Bailey made his Major League debut on April 6, 2009 for the Athletics after struggling during the 2008 season with Double-A Midland of the Double-A Texas League. He went 5-9 with a 4.32 ERA in 37 games. But Bailey made the A’s roster out of Spring Training in 2009 and caught on quickly with the big club. He posted a 6-3 record with a measly 1.84 ERA in the Majors in 2009 in 68 games with 26 saves.

Coghlan debuted with the Florida Marlins on May 8, 2009 and never looked back, tearing through National League pitching staffs. Coghlan recorded a .321 batting average with nine homeruns and 47 RBIs in 128 games for the NL East club. Coghlan primarily was the club’s left fielder for the 2009 season but did play one game (seven innings worth) at second base for the Marlins.

On Tuesday, the American League Cy Young winner will be announced. Wednesday, the American and National League managers of the year will be announced. Thursday, the National League Cy Young winner will be announced. Monday, November 23, the American League MVP will be announced and Tuesday, November 24, the National League MVP will be announced.

If the Phillies think they will be fighting for another World Series title in 2010, the front office will need to improve three areas of the club. The three most glaring areas are at third base, the back end of the bullpen, and the bench. It did not take GM Ruben Amaro Jr. long to get working on the 2010 season. In fact, he informed starter turned reliever Brett Myers (Phillies 1999 1st round pick-12th overall) that he would not be offered a contract to remain with the club for 2010 only days after his team was eliminated by the Yankees.

1. Who’s on Third?

One of the most glaring problems that surfaced for the Phillies during their previous two playoff runs was the lack of offensive production from the third base side of the diamond. Pedro Feliz signed a two year contract with the Phillies prior to the 2008 season with a club option for a third season (2010), which was declined by Amaro on November 8, 2009. Feliz is one of the strongest third baseman in the National League defensively but his offensive numbers have declined since joining the Phillies in the 2008 season. Feliz previously played eight seasons for the Giants in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. From 2003-2007 Feliz hit 16, 22, 20, 22 and 20 homeruns for the Giants. Since joining the Phillies Feliz has hit 26 homeruns combined over two seasons in hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. The problem with Feliz has been his offensive drop-off once the playoffs begin. In two playoff appearances with the Phillies Feliz has hit .250 in 2008 and .167 in 2009. He became an automatic out at the bottom of the batting order during the 2009 postseason, hitting ahead of the scorching hot Carlos Ruiz. In total, Feliz hit .204 over two postseasons with the Phillies with two homeruns and eight RBIs.

The Phillies have already said that they are still interested in resigning Feliz at a lower price. His option was for $5 million. On the team’s wish list for 2010 are Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre, Angels third baseman Chone Figgins, Cardinals third basemen Troy Glaus and Mark DeRosa, Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco (played in Philly from 2002-2005) and possibly Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada (who could move to third). Other options include trading for a third baseman. Amaro spoke with reporters at the GM meetings in Chicago and did not mention any players by name but Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche and Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff could also be available via trade. If the Phillies cannot land a third base free agent or trade for one they could reopen negotiations with Feliz.

2. Every Team Needs Relief

The old saying is that pitching and defense wins championships because good pitching beats good hitting any day of the week. That proved true during the 2009 World Series when the Yankee lefthanders (starters and relievers) stifled the left handed bats in the Phillies lineup. The Phillies bullpen struggled in 2009 after being nearly perfect when leading after seven innings in 2008. Brad Lidge, the closer, was 48 for 48 in save opportunities in 2008 but blew a league leading 11 saves in 2009. Ryan Madson struggled as a fill-in closer when Lidge was ‘removed’ from the role during the regular season and when Lidge was on the Disabled List in June.

One of the items on Amaro’s wish list for this off-season is the addition of one or two arms via free agency to the Phillies bullpen. One free agent said to be garnering interest from the Phillies is Tigers closer Fernando Rodney. Rodney converted 37 of his 38 save opportunities in 2009 for the Tigers and will likely not be resigned by the Tigers. Rodney could prove to be a shut down setup man for the Phillies and step in to the closer’s role if Lidge struggles or is placed on the DL with an injury. Lidge had successful elbow surgery on November 11, 2009 and is said to be ready for Spring Training. Another free agent reliever the Phillies could possibly target is Braves closer Rafael Soriano. Soriano converted 27 of his 31 save opportunities in 2009 for the Braves. The Phillies could also consider making a trade for an established reliever since they do not seem to be in the running for Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay this off-season, despite his asking value possibly being reduced.

