KFDM COOP

Good luck Buna!

I agree!

Adminbaberuth says He just hit another HR

Astros look to restock farm system in MLB draft With the 10th overall selection this year, the Astros would do well to pick someone as good as these players, the best taken in that spot over the first 43 major league drafts: 1. Mark McGwire, 1B, Athletics, 1984 (Southern Cal) No. 8 on the all-time home run list with 583, he hit 49 long balls as an Oakland rookie in 1987 and achieved his greatest fame with a then-record 70 as a Cardinal in 1998. 2. Ted Simmons, C, Cardinals, 1967 (Southfield, Mich., HS) Best switch-hitting catcher ever (apologies, Jorge Posada) hit .303 or better seven times for St. Louis from 1971-80. Eight-time All-Star had nine 90-RBI seasons, including two for the Brewers. 3. Robin Ventura, 3B, White Sox, 1988 (Oklahoma State) In the 1990s, he won five gold gloves with the Chisox and one with the Mets. Drove in 120 runs for New York in 1999, one of his eight 90-RBI seasons. Tied for fourth all-time with 19 grand slams. 4. Eric Chavez, 3B, A's, 1996 (San Diego Mount Carmel HS) Had four 100-RBI seasons with Oakland between 2001-05, and in American League history, his six gold gloves at third base are exceeded only by Brooks Robinson's 16. 5. Tim Wallach, 1B, Expos, 1979 (Cal State Fullerton) Though drafted as a first baseman, he won three gold gloves at third for Montreal and was a five-time All-Star. Drove in 123 runs in 1987, one of two years he led the National League in doubles. Bobby Heck, the Astros' first-year director of amateur scouting, wasn't on the job long when he came to a blunt conclusion about the state of the club's minor league system. "Thin," Heck said. Heck's findings came before the Astros depleted their farm system even more by trading away prospects Troy Patton, Matt Albers and Juan Gutierrez in a series of moves aimed at upgrading this year's team. The Astros hope to begin taking some major steps toward restocking their minor league talent pool in Thursday's amateur draft. The two-day, 50-round draft will be partially televised by ESPN2. "You can't afford to have these opportunities to replenish your system drift by without handling it effectively," general manager Ed Wade said. "Obviously, with the changes that we made during the offseason and we've acknowledged our farm system is depleted at this point in time, it magnifies the importance of the draft." The Astros will pick 10th overall, putting them in the top 10 for the first time since they selected Chris Burke at No. 10 in 2001. They also will pick 38th, 57th and 88th, giving them five of the first 109 picks. The club received a supplemental first-round pick (38th) for losing Type B free agent Trever Miller to free agency and a supplemental third-round pick (109th) for failing to sign 2007 third-rounder Derek Dietrich. "It's very important," owner Drayton McLane said. "The drafts we've had in the past the last several years, because we had generally finished up in the standings, you get a lower draft pick and then we traded away a lot of draft position because of free agency we had signed. The past five or six years we have not been in good position. This year we are." The Astros could have their choice of several impressive college pitchers, including Shooter Hunt of Tulane, Christian Friedrich of Eastern Kentucky and Tanner Scheppers of Fresno State. But signing them will be the key. Last year's draft was nothing short of a disaster for the Astros, who didn't have a pick in the first two rounds after they surrendered their choices when they signed Type A free agents Carlos Lee and Woody Williams. They took Dietrich, a high schooler, with their first pick in the third round and righthander Brett Eibner of The Woodlands in the fourth round, but both went unsigned after McLane didn't want to pay higher than the slot bonus money recommended by Major League Baseball. As a result, the Astros didn't sign a pick until the fifth round and spent just $1.584 million on the draft, less than half the average of the other 29 teams. Don't expect the Astros to begin overpaying this year. "If you overpay one player, that cuts back on the funding you have for other positions you have in the draft," McLane said. "You have to know where to spend the money