Outshined_One

Why is Corey being benched a bad thing? It was more in reference to the fact that he's grabbing pine than my sadness at that fact. I do believe he would have been fine if Baker had dropped him to the 7 or 8 hole and kept him there until he showed improvement, but I digress.

Corey benched again. Ouch. Also, being rid of Chip is one of the best things of this season, imo.

Stoney's doing the CIN/SF game on ESPN2.

That was the one game in that series I wasn't at. I was at the Friday and Saturday games. I'll never forget that series, with Hollandsworth's game-tying HR followed by an extra inning win on Friday, and Pratt and Farnsworth gift-wrapping the Saturday game for the Braves (with Grandpa Franco's HR). Ugggggggggggggh. That Saturday game was Sergio Mitre's debut, where the kid pitched his heart out and showcased some incredible guts, fortitude, and sheer will to win. I remember seeing him make some of the most impressive defensive plays for a pitcher this side of Greg Maddux. I'm still bitter about that one. Yech.

Box Scores Iowa lost 12-2 Box Score 2B M. Fontenot 1/5 3B S. McClain 0/3, BB LF B. Grieve 2/4, R RF D. Kelton 2/4, R, RBI, 2B (18) 1B M. Hoffpauir 1/3, BB PH R. Lewis 0/1 SP J. Leicester 4 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 3/2, 2 HR RP C. Pignatiello 2 scoreless and hitless, 1/1 RP RP R. Rohlicek 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1/0, HR West Tenn won 14-1 Box Score CF D. Bacon 1/4, 2 BB, 2 R, SB (21) RF A. Greenberg 1/5, BB, 2 R, 3B (7) LF M. Murton 1/6, 2 R, 2 RBI 1B M. Craig 4/4, 2 BB, 4 R, 4 RBI, HR (6) 3B C. McGehee 5/6, R, 4 RBI, 2 2B (22) SS B. Coats 0/5, RBI 2B R. Theriot 1/4, R, RBI, 3B (3) C J. Reyes 2/6, RBI, 2B (7) SP R. Nolasco 9 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6/0, HR Daytona lost 8-3 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4, BB, R, 2 SB (34) 1B B. Dopirak 2/4, BB, R, RBI 3B S. Moore 2/5, 2B (19) DH K. Collins 2/4 RF J³ 2/4, R, RBI, 2B (18), HR (6) C J/ Fox 2/4, 2B (14), SB (2) SP Y. Ferreras 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 8/3 RP J. Wylie 2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1/2 Peoria lost 21-2 Box Score CF S. Fuld 1/4, RBI 2B E. Patterson 0/4 RF R. Harvey 1/4, R, RBI, HR (11) LF L. Montanez 0/4 DH B. Flowers 0/2, BB 1B D. Larsen 0/4 SS J. Simokaitis 1/3 SP G. Johnson 2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3/1, HR Boise lost 6-0 Box Score CF D. Gregg 0/4 2B S. Hode 0/2 1B E. Puello 0/3 DH C. Gaskin 0/3 LF J. Valdez 0/3 SS J. Mota 0/3 SP M. Atkins 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1/0 Mesa lost 8-2 Box Score 2B E. Serrano 2/4, SB (5) 3B L. Rivera 0/3 RF J. Defendis 0/4 LF D. Lewis 0/4 1B R. Canzler 1/4, R, RBI, HR (1) CF R. Brown 0/4 C M. Mercedes 1/1 SS S. Baez 1/4 SP M. Pawelek 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 6/2 RP S. Bronder 3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2/1 OVERALL: 1-5

I'm making a mental note that MILB hasn't posted the Mesa box today. When they post it, I'll hopefully remember to bump this thread to let everyone know what happened down there.

Schmidt's been struggling this year with lost velocity. The Pads just finished pounding him today to the tune of 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, and a 3/3 K/BB. His control has gone flying out the window this season with a 1.59 WHIP and his ERA's sitting at a comfy 5.11. His G/F ratio is also sitting at .94, so I'm sure pitching in the AL version of Coors for half of his games will do him well. He'll be an upgrade, but whether or not he'll get his stuff back remains to be seen. Sabean has shown that he's completely lost his mind this past year or so, as evidenced by his choice in FA acquisitions and the Hawkins trade. Wouldn't surprise me if the Sox somehow manage to pull this deal off without trading one of their top three prospects.

