My first thought for this week's installment was to write a response, or a companion piece, if you will, to Allan Vought's column from last Friday, in which he named his all-time baseball team, position by position, with athletes who played during his lifetime. Working out my own team in my head, it got to be too complicated, because there's way too many players who retired or passed away before I was born that I'd want to include, and I also thought I might be boring my faithful readers by copying Mr. Vought, so that idea went into the can. Maybe I'll try it some other time, toward the end of the baseball season.
In the meantime, lets talk some more about the IronBirds, who, if you did not know, are the hottest team in the New York-Penn League, having gone 5-1 between last Thursday and Wednesday's victory over State College. It's strange to call a team that's in last place by seven games the "hottest," but over that stretch Aberdeen has played better than any other squad, and I'm hoping it's the sign of a turnaround, because it's much easier to interview players and managers when they're winning ballgames. Here are some facts, figures and thoughts to chew on until next week:
Over .500: Following what I think was a franchise-worst start of 2-17, the IronBirds have played over .500 since losing that 17th game, going 17-16. Of course, a start that bad will derail your whole season, and prove wrong big-headed journalists who predicted you would finish the campaign near the .500 mark.
Two offensive leaders: The IronBirds have two players who are leading the New York-Penn League in an offensive category, Connor Narron and Glynn Davis. Narron, son of former big-league catcher Jerry Narron and Baltimore's fifth-round pick in last year's draft, has drawn an league-best 38 walks, while Davis is tied at the top of the heap with 20 stolen bases. The other player with 20 swipes, Staten Island's Mason Williams has been caught 10 times, whereas Davis has only been caught three times.
Storming the All-Star game: Despite a bad first half, the IronBirds were able to get four players selected to the upcoming New York-Penn League All-Star game, which I think is the most since I started covering the team in 2008. Pitcher Trent Howard and first baseman Joe Velleggia, whom I have written about at length in previous columns, were picked, along with second baseman Dudley Leonora, and outfielder Glynn Davis. Well done, gents.
Ease up, folks: After getting shelled in his previous two outings, Orioles first-round pick Matt Hobgood, who is rehabbing a strained rotator cuff in Aberdeen, had a fine start on Sunday night, retiring the first eight hitters he faced in a no-decision. I wrote an article on the game that featured a quote from Hobgood, in which he explained the importance of having control of your off-speed and breaking pitches, because they make your fastball look better. Well, the online article generated some nasty comments, most of them being of the, "Hobgood is no good, a wasted draft pick, and he'll be out of baseball in two years," variety, which seem to be pretty common on Orioles' message boards. Here's what I'd like to say to the know-it-all denizens of the interweb that produce the negativity: Hobgood is only 20 years old, he was drafted directly out of high school, and he's playing hurt, so ease up. No, he hasn't put up tremendous minor league numbers since joining the pro ranks in 2009, but he certainly has it in him to do so. Looking at the top-10 picks from the 2009 draft, the only high school selection to make it to the big leagues thus far is pitcher Jacob Turner, who's started one game with Detroit. The other two, pitcher Zach Wheeler and outfielder Donovan Tate, have yet to progress past Class A Advanced. Give the kid another couple seasons to find his way, and you might be surprised.