CubsWin

Harvey does it again! Three HRs, all solo however. Clearwater leads 9-6 with Daytona batting in the last of the 9th.

Ryne Malone played three seasons for the Seminoles and played reasonably well hitting .330/.423/.611 in 203 ABs his freshman year but declined every year after that to .316/.423/.503 in 263 ABs and .275/.377.500 in 240 ABs this season. Toolsy he is not, so he fell all the way to the 49th round, second to last, in this year's amateur draft. He was listed at the hot corner while at Florida State, but at 5'11" and a 185 lbs., he's hardly the protypical major league thirdbaseman. But he does fit the profile for secondbase pretty well and he had time there while in college, so the Cubs have tried him there as well as a little third. Ryne is just 21 years old and won't turn 22 until January so he is age appropriate for Low-A Peoria where he is currently hitting .302/.391/.458 through 96 ABs. He's compiled 5 errors in just 27 games, so his defense may be lacking a bit, but especially for a guy who was drafted in the 49th round, this qualifies as a find. He will need to continue to grow and maintain his current level of production at the higher levels if he hopes to be a major league starter, but even if his numbers regress as he rises through the system, he has a shot to be a decent utility guy. The other Ryne was drafted rather late, in the 20th round, and wound up in the Hall of Fame. What can Wilken and the Cubs get out of this 49th rounder?

Yeah, wasn't he really good his last time out or something? Two in a row would be nice or two out of his last three, whatever it is... And it will be interesting to see how his opponent does, one time Cubs draftee - Micah Owings. BTW, I know that Chris Huseby is signed, but is there any news as to when he is going to play? I figured if he is signed he would likely be at Mesa, at the very least. But so far, no sign of him. Are they just being extra careful with him because of his recent injury and are shutting him down for the rest of the season?

Are you guys listening to the game on the internet?

Judging by the "let's go Fontenot", I'm guessing Ojeda got on. Gameday is a little slow, heh....

And the pitcher, Walrond, singles to keep the top of the 12th alive. If Soto hadn't hit into that DP, the I-Cubs could have had something going. Augie Doggy at the plate now...

With Papelbon being 23 years old. Its time. What are the Cubs waiting for?

Bring the green to Daytona 'cuz here comes St. Petrick! This calls for a parade! Alright, maybe I'm over-reacting. But...yea!

Agreed. I will be disappointed if Maddux isn't traded. Not that I don't like the guy, because I do, but he isn't part of the plans for next year and we should get what we can for him. I agree, the Cubs should get what they can for Maddux, but with Ned Colletti at the helm for the Dodgers, I doubt he will give them much. Colletti used to work for the Cubs and left the organization with a lot of bad blood. He hates the Cubs. Some have theorized thats why Furcal is in LA right now, just to spite the Tribune. He, among all other GMs, will not want to give a lot in a trade with the Cubs.

Statistically, yes. Amen, brother. Preach it.

I agree. I also think it's not a good idea to judge their big league careers by comparing their brief minor league careers. I do think Marshall will be better big leaguer because (over the course of their minor league careers) he has better control, gives up fewer HRs and has better stuff than Hill. I think Rich Hill's raw stuff is better... his control is obviously not, though. It is at AAA. Which, to me, means that it can be at the major league level as well so long as the reason for his poor control in the bigs is purely mental.

Since being called up to Iowa last season, Rich has started 24 games at AAA without incident or injury. He has gone 12-2 with a 2.63 ERA. He has averaged over 6 innings per start and amassed 157 2/3 innings pitched allowing only 114 hits. He has walked only 34 while striking out 213 for a 7-to-1 ratio and a WHIP of 0.94. Rich has performed better and more consistently this season than last continuing to show the improvement he began early last season while at West Tenn. For years, Cubs scouts and management personnel teased us by telling us to watch out if Rich Hill ever finds his control. Well, I think it is safe to say that with a WHIP of .087 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6-to-1, that he found it. And I've been "watching out", but so far all I see is a guy not being given much of a chance to mentally adjust to the big league level. Clearly, he's earned it. Here's hoping that come August or even before, Hill will be given an extended chance to get big league hitters out.

