KingKongvs.Godzilla

This all makes Z look very scumbaggy. Yet another reason why we're better off trading him IMO.

Believe it or not, today was the first time I watched a Z start this year. I had been meaning to keep up, but lack of mlb.tv + work + school has killed my baseball this year. Anyway, I put on todays start and the first pitch Z throws...all I think is wow he's really injured. Today was the most disturbing too, because from what I've read he's touched 92-93 this year at all. He's got TERRIBLE control, his velocity is down, and that arm slot is ridiculous. He looks like a guy who's shoulder is giving him trouble. I've said it time and time again...signing Z to a long term contract is one of the worst things the Cubs can do.

no way. Beane's greatest attribute is that he's cheap; he's good value. You pay him big bucks and he loses his appeal. Don't tell me nobody got this... Maybe it just wasn't funny. LOL its a MONEYBALL joke!!!121

He should miss one start according to him.

Well, I feel not so crazy for my million rants on why Z's best long term value to us would be as trade bait.

I'd take a healthy Sheets over Z anyday. He's probably the best pitcher in the NL when he's on. He really needs to stay healthy for me to consider the Brewers potential NL champs. Actually, thats a lie. They're a pretty damn good team with a very underrated pitching staff behind Sheets.

The Brewers are one of the more solidly built teams in baseball. I really like their pitching, especially Bush's potential. He's everyones favorite sleeper pick, but I was calling this when he was with the Blue Jays so I'll stick to it. Sheets is dominant if he's healthy and together. I think he'll end up having a very good season, even if his start has been pretty meh. Suppan is a solid starter, and I thought he was one of the better FA signings this offseason. Capuano is another good, young arm. Fielder and Weeks are really coming into their own as players. I hated JJ Hardy, but he's growing on me, and Hall is a beast. Honestly, I picked them to win the Central over us and the Cards...which kinda sucks considering it all... They'll be a strong team this year at worst. They'll be a serious contender next year if they have a good offseason, and by '09/'10 they could be one of the better teams in the NL.

NO YOU DON'T REMEMBER RIGHT HIS CAREER IS OVER OK, so we'll pretend that these problems are just going to get better as he gets older, as opposed to reality, where they've just gotten worse year after year. He walks more guys every season, his back problems are tied into his weight, which is going to be harder to keep down as he gets older, and as opposed to getting more mature with each season, he seems to be regressing and melting down as soon as someone scores on him or someone on the Cubs makes an defensive error. Everything indicates he thinks he's this team's ace and he deserves that kind of money. Sorry, but aces are better than that. I'd much rather capitalize on the positive aspects of his reputation and his youth now and net a juicy return once he pulls out of his funk. His emotional midgetry and inevitable physical problems are not something I want to see the Cubs saddled with if they have to give him ace years and cash. Exactly Mojo. Z's career isn't over, but he's probably the last "young ace" I'd give big money and a long term contract too. Way too many risks, and a guy who walks 5 guys per 9 is rarely going to last long as an ace.

I have proof.... http://espanol.geocities.com/bjarteaga2004/img/barry_bonds.JPG http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2004/12/03/mn_bonds_001_cag.jpg You know, I'm not saying he didn't take steroids, but thats HORRIBLE "proof." Not only do those two look like natural progression, but the second one is not out of this world for an athlete. I mean he looks like he's barely out of HS in that first picture.

I think Bonds has been good for a while. His season last year was largely ignored for some reason, but he managed to put up a .270/.454/.545 season. The guy can hit. He's one of the greatest players of all time. As much as he gets sh*t for doing steroids, he's been pretty damn special when he's healthy. This performance is no suprise.

Cotts for ARod amirite? :D

done by BTF's Carlos Gomez (aka Chadbradfordwannabe) for THT. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/breaking-down-the-broken-down-a-video-analysis-of-mark-prior/ Basically, he's saying that Prior has lost alot of the aggressiveness in his motion. One thing that stood out about Prior more than any other power pitcher was how slow and controlled his windup was. He didn't seem all that explosive, but he was big, strong, and technically sound. What this guy is saying is that Prior has slowed down his delivery even more, is nowhere near as aggressive as he used to be (he's waiting for his foot to land to get everything going), and he's flying open costing him velocity and command. I know Mr. Gomez is no Tom House, but he knows his stuff and I agree with most of his basic principals. Momentum = velocity, and the rest of the mechanics will take care of themselves. His open letter to Prior reads: Comments?

