grantpaulsen.com

Jeremy Guthrie: Legitimate Ace

August 27th, 2008

I started a new class at George Mason University today. It’s an elective that I thought sounded cool. In the class I will learn the fundamentals of sports coaching. I figured that if I am going to cover sports - and in turn deal with and work alongside coaches forever - I may as well have a better understanding for what makes them tick and for what they are going through.

And I think it would be kind of cool to coach High School football one day a few decades from now. But that isn’t important right now. Nor is the class I just told you about. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB, Baltimore Orioles

Wayne Krivsky on Minors and Majors

August 24th, 2008

Wayne Krivsky, who began the season as the General Manager of the Cincinnati Reds, joined me on my show Minors and Majors this week. I talked with him about the deadline to sign draft picks, which came and went last weekend, and asked him to explain how it is that a team like the Washington Nationals can let the deadline pass without inking a player they invested a top-10 pick in.

I also asked Krivsky about the plans that Major League Baseball has to implement instant replay before the end of the season. I was surprised to find out that he wasn’t entirely for the implementation of instant replay before season’s end. Here is what Krivsky had to say on the topic. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB

Minors & Majors: Aug. 23rd

August 22nd, 2008

Mike Stanton and Matt Dominguez will be joining the show tomorrow morning at 9:30 am east. I’ll talk to the Greensboro teammates about their fast starts as first-year minor leaguers.

Catch Minors and Majors tomorrow morning from 8-10 am eastern on MLB Home Plate, XM 175. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB

Phelps is a Fish

August 16th, 2008

Two years ago this weekend I was sitting in Aberdeen, Maryland providing color commentary for the Ripken Baseball World Series on XM Satellite Radio. Holden Kushner was calling the play-by-play of the game, and I was working alongside him to bring coverage of the youth baseball tournament to XM subscribers around the country. We had a blast.

I don’t remember a ton about the actual game we called. I remember the name of the starting pitcher for the team that won the championship team, Kalani Lagoc-Crawford. He was a lefty pitcher who threw hard, a hefty kid who was a man amongst boys, and I think he ended the championship game with like 13 strikeouts or something like that. Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General

Nationals Eat Crow

August 16th, 2008

The Washington Nationals weren’t able to agree on a contract with Aaron Crow before this morning’s midnight deadline to sign draft picks. That means that the highly touted right-hander, who Washington chose with the 9th-overall pick in this past June’s Draft, will play with the Fort Worth Cats, an independent league team who was able to sign Crow.

Before I take a side in this standoff that ended in a loss for both Crow and the team who drafted him, let me tell you a little bit about “the one that got away.” Read the rest »

Posted by Grant Paulsen Filed in General, MLB, Articles

Wednesday at the Diamond

August 13th, 2008

I went out to Woodbridge, Virginia to check out some A-level baseball this afternoon. Today was actually the second time in the last three days that I’ve watched the Potomac Nationals (Nationals) host the Frederick Keys (Orioles).

I enjoy going to A-ball games. There are usually a few top-notch prospects playing and you generally get to see some quality baseball. The main reason I went out to the park today was to get another peek at Potomac OF Michael Burgess.