I'd been thinking the opposite, that his power has been a pleasant surprise. He's got 3 HR's already in what 80 AB? Project that to an everyday big-leaguer and your around 20. He's hit lots of doubles, like you say, especially lately. Of 24 hits, 9 have been for XBH, that's very good. His slugging is now over .500, his IsoP over .200. So I think his power has been very encouraging. If he's hitting XBH and HR's like this at age 20, who knows what he'll be able to do at age 26 and 29. I'm wary that it's just a hot streak for Colvin. Hopefully he has turned the corner and is playing like the guy Wilken saw. To say that this is just a hot streak seemingly robs it of its well-earned validity. If we are going to do that, then the least we can do is call his performance during his first 12 games just a cold streak. But there is no need to be wary of anything. Whether it is just one or not, clearly this is a hot streak for Tyler. How much of one is the question. If he were to keep up the pace of his last 9 games, he would break a lot of records. Entering the July 12th game against Vancouver that started his current hot streak, Colvin was batting .174. Nine games later, he has raised his average 108 points. In those 9 games. Colvin is hitting .410 (16-for-39). He has scored 10 runs, hit 7 doubles, 2 HRs and driven in an astonishing 14 runs. In 39 at bats, he has struck out only 3 times while walking once. Projected over a 162 game season, at his current pace, Colvin would have 252 RBI. Hack who? Yeah, its safe to say this is a hot streak. But as hot as he is right now, he was just as cold for the first 12 games of the season. There are a lot more reasons why someone making the switch from aluminum bats and playing his first games as a pro after signing the biggest financial contract of his life might be experiencing some distractions than why his current performance would not be indicitive of what is to come. About the only two reasons I can think of as to why his current play isn't an accurate representation of what we can expect from Tyler is that he is simply performing too well to be believed over an extended period of time, and nine games is too small of a sample size. So, whereas, I readily agree that this is a hot streak, logic suggests that it is closer to what he is capable of over the long haul than the way he started this season. I could handle somewhere in the middle. A .292 average with some pop and good plate discipline would look good in the Cubs batting order right now.

I don't know though. I'd probably have Gallagher over Veal. Gallagher is younger and already has reached West Tenn. I don't think Veal is far behind, but I just don't see the evidence to choose Veal over Gallagher. I agree with both your's and texascub's assessments. Gallagher being younger and at the higher level has to place him above Veal on a prospect list. But not by much...

BRILLIANT!!!

That's a beautiful thing. I've got Rich Hill and Sean Gallagher as the next two pitchers I can see contributing to a Cubs rotation for a good stretch of time. Its possible to lose Wood and Maddux next season and have a rotation of Zambrano, Prior, Hill, Marmol and Marshall with Gallagher on the cusp. But if the Cubs want to compete for a playoff berth, I would much prefer to see Zito added to that bunch with possibly one other veteran in the mix. How about Zambrano, Prior and Zito with Marmol, Hill, Marshall, Gallagher and a 5th starter quality veteran battling it out for the final two spots. I could live with that. 2007 may be a bit early for Sean, but then again, it may not... a rotation of: zambrano schmidt prior marmol hill would make me very happy. but they need to let hill pitch, like they've done with marshall. i think hill's much better than marshall and will make the better big leaguer anyway. I couldn't agree more...

Over his last 6 games, Tyler Colvin has gone 8-for-23 (.348) with 6 runs, 4 doubles, 1 HR and 9 batted in. He has struck out twice and walked once in that time. Make of it what you will. Its still only 6 games, but he appears to have adjusted to wooden bats. After starting the NWL season ice cold and mired in a long slump which saw his average regularly below the Mendoza line, he's gotten that up to .247 on the year...and climbing.

