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Is Beckham really a better third baseman than ARAM? I know he was a SS in college but I've seen some fugly plays by him over at the hot corner. Yes, he has better range and a more accurate throw.

Hit for avg: Push (both are likely .310-330 hitters) Hit for power: Ramirez (Beckman is likely a 15 maybe 20 HR hitter in time) Runner: Beckham Arm: Push Fielding: Beckham Both are outstanding players and Ramirez is a current all-star and Beckham will be a future all-star. In this case, we're talking about a corner IF position & I put more weight onto Aramis' ability to hit for power moreso than Beckham's ability to be the better fielder and runner since 3B is typically an offensive position.

He's extremely deceptive.

Velo reports fron last night... Archer: FB: 87-93 sat 91/92 CB: 80-83 CH: 80-83 No one really centered the ball off of him as he mainly worked off his FB and later used his curve and change, he still threw 80% or so FB. He has 2 pitches right now that are ML avg. with his FB/CB and his change-up will likely get there. Cabrera: FB 90-96 sat 93 Slurve 80-83 Slider 86-87 Buchter: FB: 88-91 CB: 75-77 Hamren FB: 87-91 SL: 82 Huseby FB: 86-90 sat 88 Slurve: 76-80 DJ was quicker than what I had seen the 1st night, he's at least ML avg. as far as a runner. He does have soft hands and playable arm strength. He stays inside the ball pretty well and will at least hit for avg. Jackson hit an 81 MPH slider that was over the heart of the plate and pulled it about 340, he does have a nice swing. He's got above avg. arm strength but isn't as accurate as someone like Burke. He has a leg kick similar to Soriano, so it'll interesting that when he struggles it'll likely be a timing issue where he'll go thru stretches when he struggles to make contact and will either be behind the ball or out in front. Perez has the strongest arm, but is a liability in the OF and while he has the most raw power on the team, doesn't have the approach or the ability to hit the breaking ball to save him. Burke struggled last night getting out in front of some pitches, it looked like his timing was off just a bit. I was really impressed with Huseby, despite the lack of velo. He is really depective, the way he hides the ball, it makes that ball look like it is jumping on the batter. As I mentioned, he has plus slider/slurve that he can throw in any count and he has exceptional command/control.

Happy for his numbers, skeptical of his continued success at higher levels. His stuff isn't particularly noteworthy, including a fastball that sits in the high 80s/low 90s. He's topped out at 91/92 when I've seen him. 86-90 last night with a plus slider.

2nd. only guzman has been better Marshall has been better than Qualls.

Hoffman has one of the best change-ups in the last 20 years, which allowed him to go from a power pitcher to a finesse guy. Ryan has to demonstrate he can do that with a FB/slider combo, typical pitches of a power pitcher.

What their agent says about the players being ready and whether or not they are ready are two separate issues.

I'll have my reports up at some point today from last night's game in Beloit, that game was a killer to sit all the way thru. I'm finally glad I got to see Huseby.

Qualls wouldn't be a bad pick-up either, he'd probably be the 3rd best guy out of the pen based on what they've done this year.

That's only b/c of the restraining order.

He's got some bat speed, somewhat level maybe too much of an uppercut at this stage, but has some decent pop. I don't think he's going to be an all-star at the plate. He might be someone that can hit .275-.285 with 10-20 HRs per year and play CF'er. He can get pull happy at times and that might hurt his avg. as he progresses. His 2 BBs weren't counts where he had to work they were both all balls that were well out of the zone (low and away). I think I he'll be better than the draft day reports from BA and PG. Thanks for your reports! How did LeMahieu look? For his size, he's got a compact swing, he's not very strong at this point and will have to do improve on adding strength. Defensively, he has good hands and can make the routine plays. He doesn't have great arm strength but it can play at SS/3B. He's a good runner at this point so I imagine once he fills out and gets older, it'll likely decrease more.

He's got some bat speed, somewhat level maybe too much of an uppercut at this stage, but has some decent pop. I don't think he's going to be an all-star at the plate. He might be someone that can hit .275-.285 with 10-20 HRs per year and play CF'er. He can get pull happy at times and that might hurt his avg. as he progresses. His 2 BBs weren't counts where he had to work they were both all balls that were well out of the zone (low and away). I think I he'll be better than the draft day reports from BA and PG.

