Outshined_One

Was A-Rod his MVP choice last season?

Using universal logic then, Murton should start when Olsen does. Corey started against Smoltz cause he was 0-4 in his career, so let's see if Dusty starts Murton as well. Does Murton have a nickname? If not, we need to give him one. EDIT: Thanks for posting that. "The Human Rain Delay"

This season, Murton's 0/5 with 1 K against Olsen. Greenberg has yet to face Olsen this season.

Lemme dig it up. Give me a minute.

as far as i know, you are correct. leiter will start in beckett's place on sunday. Olsen, eh? I guess we'll have to wait until after the break to see how much time the rookies are really going to get. Greenberg and Murton have faced Olsen already this season...

Thanks Bruce!

Is there any news on who the Cubs are selecting from the Orioles system due to the Crouthers retirement?

Hi Bruce! Nice article today.

The Iowa/New Orleans series has been cancelled due to Hurricane Dennis. Also, the AAA All Star Game will be happening immediately thereafter. In other words, the I-Cubs have a week off. The Cubs didn't want to disrupt Rich Hill's regular work schedule, so he was sent down to Peoria to make a start. Also, Jason Dubois and Corey Patterson will be down in Mesa for the time being until Iowa starts playing again.

Box Scores West Tenn lost 3-2 in the 11th Box Score CF D. Bacon 1/5 2B R. Theriot 1/5 3B C. McGehee 2/5, CS (2) 1B M. Craig 0/5 RF B. Sing 2/4, BB, R PH M. Hoffpauir 0/1 SP JK Ryu 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 9/1 RP D. Aardsma 1 scoreless, 1 H, 0/1 Daytona PPD: Rain Peoria won 5-2 Box Score CF S. Fuld 2/4, R, 2B (17) 2B E. Patterson 1/3, BB, RBI, SB (25) RF R. Harvey 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B (16), HR (12), SB (6) LF L. Montanez 0/3, 2 BB, R, SB (10) DH B. Flowers 1/4, RBI 1B D. Larsen 2/3, BB, RBI, CS (6) SS J. Simokaitis 0/4 SP R. Hill 8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 12/0 Boise won 12-4 Box Score CF D. Gregg 3/6, 2 R, RBI, 2B (2) LF A. Joseph 2/4, 2 R SS K. Reynolds 4/5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 2B (2), 3B (1) 3B E. Puello 1/3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR (1), HBP DH C. Quinones 1/5, RBI, CS (1) C M. Reed 2/4, BB, CS (3) 1B C. Gaskin 2/4, R, HBP 2B S. Hode 1/4, BB SP M. Billek 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4/1 RP A. Santana 2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3/2 Mesa won 7-6 Box Score 2B E. Serrano 1/4, BB 3B L. Rivera 2/5, R, 3 RBI, SB (2), CS (1) LF R. Episcopo 2/3, RBI 1B R. Canzler 1/4, R DH M. Mercedes 0/2, BB SS S. Baez 0/4, R CF R. Brown 2/4, 2 R, RBI, 2B (2) SP A. Francisco 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5/1 Iowa off until July 14th OVERALL: 3-1

Murton's a prototypical LF all the way. He doesn't have much of an arm to speak of. He's not going to be taking reps away from Burnitz in RF. He needs to beat out Holla & company in LF.

Nope. Just hope it happens in the next day or two.

Anyone want to put the odds on Dusty actually playing Murton and Greenie?

It's being discussed in transactions as we speak.

Greenburg and Murton? Was there open space on the 40 man or did they actually release some one?

Dubois and Corey sent down? So, did we call up people to replace them or what?

Yes, let's add some more pyrotechnic specialists to the gas can crew in the bullpen. That's the best solution!

Man, it's a crazy party in here.

This team barely has a pulse as far as its playoff chances are concerned. If Florida sweeps them, all will be lost.

It has its moments. When one of the pitchers is on, when Derrek Lee is hitting well, when Ramirez is hitting well, or something like that tends to at least make things interesting. None of that has been happening much recently.

This was addressed in two other threads and the general consensus was that it would be a bad move.

My pleasure. :D

If you have the patience and the time (it's 8 pages), this is a fun article on Joe Morgan that gives a nice insight into how he works: Link

Hm, given the number of CGs their staff had, I was under the impression that McKeon was riding them pretty hard out of the gate and might break them down come later in the season. However, the stats are kinda interesting for this season... Willis Games Started: 17 Pitches Per Game: 104.5 Most Pitches in a Game: 117 (6/8) Least Pitches in a Game: 70 (4/30, rain shortened) Number of Games with 100+ Pitches: 13 Number of Games with 110+ Pitches: 8 Beckett Games Started: 16 Pitches Per Game: 94.7 Most Pitches in a Game: 121 (5/18) Least Pitches in a Game: 45 (7/5, injury-shortened) Number of Games with 100+ Pitches: 7 Number of Games with 110+ Pitches: 3 Burnett (Pre-7/6) Games Started: 1 Pitches Per Game: 97.5 Most Pitches in a Game: 123 (6/26) Least Pitches in a Game: 86 (4/7) Number of Games with 100+ Pitches: 10 Number of Games with 110+ Pitches: 4 Now, I grant you, these numbers are not all-inclusive and extensive. They don't properly measure other factors that could contribute to a pitcher's abuse. Also, these numbers don't measure up well when you compare them to other pitchers. I'll post that at a later time, however.

With comments like these, rest assured you will fit in quite well around here. :D Tim went on a bit of a rampage earlier in the season trying to figure out how to pry Carlos Quentin from the D-backs. Here are a couple of the things worth noting right now regarding that team's current state of affairs... -They're in a weird position fairly similar to the Cubs. The NL West is up for grabs considering the talent in that division, but the Diamondbacks' record is not a pretty one, at 41-45. They still have the opportunity to make a run at the division, but they're going to need to acquire some big cogs to help out. -The most notable area they could use improvement is in CF, where Quinton "Don't Call Me Phil" McCracken has been sharing duties with Luis "The Terrible" Terrero and Jose Cruz Jr.. All of those players are rather sub-par, needless to say. I'm unsure of what kind of interest the team would have in Corey Patterson, but I'd imagine that they'd be interested at the right price. -The other area they need some help is in starting pitching, with Javier Vazquez and Brandon Webb propping up the rotation. You are correct that they might have interest in some one like Glendon Rusch, or possibly some of the younger players like Sergio Mitre and Rich Hill. -As you mentioned in your post, this is a team with plenty of salary tied up in key positions, especially in RF with Gonzalez and LF/1B with Shawn Green. Unfortunately, both are blocking Quentin and Jackson and will do so for the next year. I'm not so sure that they'd be willing to axe their salary, though, considering the amount of money they threw at Troy Glaus in the offseason. -If we are going to trade Lee...that would go over like a lead balloon. Even if the Cubs got Drew, Jackson, and Quentin in return. He's managed to become the top dog on this team this season and every single fan would see it as... A) Surrendering all chances at the playoffs. B) Trying to get rid of a player so they don't have to pay him. In other words, it'd be a white flag trade. The last time that happened in Chicago, there was a huge uproar. -Finally, I don't know what kind of interest the Diamondbacks would have with Lee. Green and Tracy both can take care of 1B duties fairly competently. They can definitely upgrade at the position and move Green into the OF, but as to whether they'd trade top prospects for Lee is unknown.