Rob

The only huge surprise in this draft was that we got all these guys we were rumored to get. I kept expecting the rug to be pulled out from under... Maybe these guys don't pan out... I mean, there isn't a player in the bunch without some warts. But the bottom line is that we just got a huge infusion of raw talent into a system sorely lacking it.

Was LoMo actually demoted for off the field stuff? I've heard a bunch saying it was performance. As to Ponson, I don't see how that's "close enough." One guy is breaking laws and putting other peoples lives in jeopardy... another guy doesn't get along well with others. But even that is further muddled when you consider that most people who get DUIs or beat their wives or any other number of awful transgressions get in significantly less trouble with their teams than Carlos Zambrano (or none at all). How you can see so many people get away with so much worse and not see the Cubs reaction as over the top is confusing to me. I've pointed out already that Z's numbers are fine(ish)... but I know Hendry probably isn't smart enough to realize that so I'll concede he probably would have handled it differently if he hadn't perceived Z's numbers to be so poor.

Ok, looks like I'll actually be making it to the Peoria game tonight, after a couple of false starts the last couple games. Is there anybody at all worth paying attention to on the Clinton Lumberkings roster? The only guy who showed up in their top 30 in BA's prospect handbook before the season is 1B/3B Mickey Wiswall... who was #29... and is having an awful season.

I'm guessing you're referring to Bradley spending two weeks on the M's restricted list last year (wikipedia says he asked the M's for time off to do that, but it being wikipedia and all, whatever... I'll concede the M's). I don't see anything for the Marlins in the last couple years, so I'm gonna guess you're trying to compare a 1-2 game benching for hustle to a 30 day suspension without pay for being a dick... which seems a bit off. As to the Orioles, the only thing I can figure is Alfredo Simon spending time on the restricted list because he was being held in the Dominican Republic on murder charges... which again, feels like a bit of a different situation.

Depending on the price, I'd love to get Jacquez.

Didn't make it to the Peoria game today like I had planned to... instead I got to learn the difference between partial seizures and idiopathic head bobbing in my English Bulldog. I may end up going tomorrow instead.

I wasn't particularly enthused with the signing, but he said absolutely everything I could have ever wanted to hear in the preseason. And then he's gone out and done everything wrong during the season itself.

Keith Law on twitter:

Hendry is a joke, but your position on this is laughably naive. Awful as they are, Hendry and Quade are still in management. You can't let your employees run roughshod over you like this, or you run the risk of everyone doing it. I'm sure both of them still aspire to work in baseball after we sack them; letting Z have his way again would only undermine whatever respect they've earned in MLB over the years. Not that I care, but Z instigated this, not the FO. And Z isn't worth the trouble anyway. You and JR act like it's still 08. His #'s suck. So what you're saying is that the other 29 teams in baseball not only constantly discipline players who aren't actually breaking any major rules, but that they do it so often that Hendry and Quade would be laughed out of baseball for not doing so? That's interesting, because I can't think of a single instance by a team other than the Cubs... at least not at the major league level. Oh, and Z's numbers don't suck as badly as you think they do... especially when compared to his likely replacements for the rotation next year. That's not what I said, it's what you typed. And again, this incident isn't bad in a vacuum. But Z's history warrants discipline. He had to know he's on a short leash after last year. And we don't know who's replacing him yet. That argument can wait until we do. I'm failing to see the part where I was wrong in my interpretation of what you wrote. I said we're the only team in baseball that does this. You said I was being "laughably naive" and implied Hendry/Quade would have trouble getting jobs if they didn't do this. I asked for examples of other teams doing this. What am I missing?

I can't believe anybody would rather have Casey Coleman pitching for us next season than Carlos Zambrano... especially when we wont be getting anything in return for Zambrano. If I had to bet on who would have a better season next year, it'd be Zambrano, but not by a landslide or anything. Zambrano's got a 4.5ish FIP, is on the wrong side of 30 and has almost 2,000 innings on his arm. The peripherals this season point to long-term problems. Okay, maybe Coleman is a bad example, but it shouldn't be that hard to find pitchers capable of doing what Zambrano's been doing. I've been saying this for a while now, but Z is one of those guys who kinda falls into a bunch of cracks in modern statistical evaluations. FIP undersells him in large part because it assumes all pitchers have equal skill when it comes to controlling the running game. Normally that's an assumption that wont make a huge difference, but Z definitely belongs at the extreme end of the spectrum, as many pickoffs as he gets and as few stolen bases as he allows. FIP also by its very definition assumes all fielders are the same... so a pitchers own defensive value isn't reflected in FIP. I'd peg Z as above average in that regard as well. So there's a couple factors artificially inflating his FIP... is it going to make a huge difference? No, probably not. But can it add up to a quarter or a third of a run? Sure it can. And then there's his bat to reconcile. His batting prowess doesn't show up in FIP or WAR or anywhere people would typically look. But I don't think anybody is going to question that he's an extremely good hitter for a pitcher... contributing probably somewhere in the realm of an extra 5 runs per year with the bat. That's roughly equal to slicing another quarter or third of a point off of his FIP. Even after all of that, is he an ace? No. He's not anymore. But he's a pretty equivalent package to a pitcher who is average at hitting, fielding, and controlling the running game while posting an ERA or FIP in the mid to high 3's. Would anybody be this eager to trash and unload a guy if Ryan Dempster had a bad attitude?

