caulfield12

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 11:02 AM) Danks for Chance Sisco (minor league catcher) and another prospect or two. But I would love to build a deal around Sisco. Hopefully no relation to former Royal/Sox Andrew or The Sisco Kid.

UPDATE 12:00pm: No Must suck for Astros' fans. 4 hours to go.

ROSS DELLENGER [email protected] July 18, 2014 0 COMMENTS Have the Houston Astros contacted Mac Marshall? He won’t say. Marshall, the headliner to LSU’s star-studded signing class, declined comment on Friday when asked if the Astros had made contact with him over the last couple of days. Earlier this week, Marshall said the Astros had not contacted him since the draft in early June. MLB teams have until 4 p.m. to sign draftees. A source inside the LSU baseball program said that Marshall’s situation is “50-50.” A power left-handed pitcher from Georgia, Marshall turned down nearly $1 million on draft week, opting for school instead of the pros. Thus his draft spot fell. Houston picked him in the 21st round. Marshall is enrolled at LSU and has been a part of LSU’s summer workout program in Baton Rouge. He’s been adamant that he’s committed to LSU and plans to play for the Tigers. Marshall, though, admits that his situation with Houston is tied to that of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, Brady Aiken, who the Astros have yet to sign. Aiken and the team are at somewhat of an impasse in contract talks. Marshall’s situation could also be affected by the Astros fifth-round pick, Jacob Nix. Slot value rules can get confusing, but the situation isn’t. According to coach Paul Mainieri and reports from Baseball America and FoxSports.com, if the Astros sign Aiken for a low amount of $5 million or less – which they’re trying to do – they’ll have more bonus money to woo Marshall away from Baton Rouge. “They could make a serious offer for Mac,” Mainieri said. Marshall’s asking price is $1.5 million, multiple sources told The Advocate. If the Astros don’t sign Aiken, they’ll completely lose their first-round slot money (nearly $8 million), leaving them with nothing to offer Marshall and rescinding a previous offer of $1.5 million to Nix. Aiken and the Astros originally agreed on a deal worth $6.5 million, but the team uncovered an elbow injury during a physical with Aiken and has since backed away from that number. Responding to a message Friday morning, Marshall said, “I’m sorry. I have no comment.”

