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Glad to see that Lewis is a quick runner. He only had 2 SB this year but had an impressive 0.212 isolated power (e.g., 10% of his ABs resulted in doubles). Hopefully, the fact that he played LF/DH last year doesn't reflect on his defense.

I was going to defend the article by pointing out the Baseball America is very careful to separate best player from best prospect; however, after reading that Patterson may need to learn another position because he is blocked by Cedeno I am speechless. While Pie is extremely young for AAA, it should be pointed out that many of the best prospects skip AAA entirely.

Given Sisco's performance last year, I was surprised he didn't begin 2006 in AA as a starter. I think its important to give young guys innings to develop consistency. Relief pitcher's stats typically fluctuate wildly from year to year due to the small sample size and their lack of game time reps. Perhaps he would never have developed into a starter, but it looks like the Royals will be left with a mediocre relief pitcher.

I wouldn't obsess over age with a pitcher, especially a college pitcher. Age is a much better predictor for hitters. Its not like Rich has spent the last 3 years bouncing between the majors and minors.

Vineline put together a top 50 list this spring. Its been a tough year for many of the guys: e.g., Burrows, Collins, and Valdez have been released. Blasko's injury may have ended his career. Brownlie, Sing, and Richie may be reaching the ends of their careers. David Aardsma Mitch Atkins Sammy Baez Justin Berg Mike Billek Chadd Blasko Bobby Brownlie Angelo Burrows Buck Coats Kevin Collins Matt Craig Brian Dopirak Darin Downs Jake Fox Sam Fuld Sean Gallagher Angel Guzman Ryan Harvey Rich Hill Mark Holliman Grant Johnson Dylan Johnston John Koronka Richard Lewis Carlos Marmol Sean Marshall Casey McGehee Luis Montanez Scott Moore Jake Muyco Eric Patterson Mark Pawalek Carlos Perez Billy Petrick Mike Phelps Felix Pie Mark Reed Kyle Reynolds Tony Richie Carlos Rojas Jae Kuk Ryu Joe Simokaitis Brandon Sing Geovany Soto Nate Spears Scott Taylor Ryan Theriot Raul Valdez Donald Veal Chris Walker

Many oldish prospects stall at AA; however, the 5'8" 25-yr old Walker continues to improve and has sent sanguine Cub fans into frissons since beginning to switch hit a few years back.

"Hasn't had a big show this year." What does that mean?

Are you sure the 10-day rule applies when someone goes on the DL? I didn't click on the link (slow connection). Did Williamson go on the DL? I've always been high on Marmol (I was also high on Steve Rain!); however, I always feared (expected?) he would blow out his arm before reaching the majors. Aren't conversion projects especially susceptible to elbow/shoulder injuries? Anyways, I hope everyone gives him a chance. It seems like the more vocal members of most Cub web sites lose interest in Cub pitching prospects as soon as they have consecutive poor outings.

Players who retire without their former organizations consent often appear on this list as well.

I could be wrong however, ... I know you were only half-serious; however, I believe the ability to hit is way down the list of priorities when the Cubs choose a backup AA catcher. They are looking for a catch and throw kind of guy who will not inhibit and will hopefully aid in the development of their young pitchers. Wasn't Sprowl signed and then released by the Cubs earlier THIS year?

I think it sounds complicated because I used so many words. Its actually straightforward. 1) A 16-team single elimination bracket is used to determine WBC semi-finalist one. 2) A second single elimination bracket consisting of one-game losers is used to determine WBC semi-finalist two. 3) A third single elimination bracket consisting of two-game losers is used to determine WBC semi-finalists three and four. Reality check. Does anyone understand the format I proposed?

While I’ve thoroughly enjoyed following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) I was bothered by 1) the early exit of a team (Canada) after just one loss 2) the need to employ tiebreakers 3) the occasional irrelevant game between two eliminated teams or two teams that had already advanced to the next round 4) the early round rematches (e.g., Japan and Korea) In the following paragraphs, I describe an alternate WBC format that avoids these problems while keeping 1) a one and out format at the end of the tourney 2) the length of the tourney about the same (The champion will play 6-9 games). 3) a 3-game minimum for each team Essentially, the tourney begins with a triple elimination format and ends with single elimination quarterfinals (2 games), semifinals, and finals. Details follow: FIRST ROUND (Days 1-2) Tourney begins with the random assignment of 16 teams to four 4-team brackets. Each team plays 2 games with winner-winner (W-W) and loser-loser (L-L) matchups in the second game. W-W winners are 2-0 and finish 1st in the bracket while L-L losers are 0-2 and finish 4th. W-W losers and L-L winners are 1-1 and are arbitrarily assigned 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. SECOND ROUND (Days 4-5) The second round also consists of four 4-team brackets. Bracket A consists of the four 1st place teams, Bracket B consists of the four 2nd place teams, Bracket C consists of the four 3rd place teams, and Bracket D consists of the four 4th place teams. Teams in Brackets A-C play two games with W-W and L-L matchups in the second game. Teams in Bracket D play two games if they win their first second round game. Bracket A 1st place team advances to WBC semifinals. Bracket A 2nd and 3rd place teams advance to Consolation Bracket. Bracket A 4th place team advances to Elimination Bracket-1. Bracket B © 1st place team advances to Consolation Bracket. Bracket B © 2nd and 3rd place teams advance to Elimination Bracket-2. Bracket B © 4th place team is eliminated. Bracket D 1st place team advances to Elimination Bracket-1. Other Bracket D teams are eliminated. THIRD ROUND (Days 7-8) The third round consists of a 4-team Consolation Bracket, a 2-team Elimination-1 Bracket, and a 4-team Elimination-2 bracket. Bracket A 1st place team has a bye. Teams in the Consolation Bracket (Bracket A 2nd and 3rd place teams and the 1st place teams from Brackets B and C) play two games with W-W and L-L matchups in the second game. Consolation bracket 1st place team advances to WBC semifinals, Consolation bracket 2nd and 3rd place teams advance to the quarterfinals, while the Consolation Bracket’s 4th place team is eliminated. 2-team Elimination-1 Bracket: Bracket A 4th place team vs. Bracket D 1st place team. Winner advances to Quarterfinals. Loser eliminated. 4-team Elimination-2 Bracket: Bracket B 2nd (3rd) place team vs. Bracket C 3rd (2nd) place team. Winner of W-W matchup advances to Quarterfinals. All others eliminated. The final three rounds are single elimination and could be held on days 10-12 or at a later date (perhaps the All Star break as suggested by Stark and others) Quarterfinals: Consolation bracket 3rd place team vs. Elimination-1 bracket winner (Q1) Consolation bracket 2nd place team vs. Elimination-2 bracket winner (Q2) Semifinals: Q1 winner vs. Bracket A winner (S1) Q2 winner vs. Consolation Bracket winner (S2) Finals: S1 winner vs. S2 winner

