In Case You Were Wondering...

Here's what's going on with Darnell McDonald

For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. McDonald: All the way back in 1997 the Orioles were a force in the AL East and riding high and in the midst of a wire-to-wire fantasy season. Things couldn't be better when they selected this manchild in the first round straight out of high school. Unfortunately, he never lived up to his draft selection and was never on anyone's prospect radar. I guess you could say this was one of the first hints that the organization was beginning it's run of 11 straight seasons of baseball blissss...

I was at Camden Yards the night he was introduced to the fans. My rose colored view of him from the top row behind home plate made me a believer.

5% Stats / 95% Scouting

"Saberscouting/coaching" is becoming the new craze for seamheads these days. Not just for stat nerds anymore sabermetrics is beginning to reach across the aisle in the baseball community. Here is an excellent article from the Hardball Times about how analyzing the stats can be a useful tool not just in evaluating, but in coaching too. I happen to like the questions the author uses in his interview with the pitcher and I think it might be helpful for me to consider these types of questions as I'm charting a pitcher or scoring a game.