3. A Strong Bench Wins Games

Aside from pitching and defense, a strong bench is also a staple to a championship winning club. Just as the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were single handedly defeated by the Phillies in game four of the 2008 NLCS by a strong bench. The Phillies had acquired Matt Stairs on August 30, 2008, one day prior to the playoff roster deadline. Stairs hit a two-run pinch hit go ahead homerun off of Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton in the eighth inning of game four in 2008. The Phillies would win game five and then go on to win the World Series in five games against the Rays. Stairs struggled mightily as a bench player in 2009, hitting .194 with five homeruns and 17 RBIs in 103 at-bats. His performance in the post-season was even worse, hitting .100 with one RBI in 10 at-bats.

Other weaknesses for the Phillies on the bench this year was a viable right handed hitter off the bench to face a lefty late in the game. The Phillies began the year with Miguel Cairo, Eric Bruntlett, and Chris Coste as right handed hitting options off the bench. They also used Lou Marson, John Mayberry Jr., and Ben Francisco. Their left handed hitters off the bench aside from Stairs were Greg Dobbs, Paul Bako, and Andy Tracy (when rosters expanded on September 1st).

The sad truth of 2009 for the Phillies was that their bench did not perform as well as it did in 2008, during the regular season or the playoffs. More than likely Stairs will not be back with the Phillies in 2010 unless he signs a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Dobbs will be back as possibly the lone left handed bat off the bench but he hit only .247 with five homeruns and 20 RBIs during the regular season and went a combined zero for four in the playoffs. Eric Bruntlett, in his two seasons with the Phillies, has only been useful as a defensive replacement for manager Charlie Manuel. Bruntlett was primarily used as a late inning defensive replacement for former left fielder Pat Burrell in 2008 and all throughout the team’s World Series run. Bruntlett hit .171 in 2009 with seven RBIs and zero homeruns. He has hit .202 during his two year stay in Philadelphia.

The other problem with the bench from 2009 that must be fixed in 2010 is the need for a backup catcher. The Phillies traded prospect Jason Jaramillo to the Pirates in the off-season for Ronny Paulino. Paulino was then shipped to the San Francisco Giants for lefty reliever Jack Taschner at the end of Spring Training. Paulino would be traded right away to the Marlins, were he spent the 2009 season. In season the Phillies traded catching prospect Lou Marson with three other prospects to Cleveland for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco. When Brad Lidge was on the DL in June Paul Bako was called up and the Phillies went with three catchers, signaling the end of Chris Coste’s time in the City of Brotherly Love. Coste was claimed on waivers by the Astros on July 10, 2009. The Phillies were happy with Bako’s ability to handle the pitching staff and at the plate (.224, 3 homeruns, 9 RBIs) but he is a free agent and the team would like to improve in that area as well.

The Class of the NL for a Third Straight Season?

Not many people will be surprised if the Phillies return to the World Series for a third straight season in 2010. If they do so by winning the NL East then it would be the first time in franchise history that the team has won four consecutive division crowns, which would cement Charlie Manuel as the best manager in team history as he climbs towards the top of the team’s all-time wins list. If GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and his staff can improve the bench, the bullpen, and the situation at third base, or even two of three, then this club will be in line for another title run in 2010 and maybe even 2011.

Adding instant replay to the game of baseball, America’s Past-time, was difficult to perform in the first place. Historians of the game and baseball lifers argued against instant replay because of the harm it would bring to the purity of the game. Others argued that it would lengthen an already long game (averaging 3 hours per game). Those who were in favor of instant replay said that it should only be used for determining whether or not a batted ball is a homerun, a double, fan interference or a foul ball and nothing else. The final argument won out and instant replay has since been used in the sport at the discretion of the umpires.

With all of the wrong calls being made in the 2009 playoffs, members of the media and fans of the game have begun the discussion of possibly expanding the use of instant replay, maybe just for the playoffs, or for the entire season (from Spring Training until the final out of the Fall Classic). If you ask this fan of the game, I say no expansion of instant replay. There are other ways to make sure that the umpires make the correct calls. We will outline those methods in this post.