Thanks to Astros owner, Aiken's UCLA bridge may be burned By Evan Drellich July 17, 2014 | Updated: July 17, 2014 11:41pm Ever since Brady Aiken received a congratulatory call telling him he was the draft's No. 1 pick, his dealings with the Astros have become less pleasant. Hayne Palmour IV, MBR If top draft pick Brady Aiken doesn't sign with the Astros by Friday's 4 p.m. deadline, he has a commitment to UCLA. But even that could be in question. If top draft pick Brady Aiken doesn’t sign with the Astros by Friday’s 4 p.m. deadline, he has a commitment to UCLA. But even that could be in question. If Aiken, whose signing with the Astros has been slowed by a lower contract offer in the wake of medical reports of ligament problems in his pitching elbow, wants to get back in the draft for 2015, a year at a junior college instead of UCLA could be the route. If he goes through with his commitment to UCLA, he would not be eligible for the draft for three years. That’s assuming, of course, he remains healthy. Waiting three years to re-enter the draft, as Aiken would have to do at a four-year school like UCLA, is a risk. But so is passing on a scholarship offer from a top-tier school that would put him in the best position for success outside baseball. “The only thing they said all season long – and this was all before the draft ever happened – is that they have a fantastic option of going to UCLA, and that was before the reality of being picked No. 1 overall came forward,” said Aiken’s high school coach, Gary Remiker. “Their opinion the whole way around was – all pre-draft before he was picked – is that right now their only option is UCLA because nothing else has happened. Once they got picked, they said, ‘Well, now we have two options.’ “I think the assumption, when you get picked No. 1, is that they’re going to sign, it’s going to be relatively easy to get them signed with the slotting system that’s going on now, and he’d be off in short season getting his five starts or whatever they wanted him to get.” Whether Aiken even can play baseball for an NCAA Division I school such as UCLA is in question. On July 7 in Arlington, Astros owner Jim Crane said general manager Jeff Luhnow was negotiating with Aiken’s agent. The NCAA forbids an adviser from talking to the team on an eligible player’s behalf. “We have no comment on the No. 1 pick,” Crane said. “We’re still negotiating with him. … I’ve got no comment on any of it at this point. We’re just working with the agent. Jeff’s working with the agent to try to get something done.” Luhnow said the same day that he had talked only to the family. “The conversation’s with the family,” Luhnow said. “Whether or not the player has an adviser and to what capacity, that’s not my (subject to comment on). … Eligibility is at risk if they have an agent. You can have an adviser, yeah. Certain behaviors might constitute one versus the other. We don’t comment on conversations. Our conversations are all with the families – the player or the families. In the case of an underage player, the family’s important.” Clarification by NCAA Casey Close, who represents Derek Jeter, is Aiken’s family adviser. It’s common practice in baseball for agents of high school players to be in touch with teams, one of the many wink-and-nod rule-skirting elements of the game. But in a case as high profile as Aiken’s, would a wink and a nod be enough? His leverage isn’t helped if he can’t go to an NCAA Division I school – and the Astros won’t look good if their owner’s words end up hurting Aiken’s eligibility. In February, reports came out that the Philadelphia Phillies told the NCAA last year that their 2013 fifth-round draft pick, pitcher Ben Wetzler, had violated the no-agent rule. Wetzler didn’t sign with the Phillies, but he was able to pitch for Oregon State. The Miami Marlins drafted him in the ninth round this year. In a memorandum issued last March, the NCAA said: “In order to maintain your eligibility at an NCAA school, however, this adviser may not serve as a link between you and the professional sports team. Rather, you must view the adviser as an extension of your own interests and not as a source to contact a professional team. If the adviser has direct contact with a professional team regarding you or your status, whether independently or per your request or direction, the adviser shall be considered an agent, and you will have jeopardized your eligibility at an NCAA school. “For example, an adviser may not be present during the discussions of a contract offer with a professional team or have any direct contact (including, but not limited to, in person, by telephone, text message, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, email or mail) with the professional sports team on your behalf.” Is Close too close? Close’s decision to speak to foxsports.com in such detail about the Astros’ handling of Aiken – as well as another Astros draftee committed to UCLA, Jacob Nix – doesn’t dispel the idea Close could be acting in a way the NCAA would find impermissible. Close, as one of the game’s best agents, presumably knew what risk was involved. “Being a high school coach for years, every major league prospect that’s come to San Diego has had a quote-unquote adviser,” Remiker said. “And what the difference is between the person being an adviser and being an agent, I have no idea.” Remiker has been watching the events unfold from San Diego, but he has given Aiken and his family space. “I haven’t heard anything from their party, from the Aiken family or anything about their opinion about what’s going on,” Remiker said. “I haven’t heard from them all. All I’ve done is just send him a text, just keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out for him here. … I’m more hoping that I’ll click on one of these times and see that they’ve come to an agreement.” http://blog.chron.com/ultimateastros/2014/...&25194101=0

Have the Astros signed Brady Aiken yet? The deadline to let the Commissioner's office know that teams have signed their draft picks is at 4pm Central. Here is a running update of updates. UPDATE 11:22am: No 11:00am: No 10:30am: No 10:00am: No 9:30am: No 9:00am: No 8:30am: No 8:00am: No Thought this was pretty funny. from baseballamerica.com The Astros are the only ones, however, with access to their medical reports, and multiple sources Baseball America has spoken to off the record in the industry say they want to give the Astros the benefit of the doubt. The No. 1 overall pick has went unsigned only in twice in draft history; righthander Tim Belcher (1983) and catcher Danny Goodwin (1971).

On a plus note, he lost his starter's job in 2013-14 but ended up the season back in the mid 90's, so he's got a shot... Whitson holds no ill will against the Padres. He understands why people wonder why he didn’t sign when he had $2.1 million reasons to do so. But he wanted to etch his own path, and that road begins in Gainesville, Fla., not in the Padres' farm system. "I would tell any kid out of high school they better be comfortable with going pro, because once you make that decision, you're 100 percent into that level of baseball," he said. "It's a grind and some players just aren't fully ready for it." Once at Florida, it took Whitson just a week to realize that he had work to do, and it reinforced his decision to spurn the Padres. "Mentally and physically, I thought I'd be ready for pro ball, but then I get here to Florida and I hardly could walk after just a week of workouts," he said. While I don't buy a single word of the "I wasn't ready for the minors" bulls***, the article included a smattering of legit introspection (keep in mind, this was 3.5 years ago):http://sonsofsamhorn.net/topic/83795-karsten-whitson-rhp-2014-mlb-draft-11th-round/ Quote "There are some things I can improve on,” he said. “Throwing my changeup for a strike was a big emphasis for me during fall workouts. I will continue working on that. I also want to improve my fastball command on both sides of the plate."

