Cub prospects in the news

[toonsterwu]

maybe other folks knew about this before, but i finally got the answer to my jordan latham question for this past year. AzPhil gave a response in his latest TCR thread about what happened to Latham in the comments section of his latest thread:

Without getting into really specific detail, Latham was involved in an off-season DUI/Hit & Run in his hometown (Boise) a while back where he crashed his SUV into a house and then ran away. I don't know what the outcome of that matter was, but he was on the Restricted List in 2009. He is now active again, however, and I would think he has a reasonable chance to make the Daytona or Tennessee Opening Day roster with a good Minor League Camp and no further personal issues. Arms like his don't grow on trees.

[Guest]

maybe other folks knew about this before, but i finally got the answer to my jordan latham question for this past year. AzPhil gave a response in his latest TCR thread about what happened to Latham in the comments section of his latest thread:

Without getting into really specific detail, Latham was involved in an off-season DUI/Hit & Run in his hometown (Boise) a while back where he crashed his SUV into a house and then ran away. I don't know what the outcome of that matter was, but he was on the Restricted List in 2009. He is now active again, however, and I would think he has a reasonable chance to make the Daytona or Tennessee Opening Day roster with a good Minor League Camp and no further personal issues. Arms like his don't grow on trees.

First time I've heard of a hit and run involving a house!

[toonsterwu]

if you google jordan latham and dui, there's a mugshot of him online (and some articles from the boise papers). that's about as far as I'll go into prying into his life. It just bothered the heck out of me that I never read anything on why he disappeared outside of personal issues.

If his stuff is there, he'll be a nice addition back into the system. There's still a part of me that wishes the Cubs try him as a starter, but that's probably wishful thinking.

[videographer]

I don't want to root for a Cub's pitcher that ran away from a hit and run with a DUI.

[Guest]

I don't want to root for a Cub's pitcher that ran away from a hit and run with a DUI.

Unless I'm mistaken, it doesn't sound like he hurt anyone else.

 

Though you have to be staggeringly drunk to run your car into a house and then run away from the scene on foot, I would think. So he's lucky as hell if that's all that happened.

[Guest]

I might be wrong here, but it didn't seem like the Cubs in years past would try to reinstate minor leaguers who are on the wrong side of the law like Castillo and allegedly Latham. I guess 95 mph fastballs change things.

[Outshined_One]

I might be wrong here, but it didn't seem like the Cubs in years past would try to reinstate minor leaguers who are on the wrong side of the law like Castillo and allegedly Latham. I guess 95 mph fastballs change things.

 

Jae Kuk Ryu hung around in the system for awhile after the osprey incident. The same can be said for Andy Sisco, assuming the story about him getting into a fight with Ryu is true.

[Garwilly]

Ben Christensen was drafted after having the trouble.

[Guest]

I might be wrong here, but it didn't seem like the Cubs in years past would try to reinstate minor leaguers who are on the wrong side of the law like Castillo and allegedly Latham. I guess 95 mph fastballs change things.

 

Jae Kuk Ryu hung around in the system for awhile after the osprey incident. The same can be said for Andy Sisco, assuming the story about him getting into a fight with Ryu is true.

Oh, that's true. I spoke with someone who had first hand knowledge about it right after it happened. I just don't want to get anyone in trouble since he still works in baseball.

[Guest]

Christensen is a fair point. Sisco never got in legal trouble (though it sure seems like he wasn't protected because of attitude issues) and Ryu's legal problems pale in comparison to Castillo's and any DUI situation Latham is involved in.

[videographer]

There has been a great deal of rationalization in this thread over Latham’s actions. I will continued to be appalled by his behavior and hope he gets released. Crashing a large vehicle while drunk is despicable. Thankfully, no one was hurt in or outside the SUV. What bothers me the most about Latham’s incident is that he ran away from the scene of the accident. This is un-defendable and a true sign of his character. This forum wouldn’t waste time discussing Latham if he didn’t throw a baseball 95 mph. Fans easily forgive and forget an athlete’s worst transgressions if he can fuel hope in one’s favorite team.

