1. SOUTHBAY
MARCH_2010 DECEMBER_2009
MARCH_2010
> THIS MONTH:
The Beauty Issue The Beauty Issue
Radha
THE CRAZIES’
2010 > THIS MONTH:
2010
Radha
THE CRAZIES’
MUSIC INDUSTRY
MITCHELL DRAFT PICS
MUSIC INDUSTRY
DRAFT PICS
MLB SPRING MLB SPRING
TRAINING MITCHELL TRAINING
March To-Do List March To-Do List

3. SPRING TRAINING 2010
GettinG into the swinG
Writer>>TYLER ANDREWS
Angels in waiting The Angels have battled with that harrowing possibility this offseason, numbers and less on the traditional methods of assessment: how he looks They call him King Felix in Seattle and his 98 MPH fastball underlines
There is no one better than Mike Scioscia at winning close games. He is and it no doubt led them to sign World Series MVP Hideki Matsui to add on the mound, how he handles pressure situations, how he works with that title. In 2009 King Felix had the most wins in the AL and finished
the Angels’ ace in the hole, and, entering the 2009 postseason, he gave some pop to their lineup. The absence of Chone Figgins atop the Angels his teammates. In this way he’s in unfamiliar territory. More importantly, second in the CY Young voting. He’s a legitimate number ace a pitching
them the added confidence of knowing they wouldn’t be outcoached. lineup also suggests that the team may be pursuing a lineup that can slug those in the mainstream sports media need to be cautious in how they staff that also has Cliff Lee in the rotation. He’s become a star by limiting
On the contrary, Yankee manager Joe Girardi entered the playoffs with with Boston and New York. 2009 was a definite blow to the status quo hype a young man who has yet to throw a pitch in the majors. his walks, commanding three devastating pitches, and pitching at his
grave doubts surrounding his ability to coach a team through a month in Anaheim, but it may have been just what the team needed to get them best with runners on base.
of high pressure baseball. And his post-season efforts didn’t do much back to the World Series for the first time since 2002. talent turnover
to dispel those doubts. From poor handling of his bullpen and lineup When Evan Longoria entered the league three years ago, people touted > Justin Upton: Outfielder, Arizona Diamondbacks. Justin, the younger
to thoughtless late inning offensive substitutions, Girardi looked lost in straw Man his potential as a third baseman and rising MLB superstar. He had the brother of B.J. of the Tampa Bay Rays, is entering his third full season
the moment. Yet, thanks to Alex Rodriguez’s late inning heroics and Last season, before Stephen Strasburg was on everyone’s baseball radar, glove, the arm and the bat for the job, and after a year in the Bigs with the D’backs and coming off a year where, after a rocky start, he
Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia’s sheer awesomeness on the mound, Tim Kurkjian delivered a piece on ESPN calling him “the best prospect there were only two third basemen with better numbers than Longoria: absolutely crushed the ball. Upton has a short stroke that goes for both
they outlasted the Twins, reached the ALCS, and hosted Anaheim. The of all time.” He lionized the kid in every aspect imaginable leaving the Alex Rodriguez and David Wright. Longoria now is entering his third full power and average, and he’s fast. He’s a star to watch because he’s
series looked to be a classic Anaheim- New York confrontation—the ESPN studio anchor almost speechless. His only question: “How good season and making good on his potential. Defensively, he outperforms limited his strikeouts, hits well with runners in scoring position and has
precision and guile of the Angels versus the brute force of the Yankees. is he going to be?” The piece, for as tantalizing as it made the young both A Rod and Wright, and his 2009 offensive numbers were a hair the speed to steal thirty bases.
Recently, the Angels owned the Yankees in post-season play, a testament pitcher seem, was absurd. Kurkjian sounded like Don King promoting behind Rodriguez’s and well ahead of Wright’s. So, maybe he’s
to their superior coaching and ability to execute the fundamentals. It was a fighter; the story about Strasburg was less a prospect watch than a now the second best 3B in baseball, maybe the best if you > troy tulowitzki: Shortstop, Colorado Rockies. After
a definite source of pride for the Halos who saw their postseason success guarantee of what the future holds. Furthermore, it created a narrative disqualify A Rod for steroid use. Undoubtedly, he’s lost a rough patch, Tulo finished 2009, his third full season,
over the Yanks as proof that Big Baseball could be beat, that precise wherein the young pitcher’s talent was a foregone conclusion, and what the “rising” prefix in front of his superstar label, and “There with a bang. He ended with 32 homers, 20 stolen
team play in the postseason is more reliable than a lineup of superstars
going at it hammer and tongs. However, in 2009 the tides turned, and
was left to be decided were how many victories he’d have in his rookie
season, how many strikeouts, how many innings pitched. People were
his situation begs a question: When do baseball’s
rising stars become, simply, stars? Let’s look at a few
is no one bases and a .300 average. Not only that, his defense
was fundamentally perfect. Tulo’s sophomore year
the Yankee lineup proved irrepressible. The Yankees, for the first time, counting their chickens. young players who are on the cusp of entering the beTTer Than was absolutely horrendous, but he showed real
overpowered the Angels and, after signing Sabathia, A.J Burnett and league’s coterie of young stars and see how they’re toughness bouncing back in 09. What makes Tulo
Mark Teixiera in the offseason, made a strong case that Big Baseball is It’s not that this doesn’t happen all the time with talented prospects, but also casting off the “rising” prefix. Mike scioscia a star is his toughness as well as his leadership.
superior if it’s big enough. what it leaves Strasburg, now a signed Washington National, and those
in his camp feeling, is a sense that his early success will rely more on his
aT winning He’s solid in the clutch, thrives under pressure, and
> Felix hernandez: Pitcher, Seattle Mariners. gets on base when it’s absolutely necessary.
close
gaMes.”
26 LIVEMAGS.NET MARCH>>10 LIVEMAGS.NET MARCH>>10
27