Jehrico

I'd love to hear Dusty give the same criticism to deserving veterans. His double standard, however, will ensure that never happens.

Considering the great bad-attitude purge from last offseason, I don't think they're going to trade TWalk for another bad-attitude. I could see them trading TWalk for another version of Neifi with a great attitude though (I hope not...).

I said it before, I'll say it again. The Nats should treat this like the Eagles treated T.O. No, you can't play and no, we won't pay you and no, we won't release or trade you so sit down and shut up. The Eagles are my second favorite NFL team now (only behind 'Da Bears, of course).

It's a skill that he has demonstrated that he does not have. The Nat'ls are giving him a chance to prove he can field another position. Agreed. Bowden is an idiot. Glad he's still running another NL club. Soriano's hurting his own value than the Nats, IMO. I doubt there were many suitors interested in him as a 2b for this coming offseason. He may have increased the number of potential suitors by showing a little flexibility. He's most likely knocked off several potential suitors for this coming offseason (assuming he agrees to play LF and doesn't stop his FA clock). In this case, while I think Bowden is an idiot and made a bad trade (it would have been a bad move even without the 2b controversy), I have less sympathy for Soriano. They're trying to what gives them the best chance to win, which in this case, involves Soriano in the OF. Soriano isn't doing what's best for winning, he's doing what's best for himself.

That's not quite an accurate example. They aren't making him a vendor, they're changing his defensive position. They're changing his job description and future earning power (arguably). I'd want a say in that. They're not changing his job description (hit, run, catch and throw the ball). You can make the argument that they are impacting his future earnings potential though. Sorry if I don't feel sorry for him if he makes 8 mil instead of 12 mil next season as a result. You could make a better argument that Soriano himself has hurt his future earning potential instead of WSH by his inability to adequately field his position. If you don't agree, then I take it you think he's adequate at 2B?

Most other teams can say the same thing with a couple of key players in the WBC. Of course, most other teams aren't missing DLee though...:D I don't know how people can be complaining really. We have Aramis as our one slugger hitting 3rd. No Dlee, no Barret to back him up with some slugging. . Anyway we are at .500 during the spring or around that. I see no real problems at all in ST. Murton is doing good, Cedeno is coming around, and we are scoring runs. Who's complaining about our offense anyway? We're Cubs fans...we're the eternal optimists. If they're not scoring the 10 runs a game that we expect, of course we're going to complain about the offense :D

Most other teams can say the same thing with a couple of key players in the WBC. Of course, most other teams aren't missing DLee though...:D

Third best reliever at inducing swings and misses in 2005? Fourth best reliever at inducing swings at pitches outside the zone in 2005? I'll say his stuff's just fine in a filthy sort of way. It's all the slider. The numbers prove me wrong, but from what I've seen, I still think his ability to spot his pitches where he wants helps or hurts him more than others. Maybe I'm backwards, maybe he's getting too much of the plate early in the spring, as what you've posted suggests he's successful outside the zone. I haven't been able to watch him yet. Anyone with any feedback as to how much of the zone he seems to be getting when he's getting hit? Is he throwing his slider alot, or is he spending more time tuning in his FB? I'm not terribly worried about his early ST performance. If he's still getting hit as ST comes to an end, then maybe...

I think you would have to eliminate Guzman as he is not ready to handle any kind of load, needs to make some starts in the minors. Marshall would be interesting but he needs a bit more time as well. I think it comes down to Hill and Ryu (hopefully) and I would be fine with either. In the case of Guzman, why would pitching one start in the majors be any more of a strain than pitching in the minors? The adrenaline of making his first major league start could cause him to overthrow. But that's going to happen at some point in time. I would like to see some proof that his arm is built up and stable a little more before putting him in that situation. On the other hand, how long can you baby the guy? You can't carry him in the system forever without putting him into a potentially taxing situation sooner or later. I don't want to see Marshall pushed, I think brining him up now would be more of a detriment to his long term progress. I think Ryu could be brought up now and not get hit too hard without setting him back long term.

