Stephen Strasburg: A "Can't Miss" Kid

Stephen Strasburg might not start the year in the Washington Nationals pitching rotation, but when he is brought up to the majors, watch out for this kid. The Nationals number 1 pick out of San Diego State, pitched 109 innings last year in college with a 1.32 ERA. He recorded 195 strikeouts, while allowing only 19 walks. Sick! Strasburg has a four year deal that will pay him $15.5 million with a $7.5 million signing bonus. He is 6'4" and 220 pounds with an upper 90s fastball and a power curve. He will need to develop his change-up since he didn't need to throw it in college that much. The Nats hope his work in the minors will be quick and productive. For one, they aren't paying those big bucks for him to perform in the farm system, and secondly, they hope he can lure a fan base out of hiding in the nations capitol. Washington was third worst in major league attendance last year, drawing just over 23,000 per home contest. At least the kid won't have to stay in Washington but four years. When, and if, he does depart, there are a lot of politicians I hope he takes out of town with him!

Georgia Tailbacks: 2,000 Yards in 2010

The University of Georgia has had ten running backs rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. They have never had a pair of backs do it in the same season. That however is the 2010 goal of running backs Caleb King (L) and Washaun Ealey. Last season the tailback tandem combined for 1,311 rushing yards. As you can see, they have a long way to go. However, it is "doable" for the two. They will be running behind the most experienced offensive line at Georgia in several years. They are both talented runners who share the workload well together. They both now have game experience and are comfortable with the Bulldog offense. My biggest concerns for them are 1) can they both stay healthy for an entire season, and 2) will they get enough carries to pull off their lofty goal. In 2009, Ealey had 125 carries, while King ran the ball 114 times. Those numbers will definitely have to increase to the area of around 15 totes per game over the span of twelve or thirteen games for each back. Both guys believe they can accomplish the 2,000 yard plateau together. I would love to see it happen, because if the Dawgs are running the ball that successfully, then the scoreboard has gotta be looking good for us.

Trey Thompkins: First Team All-SEC

The University of Georgia has not had a first team All-SEC player in seven years. Well, that all changed today when Trey Thompkins was unanimously selected to the All Conference team. Jarvis Hayes earned that honor as a Bulldog back in 2003. Thompkins, a 6'10" sophomore, has not definitely decided that he will return to Athens for his junior year. He has a legitimate chance to turn pro if he should decide to do so. If he remains at Georgia for his junior season, it would be a tremendous positive for coach Mark Fox' young squad. He would definitely bring legitimacy to an up and coming program that Fox is building. Thompkins presence in Athens would help solidify Bulldog basketball as it takes the next step in becoming a Southeastern Conference contender. Just stay, Trey!

Carl Yastrzemski Topps Rookie Card

While looking through a list of 19 rare Topps baseball cards, I discovered that I have the 1960 Carl Yastrzemski Rookie Card shown above. I also have several of the other players shown like Mantle, Mays, and Aaron, but not the specific cards shown on this list. I'm not sure of the value of the Yastrzemski card, but it is kind of cool to own one of the cards that make up the nineteen.

Famous Streaks in Sports

Sports Illustrated Vault has an interesting segment on the most revered streaks in sports. In fact, they came up with 33 of them! When I hear the word "streak" as it applies to sports, I immediately think of Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak. To me, that is the epitome of a streak. If you looked up the term streak in Websters, the 56 of Dimaggio should be listed there.
Next, Byron Nelson's 11 consecutive PGA tour victories in 1947 has to rank right at the top. The 91 consecutive fight victories by Sugar Ray Robinson is also very impressive. When talking about team streaks, you have to mention UCLA Bruins basketball, the Boston Celtics, the New York Yankees, and yes, even the Atlanta Braves. The bottom line is, all streaks are impressive. Most will never be matched, but they always give individuals and teams lofty goals with which to aspire. What are some that stand out to you?

Zach Mettenberger: A Bump in the Road...

Georgia red-shirt freshman quarterback, Zach Mettenberger has definitely made a mistake. It is a mistake that will cost him, but it won't kill him. He has been charged with five misdemeanor charges related to underage drinking. Drinking too much, too late, and showing too little judgement. Mettenberger is in a three-way battle for the Bulldogs starting quarterback job, and this little incident will cost him at least a one game suspension. So I suppose we now have a two-way battle for the first game starting quarterback position. Georgia has had only one day of spring practice because the university system kids are on spring break this week, thus time for them to party and have fun. There's nothing wrong with that, unless you get caught with a fake ID or two and happen to be a quarterback candidate. He's not the first college football player to run into this negative situation, and he won't be the last. But he will have a price to pay, and how he handles that part of the deal will reveal what kind of kid he really is. He committed the crime, now can he do the time?

Ben Roethlisberger: Aren't You Tired of Getting Sacked?