Hendry is a joke, but your position on this is laughably naive. Awful as they are, Hendry and Quade are still in management. You can't let your employees run roughshod over you like this, or you run the risk of everyone doing it. I'm sure both of them still aspire to work in baseball after we sack them; letting Z have his way again would only undermine whatever respect they've earned in MLB over the years. Not that I care, but Z instigated this, not the FO. And Z isn't worth the trouble anyway. You and JR act like it's still 08. His #'s suck. So what you're saying is that the other 29 teams in baseball not only constantly discipline players who aren't actually breaking any major rules, but that they do it so often that Hendry and Quade would be laughed out of baseball for not doing so? That's interesting, because I can't think of a single instance by a team other than the Cubs... at least not at the major league level. Oh, and Z's numbers don't suck as badly as you think they do... especially when compared to his likely replacements for the rotation next year.

I can't believe anybody would rather have Casey Coleman pitching for us next season than Carlos Zambrano... especially when we wont be getting anything in return for Zambrano.

Seriously? The relationship is permanently damaged anyways, may as well try and put the money to better use. If we could, that wouldn't be a problem. But it's a guaranteed contract and Z wants to pitch. Unless I'm missing something major, there's no chance the union wont get all the money back.

Of course, this move would save roughly $3 million if it stands. Seems like a shrewd move in a lost season, although I can't imagine it will stand on appeal. The chances the MLBPA doesn't manage to recover his entire salary is almost nil. Denny Neagle got it all after being cut for banging prostitutes... Z got frustrated and threw an extremely minor temper tantrum lasting less than a day (his agent has even come out today and said he's "not in the retirement mode.") So yeah... Z is gonna get paid his full salary. And we'll get to see Casey Coleman get shelled next season while we miss the playoffs again.

Hendry is such a [expletive] joke... We are quite literally the only team in baseball that disciplines guys for being dicks.

I had a chance to go to today's Peoria game, but the other people I was gonna go with said they'd rather go tomorrow. So instead of Del Valle, it looks like I'll see Wallach... kinda disappointed by that. Still, he's at least semi-interesting. Anybody have anything they'd like me to keep an eye on?

Z probably will show up tomorrow in the clubhouse and make a quick apology. I imagine most of the players will forgive him before he even needs to say anything... everybody realizes how frustrating this season is. Quade seems like he'll probably hold a grudge, but as poorly as he's handled personnel this year... well, I don't think that'll matter for next season. Hendry has already been trying to find a way to unload Z for a couple seasons now. I don't see this changing anything in that regard... maybe a few of the racist articles make Z a bit more amenable to waiving his NTC this offseason. But the fact of the matter is that Hendry is trying to hold onto his job, and even if he manages to blame this season on injuries and Mike Quade (and it's looking like he may be successful in that regard), he's still going to be under a lot of pressure. Releasing Zambrano is admitting a very expensive failure. Unloading him without getting back any useful pieces or salary relief is admitting a very expensive failure. His only hope of trying to salvage the situation is keeping Z around. Knowing Hendry, there will probably be a suspension with some public statements intended to scapegoat Z, a few attempts to trade him (shocking how little you get offered when you trash your own players), and he'll be in the rotation next spring... slotted in at SP4 or some nonsense.

Dad's gonna be crushed! :lol:

The Gretsky deal is back on. Once again, per Jim Callis on twitter:

I can't imagine Andreoli is gonna be a budget-buster with his limited ceiling.

Per Jim Callis on twitter:

I don't know that I buy that he can be above average offensively... though I don't think he'll be much below average either. That said, nobody took him in the Rule 5 last year even though he was unprotected, so I have to imagine that other teams don't think too highly of his bat either.

No reason to believe that he won't. http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100828054703/uncyclopedia/images/b/b5/Exploding-head.gif Are we still on this or had you just been spending a few hours looking for the ideal gif? Johnson has been a very solid bench player all year, and yes, I have no reason to think that he'll just suddenly fall off a cliff, assuming he remains in the same role he has been in. Saying there's no reason to believe that he won't is far from guaranteeing that he will. His BABIP is .409. Neither he, nor any other player in baseball can sustain that. Therefore, you do have reason to think he can't keep it up.

2.11 GO-AO this season. 2.47 last year. Lefty groundball pitchers... that's not a huge list. Paul Maholm and John Lannan are probably the best comps... maybe Jonathan Niese if things go very well. If everything goes absolutely perfectly for him, maybe Ricky Romero or Jaime Garcia. Of that group, only Romero's average fastball is higher than about 90.5.

I was under the impression Rusin was a pretty heavy groundball pitcher, which would make him a bit more intriguing for me than otherwise. I could be mistaken on that one though. Anybody feel a Paul Maholm comp is off the mark?