Chisoxfn

NICK MARKAKIS is a name I've seen mentioned. He's the Orioles top outfield prospect. I don't know too much about him but I thought I'd at least share this. He was the 2nd best prospect in the Carolina League (High A) according to Baseball America. The kid shows really good patience and supposedly has plus raw power. In just 350 ab's in the Carolina league he hit 12 hr's and drew 46 walks. He also hit .326 in the AFL with a .408 OBP. The guy seems to be a pretty well rounded player. Heres what BA said:

I should add. Loewen's 2004 season was cut short with a frayed labrum. He didn't have surgery and instead worked on an off-season routine to help strengthen his shoulder. He pitched exceptional in the AFL in 05 posting a 1.67 ERA in 7 games (6 starts). Limited opponents to 19 hits in 27 innings while walking 14 and striking out 26.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:12 PM) i personally like this deal, bc bedard is a young lefty who we could use out of the bullpen this year, and could start next year. you throw in a prospect and im sold. we could lock up bedard for years. He is the same age as Garland, but I believe has higher upside. Bedard has been in the league less than Garland, so the White Sox would have more leverage contract wise for a few more years... and he sure won't cost 10 mil a season. Ya right. Garland is a lot better than Bedard. Garland has been a workhorse since coming up to the majors and has finally turned the corner. Bedard has an injury riddled past and has never shown any signs of durability. He'd be a great 4 or 5 starter on most teams (when healthy) but I never see him climbing the ranks to a #1 or #2 starter. I think Garland would be a poor teams #1 and a good teams #2 (I'm a big Garland fan though).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:33 PM) I just keep coming back to this...in 2006-2007, we have Anderson, Dye, Podsednik, Owens, Borchard, and Sweeney all under our control. Dye is the most expensive of them, and he's seriously undervalued based on his performance last year. All of them are either ML ready or are nearly so (Sweeney being the only one who may need 2 years). That's 6 outfielders. We probably have room for 4 at any time, with 1 as a backup. Borchard may be lost if he doesn't make the team, but that still leaves us 5 guys. I just really dislike the idea of adding another outfielder when that's a position that we already have too many people at. We still have people who we need to move out of the way to allow the youth we do have to come in. Sween needs to live up to his hype one of this years (maybe he can finally be fully healthy and put on a true display this year, lord knows the talent is there). And as far as Owens is concerned, I'm still left wanting to see more. He's not good enough to play CF (defensively) although he could slide into LF. However, he's gonna have to catch on as a 4th outfielder first, imo. I think a year in Charlotte will do him some good anyway. He is a really good athlete though, however I'd like to see him run more and work on that part of his game.

QUOTE(bmags @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:47 PM) i'm guessing he was out of high school? He was drafted out of high school. Basically he was a consensus as the best player to ever come out of Canada (highest drafted Canadian). The O's ended up totally low balling him (scouts loved this kid and immediately thought super star potential). He ended up going to JC and turned into a draft and follow and the O's signed him hr's before the deadline (when he would have re-entered the draft in 2003) to a major league deal (got a good signing bonus too, something in the upper 4's, maybe even low 5's).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:45 PM) Yes. I believe he's also had at least some limited health problems in the past, which is probably why he's still in their mid-level minor leagues. If he had any health issues they couldn't have been serious. He pitched in Low A for most of 04, and than a little in High A and than pitched in High A in all of 05. Made 27 starts in 05 (28 games) Made 21 starts in 04 He gives up under a hit per inning in his career and almost k's one per inning. Problem is he walks 5.45 per nine. He was the 4th overall selection in 2002 (however he turned into a draft and follow and signed in 03). The guy is 6-6 and has a nice frame for a lefty. He would have been a likely 1st round pick as a hitter as well. Throws a good fastball (low to Md 90's) and has a big breaking curve (his best pitch). Shows good feel for the changeup (still developing it though) and is working on a slider. Has a very smooth delivery, but needs to work on repeating it (with that he'll see improved command, especially on his secondary pitches). Quite a few scouts felt he had the best breaking ball in the Carolina league (thats a league that included Gio Gonzalez by the way). The guy had an ERA in the upper 4's at the all star break and went on a total run in the 2nd half of the season as he made quite a few strides. This guy could be a quick riser and has a lot of upside. Add in Bedard and another guy and I'd really like this deal. Or you can go after Penn and add two more good prospects (let Bmore decide). The nice thing about Bedard is that he'll be cheap for a few more years and when he's healthy he's had success in the majors. Plus he's a lefty that could fit in the pen and if one of our other starters faltered or were injured we could make use of him.

Not bad, you get yourself a package like Loewen, Bedard, and than a major league reliever and I could live. I think we could do better, but I'll admit that I think if healthy both Loewen and Bedard are good pitchers. Loewen has some filthy stuff but is still raw. He's had control problems but made some strides and can flat out blow away people.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) Maybe the Sox should trade Garland to Seattle and get Jeremy Reed back and some bullpen help. Odd idea, but I love it. Sadly I really do. Reed would be a great fit for the Sox, but I think they are high on Anderson.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:07 PM) I don't like that idea. He's had his glimpses but I wouldn't want to risk re-injuy, like Kalapse said. I'd put AP in instead. He's supposed to be 100%. The Bears weren't rushing him back and he's not suffering any effects supposedly. I have zero problem playing him. If we were rushing him back, that would be another story but the Bears were very very easy on him and let him get all the way back. Now thats he's healthy I'd play him.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 12:39 PM) Harris said yesterday that he'll play vs the Packers. Benson on the other hand I'd assume will be held out, most likely for the rest of the regular season. Last I saw he was doubtful for Sunday. Benson practiced and will likely play. Supposedly if they clinch on Sunday, he's expected to get an extended look against Minny.

