BearSox

Phillies need help in the pen big time. I don't know if they have what it takes to get Jenks, but they could be good trade partners for Dotel or Linebrink. If the Phillies did want Jenks, I'd want Werth back in a package. Michael Taylor is another interesting guy they got in the minors who seems like a KW type of guy (plus there's the stanford connection with the two). Also, the Cards would probably interested in a closer of Jenks' caliber. I'd try and get Brett Wallace out of them, but I doubt they are willing to give him up, especially if he can stick at 3B. EDIT: Actually, Ryan Franklin has been pretty much lights out for them as a closer this year, so I doubt the Cards have that much interest in Jenks.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 11:52 PM) Well he did reach back in college to touch 92, but that's as high as I've seen him at least (anyone else can comment on that) Looks like he can reach back to touch 98 now if he's sitting 92-96 now so it isn't that far from an increase. His scouting video in college had him between 91-94 mph, IIRC, so an increase to 92-96 with maybe even touching 98 once in a while when he rears back isn't all that crazy, especially considering his mechanics have likely been refined a lot and as he's matured a bit body wise (most likely).

Watched Mean Girls last week... made me kinda miss high school, and I was surprised at how not bad it was.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 11:04 PM) Dayan's homer was opposite field, no doubter off the bat. Got a fist bump from John Ely, he was charting pitches in the stands, so I gave him props on his start last night. Hudson looked good, his fastball touched 98 at one point and was ranging from 92 to 96 consistently. It actually got faster as the game went on. His change was in the mid 80's. He threw something that was in the 70's too, don't know what it is though. One thing that I saw that concerned me, but may be no big deal...his arm motion, which is three quarters, seemed to put a lot of pressure on his elbow. Of course, it may be nothing. That's great to hear. I knew (or rather heard) that he was getting his fastball up to about 95, but wasn't expecting him to be getting much higher than that. Was the higher velocity fastball his 2 seamer with the life or a 4 seamer without much life that he added? Cause if he was touching 98 and getting up to around 95-96 with the running fastball he has.... damn!

His head seems right, but he's way fatter than that.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 10:52 PM) If he ever learned to take a pitch, he'd be elite. It seems as he's really worked on that this year as he's on pace to practically double his career high in walks and his K's have gone done big time (which weren't ridiculously high to begin with anyway). He's also got really good speed and seems like a spark plug, very energetic type of player who gives life to his teammates, and he's got great natural baseball instinct it seems like, IMO. And from what I've read, the GG he got last year was very deserving. I'm a big Getz fan and he's really impressed me lately, but a part of me really wants either Hudson or Phillips (reds likely won't be trading him away) as our 2B next year.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 10:42 PM) You mean like the pretty petty thing about some obscure official nobody probably even heard of that you posted in the Republican thread about an hour after this? Cmon, be consistent. Either all of the "who cares" stuff or none of the "who cares" stuff. I'm not starting a thread and consistently posting more and more stuff about it. I just pointed it out in the republican thread where the sole purpose is to bash democrats and talk about how much the GOP sucks right now.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 10:57 PM) Haha first game with that lineup retire the side 1-2-3. Then pods bunt single, and after 9 pitches a walk to ramirez then he quit. I can't hit but I can work walks its annoying. Yeah, I got so sick of quitters that I don't even try offensively in the first. Usually I get a bunt single with Pods (Pods is a beast in the game), try stealing with him and purposely get a bad jump so I get thrown out, and then I try bunting with Ramirez and Fields and usually get out. I figure if I do this, he won't quit and I'll give the oppenent maybe a false sense of confidence as well, like I am an idiot who sucks and this will be an easy W for him.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 10:43 PM) I'm going to give poreda and that lineup a try. Except I think I'll put fields at 6 and Dye 3rd. What did you do in NL games? For me Konerko plays a mean 2B not the best range but he has not thrown anything away or botched one he could get to. You'll be pleasently surprised with how good Poreda is. Both fastballs are sick in the game, and his change is also sick. I throw in the back or front door slider first pitch a lot when they are looking fastball. My favorite is going with 3 straight low change ups and get them out in front on all 3 for the K. They have to sit on both fastballs, so even if they guess the 2 seamer or running fastball, they still have to worry about the other and the change always gets them off balance. Also, I'm surprised at how many people reach for the slider away with lefty batters. As for the NL, my lineup usually goes like: 1. Pods, CF 2. Ramirez, SS 3. Fields, LF 4. Thome, 1B 5. Konerko, 3B 6. Dye, RF 7. Pierzynski, C 8. Beckham/Getz, 2B (I like to have more range at 2B so I sacrifice some O, although I do get a lot of singles with them) 9. Pitcher Sometimes I bat the pitcher 8th and whoever's at 2B 9th.

I really like Brandon Phillips, he's a good ball player.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 09:41 PM) Does anyone think KW would seriously pursue him after next year? Or will the Twins lock him up to a long term extension sometime next year? There is no way he will be leaving the Twins anytime soon.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 10:28 PM) I agree with you. A lot of people are gonna be saying Hudson the way he's going, but I still love Dayan. I'm saying Hudson. I've been a Huddy Homer for a while, and after a great debut vs. a very good Huntsville team, my homerism is off the charts right now.