Increase Umpire Training

One way to improve umpiring across the game is to increase umpire training and require umpires to attend certain seminars and other meetings throughout the off-season about umpiring. In these meetings and seminars former umpires and umpires from training schools can teach the current umpires how to properly call the game. Many umpires will not go for this but it should be added to the umpires contracts once the collective bargaining agreement is decided on in the coming years.

Increase Rookie Pay

Another way to improve the calls made by umpires across the sport is to increase the pay of rookie and junior umpires. These umpires do not make much money for the season ($9,500) which forces them to hold off-season jobs to make ends meet. An umpire working at Triple-A for a 10 year period might earn $20,000 for their time and that’s it. These umpires need to be paid higher if the league wants them to take their job more seriously. In all honesty, who is going to give it their best if they are being paid peanuts? Not many people.

Hold Umpires Accountable

Just the other night (Tuesday), we saw crew chief Tim McClelland of the Yankees-Angels series, hold a post game press conference regarding some of the calls he made while umpiring third base during Game Four of the ALCS in which the Yankees won 10-1 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. McClelland called Nick Swisher out at third on an appeal by the Angels saying he left the base too early on a tag play from center field when replays showed that Swisher in fact did not leave early. Another play, where two Yankees were at third base (Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano) but neither on the bag, were both tagged out but McClelland only called one runner out when both should have been out. A third play, at second base, had a daylight pickoff play against Swisher. Swisher was ruled safe at second when replays showed that he was tagged out prior to returning to the base.

This press conference is a rarity for umpires these days but when they are held they are only held by the crew chief. So, if it is not the crew chief who makes a mistake during the game we do not get to hear from the umpire who made the bad call. Instead, we only hear from the crew chief, after he talked to the umpire in question. We, as paying fans, should get to hear from the umpire who made the incorrect call instead of someone speaking on his behalf. We get to hear from the players, coaches, managers and front office personnel who make the team decisions and perform the plays on the field so why can’t we hear from the umpires who run the game? It is only fair that the umpires should be held accountable.

Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is mobbed at third base after hitting a two-run walk-off double against the Dodgers in Game Four of the NLCS on Monday night.

The Braves performed the same feat in 1991-1992 when they lost in the World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games in 1991 and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games in 1992. Prior to the Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers performed this rare feat in 1977-1978 when they lost back to back World Series to the New York Yankees in six games both times. The last National League team to win two straight World Series titles was the 1975-1976 Cincinnati Reds. The Reds defeated the Red Sox in seven games in 1975 and the Yankees in a four game sweep in 1976.

Unless you live under a rock, you know how the Phillies have put themselves in the position they are in right now. With one out in the bottom of the ninth and the bases empty, Pedro Feliz was scheduled to hit for the Phillies Monday night. Feliz, who is hitting .148 in the postseason (.077 in the NLCS), was lifted for pinch hitter Matt Stairs. Stairs has 19 regular season pinch hit homeruns in his career and hit the biggest homerun in Phillies playoff history in game four of the NLCS in 2008 against Jonathan Broxton. Broxton has said often during the 2009 season that he would like to face Stairs again. This time the Phillies were trailing 4-3 in Philly, not tied at 5 in LA. Stairs dug in against Broxton, who did not throw one strike even remotely close to the strike zone. Obviously, the image of the Stairs homerun was still fresh in the mind of Broxton.

The Phillies mob Carlos Ruiz at homeplate after he scores the winning run Monday night in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers.

After Stairs took first, Manuel sent out Eric Bruntlett to pinch run for the power hitter as Carlos Ruiz stepped to the plate. On the first pitch of the at-bat Broxton threw a 96 MPH fastball inside to Ruiz, who took it off his elbow, putting the tying run at second and the winning run at first. The next batter to the plate, Jimmy Rollins, worked a 1-1 count against the overpowering right handed pitcher when lightning struck again in Philadelphia. Rollins laced a two out double into the right centerfield gap scoring Bruntlett as the tying run and Ruiz as the winning run. As Ruiz crossed the plate, the city of Philadelphia celebrated as the clock closed in on midnight.

