Grading on the Curve

I've seen the Pittsburgh Pirates AA affiliate in Altoona a few times and I have a few thoughts on the Curve.


To start with,this team has way and I mean WAY too many repeat players for the level,so any time that you see that usually means a lack of prospects.
That rule again comes true as Altoona has just two of note.

Shortstop Alen Hanson was one of the two breakout stars of 2012 in the Pirates system (Gregory Polanco was the other) and took another step forward,albeit not as impressive a step, last year at High A Bradenton before finishing in Altoona.
Hanson struggled throughout the month of April and then I saw him in Harrisburg and Altoona,he was behind every pitch and struggled to make contact at all,let alone pull anything.
Hanson has the tools to be an above average defender,but made seven errors in the month,which projects to 35 over the season-a number that is not what you expect from a prospect defensively.
Alen Hanson still may turn out to salvage the season,but he seems to have hit the AA wall.

Stetson Allie hits Altoona after moving to first base and a strong season split between West Virginia and Bradenton.
Allie makes one think of Mark Reynolds with his abundant power and just as abundant amount of strikeouts.
Allie hit six homers in April (a third of his total hits) and hit a better than expected .257,but whiffed 20 times.
Allie will always have contact questions,but he did a decent enough job in April to think that maybe he will scale the AA wall.

Willy Garcia is a toolsy outfielder that also suffers from swing and miss disease.
This affliction has struck Garcia 28 times in 20 games.
Garcia does have power,but strikes me as a player that will be doomed at higher levels because he just won't make enough contact.

The Curve pitchers also have two interesting arms.

Nick Kingham is the better known of the two to Pirate fans.but Adrian Sampson has progressed up the system's chart as well.
Sampson posted an interesting April with an ERA below 2 and looked sharp when I saw him in a six inning stint against Harrisburg.
Sampson has a very nice curve,but I do wonder if he can be the type of finesse' pitcher that succeeds in the big leagues.
Sampson finished high A with an ERA over five last season,so color me as a seller on Sampson until I can see more than a month.

Kingham is performing decent,not great in Altoona by the numbers.
However,looking beyond those,the ERA of 3.46 is inflated by one bad start against the Erie Seawolves.
Kingham works best off the fastball,but needs to come up with an improvement in some sort of an off speed pitch.
Kingham is the best of a motley crew of pitchers that is filled with journeyman,AA lifers and faded one time prospects that doesn't fill the observer with confidence.

Jaromir Jagr re-signs with Devils

In a move that would surprise some,the New Jersey Devils inked Jaromir Jagr to a new one year contract before the veteran winger would test the free agent market.

The deal is reported to be worth six million plus possible incentives and allows the Devils to look for the top notch goal scorer that the team needs without having to replace their leading point scorer from the 2013-14 season.

I endorse this move,despite the question of re-signing a 42 year old winger that could lose his skills at any time.
It's a one year deal,so it wouldn't be a long term drag on the salary cap and the worst case scenario would be that Jagr went to hell all at once and the team paid for less than great performance for one season.
The Devils lack offense already and need to sign/trade for a scorer for next season and allowing Jagr's numbers to walk away would not enable the team to step forward even with a sizable addition.

Lou Lamoriello is starting early this off season in an attempt to take the Devils back to the playoffs,this is a good start.
Look for a Devils post sometime before the draft that looks at the team and what I think needs to be done over the summer...

The Six Round Staredown

The Six Round Staredown returns today with my friend R.L from over at Boxing Undercard.
In case that you missed our first installment,each of us ask three questions of the other,both of us answer and three will be found on each of our sites.

R.L's questions can be found over at his site here.
Hope you enjoy and look for a Browns version of this later in the week!

1) Is Keith Thurman the future of the 147 division ?


R.L: Definitely. He shows all the signs of being a superstar in the
sport. The kid is an incredible athlete, has big-time power and quick hands. Add a captivating personality to the mix and we have the possibilities of something special. Once he’s in the ring with some better competition, we’ll learn more, but from what I’ve seen so far, he’s the future of the welterweight division.

TRS: No.I might be the only person that thinks this way,but I see more Andre Berto than anyone when I watch Keith Thurman.
An Al Haymon fighter that has been protected,matched carefully and made money with,which is why you do this after all,but that isn't always best for your development as a fighter.
Thurmans has beaten the type of foes that you would expect him to (Julio Diaz,Jesus Soto-Karass etc) and makes for exciting bouts,but the guys he is beating have been beaten before and for a guy known as "One Time"-I don't see that type of power.
Keith Thurman is a fun fighter to watch,but like Andre Berto,I look for him to be exposed sooner than later.

