Assistant Editor Mark Rafferty sent me a link to a Fanhouse post about the Pedro Alvarez situation. Alvarez is currently refusing to take a physical or take part in a press conference under the advice of his agent Scott Boras.

Boras is stating that the contract signed by Pedro is void because it came after the midnight deadline on August 15th. Boras did not raise any issues when he negotiated the contract, but since has gotten the MLBPA on his side. They have filed a grievance on behalf of Mr. Alvarez claiming that the contract was signed after the deadline thus making it illegal. Read the rest of this entry »

Baseball Digest Daily Podcaster Eric SanInocencio recently talked with current Missouri pitcher Aaron Crow who recently turned down a multi-million dollar deal with the Washington Nationals. He was the ninth overall selection in the 2008 draft but could not come to terms thus the reason why he will be playing with the independent league Fort Worth Cats. Crow has picked up many national awards including being named the 2008 Roger Clemens award winner as the top collegiate pitcher. Crow’s stock skyrocketed last summer with an impressive Cape Cod League All-Star game where he hit 98 MPH and an impressive junior season which saw him go 13-0 with a 2.35 ERA. He also struck out 127 batters in 107.1 innings of work. Read the rest of this entry »

We recently ran across an article out of the Seattle Times that talks about some of the best prospects for the 2009 draft. Larry Stone wrote the article where he talks with a CBB reader in Keith Law of ESPN and John Manuel of Baseball America. Both of them clearly state that Stephen Strasburg is the top player in the 2009 draft after competing on the 2008 Olympic team and lighting up radar guns during the 2008 collegiate season. They also talk about Kyle Gibson, Dustin Ackley, and Alex White among other players. Read the rest of this entry »

Brian Matusz

SAN DIEGO, Calif. ­ Former University of San Diego All-American Brian Matusz has come to terms with the Baltimore Orioles, signing his first Major League Baseball contract.

Matusz, the fourth overall pick by the Orioles in the 2008 MLB draft and the consensus best pitcher available, received a $3.2 million bonus and a four-year major league deal as part of his contract with the Orioles. That bonus is the second-highest in this year¹s draft, trailing only the $6.15
million the Rays gave No. 1 overall selection Tim Beckham. The total value of the deal has yet to be reported.

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The Cape Cod Baseball League has put out two great articles on the MVP of the league which was AJ Pollock of Notre Dame and the Batting Champ in Jimmy Cesario of Houston. Pollock finished the season leading the league in hits, doubles, and slugging percentage while finishing second in the league in batting average behind Jimmy Cesario. Read the rest of this entry »

#15 Jordan Danks- Picture by Donald J Boyles

The last day a MLB team can sign one of their draft picks is this Friday August 15th by Midnight. Jordan Danks and the Chicago White Sox are at a standstill over bonus money. (Baseball Prospectus reported that he signed a contract which was posted on this very site. The report was erroneous.) Jordan wants 2nd round money and the White Sox are hesitant to give him 2nd round money. Alan Trubow of the Austin American Statesman has written an article this evening talking with the Danks about this very subject.

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The Cotuit Kettleers are currently leading the Falmouth Commodores in the 7th inning 3-1.  If you’re not at the game, it is being streamed online here.  Also, Nate Sandals of the Cape Cod Times is updating everyone with a live blog.  The game is moving along fast, so be sure to check out the action.  The winner of this game will face Harwich, the winner of the Eastern League, in a best-of-3 series starting tomorrow.

The guys over at Pitchfork Nation check in with Golden Spikes Nominee Brett Wallace, who is currently tearing up the Class A Midwest League for the St. Louis Cardinals Single-A affiliate Quad City River Bandits.  Brett is hitting .346 with 5 homeruns so far.  Here’s an excerpt from the interview: Read the rest of this entry »

FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES

NEW YORK — USA Baseball announced Wednesday 23 of the 24 members of its 2008 U.S. Olympic Baseball Team. The Davey Johnson-led squad is set to compete in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Aug. 8-24 (baseball competition Aug. 13-23).

The team features 12 pitchers and 11 position players. The 24th member of the Olympic Team will be named in the coming days, ahead of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad’s (BOCOG) July 22 cut-off date.

“We are proud of the ballclub we have assembled,” said USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler. “The team is strong from top to bottom, and we are confident it will succeed in Beijing. We applaud our coaching staff and selection committee for their tireless work in putting together an excellent team.”

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FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE

(NEW YORK) – USA Baseball announced today the selection of Florida State’s Buster Posey (Leesburg, Ga.) as the winner of the 2008 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award (GSA). This year marks the 31st consecutive year that the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award has been presented to the nation’s premier amateur baseball player. Read the rest of this entry »

FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Lubbock, Texas – The Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Award Selection Committee has named Florida State All-American catcher Buster Posey of Leesburg, Ga., as the fifth recipient of the award, which was presented in a national telecast (FCS) on Wednesday evening at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.

Posey conquered an elite field of 15 other semi-finalists and finalists including consensus All-American shortstop Gordon Beckham of Georgia and pitcher Brian Matusz of San Diego. He will be honored Thursday afternoon in the Fourth on Broadway parade festivities along with the College Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

Baseball America has put out their 2008 Freshmen All-American teams led by Chris Hernandez of Miami (FL) who was named BA National Player of the Year award winner. The full team is available below. Read the rest of this entry »

FROM NCBWA RELEASE
LINCOLN, Neb. - A total of 56 standout college baseball players from every part of the country are featured on the 13th Annual Pro-Line Athletic National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America Team, the organization announced today.

The 2008 NCBWA All-America Team is comprised of teams from 19 different conferences and 17 conference championships teams. The three All-America squads are also made up of 24 conference “Player of the Year” winners. Read the rest of this entry »

The NC State Wolfpack head down to Athens Ga to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a matchup between ACC/SEC schools. The Wolfpack have a 40-20 overall record while going 18-11 in the ACC. The Bulldogs have an overall record of 39-22-1 while winning the SEC regular season title with a 20-9-1 record. Read the rest of this entry »

FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
HOUSTON — Aaron Crow of Missouri, Joshua Fields of Georgia, Chris Hernandez of Miami (Fla.) and Brian Matusz of San Diego have been selected as finalists for The Roger Clemens Award, which honors the top pitcher in college baseball. The winner will be announced this summer in Houston.

The four pitchers were selected from a field of 10 semifinalists in a national vote of all Division 1 head baseball coaches, selected national college baseball media, previous winners of the R. E. “Bob” Smith Award, which was presented to the top player in college baseball in 1988-2003, and the 13 previous finalists for the Clemens Award. Read the rest of this entry »