The Phillies won the game 5-4 and took a 3-1 series lead with Game five slated to be played at 8pm on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The reigning League and World Champions will send 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP Cole Hamels to the bump against former Phillie Vicente Padilla. Padilla threw 7.1 innings of one run ball in game two in LA for the Dodgers but did not factor in the decision as the Dodgers took the game 2-1. There is still a slight chance that the Dodgers might make a risky decision and throw Clayton Kershaw in game five, who was roughed up by the Phillies in game one, but they need to win this game. You never know what type of pitching decisions will be made with Joe Torre at the helm. As one of my close friends (a lifelong Yankee fan) said in reference to Torre on Sunday night: “It’s not hard to manage when you are up by 7 every night but when you are in a tie ballgame or trailing he is an idiot.”

Rollins Walk Off Double

Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.

Retiring from baseball can be a difficult and emotional decision to make. A handful of talented players have retired from the game over the past couple of years including Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Greg Maddux, Ricky Henderson, Jeff Kent, Luis Gonzalez, Mike Piazza and many more. On the other side of things there are players still toiling around baseball that have yet to retire but should consider hanging up their spikes once the 2009 season comes to an end. We will discuss those players in this article.

We will begin with the reigning World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. They have two players on their roster that should seriously consider retiring once the team’s 2009 title defense comes to an end. Those two players are left handed pitcher Jamie Moyer and left handed pinch hitting specialist Matt Stairs. Moyer was acquired by the Phillies from the Seattle Mariners in 2006 for two minor leaguers. Stairs was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays by the Phillies late in the 2008 season for minor league left handed pitcher Fabio Castro.

Since joining the Phillies in 2006, Moyer has recorded 47 wins, led the team in wins with 16 in 2008, and picked up his first World Series title also in 2008. 2009 hasn’t been as kind to the 46 year old veteran out of Saint Joseph’s University. Moyer struggled in his 25 starts before being moved to the bullpen with the activation of Pedro Martinez. In 30 total games pitched in 2009 Moyer has a 12-10 record with a 4.94 ERA. He was shut down for the remainder of the season at the end of September with tears in his groin and abdomen. Many in the Philadelphia area felt that Moyer should have called it a career after the 2008 title run but he signed a two year deal in the off-season with the Phillies. He is under contract until the end of the 2010 season.

Matt Stairs is the next person on our hit list. Stairs hit .294 with the Phillies in 16 regular season games after being acquired, with 2 homeruns, and 5 RBIs. But in the postseason Stairs made a name for himself with the Phillies faithful. He hit a monster two run pinch hit homerun off of Jonathan Broxton at Dodger Stadium to give the Phillies a 7-5 lead in Game four of the NLCS. In 2009 Stairs has struggled at the plate, hitting only .194 but he launched 5 pinch hit homeruns and drove in 17 runs during the regular season. Stairs has yet to record a hit in the 2009 postseason.

As we continue to look at players in the Major Leagues who need to retire following the 2009 season, John Smoltz is next on our list. Smoltz began the season, for the first time in his career, with a team other than the Atlanta Braves. Even though Smoltz was drafted by the Detroit Tigers, previous to 2009 he had only appeared in the Majors with the Braves. Smoltz joined the Red Sox to begin the 2009 season but struggled mightily with a 2-5 record and an ERA of 8.32 in eight games started. He was released by the Red Sox and signed on with the St. Louis Cardinals where he had somewhat of a revitalization. Smoltz went 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA in seven games started. No, those numbers are nothing to write home about but they are much better than his Red Sox numbers. So, in 15 starts in 2009, Smoltz is 3-8 with a 6.35 ERA.

Our next retiree comes from another playoff team. Jason Giambi is riding the bench with the Colorado Rockies in the National League Division Series against the Phillies. Giambi began the 2009 season with the Oakland Athletics, where he began his career in 1995. Giambi returned to the A’s after seven seasons in the Bronx with the Yankees. 2009 hasn’t been too kind to the slugging first baseman, who hit only .193 with the A’s. He did launch 11 homeruns and record 40 RBIs in 83 games. His Oakland homecoming did not turn out to be as special as he wanted it to be. After being released from the Athletics, Giambi signed on with the upstart Colorado Rockies. In 19 games with the Rockies Giambi hit .292 with two homeruns and 11 RBIs. In two playoff games against the Phillies, Giambi has yet to record a hit and has struck out once, with the bases loaded in Game Two of the NLDS.

