Outshined_One

Maybe he's having problems focusing in front of the home folks. Combined with tough hitting conditions (lot of his power to CF and LCF), it's been a tough season. I really don't know though definitively, obviously. I'm going to maintain that he's just exhausted since he hasn't had much of a break since the start of last season. Keep in mind that he did play in the Arizona Fall League in the offseason.

Ehhhhhhhhhhh...this point can be debated. Yes, it'd be one thing if Palmeiro was unaware of the fact that he jammed a needle into his butt and injected himself with steroids. It's another matter when it comes to supplements. The problem with a lot of multivitamins, "natural health supplements", and various other products you can buy at stores like GNC is that they are almost completely unregulated. There's a reasonable chance that those daily echanecia pills you're taking are 70% sawdust. Here's a nice article on it: Story on Steroids, Orrin Hatch, & The Olympics If I'm Raffy, I'm blaming it on whatever the heck I tested positive for being an unlisted ingredient in any supplements I take.

BA's doing it's "Best Tools by Class" feature all this week. Today they did Low Class A. In the MWL Ryan Harvey received "Best Power Prospect" and Sean Gallagher received "Best Breaking Ball" honors. :D

Great, now that Raffy has tested positive, everyone can go back to the witch hunts, wild speculation, and ludicrous accusations of the players. I'M TELLING YOU ALL, AUGIE OJEDA JUICES!!!!!!!!!!11

Probably some combination of experience, talent and athleticism. He exclusively played left field in West Tenn, if I'm not mistaken. Generally, managers play their worst defensive OFer in left and their best in center, so... Murton saw plenty of time in LF and RF in West Tenn. Pie, Greenberg, Coats, and Bacon have seen the vast majority of CF duties this season.

Box Scores Iowa won 2-1 Box Score CP C. Patterson 0/3, BB, R, SB (6), 2 K 3B S. McClain 0/4, K LF B. Grieve 0/3, BB, K 1B D. Kelton 0/4, RBI, SB (13) 2B M. Fontenot 0/3, BB, 2 K C G. Soto 0/2, BB PH M. Hoffpauir 0/1, K SP J. Leicester 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3/2, HR RP S. Williamson 1 perfect, 1/0 RP J. Van Buren 1 perfect, 2/0 Peoria won 5-2 Box Score 2B E. Patterson 0/4, BB, R, 2 K RF R. Harvey 2/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B (27), HR (19), K LF B. Flowers 2/4, R, RBI, HR (7), SB (9) SS J. Simokaitis 1/4, 2 E (6, fielding, throw) 1B D. Larsen 0/3, BB, K SP M. Weber 6.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3/1 Mesa lost 7-6 Box Score 2B E. Serrano 2/5, R, RBI, K, 2 E (9, fielding x2) 3B V. Heredia 1/4, R, 3B (1), 2 K RF D. Lewis 1/4, R, 3 RBI, 2B (8) LF R. Episcopo 2/4, BB, 2 K 1B R. Canzler 0/4, BB, 2 K CF S. Harris 2/5, RBI, 3B (1) SS S. Baez 3/4, R, 3B (1) SP C. Pina 3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2/2 West Tenn, Daytona, and Boise with the day off OVERALL: 2-1

How do you explain his pre-injury 2003, then? The numbers he put up indicated that he was a superstar in the making. Something has happened between then and now...I'm not sure you can blame his struggles this season on the Cubs "rushing" him through the minors. Welcome aboard!

I dunno, bro. Can either of those dudes be an emergency catcher? A team without an emergency catcher is like a fly fisherman without any jigs.

It's more than just about every other team out there, imo.

Anybody else notice we're the only team in the NL playoff hunt who acquired a bat (so far)?

Depends on what the Cubs gave up for him. If it's just Gerut, I can dig it.

Groom to the D'backs for a PTBNL. Villone to the Marlins for Bazardo and Flannery.

I'd also like to point out that Justin Jones is the same guy that we traded to Minnesota in the Nomar deal.

