Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Links of the Day for 6/7/06

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Draft Day: With the 20th pick, the Twins selected Christopher Parmelee, a sweet-swinging lefty OF from California. The Nationals swooped in and nabbed coveted 3B Chris Marrero with the 15th pick, leaving the Twins to pluck another pure hitter from the lot. 18 other ball players were awarded new Twin status. Granted, the odds of seeing a handful of these lads suit up in the Bigs is a longshot. But the draft springs eternal hope that the next diamond in the rough is unearthed. Of merit: Devin Shepherd won MVP honors of the Aflac All-American game last year. Jared Mitchell, an LSU football recruit, was described by Twins’ scouts as “the best athlete in the draft.” Jeff Manship, an anchor on Notre Dame’s strong staff, wore the right number for the Irish. And what’s a draft without a couple of home grown talents: Mark Dolenc, an MSU, Mankato product and Aaron Senne, a Rochester Mayo H.S. outfielder recently named Gatorade High School Player of the Year for Minnesota.

The Art of Fielding: The NY Times offers a praise-laden piece on Torii Hunter, centerfielder extraordinaire. Author Lee Jenkins gives a fantastic glimpse into how Hunter assumes his Spiderman role, combining pure instinct with a studious approach. My only beef is why would the NY Times be focusing on such a slant if not to plant the incendiary seed of thought into Steinbrenner and those Bronx bastards that Hunter’s services could be had come July. You don’t see the STrib hyping the merits of Melky Cabrera, do you?

Some Chitown Love: As Joe Mauer’s bat stays red hot (4-4 last night), the baseball world is quickly taking notice of Minnesota’s hottest commodity (and it’s not a lefty flame-throwing starter by the name of Johan or Francisco). Phil Rogers lauded Mauer (registration required)over the weekend, contemplating the prospect of the next catcher to take home a batting title. With a consistent bat finally dropping anchor in the middle of the lineup, it’s time for the rest of the Twins bats to follow suit and help the pitchers out.

Don’t Know Much About History: I’ll throw a bone to the stat heads amongst us (myself included). In case you missed the significance of that bizarre and downright dastardly triple play against the ChiSox three weeks back, Jayson Stark did some research to tell us:

“That triple play the White Sox pulled off May 14 was more than just the first TP of the year…it was the first 3-4-6 trifecta turned by any team in nearly a century…Who knew?”

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