I LOLed. Too true. OMG Z HIT JIM EDMONDS AND THEN YELLED!!!! WHAT A GAMER!!!! Oh man...the reminds me of my favorite Prior moment. Remember when he hit Bonds and Bonds was all "WTF was that?" Prior was like "Nothing, I just hit you b*tch." And Bonds was all "Ow," and Prior was all "Yea, I know, I'm Mark Prior." What a kickass Mark Prior moment that has been completely forgotten because he got hurt...but would be talked about like every 2 minutes if he was healthy.

16 IP 11 BB Yea, it's probably early season jitters in a contract year, but...who thinks that his BB/9 is going to be below 4 this year?

Felix has much more velocity on his fastball than Z, though Z might have a bit more movement. But Z doesn't have the sink and tail on his fastball that he had when he was an extreme gb pitcher a few years back. We'll call it a push, though Felix has shown better command of the pitch so far this year than Z has ever had with his. Felix has a superior slider to Z. Wicked movement and it comes in a 91-93 mph. The speed makes hitters read fastball all the way. Felix has a great curve he can throw for strikes. Z has no curve. Neither change is fantastic, but I'd give an edge to Felix's. I've been wondering about this. Why has Z changed so much from just a few years ago. A couple years ago he never gave up homeruns. He's already given up 4 this year. He seems to be trying to strike people out instead of getting the ground ball. I'd rather have the extreme groundball Z. Thats one of my main Z concerns. He's trying to throw the crap out of the ball every pitch, every game, and he wants/NEEDS the K to keep him happy. With his control is terrible, and not anything you want from a guy who will be called an ace and paid like an ace. His groundball tendencies are still there, but he's nowhere the dominant groundball pitcher he was before. I'll keep saying it, I think Z is as risky as it gets over the next 5 years.

That's the next body part he will hurt. Ziiiing.

Is Weiters on the JD Drew level of talent, or the Mark Tex? I consider Drew the most talented college player since Barry Bonds. He may not have had the same career as Bonds, but he had that kind of hype. Is Weiters being talked about at that level?

ARod is just setting himself up for a huge fall if he dares to not destroy the Red Sox in all 19 games this year, and doesn't destroy the Mets in any series with them. He better go 50 for 50 in those ABs with 70 HRs and 800 RBIs or he'll be lynched. To the writers in NY, it's still spring training. The acknowledge other teams, but the only teams worth talking/writing about are the Red Sox/Yankees/Mets.

This guy was throwing a big curveball that guys usually throw in the high 70's in the mid 80's. His slider was better than most guys fastballs, and it broke like a curveball. It was absolutely unfair last night. He had absolutely everything working.

Well the back injury in 2002 didn't seem to affect him cause he still went on to throw 216 innings that year. Then he threw 220. Then he threw 237. I think last year he just came in out of shape, he certainly looked it. He's got to be exceptionally strong the way his mechanics work, otherwise his arm could seriously lag behind his body causing shoulder problems. I've always liked the way Sheets pitched, but it's not the easiest on the body.

Liar! There are no Devil Rays fans! Jenn Sterger. http://images.draysbay.com/images/admin/n5001050_32647148_6542_2_.jpg She's the one on the far right. I do believe I'd hit it. SEE HER BOOOOBS IN THE MAY 2006 ISSUE OF PLAAAAAYBOOOOOOY. I wonder how she got her gig with Sports Illustrated....

Hill keeps proving me wrong (I said he'd make a nice LOOGY). Honestly, I also think he has a legit shot at having a better year than Z. Z scares the crap out of me with all those walks.

I'm hearing alot of clutch, clutch, clutch, leader, leader, leader, knows how to win, knows how to get it done, and other crappy baseball cliches.

By "fine" he means dominating.

But what about the fact that his control has been going downhill for a while now...?