davell

Szczur has looked the part of a good 4th OFer so far. Hitting, showing speed, and making plays in the field.

He's still 19 years old. He throws mid 90's and is still learning to pitch. When drafted, he was considered a project. He's got a higher upside than Just about any pitcher in the system. Just going to take time. He's definitely still in my top 30, even figuring he'll repeat Boise this year.

Michael Wright said it sounds like Kelvin Hayden is coming back.

He's got a change that used to flash plus on occasion, but now may even be considered a true plus pitch at this point. I thought that's what it looked like, but it was like 85 or 86 mph and that made me question the look I got at it. He does throw 96-97 though, so I guess that's about right for a change. It had some really nice downward and tailing action away from a lefty to it. I was surprised he was hitting 97 THIS early in spring, even in an inning stint. I'm not sure he can hit triple digits, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Again with this...which major injuries are the result of him playing guys too hard? I completely get and agree that I'd like to him to play or have played some guys with fewer minutes, but even with that said it really hasn't cost them. Noah's PF is just something he has and either he can play or he can't. Deng's wrist? Rose's knee? Those are things that would have happened regardless of Thibs and didn't have anything to do with excessive playing time. Everything else looks like the usual wear and tear of an NBA team. It's not like they play exhausted at the end of the year or in the playoffs...so what do you point to when you decide this? It's not that you can point to a single injury or anything. I think the minutes, in general, wear a player down. Were we at our absolute best against the Heat a few years back? I'm honestly not sure. And I'm a guy that truly thinks the Heat had more talent too. So, yeah, it's praising Thibs one way(thinking its possible he could have out coached Spo and won the series anyway) while damning him for doling out too many minutes at times earlier in the year.... Bottom line for me is its undecided, but if he never wins a title, it'll be what people (me included) always come back to. Again, I want to reiterate I like Thibs a bunch. Pop is the only guy I'd trade him for. So I'm holding him to an extremely high standard.

I really want to see Rondon, Grimm, and Vizcaino pitch all season in the majors. Add in Rivero as a long term option, our pen is the most intriguing thing we've got going at the major league level. And that's without mentioning Strop and Parker, two extremely positive developments from last year.

He's got a change that used to flash plus on occasion, but now may even be considered a true plus pitch at this point.

I like Thibs a bunch and he is one of the better coaches in the NBA obviously. But his "win every game at all costs" style is one of the reasons we can't stay healthy. This year doesn't matter, but in a year we're actually a contender, I'd take 5 less regular season wins to be fresh for the playoffs.

The first time I ever saw his name, which was football related, I pronounced it "Zerrr" Great catch by him just now.

It's not hard at all to imagine Grimm as a long term set up guy.

Starlin putting up an .800 OPS and Olt turning in to a legit major leaguer changes the future possibilities so much. Please happen.

How about, "Raise the likelihood that they pay you, Shark," instead? Ed Lynch(Toronto's top scout) is there.

Yeah, a .300 BA with a .330 OBP is perfectly fine with me. As Merrill Hodge said "It didn't feel right not to swing."

Well, we say it every year when we see this list.....But we're going to lose a couple of guys. Almost definitely. Not major guys, but Andreoli, Zych, Silva, Geiger, Maples, Cates, maybe Amaya or Hernandez, if they play well in Daytona. Ben Wells or Pineyro are possibilities. Looks like CJ, Javy, (thats a mistake on AZPhil's part, its Javy, not Jeffrey)and Hendricks are the only must-adds we've got.

I've been thinking anything at all from him is a bonus, but it certainly sounds as if he's not going to need the 60 day.

If he can come close to holding this weight, is it possible LF becomes an option? I know we've heard no previously, but this is the best he's looked at least.

Sure I can. Not an exact match here, but assuming Turner winds up the top bat in the draft, are you taking him or Rodon, if both are there?

bah. I type equally well with both hands. I can chew food in both sides of my mouth equally.