There are only three players left to discuss who we here at JAV Baseball feel should retire following the 2009 season. One of those players spent the 2009 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Kevin Millar, once a feared slugger with the Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox, struggled throughout the 2009 season. He hit only .223 in 78 games with 7 homeruns and 29 RBIs. In his prime, Millar slugged a career high 25 homeruns and 96 RBIs with the Red Sox in 2003 and won a World Series with Boston in 2004. Millar hasn’t hit above .255 since 2006, when with the Baltimore Orioles. In 2007 he hit .254, in 2008 he hit .234, and in 2009 he hit .223.

The final two players on our list come from the Texas Rangers. They are catcher Ivan Rodriguez and shortstop Omar Vizquel. Rodriguez joined the Rangers in 2009 after playing in 93 games with the Houston Astros. In a total of 121 games played in 2009, Rodriguez struggled at the plate with a .249 batting average, 10 homeruns, and 47 RBIs. Pudge was brought to the Rangers in a late season deal in the hopes of bolstering the team’s offense during the stretch run as they aimed for the American League Wild Card.

Omar Vizquel, another Ranger, is the final player on our list of players who should retire following the 2009 season. Vizquel joined the Rangers for the 2009 campaign after spending four years with the San Francisco Giants. Vizquel debuted with the Seattle Mariners in 1989 and has also played for the Cleveland Indians. Vizquel hit a decent .266 with one homerun, and 14 RBIs in only 62 games played. The 62 games played were the fewest in his career since 2003, when he played in only 64 games with the Indians due to a knee injury. In a recent article on the Rangers website, Vizquel said he plans to play again in 2010, against our wishes.

Surely there could be at least three or four other players added to this list (Randy Johnson, Tim Hudson, and Scott Rolen to name a few). If you feel that we left anyone off this list who you think should retire following the conclusion of the 2009 season drop us a line and let us know.

Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.

The company plans to sell the Cubs to the family of billionaire Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade. Tribune Co. also plans to sell Wrigley Field and related properties of the club to the Ricketts family. The Cubs filed for Chapter 11 to protect the club’s new owner from any creditors of the Tribune Co. Tribune Co. filed for bankruptcy protection in December of 2008 but did not include the Cubs at the time.

The Tribune Co. will sell 95 percent of the Cubs to the Ricketts family while keeping the remaining five percent of the franchise, which was purchased from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. in 1981 for $20.5 million. The Wrigley Co. is a candy maker. The first plans announced for the sale of the Cubs came in 2007 but the recession and the crumbling credit markets put the sale on the back burner. The deal with the Ricketts family will top the record deal of $660 million for the sale of the Boston Red Sox in 2002.

After the signing deadline spectacle came and went on Monday night I sat back and pondered about previous draft signing deadlines and how much money has been spent on draft picks over the years. Let’s not forget that these players have yet to step foot on a professional baseball field and throw one pitch or record one at-bat with a professional team but they still obtain million dollar contracts and million dollar signing bonuses right out of high school and/or college. Bud Selig, the game’s commissioner, needs to revamp the draft and how much money can be spent on draft picks.

There have been various ideas tossed around the commissioner’s office and the player’s union office regarding revamping the draft but nothing has come to fruition yet. Some of the ideas tossed into the air for debate include trading picks, a worldwide draft, slotting and a control system for draft picks. No one in baseball knows if any of these ideas will be put into action but the union might vote for one or more of them to take effect within the next couple of years. The draft needs to be changed because players that have yet to throw a pitch or swing a bat in a professional game are getting paid more than some former Cy Young Award winners.

Let’s begin with the first idea; trading draft picks. Teams are not allowed to trade their draft picks under the current CBA. This means that teams cannot trade future draft picks or players that have been drafted and not signed yet. The trading of draft picks takes place in all three of the remaining major sports; basketball, football, and hockey. Teams in these three sports are allowed to trade their future draft picks or a drafted player during the draft itself. This doesn’t happen in baseball but many people around the game, especially the fans, would like to see this option come to fruition. The ability to trade draft picks will make it easier for teams to build their farm system. Also, if a team doesn’t wish to spend the money needed to sign a top ten pick they can draft a player in their assigned spot and then trade him to another team for a package of players.

