XZero771679666304

Feldman's pretty obviously pretty high on the outcome scale for pitchers with his performance through that age. I don't agree with the second part at all. If he follows the standard pitcher aging curve, we're already in the second half of his peak and the downward decline begins in a year or two. Is this the generally accepted peak, or Kyle's "peak"?

I'm not thrilled with this return, but I'm not surprised. Feldman isn't even Paul Maholm, with only half a season of control left.

Because Ned Coletti

Just as I'm having trouble seeing the Orioles come up with two good prospects for Garza, the only matches I could find on the Rockies roster (seeing as they don't want to give up prospects, not that they have any...) that the Cubs would be interested in for Feldman are Pomeranz and Chatwood. Does it make sense for the Rockies to trade either of these guys to improve their roster this year? Who else could they be thinking of dealing? Chacin? That said, would you take Pomeranz in exchange for Feldman? At first glance, I would. Am I missing something? I would too. Well, sure. There's no way in hell the Rockies do that, though, and I wouldn't either.

EDIT: After checking to make sure I was right, I saw there is a fourth:

This, pretty much. The Cards are a good bet to stay good for a while, but the Bucs and Reds are definitely working against time, for the reasons you mentioned. The Reds especially have not been doing themselves any favors financially.

Davis isn't like Bautista in that it wasn't that he had previously been a mediocre player, but that he just hadn't gotten the time at the big league level to develop. Bautista had about 2000 MLB ABs before breaking out, Davis about half that, if you consider 2012 Davis' breakout season. I think most people felt there was a potential masher in Davis (though not what we've seen this year). I know his name was bandied about a little as a possible replacement for DLee a few years ago, but the idea wasn't real popular.

VOTE damnit Is there a cap on how many times you can vote? I feel like I just voted at least 100 times before I got bored. I guess I lack Vance's dedication. But they sure have made it easier to stuff an e-ballot box since I did it last.

They've got every bit as much young talent as we do, are already actually good, and have a fairly smart front office. I'd be at least a little worried. Sure, it's possible that they sustain success, but they're going to be handicapped by payroll restrictions. Not every team can be the Rays and stay good while having to continually kiss their talent goodbye, even if they have a smart front office. Financial flexibility is a huge advantage, and among NL Central teams, the Pirates have the least of it. Again, anything is possible, but the Pirates will be fighting an uphill battle to remain consistently competitive. I don't like their chances of becoming a perennial powerhouse. Tampa struggles because people don't care about the Rays or show up even if they are good. If Pittsburgh gets good, that stadium will be packed. Pittsburgh is good, and has been competitive for significant stretches of the prior two seasons, and they still aren't drawing. If they get into the stretch drive and are competing for a playoff berth, I'm sure PNC will be packed, but the attendance numbers don't suggest a fanbase chomping at the bit for a reason to show up. It's getting close to the ASB, they have the best record in baseball and are 22nd in MLB in attendance. One might suggest that is because the fans are being cautious after two hot start/flat finish seasons, but they were 22nd in 2011 and 2012 as well. I recall stretches in recent years where they were packing fans in PNC, but the totals suggest a fanbase that is just as quick to jump off the bandwagon as on it. Maybe they're just jaded by years of being terrible, but I don't think that it's a forgone conclusion that they're sitting on a potential attendance gold mine.

They've got every bit as much young talent as we do, are already actually good, and have a fairly smart front office. I'd be at least a little worried. Sure, it's possible that they sustain success, but they're going to be handicapped by payroll restrictions. Not every team can be the Rays and stay good while having to continually kiss their talent goodbye, even if they have a smart front office. Financial flexibility is a huge advantage, and among NL Central teams, the Pirates have the least of it. Again, anything is possible, but the Pirates will be fighting an uphill battle to remain consistently competitive. I don't like their chances of becoming a perennial powerhouse.

I'm not clear where the fracture is. Shin area? could this have been prevented with a guard? It's the tibia, so there's a good chance that a shin guard may have prevented it. Though without knowing exactly how high/low the fracture is, it's impossible to say for certain.

The only other team in the division I don't hate are the Pirates. The rest are all loathsome to varying degrees.

I love that after all their fans' arrogance about their bright future, their window is slamming shut. With their system gutted, it's only going to get worse for a while.

They'd have to go 32-52 to do it Don't stop believing! I would love to see the Bucs win the division overt he Cards and Reds, but after the past couple seasons I can't view their chances with anything but incredulity. Yeah. I really would like the Pirates to take the division. I know the Cubs haven't won a World Series and all that, but at least they've had several successful seasons in the last decade. The Pirates deserve a taste of glory for once. I have memories of the early 90s when the Pirates were really good and I hated them, but that seems like a lifetime ago. And to be honest, I don't have any fear of them staying good for a prolonged period, and that makes them easier to root for.

are stress fractures things that happen at one point or something that builds over time? I don't think it's possible to pinpoint a time when a stress fracture occurred. It may not actually be a stress fracture as that's just kind of a general term for vertical "cracks" in the tibia. It could well have been caused by the foul ball off the leg and there's just not a better term for it. Well if it's an acute injury resembling a stress fracture, simply calling it a hairline fracture would seem more appropriate. But maybe that's just what it is.

are stress fractures things that happen at one point or something that builds over time? I don't think it's possible to pinpoint a time when a stress fracture occurred. They build over time, but unless I am mistaken, can stem from a previous injury (or injuries) that went untreated.

They'd have to go 32-52 to do it Don't stop believing! I would love to see the Bucs win the division overt he Cards and Reds, but after the past couple seasons I can't view their chances with anything but incredulity.

Sure, it's gamble, but over nine years it's not some kind of onerous financial burden even if he flames out. And if the FO had passed and he received a similar contract from someone else and then became a productive player, we'd all be lamenting that.

I think you should take a step back and recognize that all of those players signed out of intense bidding processes where we have little to no idea what went down and what the FO's budget in each instance was. I've also read some reports that Cespedes effectively chose the A's over the Cubs without giving the Cubs another chance to top the A's offer. The Concepcion signing definitely looks like real stinker. Missing out on Cespedes stings, and I'm not sure I buy the theory that the Cubs weren't allowed to counter, because that would mean his agent is totally incompetent. But other than that I don't see a problem. I may be all wet on this, but I don't recall the word on Puig being overwhelmingly positive prior to his signing, and that the sentiment was that Soler was a better prospect (and I'm far from convinced he won't end up being the better player long term). Hindsight is 20/20, and at the times the moves were made the only ones that bothered me were missing on Cespedes and Darvish. Knowing the financial constraints the FO was working under, the relatively low (blind, mind you) bid on Darvish becomes more understandable, and all I'm left with is angst over missing on Cespedes and signing Concepcion (which is pretty insignificant in the long run). Ryu I could have taken or left, really.

I think blue would have to be involved. I'd say black and blue or black, blue and red.

It brings on many changes Extra points for those that are old enough to get the reference I don't consider myself old, but I get it... :hmm: Didn't know the lyrics to the MASH theme were that popular anymore... Well, I heard it as a kid from time to time because of my older brothers. Plus I remember all manner of useless minutiae like that.

It brings on many changes Extra points for those that are old enough to get the reference I don't consider myself old, but I get it... :hmm:

Well yeah, the rain is what is needed. But the lightning and wind would be fine so long as it came with sustained heavy precipitation.

Yeah, there's fires all over the place down here. We could seriously use some of those severe t-storms.

The Reds are doing well because they have a bunch of really good young players, not because Dusty Baker is their manager. Dusty might be one of the biggest threats to their sustained success, though.