Good job hitting today, but we looked like a little league team out in the field.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 10:25 PM) As dumb as this sounds, Pods has been pretty good. Darn good actually. If tomorrow was the division clinching game and we had runners on 2nd and 3rd and were down by 1 in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, and I could pick anyone on the team to bat, it'd be Pods right now. I'd say he's been our best hitter this year, and that's quite sad.

Huddy through 6: 3 H, 1 R (unearned), 1 BB, 6 K, 81 P (54 strikes)... So far, you couldn't have asked for a better debut, and hopefully he keeps it up until he's taken out. Birmingham has also taken the lead thanks to a wild pitch!

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 08:03 PM) To tell you the truth, I don't care about his glove. I'm more concerned about his bat. He's definitely made strides, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect more offensively from him at this point for the $10.5M paid. I understand his youth and adjusting to an entirely different way of life have to be factored in. Considering he's 20, playing in the most talented level of all of the minors, and playing half of his games in one of the toughest hitters parks in all of the minors... I'd say his results are exactly what we should have realistically suspected. Of course we were hoping for a .300+ average, high teens in homers by now, etc, but realistically, with the strides he's made so far, you can't complain.

Huddy!!!! So far 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.... He's having a really good debut in Birmingham, hopefully he keeps it up for another 2-3 innings! I think his timetable has jumped from maybe 2011 from the beginning of the season to maybe even at the beginning of 2010 now. Also, Viciedo with a homer to tie the game up!

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 07:11 PM) Yes, because an OF with no pop is exactly what the Cell demands. How is it that you can hate Brandon Wood, but love Ryan Sweeney and Reggie Willits? Now, I'm not saying that Dotel and Poreda for Wood aren't ridiculous, because it really is, but I wouldn't be averse to structuring a deal. I don't like Wood's approach or swing, I like Sweeney's swing (but his approach needs work). As for Willits, I really don't care, but I'd take him over Fields. He'd be a solid 4th OF, IMO.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 05:53 PM) But it's ok to act like he's going to stay at third? I don't understand. I've seen him play enough that to me he hasn't changed any of the concerns scouts had when he signed - that he isn't a good defensive third baseman. Again, Josh Fields is way ahead of him defensively and there aren't a lot of people that are happy with his defensive prowess. How about we give him time? Fields was atrocious at 3B back in 06 and 07, but he developed into mediocre (which still isn't good, but I'd take mediocre D from 3B if you could provide an impact at bat). Also, Fields is what, 27? That's 7 years older than Viciedo. I'm not saying to act like he will stay there, but at the same time, you don't have to act like it's a for gone conclusion that he will have to move. I personally don't know, I have only seen him a couple times. However, considering he's been said to be athletic enough to play the corner OF and has a very strong arm (threw in the 90's when he pitched in Cuba, IIRC), I say there's still reason to believe that he can still develop defensively.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 01:47 PM) I might get some resistance for saying this, but I think Morneau is really overrated, and his name has become bigger than he is. The guy is very good, definitely All-Star caliber, but not MVP caliber, probably not even great. Aside from the fact that they bat together in the lineup, I have no idea why he is mentioned in the same breath as Mauer, and as an MVP candidate all the time. He put up an offseason pretty comparable to Dye last year... Dye wasn't in MVP talks for some reason, yet Morneau was the runner-up, WTF? People were talking about how Morneau carried the Twins last year, but he faded in September. Dye did the exact same thing except his team actually made the playoffs. I really didn't see what he did last year to get all that credit. I guess he benefits from being one of the two only real threats in the Twins lineup, and people always saying "Mauer and Morneau" when they talk about the Twins. But they aren't in the same stratosphere IMO. I used to think the same thing about Morneau, but after looking at his stats and from having to watch him kill us the past 3-4 years, I'd say he's easily in the top 5 of the AL and probably all of baseball. Just look at him: A .300+ hitter who K's less then 100 times, his walk rates are doing nothing but increasing, he's good for at least 30 homers and 110 rbi. Aside from maybe his 07 season, I'd say he's easily been one of the best offensive threats in baseball. Obviously Pujols is number 1, and Mauer is likely no. 2. However, for the rest of the top 10, you can make a legit arguement for any of the following: Justin Morneau David Wright Adrian Gonzalez Mark Teixera Prince Fielder Evan Longoria Chase Utley Ryan Braun Miguel Cabrera Ichiro Suzuki Hanley Ramirez Personally, I've become a big Prince Fielder fan.

Greene is quietly turning into a solid prospect.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 05:13 PM) How about Fields for Willits? I'd do it... at least Willits can play above average D in the outfield.

I'm sorry Marty, but you gotta stop with all this godly wisdom of yours. If you don't think Viciedo will stick at 3B, fine. But unless you've seen him play a lot, don't act like you know for a fact he's gonna have to move.

QUOTE (Drew @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 03:26 PM) Polls will open any day now.

QUOTE (kwill @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 04:16 PM) If we are doing just pure speculation and fun. How about Poreada and Dotel for Brandon Wood. I just puked all over my keyboard... that would be a god awful trade. Poreda alone has about 5 times more trade value than Brandon Wood.