rawaction

I'd also take Kevin Jones. At the least it gives you crapload of depth, with 3 guys who all started at least a handful of games last season. Plus KJ has the potential to be a star if he stays healthy.

Best Infields (C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B) 1. Lynx- top 3 at C, 3B, and 2B. SS and 1B are solid and probably at least middle of the pack in the league at their positions. 2. GHS- top 3 at C, 1B, and SS. Uggla's a former top 3 2B, who I think will have a down year. 3B looks like a potential hole. 3. NSBB- Top 3 at C, 1B, 2B. Not as high as Lynx because not as good at the 2 other positions, SS and 3B in this case. Best Outfields(3 OFs and U) 1. GHS- Soriano, Abreu, Hawpe in the OF, but Tex at U puts him above the rest of the league. 2. Raw- Not the great OF I'm used to, but have 1 star, 1 potential star keeper, and a solid vet. Kouzmanoff at U for now, but Matt Kemp has the potential to take that spot 3. NSBB- Swisher is a solid bet to put up big numbers. Hart most likely will also, but between he, Hermida and Hamilton, a lot of youth being counted on. Best starting Pitching 1. NSBB- Santana, Lackey, Verlander will keep his pitching near the top of the league regardless of what the 4-5 do. Potential to be great at the bottom w/ Hughes and Gallardo 2. Fuzzy- strong top 4 with Webb, Vazquez, Cain, and Shields. Lot of 5 options, with young sleepers and old comeback attempters. 3. Urinal- Halladay, Burnett, Weaver, Sheets. As good as the #2 rotation, but more injury concerns. Also have to consider teams strong at the top. I think this depends on what 1-2 you like. Got Sabathia/Lincecum, Hill/Liriano, Oswalt/Young, Zambrano/Beckett, Peavy/Hernandez. If AJB and Sheets don't start 20 games, UC could fall into this range.

It said the Rays will lose 73 games. If you subscribe, you see that they'll only win 68, and they will be forced to forfeit 21 games because of various bench clearing brawls with the Yankees and Red Sox that are clearly only the fault of the Rays.

That would be fantastic. However, there is no chance the Chiefs take Otah at #5. You stole my thunder. That said, even if Otah goes later -as he will - the Bears could have Woodson fall into their laps in the 3rd rnd. That would be good value. Now if we can only convince Angelo not to go defense.... Why would you not go defense? The Bears are far from perfect on D. They could use a DT. They could use a safety. They could use another young DE. The Bears aren't gonna be an elite offense just by drafting well next month. They could again be an elite defense, but they aren't gonna do it unless they add a couple pieces or get real lucky health-wise.

This is a good signing. I think there's a decent chance Lohse could be the Cubs 4th best starter.

That would be fantastic. The only downer is Clady going one pick before the Bears' selection. Good thing about that is I don't see Carolina taking OT (re-signed one OT and franchised the other, both are young) with Phillips on the board.

That's what people said about Pujols after his first season. I'd say Braun is a better bet than Pujols was at the time to keep up the numbers. Doesn't mean he will....just sayin'. Ironically, didn't Pujols make a similar move from 3B to LF between his 1st 2 seasons?

Nah the cool thing to do is just blast whatever I say. I have watched Mayo a ton this year too. I work overnights. Thus when I am off I am up when they are on. He can guard. I think he is going to be a much better pro than most people think. There's not much difference between Mayo and Gordon defensively. They are both gonna be great on the ball defenders at the next level. Mayo has quicker hands and will get more steals though.

Exactly. 1 and 2 are basically the same position in the order. If the idea is to not "waste Soriano's HRs"...wouldn't he be better served to get those chances behind .400 OBP Derrek Lee over .325 OBP Theriot?

I hope this is sarcasm. I wrote that he's a better leadoff man, which i stand by. Soriano's obviously the better hitter. Wouldn't that also mean he's the better leadoff hitter?....And 2 hitter? And 3 hitter? And cleanup hitter? Not to mention 5-9 hitter?

Cool it, guys!

Chris Brown reminds me of a poor man's Cedric Benson.

