CaliforniaRaisin

As I said in the game thread, I'm glad that Rusch didn't hit him. I want someone like Wood to smack him with a fastball. It's a shame Farnsworth is gone, he could have hit Lee with a 100 mph heater and then tackled Carlos for good measure. :twisted:

Im sure Hairston will get all the playing time if Walker is out. True. Hairston will start. But I think someone like Lewis or Cedeno might be called up as a backup, much like Brendan Harris got some time last year.

Any updates on Walker?

Someone failed to read the last 3 posts. :P

Ouch, that doesn't help my predictions, but I won't complain. :D I still think Carpenter will have a better season than Mulder or Morris. But those 200 K predictions are pretty crazy. 18-20 wins can happen to anyone on the Cardinals staff, so that's not a big deal. I still think Carpenter will put up a season similar to his 2004 campaign.

They just showed some clips of his side session. It was nice to see him pitching at Wrigley. I don't mind whatever decision they make; he has shown signs of rust and problems in the first inning the last few starts he made, so if he goes back to AAA, I won't complain. I'd rather have Prior ready and not beaten up a bit because he wasn't quite ready. Obviously, I wouldn't complain if Prior starts Tuesday.

He's had one good and one bad appearance, I think it's still way too early to judge. At some point, the fact that he's skipping three levels will affect him.

He looked very good. Considering he was brought into a game with the Royals already trailing 7-1, it appears they are going to ease him in with mop up duty. I'm pretty sure at this point he's as good as gone. Awesome, 2 appearences and he's gone! Because no rookie, especially one who's skipping 3 levels, has ever had any tough times his rookie year.

Cool. Knocking Reggie Miller out of the playoffs one last time would be an excellent cap to a wonderful season. Yup. :D Does Artest have a chance to be re-instated for the playoffs?

"The Bulls return to the playoffs for the first time since 1998!" \:D/ Indiana has the 5th seed right now.

Bulls lead 62-50 at the half. 24 minutes from the playoffs.

Prior will throw a side session tomorrow and then the Cubs will decide whether he'll make the start on Tuesday against the Padres or make another minor league start. Link

MAGIC NUMBER = 1. Meaning the Bulls can clinch a playoff berth if they win tonight. Game starts in 1 hour and 42 minutes, on WGN.

Meh, I think that one was more of a confidence-builder. But ugh, down the stretch last year was brutal. :evil:

It'd be very easy for me. Guzman has much more talent and potential than Mitre. He was ahead of Mitre in 2003 on the depth chart before he got hurt. And as you put it, he's basically prepping himself for the 5th starter spot. It might be easier to replace a veteran, but we have to wait about 2 months - 10 or so starts with an inferior pitcher starting in the mean time. Even considering all that about Mitre, I'd rather him or Rusch start. The Cubs are putting themselves at a disadvantage they don't have to by sending Dempster out when they could send out Rusch or Mitre.

That was the interesting part. I think everyone individually did their list with some combination of what they've done so far, what they are capable of doing in the bigs, and what the likelihood is that they'll do it. Most of us put different weights to different criteria, which made the arguing fun. Of course that still doesn't explain Tim's fetish for Jake Fox. :lol: I think reading the chat (I've only gotten to about spot 13 there) shows the differing criteria, from potential to closeness to the big leagues. The debate between Dubois and Petrick was a good read. It's like some guys from various publications - BA, BP, etc. - got together to flesh this out, and it's great to read varying opinions on why each of the players should be where. The chat shows excatly how well thought the prospect list is. It's great to see the love that you and UK gave to Carlos Marmol and I liked how you dubbed Petrick a "poor man's Z."

Rusch was pretty successful last season as a starter, Dempster hasn't had a good season as a starter since before TJS and that was 5 years ago. Prior to last season, what how good of a pitcher was Rusch? He was demoted to bullpen work for Milwaukee! Thats almost as bad as not being able to make Tampa's staff as a lefty. Don't get me wrong, I think that Rusch had an excellent season last year. Certainly beat the odds. But if I recall, at the time many of these same people were railing the decision to go with Rusch and not Mitre or a different pitcher due to the same reasons that are now going against Dempster. I think we all agree that Dempster has talent and a similar background of sucess as Rusch. Why rail against Dempster already? Lets try something new and give him the support we have given Nomar this season and see how he responds. Heck Nomar is in a slump too currently. How come no one is complaining about him? There are differences though. Rusch's successful season was the most recent, while Dempster's good season was five years ago and he's coming off a major injury, operation and rehab. It is true that Rusch beat the odds, but Dempster has shown no signs of that thus far. He has had an awful spring, and followed it up with an awful first outing. Rusch did well in Iowa and had a good first start in San Diego, making him an obvious choice to replace the injured Wood and allow Mitre to go back to working on improving his lefty out pitch in Iowa. No one's complaining about Nomar because he's an established superstar (actually some folks are complaining). He also had a spectacular spring. But most importantly, he's the best player in the system at his position and deserves the nod as starting SS. Dempster's not the best option as the 5th starter and was handed the job with 10 days left in the spring, at which time, he was being outpitched by Mitre, a slumping Rusch and a rusty and rusty Guzman. A comparison between Nomar and Dempster in this case is not apt.

Wow, the chat is long. This will be an enjoyable read. :D

Already got mine a few weeks ago :) Enjoy Dempster. :(

Rusch was pretty successful last season as a starter, Dempster hasn't had a good season as a starter since before TJS and that was 5 years ago.

Wouldn't that be Hendry's bad?

I have no objection to Hairston at leadoff and Corey 2nd. I think Dusty is lame but this lineup doesn't bother me at all. I agree. Of course I want Corey batting 5th, but whatever.

Does that mean Hairston is leading off?

No! I did see Dunn play when he was in rookie ball though (Dayton Dragons), and he dated a girl I went to high school with. How jealous of her are you?

2005: Dunn - .200/.333/.800, 1.133 OPS 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 6 SO Wilkerson - .636/.667/1.273, 1.939 OPS ( :shock: ), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SO Lee - .333/.400/.889, 1.289 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT SMALL SAMPLE SIZES! Plus, Wilkerson looks cooler.