Outshined_One

The fact that he's repeating the FSL is what's holding me back from ranking him in my Top 5. Also, apparently he's had his share of injury problems during his time with the Tigers. I'd love to think he can keep up his performance in AA and stay healthy. However, I'm still a bit wary of him.

ESPN just said it was Kevin Mench.

I'm rooting for a 25 inning game in which Generalissimo Pujols comes in to pitch and blows his arm out. That's just me, though. :D

If we can't trust Sportsline...who can we trust?!

1) Pie - No-brainer. Plate discipline could use work, but the tools are now there. 2) Harvey - 5 tool player, made improvement with his Ks, and has a terrific ceiling. 3) Marshall - Lefty with supreme control and pretty darn good stuff. Doing well in AA. 4) Dopirak - Everything's still there for him to be a top power hitter...but he'll need a better second half. 5) Hill - ML-ready at this point; will make great trade bait or a pretty good #5 next season if need be. 6) Murton - Needs regular playing time and will be stuck in LF. Hitting and baserunning are quite nice. 7) Pawelek - Tantalizing performance in Mesa shows hope for the future. Just hope he's mechanically sound. 8) Cedeno - Like Murton, needs playing time more than anything. Good D and good offensive upside. 9) Moore - Repeating Daytona, but performing pretty darn well. Will need to show it's not a fluke. 10) Petrick - Injuries hurt, but stuff and makeup are promising. Just missing: Mark Reed (good hitter at a tough position, needs to improve defense and get experience), Sean Gallagher (unless he can grow taller, his upside is limited), Renyel Pinto (AAA performance is worrying, but rebounded in AA and has very good stuff), and Carlos Marmol (high ceiling, but AA has been a challenge).

Was it a legit balk? Some one on another forum who saw it claims that it was a BS call.

They have a deep enough farm system that I think the Dodgers could afford to part with some of their top prospects. Heck, their AA team is more stacked than most teams' farm systems. The NL West is really weak now as it is. With Bonds seemingly done for, none of the teams really strike me as strong enough to really dominate that division. The Dodgers could really become the top team in that division for a long time to come if they could...but they don't have a consistent and healthy offensive threat. Give them Adam Dunn and they might well take over the NL West for the foreseeable future and should have their share of shots in the playoffs during that time. I think that'd be worth parting with guys like Loney, Guzman, Broxton, and Billingsley.

Precisely. Let the Braves get hot, go on a big run in the second half, then beat up on the Nationals, Phillies, Mets, and Marlins. The Nationals aren't winning that division. Book it.

Greenberg was actually placed on the 15 day DL.

People are calling him another George Steinbrenner... I ask you all this. If he does buy the Cubs and he ends up being George Steinbrenner II, would that really be a bad thing? Really? How many rings do George's teams have again?

Hmmmmm...wonder if this opens up the possibility of the Cubs making a run at Wilkerson. Doubtful, but still... Also, the Nationals were dead-set on trading Zach Day, weren't they?

He had this, "Wow, I got like 10 cars better than that in my garage back home" look on his face. He's getting paid $11m this year...so yeah.

Tejada wins the MVP and a Chevy Corvette.

They should have interviewed Will Sasso dressed up as Kenny Rogers instead. Then we might see people getting beat up with baseball bats, heavy drinking, and various other fun activities.

Geez, Jones murdered that.

That would have been a heck of a slide from the first base line.

What ever happened to that 3B everyone was giddy about this past season, Iwamura?

The NL starter was announced as being Chris Carpenter.

Yep, I'm leaving early tomorrow morning! My first stop is in Boston, then it's a short stop off in New Haven, followed by staying with my sister and brother in law in NYC for a few days. Then after that, we're going to Philly for a short stay, then Ann Arbor as the last stop on the trip. I'm bringing my laptop with me and should have internet access at the very least in Boston and NYC. However, I will probably only be on minimally to check in on some things. I'll be back home likely in little over a week (probably a week from Tuesday). Until then, BOCF is in charge of these threads. You kids be good! :P

Actually Hill has been pitching since his Freshman year at the University of Michigan in 2000. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/rich_hill.shtml My apologies, I must've been thinking of someone else. Carlos Marmol, imo.

Sad to hear that about Connolly. How's Buck Coats looked in CF?

The Reds Zone kiddies don't seem to like this trade idea since they think they're giving up too much. We seem to think we're giving up too much. Guess this deal's even, then. :D

Don't forget Boof. Lerew is now in for the World Team.

I like Wood and Zambrano, but a guy with a high of 14 games won in 6 plus major league seasons and a guy that is too emotional to ever win a big game are not exactly untouchable. Wins are one of the most overrated stats in baseball as it is. Considering the offenses and bullpens that this team has had, it's a miracle anyone has ever won 15 or more games in the past 10 years. Wood's an enigma to me. There are times when he'll flash moments of dominance and seem to have turned the corner. Today was a pretty good example of the pitcher he could be when he's on. When he keeps his pitch counts down and keeps his mechanics in line, he can be a dominator. He's a gamer. Games 1 and 5 of the 2003 NLDS were both terrific examples of the kind of pitcher you'd want him to be. But then there are the injuries and inconsistency. He has yet to show even a three month stretch of dominance. He loses his release point, then it completely wrecks his mechanics. When his mechanics go, the injuries happen. Wood no longer lives in the Texas area (I think he lives in AZ now?), so I don't think a trade to the Rangers would cause him to jump up and down with glee. He and his wife love it in Chicago, so the likelihood of him being traded is not all that good. That said...if he were willing to waive his no trade clause and the right deal came along, I wouldn't mind trading him. Especially if the Cubs land Burnett (who has similar problems to Wood, fyi).

Okay, here are some of my assumptions coming into the 2006 season. 1) The Cubs end up being sellers at the 2005 trading deadline. Corey Patterson, Greg Maddux, Todd Hollandsworth, Glendon Rusch, Jerry Hairston, and Mike Remlinger are all traded at some point. 2) Dusty "retires" following the season. 3) Nomar Garciaparra thanks Cubs fans for their support, but leaves for greener pastures in free agency. 4) Due to the Rule V crunch, Jim Hendry will decide to trade certain guys away in order to make room for players such as Sean Marshall and Felix Pie as well as to get value for them. Out the door are a decent number of AA and AAA starters and relievers, which will likely include guys like John Koronka, Jon Leicester, Bobby Brownlie, and Ricky Nolasco. Jason Dubois and David Kelton will also be traded. 5) Acquired in these trades will be offensive help, including a CF and a RF. The players: LF Matt Murton CF Vernon Wells RF Trot Nixon 3B Aramis Ramirez SS Ronnie Cedeno 2B Todd Walker 1B Derrek Lee C Michael Barrett Bench IF Michael Fontenot OF Adam Greenberg 4 other players including a backup catcher, three utility guys, and another lefthander. Rotation Mark Prior Carlos Zambrano Kerry Wood Jerome Williams Rich Hill Bullpen Closer: Ryan Dempster Setup Man: Michael Wuertz Long Man: Todd Wellemeyer 3 other pitchers including a LOOGY and maybe Scott Williamson Vernon Wells is in a similar situation to Corey Patterson in Toronto right now (although with less strikeouts), so I think a change of scenery might not be the worst of ideas for him. Boston has shown willingness to deal their players to the Cubs in the past with Nomar and I think they might be interested in taking Corey Patterson off our hands, plus Nixon would add a nice lefty bat to the lineup. Other than that, I think this team could compete in 2006 and beyond. The offense would be potent, the bullpen would be solid given the right acquisitions, and the starting pitching would be pretty darn good.