When it comes to the prospects, it seems like lately, a decent number of people are selling them short seemingly just for the sake of being a contrarian. I grant you, some of us hype up prospects. However, there is plenty of justification for that in some cases. Hill is one of the top prospects in the Cubs' system for a good reason. He's not THE top pitching prospect in the organization (that honor belongs to Sean Marshall, imo), but he is the most advanced prospect with the highest ceiling. If he can develop that third pitch, the rest should be all good for him.

I'm leery about trading him now because of the fact that the back end of the rotation already has some depth issues. Mitre, Rusch, and Wellemeyer could all step in if something happens...but I'm unsure if they really are upgrades over Hill at this point. When each is on, they all can be impressive pitchers...but I think that Hill has a better upside than each. I agree, Hill's straight fastball might not fool everyone as he logs more experience in the majors. He has shown he can throw it for strikes all around the zone, but considering he works mostly up in the zone, I'm not looking forward to seeing him on a day when he's missing with it. However, his curveballs are fascinating. I remember seeing it mentioned somewhere that he works with two curves, a 12-6 and an 11-5. We have seen the extent of the movement they get and how silly they can make some hitters look. He also has proven that he can take on right handed hitters with it, which is quite positive. I don't think we have seen his change or cutter yet. My memory of it is that each of those pitches could end up being average in the end. He has two correctable flaws. First, he needs to learn how to run the bases. It's clear that he couldn't find his way around the bases with a guide and a GPS locator. Second, he needs to develop a pickoff move that is similar to enough to his windup that it will fool runner. What bothers me the most about Hill are three things. They aren't all completely correctable, either... One, his curveballs get such extreme movement on them that even the umpires get fooled on them. This happened in the Glaus AB when he had Glaus 1-2. This is something that happens, but it's bothersome. Two, his pitching style promotes a lot of fly balls. This is fine for the Cubs to have on the cooler days when the wind is blowing in...but when that wind is blowing out...yeah, yuck. I can see where his high HR totals come from. Three, he gets a ton of full counts. It seems like he gets ahead of a lot of hitters, but he has trouble finishing them off. If he throws that fastball anywhere near the zone, a good hitter can pound it. That curveball is useful for getting swinging strikes, but throwing it for strikes is easier said than done. Especially considering hitters foul off his pitches a fair amount. His cutter and change both are important. If he can allow for the Cubs to add an impact bat, then yes, trade him! But, he's probably the best option for the Cubs until the end of the season. I'm curious to see how he develops as the season goes on and teams get a better scouting report on him. He might be a nice piece of trade bait in the offseason if he does well enough, though.

Realistically with Murton, I'm expecting... -A guy with a good grasp of the strike zone. -Some one who knows how to protect the plate with two strikes. -A marginal power hitter who can hit his share of gappers and possibly get 20 HRs in his prime. -An above average baserunner who can steal bases when asked. -Decent range in the OF, but a mediocre arm. -Some one who can draw his share of walks in a season. -Some one who can lay down a bunt and potentially bunt for a hit. -Plenty of hustle to get the most out of his abilities. I'm not expecting a Hall of Fame career, much less numerous All Star Game appearances. However, his approach and maturity are both advanced for a rookie, meaning that he is able to adapt himself to the majors and stick. I predict that when all is said and done, he'll be an above average LF who can hit in the 2 or 6 hole effectively. Todd Walker might not be a bad comp hitter-wise.

I remember quite vividly how much Gonzo destroys Maddux. However, I was unaware as to the degree Green owns Maddux. I have a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad feeling about this game.

