Rough seas ahead...

Hey, folks.

I'll be doing some major work to this blog this weekend that will include some pretty heavy-duty changes.

There will likely be a short period of time where things are, let's say, not pretty. I'm going to try and make this happen at like 2 a.m. and be as short-lived as possible.

However, if you notice anything that looks downright goofy, or encounter any broken links or anything, just give it a few hours to a day and see what happens. The end result will be worth it...trust me.

10/9/10 Odds & Ends: slim odds & short ends edition

It's been kind of a slow week, and quite honestly, I can't think of much to write for this post. I can, however, think of plenty of things that are worthy of their own posts. I've sat here for an hour or two poking around on the web for news bytes and just can't come up with anything, so I reckon I should just leave you with what I've got so far and go right to work on something much cooler to post in the coming days. So this is what I've got.

- Have you voted for the 49th State Hardball ABL-to-MLB Year-end awards? If not, hit this link up and fill out your official ballot. It's a quick and easy way to get your favorite ABLers in MLB recognized. After the first wave of voting there are some clear front-runners but there definitely haven't been enough votes for anyone to seal the deal yet. So it's not too late to help your favorite guy get over the top. Go vote!

- The College Baseball Blog has honored a former ABLer, and one of my favorites, in its top-100 ranking: 2010 Mat-Su Miner Andy Mee of Florida Atlantic. I highly recommend that you read the short piece by Brian Foley (link), the hardest working blogger in college ball. Of course, for more Andy Mee goodness, check out our very own scouting video.

Told you that would be short & sweet!

ABL-to-MLB Year-end awards

Vote for your favorite ABL player in the Major Leagues

Regular-season baseball in all its forms is officially over. You've listened to me ramble on for the past year. Now it's your turn to tell me what you think! Below is the official ballot for the 2010 ABL-to-MLB year-end awards. There are four categories: Batter, Pitcher, Bench/Util and Rookie. You can help elect whoever you want to the awards, but there are a few ground rules...

Rules: You can vote for anyone you want. There is a list of suggested candidates, but there is also a write-in form. I had to narrow the ballot down somehow, so I made some judgment calls. Some were obvious and some were borderline, so I figured the only way to make it fair was to give you the opportunity to write-in your own selection. The only rule I have regarding this is to be reasonable. First, this is an MLB award, so a player should have participated in a significant amount of a season at the MLB level. Second, keep your votes roughly within their own category. For example, don't write-in an American League pitcher for "best batter". There is some gray area in both of these rules and I'll be pretty flexible, but if your vote is too ridiculous I reserve the right to leave it uncounted.

You can only vote once, you can leave a section blank if you choose, and the only required field is a valid e-mail address. I realize that there may be temptation to spam your favorite guy over the top, so I will only count votes attached to a valid e-mail address. I understand that this is not a perfect way to keep spam-voting from happening, so realistically the rule should be "you can vote as many times as you can come up with phony e-mail addresses", but I also reserve the right to throw out votes that are obvious duplicates.

OK, if you're still with me, click the "read more" link below to access the ballot...

'96 Panner Young finally tasting October

Rangers' franchise player has waited a decade to see the post-season. 

Photo courtesy of Goldpanners.com

 

After completing his MVP season with the Goldpanners in 1996, Michael Young went pro. By 2000, he'd reached the major leagues; since 2001 he has been a permanent fixture with the Texas Rangers, and despite being shuffled around the field and seeing highly-touted stars come and go, he's been the constant in a sea of change.

Through it all, Young has put together a pretty impressive resume. Six consecutive all-star appearances. Career .302 batting average. A Gold Glove. Consideration, lukewarm as it may have been, for MVP on several occasions. An MLB-best .331 average in 2005. But there's been one thing missing:

A playoff appearance.

That will all change tomorrow, when the Texas Rangers take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. The first pitch is slated for 1:35pm eastern.

During spring training, team President Nolan Ryan -- whose son played for the Anchorage Bucs -- predicted that the Rangers would win 92 games en route to the post season. They fell just short of that, with 90 W's on the standings board, but with second-place Oakland struggling to break even (81-81) on the year, those two wins didn't make a whole lot of difference. Now, with over 1500 playoff-less games to his credit (good, or should I say bad, enough for second among active players) Young will finally get his shot.

Souting Video: Zach Vincej

SS Zach Vincej
2010 Anchorage Bucs
Height: 5'11" - Weight: 165lb
Bats: Right - Throws: Right
2010 Level: DI Freshman
2010 School: Pepperdine
Draft Eligibility: 2012 (DI Junior)
Previous Draft: N/A
Posts regarding Zach Vincej

10/2/10 Odds & Ends

Alright, folks. There's some important stuff to talk about this weekend...but I'm hitting the road for Missoula, Montana today and I need to be on that highway like, right now. So let's get right to the nuts & bolts:

- The teams are right back at it, hitting it hard in preparation for the next season, and the Glacier Pilots are no exception. The team is holding a fund-raising extravaganza that involves a World Series watching party/Chili Cookoff/Raffle/pumpkin carving contest at the Bear & Raven theater in Anchorage. They need ticket buyers, ticket sellers, and world-class home-made chili to enter into the contest. Tickets are $50 and only 50 will be sold. If you want to get involved in any of the above-mentioned festivities, give 'em a buzz at (907) 274-3627.


- Over at Bus Leagues Baseball, a blog featuring commentary on all levels of non-MLB ball, they're doing their year-end awards, which I have been chosen as a panelist on. Well, former Anchorage Buc Paul Goldschmidt has tied for fifth in the voting for Minor League Player of the Year. Congrats Paul! And be sure to check out the Bus Leagues Baseball blog, one of my favorites.


- Remember the great Alaska Baseball League documentary, Touching the Game? Well the creators of the film have made a blog post to their website discussing the whereabouts of some of the players depicted in the movie. It's a short piece but well done and is a great look at what the future may hold for the stars of today's ABL.

Scouting Report: DJ Crumlich

SS DJ Crumlich
2010 Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks
Height: 6'1" - Weight: 185lb
Level: DI Sophomore
School: UC Irvine
Draft Eligibility: 2011 (DI Jr.)
Prev. Draft: N/A
Scouting Video
Posts regarding DJ Crumlich

When the All-ABL picks were announced shortly before the end of the season, I knew I had to get another look at Gold Glove winner DJ Crumlich of the Goldpanners. Fortunately I had several more chances to form an opinion on the talented UC Irvine shortstop, both live and on video, before the year wrapped up. I've been playing with his scouting report all off-season and, encouraged by his selection as a top-25 prospect in the ABL by Perfect Game, I'm now releasing my thoughts on Crumlich for all to see. Here's my take on the guy:
 
Description: Standing 6'1", Crumlich has a pretty average, athletic middle-infielder build. He stays loose at the plate, draws hands back as he loads up, and then drops them into the swing slot right before swinging with a small-to-moderate stepping stride.