Rob

That's only if you believe that even had he worked normal work loads and suffered the same traumas that he would not be in the same position as he is now. I can't make that claim. I'm not implying the traumas had no effect. I was just saying this day situation was coming anyways... though it most likely wouldn't have been the train wreck it has become without the injuries. He's certainly injury prone... but I don't necessarily believe his arm is in the same boat without a lot of contributing factors. . Many things can ruin a pitcher both mentally and physically that are not related to poor mechanics. Indeed. Zach Greinke says "hello."

Just a couple pages back.

I don't wanna sound gay or nothing, but that is one sweet avatar you've got there, dude.

Actually, talk to most athletic trainers or physical therapists and they will tell you that ALL pitchers throw with an unnatural motion. That not withstanding, KW is considered the definition of bad mechanics. and Prior was considered as having "perfect mechanics" by most experts, so what does that tell you? It tells me that he was overworked, took some direct trauma to vital areas for pitching, altered his mechanics to compensate, and hasn't been the same since. The direct traumas certainly didn't help, but he would have had issues even if it weren't for the trauma. The more pitches a pitcher throws, the more he gets fatigued. The more fatigued he gets, the more his mechanics begin to degrade. Even if Prior had perfect mechanics when he started the game, throwing 120 pitches was certainly going to give him bad mechanics for that last bunch. Bad mechanics equals a higher chance of injury. Dusty killed Prior.

I'm afraid the average baseball fan (or even the average baseball writer) doesn't know enough that they would actually be able to put a decent player on the team. Too many people loved Pierre, Neifi, Izturis, Augie, etc...

"The damage... would be relatively minimal?" Pagan was pretty bad for his 200 AB.

I'd go that route if I were the Marlins, since Hughes is likely not going to be traded for someone like Willis (and shouldn't be). Agreed. I'd rather have Hughes than Willis any day of the week.

"I tinktatta"

Washed up, done, AND finished.....dang. Somebody should have warned Carpenter. When he was 26 he had a 6.26 ERA in 175 innings. In 02 it was 5.28 in 73 innings, and he didnt pitch at all in 03. He was was probably just washed up and done though. Well, I would love to be wrong and hope I am. However reality hits home when you read reports of his shoulder being loose and surgery could be an option. One if not his last start was in Milwaukee and he looked like a college pitcher! I hope things change, but I have a feeling he will never regain his 03 form. I always thought having a loose arm is good for a pitcher. Kinda sorta. The loose shoulder helped him generate a good deal of the velocity on his pitches, though it carried with it a risk of injury like this. If they tighten it up, he should lose 2-3 mph off his fastball, but he shouldn't have to worry about the injury again for a good long while.

He will accrue enough service time to qualify for free agency in april 2008, but he wouldn't be able to come to the States on his own terms til the season was over.

Meche wouldn't even be a good option for a swingman... let alone for 3/4 years at 8-9 mil per.

Andruw was the best CF in the game by far. was. Davenport translations have Jones as 3 runs below average for a CF. Wells comes in at -6.

Even with Schmidt, we're probably still a year out. If we re-sign Barrett next season, find somebody to play SS, and get contributions from Pie and guys like Veal, Gallagher, and EPatt... that's when we can really contend. I just don't think we're really in a position to with such a weak up-the-middle group right now in DeRosa, Izturis, and Jacque... and without any good, cheap pitching help.

I've always thought that if Hendry is going to go after that type of hitter, not particularly patient, but potent toolsy guy, he might as well get the really good ones. I don't understand how people think he is on the decline? His splits are very even across the board. He would be great between Lee and Ramirez. It doesn't matter what his contract value might be right now, if Angelos wants him gone he will be gone. Why bat him between Lee and Aramis? I'd bat him #2 unless we can find a really good lefty bat to put in there. Soriano Tejada DLee ARam We'd be looking at a lot of first inning runs.

Young and cheapish. Doesn't strike out much considering the moderate power he has. He's learned to man the hot corner pretty darn well. That said, I don't like him near enough to acquire him. And he's certainly not as valuable as Ramirez.

Palmeiro got the gold glove in 99. He had only played 28 games at first that season.

No, not really. I think his arm will be fine since he hardly throws any breaking balls, and he kept the ball down last year. He strikes me as a good pitcher - not the kind of guy who falls apart when he loses a tick or two off his fastball. Well it should. A decrease in velocity and the decreasing length of a pitchers stride are two of the biggest keys to a shoulder injury. throwing less hard makes a pitcher hurt his shoulder? interesting. no. It's a symptom of shoulder injury. he threw over 200 innings last year. Shmidt is a fastball/change up pitcher. Although I don't like the abuse he's taken over the last several years those types of pitchers are very durable. BTW where does the "decrease in stride length and decrease in velocity" come from? I mean on what information is this observation based? Schmidt used to throw mid 90's. He was down to 88-90mph at the end of this season. Now, a variety of things can be the reasoning for this. Over worked is the main reasoning, however. Over worked usually means the pitcher becomes tired, and when the pitcher is tired his mechanics begin to take a nose dive. Which means he is more favorable for a arm injury(Kerry Wood). If a pitcher is losing length on his stride, it usually means his shoulder cannot keep up with the length the pitcher is taking. Schmdit is known for his absolutely insane length on his stride. Probably the longest in the game today. When he has to shorten that stride, it possibly means his shoulder cannot extend out to the point it used too. Don't pretend Wood had good mechanics up until he gets tired... The way he yanks his arm across the body is unnatural even when he's not fatigued.

If they valued Clayton that much, they would have taken Izturis off our hands... ](*,)

FWIW, guys with a killer fastball-changeup combo seem to succeed more than they should as they get older, even when they start to lose their velocity. Schmidt made the adjustment a while ago so that he's not trying to blow every hitter away. It's all about timing with him now. If we have to go to four years to get him, I would agree to it in a heartbeat. We can always eat a chunk of the salary and get a servicable prospect or two for him in a couple years if he breaks down.

Eyre+Jones for Burrell It would be interesting to see the Cubs with an all right-handed lineup in 07. Interesting isn't necessarily bad.

It probably bothers him. :lol: In all seriousness though, I do find myself concerned by that hip injury. Hip speed is absolutely essential to keeping velocity up... without his hips, his stuff becomes marginal.

Cashman was on XM an hour or so ago... He did not sound excited at all to have won the bidding.

He didn't say the first half. All he implies is that Prior will miss some time next year... not necessarily the beginning of it.

Typically speaking, Tejada has a higher BA than Izturis has OBP. Tejada's OBP is higher than Izturis Slug%... Tejada's Slug% is around 500... or about 100 to 150 points less than Izturis's expected OPS. Even if you want to make the argument he's not worth the cost... fine. If you want to make the argument he's not an elite offense force... fine. But he's such an upgrade over Izturis it's almost magical.

They are "trying to get rid of Manny" because Manny has asked to be traded out of Boston, again. He's asked about 4 times now. It's not just a matter of a guy having a bit of an attitude, it's a case of the guy not wanting to be on the team. To be fair to Manny, he's been a good sport about it the last few years. As long as they make an attempt in good faith to trade him, he works hard for them.