They're supposedly still in on Santana too. If they wind up getting Ubaldo, Cruz, AND Santana, they've played the comp pick stuff very well. Once you lose the 1st rounder, I think it's best to just screw the draft that year and go for it. Don't have a superstar out of the group, but adding all 3 to a nucleus like the O's would be very, very good for them.

Jesus-"All I did was eat" Jack Z"Any expectations I had for him are gone"

Interesting exercise. Personally, I still think Brett can contribute more to a big league club than Vitters, due to D and baserunning. Not by much, but I think he'll wind up having a slightly better(still non productive) ML career. Although, the Cuddyer mention does lend SOME hope for Vitters honestly. Off that list though, I'd take Jackson or Vitters over the following- Rodriguez, Garner, Ha, Pugliese, Watkins, Loosen, and Peralta. I'm basing it off of if another team DFA'd Brett or Vitters, I'd trade one of those guys for either of those two. Cates, Rosscup, Szczur, and Andreoli would be iffy as well. The rest still have too much unknown for me to gibe them up for something I consider trivial. The reports on Rodriguez' stuff was pretty blah, Garner is a middle reiiever type, Ha is a 25th man type without the perceived upside, Pugliese is a decent arm, but the upside thing would allow me to give him up, Watkins does nothing for me, ditto Loosen, and I don't see Peralta ever putting it together. Cates and Rosscup both look decent in relief, but neither give me he vibe they're irreplaceable either. And neither Szczur or Andreoli are anything special obviously, although I do feel as if Andreoli has been overlooked a bit. Andreoli IS Szczur, except with better production and no hype because of his draft history. And guys like Garner, Loosen, Peralta, and Pugliese can be lot more valuable as middle-relievers than outfielders who play average CF defense and struggle to hit .200 without plus-power. I wouldn't argue that, IF that was those guys floor. Unfortunately it's not-None of them are guaranteed to even make it out of AA and none of them have a ceiling remotely worth getting excited about. Brett, as a 5th OFer, would have more value to me than any of that group.

So, Kevin Encarnacion is lucky to be alive. He was pulled out of the SUV and 30 seconds later, it exploded. He is still in the Arizona Burn Center with injuries and burns to his throwing arm, torso, and foot. Damage to his throwing arm is still unknown at this point. In an interview, he did say he'd be able to resume his career at some point.

To me, that's beyond crazy at this point. It's not like he's Barney in CF, either. It's not happening with the Cubs, but I think it's plausible that if Brett could hit .200 in the majors, the rest of the package could make him slightly more valuable than a short side of the platoon type, which is all I think Vitters is.(Brett would have an advantage conceivably, by being the big side of a platoon himself)

Interesting exercise. Personally, I still think Brett can contribute more to a big league club than Vitters, due to D and baserunning. Not by much, but I think he'll wind up having a slightly better(still non productive) ML career. Although, the Cuddyer mention does lend SOME hope for Vitters honestly. Off that list though, I'd take Jackson or Vitters over the following- Rodriguez, Garner, Ha, Pugliese, Watkins, Loosen, and Peralta. I'm basing it off of if another team DFA'd Brett or Vitters, I'd trade one of those guys for either of those two. Cates, Rosscup, Szczur, and Andreoli would be iffy as well. The rest still have too much unknown for me to gibe them up for something I consider trivial. The reports on Rodriguez' stuff was pretty blah, Garner is a middle reiiever type, Ha is a 25th man type without the perceived upside, Pugliese is a decent arm, but the upside thing would allow me to give him up, Watkins does nothing for me, ditto Loosen, and I don't see Peralta ever putting it together. Cates and Rosscup both look decent in relief, but neither give me he vibe they're irreplaceable either. And neither Szczur or Andreoli are anything special obviously, although I do feel as if Andreoli has been overlooked a bit.

I'm pretty simplistic in looking at situations like this: I wouldn't trade Jimenez one for one, for Ramirez. Because of the upside. Therefore, I'll rank him higher.