Tim

I think Hansen is closing by summertime. And I think he'll be very good at it. Also, don't be surprised if Lester or Papelbon is their third best pitcher by year end.

If the Giants have Bonds healthy all year and if Cain is as good as he looked in 2005, they should win the west. I fear AZ in a few years, though. I like the guys they have at the top end of their system much more than LA's more vaunted system. I'll take Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Chris Young and Carlos Gonzalez against any team's top 6 in baseball. In fact, I'll take that top six against any team's top six in the past five years. If they can find pitching that can survive in AZ, they'll be monsters in a few years.

Done.

I'll complain to Google when I have a chance. I don't like it there, either.

that whole crop of pitchers is a sad, sad story. What once held such promise...

Francis Beltran - before he got hurt Chadd Blasko - before he got hurt Even Jason Wylie - before he got hurt.

Post all star break, Prior had a 3.88 ERA, so you can stop claiming it was over 5.00 for the second half. Crimeny. The guy has a 3.24 career ERA, which would be one of the lowest career ERA's in post-1920's baseball. The one and only question mark to debate with Prior is health.

And some people always resort to hyperbole and absolutes to make their point. Oh, wait...

If I'm not mistaken, the Cubs have had just 39 men on the roster since the Patterson trade. Kess is correct, but Miller has not yet been added to the 40-man roster. His contract requires only that he be added to the 40-man roster sometime before opening day. Which means that he could be placed on the 60-day DL when he's added to the roster.

You've got three guys who have been in the league for years. They were all on the team in 2005 and you saw what they could do for a full season. Why would you possibly let a few weeks of performance when players are just getting warmed up decide who is going to play at a position? This is something that I've never understood.

I'm hoping to get to each and every minor league team this year as I've been building up quite a few free tickets with all my travelling lately. Given our relationship with the Jaxx, I would like to get there several times this year. I'll probably try to do the first weekend homestand in late April, then something mid-season and late-season.

I made a crack, but as happens all too often around here what was intended as a harmless joke devolved into a political debate. It wasn't me that moved it to Rants, but I agree with whoever did.I'm glad you approve. ;)

Or teenagers isn't that the same thing? wasn't that the point? ;)

Or teenagers

um... am I allowed to say Jackass on these forums? Cuz you're a jackass, dude. No. This is not allowed. Do not do it again or you will have to do it somewhere else.

When will someone suggest moving him to the pen... Vance?

but w/ no title to show for it. :D as long as we're talking draft date, i'd like to put in a request for it NOT to be from 3/17-3/23, as i'll be at ST. obviously, i'd do my best to make accommodations if it had to be during those dates. I'm still trying to decide which week I'm going. But at least now I know which week NOT to go. :)

Rats.

:thumleft:

Yep. There's a bunch of minor league guys who will be there for the draft. Andy LaRoche, come on down. :evil: occasionally they are on top of things. we need to set a draft date. What day is opening day this year?

Yep. There's a bunch of minor league guys who will be there for the draft. Andy LaRoche, come on down. :evil:

Raisin, you should drop the fake S. Drew and add the real one. If you don't do it by the draft, I'm going to take him!

I wouldn't base my decision on win totals or playoff appearances. For each guy: Baker: - does he improve his handling of pitchers? - Can he learn when is the right time to pull a starter and manage as if he's trying to keep them healthy and productive for the long haul? - Can he learn to either manage with a six man pen or learn to effectively use all the assets he has there in a balance so that he doesn't have two guys rusty and two guys shot from overuse? - Can he learn to develop young players while still trying to win? - Will he finally learn how to construct a lineup for the best chances to win? - Does Neifi or Walker start? Hendry: - Who was right about Jones, the stats or the scouts? - Can he improve the team significantly during the season? - Has he invested in international recruiting this offseason since we'll be short 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks? - Does the farm look like it will start to turn the corner in producing position players and keeping pitchers healthy on their way up? - Does he trade Walker or keep him? If a trade, does he significantly improve the talent level of the team in so doing? - Can he complete any other moves to improve the team before ST?

Ya know what? On some level I agree with you. I was a little surprised to see Bobby Hill let go. He's everything Jim Tracy said he wants - a guy who can put the ball into play. Mack-O-Whack: It hurt to trade him, but a couple things come up. First, he's too streaky. He does much better as a spot starter (or even a few starts in a row) than being an everyday player. And, he strikes out too much. Not that I'd want to trade him, per se. But, I thought we got good value from him in Marte. Left Handed relievers don't come cheap. And my soon to be 5 year old loves saying his name (I've been taking her to games since she was 3 month old!) As for Sanchez - on the last Friday night home game, one of our local talking heads, Paul Alexander (who was fired last month as part of a station overhaul) had his booth set up out side of PNC Park. I asked him if he thought Freddy could compete with Jose for the everyday starting position for the upcoming season. He said to me: Two things come to mind here: Castillo hasn't been very healthy his first two seasons; and he has to hit both more HRs and for higher average. I'd bet Freddy is going to get at least 40 starts at second, 20 each at short and third. Caveat about third: Jose Bautista lights it up in Indy and plays his way onto the team. I think Getting rid of Bobby Hill was a bit shortsighted. No, he'll never be a star, but he can hit off of the bench and play 2nd & third. He'd have been behind Sanchez, to be sure. We have this guy who played 6 positions at Indy, Yuerendall DeCaster. It might his play that prompted the trade of Hill? Does the talking head know that Jason Bay is still on Pittsburgh?

Do you really believe that Jones is going to digress that badly? No I believe Patterson isn't nearly as bad as some believe. Patterson's career numbers are worse than Neifi Perez's. I would say that qualifies as being pretty bad. Having seen Jones play at the Metrodome and being familiar with his attitude, I think he will suprise many on this board. Jones is definitely moving to a more friendly hitter's division. He could show a surge offensively. But, he seems to be more of a ground ball hitter than a line drive hitter. That isn't going to help him a whole lot. The NL Central has many more hitter's parks, but compare the pitching in the NL central to what he faced from KC & Detroit.