Splendid Splinter

Forgot to talk about it on here.... (I saw Sonny Gray play against University of Arkansas last Friday- I go to University of Arkansas now so I'll be able to see some of these guys) My ticket was in LF behind Arkansas’s bullpen, which was pretty cool seats IMO. Baum Stadium is really nice and pretty big for college. It reminds me a little of Victory Field in Indianapolis. I was in my seat for about 5 innings then I walked around the whole ballpark in the last 4 innings. It was kinda hard to really scout hitters out in LF. The game was great fun as Arkansas beat Vanderbilt 2-1 and gave Gray his first loss I believe. Westlake went 0-3 with 3 Ks. His swing seems long or his hand speed isn’t fast to me as he was behind in a lot of pitches he swung at. Esposito went 1-4 with a K. His K was a pitch that I thought was a ball low and in. I got to see him in action defensively a few times. He had 3 assists and dove at 2 other balls that went through. Nothing stood out really, but nothing bad either. What are these guys projected in the draft right now? Just curious… Sonny Gray… It was interesting to see him pitch. It was tough to scout or get a handle on him personally. His line tonight: 8 IP (complete game loss) 6 H 2 ER 4 BB 12 Ks 34 BF 4 FO 8 GO 121 pitches… I like Gray, but I don’t know if I would want the Cubs to draft him. I mean there are good and bad things about him. At least tonight, he had a good groundball % with a lot of Ks. I like seeing those 2 together. He also wasn’t locating pitches very well. While he had the endurance to be a starter right now, there’s a good possibility that he could end up being a bullpen arm as well. His mechanics looks violent and it may or may not cause injury in the future. One thing I don’t like is his follow through after he throws his pitch. He ends up in the first base side away from the mound a bit and it seems a couple times his back was facing the hitter. His slider was on tonight. I’m pretty sure that it’s a slider, not a curve. I don’t know his pitches, but it looks like fastball/slider/changeup. He fooled several hitters with his slider tonight. His fastball was a little off in location in the first, but got better as the game went on. I couldn’t tell if he used his changeup a lot or not, but it looked like the pitch that Arkansas got hits on. It’s not bad, but it’s not above average I should say. When he’s just standing there on the mound, he reminds me of Roy Oswalt/Ted Lilly… He looks to be like 5’10" (I really doubt that he’s 6’ IMO) and got a big lower half. His legs are stocky and got a big butt. Hahaha it’s funny, but a couple people in LF stands around me were talking about his butt. While I was walking around in the 6th inning, I ran into a guy who looks like a scout. He had the whole looks: notepad/radar gun/etc… I went up to him and started talking to him. He is indeed a MLB scout that was there to watch Gray pitch tonight. It was pretty cool since he was nice enough to let me ask him some questions and took the time to answer them. (He was answering them when Gray wasn’t on the mound and I didn’t bother him much with questions when Gray was on the mound as I didn’t want to be rude) I found out that he is a scout for an AL team (wouldn’t tell me which AL team). I ask him about tips for scouting/etc… It was very interesting to know. Then I got to ask/talk to him about baseball stuff, the draft, and Gray… He thought Gray would stick as a starter (question I ask was about concerns of maybe being a reliever due to mechanics/endurance that had some people worry about). I ask him what was his speed tonight and his fastball topped out at 96, but sat 92-93 with late movement that tails against righty through the whole game and slider top at 87 (got hit hard as it was flat- a long flyout as he told me), but mainly 82-84 with very good movement. The scout likes those 2 pitches. He said his changeup is just ok, but it needs some improvement for him to be above average and to take the next step as a starter. I asked him (assuming he knew the draft order, which teams, etc…) where Gray would end up and he said he thinks Nationals will pick him with the 6th pick. I ask him if there were any reason and he just said it was a gut feeling. I then ask him who he thinks the Cubs would draft right now (told him I was a Cubs fan) and he said Lindor as Cubs like to get up the middle type player. My last question to him was if he was the Cubs scout and had the first pick this year, who would he tell Jim Hendry to draft… It seemed like before I could finish my sentence, he said Anthony Rendon right away. It was very interesting and informative to listen to this scout. I wish I ask who’s his top 5 guys and a couple others…

For the teams that doesn't have anybody picking for them, we should just decide as a group who they would pick... I mean there's what? 4 or 5 teams that nobody took yet? Like rawaction said... I'm ready to get this thing going.

