TruffleShuffle

to be fair, i'd probably swing at everything too if i watched the ump on that bradley AB.

ok were any of those pitches strikes? come on.

1 hit? we kinda suck.

jeez, is there anyway that he's actually clean? i dunno, michael johnson was just as dominant during his time, and i don't recall people seriously questioning him. That was back when Ben Johnson was really the only major track athlete to be caught taking anything. It wasn't until a few years later that all the sprinters started dropping like flies. People are a lot more suspicious after that happened. maybe, but ben johnson was 1988. michael johnson peaked in the mid '90s. there was a lot more knowledge about doping and how important it was by 1996.

i feel like everyone on peoria is either getting hits or striking out. they struck out 14 times tonight and still scored 7 runs; a couple of nights ago they struck out 9 times against the starter and still ended up with 14 runs or something. i'm liking pretty much everything about hak-ju lee. dae-eun rhee was a disaster - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 0 K.

jeez, is there anyway that he's actually clean? i dunno, michael johnson was just as dominant during his time, and i don't recall people seriously questioning him.

Imagine if Kansas had not made that last-second shot. Memphis would have had their national championship rescinded correct? no, because that actually would have been a real punishment, and the ncaa doesn't do that to high-profile programs. vacating wins is the biggest joke punishment ever, so of course that's what the ncaa did.

11 errors between our two DSL teams... i know defense is worse because those guys are young and lack polish, and dominican ballfields are bad, but our DSL teams desperately need a competent fielding instructor.

meh, he gave up a single and home run. not a big deal. suarez was terrible as usual. what a waste. kirk followed him and gave up 2 singles and 2 walks in 2 innings, but K'ed 1 and gave up no runs. tennessee suffered an epic 6-run meltdown after going into the 9th inning up 6-2. i think they were tied for the division lead going into tonight, so that's a really bad loss. schlitter is the minor league version of kevin gregg. hak-ju lee is a pretty fun prospect to watch. he went 3-5 with 2 doubles tonight; it seems like he has a little pop for a guy who is real skinny and only 18 years old. he's shown good skill in SB (22 for 27) and he's in the top 10 in the league in BA and top 15 in OBP. i think i remember reading that he made 11 errors in his first 19 games or so, but since then only has 7 errors and shows great range and an excellent arm. that he's performing so well at age 18 in advanced short-season ball is a good sign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBdQwIzq_f4

holy hell

i'm not sure that pie has really played enough in any given month to draw any sort of conclusion about whether or not he's improving. i mean yeah he improved in june, but he also had a .538 babip and 16 PAs, so trying to find a trend there is a pretty bad idea.

he's a lousy SS now and has put up a line of .258/.291/.363/.654 in the second half. i'd stay away.

i actually kinda like the hardy idea. he's a perfect buy-low option.

:banghead: :banghead: WHY????? meh it's not that bad of an outing. he struck out six and only gave up 11 batted balls in play and 5 of them turned into singles. plus his strike:ball ratio (46 strikes, 27 balls, or 1.70:1) wasn't too bad and he had 4 GO/2 AO. i mean, last outing people were saying he bounced back, but he gave up 4 walks in 5 innings, his strike rate was a little worse (1.67:1) and gave up 4 GO/9 FO - but only 2 out of 15 batted balls in play turned into hits. really these are just random variations; he was probably better tonight than last outing but just less lucky.

Frankly, I don't blame you for wondering whether Burke has finally turned the corner. There is a legitimate point in saying that this is his third go-round in the MWL and that he fell on his face both times. Yes, he was fresh out of high school in his first go-round, but remember that he was a supplemental first round pick by the Padres who was highly touted as a five tool OFer. You would expect someone like him to move quickly through a system, but he has not done that. not really. he was a raw player coming from an area (southeast TN) with relatively poor competition in baseball. you can't really judge a guy based on his tools and his draft position and say he should or shouldn't move quickly. i mean, anthony hewitt (phillies draft pick last year) was chosen higher than burke and is struggling in the NY Penn league in his second season. he was regarded as a potential five tool player, but like burke he played subpar competition in high school and was a multi-sport athlete. contrast burke to a guy like vitters, who played nearly all of his second season at short-season ball. if a guy who was a better pure hitter, played only baseball and faced very good competition isn't necessarily ready for low-A at age 19, why would someone with burke's pedigree be ready? burke barely OPS'ed .600 in 45 games his first year after being drafted; he clearly was going to flop if he was pushed to the MWL at age 19. last year was a disappointment at peoria, but he had some bad luck there and seems to be a bit of a slow starter. i can understand not being fully on the bandwagon but the signs are there for a breakthrough. next year should certainly be telling.

peoria off days make me sad... their offense is fantastic and they're 21-5 in their last 26 games.

burke's #s by month: April: .327/.403/.600/1.003, 9 2B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 11 K, 11.3 BB%, 17.3 K%, 14 LD% May: .273/.314/.427/.741, 11 2B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 14 K, 5.9 BB%, 20.3 K%, 11 LD% June: .250/.393/.405/.797, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 19 BB, 20 K, 17.8 BB%, 18.7 K%, 13 LD% July: .330/.414/.540/.954, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 14 BB, 25 K, 12.1 BB%, 21.6 K%, 26 LD% August: .410/.538/.656/1.193, 6 2B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 10 K, 21.3 BB%, 12.5 K%, 20 LD% hard to not be very excited by him. blossoming HR power with projectability, strong improvements in his K rate and BB rate, good athleticism and some ability to play CF. it's not like he's having a fluky month or a good year supported by a ridiculous BABIP; he's got all the peripherals you want to see from someone making a breakthrough as a prospect.

yeah i looked up their roster; apparently he's making the tour of the indy leagues now. last year he played for camden (about a one minute walk from my parents' place). great numbers there, actually: .333/.401/.549/.950. this year in the northern league he's at .327/.402/.542. there are probably a lot worse players on AAA rosters.

Did that look anything like this fight? Ok, that's awesome. the batter is former cub prospect nic jackson.

smoltz goes 7-0 with an ERA under 1 as julio lugo OPS's over 1.000; red sox miss playoffs and their fans drive to st. louis and burn down the city.

apparently it's frustrating to lose 3 games by a combined score of 36-2.

peoria leads 1-0 in the 4th. burke doubled and scored in the second inning; antigua has 3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K. jackson is 0-2 with a K but reached on a wild pitch while striking out, and then stole second and third. tennnessee is tied 1-1 in the 6th; welington castillo has homered. tenn is only a game back of first place in their division.

pete carroll, is that you?

good move if pudge is turning the clock back 10 years and getting back on steroids.