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 09:02 AM) HOF voters loves playoff success and awesome as 2005 was, other than that he was one inning of relief and one bad start to show for on his playoff resume, that's it. 2008? Did he pitch at all in the 2000 post-season? Can't remember. For some reason, Bradford comes to mind more than Mark.

Padres GM Finalists Are Preller, Hazen, Eppler, Ng By Jeff Todd [July 17, 2014 at 3:39pm CDT] The Padres have narrowed their list of candidates for the club’s open GM position with intentions of conducting second interviews next week, reports Scott Miller of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). Among the candidates for the GM office, Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen could be the favorite, according to a report from Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Miller, the finalists are Hazen, Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller, Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler, and MLB executive Kim Ng. It appears from that list that the club has every intention of handing the reins over to a somewhat younger option who has never occupied the head baseball operations role. Reports have indicated, however, that the club could look to bring back former GM Kevin Towers in a senior adviser role if he is dumped by the D’backs. Click here to read a recent round-up of the San Diego front office search. Former White Sox front office exec Kim Ng in final four in SD...would be first female, and pretty sure the first Asian as well to be a GM...hope they're really giving her a legit shot at the job

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 08:33 AM) Regarding this topic, I just want to mention the name Karsten Whitson. Any relation to Ed?

Not to be confused with Walt or Al Weiss. Wasn't that Buehrle World Series start the one with the terrible cold and rain that the Astros got out to the early advantage and he battled all night long to keep them in it...?

http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2014/7/17/591...out-legal-basis On whether the Astros can/will be legally forced to honor the $1.5 million offer to Nix. http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2014/7/16/591...draft-pool-mess Doing the math on Houston's Brady Aiken draft pool mess.

http://www.astroscounty.com/2014/07/quick-...rady-aiken.html http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/everyone-lo...ady-aiken-mess/

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 10:48 PM) I've never really seen anything on something like that. However, with the rash of injuries lately it doesn't sound good. I guess it would depend on if it was width or thickness. I don't think width would make too much difference. However, thickness would probably decrease the tensile strngth of the ligament. http://www.astroscounty.com/2014/07/quick-...rady-aiken.html http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/everyone-lo...ady-aiken-mess/

Jamie Moyer and Tom Glavine are probably better comparisons...something of a combination of the the two. Glavine was more athletic in general, but it's always easy to overlook that side of Mark's game because he's not exactly sporting a "Gabe Kapler-esque" physique. Will always be remembered for how quickly he worked, changing speeds, location, command&control, his tarp sliding during rain delays, his "non-traditional/spring training" number (56), his constant connection to the Cardinals and pitching in relief in Game 3 of the World Series. And his generous off the field work, such as the dog shelters/humane societies (volunteering with his wife).

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jul 17, 2014 -> 09:06 PM) 6 home runs for Charlotte tonight. Jordan Danks is up to .280 with 13 home runs.. If De Aza or Viciedo get traded I would like Danks to get more of a look. There has to be something there. At what point do we give Phegley another chance? He has been on fire The problem at this point is the perception of Danks (due to age and MLB track record) as a AAAA player...and the fact that Taylor and Sierra would seem to be ahead of him in the pecking order for the moment. Charlotte's new ballpark is just giving up anomalous offensive numbers, especially homers.

One would imagine the entire Dutch men's national soccer team would have to have been on that plane (going on a tour of SE Asia, for example) to move the bar to "outrage" unfortunately. Btw, has a national carrier ever lost two airliners and 550+ passengers in such a short period of time? It's just weird, when you consider the odds of it happening twice to the same company.