2) Without Adonis Stevenson around,who would you like to see against Sergei Kovalev?

R.L: Andre Ward. That’s the biggest fight HBO can make and would be a huge boost to both fighters careers. Ward’s been extremely inactive, fighting only four times in the past 3 years, so his flame has slowly fizzled out. A win over Kovalev would instantly catapult him back to the top of the pound-for-pound ranks. For Kovalev, a victory over Ward would make him an instant superstar.

TRS: I agree with the selection of Ward and there is not a fighter in the division that means anything that wants any part of Kovalev,so assuming Ward wants it (I bet he doesn't),let's think outside the box and try one of two interesting bouts.
What about one of the two top cruiserweights in the world in Yoan Pablo Hernandez or Marco Huck?
Huck in particular would make a great fight as many thought he won his heavyweight bout vs Alexander Povetkin in of the more entertaining heavyweight fights in recent memory.
The other? Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Chavez always has weight issues and could carry 175 on his build and would carry a sizable paycheck along with a big name missing from Kovalev's resume'.

3) If George Groves wins his rematch against Carl Froch,is he a viable contender to defeat Andre Ward?

R.L: I don’t believe so… they’re in two different classes. Groves has success with
Froch due to the fact that Froch is there to be hit… Ward is not. Groves doesn't possess the overall skill set needed to give Ward problems in the ring.

TRS: I don't think so either,but if he does and if Groves wants it,he deserves the chance.
After all,it's not like anyone else stands out as deserving unless you want to see Ward stink up the place with rematches against Carl Froch,Mikkel Kessler or Sakio Bika again.
I don't think Groves is anymore successful against Ward than the other three were,but a victory gives him the credibility to try...

Accepting the opinions of others

My friend Krista jotted a Facebook post down about a friend writing about Satan being behind the acceptance of homosexuals in our country today.

I'm not going to touch on that topic, but it did give me pause to think about the lack of discourse in our country.
There is such a lack of nuance in discussion and that's because of a dwindling amount of deep thinking.

Whether the discussion is homosexuals being allowed to marry, Religious matters, our country's fiscal matters (debt, budget, etc) and even to things like who should quarterback the Cleveland Browns, there is a disturbing rigidity in people as they just don't feel the need for any type of understanding of the other side.

Often times, an immovable stance is taken, poured in concrete and no movement occurs.
Doesn't anyone grow with more information?
Doesn't it make you a better person to say "I see what you are saying and even though I disagree with most of your take, I can see why you believe that way and I understand a little more now than I did before"?
Anytime that there is nuance and trust me in the large majority of opinions there should be, the ability to look beyond your own opinion enables growth.

I'll give you an example-Early on in writing this blog, I was critical of Hagerstown Suns general manager Will Smith.
Often savagely critical to the point of looking biased, I stand by the opinions that I had of his job performance and attitude, but I sometimes didn't look deep enough into why Smith acted a certain way, his reason for his decision making and the stresses he was under.
I still think he was not a good general manager and not a wonderful person, but nuance comes into play here-maybe I was at fault for not adding perspective or seeing a few of his points.

Just try to be a little more open with discussion.
You can maintain an opinion, just try to see where the other person is coming from and maybe even on occasion get a little enlightenment.
A little understanding can go a long way if you just open up and take a closer look.

Boxing Challenge Update

R.L.Malpica and I each added seven points to our total over the weekend in the Boxing Challenge,so the lead remains the same,even if the score doesn't as R.L. leads 26-25.

We both added two points as Wladimir Klitscko retained his WBA and IBF heavyweight titles with a five round demolition of Alex Leapai.

This one wasn't close and despite the advancing age of Klitschko (38),other than MAYBE the untested Deontay Wilder,I don't see anyone with the skills to threaten "Dr.Steelhammer" anytime soon...

Two points were picked up on Keith Thurman's stoppage of Julio Diaz when Diaz was unable to continue after the third round due to a rib injury.

Too bad this happened as Diaz buzzed Thurman in the third round and it might have interesting to see how Thurman reacted as the bout went on.

I have been vocal about my skepticism on Keith Thurman due to his style and his lack of prime competition and this bout didn't change my opinion that Keith Thurman is another Andre Berto in the making...

Two more point added as Lucas Matthysse stopped John Molina in the 11th round of what would be my pick for the fight of the year thus far.

Most (and us included) figured Matthysse would blow through Molina,but Molina dropped "the machine" twice,although one was a bogus one (hit on back of the head) and fought his heart out before succumbing.

Awesome fight,if you want to see knockdowns,blood,heart and action-Find this fight on YouTube!

