javy knows my name

I can't WAIT until Lahair hits 50 HR in glorified batting practice and this noise starts up again. Just kidding. That will [expletive] suck

Heyman, too? Should I not be surprised by this?

OMC, has there been such a strong HOF pool ever before?

Gross.

This post makes WSR's love for Golden look justified. Really? How so? That's sort of a ridiculous and insulting comment, IMO. I really have no [expletive] idea how to respond to this. If you made the argument that craig made, fine. But no where in there did I say that he would be a top 50 prospect. Heck, you are saying that WSR arguing for Golden, a guy almost no one is putting in the top 20 right now, is the same as me advocating for Marco at 18 on this list, a guy almost everyone has top 20, and many have top 15. Golden isn't a guy that is considered a top 20 prospect by most, people, whereas Marco is. I didn't advocate for Marco in the top 10 - only around 12/13 (too lazy to check right now). If you wanted to argue that Profar's age being younger makes that comment ridiculous, fine. But Profar finished last year in A ball (with minor splits issues, IIRC ... albeit not like Marco's but that's an interesting side note ... his splits, IIRC, were actually pretty horrendous in the NWL), so development happened within a year. What did I say at the end? Enough to hope on tools? How is anything I said anywhere remotely as ridiculous as comparing my arguing for Marco at 18 to WSR arguing for Golden in the [expletive] top 20? I really don't [expletive] get jackass comments like that. If you made a legitimate argument, I could get that, but there's nothing legitimate ... it's just a bunch of [expletive] drivel. Craig's comment and argument I get (again, people forget how awful Profar's splits were in the NWL, so it's not like development can't occur). Heck, if craig is willing to share (and if I'm breaking confidences, I apologize), I would ask him to show the comment that he got on Marco Hernandez from his source as it pertains to Marco's potential. What I simply argued is that, if all goes well with both players, Marco Hernandez has the higher ceiling than Amaya. I imagine you are reacting this way because of my comment on comparing Marco's ceiling to some of the top shortstops and the top 50 comment. If that top 50 comment is some sort of issue, then I don't know what to say [expletive] say because I said that is, a potential top 50 type prospect down the line if there's positive development. How is that a ridiculous comment, unless you don't think he has the tools? Go compare reports of Profar/Lindor/Lee's ceiling to Hernandez and tell me how I'm wrong in a discussion on ceiling. I imagine, particularly, that the comparison to Profar is what's standing out. People act like Profar is going to be some ridiculous offensive stud. I think people forget that Profar's offensive ability being viewed as excellent is in the context of position. He's not likely to be Miguel Cabrera. He's going to be a very good offensive player overall, but an excellent offensive player for his position. Profar also doesn't have superb top of the line tools, but rather, very good tools and a lot of polish. Don't forget that there's legitimate debate on how much power Profar will have. He has average speed, maybe a tick above, but good range and lateral movement, along with instincts. So again, I ask, where I am wrong in saying where is the major difference between Marco's ceiling and Profar's ceiling? Where am I wrong in saying Marco is a shortstop that has some potential power, solid defensively ability, and bat speed. I can actually find public comments that note all three. No where in there am I discussing the probability yet of Marco to reach said ceiling, as I simply noted that's enough to hope on the tools. And yes, I am sort of pissed at this type of ridiculous [expletive] comment. I can tell. Look, I know you take your prospects seriously, and I appreciate a lot of your insight. But you are the only one advocating for Hernandez in a landslide here, and the sentiment of that comment, though maybe not the veiled insult, was warranted. You're approaching a very slippery slope with your "discussion on ceiling" qualifier. I agree he's got some tools, but he hasn't shown the contact ability to go with the bat speed tool or the power to go with the frame or any semblance of patience. I think you know your premise is flawed when it allows for a comparison between a guy straddling the back 20 of an organization ranked in the teens with a top-5 overall prospect.

This post makes WSR's love for Golden look justified.

http://forums.prosportsdaily.com/showthread.php?p=24936962#post24936962 This is pretty interesting. Really curious as to who the FO thinks is worth more in trade than to the club. The obvious one is Baez - consensus top Cubs prospect, all projection, defense concerns with a raw plate approach who may not be coachable. Reports that they'd need another team involved to deal Samardzija make him a lock in this scenario. Then who? The timing isn't right to deal Jackson/Vitters as they are probably undervalued after their appearances last year. Vizcaino? Selling really low. Garza? Same. Barney might be a good sell-high inclusion. Does Baez, Samardzija and Barney from us get Stanton? I'd be kinda surprised, unless the third team goes crazy for Samardzija. Rizzo? Maybe they could get Olt for Garza and include him? I think if they could do that now, they'd have him. I suppose trading Rizzo is a possibility, since he plays a position that's easy to fill with offense. I'm afraid they may overvalue his makeup relative to the rest of baseball, though.

http://forums.prosportsdaily.com/showthread.php?p=24936962#post24936962 This is pretty interesting. Really curious as to who the FO thinks is worth more in trade than to the club. The obvious one is Baez - consensus top Cubs prospect, all projection, defense concerns with a raw plate approach who may not be coachable. Reports that they'd need another team involved to deal Samardzija make him a lock in this scenario. Then who? The timing isn't right to deal Jackson/Vitters as they are probably undervalued after their appearances last year. Vizcaino? Selling really low. Garza? Same. Barney might be a good sell-high inclusion. Does Baez, Samardzija and Barney from us get Stanton? I'd be kinda surprised, unless the third team goes crazy for Samardzija.