and how to spend it." According to Baseball America, Major League Baseball officials have told clubs to take any player they want and not worry about signability, giving scouting directors more flexibility. "We're going to try to bring the best guys available into the organization, and we think we've got plenty of flexibility in the budget to handle that," Wade said. "Major League Baseball has done some changes with regard to increasing some of the slot money out there. We're going to try to be aggressive in the draft." McLane shook up the scouting department in the offseason, reassigning scouting director Paul Ricciarini and replacing him with Heck, who had a strong track record with the Milwaukee Brewers. Heck worked for nine seasons in the Brewers' scouting department and helped restock a minor league system that was ranked 30th by Baseball America in 2000. Among the players drafted by the Brewers while Heck was in Milwaukee were Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks. Heck is confident the Astros' system, currently ranked 29th by Baseball America, can have a similar turnaround. "There's a chance to add quality and depth at the same time, and obviously it's something that needs to be injected into the system," he said. Best player available Under Heck and Wade, the Astros are expected to select the best player available, regardless of position or school status. "Obviously, you look at composition of your organization and composition of the big league club and all those factors come into play," Wade said. "But the final analysis is we're going to try to take the best player we can, the player that projects out with the highest ceiling and could be the most productive player for us for an extended period of time." Wade spent eight seasons (1998-2005) as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, during which the club selected college players in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell and high school players in Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson and Brett Myers. "The player who projects to bring the most to the table over an extended period of time prevails in my mind," Wade said. "Certainly there's always the potential of us taking a player who's somewhat more polished if it's a close call, because the more polished player the anticipation is he gets there faster. "I'm a big believer in ceiling and understanding in our sport you have to have a measure of patience. If you're making the right decision from the standpoint of talent, that patience normally pays off." The Astros still have some pitching prospects in the upper levels in Bud Norris, Brad James and Sergio Perez at Class AA Corpus Christi, but the lower minor leagues are lacking in big-time prospects pretty much across the board. "That's really not a prevailing factor for us when we start talking about best athlete available," Wade said. "I think one thing leads to another. If we start listing our strengths and weaknesses by position, it leads somebody to believe that becomes a criterion when we are making our selection. "The reality is we could have shortstops backed up five deep in the system, but if we felt the best player out there was a shortstop, that would probably be our selection." Signability is key Heck and Wade spent last week meeting with regional scouts and shuffling names around their draft board. Considering the problems the Astros had signing their top two picks last year, signability looms large. "Our guys have to be in there and know what the expectations are of the player, the family, the adviser," Wade said. While it doesn't come close to the depth of talent there was in the 2005 draft, this year's draft is pretty balanced. And with six picks in the first four rounds, the Astros are primed for a bumper crop. "There's some bats in there, some corner infield bats that project highly," Wade said. "There's some shortstops we've talked about. From a pitching standpoint, there's some guys who project as upper-level-of-starting-rotation-types of arms, and there's some closers. "From a philosophical standpoint, if a club is open-minded with the type of athlete, there are going to be opportunities there, not only at 10, but 38 and 54 and throughout the upper levels of the draft."

