Outshined_One

I'm traveling pretty much non-stop until I get back in the States on August 15th. I'd be available to do it that night, but I have no idea when I'll be able to do it after that.

*The sounds of a dentist's drill and screams are heard in the background*

Johan Santana and Joe Mauer to the Cubs? :D

Teixeira doesn't count? I meant a deal that happens the day of the deadline. :D

Was the last major deadline deal Nomar to the Cubs?

The waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiting is the hardest part... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v414/Outshined_One/WaitingintheCooler.gif

They have a glut of outfielders and nowhere to put Gomes, though. Something tells me he could be had at a reasonable price. I've cooled off on Gomes in terms of his potential. He's basically Adam Dunn Lite. If you dislike Dunn, odds are you won't like Gomes. If you like Dunn, Gomes could be seen as a reasonable alternative who might come more cheaply than Dunn. Given his power and production against LHP, I'd love to have him on this team. Why not make a run and see what he can be had for?

I'm not even sure that prospect package alone would be enough to get Griffey, much less Griffey and Renteria.

Part of that depends on how Veal finishes out the season. In spite of his recent success, Veal still has had a BB/9 of 4.75, which is pretty bad. For comparison's sake, Carlos Zambrano's BB/9 on the season is 3.89. We all know about Carlos' troubles with keeping his walks down and how they come back to haunt him. Veal's BB problem is markedly worse. Here's the thing about Veal. He only gave up one HR in April and actually had a comparable K/9 to what he's sported since April (a little over 9, which means he Ks over a batter an inning). Two things killed him in April. His BAA was .277 (it has gradually been going down each month, with a .236 BAA in July). His BB/9 was a mind-boggling 8.44. Now that he's finally walking less guys and is giving up less hits, his numbers have improved dramatically. The key for him is going to be keeping his BBs down. If he can somehow channel Carlos Zambrano and get to a point where he'll strike out enough guys and keep his BAA low enough to minimize any damage his walks could create, then he'll be a keeper. However, the problem is, Zambrano tends to be the exception more than the norm. August and September should be interesting for Veal. He might get a AAA callup at the end of the season if he does well enough and certain factors play in his favor. It depends. The AZ Fall League usually features a bunch of pitchers who are rehabbing from injuries and missed time during the regular season. Most teams don't like getting extra work for their top pitching prospects out there because of the risk of injury and overworking guys. The quality of hitters will almost always vastly outweigh the quality of pitchers there, especially considering teams like getting their best hitters some extra work. With winter baseball leagues in other countries, I'm not quite sure what criteria goes into that determination.

Salty, but both have a boatload of potential.

Think about what Jim Hendry loves in a shortstop. Now make him 18/19 and at a level well beyond where other people his age are. Now make him produce enough to make it seem like he might put it together. There you go.

I don't feel so bad about it because there's no way the Cubs could have matched this deal. Atlanta had enough prospects and spare parts to make this deal work. This should be where things get interesting. The Braves are 4.5 behind the Mets and a game behind the Phillies in the East. They're also 2.5 out in the Wild Card. However, they just replaced their black hole at 1B (between Franco, Salty, and Thorman, it was baaaaaaaaaaaaaad) with one of the best young hitters in baseball. Moreover, they get to hang onto him next year. So...what do the Mets and Phillies do now, considering Atlanta just patched up one of its biggest holes?

I'll take (e) all of the above.

The fact that we could be in first place by the end of this game has me unbelievably excited. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Cubs can pull it off tomorrow, because that would be incredible.

Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God

I really hope thats it. We have 2 months left and a 4 run lead. he's putting on his batting gear... He's arguably one of our best hitters, to boot.

Marky Mark Pawelek pitched an inning for Mesa, as an fyi.

I hope St. Louis wins all seven of their remaining games against the Brewers... ...and loses every single other game they play. :D

I hope Ryan Braun goes home tonight and realizes that his life would be better served as a missionary in the South Pacific for the rest of his life.

I feel so dirty rooting for the Cardinals. I can't wait for this series to be over with for that very reason...

Demp doing his best to channel Rod Beck in that appearance.

Surely you can't be serious!

I swear, the Brewers' farm system just craps out OFs who OPS around 850. I don't get it.

Even a month of Wood would help this team out, imo. He'll be back soon, but how long he'll be back is anyone's guess.

I'm hoping Wood comes back soon...for Marmol's sake at the very least.