Harris is going to be a solid 2nd baseman. In fact, I already think he is.

http://www.futuresox.com/modules.php?name=...article&sid=242

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:38 AM) Yeah I'm definitely a homer to say the #2 seed in the conference has a shot at going to the super bowl. Stop talking. Were better than the Cowpokes.....

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:28 AM) Really? Angelo has established himself as a brilliant defensive scout. He gets plenty of praise, at least from those who have an opinion that matters. Of course, he's also a terrible scout when it comes to offensive talent. I don't know. Bradley, Berrian and Thomas Jones all look good. Jones is having a tremendous season and the Bears signed him to a very affordable deal. At the same time I think both Berrian and Bradley have flashed quite a bit of upside.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:19 AM) I would literally cream my shorts. And if we were to trade Ben Gordon, I'd run circles around Wrigley Field in the nude. Get Ben Wall, than you still have some money to go out and replace Big Ben (plus the draft picks). Hell, you may be able to put together a package with Gordon, some free payroll that we have and a draft pick for a pretty damn good small forward or guard (with Deng playing the other position) and Noc coming off the bench, along with Duhon and we'd still have at least one draft pick to find another wing player to help us off the bench. That said there is probably a 30% chance that Detroit wins it all this year and I don't think they are just going to let Ben Wall go (plus they can offer him more money than anyone else).

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:12 AM) :puke Who the hell is the Thomas on the Kings?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:06 AM) Personally, I'd rather the Bulls made a run at Big Ben this offseason instead of Peja (think of the defense with Ben & Chandler in the same lineup) but that's just me. Id tend to agree with you. I think we need a dominate center and while Big Ben will cost a lot and will probably turn into a bad contract in the latter years. The guy is a defensive force at center and would give the Bulls enough of a presence. We'd be able to slide Sweet in for 25-30 minutes (I expect him to be in better shape) and that would be enough of a low post presence to go along with two defensive big men in Ben Wall and Tyson. However, I'm more than willing to deal Ben Gordon for something this off-season, even if it means packaging him with someone else. I think the Bulls are going to look quite a bit different next year. There are some players I demand we keep: Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and unless we get a good offer I really would like Duhon coming off the bench. If we go after Peja than I'd like to have a bigger lineup with Kirk, Deng, Peja.

Don't worry Gene. Don't let one person ruin a funny thread. Some people don't get sarcasm and this was funny. If people don't think its funny, just mind there own business. Why don't we ask TBS

QUOTE(MurcieOne @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 10:21 AM) Lovie is now 15-15... after a poor year last year, and appears to have this team on the brink of dominance in the NFC North.... My question to the board is... is Lovie Smith the Chicago Bears Head coach in 2010? Do you see Lovie leading this team deep into the playoffs, the super bowl? my answer is yes to both questions, i think Lovie is the right man for this team... I think he possesses all of Dick Jauron's good qualities (respectable, defensive genious) and yet unlike Jauron... he is not afraid to make the big move to improve his team... and will hold his players accountable for their play on the field. Lovie is here, i support him (even with that pittsburgh 3 and 13 call).... The bears should and will own this division for a number of years... and he is the right person to take this team wherever it can go. I totally agree. The guy knows what he's doing on defense and gets the best out of his players. I like our offensive coordinator for the 1st time in a long time and I think we have a really skilled GM who has a great knowledge of the cap and is going to do all he can to ensure we are able to stay good for a long time.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 07:58 AM) I thought it was funny. I got to admit, I laughed at it. And the Sign O Trouble was great.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 10:15 AM) I love that some retard regurgitating on a keyboard got 8 responses and my two solidly cited quotes from reputable newspapers are ignored. I saw it Gene. It makes sense to me. Bedard is a solid young pitcher, however the Sox would need to get bullpen help and something else out of it. I didn't even post on the 4 team deal cause I figure it has zero chance of happening. I still don't understand why Bmore can't figure out that they need to go address pitching. f*** Manny Ramirez (and I think he's the best hitter in baseball), go get yourself some capable starting pitching and worry about the offense later. They have the money to ink Jon long term, although I don't know if they have the prospects it would take to get Jon (in the sense of what I'd like). Bedard put up a 4.00 ERA and is Garland's age. The only problem is the kid has never thrown much any innings and has some serious durability issues. I know the O's have that kid Penn, but I don't think of him on the same level as the Dodgers pitching prospects.

QUOTE(DukeNukeEm @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 08:55 AM) I like how nobody heard of the suspension until it was overturned. Racist NCAA. :headshake

Cinnamon Raisin w/Butter Whole Wheat with Cream Cheese

Xmas eve a small dinner with the folks and sis. Xmas a big get together at my aunts. After that, all my buddies go over to my friends house and hang out Christmas night (usually we get in a basketball or football game).

How dare you guys. I pinned it