We each added one point as Omar Figueroa retained his WBC Lightweight title by split decision over Jerry Belmontes.

I scored Belmontes a 115-113 winner,but would have had little problem with someone seeing Figueroa as the victor,but one judge posted a ridiculous 118-110 Figueroa nod......

We are all caught up on the challenge,look for Ramon and I to work on an upcoming six round staredown sometime this week....

Minors talk

Time for a few observations on what I've seen in the first month of the season as far as players that I've seen play.

Keep in mind that sometimes I don't get to actually SEE a lot of games from beginning to end,sometimes I can see most of a game before work and others are literally a hit and run,graphing a team and then going home.
This seems to happen most in Frederick as through the years,I usually see more complete games in Harrisburg than my future "hometown"team.
This is looking at play ONLY not about their signing habits.

Frankly,I have not been overwhelmed thus far.
In Frederick,the Keys and Carolina Mudcats might have combined for the least amount of prospects in a game.
Frederick is starting long faded prospect Michael Burgess for goodness sakes and Carolina? Well,there is a reason the Cleveland farm system is top heavy in prospects.
The only Mudcat that looks interesting is one that I didn't see pitch in lefty Ryan Merritt,who has won three of four starts and has posted a MLB the Show like ERA of 0.37 in 24 innings.
Numbers like those will see Merritt in Akron shortly,if he can even approach those numbers.
I excluded the most impressive Mudcat that I did see play as Dylan Baker threw six perfect innings at the Keys and then broke his ankle in workouts,ending his season.
It would have been very interesting to see Baker progress.
Frederick's Brandon Kline pitched well against Baker in getting a tough luck loss and stands out as the only Key that strikes me as a legitimate prospect that I've seen.

I did see one game from the Lynchburg Hillcats visit to Frederick.
I missed touted pitching prospect Lucas Sims on the mound and the Hillcats top playing prospect looks to be 19 year old Jose Peraza,who looked pretty smooth defensively and might be the Braves future at second base.
Peraza turns 20 in a few days and currently is hitting well over .300

I graphed the Myrtle Beach Pelicans,but was unable to stay to see them play.
That is unfortunate as the Pelicans might be as loaded as any team in the minors.
Joey Gallo,Nick Williams,Jorge Alfaro and Hanser Alberto are all legit prospects and I did see all of them play at Hickory last year.
Gallo has light tower power,but his issue was lack of contact in the SAL,but in a month at High A,Gallo has pounded nine homers but hitting .351 for the month of April strengthens Gallo's case even more.

For the Rome Braves,Johan Camargo has struggled at the plate in hitting under 200 and six errors in twenty games.but I really liked his athleticism and potential at shortstop.
Camargo is in bad need of development time,but despite his struggles-I liked what I saw.
Chuck Buchanan looked interesting as a lefty,but as a college pitcher and soon to be 24,he should look impressive at this level.

The Delmarva Shorebirds have the Orioles first round pick in pitcher Hunter Harvey,who has posted an excellent first four starts,but Harvey didn't start in Hagerstown,so I didn't see him.
Most of the Shorebirds didn't show me much other than maybe outfielder Josh Hart,who might have a future,if he can develop some power.

The Lakewood Blue Claws didn't have any impressive pitchers as the Suns pounded the Claws around the Muni in the series that included benches clearing and managers shouting at each other,but there were a few players to keep an eye on.
Outfielder Dylan Cozens shows impressive power,but will need better contact,Carlos Tocci is your typical Phillie prospect with physical skills and first round pick J.P.Crawford struggled in the field at shortstop and could wind up as an outfielder.
I did like Crawford's ability to put the ball in play,so my concerns are more about him playing the six spot.

I'll save the Hagerstown reviews for the first half review and I'll be doing a look at the Altoona Curve soon as well since I've seen them twice in two parks.
Back later with more.

Boxing Challenge

The Boxing Challenge continues with four bouts today that includes ESPN showing a world heavyweight title bout.

WBA/IBF Heavyweight title
Wladimir Klitschko vs Alex Leapai

R.L.:Klitschko KO 9
TRS: Klitschko KO 7

Welterweights.12 rds
Keith Thurman vs Julio Diaz

R.L; Thurman KO 6
TRS; Thurman KO 10

Jr.Welterwts,10 rds
Lucas Matthysse vs John Molina

R.L: Matthysse KO 4
TRS: Matthysse KO 3

WBC Lightweight title. 12 rds
Omar Figueroa vs Jerry Belmontes

R.L: Figueroa unanimous decision
TRS: Figueroa unanimous decision