biggentleben

No, he didn't. The stuff that Biogenesis was creating was technically legal in the CBA, so he would not have failed a test. Even making that comment is accusing. There is so much that goes into making contact as a hitter or throwing a pitch as a pitcher. Toronto has done nearly the same thing with hitting approach with a half dozen hitters now, like Edwin Encarnacion as well. Watch Jesus Montero right now being integrated into that type of approach as well. David Ortiz had his swing drastically changed by the Boston coaches. Has he done other things? Tests say yes. However, his prolonged success in the era of testing says that his sustained success has more to do with his talent than any drug he may be taking. Thanks for throwing this into the discussion, though. I always enjoy adding PEDs into each and every conversation about players in the game.

I'm going to a game this summer with my wife's two cousins that are not yet teens. They're overjoyed to be sitting right behind home plate with me because they have the disease of baseball and want to watch a game for what I'm going to be looking for from that vantage point. When we discuss baseball, we discuss the tremendous athleticism involved in plays, the incredible pitching involved every day, and the unbelievable difficulty of hitting a ball the way some guys do with such ease. We've never once discussed a fight, HBP, or outburst on the field without a level of sadness involved. What irked me the most was that multiple times that the camera had to pan away from children, preteen and one that looked to be around 6-7, who were all making gestures toward players or yelling things such that the camera could no longer focus on that child. What are you teaching a child when you attend a game if that is considered acceptable behavior? It's a moment to discuss how despicable the behavior of the players were and shake your head, regardless of your team loyalty. Part of that is being able to have a healthy level of fandom. When an action on the field gets you so worked up that you behave in such a manner, it's time to perhaps take time away from the game as the relationship of your fandom has become unhealthy. I was one of the "lucky" people who was splattered with items intended for Chuck Knoblauch in the Metrodome. It was the first baseball game ever attended by a foreign student that was part of our group of college students that went to that game. He was struck in the back of the neck by a baseball intended for the playing field, thrown from the second level. Our whole group was struck by hot dogs and other food items being thrown toward the field. All over a guy who ended up being the catalyst for the most successful time of the team's last 20 years through the return his trade brought to the Twins. It's a disappointing example again of how our country can get this fired up over a baseball team, but can't spend 10 minutes to research candidates enough to cast an educated ballot one time yearly and participate in our governing process.

For ****'s Sakes. Just my 2 pennies.

We've hacked out the showboating thing already. It wasn't. I'm not going into a long argument over that AGAIN.

Two anti-Braves references in the discussion...yeah, not personal directive at all. Good try at a reasonable discourse, though.

Yes, but that has nothing to do with this discussion whatsoever. Hockey players have pads on that can protect them from body blows delivered by opponents. It's the difference in me facing a 300 pound defensive lineman and facing a 90 mile per hour fastball. I'll always be more comfortable against the lineman because I'm more protected by the tools of the sport.

Once again, I've not referenced the fight on the field. Overpaid, overly coddled players throwing a fit on their field of play is not a story. The behavior of the fans in the stands is what was appalling to me.

That's what the crazy part of it is. Bush throws triple digit heat. That pitch was headed toward Bautista's upper shoulder until he deflected it off his elbow pad into his side, and it certainly wasn't a change up. Not saying it's acceptable, but at least Chavez threw an off speed pitch to Fielder's "ample" lower half.

What are you talking about? Chavez was immediately ejected and didn't pitch to another batter.

Yeah, that makes one of us. The shots of young children yelling at Bautista and gesturing toward the field in ways that caused the camera to have to pan away immediately certainly helped me to debate humanity's future.

Bautista would have easily got a shot in if it weren't for Adrian Beltre grabbing him almost immediately after Odor hit him and restraining him the entire scene thereafter. The worst part of all this was the freaking Texas crowd. Cheering as loud as the stadium had been all day when Bautista was hit initially. Then even louder and a STANDING OVATION when Bush was taken out of the game. Chanting Odor's name after he's removed from the game. What the hell?

I'll edit this to some degree and say that he was a quality prospect guy...with hitters. I was never a fan of his evaluation of pitchers. He simply overvalued things that do not translate up the ladder. The Braves list was a not-so-famous expression of this.

Round doesn't really seem to make a difference. Look at Mike Zunino versus JT Realmuto. Realmuto was a HS catcher from the 3rd round, and he was up starting full-time 4 years after his draft season, and he's been progressively better since. Zunino was up within a year as a #3 pick overall, but he has obviously struggled. And even once they reach the majors, many catchers take time learning the game at that level before their bats are worthwhile. Yadi Molina was flat out putrid for 3-4 seasons offensively.

Catchers take significant time to develop, even college catchers.

He was actually the subject of a Braves board recently as the team has a history with Evan Gattis, who seems to have a similar profile to what Althmann is getting profiled as...

I'd wager that he'll be part of the college pitching run that we'll see from the 24th through 45th pick.

neither is Shore.

Nola was one of those moments when the things you heard pre-draft didn't jive with the scouts who saw him. People who saw Nola frequently said over and over that he was a guy who could be an ace, and he would also move quickly. Not that he was a backend guy that would move quickly, but for some reason, the move quickly part cannot be computed in the average report without believing the upside must not be as high as well.

Always good to balance out your coverage. Never let yourself get too heavy into just one coverage, ESPN or BA or BP or any coverage site. I personally review all of BA, BP, Law, Sickels, 2080, MLB Pipeline, and Scout for online sites, outside of scouts that I work with as sources for my writing. Because Keith Law or Jim Callis love one guy doesn't mean that everyone feels the same way. By blending the breadth of a combination of sources, you get a better idea of the consensus of true feelings in the game on a player because each evaluator has different connections in the game that usually pipeline to different teams in the game. By balancing the different players, you can get a good balance of the views around the game.

He'll be gone before the second round, most likely.

One or both could definitely be there, though. It gets tough to see who would slide to have them move up. They're in a group with Garrett and Wentz that will likely start to come into play around the 10th pick, but it's hard to push them ahead of there.

I suppose

http://tomahawktake.com/2016/05/09/atlanta-braves-mock-draft-monday/ ...if you're curious to see how things went. Feel free to ask away for questions in the comments!

My first mock is out tomorrow on TT. I think Twins fans will be pleased with who I have at the first round slot.

He never said they don't provide SOME benefit, just not the monstrous physical benefit many believe. Green tea helps your focus, and after a lecture on the benefits of green tea for concentration, focus, and even recall, students in a class were provided a green tea shot and then asked to take the same exact quiz as they'd taken before the lecture about tea on the subject of the class (it's a repeated study done in multiple classes now - math, biology, psychology, and economics are ones I know of). The students scored better on the second quiz in spite of no questions being repeated between the two quizzes, well beyond any true physical benefit the tea could have possibly given. By far the most powerful muscle in the body is the mind. Telling a guy that a sugar pill right before lifting will help him left more will cause gains in strength due to the lifter typically adding more weight in anticipation of the benefit and forcing the body to catch up and build more muscle, which ended up giving the strength gains sought after anyway because of the more challenging exercise. Not saying these do nothing, but their benefits are typically nowhere near in line with expected benefits.