TruffleShuffle

by the way, DeRosa has made a total of two errors this year... he's actually been good defensively. Barrett, Izturis, Murton and Jones are the ones who really deserve the ire of this board.

you're new at this, aren't you? probably no newer than you. they didn't fool me

you're new at this, aren't you?

so basically BA has no idea who the cubs want with that pick ...yay? I'm not getting my hopes up, despite this answer. It's the Cubs, I know they're going to screw the pick up.

so basically BA has no idea who the cubs want with that pick

The best way to do it would probably do a poll of all the top picks(including Price, Porcello, guys who may get taken in front of us). Then do another poll with the top guy from the previous poll excluded, then repeat that to emulate our Top 3 preference. Price will almost certainly be the top choice... everyone knows I'm a big fan of Wieters, and even I'd go with Price if he's available. I'm guessing Wieters would be #2 after him, and then either Porcello or Vitters.

I'm pretty sure that anybody from AAA could come up and have an ERA and WHIP less than the 7.85 and 2.51 that Eyre is currently sporting. I'd even be willing to give some members of this board a shot at beating eyre's numbers.

I'll also add that Lars Anderson (now there's a late round pick who was actually worth the big bonus) is raking, Brandon Moss and Jacoby Ellsbury are showing promise, and Michael Bowden looks to be a good one. You might be able to find a common theme among the Sox hitting prospects, by the way.

Pedroia has been crushing the ball recently. He's from this area - Woodland which is 10-15 minutes north of Sacramento. The two picks ahead of Grant Johnson were Hunter Pence and Dustin Pedroia. The pick after Johnson was Kurt Suzuki. WTG, Cobs. Pedroia is the type of player I'd love to see the Cubs pick more of - pretty highly regarded college position player with good patience, a somewhat limited ceiling, but also a very attainable ceiling. Lost in the fact that the Red Sox have a ton of money is that they've produced a LOT of big league talent in the past few years. Pedroia, Youkilis, Lester, Murton, Papelbon, Meredith, Bard, Hansen, Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez... it's a solid list. Clay Buchholz is well on his way to Boston too.

Remember, if you're thinking from the Cubs' perspective, you shouldn't be considering this aspect of the player's game.

Yes, I've been wondering when the Cubs will move on and this looks like it's finally happening. Hard to get worked up over this one. The guy can't stay healthy and pitch to save his career, and this simply looks like the Cubs just want to do right by him and let him finish out his time here with dignity. The last time I saw Mark Prior pitch his fastball was worse than most high schoolers and his breaking pitch was more likely to hit 2 feet before the plate that it was to fool any hitters. If there's reason to think he's going to come back to his former self, I certainly haven't heard it. Let's finish our time with him on a good note, rather than breaking it off with angst and bad feelings. He finally had surgery. Given how talented he was before the injury, isn't it worth seeing if he can come back from that next year? The risk is low and the potential reward is high.

20-5?!?!?

First of all, they already are the dumbest organization in all of baseball. If Wieters is on the board and we don't take him, I'm going to be furious. brace yourself...

cubs lose... 7 in a row baby

maybe he's been watching neifi perez too long, and can't figure out why he has a job in the major leagues

there should be some good choices here...

I really hated Jeff Blauser for going from solid player to completely inept within 5 minutes of having signed with the Cubs. Also, Micah Bowie was a completely disgrace. I was at the Mets-Cubs game in 2004, so Latroy is a good candidate. And I hated Steve Buechele and Gary Scott too. But I'll go with Blauser.

it has nothing to do with doing the best thing for the team. He's a very patient hitter who doesn't swing at junk; that's why he walked three times. The Cubs don't lose because they have selfish players; they lose because they don't have patient hitters like Kevin Youkilis. Thank you. So patient ab's are not the best thing for the team? They are, but Cubs players aren't hackers because they don't give a crap about helping their team. They're hackers because that's just the way they are. Some hitters are naturally impatient or never learned patience.... the Cubs just happen to collect these sorts of hitters. Let's put it this way. I don't believe that Youkilis goes up to the plate thinking "I want to help my team win" - he just follows his instincts, lays off the bad pitchers and usually swings at the ones he thinks are hittable. If the pitcher throws four bad ones before throwing three strikes, then Youkilis strolls down to first.

The A's and Twins just completed a 1-0 game, with the pitchers giving up a combined 8 hits and 1 walk. Time of the game? 1:49! That's got to be the fastest game this year, right?

it has nothing to do with doing the best thing for the team. He's a very patient hitter who doesn't swing at junk; that's why he walked three times. The Cubs don't lose because they have selfish players; they lose because they don't have patient hitters like Kevin Youkilis.

Chris Walker is in CF for the I-Cobs tonight

Marmol walks .75 batters per IP at the age of 24. That's never good. He's a converted catcher, which means his progression may not be picture perfect. He walked only 2.63 per 9 innings in Iowa this year. If he can keep that up, then great. But you've got a prospect who wasn't thought of as a pitcher at first, has a spotty record and is getting old for prospect status. That screams mediocre to me. Just because he wasn't thought of as a pitchers first doesn't mean that he didn't have the talent to pitch. He was a young guy and the Cubs thought he had a good bat, and it didn't work out. Trevor Hoffman played shortstop his first two years in the minors. Being old for prospect status doesn't really apply here, because his failed attempt at being a position player set his development back a couple of years. Plus, he's more than two years younger than Rich Hill, who didn't become a major league regular until the second half of 2006, and happens to be the Cubs best pitcher now. As for a spotty record, that's not really true. He had solid K-rates and has always been tough to hit in the minors. The control has always been spotty, but Baseball America has always mentioned him as a prospect for closer. The Cubs kept him as a starter, partly to get him innings, but with a live arm and two good pitches there's no reason for him not to get an extended shot at pitching for the big club as a reliever.

course it helped that the braves scored every opportunity they had (2 LOB) and the Cubs didn't (9 LOB) Stupid Cubs might cost Hill a shot at the ASG

another nice outing for rich today... 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Still a very impressive ERA and WHIP, though his W-L is only .500. You can chalk that up to offensive and bullpen ineptitude.

probably because he got caught enjoying some road beef and his wife isn't too pleased