Semi Final Buna vs. Corsicana Mildred Wed. June 4th 1PM in Round Rock at Dell Diamond!!!!

From AV2004 2008 Texas Camps Listing Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision) Texas June 8 Mini-Camp (juniors and seniors) June 15 Mini-Camp (juniors and seniors) June 15-18 Session II (freshman-seniors) Texas A&M June 7 Mini Camp I (juniors and seniors) June 12 - 14 High School Camp I (freshman-seniors) June 15 - 17 Elite QB Camp (freshman-seniors) June 18- 20 High School Camp II (freshman-seniors) June 20 - 21 Kicking Academy (freshman-seniors) July 11 Offensive/Defensive Line Camp (freshman-seniors) July 13 Mini Camp II (juniors and seniors) Texas Tech June 8 Mini Camp 1 (juniors and seniors) June 9-11 Skills Camp 1 (middle school-seniors) June 14 Mini Camp 2 (juniors and seniors) June 14 Kicking Camp (juniors and seniors) June 15-17 Skills Camp 2 (middle school-seniors) Baylor June 5 Kicking Camp June 6 Houston at Delmar Stadium June 7 Houston at Pearland High School June 13 Waco at Floyd Casey Stadium June 13 East Texas at Tyler Junior College June 14 DFW at Cedar Hill High School July 25 Waco at Floyd Casey Stadium Houston June 8 Kicking Camp (freshman-seniors) June 8-10 Football Camp (freshman-seniors) June 15 East Texas Showcase at Tyler Junior College (sophomores-seniors) July 25 Mini Camp (juniors and seniors) Rice June 6th Mini Camp I – (juniors and seniors) June 9th Central Texas Satellite (Canyon HS, New Braunfels) (juniors and seniors) June 10th Dallas Satellite (Arlington Lamar HS) – (juniors and seniors) June 17th Rocky Willingham Kicking Camp- (freshman-seniors) July 17th Mini Camp II (juniors and seniors) UTEP June 9 El Paso Camp, Sun Bowl Stadium June 14 Dallas Camp, Mesquite Memorial Stadium June 16 Fort Worth Camp, Kennedale High School June 17 Longview Camp, Longview High School June 18 East Houston Camp, Pasadena Memorial Stadium June 19 West Houston Camp, Houston Christian High School June 20 San Antonio Camp, Comalander Stadium North Texas June 1 Mini Camp I* (juniors and seniors) June 9, 10, 11, &12 Coach Dodge QB/WR Camp June 15-17 Football Camp session I (middle school-seniors) July 19 Mini Camp II* (juniors and seniors) *The kicking Camp hosted by RWKSKicking.com provided at $150 TCU June 7 Mini Camp June 8-10 Football Camp July 18 Mini Camp SMU June 10-12 (3-day) June 14 (Mini camp) June 15 (Mini camp) Division I (Football Championship Subdivision) Sam Houston State June 17 (freshman-seniors) July 24 (freshman-seniors) Stephen F. Austin July 12 (Off. skills camp) July 5-8 (OFF/DEF line camp) Texas State June 7 Mini camp I (juniors and seniors) June 11-13 Football Camp (freshman-seniors) June 16 Kicking Camp (freshman-seniors) July 26 Mini camp II (juniors and seniors) Division II Tarleton State July 13-15 Football Camp Midwestern State June 19-21 Skills camp June 19-21 Lineman Camp June 19-20 Kicking Camp June 21 Senior football camp Texas A&M-Commerce June 9-11 Lineman Camp (freshman-seniors) Texas A&M-Kingsville June 7 Skill Camp (middle school-seniors) West Texas A&M June 15-18 Football Camp (middle school-seniors) Division III ETBU June 16-18 Football Camp (freshman-seniors) Hardin Simmons June 22-June 24 Big Country Passing Camp (juniors, seniors) June 26-June 28 Big Country Passing Camp (freshman, sophomores) Mary Hardin-Baylor June 9 Showcase Camp (juniors, seniors) working in conjunction with coaching staff from Oklahoma State June 17-19 Camp of Champions (freshman-seniors) Texas Lutheran June 27-29 (middle school-seniors) Junior College Blinn JC July 12 Combine July 16-19 Football Camp Tyler JC June 9-12 Football Camp (middle school-seniors)

