Outshined_One

:old_alright: ...fine, fine.

Looks like Ryno got another ejection earlier today.

Deadspin put up the Rangers' statement today. It's reeeeeeeeeeeeeally detailed, right down to how much the Rangers made on jumbotron birthday announcements.

The problem is, for $13m this year and $13.5m next year, the Cubs should be getting better production than what Fukudome has given them. He's a good player and would be a useful platoon player/defensive replacement on a contending team, but for that price, you really need something better at RF.

Box Scores Iowa lost 6-4 Box Score CF S. Fuld 1/3, 2 BB, R, K, Assist (Home) 3B M. Smith 1/5, R, 2 K, E (9, fielding) RF B. Snyder 2/3, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR (21) 1B B. LaHair 0/3, BB, K 2B B. Scales 1/4, RBI, 2B (30), K C W. Castillo 1/4, RBI, 3 K LF J. Adduci 0/4 SS M. Camp 0/4, 2 K PH T. Wright 0/1 LF J. Dubois 0/1 SP C. Carpenter 3 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 4/4 K/BB, HR, 5-0 GO-FO RP HW Chen 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3/0 K/BB, HR, HBP, 3-3 GO-FO RP B. Schlitter 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0/3 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO RP J. Stevens .2 scoreless, 0 H, 1/1 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO Tennessee won 9-6 Box Score CF T. Campana 1/6 RF B. Jackson 1/5, R, 3B (5) LF B. Guyer 2/4, R, RBI, HBP, SB (25) 3B R. Canzler 2/5, R, RBI, 3B (5) 1B M. Spencer 1/3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, SB (9) C S. Clevenger 2/4, BB, 2 R, 2B (20), K 2B T. Thomas 1/4, R, 3 RBI, HR (10) SP T. Harris 5 scoreless, 3 H, 5/0 K/BB, 6-4 GO-FO RP A. Shafer 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2/1 K/BB, WP, 1-2 GO-FO RP B. Parker 2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 6/2 K/BB RP M. Carrillo .1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB Daytona won 8-2 Box Score SS J. Lake 1/4, R, RBI, E (40, throw) 2B DJ LeMahieu 1/4, R, K 3B R. Flaherty 2/4, R, 2B (31), K DH R. Ridling 0/3, BB, R, 2 K RF K. Burke 2/4, R, 4 RBI, HR (7), K C M. Brenly 0/4, K 1B J. Opitz 1/3, BB, R LF G. Rohan 1/4, R, RBI, 2B (8), K CF E. Crawford 1/3, R, 2 K SP B. Raley 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 11-3 GO-FO RP O. Martinez 3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO Peoria lost 10-5 Box Score SS HJ Lee 0/3, 2 K, E (32, fielding) 2B L. Watkins 1/5, R, K 3B M. Cerda 2/5, R, 3 RBI, HR (4), K 1B J. Bour 1/5, R, 2 K, 2 E (15, fielding x 2) RF JH Ha 2/5, R, K LF N. Perez 2/4, BB, 2 R, K DH B. May 0/3, 2 K, HBP CF A. Giansanti 1/3, K, HBP SP B. Wallach 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3/1 K/BB, 5-7 GO-FO RP R. Morla 1.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 3 HR, WP, 2-1 GO-FO RP D. Keefe 1.2 scoreless, 1 H, HBP, 1-3 GO-FO Boise lost 5-1 Box Score DH A. Alcantara 0/4, 2 K 2B P. LePage 1/4, K 1B R. Jones 1/3, K, HBP C M. Gibbs 2/4, R, 2B (4), 2 K LF J. Morelli 0/4, 2 K SS E. Soto 2/4, RBI RF C. Huseby 0/4, K 3B D. Harrington 0/3, 2 K SP M. Loosen 4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 6/1 K/BB, HBP, 5-0 GO-FO RP A. Kurcz 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO AZL Cubs won 3-2 Box Score SS W. Darvill 1/4, K, SB (11), E (7, throw) DH V. Bieneme 1/4, 2 K 2B PC Chen 1/4 3B D. Geiger 0/2, RBI, K C C. Romero 1/3, RBI SP C. Thomas 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP M. Perez 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/0 K/BB, 2 Balk, 3-0 GO-FO RP A. Sosa 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5/0 K/BB, HBP, 2-2 GO-FO RP A. Jimenez 1.1 scoreless, 2 H, 2/1 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP C. Hams 1.2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO OVERALL: 3-3

In fairness, the Pirates spent $23m in player development in 2008 and $21m on it in 2007. That's better than the Mariners' $15m in 2008 and $14m in 2007. At least they're putting their money to good use...although, the Pirates' use of derivatives and interest rate swaps is not something I'd like to see on the financial statement of a MLB team. Now I want to see one for the Cubs. Damn.

Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bar Rays, Florida Marlins, and LAA Angels Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Biz of Baseball Analysis There's not a whole lot of groundbreaking information in there, but it's really interesting if you want to see the inner workings of a baseball team. There's a ton of information in these documents. I'll be adding more teams as these documents become available. For now, the Pittsburgh Pirates are not happy.

One thing worth keeping in mind regarding evaluating defense... The fact of the matter is, in order for players to advance through amateur baseball, the minors, and into the majors, that player has to have some modicum of defensive ability. There's an enormous gulf between the quality of defense you see in little league games and in major league games. Even guys who are bad fielders in the majors still have enough experience and athleticism to play their positions better than what you see in little league, much less AAA. Cripes, just take a look at UZR whipping boy Adam Dunn. The guy has defensive issues, but the fact of the matter is, he doesn't [expletive] his pants and cover his head any time a fly ball is hit in his direction. The vast majority of the time, he makes the plays he should make. He screws up more plays than the average major league defender, but you have to remember he's already playing on an elite defensive level. There's a difference between bad by comparison and just plain bad. The same goes for Ryan Braun, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, or any other defensively challenged guy out there. Being a bad defender can be a substantial hindrance for a player's overall production, but I really think certain people are overrating it in this thread. Players can still be incredibly valuable despite their deficiencies.

Both games of the Daytona/Brevard County double header will be played at Daytona. As a result of the suspended game, Brevard County will be the home team in Game 1, while Daytona will be the home team in Game 2.

Box Scores Iowa lost 8-6 Box Score RF/LF T. Wright 2/5, R, RBI, K, E (2, throw) 3B M. Smith 2/5, R, K CF/RF B. Snyder 1/3, RBI, 2B (30), K LF J. Dubois 1/4, 2 R, K C R. Chirinos 1/3, BB, R, 2 RBI, 2B (1) 1B B. LaHair 2/4 2B J. Mota 2/4, RBI SS M. Camp 0/4 PH J. Adduci 0/1 PH/CF S. Fuld 1/2, R, 3B (9) SP A. Bibens-Dirkx 5 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 5/1 K/BB, 3 HR, 3-6 GO-FO RP D. Cales 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO RP J. Muyco 2 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 3-2 GO-FO Tennessee lost 7-4 Box Score CF T. Campana 2/5, 2B (21), K RF B. Jackson 1/4, 3 K LF B. Guyer 2/4, R, RBI, 2B (31), SB (24) 3B R. Canzler 0/3, BB, E (19, throw) DH M. Spencer 1/4, RBI, K C S. Clevenger 2/4, R, 2B (19), K SS M. Gonzalez 0/4, K 2B T. Thomas 2/4, 2 R, 3B (9), SB (14) SP K. McNutt 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 5/2 K/BB, WP, 5-2 GO-FO RP K. Smit 1.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2/1 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP R. Buchter 2 scoreless, 1 H, 3/1 K/BB, 3-0 GO-FO Daytona lost Game 1 of its DH 7-3 Box Score (Completion of yesterday's suspended game) SS J. Lake 1/5, 2 K 2B DJ LeMahieu 1/4, R, RBI 3B R. Flaherty 0/2, 2 BB, K, E (22, throw) DH R. Ridling 1/4, RBI, K RF K. Burke 0/4, 2 K 1B J. Opitz 0/2 PH/1B G. Rohan 1/2, R LF J. Valdez 1/4, 3 K, Assist (2B) CF E. Crawford 3/4, R SP A. Cabrera .2 perfect, 1-1 GO-FO RP N. Struck 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3/3 K/BB, 2 HR, HBP, 5-5 GO-FO RP A. Maestri 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2/3 K/BB, 2 HBP, 2-1 GO-FO Daytona won Game 2 of its DH 4-2 Box Score SS J. Lake 0/2, R, HBP 2B DJ LeMahieu 1/3 3B R. Flaherty 1/3, R, 2B (30) 1B R. Ridling 1/3, R, RBI RF K. Burke 1/2, BB, R, RBI, K C M. Brenly 0/3 DH J. Opitz 0/2, BB, K LF G. Rohan 2/3, 2 RBI, K, E (2, fielding) CF E. Crawford 0/3, K SP M. Perconte 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5/1 K/BB, HR, 4-3 GO-FO RP C. Lambert 1 scoreless, 0 H, 0/3 K/BB, 3-0 GO-FO RP J. Leverton 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2/1 K/BB, HBP, 2-0 GO-FO RP J. Beliveau .1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB Peoria lost 3-1 Box Score SS HJ Lee 1/4 CF L. Watkins 2/4, R, 3B (8), SB (19) 2B M. Cerda 0/3, BB, RBI, K DH J. Bour 1/4, 2B (26) RF JH Ha 0/4, 2 K 1B B. May 1/2, BB, 2B (2), K, E (1, fielding) LF A. Giansanti 0/2, HBP SP M. Hatley 2.2 perfect, 3/0 K/BB, 1-3 GO-FO RP A. Kirk 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7/4 K/BB, HR, 2 WP, 0-3 GO-FO RP Y. Gonzalez 1.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO Boise lost 7-0 Box Score DH A. Alcantara 1/4, 2 K 2B P. LePage 1/4, PO (1B) 1B R. Cuneo 0/3, BB, K SS E. Soto 2/4, E (7, fielding) 3B D. Harrington 1/3, 2B (4), SB (1) LF J. Morelli 0/3, SB (2) C M. Gibbs 0/3, K, E (4, throw) CF KM Na 0/3, 2 K SP E. Figueroa 4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4/4 K/BB, 2 HR, 8-1 GO-FO RP C. Rojas 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 3-3 GO-FO RP E. Rice 1 scoreless, 2 H, 3/0 K/BB AZL Cubs lost 5-4 Box Score SS W. Darvill 1/3, BB, R, K, SB (10), E (6, fielding) 2B V. Bieneme 1/3, BB, 2 R, SB (17) DH PC Chen 0/3, RBI, HBP 3B D. Geiger 0/4 C C. Noble 0/3, BB, RBI, K, E (3, throw) SP H. Mayora 1 perfect, 2/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO RP D. Beeler 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5/1 K/BB RP R. Hartman 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB, 1-2 GO-FO RP J. Rodriguez 3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 4-2 GO-FO RP TA Wang 1.1 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 1-6