With that walk, Harvey has now matched last season's BB total with 20 walks in a season. Only problem is, last season he got those 20 BBs in 231 ABs in Boise (241 if you count the 10 he had in Mesa)...this season Harvey has had 353 ABs. The good news is that his K numbers are much better, comparatively speaking. In those 353 ABs this season, he has 92 Ks. Last season, he had 81 in the 241 ABs he had between Boise and Mesa. I grant you, they could be better numbers, but improvement in a top prospect is always a welcome sign. :D

Box Scores Iowa lost 7-5 Box Score CF C. Patterson 1/5, R, K 1B D. Kelton 0/3, BB, R, K 3B S. McClain 3/4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (24) LF B. Grieve 1/4, RBI, K C G. Soto 1/4 2B R. Lewis 1/4 PH M. Fontenot 0/1, K PH M. Hoffpauir 0/1 SP J. Koronka 3 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1/1 RP C. Bartosh 2 scoreless, 2 H, 3/1 RP R. Rohlicek 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0/2 West Tenn won 8-1 Box Score LF D. Bacon 1/5, RBI, 3 K SS N. Garciaparra 1/2, BB, R 3B C. McGehee 1/4, R, RBI 1B B. Sing 1/3, BB, R, RBI, 2B (26) CF B. Coats 0/3, BB RF L. Montanez 1/4, R 2B R. Theriot 3/4, 2 R, RBI, 2B (24) SP R. Pinto 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 7/3 RP D. Aardsma 1 scoreless, 1 H, 1/0 Daytona won 7-4 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4, BB, CS (14), K 3B S. Moore 2/5, 2 R, 3 K, E (20, fielding) 1B B. Dopirak 2/4, R, 2 RBI, HR (12) RF J³ 3/5, R, K C J. Fox 2/5, R, RBI, 2B (17) DH T. Richie 1/4, RBI SP R. Wells 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4/2 Peoria won 5-3 Box Score 2B E. Patterson 0/4, BB, R, 2 K RF R. Harvey 2/4, 2 RBI, 2B (26), 2 K, HBP LF B. Flowers 0/5, 4 K (Ole!) SS J. Simokaitis 1/4, K, E (4, fielding) PR D. Larsen 0/0, R SP M. Billek 3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 3/2, HR RP K. Wood 1 scoreless, 1 H, 2/0 Boise won 8-7 in the 10th on an Elvin Puello Walkoff HR Box Score CF D. Gregg 1/5, R, SB (28), 2 K RF J. Defendis 2/4 1B C. Gaskin 0/4, BB, RBI, K SS K. Reynolds 1/5, R, K, E (6, throw) LF J. Valdez 1/5, R 3B E. Puello 3/5, 2 R, RBI, 2B (11), HR (3), K C M. Reed 3/4, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR (3), SB (5), K DH C. Quinones 0/3, K 2B J. Mota 2/4, RBI, 2B (4), K, E (14, throw) SP J. Yepez 3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2/2 RP A. Santana 2 scoreless and hitless, 4/2 Mesa lost 3-2 Box Score 2B E. Serrano 2/4, 3B (2), SB (11), CS (3), 2 E (7, throw, fielding) SS L. Rivera 0/4, 3 K, E (6, throw) LF R. Episocopo 0/3, BB, K RF D. Lewis 1/4, R, RBI, 3B (5), K 1B R. Canzler 1/2, BB, 2B (8) C M. Mercedes 0/3, K 3B V. Heredia 0/3, K CF R. Brown 0/3, K SP J. Castillo 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 3/2, E (1, pickoff) RP B. Jackson 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1/2 OVERALL: 4-2

Adam, Thank you so much for doing this chat with us! Onto my questions... First off, tradition is that has it that a major league player on a rehab assignment buys the team dinner. Did you bring yourself to do that upon your return to the Diamond Jaxx? ;) Secondly, I noticed that basically every time the camera panned to you in the dugout during your stint with the Cubs, you had a huge smile on your face. Were you just so thrilled to be living the dream, or do you find yourself to be some one who is just generally happy? Cubs fans are rooting for you to come back healthy and productive. We wish you to have as much luck as humanly possible both in your recovery and in your career!

There's the second deal I was looking for. Acquiring Torrealba made no sense considering they had Olivo.

When I heard that, it sounded like he was trying to bring Dunn's price down so that the Reds wouldn't make Hendry have to massively overpay for him.

Kenny Perez and Kyle Bono are the prospects dealt.

Just heard it on Sportscenter.

no thanks. he's going to command far more than he's worth. 6 years, $72m is the contract I've heard thrown around.