Members of this board aren't the only ones giving a tepid endorsement to Reynolds: My half-serious comments are in parentheses. From Vineline: "A polished hitter out of Baylor University. (has he reached his ceiling already?) Reynolds mainly played first base in college (need to check who played 2B/SS for Baylor). The Cubs feel he can advance fast at second base (he'd better; he'll be 23 at seasons end). Reynolds displayed a clean left-handed swing (thats good) and held his own at Boise (SS A numbers are poor predictors anyway) last year. He plays at least average defense (tough to stick at middle infield if you're considered average in SS A) and has shown he can make the turn at second on double plays (sounds like they didn't know this when they drafted him)". Of course he was only a 6th round draft choice ... so its hard to be too critical of the Cubs.

Enlighten me. What do you mean he is now officially a utilility player? He played 94 games at SS and 24 in the OF last year. I understand he will play at bit of OF in spring training this year. What has changed from last year when we was an unofficial utility player? Did someone in the Cubs organization make a proclamation?

Several days ago, Baseball America posted a list of minor league free agents on their web site. Sing was not included.

Have the Cubs ever considered looking for a non-FSL affiliate for high-A? The FSL is best known for rainouts and low attendance. Any thoughts? Positives of Daytona etc.

Matt Murton: Enough punch to be a corner OF? A Greenberg: Avg at everything. Is he good at anything? R Cedeno: His AAA power numbers have to be a sample-size fluke. Don't they? M. Hoffpauir: How can a guy with so little power be a AAA-1B, let alone major league 1B. M. Fontenot: Can he play SS well enough to be a major league UT? B. Sing: Is he quick enough to play OF? N. Frese: Is it too late? R. Theriot: Great control of strike zone. Can he walk more? Can he play SS well?

Yes he was awful. However, if you released every Cub pitcher who pitched poorly during a one-to-two week period this year, Prior would have to become the second coming of Old Hoss Radbourne. I do not fault the Cubs here. Every team in the majors had a chance to trade for Borowski when he was designated for assignment.

I just heard on ESPN sports radio that Remlinger is likely headed to the Red Sox for a minor league pitcher? Can anyone confirm and who is the pitcher?

Statistics and more statistics. Who will be left standing. Which Cub prospects are much too old for their level (> 2 yrs too old)? Christopher Walker, Dwaine Bacon, Matt Creighton, Ryan Theriot, Aaron Sisk, Anthony Granato, Nate Frese, Chris Gaskin, and Casey Kopitzke. Which remaining Cub prospects have no power (low ISO < 0.130)? Sam Fuld, Jesus Valdez, Davy Gregg, Jeff Culpepper, Bo Flowers, Alberto Garcia, James Hoffpauier, Robinson Chirinos, Richard Lewis, Aron Smith, Casey McGehee, Drew Larson, Buck Coats, Carlos Rojas, Geovany Soto, Jose Reyes, Anthony Richie, Mark Reed, Oscar Bernard, and Alan Rick. Which remaining Cub prospects have poor K/W (3/1 or worse)? Felix Pie, Ryan Harvey, Jonathan Johnson, Kevin Collins, Issmael Salas, Elvin Puello, and Brandon Taylor. Which remaining Cub prospects have poor OBP (< 0.350) David Kelton, Matthew Craig, Brian Dopirak, and Scott Moore [barely] Which remaining Cub prospects can't steal a base? Brandon Sing, Mike Fontenot, and Jacob Fox Which remaining Cub prospects have sample size issues? Ronny Cedeno and Luis Montanez (most of his at bats were at low A) Who's left? Adam Greenberg, Matt Murton, and Eric Patterson. Not our best prospects, but arguably our most rounded.

I'm not sure this is surprising, however, Underwood, Lefort, and Jones are not on Boise' opening day roster. Perhaps they'll be assigned to Mesa (although with Visa issues being resolved there is a strict limit on the number of geezers that can play there) or perhaps they'll wait in extended spring training for an injury.

When did Adam Greenberg become a prospect? Was it when he was assigned to the AFL taxi-squad? Was it after he held his own in the AFL? Was it after he was invited to spring training? Was it after Fleiti stated that he "will" play in the majors? Was it after someone (I can't remember who) called him the best rounded OF in the Cubs' system? His numbers in 2004 were less impressive than his 2003 numbers but he is now considered a prospect? Why? Did he grow this winter? Lose a year in an age scandal? Signing off, a confused Cub fan.