Quick update on DSL Cubs 1; they got a bye in the playoffs and will begin a best of three series on Friday against the lowest seeded team to advance.

Steve Clevenger last recorded an out on Thursday. He's gone 9/9 since then. :clapping:

Trammell's a guy I like for a few reasons... 1) I think he got an unfair shake with the Detroit Tigers when he managed them a few years ago. He got a pretty piss-poor team along with a bunch of malcontents (see: Pudge Rodriguez) and basically was set up to fail. At the very least, he deserves a second chance. 2) Trammell apparently has a really good report with Starlin Castro and has been working with Castro fairly constantly. Trammell's gold gloves and defensive reputation make me think having him in the organization could be a boon to the various middle infielders on this team. I think Sandberg could offer comparable benefits, but Trammell has worked at the major league level for awhile now. 3) While part of me wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs completely clean house, there's something to be said for continuity with some of the coaches in the organization. Larry Rothschild is one of the best pitching coaches in baseball; I'd really hate to lose him. Rudy Jaramillo had a fantastic reputation prior to coming to the Cubs and I'd like to see what the team can do with him for another year. Keeping Trammell would likely mean both of those guys would be kept on board. I don't know if that would be the case with someone like Bobby Valentine or Fredi Gonzalez.

Tennessee: -RHP Esmailin Caridad assigned to Tennessee Smokies from AZL Cubs

Yeah. He had his surgery in July 2008 but everything about his rehab seems to have been slow tracked. His recovery reminds me painfully of Luke Hagerty. Hopefully I'm wrong about that. Hagerty was a complete and total disaster coming back from TJS. He had it back in 2003 and pitched a little over 30 innings with the Cubs in the three years following his surgery. Rhee at least has had a number of good starts this year. It's also worth keeping in mind that Rhee's professional high in IP was 40, set two years ago prior to going down because of injury. He's currently at 111 IP. I think Rhee's problem at this point in the season is that his arm isn't used to this sort of stress and strain. He needs to prove he can hold up as a starting pitcher over the course of a season. Unfortunately, outings like these will happen as he builds up his conditioning.