The situation, according to one source, is not unlike what Indiana State left-hander Sean Manaea experienced in the 2013 draft. Manaea, projected to go with one of the top picks, suffered a hip injury that caused him to slide to No. 34 – and his value to drop to $3.55 million. But his injury forced him to miss time and affected his performance. Aiken’s “abnormality” has not. Baseball people often say that the arm of every pitcher has some imperfection that would be revealed by an MRI. The Astros, in the opinion of some agents and union officials, are using a perceived flaw with Aiken’s elbow as a way to manipulate the draft. The Astros signed a high pick with a different physical issue, awarding their fourth rounder, Texas A&M right-hander Daniel Mengden, a $470,000 bonus even though he had a stress fracture in his back. Close and the union are particularly upset that the Astros have tied the signing of Aiken to the signing of Nix, who remains in limbo despite passing his physical. It is standard industry protocol for players to agree to contract terms, then take physicals as the final step in finalizing a contract. But the Astros, after reaching agreement with Nix, notified his family that the offer would be rescinded because the team first needed to complete Aiken’s deal, Close said. Baseball officials say that the draft rules allow clubs to go above and below assigned bonus values with individual picks. The way the system works, money that goes to one player does not go another. The club simply must stay within its pool. The Astros, if they fail to sign Aiken, would lose his assigned bonus value of $7,922,100. If they then signed Nix, they would exceed the maximum they are allowed to spend in the first round 10 rounds of the 2014 draft, triggering the loss of at least one future pick. “We believe that it is a clear violation of the rules being attempted solely to avoid penalty,” Clark said. “The Astros made a deal with Jacob Nix and should honor that agreement.” Close said that if every team behaved like the Astros, then the entire structure of the draft would collapse. “If every player was contingent on another player, we would have no draft, we would have no draft pool, we would have no signings,” Close said. “We’d never be able to reach agreements. They’d either all be reached at the same time, or none of them would ever be reached.” The more immediate question is whether Aiken and his family will even be comfortable signing with the Astros, knowing that the team harbors suspicions about the condition of his arm. The clock is ticking. The No. 1 pick in the country remains unsigned. www.foxsports.com

Sergio Santos also comes to mind here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAL_007 The Russians killed 269 on a Korean Airlines flight in 1983 by shooting it down (on that occasion, an air to air missile as the plane was misidentified as being American and breaching their airspace). They also shot down a KAL flight in 1978, but there were 107 survivors.

Ryan Howard's another interesting name, depending on how much the Phillies eat...and it would have to be around $35 of the remaining $60 million on his contract. What that would cost the White Sox, no idea...but he's been terrible this year. To the point where he's better against lefties than righties bad.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:42 PM) Some guys on this site want Jerry to have a payroll of about 10 million. Heck no to this trade. The commissioner should veto such a deal. Danks has actually become good again. Why? The Blue Jays/Marlins trade passed scrutiny, where they gave up Josh Johnson/Reyes/Buehrle. Or the Red Sox dumping Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett, to name another. The money involved here isn't close to that. If you were a Padres' fan in 2009, you would have said the commissioner should have blocked the Jake Peavy deal, yes?

http://www.baseballamerica.com/internation...showcase-miami/ Fwiw,both of those players would attract some interest, especially Gourriel.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:35 AM) FWIW, I found the articles gave great context to the situation at hand. Knowing that stuff makes how the Astros got into this mess a lot more clear. In the end, they're winning individual battles but losing the war. Unfortunately, it's going to give advocates for quantitative/statistical analysis a black eye in the process. It's not utilizing all the most modern tools at their disposal to attempt to gain a competitive advantage that's the problem, of course. It's forgetting the human side of the sport completely that will be their undoing (the mirror of that conversation/debate we frequently have about how Jerry Reinsdorf is often loyal to a fault). Surely, that's a large reason that "trade notes internal document" was leaked. That couldn't have been a coincidence.

As long as Cooper's around, they're going to be well-advised not to have Ozzie anywhere near the major league team. If he wants to work with Semien/Sanchez/Micah Johnson, etc., that's okay....like Thome has been doing with Davidson on a part-time basis.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 16, 2014 -> 09:20 AM) In the article about it, the one independent doctor they asked seemed to think it wasn't that big of deal either for more potential for injury it or repairing it, which seemed to be an issue with the Astros. Obviously, not everyone will agree. If Aiken is confident he is healthy, I don't see any reason he would want any part of the Astros organization at this point. Go to a JUCO or play independent ball next year. Even if you only get the money the Astros are offering, at least you don't have to deal with them through your cheap years. Not only that, but he does have the ability to put together a mini-Scherzer policy (against the $144 million guaranteed contract he turned down from DET) against injury if he does go the JC/indy route. Then if you're Close, do you also out of principle reject the $1.5 million offer for your other client...? And what if his family (Nix) still wants to accept the Astros' offer, even if it's contrary to the interests of Aiken in many ways? Do you resign as Nix's agent then and just stay with Aiken? Do you have the two families meet together? What's the correct approach to take ethically if you feel the Astros are negotiating in bad faith and trying to get three for the price of one by taking advantage of your client?