That's a beautiful thing. I've got Rich Hill and Sean Gallagher as the next two pitchers I can see contributing to a Cubs rotation for a good stretch of time. Its possible to lose Wood and Maddux next season and have a rotation of Zambrano, Prior, Hill, Marmol and Marshall with Gallagher on the cusp. But if the Cubs want to compete for a playoff berth, I would much prefer to see Zito added to that bunch with possibly one other veteran in the mix. How about Zambrano, Prior and Zito with Marmol, Hill, Marshall, Gallagher and a 5th starter quality veteran battling it out for the final two spots. I could live with that. 2007 may be a bit early for Sean, but then again, it may not...

I tried Google. Did I miss it? What should I have put into the search engine?

Be happy to. A Google search for "Mark Prior not worth trading for" yielded no quotes from any GMs. It did bring up a Yankees message board in which a Yank-me fan talks about how he wouldn't give up Robinson Cano for Prior. LINK Did a couple of other searches. Still can't find any quotes from any GMs saying they wouldn't be willing to give up a B level prospect for Mark Prior. Lets try ProSportsDaily. They are a great source. They compile articles from newspapers all over the nation that even mention the Cubs or Cubs players. Here we go, from the Daily Southtown... No quotes from any GMs, but some solid sense. Given the fact that he has spent much of this season on the DL and is currently on the DL, it is highly unlikely anyone is going to make an eye-popping offer for Prior. I certainly agree with that. The general managers are starting to kick the tires a bit on trade possibilities, one GM said this week. With that in mind, I called about a half-dozen talent evaluators and asked them to assess the value of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, should the Cubs decide to put either on the market. In other words, if Lastings Milledge or Delmon Young is an A-plus prospect, what would you give for Wood or Prior? Among these conversations, there was absolute consensus on three points: 1. Neither player has much value right now. 2. Unless the Cubs start turning it around very soon, in the dramatic way that the Astros and Athletics did last year, they should trade Wood before the July 31 deadline. 3. Circumstances will dictate that the Cubs keep Prior. "I'd probably give no more than a C-level prospect for either," said an NL GM. "You have to look at their history, and look at their track record, and you'd have to be very cautious. Maybe you'd give a B prospect for one of them, but the team trading for him would have to be in a right situation. It'd have to be somebody in the pennant race -- like Omar [Minaya, GM of the Mets], or the Yankees or the Red Sox. It's such a tremendous gamble that you'd have to have the financial wherewithal to take that kind of gamble." Another NL executive said: "I don't know what I'd give them, but it would be a heck of a lot less than someone like Delmon Young. A guy like Wood, I'd give a B or B-plus type prospect, or maybe a decent major leaguer. With Wood, you're talking about a guy who might make 20 more starts this year and then you've got to make a big financial decision." The Cubs hold a $13.5 million option on Wood for 2007 with a $3 million buyout, a huge chunk of change. "That's a big hit to take financially, for someone with his injury history," the NL exec said. And Prior? "He could fetch a little bit more of an asking price because you can control him for a little while longer before he becomes a free agent," the same exec said. "But he's got to show he's healthy. Trading for Prior is kind of dangerous. First, you're hoping he can be what he once was, and if he is, he's going to be very expensive with the two arbitration years." An AL talent evaluator said he thinks the best use of Wood would be as a power middle reliever (seventh and eighth inning). "I watched Wood the other night, and as a starter, I think he's a shell of what he once was," the evaluator said. "For Wood, because of his contract situation, I'd give up no more than a C-level prospect. He's declining, and he's got that big option. "For Prior, I'd give a B or B-plus. His upside is still great for me, and if he works it out, you suddenly could have the anchor of your staff for the next two years. You'd be taking a leap of faith on Prior, but it might be worth it." Getting rid of him along with Guzman and Wood for nothing in return. Not my idea of a smart move. I think Prior is going to have a long and successful career. Hopefully, it will be in a Cubs uniform. Here is why I think that. His recent performances showed that he was getting his stuff back. He was throwing again in the mid-90s and was regaining his location of his fastball. His breaking pitches were also sharpening up. He was looking to be fully recovered from his shoulder injury this spring. Many of his previous injuries were either fluky and having nothing to do with his pitching motion or relatively minor. And he has returned from them in good form each time. He is still quite young and quite good. Trading him now when his value is at its lowest would be a horrible mistake. Simply getting rid of him now would be an even worse mistake. Is it possible that Prior has fallen under the Cubs' curse and is also injury-prone like Kerry Wood? Yes. But its just as possible if not more so that he is not doomed to injury after injury until retirement. Let's try to keep that in mind. Okay? I remember reading the article he is talking about I will try to hunt it down. I found it. It's Insider content on Olney's blog. Here's the link. Vance, thanks for finding the article. It got placed in the post as if it were my quote, but no matter. I read it and exactly one NL GM is quoted as saying he wouldn't be willing to trade a B level prospect for Prior. Synergy was claiming that it was GM after GM across the league. Not quite. That brings up the real point, however, which is giving up on Prior at this stage of his career. Regardless of what his current trade value is or is said to be by those seeking to acquire him, Prior's worth is higher in the long run. He is at his lowest point right now. This is the exact wrong time to trade him or give up on him. Defending the notion that the Cubs should simply get rid of Prior is a very difficult thing to do. I got no problem in making the comment out of frustration, but claiming that it is actually a good idea to cut Prior loose at this point is indefensible.