Box Scores Iowa won 3-2 Box Score RF T. Wright 0/4 CF J. Adduci 1/4, 2 K 3B M. Smith 0/4, 2 K 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/3, BB, R 2B B. Scales 1/3 LF B. LaHair 2/2, BB, R, RBI, 2B (29) C C. Robinson 0/2, R SS M. Camp 1/3, RBI, 2B (15) PH J. Dubois 0/0, BB PH B. Snyder 0/1 SP J. Jackson 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 6/1 K/BB, HR, HBP, 3-6 GO-FO RP HW Chen 2 scoreless, 0 H, 3/0 K/BB, HBP, 2-1 GO-FO RP J. Gray 1 scoreless, 1 H, HBP, 1-1 GO-FO RP J. Stevens 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 0-1 GO-FO Tennessee won 11-2 Box Score CF T. Campana 2/5 RF B. Jackson 2/4, 2 R, HBP LF B. Guyer 2/5, 2 R, RBI, 2B (30), K, Assist (Home) 1B M. Spencer 2/5, 4 R, 2 RBI, HR (17), E (5, fielding) C S. Clevenger 3/3, BB, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B (18), HR (4) SS M. Gonzalez 4/5, 2 RBI, 2B (11), E (23, throw) 3B N. Samson 1/5, RBI SP R. Dolis 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5/3 K/BB, 7-2 GO-FO RP M. Carrillo 2 scoreless, 2 H, 0/1 K/BB, 2-3 GO-FO RP E. Caridad 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1/1 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP A. Shafer 1 perfect, 2-1 GO-FO Daytona suspended Peoria lost 4-2 Box Score SS HJ Lee 2/5, R, 2 2B (20) 2B L. Watkins 1/4, BB DH M. Cerda 1/5, RBI, K 1B J. Bour 2/5, R, 2B (25), K RF JH Ha 2/3, BB LF N. Perez 1/4, 3 K CF A. Giansanti 0/4, K SP R. Lopez 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/4 K/BB, 2-2 GO-FO RP M. De Leon 2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1/3 K/BB, 1-4 GO-FO Boise lost 4-3 Box Score 3B A. Alcantara 1/4, K 2B P. LePage 2/4, R, RBI DH R. Jones 1/3, BB, RBI, 2B (14) SS E. Soto 1/4, RBI 1B R. Cuneo 0/4, 2 K LF J. Morelli 1/4, CS (5) C J. Vigurs 1/4, 2 K CF KM Na 0/3, K PH C. Huseby 0/1, K SP B. Ebinger 4.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4/1 K/BB, 2-5 GO-FO RP L. Suarez 2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1/2 K/BB, WP, 3-2 GO-FO AZL Cubs won 7-5 Box Score SS W. Darvill 0/4, BB, R, K, SB (9) DH V. Bieneme 1/3, BB, 2 R, K, SB (16) 2B PC Chen 2/3, BB, 2 R, RBI, SB (8) 3B D. Geiger 0/4, RBI, K C C. Romero 0/4, K SP YL Wang 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 1-0 GO-FO RP J. Rosario 1 perfect, 3/0 K/BB RP A. Reed 3 scoreless, 2 H, 2/1 K/BB, HBP, 2-5 GO-FO RP J. Zeller 2+ IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 4-2 GO-FO RP C. Richardson 1 scoreless, 1 H, 3/0 K/BB OVERALL: 3-2

Stop winning! :(

Suck! Suck! Suck!

Last day of the regular season for the Dominican Summer League. While DSL Cubs 1 won their division with the best record in the league, DSL Cubs 2 had the worst record in the league. I believe DSL Cubs 1 get a bye in the playoffs as a result of their record.

