SouthSideRyan

It still seems unlikely that Darvish will come over this year and even if he does, his posting fee will be so high, I imagine it will take the Cubs at least out of the CJ Wilson bidding. That said, there are some intriguing options coming out of Japan who could slot into the middle or back of the rotation nicely. Have any of the Japanese imports done well for more than a couple starts to justify the cost? DiceK has been terrible for the RSox. Hideo Nomo was a slightly above average pitcher (overall) for an 11 year career. Kuroda's at 4 years and counting of being pretty damn good. Kaz Sasaki was a pretty good reliever, as was Hasegawa. Koji Uehara has been unhittable this season.

I think most people's plans have been for Wells to have the 5 spot with Cashner in AAA, along with the assumption that McNutt can slot in at the 7 spot. Edwin Jackson will be way too expensive, if you're looking for a vet to plug a hole, look to Marquis, Young, or Vazquez.

They said he'd be pitching from the pen when he comes back, so unless Quade pulls a Mateo/Stevens with him, it'll be fine. What are people's thoughts on him pitching in the winter leagues?

Just saw your edit, and you're really not too far off from most of us. The dollar savings from Geo to Castillo will net you a rehab project and not much else. I don't think you'll find a person on here that wouldn't want Castillo (or Clevenger) taking over for Hill. A pointless let the fans feel good about themselves move. Bat him exclusively against lefties if you have to, waiving him (I assume with the intent for his unconditional release) implies he's worth less than whoever would replace him on the roster and that's pretty damn unlikely. Yep. Yep. Do you mean 2 years on top of the option? I'd rather not commit to 3 years for Ramirez, and I don't see any way he signs a reasonable 1 year extension on top of his option. I'd consider signing him to a 2 year deal if he declines the option, but it probably wouldn't make sense for him. Quade's been a huge disappointment. I don't think managers matter much, but I think he's a bad one, shouldn't be tough to top him. It sounds like we're already starting with the 2011 draft (obviously going to be a waiting game until Seligula lets us find out what's real and what's rumor. I'm probably most confident in this happening of all I want done.

Is that even legal?

Maybe we should sign Fielder and Wilson to some sort of extended contracts that last beyond the 2012 season.

Everyone seems to be in agreement that this year's team can't be turned into one of the best teams in baseball this offseason. So your solution is to make the team even worse?

It went to 2400 when they added the writing portion 5 or 6 years ago. But looking up the comparitve scores now, I guess a 1300 slots in around 25th percentile which would eliminate a lot of D1 athletes. (Keeping in mind that those percentiles would only apply to those who take it, i.e. college bound students, not the general high school population)

Why is it only hearsay? We have a standing offer from the SEC. Whether or not you want to believe it, that fact is true. Texas & ESPN are pushing the boundaries of the LHN pact that the rest of the conference agreed to. Why should we stand there and let Texas run over us when we can flip them the bird and head to a better conference? Look at the quotes from our president and AD in the past week or so. Do you think they're just blowing smoke? If ESPN & Texas insist on showing a conference game and, more importantly, Texas HS football games A&M will be gone as soon as possible, probably the 2013 season. ADs talking about keeping their options open is not the same as conference commissioners talking about expansion, which is what happened last year when expansion actually took place. Also, facts are things that can be verified. I don't doubt aTm's interest in the SEC, or even that the SEC would take aTm and maybe a couple more schools. The problem is that posturing over the LHN is not the same as being on the brink of conference movement, but there's a strange movement among quite a few aTm fans that these events have signed, sealed, and delivered them to the SEC. Also, of no relevance whatsoever, I stumbled upon this quote from aTm's AD: I don't know if the grading scale would fall in line but a 1300/2400 = 867 on a 1600 point scale which even Derrick Rose could probably manage.

He owned them in 2009. He could have fired him the day he took over. He should have fired him the first day of the offseason following that purchase and that fact that he didn't fire him last offseason raises huge doubts about his lack of dumbness. He became owner on October 27, 2009. He's kept him on for 2 seasons, and only this season is debatable as to whether he should have been retained.

So Ricketts should've retroactively fired him before the 2009 season?

Plus you know that will fool this [expletive] organization into believing we just got off to a poor start this year because of injuries, and we are so close to being awesome. Going even .500 over the rest of the season would be suicide for the 2012 season. If Ricketts is dumb enough to buy into a 70-92 finish as being close to awesome then the franchise is screwed regardless.

ah, sorry, forgot that one. Lose as many games as possible. This will improve the draft pick and maximize chances of a regime change. I feel it's pretty damn unlikely we win enough games to make this season respectable so that's not a concern. Regarding draft position, meh it's a terrible draft next year, and we're talking what a max of 5 spots? I'd rather not go to Albert Pujols to convince him to leave his 80 win team to come to a 60 win team. You have no concern about the potential for lack of regime change? Winning 70 games isn't going to save Hendry's job.

Nope, his BABIP is 440 for June/July. Though, that April/May BABIP is definitely lower than expected given his speed.

Is there anything close to reliable on minor league LD%? Obviously he's hitting for a lot more power, but it'd be nice to see that his BABIP is just really high than historically high

ah, sorry, forgot that one. Lose as many games as possible. This will improve the draft pick and maximize chances of a regime change. I feel it's pretty damn unlikely we win enough games to make this season respectable so that's not a concern. Regarding draft position, meh it's a terrible draft next year, and we're talking what a max of 5 spots? I'd rather not go to Albert Pujols to convince him to leave his 80 win team to come to a 60 win team.

They will still look to go to the Big 10 or PAC 12, with the PAC 12 being the more likely suitor based on the ESPN contract. It may just be grandstanding, but both have basically said The Longhorn Network makes that a non-starter. I guess it's possible it doesn't turn out to be the money-maker they were hoping for, but regardless they'd have to fall in line in order to fit into a new conference, especially because at the point of the Big 12 dissolving, Texas would need a them more than they need Texas.

I hope Texas is equipped to be an independent.

Huh? Have you not been following the Longhorn Network saga? I knew about the drama over the high school games, didn't realize that was still going on.

Huh?

I want to win games. I want somebody to try and block Carlos Pena or John Grabow on waivers and for us to let him go. I want Castro to draw some walks. I want Randy Wells to either pitch like he's capable or hit the DL. I want Aramis to either get hot or get cold so we have a good read on what to do with his option. I want time given to DJL and Flaherty at both 2B and 3B I want time given to Castillo at C I want Tyler Colvin playing damn near every day, or until his numbers are too thoroughly embarrassing to continue I want Brett Jackson playing a lot in September. I want Jay Jackson doing something in September I want Chris Carpenter getting regular use in September. I want Dempster to keep his on the surface numbers mediocre so he'll pick up his option. I want no stupid risks with starting pitchers.

Maybe he should try stealing some bases some time.

I [expletive] hate everyone. Who said this? Jayson Stark

I [expletive] hate everyone.