The second idea for a revamped draft is to include worldwide players. When you look at some of the best foreign players in the Majors and in the Minors you tend to look at the Yankees and Red Sox. They spend millions of dollars each year when the International signing period takes place, stocking their farm system with talented foreign players. Scouts from across baseball, as well as some GMs, would like to see a worldwide draft instead of the International signing period so that all teams have a fair shot at foreign players.

Idea number three for revamping the draft is a mandatory slotting system. The sport of baseball is the only sport that does not have a mandatory slotting system for draft picks. A slotting system mandates how a draft pick will be paid depending on the slot they are drafted by a team. Teams in the Majors don’t want slotting. Instead, the players want slotting because they want the $15 million deals that are going to kids from high school and college. If a slotting system were to be put into effect then draft picks will either have to sign for the mandatory money, head to college, or play independent baseball for peanuts if they don’t have any college eligibility left.

The fourth and final idea rolling around the brains of baseball’s brass is to create a control system. The sport of hockey has a control system. When a team drafts a high school player in hockey and the player decides to attend college, the team that drafted that player controls their rights all through their college years. The team would be able to try and sign the player after their sophomore, junior, and senior years. If the player doesn’t sign after their senior year they would then re-enter the draft.

All of these ideas are being investigated by a committee of baseball personnel that is being led by John Schuerholz. Not all of these ideas will come to fruition but some of them will because the guaranteed money going to number one pick Stephen Strasburg ($15.1 million) is slightly more than the guaranteed money going to former Cy Young winners Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz combined for the 2009 season. Combined, these three players have nine Cy Young awards between them. Something needs to change when it comes to the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft or the contracts and signing bonuses will continue to increase with each passing year.

If only one of the above ideas can be put into effect by the commissioner’s office and the player’s union then it should be a slotting system for draft pick payouts. Why this idea over the remaining three? The answer is simple; unproven high school and college players that have yet to step onto a professional field should not be paid $15 million, period. It doesn’t matter what you accomplished in high school or college; it only matters what you do while climbing the ladder of your organization and your success in the bigs. There are plenty of Major League players not making $15 million over four years that have had more success at the big league level then these green draft picks. The same sentiment can be said for the NFL draft. Draft picks hold out and miss training camp practices because they feel they deserve multi-million dollar deals because of where they were picked and how they performed in college.

One problem that the union might run into when it comes to creating a slotting system is the fact that baseball contracts all over the game have inflated over the past couple of decades. The first really big contract was given to current Yankee Alex Rodriguez when he joined the Texas Rangers as a free agent prior to the 2001 season. At the time, the contract Rodriguez signed was the largest in sports history. It was a ten year deal worth $252 million. The contract was so lucrative that it was $63 million more than the second richest contract in baseball. Ever since Rodriguez signed that deal, contracts all over baseball began to increase each year. This is a problem that the idea of a slotting system might run into. Some baseball execs will argue that the increasing contracts are now a part of the game. They might claim that since it is happening with players in the Majors there is no reason it shouldn’t happen with players coming out of the draft.

There have been plenty of problems with the game of baseball over the past couple of decades; from brawls to steroids to bean ball wars to players providing tell-all stories of what happens in the clubhouse. But possibly the biggest problem to ever affect the culture of the sport is the increasing size of player contracts. Hopefully there are enough execs across baseball that believe in a draft slotting system so that unproven players will not be awarded enormous contracts coming out of school. Instead, that money can be given to Major League players that have proven their worth to their organization.

Now, a slotting system would be the ideal change to the draft but if I was allowed to pick one more change I would vote for the ability to trade draft picks. The reason the NFL draft is so interesting is because any team can trade from the 15th slot or the 24th slot in the first round to the 1st or 2nd slot in the first round in order to improve their team. This doesn’t happen in baseball but it should. The draft has been televised for the previous two seasons; ESPN aired the draft in 2008 for the first time in the draft’s history and the MLB Network aired the draft in 2009 for the first time in the Network’s history. If teams were allowed to trade draft picks in baseball, fans would become intimately interested in the draft because having the number 22 pick will never mean the same thing again. That 22nd pick could be traded for an earlier pick or a later pick or an early pick in a future draft. This method is what helps NFL teams get better each year and it could help MLB teams get better, even the Pirates and the Nationals.