 

Here is a question for you: If Latham had crashed his SUV into your house, parents’ house, siblings’ house or friends’ house, would you be so forgiving? The cynic in me thinks that some of you would ask Latham to autograph a picture of the crash scene. If he had crashed into my house, I would have chased him down and broke his right arm.

[Guest]

Many athletes do lots of things that I would never do myself, don't approve of, and would potentially lose friends over. As long as he's not running from the law or something like that, there's very little about a player's personal life that would cause me to call for the player's release.

[imb]

some of you people take sports waaaaaaay too seriously

[Outshined_One]

Here is a question for you: If Latham had crashed his SUV into your house, parents’ house, siblings’ house or friends’ house, would you be so forgiving? The cynic in me thinks that some of you would ask Latham to autograph a picture of the crash scene. If he had crashed into my house, I would have chased him down and broke his right arm.

 

Considering Latham is a professional athlete, I'm guessing he has insurance or has deep enough pockets to cover that kind of damage. He's a moron and deserved to be punished through criminal and civil means, as well as by the Cubs, but I really don't see this kind of an act as unforgivable.

 

You can speculate all you want, but it's basically just that...speculation. Maybe if he had someone in the car with him, he would have paid better attention and avoided this accident. Maybe that friend would have taken his keys away. Maybe he would have crashed into a truck carrying nuclear weapons, causing a massive explosion that would have wiped out most of Boise. None of those things happened. There's no point in castigating him for what didn't happen.

[TruffleShuffle]

Crashing a large vehicle while drunk is despicable. Thankfully, no one was hurt in or outside the SUV. What bothers me the most about Latham’s incident is that he ran away from the scene of the accident. This is un-defendable and a true sign of his character.

 

yes i'm sure he was thinking rationally when he was wasted enough to crash a car into a house, then run away from the car that had a license plate and registration showing that it belonged to him.

 

 

Fans easily forgive and forget an athlete’s worst transgressions if he can fuel hope in one’s favorite team.

 

maybe. or fans know that this young guy drove drunk and then crashed his car, which tons of people do. there are more than a few jobs where you can do something like this and not get fired. he didn't rape a pre-school.

 

to me it's a little silly to say that a young guy should no longer be able to pursue a career in that which he's best at because he drove a car while drunk.

 

If he had crashed into my house, I would have chased him down and broke his right arm.

 

okay, so if a guy drunkenly damaged your property, you would chase him down and break his arm? that's assault, for which you would be prosecuted and convicted. i would then hope that your employer would fire you for your irresponsible and reckless behavior.

[Rob]

Latham would have been what, 23 at the time of the incident?

 

Young people are stupid. They make stupid decisions and do stupid things until they learn better. Does that make it ok? Absolutely not. But thankfully nobody was hurt and it seems unlikely he'd ever do such a thing again. What would be the point of hoping for his release at this point? Vengeance? What does that accomplish?

 

Everybody deserves a second chance.

[NCCubFan]

Agreed. He made a mistake, he paid the price, time to move on and see if he learned his lesson.

[videographer]

I am not surprised by the reaction to my post. Accountability in today's world is usually attached with a statement of, "It is time to move on/past" an issue of bad behavior. No one posted thoughts about the people affected by Latham's hit and run DUI. "Give the kid a break" has been the overwhelming sentiment in this thread. I prefer to look at his behavior in this incident as a sign of his character. Unless he has fundamentally changed, I would prefer he re-start his career with another organization.

 

My opinion of Jae Kuk Ryu changed after his tasteless episode. His show of character was a clue that he would not succeed as hoped. There is an internal barometer of right and wrong that empowers a person under stress. Believing in one's choices and knowing such belief is shared (with others) in action, creates success in the long run. In other words, Ryu had no backbone. His selfishness in a personal decision was a window to his pitchability. For me, both was a turn-off and I was glad of his exit to Tampa - good riddance.