The only thing that's missing is an Earl Weaver's tantrum/ejection during the season.... If he does that, then he's the greatest Cubs manager in history (LOL- just kidding... kinda) Actually... I wonder how he will react to umps during the season if he get ejected. Wondering if he's more of a Bobby Cox or this guy...

Guess we're not going to do this now???

Yeah I alway wondered what would've happened to Theriot had he NOT hit the crap out of the ball in his callup in 2006. Like would he have been back in the minors or still made the Cubs roster in 2007 had he hit like .260/.310/.330 instead of .328/.412/.522....

Seriously. We grumble about Soriano's contract, but Young's is godawful as well (albeit with one fewer years remaining). Outside of Arlington he's probably about league average as a SS or 2B, and below average as a 3B. What would the trade offer has to be in order to be worth it? Would something like this do it??? Carlos Silva (Rangers pay all 11.5 mil this year plus the 2 mil buyout next year) + Baker (or DeWitt since either one would be expendable with Young coming, but rather trade Baker) + junk prospect(s) for Michael Young + intriguing prospect(s) (not sure what type exactly, but someone like Hicks from the Gorz trade for example maybe?... basically what Cubs always get it seems like in their trades) + $20 mil??? (my thinking is Young has 48 mil owed still minus Silva's 11.5 mil (since Cubs are paying that anyway even with Seattle's 5.5 mil) equals 36.5 mil left... then minus 20 mil from Rangers is 16.5 mil Cubs still would have to pay Young for the next 3 seasons...) That 20 mil can be split something like 4.5/7.5/8 where Cubs aren't paying any extra this year (4.5 mil from Rangers + 5.5 mil from Mariners + 6 mil that Cubs were paying anyway if it was Silva or Young) then paying Young 8.5 and 8 mil the next 2 years or it can be like 10 mil each the next 2 years where Cubs has to pay an extra 4.5 mil this year, but would only pay 6 mil each the next 2 years... I'm not sure if you will be able to get more than 20 mil or even get that much, but I think you can't ask for anything less than that really (8 mil a year is the max I would pay Young, but rather it be like 4-6 mil a year). Cubs paying 16.5 mil for 3 years for a guy like Young isn't that bad IMO (well actually it would be 22.5 mil cuz they're paying 6 mil this year to Silva that would go to Young). That's basically 7.5 mil a year for Young. I think I got all of this right. Is that enough or would you want more money or a better prospect or player like O'Day or Chris Davis instead of a prospect??? Of course the trade wouldn't be as simple as that, but just an idea... I agree with you guys that Rangers gonna have to do a lot in order for me to take him...

He's a lot like Theriot's situation IMO... He's good through his first 3 years as it's cheap. Next year, if it's goes to 3-4 mil in his 1st arb, while it's not bad and I would be willing to pay Wells that much. It's going to be his 2nd and 3rd arbs that's going to be a problem. If he gets 3-4 mil next year, then he's probably gonna get like at least 5 mil-ish (lets use Garza for example: 3.35 mil in his 1st arb and 5.95 mil this year) in his 2nd arb and that's probably too much for a guy like him and probably lose most of his trade value by then. I would rather have Coleman/Cashner/JJax/Carpenter instead of paying Wells 5 mil. I kinda wouldn't be surprised if Wells is going to be the guy teams looking at or Cubs shopping him around the trade deadline, just like Theriot was last year (I believe Cubs were shopping him around or teams had interest in him unless I'm just dreaming about that part).