Box Scores Iowa won 4-3 Box Score RF T. Wright 1/4, R, K 3B M. Smith 2/4, R, 3 RBI, HR (13) CF B. Snyder 0/3, 2 K PH/2B J. Mota 0/1 1B M. Hoffpauir 0/2, BB, R, HBP LF J. Dubois 1/3, BB C R. Chirinos 2/4 2B B. Scales 1/2, 2 BB, 2B (29) SS M. Camp 0/3, BB, K PH/CF J. Adduci 1/3, R, 2 K SP J. Samardzija 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4/3 K/BB, HR, 6-8 GO-FO RP J. Muyco 1 scoreless, 1 H, HBP, 2-1 GO-FO RP S. Maine 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO RP B. Schlitter 1 scoreless, 2 H, 1/1 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO Tennessee won 7-2 Box Score CF T. Campana 0/4, K, HBP, SB (43) LF B. Jackson 1/4, BB, R, 2B (10), K RF M. Spencer 0/4, BB, R, 2 K 3B R. Canzler 2/4, BB, 3 R, RBI, HR (19), 2 K C S. Clevenger 5/5, R, 5 RBI, 2 2B (17), HR (3) SS M. Gonzalez 3/5, RBI, 2 K, E (22, fielding) 2B T. Thomas 1/3, BB, 3B (8), K PH B. Guyer 0/0, BB SP C. Archer 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3/1 K/BB, HR, 9-6 GO-FO RP B. Parker 1 perfect, 1/0 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP T. Harris .2 scoreless, 1 H, 0/2 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO RP L. Sommer 1.1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 0-2 GO-FO Daytona lost 15-2 Box Score SS J. Lake 2/4, RBI, 2B (18), E (39, fielding) 2B DJ LeMahieu 1/3, K 2B J. Opitz 0/1 3B R. Flaherty 1/4, R 1B R. Ridling 1/4, 2B (34), 2 K RF K. Burke 1/4, RBI, 2B (29) C M. Brenly 0/4, K LF G. Rohan 1/3, R, 2B (7), 2 K CF E. Crawford 0/3, 3 K SP DE Rhee .1 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 0/1 K/BB, HBP, 0-1 GO-FO RP C. Siegfried 2.2 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 5/2 K/BB, HR, 2 HBP, 2-1 GO-FO RP D. Patton 2+ IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1/4 K/BB, HBP, 4-1 GO-FO RP O. Martinez 2+ IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2/1 K/BB, 1-3 GO-FO RP J. Leverton 2 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 K/BB, 2-1 GO-FO Peoria won 11-10 Box Score SS HJ Lee 3/5, 2 R, RBI, K CF L. Watkins 2/3, BB, 2 R 2B M. Cerda 2/4, BB, 3 R, RBI, K 1B J. Bour 3/5, 2 R, 7 RBI, 2B (24), HR (12) LF DJ Fitzgerald 2/5, 2 RBI, 2B (14), K, 2 assists (2B, 3B) RF N. Perez 2/5, K DH B. May 1/5, K SP F. Batista 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1/3 K/BB, HR, 6-5 GO-FO RP R. Morla 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, WP, 2-2 GO-FO RP J. Lorick .2 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, WP, 2/4 K/BB RP M. De Leon 0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0/1 K/BB RP Y. Gonzalez 2.1 scoreless, 2 H, 3/0 K/BB, 1-2 GO-FO Boise won 9-3 Box Score 2B A. Alcantara 3/5, R, 2B (5), K, SB (6) DH P. LePage 4/5, R, 2 RBI, 2B (17), 3B (3) 1B R. Cuneo 0/5, R, 3 K SS E. Soto 2/5, 2 R, RBI, 2B (7), 2 K C M. Gibbs 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (3) LF J. Morelli 1/4, BB, R, K 3B D. Harrington 2/5, 2 RBI, 2B (3), K CF KM Na 1/5, RBI, 4 K, SB (6) SP C. Greathouse 6 scoreless, 1 H, 8/1 K/BB, 8-2 GO-FO RP E. Rice 1 perfect, 0-3 GO-FO RP A. Kurcz 0 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 0/3 K/BB, HR AZL Cubs won 4-3 Box Score SS W. Darvill 2/5, K, CS (1), E (5, fielding) 2B V. Bieneme 2/5, R, 2B (2), 3B (3), K, CS (7) DH PC Chen 2/4, R, RBI 3B D. Geiger 2/4, R, 2B (8), K C C. Noble 1/4 SP T. Mitchell 2 scoreless, 1 H, 2/1 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO RP JY Serrano 3 scoreless, 4 H, 1/0 K/BB, 4-3 GO-FO RP H. Ackerman 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2/0 K/BB, 3-1 GO-FO RP B. Shafer 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 3-2 GO-FO DSL Cubs 1 won 7-2 Box Score SS M. Hernandez 1/4, BB, R, RBI, 3B (1), E (16, throw) DH D. Arcila 3/3, 2 BB, R, RBI, 2B (9) CF O. Zapata 0/2 SP R. Diplan 3 scoreless, 3 H, 1/1 K/BB, 5-2 GO-FO DSL Cubs 2 won 4-3 Box Score 2B J. Rodriguez 0/4, K, E (17, fielding) LF J. Casilla 0/0, HBP 1B G. Jimenez 1/3, HBP SP J. Castro 2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0/1 K/BB, 2 WP, HBP, 4-1 GO-FO OVERALL: 7-1

Bummer on the PPD for Peoria. Last I saw, Searle was pitching really well.