Be happy to. A Google search for "Mark Prior not worth trading for" yielded no quotes from any GMs. It did bring up a Yankees message board in which a Yank-me fan talks about how he wouldn't give up Robinson Cano for Prior. LINK Did a couple of other searches. Still can't find any quotes from any GMs saying they wouldn't be willing to give up a B level prospect for Mark Prior. Lets try ProSportsDaily. They are a great source. They compile articles from newspapers all over the nation that even mention the Cubs or Cubs players. Here we go, from the Daily Southtown... No quotes from any GMs, but some solid sense. Given the fact that he has spent much of this season on the DL and is currently on the DL, it is highly unlikely anyone is going to make an eye-popping offer for Prior. I certainly agree with that. Getting rid of him along with Guzman and Wood for nothing in return. Not my idea of a smart move. I think Prior is going to have a long and successful career. Hopefully, it will be in a Cubs uniform. Here is why I think that. His recent performances showed that he was getting his stuff back. He was throwing again in the mid-90s and was regaining his location of his fastball. His breaking pitches were also sharpening up. He was looking to be fully recovered from his shoulder injury this spring. Many of his previous injuries were either fluky and having nothing to do with his pitching motion or relatively minor. And he has returned from them in good form each time. He is still quite young and quite good. Trading him now when his value is at its lowest would be a horrible mistake. Simply getting rid of him now would be an even worse mistake. Is it possible that Prior has fallen under the Cubs' curse and is also injury-prone like Kerry Wood? Yes. But its just as possible if not more so that he is not doomed to injury after injury until retirement. Let's try to keep that in mind. Okay?

Wow, Papelbon with a pretty terrible outing, 2 ER in 1 IP walking 3 and striking out none. And yet, his ERA is still just 1.00 and his strikeout to walk ratio is the best on the team.

I must of missed the numerous GMs that have openly stated that they wouldn't be willing to acquire Mark Prior for a B level prospect. Can you provide a link to a source?

I completely understand your frustration, but we don't even know how serious this Guzman injury is yet. Calling for the Cubs to get rid of Guzman and Prior as well as Wood in response to something that could, at this point, be a blister? No, thank you. And, you might be undervaluing Prior juuuuust a little...

Wow. You can get an elbow injury from his post?