Little Slide Rooter

I just chalk it up to everyone else being wrong.

Not the same thing. His point is that if we're awful throughout the duration of Wood's only useful seasons came when we were going to be bad anyway, then the trade was meaningless. But at the time, the goal was to stock up on young talent by any means necessary. And this trade was a prime example of that. It was essentially a classic July sellers trade that happened to be made in December. It could have ended up somewhere between a non-factor and a huge win, but certainly not a loss. If there is any regret by the time Wood's time is up, it would be that we didn't sell high last summer, but again, hindsight. Virtually every trade that Theo has made has been to cash in guys who do not factor into his ultimate plan for the best possible return of guys who potentially could. Even Zambrano for Volstad fit the profile. The only ones that don't quite fit that profile were Cashner for Rizzo, in which case Cashner could have been a part of the future, but he was necessary to get what Theo thought was a major cornerstone and Colvin for Stewart which was a stable floor for a high ceiling.

Can we all agree that this won't become a thing?

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=5905&position=P http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/reds-extend-sean-marshall.html Oh, I'm not saying it shouldn't have happened; just that it's ultimately a non-move in the grand scheme of things if he turns out he only really produced when the Cubs were a black hole of suck. So...yay? Sean Marshall would have been gone after 2012. 2012 was to be a lost season. Whether or not we knew it at the time, the folks in charge did. We cashed him in for a young starting pitcher with several years under team control, a high ceiling low level prospect, and another guy who seemed like he could have been of some use at the time. It's a "tree falling in the forest making a sound" conundrum, not "should they have moved Sean Marshall at the time." Wood could just suck, the other two lumps of meat are gone...it might as well have never happened. And if Arodys Vizcaino ends up a bust, then that trade may as well have never happened. If Kyle Hendricks and Neil Ramirez fizzle and Olt doesn't figure things out, all of which are very possible, then the same will be said about the Garza trade in a few years. It's not so much a tree falling in the forest as it is a hindsight is 20/20. Think about all of those trades that the Pirates made between 2000-2010.

Well that was a disaster. But it's over.

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=5905&position=P http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/02/reds-extend-sean-marshall.html Oh, I'm not saying it shouldn't have happened; just that it's ultimately a non-move in the grand scheme of things if he turns out he only really produced when the Cubs were a black hole of suck. So...yay? Sean Marshall would have been gone after 2012. 2012 was to be a lost season. Whether or not we knew it at the time, the folks in charge did. We cashed him in for a young starting pitcher with several years under team control, a high ceiling low level prospect, and another guy who seemed like he could have been of some use at the time.

Is if normal for a pitchers WAR as a batter to be notably higher than his value as a pitcher? Because going into this game, Wood was at 0.6 as a batter, and 0.0 as a pitcher, which I can only assume will drop.

nah, he's got good stuff, his command just sucks. Am I alone in thinking that he should have been stretching out in Iowa for a while now?

Learning Japanese.

May Wada's next start be a big league one.

Because you never know when he'll throw that 12 K gem in front of a scout who hasn't been paying attention for the past 3 1/2 months.

Tis a lovely night in Minor League Box Score Land.

With the retirement of first Chipper Jones and now Derek Jeter, will we ever see a player with a career that long, but for the same team? If you'd asked me a few years ago, I'd have said Pujols. Ryan Braun and Matt Kemp are each on contracts that would have them at 14 years if they make it to the end, and even that's iffy. I guess I could see the Nationals forking over that kind of commitment for Bryce Harper. Mike Trout's another candidate, but he's currently signed through 2020, and he'll only be 28 at the time which is nuts to think about on its own. I guess if Stanton played for most teams, they'd be taking it into serious consideration.

Does this sound like he's being promoted, traded, or carrying on about having a rough game?

Curiosity.

Wilson Betemit made his Major League debut in 2001. He has no business in a minor league all star game.

*checks Kevin Encarnacion's KC numbers* [expletive], another summer of this [expletive]? I'm sure you found that he didn't do very well in those 16 games. And then didn't bother to check his numbers in Boise. And was then severely injured in a car crash and hasn't played since, making him an awful example. But I apologize for my interest in somebody who isn't marveled over in every thread. SCS, I'm sorry, but you don't get to feel righteously indignant on this one. The reason why people don't and shouldn't care about Roberto Caro as a prospect is because of his age relative to his level, that he is repeating this level for the third time...and the fact that he isn't good. You shouldn't be getting pissed about the response you've gotten. Don't chase this windmill. One can think a 17 year old in the VSL or DSL has a chance of being a decent prospect especially if he's performing well, sometimes an 18 year old if they're doing really well (late bloomers and all). Maaaybe a 19 year old if he's a pitcher and is dominant. And almost always a prospect worth following won't spend more than one season there. Some exceptions have occurred to that rule, but not many. But you just advocated for Roberto Caro who is 20 (will turn 21 in just over two months) which makes him 3 years older than most legit prospects in this league. He has spent 3 seasons at the same level and has never been promoted. His hit tool is lacking, hitting just .254 last year and just .279 this year. Lots of people can draw walks in these leagues because they face so many inexperienced pitchers who lack control, so K/BB ratios are almost always misleading and OBPs inflated. Advocating for him is like backing a 24 year old (who is about to 25) and his repeating Kane County for the third year in a row while only producing okay numbers. Maybe I should just come out and explain that taking notice of a low level prospect does not mean thinking that they're going to be a superstar, a major leaguers, or even minor league filler. It's simply taking note of low level guys who have had consistently solid numbers, and wondering if they could end up stateside at some point.

*checks Kevin Encarnacion's KC numbers* [expletive], another summer of this [expletive]? I'm sure you found that he didn't do very well in those 16 games. And then didn't bother to check his numbers in Boise. And was then severely injured in a car crash and hasn't played since, making him an awful example. But I apologize for my interest in somebody who isn't marveled over in every thread.

Oh Douchy McDoucherson, you're the douchiest.

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/07/16/lukewarm-stove-royals-in-on-ruggiano-and-villanueva/ I'll take what we can get for Villanueva at this point. As for Ruggiano, he's cost effective enough that the chance of his being at least a productive platoon player while we wait for our outfield prospects is more valuable than a lottery ticket or two.

And the bus to Iowa was waiting for him outside after the game.

Do to lack of action here, I'll bring up Roberto Caro. At 20, he's a touch old for the DSL, but he's been doing essentially the same thing for 3 years now with both OBP and SLG hovering at or just above .400.

Kosuke gave us 4 amazing April-Mays, 3 decent Augusts, and a forgettable AAA relief pitcher, and can't nobody take that away from us.

What is a potential hooker? Just, no.

Can we agree that at the time, we didn't have many nice things, so the thought of a toolsy 17 year old who could one day blossom into Juan Uribe meant something? Though he was starting to get some attention after a big spring training, and picking up where he left off in AAA after his injury.