I kinda agree w/ Sully. There's really not much of a difference between Mayo and Gordon. They are very similar in size. I think Gordon's a little stronger (more bulk), and Mayo is a little longer (longer reach). I think they will be similar defensively. But I do think EJ has the edge in maturity. Despite Gordon's sometimes silly turnovers, his game right now transfers better to the NBA. Defense in the Big Ten is better than what he will face in the NBA for the most part. The fact that the NBA has bigger players will benefit EJ, because he has a great mid-range game. He had no need to break it out in college, because he could take it inside and finish strong or get to the line. Mayo hasn't shown that mid-range game, not even at the HS level. I do think Mayo is more likely to make his teammates better at the next level though. Mayo's more likely to find an open man while driving to the basket, whereas Gordon looks for his offense first. He doesn't necessarily handle the ball better, but he is a more dynamic ball handler. He's more likely to break a defenders ankles with the dribble, Gordon gets free by his quick first step (Mayo's first step ain't no joke either).

Illinois is so bad, they lose twice in the same tournament. :cry: yes, they also get a bye and lose to IDLE.

Ryan at 14 would be a steal. It's about where he should go, talentwise, but he's a QB, so he'll go top 7. As for Flacco and Woodson, I would love one in the 3rd round. 2nd round, I don't know about either. Both seem like guys that need to be developed. Bears have nobody to develop a QB. With all the Bears needs, I'm more apt to try and develop a 3rd rounder, than a top 50 pick.

Michigan is not good. No way they beat Wisconsin. I could see a hot Ohio St. upsetting them though. Ohio St. is barely better than Michigan. I think Purdue wins it all. They are young and athletic enough where they won't get tired playing 3 games in 3 days. They are in Indianapolis. Michigan St. could easily win it all if they could play 3 good games in a row. I don't know if they've done that all year. Minnesota over Northwestern Penn St over Illinois Iowa over Michigan Wisconsin over Iowa Michigan St. over Ohio St. Purdue over Illinois Indiana over Minnesota Michigan St. over Wisconsin Purdue over Indiana Purdue over Michigan St.

Nary an Illini to be found. *sigh* it's only been a few short years since glory, now look :cray: Shawn Pruitt made the media 3rd team.

Seriously. Aramis, Soriano, Pie, and Theriot are all over .300. Fukudome and Soto were at .300 when these statements were made. The probable bench players are killing the ball (Murton, Ward, Cintron, Fontenot). The only guys not hitting are Derrek Lee, the guy that needs worried about the least. And Mark Derosa who has 6 ABs after having his heart surgery.

What the heck is wrong with Lou? Throwing the regulars out there everyday. Caring about wins and losses. Gonna play the regulars 9 innings and extend the starters like a normal game and wonder why his team is burnt out come June.

I didn't want Dusty. But I was probably more indifferent on him than either opposed or for him. I didn't like his track record with young players, and back then the Cubs had a bevy of young talent with guys like Patterson, Cruz, Zambrano, Kelton, etc. I did like that he seemed to be a good motivator and a "player's coach". I liken it to the Kelvin Sampson hiring at IU. Both had pretty decent success, having winning teams and getting to the post season pretty consistently. But neither had the X's and O's ability that I felt would be ultimately successful in winning a championship.

What I don't understand is how people know it's gonna be done in a week. If it's gonna be done in a week, why can't it be done in a day? Do the Orioles really need to spend a week scouting the few available prospects that are attainable to them? If so, what's gonna happen next Tuesday that hasn't happened already? Will Donald Veal hit 99mph on a radar gun and make MacPhail and Angelos say, "Ok, we gotta get him today!" Will Jose Ceda walk 3 straight batters and MacPhail and Angelos say, "Oh, we don't want him". To borrow a line from the great, Dennis Green, THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE. Nothing is gonna change next week that can't change today. The Cubs know what the O's want. The O's know what the Cubs are willing to give up.

I thought Fox would be a last cut, being that he's been the #1 callup before when needing a RH bat. Probably means the Cubs want to get a good look at guys like Patterson, Cedeno, etc. in the OF.

Yeah, he can go. If for nothing else but for the loss of incentive to ever play him over Mark Bradley again. If he does go though, the Bears special teams will look a lot different. Have lost a lot with Ricky Manning and Archuleta still possibly to go.

And what have those three done since the trade though? Pinto has been somewhat decent, the other two, not so much. Actually Pinto, the one that's done nothing. Mitre and Nolasco both have been alright when healthy. Both have already done at least as much as Pierre, when you combine them. Both have about 4 years under Marlins control to still do something.

I think Micah can be a solid major league bench player, in the mold of a Scott Hatteberg or Ben Broussard type. Obviously, if he's compared to those 2, he could probably start in the right situation. He's a good glove. I think he can hit well enough to be hidden in the 7-hole. Of course, a contending team is probably going to want to have better 1B production.