 

I was conflicted by the Ben Christensen incident because of his terrible behavior and the victim's lost vision and dreams. However, I believed in his contrition and thought he was able to change his character. On the other hand, I lost no sleep over Andy Sisco's release. I knew nothing of his incidents, but after reading a "get to know" article about his personality I realized little would come of his talent and his complete self-absorption was a total turn-off.

 

Latham is afforded a second chance. 23 is old enough to know better, but we all mature at different rates. I just don't want Latham to re-start his career with the Cubs. I am tired of reading about athletes' abhorrent behavior and the excuses made to cover them. Milton Bradley's brief stop in Wrigley was excruciating - in both Bradley and Cub's management to defuse the obvious. I can envision a future "feel good" article about Latham re-starting his career and "putting behind" the incident that "slowed" his dream. 95 mph and his 2008 stats are impressive, but I would rather have Cub farm hands face his FB than catch it.

[Guest]

I am not surprised by the reaction to my post. Accountability in today's world is usually attached with a statement of, "It is time to move on/past" an issue of bad behavior. No one posted thoughts about the people affected by Latham's hit and run DUI. "Give the kid a break" has been the overwhelming sentiment in this thread. I prefer to look at his behavior in this incident as a sign of his character. Unless he has fundamentally changed, I would prefer he re-start his career with another organization.

 

Jordan Latham is not accountable to me. He is accountable to the legal system, and to the Cubs. The legal system has moved on, and therefore the Cubs have as well. The Cubs have already punished him by losing a full year of development. Making "character judgments" as a way of building a baseball team just isn't necessary or effective. Latham belongs in the category of "young players who drink and therefore are capable of making really dumb decisions". That category encompasses the vast majority of baseball players.

[Guest]

I am not surprised by the reaction to my post. Accountability in today's world is usually attached with a statement of, "It is time to move on/past" an issue of bad behavior. No one posted thoughts about the people affected by Latham's hit and run DUI. "Give the kid a break" has been the overwhelming sentiment in this thread. I prefer to look at his behavior in this incident as a sign of his character. Unless he has fundamentally changed, I would prefer he re-start his career with another organization.

 

My opinion of Jae Kuk Ryu changed after his tasteless episode. His show of character was a clue that he would not succeed as hoped. There is an internal barometer of right and wrong that empowers a person under stress. Believing in one's choices and knowing such belief is shared (with others) in action, creates success in the long run. In other words, Ryu had no backbone. His selfishness in a personal decision was a window to his pitchability. For me, both was a turn-off and I was glad of his exit to Tampa - good riddance.

 

I was conflicted by the Ben Christensen incident because of his terrible behavior and the victim's lost vision and dreams. However, I believed in his contrition and thought he was able to change his character. On the other hand, I lost no sleep over Andy Sisco's release. I knew nothing of his incidents, but after reading a "get to know" article about his personality I realized little would come of his talent and his complete self-absorption was a total turn-off.

 

Latham is afforded a second chance. 23 is old enough to know better, but we all mature at different rates. I just don't want Latham to re-start his career with the Cubs. I am tired of reading about athletes' abhorrent behavior and the excuses made to cover them. Milton Bradley's brief stop in Wrigley was excruciating - in both Bradley and Cub's management to defuse the obvious. I can envision a future "feel good" article about Latham re-starting his career and "putting behind" the incident that "slowed" his dream. 95 mph and his 2008 stats are impressive, but I would rather have Cub farm hands face his FB than catch it.

 

I agree with you that a hit-and-run DUI is horrible but Latham has no need to answer to you or I - just the victims, himself and the legal system.

 

And quite frankly, if you're going to use character and behavior judgements to build your big league club, you'll probably have 5-10 players to choose from. Big time pro athletes - even the ones who know how to give favorable interviews often are egomaniac jerks.