IMHO, the only way he's getting to .390+ OBP is if he hit .330+... I don't think he going to get like 70+ BBs consistently (might do it once or twice)... John Sickels projects him to be in the 50s consistently and a couple of 60s, which sounds about right for Castro. From looking at that crystal ball projection, Castro looks like a good bet for 55 BBs:85 Ks in his prime. I like to see the Ks to come down a little, but I'm not gonna argue with a 55:85 rate for a SS who hits .300 or so. Power deficiency??? If you mean by HRs, then ok, but he's not gonna be that bad in HRs (compared to other SS). He'll be in the double digits and hopefully a couple of 20+ HRs season. I don't know if it's just me, but IMO, Castro is going to consistently hit a LOT of doubles. If he can consistently hit 35+ doubles with like 3-5+ triples, then I could care less if he hits only 12 HRs as his doubles/triples makes up for it. It's like with Fukudome in 2009, he had only 11 HRs, but he had 38 doubles and 5 triples. That was good for a IsoP of .162, which is pretty good if you ask me. Castro last year had a IsoP of .108... If he can get his IsoP up to at least .120+ (Jeter career IsoP is .139 and top 2 seasons were .179/.203) and have a few .140+ seasons, then that's very good to great for a SS.

Saying like having a 1st, 2- 3rd, 2- 4th, 5th, and 6th round pick? If you wanna use that draft pick value chart (I don't know if GMs actually use it or not), but the Bears 2nd rounder is worth 292 pts... You could get the 86th/92nd for that pick. Best 3rd round pick you can get along with another 3rd pick is 83rd and 96th... If you want a 65th-82nd pick, then you get a 4th round pick or possibly 5th round (if you want like 65th-70th). I honestly rather trade the 1st round pick if you're going to trade a pick. You could get a 2nd/3rd/4th round picks for that 29th pick... For example, 56th/78th/107th picks would equal the 29th pick. If you did that the, Bears got 2 picks in each of 2nd/3rd/4th round at 56th/61st/78th/93rd/107th/125th.... Then you could package like a 3rd and 4th round pick to move up in the 3rd round if you want, but I would be perfectly fine with having 6 picks in a span of like 70 picks (even if the first pick is at 56th). Or you could get a good 2nd/3rd pick for that 29th pick... For example, 46th/78th would do it... There's other combos as well (I mentioned it earlier in this thread), but in this situation, Bears would have 2 picks each in 2nd/3rd round. So you can have something like: 1st, 2- 3rd, 2- 4th, 5th, and 6th round pick (trading 2nd round for a 3rd/4th round picks) or... 2- 2nd, 2- 3rd, 2- 4th, 5th, 6th (trading 1st round for a 2nd/3rd/4th round picks) 2- 2nd, 2- 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th (trading 1st round for a better 2nd/3rd round picks) So you're going to trade a pick in the draft, it's the 1st rounder as it can give you the best value. It would be sweet if somehow Angelo can trade that 29th pick for a 2nd/3rd/4th round picks and IMHO, I would make that trade even if there's a LT or Liguet is still on the board. 3 picks is hard to pass on... Then again, I don't think I've ever seen a trade like that ever happening unless if was for like a top 10 pick.

Out of the teams that are open... I would take Buccaneers (I have a buddy who can help me out with the picks for them) if nobody takes them. Then again, hopefully we can find guys who will take these teams as I rather be a war room participants for other teams instead (Bucs is included). So it looks like this so far on which team is still up for grabs (and whoever got dibs if nobody wants those teams)... (if people are too lazy to look at the first post) Dolphins Jets Steelers (rawaction got dibs) Jaguars Texans (Lo_Pan_Fan got dibs) Broncos (dew got dibs) Chargers Giants Redskins Buccaneers (I, Splendid Splinter, got dibs) Browns (Treeman got dibs)