Joined: Thu May 15, 2003 9:38 am Posts: 17155 Just got back from Beloit. Good game despite the btm of the 8th... Jackson has now endeared himself to me after he scored on the DB by Flaherty. He was on 1B after the BB, he can really run, and there was a play at the plate that wasn't real close. The C for Beloit was well in front of the plate almost on the grass and the ball and Jackson are there at the same time and Jackson decides to give the C a little forearm shot to the chest instead of just avoiding him which he could've did standing up. Nate, did Bristow get injured? It was weird b/c in the 5th Bristow's velo had dropped to 86-88 for about 5-6 pitches after finishing his last pitch at 92 after he was 90-94 the 1st 4 IP. I think Bristow long-term is going to end up as a righty specialist, he has effort in his delivery now and with his FB/slider combo that'll be his best bet as he progresses. Beliveau FB: 87-90 Slurve:73-74 Real deceptive delivery, all his strikeouts were off his FB and no swings and misses off his slurve which he only threw a handful of times. It looks like it coming out of his hand at 84MPH and then it's on the hitter, the Beloit hitters were late on all of his FBs, he's so small and that ball explodes out of there. It had decent arm side run but was nothing special as far as movement. De Leon: FB:87-90 SL:80-82 CH/Splitter:83-84 Another deceptive delivery, it reminds of hitting in cages and it's on fastest where all of a sudden, you watch that ball slide down to be shot at you and there it is. He really doesn't have a stride so it's hard to time him. But he really didn't have good stuff tonite. Even with that delivery, I thought his stuff marginal. He's too young and hasn't been off the Island long enough to have such a bad body.

I'm not sure how that could possibly be true. I mean, a 1 run lead is a 1 run lead no matter how many runs it took to get there. Gregg's offense already bailed him out Saturday night. Improvement by the offense would be nice overall, but I don't really see how it has anything to do with Gregg's performance. If he blows a lead he blows a lead. The Cubs have played a bunch of close low scoring games this year, even if it's one run more here or there, it might turn that one run game into a 2 run game and given Gregg's HR ratio and decent WHIP, it becomes more important with him than most closers. Maybe that run turns it into a 4 run lead instead of a 3 run lead and with Lou, he won't feel compelled to use Gregg in the lower leverage situation. I'd be curious to see the save situation between Gregg and Woody last year to see the diff. between 1 run leads and 2-3 run leads between each year. Or maybe he blows a 3 run lead. A save situation is a save situation. He's pitched in plenty of games with more than a 1 run lead. He's blown some, he's given up some runs without relinquishying the lead in some, and he's been successful in most. The offense being better will help the team, it's not going to help Kevin Gregg pitch better. If anything he's pitched worse in non-save situation this year, which suggests he needs it close to be sharp. It won't help him pitch better as far as production but those extra runs are going to help the pen, it's common sense that that extra run will make it easier for him to not blow a save.

Yes, the pitch count is arbitrary. You're out of your mind if you think that pitch counts is the primary reason why a pitcher gets hurt compared to the other factors I had mentioned. It's stupid to try and pick out one phrase (which is correct) and ignore everything else I had mentioned.

I'm not sure how that could possibly be true. I mean, a 1 run lead is a 1 run lead no matter how many runs it took to get there. Gregg's offense already bailed him out Saturday night. Improvement by the offense would be nice overall, but I don't really see how it has anything to do with Gregg's performance. If he blows a lead he blows a lead. The Cubs have played a bunch of close low scoring games this year, even if it's one run more here or there, it might turn that one run game into a 2 run game and given Gregg's HR ratio and decent WHIP, it becomes more important with him than most closers. Maybe that run turns it into a 4 run lead instead of a 3 run lead and with Lou, he won't feel compelled to use Gregg in the lower leverage situation. I'd be curious to see the save situation between Gregg and Woody last year to see the diff. between 1 run leads and 2-3 run leads between each year.

The pitch count is just arbitrary. Injuries happen regardless of how much you try and prevent them and can happen to the pitchers with the best mechanics ala Schilling's shoulder. There will be times when a pitcher is gassed at 85 pitches and the next start could be stronger at 110 than he was at 85. You have to factor mechanics, effort in the delivery, types of pitches thrown, workout routine in the off-season and between starts, one's own ability to analyze fatigue, etc. With that said, a manager has a responsibility to limit the workload when he has a chance to do so which is where I think is where Baker has failed to do so in the past. I don't think it caused the injuries but it surely didn't help try and prevent future arm problems. Baker is a prime example of a manager that should be more pro-active in resting starters when the opportunities arise.

I agree with keeping Gregg at closer for now and trying to ride it out. Hopefully with Guzman being used in more close and late games than someone like Heilman as well as Marshall doing very well out of the pen that those will help the Cubs more than expecting Gregg to improve where he's been. But as I mentioned somewhere else, the offense scoring more runs will help Gregg out more than anything.

I think that bridge has been burned.

Grienke and Johnson have 2 starts each, unfort. Rodriguez is likely to miss a start. I need my offense to start hitting.

The Rockies have been one of the best teams in MLB since May.

I wouldn't put too much into it, Florida has a good line-up and those pitches were put on a tee.

Bristow Archer/Cabrera Shafer Bibens-Dirkx Beliveau goes to the bullpen with the addition of Antigua. He is our LH long guy now with Hatley as the RH long guy. Thanks, Nate.

Guilty as charged as well.