Rob

Why lump Vitters in with Harvey and Dope? Vitters is batting three-thirty or three-forty something right now.

Vitters isn't blocked by anybody but Aramis Ramirez right now... it's the advantage of a lofty draft slot. They'll let him play his way up and down, and not have that be determined by other circumstances.

It'd be nice if our first rounder had half of the potential that some of the guys in the later rounds had...

Here's BA's take on all of them. Andy LaRoche - 3B (#2 Dodgers prospect) "The Dodgers took a 39th round flier on LaRoche in 2003 and signed him for $1 million after he tore up the Cape Cod League that summer. He's the son of former major league all-star Dave and the brother of Pirates first baseman Adam. Andy entered spring training in competition for Los Angeles' third-base job, but went 11-for-51 without a homer in big league camp and spent most of the season at Triple-A Las Vegas. He had left shoulder surgery after the 2006 season, which might have precipitated his slow start, and he battled back soreness in 2007 as well. LaRoche has plus raw power and a good feel for hitting. When he gets his arms extended, balls fly off his bat to all fields. He lets balls travel deep and has the bat speed to catch up to the best of fastballs. He has advanced pitch recognition and commands the strike zone well when he stays within himself. He's a slightly below average defender with a solid-average arm. LaRoche's approach was inconsistent last season. He was overly patient at times when he first got to the majors in May, then chased balls out of the zone in his second try with the Dodgers in September. He also gets pull-happy at the plate. He's a below-average runner with unexceptional range defensively. Los Angeles would like to see him take his preparation more seriously. His injury history is more extensive than he or the club would like. LaRoche profiles as an everyday third baseman with the potential to bat in the middle of a lineup. The Dodgers haven't been able to fill the hole at third base since Adrian Beltre left in 2005, and LaRoche should finally get his opportunity this season." http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/Andy-LaRoche.shtml Bryan Morris - RHP (#12 Dodgers prospect) "Originally drafted by the Rays in the third round out of high school in 2005, Morris agreed to a $1.4 million bonus but Tampa Bay's ownership failed to finalize the well-above-slot deal. So he elected to play under his father Ricky, a pitching coach at Motlow State (Tenn) CC, where he dominated, then signed with LA for $1.325 million. The knock on Morris as an amateur was his delivery, as he pitched with a stiff front side and threw across his body. Sure enough, he had an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery shortly after the end of his pro debut. Morris missed all of the 2007 season but made it back to the mound by instructional league. Dodgers officials said that his fastball was up to 95 mph there, and they worked on cleaning up his mechanics. During his debut, Morris pitched at 93 mph with good life and cutting action to his fastball. His hammer curveball also graded as a plus pitch with tight, hard spin. He showed some feel for his changeup and mixed in a below-average slider. He could begin 2008 in low Class A and has a ceiling of a No. 3 starter." http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Bryan-Morris-1.shtml Brandon Moss - OF (#11 Red Sox prospect) "At the all-star break last year, Moss was hitting .303 with 31 doubles and 13 homers in Triple-A, numbers that usually would merit big league playing time in the second half. But with the Red Sox, he got just 24 at bats. That's the dilemma facing Moss, who has nothing left to prove at Pawtucket but is blocked in Boston. Moss broke out as a prospect by winning the MVP award and batting title (.339) in the South Atlantic League in 2004, then struggled to find offensive consistency and the next two year in Double-A. His swing got long when he tried to take advantage of the short right field porch in Portland, but he made adjustments in the second half of 2006, which he capped by winning Eastern League playoff MVP honors. In 2007, Moss demonstrated more opposite field power than ever before and led his league in doubles for the second straight season. He has strong hands, a quick bat, leverage in his swing and a greater understanding that he should just let his power come naturally. He imparts nice backspin on his drives and though he'll swing and miss, he does a good job of covering both sides of the plate. Though Moss isn't as streaky as he used to be, he can still get inconsistent with his approach and gives too many at bats away. He projects as a .270 hitter with 20 homers a year. Despite slightly below average speed, he's a solid right fielder with a good arm. Moss will be a reserve outfielder this season for the Red Sox, unless they use him as trade bait." http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Brandon-Moss.shtml Craig Hansen - RHP (#18 Red Sox prospect) "In the final two months of last season, the Red Sox finally started to see glimpses of the pitcher they thought they were getting when the spent the 26th overall pick and a $4.4 million big league contract on Hansen in 2005. After making some adjustments to his mechanics and mental approach, Hansen had a 1.23 ERA and a 25-9 K-BB in his final 22 inning, and he again started flashing the slider that made him so dominant in college. It's still inconsistent, but Boston hadn't seen that killer slider since he turned pro. He also worked with a 93-96 mph fastball that had good life down in the strike zone. Before Jonathan Papelbon emerged as the Red Sox closer in 2006, there was talk that Hansen might assume that role in his first full pro season. The pressure got to Hansen, who kept tinkering with his mechanics while trying to find the slider that had deserted him. He started throwing with more effort and a lower arm slot, and it hurt his fastball command. Now he's back up to a true three-quarters angle and looking more like his old self. Hansen did hit a couple of speed bumps after his resurgence, missing three weeks in August after he banged his forearm when he slipped and fell against a nightstand. He also left the Arizona Fall League early to have surgery to correct his sleep apnea. As soon as Hansen gets more consistent with his slider, he'll be pitching in Boston again." http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/Craig-Hansen.shtml

