From a design standpoint the course holds up. Fairways are wide but fair and some holes feature a variety of bunkers that could derail any round. The course is fairly playable. 

While I love the place, there is one major issue I have with it. If you haven't played it before it's hard to understand where hazards are off the tee. The tenth gave me fits, the card doesn't really the hazard at the bottom of the hill.  I know money is tight at the course but a better course map would benefit many who are playing the course for the first time. 

Despite the issues I had an amazing time and had seven pars and shot 91 despite having an eight and two sevens. 

I love Minor League Baseball

My love affair with Minor League Baseball and this is my hat collection. 

Prospects Plus: My Summer of Baseball

Over the last couple of months, I've seen my fair share of baseball from major to minors. From New Jersey to Florida. Here are my three favorite players that I've seen in person. 

1. Adam Brett Walker II, OF, Fort Myers Miracle: Looks like a man among boys in the Florida State League. I know scouts differ on his long term development. He has all of the physical skills you could ask for in a player.
2. JP Crawford, SS, Lakewood BlueClaws: Looked over matched last year in the South Atlantic League, this year it was a different story. He looks the part of a middle infielder at the major league level. 
3. Nick Petree, RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals: During his five innings against Fort Myers, Petree looked solid. While his fastball is nothing special, his change up already looks like a plus pitch, and he shows great command in deploying a decent slider and curve when necessary to further confuse hitters.

Prospects Plus: Phillies Dylan Cozens

Name: Dylan Cozens
Organization: Philadelphia Phillies 
Team: Lakewood Blueclaws
Position: Outfield
Stats Friday: 2-2 in before the game was called due to fog. 

Positives: The raw power is impressive and he gets it from everywhere in his swing and strength.Cozens is a giant human being with a classic slugger profile, with nothing left to projection at this point.    At the plate he has huge raw power and a good approach, he made decent contact in his debut but he will need to make more to reach his power ceiling. Regardless of what position Cozens finishes at his bat will be the tool that carries him.

Negatives: The problem is there is some natural swing and miss because his arms are so long.  He doesn’t have crazy bat speed and the swing can get a bit long.  He is mostly a pull hitter and so it will remain to be seen if he can adjust and go the other way at higher levels.

Cover Story: Here we go

So what if Marcus Smith is a great player will people still be attacking like this. I've seen Smith play like in person against Rutgers and he is a beast. 

Professional Tailgating: Nats show some fighting spirit

On Friday night, I head to Philly to see my beloved Washington Nationals take on the Phillies and for once the Nats showed some toughness. Below are some of the imagines of the night.