He'd be an upgrade over Hernandez or Contreras, that's for sure.

Thank you blown squeeze play.

When you run on a guy who leads baseball in CS%, you're taking your chances.

i would also like a CPatt walk off...heck i'd take a walkoff from anyone :) Seconded!

That was fun. :D

As for Hendry, there's an interesting perspective you can take on all of this. As much as some people may dislike it, it may behoove some Cubs fans to hope that former Cubs prospects like John Garland and Dontrelle Willis do really well. Willis especially, since he'd likely win the Cy Young if the season ended today. There are plenty of guys people have regretted letting go in the past, especially with Choi, Harris, and Bellhorn. But, their success helps Jim Hendry in his trading quite a bit. Think of this from the perspective of, say, Cincy's GM, Dan O'Brien. The Reds are a pitching starved team, both in the majors and in their system. You don't think they'd want a Dontrelle Willis or a John Garland from the Cubs? Their scouts may have looked at the Cubs' system and they think that some one like Carlos Marmol or Renyel Pinto could come in and provide the Reds with the same impact that the players I've mentioned above have. You look at the systems who have produced impact players who have flourished both with that team and elsewhere. It's not like other teams where they've unloaded overhyped players onto other teams for gold. You'd like to see that, but getting that reputation as a GM is not the best of things. Being able to broker trades that end up with both teams getting equal value in the end is a good rep to have, imo.

He traded Capellan, one of his top young minor league arms for Kolb. Capellan's numbers for the Nashville Sounds (AAA): 19 G, 12 GS, 4-2, 4 SV, 70.1 IP, 4.35 ERA, 36 R, 34 ER, 2 HR, 71 H, 54/32 K/BB No, I don't have his splits from starting and relief work. Even still, his numbers don't seem to indicate he's back among the top pitching prospects in the game. Juan Cruz also hasn't been doing well: 21 G, 0-2, 23.1 IP, 8.49 ERA, 28 R, 22 ER, 4 HR, 29 H, 27/19 K/BB There's also the matter of Dan Meyer. Ugh.

He'll keep hitting Burnitz cleanup from time to time, and that is a no-no in my book. I don't mind doing the lefty-righty split, to be honest with you. Burnitz has been struggling lately, but I think he's fine there. I could have them either way, but that's just a bit of a preference I have. I wish all our players were struggling like Burnitz. Burnitz AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 06/02 - 07/02 100 20 31 8 0 5 54 14 13 18 0.310 0.389 0.540 0.929 I was referring to the past few days Fred. :D

Box Scores Iowa won 9-4 Box Score 2B M. Fontenot 2/5, 2 R, RBI DH B. Grieve 0/4, BB, R 3B S. McClain 1/5, R, 2 RBI RF D. Kelton 2/3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI 1B M. Hoffpauir 3/5, RBI C G. Soto 1/5, R SP R. Hill 7 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 10/2, 2 HR RP C. Bartosh 2 scoreless, 2 H, 2/0 West Tenn lost 5-3 Box Score CF D. Bacon 2/5, R, SB (20) RF A. Greenberg 0/4, HBP LF M. Murton 2/5, RBI 3B C. McGehee 1/5 1B B. Sing 2/3, BB, 2 R 2B R. Theriot 0/4 SS B. Coats 0/4 C J. Reyes 2/4, RBI P S. Marshall 1/1, BB (hehe) SP S. Marshall 6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 8/2 RP D. Aardsma 1 scoreless, 1 H, 0/0 Daytona lost 4-0 Box Score CF C. Walker 0/4 3B S. Moore 1/3, HBP 1B B. Dopirak 0/4 RF J³ 1/4, 2B (17) DH J. Fox 1/4, 2B (13) SP A. Polanco 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1/4 RP R. Wells 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4/0 Peoria won 12-3 Box Score CF S. Fuld 3/4, R, RBI, CS (10) 2B E. Patterson 3/3, BB, 3 R, RBI, 2 2B (15), SB (23) RF R. Harvey 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI LF B. Flowers 0/4, BB, R, RBI 1B D. Larsen 1/5, R, 2 RBI, 2B (18) SS J. Simokaitis 2/3, BB, R SP M. Weber 6.2 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 2/2 Boise lost 8-6 Box Score CF D. Gregg 2/5, R, RBI C M. Reed 0/3 3B E. Puello 1/5, R, 2 RBI, 2B (4) 1B C. Gaskin 1/4, BB, RBI LF A. Joseph 1/3, BB, R, RBI 2B S. Hode 3/4 SS J. Mota 1/4 SP M. Hyle 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3/0 RP L. Hagerty 0 IP, 2 ER, 0/3 Mesa lost 7-5 Box Score 2B E. Serrano 1/5, R 3B L. Rivera 2/5, R, RBI, 2B (2) CF D. Lewis 2/3, 2 BB, RBI LF R. Episcopo 1/4, BB, RBI SS S. Baez 2/3, BB, 2B (1) SP A. Francisco 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3/1 OVERALL: 2-4