Wooo!!!!

In other news, rumor has it that the reason Griffey agreed to waive his 10/5 rights was because the White Sox promised he'd get to play CF again. That's gonna be fun to watch.

Manny for Griffey isn't a good trade. If you're dead set on getting rid of Manny it's not awful. Griffey is hitting .245/.355/.432 this season... Manny is hitting .299/.398/.529 this season... Yeah, that'd be a bad trade.

Yay

Albert Belle and ... Kirby Puckett?

I'm starting to think that the Cubs see Edmonds injury as a little more serious than they let on.

He's BA's sleeper pick in the Cubs system.

That's one version... There's also: Marlins get: Manny Ramirez, one prospect (from Red Sox), cash (from Red Sox) Red Sox get: Jason Bay, John Grabow Pirates get: Jeremy Hermida, Ryan Tucker, and two prospects (one each from Red Sox and Marlins) And there's been some talk that Jack Wilson may head to the Red Sox with Jed Lowrie going back to the Pirates... If that happens, the Pirates are actually looking like a team that may have some real talent in a few years... C - ? 1B - Steve Pearce 2B - ? SS - Jed Lowrie 3B - Pedro Alvarez LF - Jose Tabata CF - Andrew McCutchen RF - Jeremy Hermida They're gonna have a few holes, and their pitching staff will still need to come around... but that has the makings of a team that could be annoying for a few seasons.

Feelin real good...

What are you, stupid? sarcasm

They're .5 games back of the Crew.

Villone coming in to face Casey Kotchman in ATL with the bases juiced and two outs... Cards still up by 3.

Demp just ninja'd that ball out into left field.

Carp couldn't have picked a better lineup to attempt to come back against... there isn't a single OPS over .800 in the Braves lineup with Teixeira gone, Chipper on the DL, and McCann injured.

John Perroto is reporting that the deal is on the verge of being completed between the Marlins and the Red Sox.

Why don't we just use the game thread?

Gameday had that pitch at 64 mph.

Just got out of my last final for the summer session... but it's raining too hard for me to walk down to the bars. So I'm stuck here, watching the game, and getting schwasted. Cubs need to win this one for me.

Poor Kosuke... that should have been a hit.

My predictions anger the baseball gods... so I stopped making them long ago. But I am very happy about the way this series started.

According to the game thread on LEPG, he threw 19 pitches tonight, only three of which were sliders. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=237&position=P He's thrown the slider more than twice as often this year as he did last year.