Links and notes.
Well, I made a mistake. It happens. I made a mistake about how much you all contributed Tuesday night at our Sherlock's event to support Wipe Out Kids' Cancer. When I told you it was $10,470, that was wrong. It was actually $12,170. That's pretty great. There's a video on Sherlock's Facebook of Annette Leslie's meaningful comments about her son Carson, about Michael Young, and about Wipe Out Kids' Cancer. Watch it: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=103764279652365#!/video/video.php?v=103794122982714 I was motivated to sit down and write up a recap of the event, but I'm having some computer issues, on top of which it's really not necessary for me to summarize things. You can watch the entire Q&A portions with Jake Krug, Chuck Greenberg, and Michael Young, moderated by Chuck Morgan, courtesy of Ted Price's video footage, at www.newbergreport.com. Click "Media/Video" on the top menu. Plenty of recaps out there, too: Eleanor Czajka: http://emcmlb.blogspot.com/2010/02/newberg-report-wipe-out-kids-cancer.html ESPN's Richard Durrett: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallastexas-rangers/post/_/id/4843769/newberg-report-party-is-online A handful of Tweets from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson: http://twitter.com/JeffWilson_FWST The Dallas Observer's Richie Whitt: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/sportatorium/2010/02/chuck_greenberg_is_dare_i_say.php The Fan's Sybil Summers (video interview with Chuck Greenberg from the event): http://www.1053thefan.com/ (under "Fan Tube") Home on the Rangers' Brandon Wilson: http://homeontherangers.com/2010/02/03/newberg-book-night-and-qa/ Texas Summer Heat's Roger Busby: http://tsheat.mlblogs.com/archives/2010/02/newberg-night-attended-short-hops.html Lone Star Ball message board: http://www.lonestarball.com/2010/2/2/1288723/final-details-for-tonights And Eleanor's photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/EleanorCzajka/NewbergReportWipeOutKidsCancerCharityEvent# We were sold out of Carson's book minutes after the event got underway. If you weren't one of the five who bid on and won a copy signed by Michael Young (those went for $500, $375, $375, $375, and $275), you can get a copy of "Carry Me" at www.carrymecarson.com, at under $18. According to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, 12 or 13 teams showed interest in righthander Colby Lewis (including at least two, Oakland and Minnesota, who offered two-year contracts) before he agreed to his two-year deal with Texas. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is reportedly up to 200 feet in his long-toss throwing program as he rehabilitates his shoulder. I mentioned back when Oakland signed righthander Ben Sheets that I expect the A's to trade him in July or recoup a couple first-round draft picks next winter when he departs for a multi-year deal. What I didn't know at the time was that Sheets's contract prohibits Oakland from offering him arbitration in the event that he's so good in 2010 that he earns Type A status -- so forget the two firsts, and turn up the likelihood of that summer trade. Catcher Tomas Telis, an 18-year-old switch-hitter who hit .330/.340/.498 between the Arizona League and Spokane in 2009, will miss the 2010 season due to Tommy John elbow surgery. Telis was number 20 on my Top 72 Rangers Prospects list this winter, after checking in at number 40 a year ago. As T.R. Sullivan points out, Nolan Ryan is fourth best in baseball in the last 60 years (minimum 125 starts) with a career rate of 9.55 strikeouts per nine innings. Fifth best? Rich Harden, at 9.35. Texas signed shortstop Travis Adair, son of Mariners pitching coach and former Rangers minor league pitching coordinator Rick Adair. The 22-year-old, who has worked out with the Rangers in the past during Fall Instructional League, was Atlanta's 13th-round pick in 2008 and spent the last two summers playing short-season ball in the Braves system. The Rangers also signed third baseman Lee Soto, a huge disappointment in the Toronto system after signing for $600,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2005. Soto is a .201/.248/.293 hitter in four pro seasons. Lots of agate to cover: Minor league deals: outfielder Frank Catalanotto (Mets), outfielder Kevin Mench (Washington), outfielder Freddy Guzman (Philadelphia), lefthander John Koronka (Dodgers), and lefthander Jimmy Gobble (Colorado). San Diego named Jeff Pickler a pro scout. The Mets named Mark Brewer pitching coach at AA Binghamton. The Gary Southshore Railcats of the independent Northern League signed righthander Bear Bay. The Kalamazoo Kings of the independent Frontier League signed shortstop Kyle Higgins. The Sioux City Explorers of the independent American Association signed lefthander Jared Locke. Righthander Doug Brocail retired. Righthander Akinori Otsuka, according to NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman, could miss the 2010 season after undergoing his third elbow surgery. The Rangers' four first-round and supplemental first-round picks in July sit at 15, 22, 44, and 48. The final two picks will drop one spot each if Rod Barajas signs a big league deal with a club other than Toronto. Joe Siegler is looking for your obscure Rangers photos for his uniform number project: http://www.rangerfans.com/archives/2010/02/uniform_numbers.html Finally, I really encourage you to check out the video on the website from Tuesday's event. If you want to see this team win, I guarantee you there are a handful of moments from the event that will give you chills. And if that's not enough to get you fired up? The truck leaves today. It's February Month for those three Hallmark words: "Pitchers & Catchers" =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net Post your own review of the 2010 Bound Edition: Amazon link