There we go; I didn't make up the problems with alcohol. Also, that was kind of a tough read.

The only real difference is what place they draft. No, that is not correct. hahahaha

Jesus damn.

Heh... I got in an argument with my brother over wins and losses for pitchers. My brother even said "I understand exactly what your saying" and still didn't see the point. We were debating whether or not Samardzija has ace quality stuff. He said "He couldn't even win 10 games last year. If you can't win at least 10 games, you're can't even be considered an ace" Talking positively about Samardzija raises some serious meatball ire. It's been pretty fun. I'm going to win some money out of this next year.

For some reason, I remember hearing he had a problem with alcoholism. But I may be totally making that up. Very sad. RIP

What rumors? That he is not going to be able to make a comeback? There was speculation that our pitcher-hoarding behavior indicated real concern with Garza's health by the front office.

Offensively from the start last year what has changed? From the end of last season, we have basically 1 change in a lineup that was bottom 3 in runs and slugging, bottom 2 in ops and ob%. I am not sure nate schierholtz will be the big a fix. On the mound IF you call Shark and Garza even (questionable with health issues) from last year to this year then: Jackson replaces Dempster, usually I'd call it pretty even but Dempster was out of his mind last year. I don't see anyone on the staff putting up that 2.25 era over their 1st 18 starts. Maholm also was way above what I expected. 9-6 with a 3.74 era...I am not betting either feldman nor Baker matches that. Then some combo of the "scotts" ,villanueva or wood replaces volstad(obviously a step up) the bullpen looks better but is unproven especially fukikawa.Other than that the main guys are the same marmol,camp,and russell. So I would say on paper we aren't better than the start of last year. We really need a bat, and it probably needs to be at 3rd. What do we call this shape you made? As Mike Schur would say, it's Escherian.

Your posts have more in common with an acrostic poem than prose.

I've been asking myself the same question. I think my excitement about him was inflated because of just how bad our pitching outlook was around that time (2010, I guess?). I remember hearing ceiling of a #3 starter, which I kind of discounted as conservative. The fact is, that was our most exciting pitching prospect. I'd like to think that even if he bounces back, he's just borderline top-10 in our much-improved system.

I didn't realize Johnson had significant injury questions. I was mainly referring to him being a solid bullpen piece if he doesn't stick in a rotation. And I really, really dislike yours and others' assertions that every pitcher's floor is the DL in perpetuity. For projection purposes, that's pretty intellectually dishonest, and a total cop-out. However, if he really does have durability concerns, I'll amend my statement to "I'll be damned if Josh Vitters is ever a contributor at the major league level."

Lake - I'm kind of surprised Lake didn't make the top ten. I think he should go as soon as possible outside of it. I like him better than Vitters by a good margin, as I think he has the floor of an excellent supersub, while Vitters' is out of baseball in 3 years. And he's really close, assuming we can find a spot for him this year. Candelario - Mad love for Candelario. The power/approach combination is evident at low levels, and these are skills that don't really leave as you move up. There's been talk of him being moved to 1st, but I think he'll hit well enough to be a 1B, yet he'll stick at 3B. That makes him really exciting to me. Amaya - I've always liked his bat, and my love for him went through the roof when it was reported that he was a good defender at 2nd. I predicted around this time last year that he'd be better thought-of than Marco Hernandez now. I'm pretty sure that's the case, though I haven't done extensive homework on the subject. I really like that all of these guys who were top-ten are being pushed out of it to make way for the elite tier that Theo and Jed have cultivated (with credit for Baez going to Wilken/Hendry, of course). I think our 12-20 depth is really exciting, and these guys' upsides is a big reason why.

I really don't believe that Vitters will improve his approach enough to hit in MLB. Voted Johnson because I think his floor is higher.

Nobody in the NL will want him. People know what a butcher he is, moving him to the warning track only covers up so much. Even the Cubs know, that's why he only plays 7 innings. He's also a good bet to be hobbled at some point if he keeps playing the field. By all accounts he's a good guy and he can still knock the ball out of the park, so one would think his value would be to an American League team looking for a DH. Soriano has been above average defensively for a LF for like 3 of the last 4 years.

Yes, if you exclude the last 3 rumored trades that fell through in the last year.

hahahahahaha

We're trying to find a way to fit them into a 70M payroll. Way too late for that. Once we fill out the roster, we're basically at $90 million. I guess we're going to have to sell the McDonald's hahahaha

If the Diamondbacks are the next in line to get absolutely fleeced of their minor league talent, I would like to please be a part of it.