Yeah, I know this is being discussed in another thread. I think it has more to do with allowing Maddux to open at Wrigley against STL. I don't think Dusty views him as a number 2 pitcher. I would hope not, but you never know with Dusty. Saving Maddux for the Wrigley opener is probably a smart move though. It will allow Maddux (Williams) and Zambrano to pitch against the Cardinals instead of Rusch, Williams, and Zambrano Yeah I agree with that strategy then. We should be able to beat the Reds despite Rusch. Gotta love the old "Slip the lefty between your two best righties to change things up" strategy.

In CF. We only have two other CFers.

I don't think so. Wuertz's success is based on his control, as he constantly attacks the edges of the zone. It's not based on overpowering stuff. I'd expect him to start off ST like this until he fine tunes his control. I'd be more worried if he isn't sharper at the end of ST. Actually, Wuertz has pretty good stuff, especially his slider. Someone posted some interesting data about contact that Wuertz gets a tremendous amount of swings and misses. He does have good stuff, but he struggles when he doesn't hit his spots. what pitcher doesn't struggle when they miss their spots? Some guys are better than others at getting hitters to swing at stuff outside of the zone. Wuertz is not one of those. Some guys don't struggle as much if they're not hitting their spots. Kerry Wood is one of those guys when he's got his A game.

Let's hope the offense being down today is due to the split squad factor (wishful thinking, I know...)

I don't think so. Wuertz's success is based on his control, as he constantly attacks the edges of the zone. It's not based on overpowering stuff. I'd expect him to start off ST like this until he fine tunes his control. I'd be more worried if he isn't sharper at the end of ST. Actually, Wuertz has pretty good stuff, especially his slider. Someone posted some interesting data about contact that Wuertz gets a tremendous amount of swings and misses. He does have good stuff, but he struggles when he doesn't hit his spots.

Wuertz has looked bad. It's making the Howry signing look even better. Last year, had Wuertz performed like that, I would have been worried. Now, with Dempster closing and Howry, Eyre, Williamson, and Ohman ahead of Wuertz in the pen, his role is not nearly as important. Wuertz's success is based more on location than the dominance of his "stuff." Pitchers like that tend to do more poorly early in ST, as they're working to reestablish their control and feel for the zone. I'll be worried if he isn't showing signs of improvement towards the end of ST. I'm hoping he'll be looking closer to normal in about another week or so.

I don't think so. Wuertz's success is based on his control, as he constantly attacks the edges of the zone. It's not based on overpowering stuff. I'd expect him to start off ST like this until he fine tunes his control. I'd be more worried if he isn't sharper at the end of ST.

I think Walker is a solid .350 OBP guy. Hairston could put up a .360-.370 OBP, but is less likely to hit .350 or above than Walker. His defense is better. Hairston has potential to outproduce Walker, but isn't as consistent and is more of a gamble. I'd take a .340 OBP from him with his defense over TWalk. His main problem is he's more injury prone than Walker. I don't think we're in bad shape with either, can't really say I'm leaning one way or the other. May the best man win the ST battle (as long as the best man isn't Neifi, which so far, he isn't even close...) I would be fine with either, but I prefer Walker...not so sure if anybody in the organization does though. I don't for a second believe the organization is exactly enamored with TWalk, but I don't know if they're as down on him as the media makes is sound. The way the media works, if Hendry made an off-the-cuff comment about his defense not being as good as the other alternatives, that would be enough fuel to spurn about 20 different articles in the major chicago media outlets talking about how TWalk is being shopped, and how management wants to get rid of him. The media, in general (not all of it, but most of it), tend to over-dramatize everything they do. When I was in Iraq, we had journalists come link up with us all of the time. I couldn't believe the crap they were writing after they ended their assignment with us. Alot of people don't believe the gov't, I believe the media even less after that experience. I don't think sports is much different.

