SouthSideRyan

Plus you have to figure Dayan Viciedo will fit in there somewhere at some point. Last I heard Viciedo can't fit into much of anything.

i'm interested to see what the offseason publications have to say about him. last year he was an interesting prospect in rookie ball who hardly anybody had seen play. this year he played the full year at two more prominent levels, became one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the system, and now is tearing it up in the AFL, which any respectable scouting service is watching closely. there should be a lot more info and opinion on him now. Yeah, I'm really wanting to see what people say too. Last year about all we had to go on was a small writeup in BA and a Fleita interview where he gushed over him. We should hopefully have a better read on him this winter. Fleita gush?? Never.

Oh, I agree that I'm certainly not expecting Hanley or A-Rod power from Castro, but I don't think you can ever expect that kind of translation of power no matter how raw a player is considered. I just think it's a bit early to write off the power potential of a wiry 19 year old playing at AA. I'm interested to see what Callis has to say in his write-up in a couple weeks.

So Castro = ARod. I'm fine with that. If Castro continues to hit for contact like he has, and if he grows to 6'3 195lbs like some people think. And if his power potential becomes Soriano like, like what people say, then maybe a Arod type of player is not far off. I wouldn't say Arod necessarily but maybe closer to hanley. I think Jeter with better D is the absolute ceiling for Castro. Great hitter for average, 20 HR power, and 25 steals at a good rate. I don't see any way in hell he pulls off A-Rod or Hanley, though I'd love for him to prove me wrong. Hanley ISOd 128 in A ball when he was Castro's age. (Castro ISOd 108 at AA, 93 total last season)

Superior in your opinion.(not saying you're wrong) I'd bet most people think Johnny Damon is better than all the free agent OFs of last year(2 of which got 3 year deals) Plus, he's a winner. Damon should get not better than a deal between what Abreu and Burrell got last offseason. Should or will? Besides, Damon's a better fielder than both and is coming off of a better offensive season.

Superior in your opinion.(not saying you're wrong) I'd bet most people think Johnny Damon is better than all the free agent OFs of last year(2 of which got 3 year deals) Plus, he's a winner.

Detroit turned around and became a WS contender, Pittsburgh stayed Pittsburgh. There's nothing to be said for trying to fool your fans into thinking you're trying by striving for mediocrity. You think it was the 43 win season that sent Detroit to the top? Didn't say that. But your example was weak. Nobody cares about mediocrity. Fans aren't going to salute a less crappy team. Losing is losing. Fans don't want to watch an embarrassment and players don't want to play for one. Trying to actually win a game or 2 has long-term value. The Tigers went to the world series because they backed up a dump truck full of money to some guys. The Pirates are still owned by a tightwad, which means they have to win it on intelligence, which means it could take awhile, which means you'd like to have more than 3 fans left by that point. You want to have something to point to to give them some hope. Iwamura isn't going to turn the franchise around, but neither is Delwyn Young. I think you should toss the fans a bone every now and then. In a vaccuum, yes if you don't have a realistic chance at going to the playoffs then don't spend any money on anyone unless they'll be on your next good team. Well is it even likely that Zach Duke will be on the Pirates next playoff team? It's not like this is the Pirates of old spending nothing on the draft to save money while they pissed money away on Pat Meares and Ed Sprague. They are spending money in the draft, they are spending money overseas, they are building a system, it's not going to ruin that plan by paying 1 guy on the roster more than the league minimum.

It's hard to find a floor comp for a 19 year old having success in AA. Cedeno was a couple years older along the way, he was my 1st instinct for a floor.

Detroit turned around and became a WS contender, Pittsburgh stayed Pittsburgh. There's nothing to be said for trying to fool your fans into thinking you're trying by striving for mediocrity. You think it was the 43 win season that sent Detroit to the top?

Nyjer Morgan is in Washington. And there's something to be said to showing the fans you aren't actively trying to lose. I'm not saying they should do the Pirates of the 90s plan of wasting money on mediocre veterans in a drive for 75 wins, but they shouldn't go Detroit Tigers and win 43 games either.

Wouldn't it make more sense to put Beckham at SS and go Teahen-Beckham-Ramirez across the diamond? I don't really know how Beckham grades out as a SS, but I thought the thought was he'd be able to handle it at the major league level.

Why because he's gone now and because you have Teahen now? If Teahen is replacing Dye, then the sox are counting on him to be one of their power bats which is not something smart. Especially when you have an overpaid Rios in Center. Oh [expletive], we're dooooooooooooooomed.

Chris Getz is a bad baseball player.

Oh man, my idiot friends are going to be furious that they gave up a top prospect like Getz.

I'd be shocked if Damon got less than 3 years.

What exactly is the problem with Swisher being a world champ again?

19 years old, a couple of million, in Europe for 1 year. How do you become miserable? You're away from everyone you know, have a grueling schedule you're not used to, and get [expletive] upon by teammates and coaches who think you need to be put in your place.

I think the fact that Jennings was miserable (personally) in Europe will detract people a lot more.

I'm not sure there's a single bit of good news in that summary.

Is Alvarez even close to ready?

Gottlieb's an idiot. The Big Ten is in the running for worst BCS football conference and is in the running for best basketball conference. He admits that MSU brings back most of their talent from a team that went to the title game, but they can't win it all?

If Sagarin separated out the Big 12 North as its own conference would it rank higher or lower than the Sun Belt?

Bill Walton's an [expletive]

Yeah, I'm not a white sox fan.

Fine Trixies and Chads work better? Young silver-spoon douchebags?