Rob

Year-round interleague play is bad enough on its own. But year-round interleague would stress the rules disparity between the AL and NL, and eventually force the NL to adopt the DH (as the MLBPA would never give up the DH in the AL, with all the money it brings in). That's the part I find really upsetting.

Hell no. Old Hoss Radbourn's achievement goes beyond wins. How the hell did he keep his arm attached to throw so many innings?

Yup

Dear god why?

I'm expecting that, for at least his first few years in the bigs, his batting average is more likely to float in the .230 to .250 range than .265 or higher. .240/.315/.375 for 2012, I'll say. Then again, I'm also expecting the Cubs to try to get him to alter his swing to cut down on the strikeouts, for him to lose some power in the process, and our coaches to start telling him he should be more aggressive and just put the ball on the ground and use his speed. Everything these days comes with the caveat that there will be a new regime, but as to how this regime was operating, I wasn't expecting them to alter his swing drastically at this stage. I actually think he has a mildly similar issue as to what David Ortiz had coming up, a minor hitch on the inside of the swing (to my naked eye), and Ortiz was able to fix that with a good coach without anything being impacted. My expectation for 2012 ... I'll take a stab (assuming regular PT in the bigs) and say, .250/.330/.400. New regime, but my same broken heart.

Vitters with another walk tonight. Lake too. @#$& the heck?

Also, for clarifications sake, I said Barney would have about as much value as DeWitt had when we traded for him. And I stand by that. Player A: 25 years old, ~600 MLB PA with a .276/.314/.350 line. Good defense, no more projection in his bat. Player B: 24 years old, ~750 MLB PA with a .262/.340/.379 line. Bad defense, some projection left in his bat.

I'm expecting that, for at least his first few years in the bigs, his batting average is more likely to float in the .230 to .250 range than .265 or higher. .240/.315/.375 for 2012, I'll say. Then again, I'm also expecting the Cubs to try to get him to alter his swing to cut down on the strikeouts, for him to lose some power in the process, and our coaches to start telling him he should be more aggressive and just put the ball on the ground and use his speed.

Hoilman is now tied for the Boise club record for HR. He's getting my attention. LaHair now owns the Iowa club record for HR.

Agree that Barney could very well be a starting SS somewhere. I disagree that makes him viable trade bait. I just don't see a team trading for Barney to be a starting SS until they see him play SS at the major league level for awhile, and hopefully that isn't going to happen on the Cubs anytime soon. I should have said that no team will actively search him out, but like many young Cubs he'd be appealing in a package....say for a OF bat or young pitcher. He wouldn't have much more value than Blake DeWitt had when he was dealt to us. Though I agree we should be willing to move him if somebody is willing to pay.

explain Writing an episode of The Wire?

Looks like Beeler is going to be starting for the Chiefs tonight. Somebody refresh my memory, what does he throw?

Looks like I'm gonna be at the Peoria game again. It'd be nice if we had some real prospects this time.

Nolasco seems like one of those guys for whom a change of scenery could be HUGE. Given his propensity to have that "one big inning" it would seem something gets mechanically off that his pitching coaches haven't been able to pick up on. Or he could just be a headcase, who knows?

I hate to say it again... but the comp that always rings true to me is Jeff Francoeur, though perhaps better in the field.

I know there's already been plenty of talk about letting Gretzky try out 3B/LF/RF... so that should help relieve the logjam for about 2 weeks. LaHair probably goes to Japan sometime in the near future as well.

That's the sexiest top 1. fixed

Good money says Junior Lake will be higher on my list than anybody elses... which is something I just don't get. Yeah, the plate discipline issues are glaring, but he's gone 34 for 40 on the bases and hit .279/.312/.432 across the FSL and SL at age 21 and may still stick at SS. With his tools, I'm not giving up on him until I absolutely have to.

1.) How would you describe your overall organizational philosophy?

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2011/2612241.html I know I'll get [expletive] on by Truffle, Rob, and a few others, but I'm still very curious to see what he can do with another shot at the bigs. Do I want him as our 2012 1B? God no, but I'm still curious to see him. If he can play a touch of OF, he could be a decent bench bat. Have I said he can't be a bench bat?

Petition to unban Jeff H for today.

Oh, and it should go without saying but.... Andrew Friedman. Get it done.

It's about time. I don't begrudge Ricketts being cautious when coming on, but Hendry has dodged this bullet for far too long. I don't care how good of a guy you are, you need to have better results than this given the payroll. That said, I wont fully relax until we replace Randy Bush with somebody competent.

Just getting caught up on the thread... the answer is Jeff Samardzija. The Cubs and Samardzija agreed to a ten million dollar deal for his first contract. Selig canned that and the Cubs and Samardzija settled on an overslot deal with a "promise" from the Cubs to revisit the deal in the future (when the draft restrictions did not apply). Since signings go through MLB before the press gets a hold of them there is really no telling how many signings get rebuffed. Some teams don't really need the Comish's help with anything so they bend the draft limit "rules" that MLB puts out. Some teams need a favor or two (Selig got the Mesa deal done for the Ricketts family) and this means that they are more likely to tow the line. I could be wrong, but I think that was an actual contractual issue and not a "you're paying too much!" squash. Something about the payout structure not being allowed for minor league deals... which is why he ended up with a major league one the 2nd time around.

Was at the Peoria game tonight... a few observations: - I think Easterling is buying into tspain's assessment of his power potential. He was swinging out of his shoes trying to mash the ball. He was displaying a bit of patience at the plate though. - Easterling was paying zero attention on defense. There were a couple of errant pickoff throws to 2B that made their way into CF, and he wasn't backing up either of them. It was bad. - Alcantara was playing 3B tonight. He flashed a some nice tools, but didn't even try to get in front of a couple shots down the line, opting instead to stab (and miss) at them. He also didn't hustle in on a bunt popup early in the game he should have caught. - Alcantara was swinging at pitches up near his neck... but I also did see him hit a deep fly to the opposite field warning track despite not swinging all that hard. I was shocked it went that far, but there wasn't any wind to account for it. - Rubi Silva was playing 2B. He looks like he has the tools for it. But he had bad footwork that led to a bad throw and had a bit of trouble pulling the ball out of his glove on a DP. So he needs some work. - Kirk was topping out at 87-88, but flashed a decent little curve and change. - Kirk has an awesome pickoff move with some good deception. - Geiger definitely looks like a man that should grow into some power. - Yohan Gonzalez wasn't fooling anybody. I can't think of anything else worth sharing offhand.