Friendswood battles more than rival Mustangs By Joshua Buckley The Daily News Published June 1, 2008 HOUSTON — Even as they completed one of the most thrilling and historic wins in school history Saturday, many of the Friendswood baseball players could barely muster up the energy to walk out to the University of Houston’s Cougar Field scoreboard for a team photo. Friendswood came away with a 10-8 victory over Lamar Consolidated to win its first Region III-4A baseball title in school history. But to record the program’s biggest win, Friendswood had to not only survive the rival Mustangs, but also sweltering heat and the incredible pressure of a 13-inning affair. “I’m not going to lie,†said senior catcher Matt McLaren, who was covered from head to toe in dirt and sweat. “At one point, we didn’t think it would every end. The whole game was up and down, and up and down. It was nuts.†The first pitch of the game was delivered at 2:03 p.m. The final out came at 6:51 p.m. — four hours and 48 minutes later. Not exactly your typical high school baseball game. “I’m so exhausted right now,†said junior Kevin Thornton, who may have had the only jersey in the stadium dirtier than McLaren’s. “My legs, ribs, back — everything is cramping up. It was tough out there.†Temperatures soared into the upper 90s throughout the afternoon. While the fans from both teams sat in the shaded areas of the Cougar Field stands, the players had to find different ways to keep themselves from getting dehydrated during the game. “During football season, your Under Armour holds in humidity under your pads,†McLaren explained. “This was the first time I’ve ever needed my baseball Under Armour to hold in humidity. I was pouring water down my shirt and doing whatever I could to stay hydrated. “It was miserable.†The elements were hardly the toughest thing the Friendswood players had to battle through Saturday. They also had to find ways to stay calm and focused as the pressure began to mount each inning. “Especially with them being the home team,†McLaren said. “It wasn’t just score and then celebrate being done. We knew we had to score and then hold it. “The pressure started to get to us a little bit, but we had to calm ourselves down and hold on to it.†One player who tried to remain a cool customer under the extreme circumstances was pitcher Andrew Beasley. About 20 hours after being charged with the Game 2 loss, Beasley came in to pitch in the ninth inning. He finished the game allowing three hits and two walks over five innings. “I didn’t really feel any pressure.†Don’t lie now Beasley… “I promise you, (Friday) night there was much more pressure. The whole time today, I didn’t even look at the crowd much. I knew what I wanted out there, so I just concentrated on the game.†In the end, Friendswood survived the heat, the pressure and the relentless Lamar Consolidated Mustangs. They were covered in dirt and sweat, and many struggled just to walk over to their parents for a congratulatory hug. All Friendswood coach Charlie Taylor could do was shake his head in approval and smile. “We’ve been in long innings before, but not like this one,†Taylor said. “Our kids gave it all on the field. They were driving and running after balls. Some of them are dragging real bad now, but they played their hearts out.†What’s next for the Friendswood players on the agenda? Well, before packing up a bag for next week’s state tournament in Round Rock, many were just ready for a moment of relaxation. “I’m going to go home and take a shower first,†McLaren said. Added Beasley: “I think we are all going to go home and crash. But later, we are going to party it up.â€

Awesome!!

I agree!

Dang that is a great lineup!

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Thanks

Thanks for the updates!

Congrats again Buna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken Griffey Jr. hits career homer No. 599 CINCINNATI — Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 599th career homer Saturday off Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens, a two-run shot that left him one away from an elite mark. Griffey's homer in the first inning was a breakthrough for the Cincinnati Reds outfielder, who has been having trouble getting those last few to 600. He would become the sixth to reach the mark, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa. The 38-year-old outfielder came into the season needing only seven to get to 600. He hit No. 597 on April 23 at Great American Ball Park, where the club has been promoting his quest for 600. Then, Griffey went 90 at-bats before getting his next homer, in San Diego on May 22. It was the second-longest drought of his career. He had gone 29 at-bats without a homer before he connected on Saturday in his first at-bat against Jurrjens, who became the 383rd pitcher to give up a homer by Griffey.

Hutto is headed to Austin!

13-3 UT wins.

Not sure. Top of 5..6-0 Buna.

6-0 Buna bottom 4.

Buna can taste Austin!!!

Hutto 5 6 5 Taylor 6 8 2 Final/Game 2

Yes, no broadcast today though.

13-1 UT 7th

13-1 UT 7th