Teams that are still open (at this moment unless someone PM dew): Dolphins Jets Steelers Jaguars Texans Broncos (dew got dibs if nobody wants them) Chargers Giants Redskins Buccaneers Browns (Treeman got dibs if nobody wants them)

I'm willing to take on a 2nd team if there's an open spot (or is it more like first come-first served type?) or be a War Room participants for several teams (prefer this actually)... Also if CaliforniaRaisin doesn't mind (if he needs any help), I would like to be a War Room participants for the Bears. Is there a limit on how many teams you can be on (if say you're a War Room participant)??? Like I rather be the Patriots (my team of choice) and a War Room participants for like 3-5 teams (if possible that many) then say having Patriots and another team (Tampa Bay for example) and a War Room participants for 1 other team...

I'll take the Patriots...

One would have to think that, but I think the point is a valid one. Let's examine the teams who could even potentially afford the contract Pujols wants: Angels: Could be a factor, absolutely, though Arte Moreno isn't a fan of contracts as huge as what Pujols wants Mets: In major financial trouble at the moment, and you don't figure that's going to all go away (to the point where they could offer $275-$300 million) by November or December Phillies/White Sox/Yankees/Red Sox: All have first basemen signed to huge contracts Dodgers: Could be a factor, but similar to the Mets, their ownership situation is still in flux, which could potentially preclude them from a signing that huge And save for the Cubs, that's really all of the teams who could even potentially afford a contract that large, isn't it? Possibly Blues Jays/Nationals/Orioles/Giants/Rangers/Mariners... Not saying these teams have a good chance or anything, but they could realistically make a run at Pujols if they wanted... They could at least get involved in the bidding is what I mean here...

I'm with you... If Vitters is a great season, let him get called up in Sept. to have a few ABs this year to let him get an idea on what it's like in MLB and then let him play AAA all next year (let Smith play 3B for a year if A-Ram is gone) and get called up again in Sept., but let him play more this time around. By this time, he will still only be 23 years old and 6 seasons in the minors under his belt. Heck I would be fine if Vitters stay at AAA again (for his 7th minor season for like some fine tuning on his approach at the plate and defense) after next year. He's still young enough (and shown enough potential at times) that you can't give up on him until he's 24. Some players take a long time to get through the minors and some don't (Castro for example). Vitters is the guy who will take awhile. As for DJ, I'm hoping he stays at 2B as well, but I'm just worried that he just might be too big for that position. Is there a 2B out there that's like 6'4"???

I knew about the bruised heel and staph infection, but he was battling a strained wrist as well??? When did that happened? Pretty impressive to put up those numbers with a strained wrist, esp. the power numbers. It's probably a very minor league as it didn't seem to affect him that much, but still, if he didn't have that strained wrist... what kind of numbers would've he really end up with? Nice to see the piece on Darvill and Geiger, but again, they're a long way away from what I'm reading there so I don't care about them at the moment due to they won't replace A-Ram anytime soon. I'll be watching for those 2, but I'm more worried about who CAN replace A-Ram next year (if he leaves after this year) or very soon (or extend him to a 1 or 2 more years). I'm surprised that BA said Cubs have no shortage of internal options for 3B. It seems like Smith is the only option right now unless one or both of Vitters and DJ have a great season this year for 3B next year if A-Ram is gone.