I never say he'd be perfect, just that he's well-suited. Also, doesn't Barrett have some weird splits when it comes to hitting in the 2 hole? I could have sworn that last year he didn't do so hot there. So, what's your lineup look like?

I think he'd be well-suited to the two spot at this point. He'll see plenty of strikes hitting in front of Lee, has a very respectable AVG/OBP, and could contribute effectively there from the get-go. Might as well give him those opportunities and acclimate him to hitting at the top of the order, ya know? That is a logical theory, but don't forget good OBP in the minors doesn't always translate into good OBP once they get into the show. For instance, Dubois had a .389 OBP with Iowa last year, but since he's arrived in the majors he has had a terrible K/BB rate. Not saying this will happen to Cedeno, seeing as how he is a different type of player, but I still think that for now he needs to prove his ability to get on base consistantly in a less pressure filled position in the lineup. My personal theory is that Dubois' numbers would translate as expected from his career minor league numbers if he were allowed to play every day for long stretches of time instead of playing once every five days and used to PH.

He'll keep hitting Burnitz cleanup from time to time, and that is a no-no in my book. I don't mind doing the lefty-righty split, to be honest with you. Burnitz has been struggling lately, but I think he's fine there. I could have them either way, but that's just a bit of a preference I have. I think he'd be well-suited to the two spot at this point. He'll see plenty of strikes hitting in front of Lee, has a very respectable AVG/OBP, and could contribute effectively there from the get-go. Might as well give him those opportunities and acclimate him to hitting at the top of the order, ya know?

2B T. Walker SS R. Cedeno 1B D. Lee RF J. Burnitz 3B A. Ramirez LF J. Dubois C M. Barrett CF C. Patterson

Because Jeter's intangibles make him the best player in baseball. Without him the Yankees wouldn't have won any of those World Series! Plus he made the greatest catch ever last year. Haven't you been watching ESPN? If that catch where he lands on top of Cano ends up being a top Web Gem of the year, I may very well puke.

Potentially, yes. But hey, the more the merrier. Worst comes to worst, Burnett, Wood, and Prior could all build blanket and pillow forts in the clubhouse together. :D

If the trade rumors are true, I wonder if the supposed AL team he'll end up with manages to re-sign him during the season? I'd really like to have Burnett aboard with the Cubs, especially considering the injury problems that always seem to come about. Having a rotation of Prior-Zambrano-Wood-Burnett-Maddux would be just terrific, imo.

I think Bay ends up actually being an All Star, though. Seriously, who else do the Pirates have? As for the possibilities for each candidate... Canada: Jason Bay (Conf.) Dominican Republic: Miguel Tejada (Conf.) Venezuela - Bobby Abreu (Conf.) Curacao/Netherlands - Andruw Jones Japan - Hideki Matsui USA - Derrek Lee Panama - Carlos Lee Puerto Rico - Carlos Delgado Kinda stinks that a bunch of guys who'd be fun to watch in this contest will be snubbed. Matsui's a questionable candidate, but knowing MLB, they'll be doing everything they can to pimp this freakin' thing internationally...

You could have just saved time if you had any confidence in my posting ability. :P