I think Walker is a solid .350 OBP guy. Hairston could put up a .360-.370 OBP, but is less likely to hit .350 or above than Walker. His defense is better. Hairston has potential to outproduce Walker, but isn't as consistent and is more of a gamble. I'd take a .340 OBP from him with his defense over TWalk. His main problem is he's more injury prone than Walker. I don't think we're in bad shape with either, can't really say I'm leaning one way or the other. May the best man win the ST battle (as long as the best man isn't Neifi, which so far, he isn't even close...)

I didn't think the Illini were going to win that game. Not to go off-topic, but that was one of the worst officiated games I've seen. That reminded me of the 2001 game against AZ where Bill Walton made a complete fool of himself. The touching and light-contact was comparable at both ends of the court, yet they shot almost 30 more free-throws? They did not call that game consistantly at both ends of the court. Illinois still could have pulled it out if not for a few key turnovers late in the game, so not all of the blame for the loss goes on the idiot refs.

I think Ryu could make the jump this year and do pretty decently without hurting his longterm progress. Marshall could probably do as good as Rusch or Williams is showing right now, but I think it would be to his long-term detriment. I don't want any additional pressure on Guzman while he builds up his arm strength, since he hasn't pitched much in the last couple of years.

I'd rather play for KC or Pittsburgh, yes. To echo j shils, this really isnt about retaining Young or Upton when they become eligible for free agency because the Drays simply arent going to be able to pay them enough, regardless of any relationship they have. What this is, is about being able to sign their draftees because they have set a precedent of holding back their paydays. The DRays, in their current mode, should be selling off guys a year before they become FA eligible. If you assume they won't be able to retain or pay Young, they should be able to get more in a trade in a couple of years if he's further from FA.

Theoretically, you are correct. But in practice, that's just not true. You can hold a guy down for only so long before he will turn on your franchise. If I ran a low budget team, I'd try and accumulate as much young talent as possible. I would keep my best guys in the minors as long as possible, but that's really only about a few months to one season after it's become obvious he should come up. They've probably already crossed that threshold, and risk losing any sort of good will between them and the player. If you call a guy up early enough he might be willing to cut you some slack when trying to extend him through his arbitration years or possibly even free agency. When you go too long, he's not going to play ball as willingly. Your post would hold water, if it weren't for one fallacious assumption you're making... The DRays are a competently run organization with a long term vision. They aren't, so... They could be. There's new ownership. New GM. New manager. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm not saying they're good or bad. Just that there's no track record. They might, in the end, turn out OK. Certainly, it's better this year than last for them. It certainly can't be worse. Well, they could be the Royals...:jocolor:

Theoretically, you are correct. But in practice, that's just not true. You can hold a guy down for only so long before he will turn on your franchise. If I ran a low budget team, I'd try and accumulate as much young talent as possible. I would keep my best guys in the minors as long as possible, but that's really only about a few months to one season after it's become obvious he should come up. They've probably already crossed that threshold, and risk losing any sort of good will between them and the player. If you call a guy up early enough he might be willing to cut you some slack when trying to extend him through his arbitration years or possibly even free agency. When you go too long, he's not going to play ball as willingly. Your post would hold water, if it weren't for one fallacious assumption you're making... The DRays are a competently run organization with a long term vision. They aren't, so...

Like I said, earlier, they did that last year. He's been ready to be one of the best 3-4 players on that team since July of last year. How long is too long? When he's about to be a minor league FA or is out of options is too long. He's ready, and he should be brought up, but if they can hold off is FA date one more year by waiting a month, then why not? As for why they are sending him down now instead of at the end of ST, that's a good question.

Can't say I blame them. They won't compete this year. Highlight the guys who have been around for a few years (like Baldelli), trade them for some pitching, then start the clock on them next year. The timing on some of these hot prospects and getting cheap years out of them while other core guys they need to keep who will be demanding more money soon is critical. For a team like them to finally break out, they need to keep the right balance of cheap productive players and well-paid stars intact. Delaying Youngs arby clock isn't a bad move.