[Sammy Sofa]

Milton Bradley's brief stop in Wrigley was excruciating

 

Oh, for [expletive]'s sake. Yeah, I'm sure it was just complete agony for you. It speaks volumes about your character that you were able to get through such a horrendous ordeal.

[Rob]

I am not surprised by the reaction to my post. Accountability in today's world is usually attached with a statement of, "It is time to move on/past" an issue of bad behavior. No one posted thoughts about the people affected by Latham's hit and run DUI. "Give the kid a break" has been the overwhelming sentiment in this thread. I prefer to look at his behavior in this incident as a sign of his character. Unless he has fundamentally changed, I would prefer he re-start his career with another organization.

 

What makes you think he has to be accountable to you at all?

 

He did something awful. Nobody here is saying to let it slide. But the legal system punished him and so did the Cubs. And you can rest assured that the Cubs will be keeping him on a shorter leash going forward. He wont get many more chances. But again I have to ask... what possible good can come from holding him to a higher standard?

 

 

My opinion of Jae Kuk Ryu changed after his tasteless episode. His show of character was a clue that he would not succeed as hoped. There is an internal barometer of right and wrong that empowers a person under stress. Believing in one's choices and knowing such belief is shared (with others) in action, creates success in the long run. In other words, Ryu had no backbone. His selfishness in a personal decision was a window to his pitchability. For me, both was a turn-off and I was glad of his exit to Tampa - good riddance.

 

I was conflicted by the Ben Christensen incident because of his terrible behavior and the victim's lost vision and dreams. However, I believed in his contrition and thought he was able to change his character. On the other hand, I lost no sleep over Andy Sisco's release. I knew nothing of his incidents, but after reading a "get to know" article about his personality I realized little would come of his talent and his complete self-absorption was a total turn-off.

 

Ryu was 19. Christensen was 21. I can't remember the exact date of Sisco's fight, but he was with the Cubs from the time he was 18 to the time he was 21.

 

If everybody were judged by the type of stupid decisions they made while they were college aged, we'd all be screwed.

 

Latham is afforded a second chance. 23 is old enough to know better, but we all mature at different rates. I just don't want Latham to re-start his career with the Cubs. I am tired of reading about athletes' abhorrent behavior and the excuses made to cover them. Milton Bradley's brief stop in Wrigley was excruciating - in both Bradley and Cub's management to defuse the obvious. I can envision a future "feel good" article about Latham re-starting his career and "putting behind" the incident that "slowed" his dream. 95 mph and his 2008 stats are impressive, but I would rather have Cub farm hands face his FB than catch it.

 

I think I would love to hear what Milton Bradley said or did that made his stay "excruciating" for you.

[videographer]

Wow. I have hit quite a nerve with a couple of posters if they are ready to defend Milton Bradley's one year stay in Chicago. Okay, I give up, Latham is awesome and deserves all the love and attention in this forum. And, I should have watched more of the 2009 train-wreck instead of turning the channel.

 

We shouldn't coddle our favorite athletes, but fan is short for fanatic, which can be an enthusiast or a zealot.

[Sammy Sofa]

Wow. I have hit quite a nerve with a couple of posters if they are ready to defend Milton Bradley's one year stay in Chicago. Okay, I give up, Latham is awesome and deserves all the love and attention in this forum. And, I should have watched more of the 2009 train-wreck instead of turning the channel.

 

We shouldn't coddle our favorite athletes, but fan is short for fanatic, which can be an enthusiast or a zealot.

 

Congratulations on making up what's going on here so you don't have actually formulate some kind of response. Where is anyone "defending" Bradley? Taking issue with your ridiculous description of his time here as being "excruciating" is hardly defending him. Nobody is sitting here saying that Latham is "awesome" and "deserves all the love and attention in this forum." Nobody is coddling anyone. You're being unreasonable and unrealistic.

[TruffleShuffle]

i'm trying to wrap my head around a person being okay with a sober guy who nearly blinding an opposing player, but having no tolerance for a drunk guy who crashed into a house and harmed nobody.