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him So basically he got his velo back or close to it... Prior was a low 90s guy who could touch 94-95, maybe 96 at times when he needed it. Most of the time he was hovering around 91-92. well back then he was a starter so he wasn't throwing with top velocity. i'm pretty confident that he could have thrown upper 90s if he were just a one inning guy. didn't he touch 98ish on occasion during 2003? 96 was the highest I remember him throwing (maybe 97) and that was pretty rare (again that's from what I remember so I can be totally wrong on that). I don't think he would've thrown upper 90s (well consistently anyway) if he was a RP back then. Do you know how rare it is for a pitcher to throw upper 90s (97+) on a single pitch??? and on top of that, to do it consistently??? I think Prior would've been more of a 93-95 MPH (hit 96-97 a few times possibly) type RP with good movement on his pitches and good control on top of that. I don't think he would've changed that much from SP to RP. He wasn't a flamethrower like Randy Johnson or even Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez (both could get up to 97/98) where if those guys were RPs, they would've hit 97 consistently. He was close though. You can say he was a power pitcher cuz he could hit mid 90s quite a bit, but he was also kinda like Maddux as well. Prior relied on his location and stuff of his pitches more than blazing speed. He mixed up his pitches really well back then. His curve was just flat out AWESOME... His fastball was great as well since it had movement (it had more movement in the lower 90s than mid 90s) and great control with it. Larry Rothschild on Prior: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/116900798_Confident_Prior_relishing_chance.html "Those days he could dial up the fastball to 96 mph. Still, "there were a lot of games where he was at 91, 92 [mph], and pitched very well. So, he's done it," said Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who was Prior's pitching coach in Chicago." Also does anybody knows if Prior wants to be a starter again? or Does he basically know that he just can't do it anymore and just gonna stick as a reliever as long as he can?

Some news reports I've seen said he was in the 90's at least. Probably low 90's, but that's still good for him So basically he got his velo back or close to it... Prior was a low 90s guy who could touch 94-95, maybe 96 at times when he needed it. Most of the time he was hovering around 91-92.

Won't matter cuz he'll get drafted before Bears get to pick in the first round because Raiders will draft him (Al Davis loves those speed demons)... Raiders don't have a first rounder this year. They traded it to New England for Richard Seymour. Well then.... Bears better get him in the first round then cuz Raiders will get him in the 2nd. LOL Does anybody have any info on Skrine? Honestly never heard of the guy.

Won't matter cuz he'll get drafted before Bears get to pick in the first round because Raiders will draft him (Al Davis loves those speed demons)...

I know someone mentioned about Manning's turning down the Bears offer.. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/Bears-safety-Manning-rejected-contract-extensio?urn=nfl-327375 "This currently makes him a restricted free agent, which means that the Bears would have the chance to match any offer that he received from another team. If the Bears decided not to match, the team would owe Chicago a second-round pick." Is this true? Or is this something the owners/players union want to change in the CBA? If the Bears can get a good 2nd round pick, I would be willing to let Manning go at that price IMO. Just curious...

Is this better??? Hahahahaha... (this was 2 years ago) http://cache.deadspin.com/assets/images/deadspin/2008/09/sorianoshotsandsmokes.jpg

He looks like he's added some muscle: http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/dd358/Cloudstrife219/SoriBOSe.jpg I think he's seeing Sammy Sosa doctor or A-Rod cousin... He looks in real good shape, but what caught my eyes is his forearms. It's look noticeably BIGGER. Did he always have big forearms or no? I was thinking his whole body was more slender/lanky type. It reminds me of Sammy back in the day, while Sammy always had big forearms... in '98, his forearms went from big to HUGE!!! Maybe we can expect a 30 HRs season from Soriano??? LOL Heck I hope he hits like in 2008, but over 145 games instead of 109. If he's healthy again, I can't see why he can push for 20 SBs this year. Then again... it could just be the camera angle there as well.

What type of injury was he struggling with? Basically he had a plantar fascia strain or plantar fasciitis... I think they said that he had it for the whole 2010 season or it started very early in the season.

Exactly... it needs to be like Indy in the AL Central, KC Royals move to AL West, Cleveland Indians to AL East and a NL Central into the AL Central... Or Houston Astros to AL West/Indy to AL Central/Cleveland Indians to AL East... Or Pittsburgh Pirates to AL East/Indy to AL Central/KC Royals to AL West... That's why I said it needs a big realignment. I can't see Indy being in the NL Central cuz it's already got 6 teams in there and would have to move 2 teams out of that division. It's just needs a serious overhaul if a team moves to Indianapolis.