I emailed BA to get further info on that and received a response that the $4.7m does NOT include Szczur's $500k. The Cubs would move up to 17th on that list with $5.2m if Szczur commits to baseball.

You're conflating international signings and the MLB draft. I'd advise against that. There are enough differences between international signings and the MLB draft that I think those should be discussed separately. davell and myself have spent most of this thread discussing the Cubs' most recent MLB Draft budget, which clocked in at 19th in MLB this year at a little over $4.7m (although I think that number assumes Szczur commits to the Cubs). International signings are another matter altogether; Tim Wilken has nothing do with international scouting. That job belongs to Paul Weaver. While it would be nice to see the Cubs spend more money on big name prospects in the international arena, it's a completely different beast from amateur scouting. I wouldn't use it as an example in favor of thrifty spending when it comes to scouting and signing amateur players. Furthermore, there's a difference between signing one player to a $3m deal and using that $3m to acquire 5-6 players. Having one guy like Nick Castellanos ($3.45m) would be nice. However, having six guys like Ben Wells ($530k) would also be really good.

McNutt was a weird case. Early in the 2009 season, McNutt's stuff was unremarkable. All the scouts who saw him mentioned he was pitching in the 80s with flat breaking stuff. However, for whatever reason, the Cubs' scout who was responsible for McNutt's geographic area left the organization. By the time the Cubs got that scout's replacement, it was late in the evaluation process and he was getting caught up on the players in the area. At that point, he went to see McNutt and found McNutt working in the 90s with a sharp breaking ball. No other team knew about these improvements (I think with the exception of the Twins). If they did, McNutt probably would have gone in the first 5 rounds. Now...you might be thinking of Hayden Simpson, since you mentioned the Angels. The story on that was the Angels had five picks between the Cubs' first and second round picks. With that many picks in the 1st round and 1st supplemental round, the Angels were looking for guys they could take at some of those picks for under or around slot in order to save some money. Apparently the Angels were hot after Simpson and would have taken him with one of those picks. Both the Cubs and Angels were hot after Simpson late in his season, when he was pitching well and looked sharp. That was especially helpful, considering Simpson is not a big guy and there were concerns about his endurance. At that point, Simpson was somewhere in the 3rd round to 6th round range, from the reports I've read. It wasn't like with Colvin in 2006, when Colvin got a huge dose of helium prior to the draft and probably would have been taken in the back half of the first round. In other words, Simpson wasn't like McNutt. He was a known commodity and teams had evaluated him accordingly. We'll see how that pans out. I'm rooting for the guy given the amount of animosity that pick received, but the Cubs were rightly criticized for picking Simpson where they did.

I would, actually, but not because they spent $2m to get him. A Latin American arm worth $1m would be pretty special; that's more than some first round draft picks get. Basically, by saying the guy is worth $1m, the Cubs are saying he has the potential to develop into a top of the rotation starter or a closer. That's special for someone who's 16/17. If the Cubs feel that he's worth $1m and he has the leverage to ask for $2m and get it from some other team, then I wouldn't have a problem with that sort of signing. Now, from the spirit of your post, I'm guessing you're talking about spending money for the sake of spending money; i.e. if the Cubs randomly decide a player is only worth $50,000 and end up giving him $2m just so they can say they spent in the draft. Judging from what some other posters have said and what I have said, that is not at all what we are arguing the Cubs should do. We're saying the Cubs need to spend money in order to obtain high end talent and bolster the farm system. The Cubs are not a small market team that needs to pinch pennies. Cripes, even some of those teams actually spend in the draft compared to the Cubs (Pirates, Royals, etc.). Highly talented players with a lot of leverage cost money and the fact of the matter is, the Cubs rarely draft those sorts of players. This is a team that has the revenue streams and the resources to spend the money needed to develop a consistently high quality farm system, rather than a farm system that relies on lottery tickets. For the draft, all it would take is another $2m-$3m a year. That would make all the difference in the world. I'd rather the team spend that money on the draft than on miserably overrated relief pitchers.