Jim Vassallo is the creator of JAV Baseball. He also owns his own Internet Content company, JAV Freelancing. Vassallo coached baseball for three years at the high school level in New Jersey and has since joined the prominent D-III program at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He can be reached at jim@javbaseball.com for questions and comments.

The Tigers of LSU have captured their sixth title in team history, tying them with Texas for second all-time behind USC, which has 12. Arizona State has the third most titles with five. LSU absolutely destroyed Texas in game three of the final round by a score of 11-4. The game was tied in the sixth at four but LSU proceeded to score five runs in their half of the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.

LSU would add two insurance runs in the over the eighth and ninth innings to secure their victory. It was the first national title for head coach Paul Mainieri, who played his freshman year at LSU and coached at Notre Dame, Air Force, and St. Thomas (Florida).

“I’ve had wonderful kids everywhere I’ve been,” Mainieri said. “They’re all feeling a part of this. I’m so happy for these kids. They’ve done everything I’ve asked.

“They played great. They played great defense. Our pitching has been solid all year. When we got to the end of the season everyone was determined they would get it done. It’s been a coach’s dream to have a group like this.”

The College World Series Most Outstanding Player was Jared Mitchell, who hit a three run homerun in the first inning to jumpstart the LSU offense. Mitchell also won a National Title with the LSU football team in 2007 as a wide receiver. His teammate, reliever Chad Jones, was also on the 2007 LSU football team that won the National Title. Jones was a safety on that team.

As mentioned earlier, the Tigers and the Longhorns are tied for second with six national titles all-time behind the 12 from USC. Here are the years that those three teams and Arizona State (5 titles) won their championships:

USC: 1948, 58, 61, 63, 68, 70-74, 78, 98

LSU: 1991, 93, 96, 97, 2000, 09

Texas: 1949, 50, 75, 83, 2002, 05

Arizona State: 1965, 67, 69, 77, 81

We have a slideshow of still photos from that game, between the Long Island Ducks and the Bridgeport Bluefish. Offerman was hit by a pitch in the calf, the calf, and he didn’t agree. So, he charged the mound with his bat in hand waving it around trying to hit the pitcher and then the catcher of the Bluefish. Offerman was arrested by Bridgeport, Connecticut police officers following the game for assault.

Jose Offerman Bat Attack

Taylor Jungmann threw nine impressive innings leading the Longhorns to a 5-1 Game 2 win.

The College World Series will come to an exciting end tonight in Omaha, Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium. Rosenblatt Stadium is one of the most storied and revered baseball stadiums in the country and it has seen its fair share of excitement not only in 2009 but throughout the past 50 plus seasons.

Rosenblatt has been home to the CWS since 1950 and is the largest non-MLB professional stadium in the United States. It is home to the Omaha Royals of the Pacific Coast League.

The final round of the series has pitted the Texas Longhorns against the LSU Tigers in a best of three match-up. LSU came back late in game one to win in extras and take a 1-0 series lead over the #1 team in the nation in Texas. Game 2 saw Texas jump out to an early 5-1 lead that held up for the rest of the night, helping the Longhorns knot the series at 1 games apiece.

Game 3, which is for all the marbles, will take place tonight at Rosenblatt Stadium. Taylor Jungmann is the reason for a Game 3. He pitched nine dominating innings for the Longhorns, one night after the bullpen was worn out. If Texas pulls out a win on Wednesday night they will have secured their seventh baseball national championship in school history.

So who will it be in 2009? 2008 saw the Cinderella story of Fresno State winning their first ever College World Series title, defeating Georgia 2 games to 1 in the best of three series. 2009 has pitted two completely different teams against each other in the final round and for the second straight year the final round will take all three games to determine a title winner.

Texas is looking for its first national title since 2005, when they defeated Florida two games to none. LSU is looking for its first national title since they defeated Standford in 2000 by a score of 6-5. The College World Series went to a best of three series in 2003, when Rice defeated Stanford in three games.

Once the series concludes tongiht we will also find out which player was named the CWS MVP. As we have seen in the past, not every MVP winner at the CWS is from the national championship winning team. The last player named MVP to not be on the winning team was John Hudgins of Standford in 2003. His team lost to Rice in three games.