Ben Roethlisberger's attorney says that Ben is innocent of the sexual assault claims of a Georgia College and State University coed. To clarify here for a moment, my attorney would say I'm innocent, your attorney would say you were innocent, O.J.'s would (did), etc. I'm not saying Roethlisberger is guilty, and I hope he is innocent. But come on Ben, quit putting yourself in these positions to be accused in the first place. You are a celebrity, so no, you can't just go out like the rest of us "Average Joe's". Like it or not, you are a target; there are traps being set for you out there. You have enough money to have a private party and invite whomever you want, just don't invite trouble. This is strike two for you, I believe. If you get past this one, don't tempt strike three. Learn from these 'near misses'. It might be time for you to grow up Ben.

Torrin Lawrence: One Fast Dawg

Georgia sophomore Torrin Lawrence has run the fastest indoor 400 meter time in the world this year. His 45.03 second sprint is also the third fastest in collegiate history. The world record is 44.57 seconds and was set back in 2005. Lawrence runs the difficult double of the 200 meter and 400 meter dashes, not to mention anchoring the Dawgs 1600 meter relay. To take this a step further, at most collegiate track meets, these three events all take place in the span of about one hour. Now that is pushing your body through some tough tests of execution and recovery. Lawrence also has recently been named to the watch list of the prestigious Bowerman Award. The watch list consists of ten student athletes who have two collegiate records and seven collegiate leading performances during the indoor track season. Don't overlook the point that this Jacksonville, Florida native is just a sophomore, and he's already becoming a household name in the 400 meter dash. A lot of good things are in store for this talented Bulldog.

Derek Lowe: Standing Tall

Derek Lowe says when you're 6'6", you don't need to pitch like you're 5'10"(he means no offense to all of you 'five-tenners' out there). He means he needs to pitch using better angles that his height allows. He pitched much lower in 2009, something he has worked on the entire off-season to correct. He has re-tooled his mechanics from setup to delivery.He says he isn't using one element of his pitching style this spring that he used last year. Lowe had his first outing of the spring Friday against the Nationals and worked two perfect innings. Two innings of spring work does not a season make, but here's hoping we all see a new and revamped Derek Lowe on the mound for the Braves this year. Be solid , D-Low.

Jason Heyward: 1 Out Of 100

Baseball America has named Atlanta's Jason Heyward as the number 1 prospect out of the top 100 players rated. It is their opinion that Heyward has a great chance to hit .300 with at least 30 home runs. He is only 20 years old. But first Heyward has to have a complete spring training season and make the Braves major league roster. As for me, I believe he will be in the Atlanta starting line-up in right field when opening day rolls around. If that holds true, it is going to be fun watching this kid play the game. Opening Day for Atlanta is April 5th against the Chicago Cubs.

Georgia's "Spring Fling"

The Georgia Bulldogs Begin their 2010 spring practices this Thursday with all eyes on the quarterback position, and many eyes on the new 3-4 defense being installed. Red-shirt freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger will battle for the starting quarterback role along with junior Logan Gray. The red-shirts, of course, have no college game experience at the position and Gray has very limited playing time. I read a quote from offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Mike Bobo that was as follows: "You never want to start a year when you've got an unknown at the quarterback position...". Obviously, the Bulldogs will certainly begin the 2010 campaign with an unknown, inexperienced signal caller. I don't think it really had to be this way. There were times during the 2009 season when Logan Gray could have been used in 'meaningful' series, not mop up work. He could have gained a lot more valuable experience than he was allowed. Going further, I've never understood why we wanted the two freshmen on the same eligibility run. I believe one of the red-shirts could have been burned last year. I understand the argument against that being that Mettenberger wasn't ready and Murray was injured the first half of the season.. I still contend that one half of a season's experience would have been worth the spent eligibility for one of the freshman. But since all that is old news, I too look forward to the competition of the QBs. It will be interesting to see who leads the 'Dawgs out of the desert and into the land of milk and honey!

NFL: Playoffs? Playoffs? Playoffs?

I'm reminded of the Jim Mora press conference where he goes off on the subject of playoffs, and keeps repeating the word "playoffs" in the form of a question. The National Football League is looking into a proposal to change the overtime format for playoff games. My first question is why just for the playoffs? The regular season games determine which teams make it into the playoffs anyway. If you're changing it for post season, adopt the same format for the regular season as well. The proposal by the league states that if the team winning the coin toss scores only a field goal, the opposing team gets the ball to try and match ,or beat, the 3 pointer. If the team with the ball first scores a touchdown, the playoff game would be over, just like the present format. Why not just say that each team gets to have the ball on offense at least one time? That way not quite as much would be riding on the coin flip, or relying so heavily on the element of 'chance'. The only exception to that would be in the case of a defensive score. Sounds simple enough to me...

Edward Salcedo: Don't Forget the Name

The Atlanta Braves announced this week the signing of 18 year old Edward Salcedo. They consider Salcedo the same caliber as a first round draft selection, which is especially important since they don't have one this year because of their signing closer Billy Wagner. The Dominican Republic native has the right combination of hitting and fielding ability to make it to the Atlanta infield in a few years as either a shortstop or third baseman. Another plus about Salcedo is that with Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar holding down the left side of the Braves infield, the club won't have to rush him through the minors. Just remember the name Edward Salcedo. He'll be at the forefront in a few years.