Nick Hagadone Update

I haven't seen any official news on Nick Hagadone for a long time, but a recent article by Peter Gammons states that Hagadone recently "...threw 98 this week in extended Spring Training...". The reference is very vague and short on details, but I assume Gammons means that Hagadone hit 98 mph at some point off the mound, which would be a major sign that his recovery following Tommy John surgery is going very well. Thought I'd pass it along.

Long Time No Write

Hey everyone, just thought I would let you all know that I have not completely disappeared. I had finals towards the end of April, and then I took a 2 week vacation with my wife to Europe so I haven't been around computers much lately. I just flew in to Atlanta yesterday, and school starts back up tomorrow so whenever I get some time I'll try and post stuff. I have my first round of national board exams coming up in early August, which means studying 2 or 3 hours every night after clinic and not as much time to focus on baseball. Not exactly my idea of a fun summer, but after my board exam I should have a pretty easy year of school.

Anyways, the Braves are doing about as well as I expected playing essentially .500 ball, and a lot of young major league players are seeing some success while also taking their lumps. Here are just a few players that have sparked my interest for various reasons:

• Evan Longoria -- Wow.
• Ryan Zimmerman -- Ditto. It's amazing what a bit of surrounding support and health can do for a young player.
• Chris Davis -- The strikeouts are crazy, but he's slowly cutting down on them. Power numbers are still very impressive.
• Jay Bruce -- Numbers don't look great other than the home runs, but the .213 BABIP suggests that Bruce is one of the unluckiest hitters in the country and should be hitting closer to .270 plus with an OPS well over .900. Look for a huge turn around in the coming months.
• David Price -- Not too impressive.
• Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Rick Porcello -- Some days are better than others, but when you're 21 years old pitching in the majors, stuff happens.
  
• Brett Cecil -- Very nice.
• Buster Posey, Pedro Alvarez, Yonder Alonso, Justin Smoak -- I was expecting more from these guys. Not sure what to make of them just yet.
• Mike Stanton -- His .222 BABIP in May masks some very remarkable numbers. Stanton's strikeout rate has dropped to 23.2% for the year, and he looks to be progressing very quickly at the plate.
• Alexia Amarista -- Anyone heard of this guy? Not much data to go on for now, but his K/BB rate compares very well to some very famous players (Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, Dustin Pedroia).
  

Ok, that's all I've got for now. Ciao.