caulfield12

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 7, 2013 -> 12:53 AM) I agree with the earlier posts about enjoying the good moments -- this board stinks at that. When we should be savoring the few fun moments of the season, we just use them as a reason to bring up all the bad things that we're already dwelling on all of the time. Now that we're out of contention, especially, it is best just to focus on individual positives when we can. I feel like I'm in church, lol. Are you sure you weren't a seminarian?

By Bill Shaikin (latimes.com/sports) July 6, 2013, 7:41 p.m. Smart money The divorce of Dwight Howard and the Lakers might be the biggest story in town, and NBA legend Magic Johnson is an owner of the Dodgers. So the L.A. sports fan ought to appreciate that the best moves the Dodgers made last week included trading for cap space. There is no salary cap for major league players, but the new collective bargaining agreement caps what teams can spend on amateurs. After Bob Engle, the Dodgers' vice president of international scouting, determined the team needed more cap space to pursue players around the world, the Dodgers traded reliever Matt Guerrier to the Chicago Cubs for reliever Carlos Marmol. Dodgers fans vented about why their team would want the erratic Marmol, but what the Dodgers really wanted was the additional $200,000 in international cap space the Cubs included in the trade. If Marmol helps the Dodgers, that's an unexpected bonus. If Marmol never pitches a game in L.A., cutting Guerrier and then turning him into $200,000 worth of minor leaguers is a big win for the Dodgers. On Saturday, the Dodgers picked up pitcher Ricky Nolasco — and another $200,000 in cap space — for three minor leaguers. "We're looking for whatever edge we can find," Dodgers President Stan Kasten said. The Dodgers spent more than $100 million to sign Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig and South Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, but big money is not the only smart money. Kasten cited a recent study that showed 80% of major leaguers from the Dominican Republic signed for $100,000 or less — and that was before the cap went into effect last year. The Dodgers' first three international signings under this year's cap were not from the scout-saturated Dominican Republic but from Venezuela and Germany, a reflection of the fleet of scouts the Dodgers hired to cover the world beyond Santo Domingo. The Dodgers also spent on players slipping deep in the draft. For instance, they threw $175,000 at Los Alamitos High pitcher Greg Harris, their 17th-round pick and the son of the ambidextrous major league pitcher of the same name. Quality helps build a minor league system, but quantity helps too — the more players you have, the better the chance of developing quality depth. When the Dodgers say they won't be running a world-record payroll forever, these are the kinds of moves that confirm the long-range plan. "I believe in the plan," Kasten said. "But we're not going to take any credit for at least a few more years."

Trayce Thompson's in a pretty big slump now...will be interesting to see how he responds. Mitchell finally got his average up over .200 in BIRM.

Haha. Perfect timing. 0 for 4 and 4 K's. Of course, he was facing one of the best pitchers in the NL, it happens. Still at .407. 2 for for his last 16 now. His first slump/sign of adversity. Harper had 238 AB's last year b4 the All-Star Game. Trout had 258 at-bats. http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_...sent-final-vote Puig had the most write-in votes over the last two weeks than any player since 2006 (Freddie Sanchez)

Any question who's going to win the fan vote and join Trout, Harper and Machado?

QUOTE (woodstox @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 04:43 PM) Guessing Flowers is up tonight because Sale is pitching? Sale has only pitched to him this season, right? And Phegley will start tmrw with the day game after the night game... Although most of us would have preferred to see if Phegley could keep the momentum going from last night.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) Crain and Sale made it. Obviously Crain will be replaced, but he gets the honor. Oops. Guess you beat me to it by a minute or two, started a new thread...oh, well.

just announced on FOX...

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 03:43 PM) Axe and Johnson? Castro/Rienzo and Johnson (depending on the severity of the groin pull, and no purpose to rush him back when they can throw someone like Berken or Zach Stewart out there until he's 100%)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 03:15 PM) Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 59s Sources: #Dodgers in serious talks for #Marlins’ Nolasco. Would trade 3 prospects, none upper echelon. “Getting close,” one source says. Those are the main candidates of teams that are currently looking for starting pitching and will be watching Jake Peavy closely when/if he comes back in the last two weeks of July. The Rockies have specifically been linked to Danks and Crain. Dodgers Rockies Rangers Giants Padres Orioles After acquiring Feldman, the O's might be willing to give up a ton more to get a Matt Garza. The Blue Jays would be well-served to put Josh Johnson on the trading block, as well. Seems they are fading back again.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 03:36 PM) I hope they gradually increase Phegley's time as it isn't exactly easy to only play every other day Seems like the perfect way how NOT to help a hitter develop his timing and comfort level... I get it that Phegley has battled health problems since being drafted. Nevertheless, the fact is, they have to know if he can stand up to playing 5 or 6 time per week at the major league level if they want to seriously consider him as a potential starter in 2014.

At some point, you say "what the hell, why not?" with Castro and Rienzo taking some of Axelrod's starts. Why not? What's the worst thing that could happen? Everyone has them already pegged as candidates for the 2014 bullpen, anyway.

Ventura said that Flowers and Phegley will split time 50/50. Dumb-----. They should have played Phegley tonight, and Flowers the day game after the night game. I guess Josh will play tomorrow. If he doesn't, there should be a minor investigation.

Puig's rest-of-season forecast Plus answering your questions on Chris Davis, David Ortiz, Justin Upton, more Updated: July 3, 2013, 3:35 PM ET By Tristan H. Cockcroft | ESPN.com I'm breaking the rules. Instead of getting right to this week's topic, readers "calling me out" on my rankings, as seen in Tuesday's 60 Feet 6 Inches, let's discuss a question that isn't among the ones below but surely is in the forefront of any fantasy owner's mind. How about this crazy run by Yasiel Puig? The No. 1 player on our Player Rater Last 30 split -- matching the number of days he has spent in the majors, entering Wednesday -- Puig has had a debut month that ranks among the best in the history of the game. For the second consecutive season, it's a rookie etching his name into the history books, and ESPN Stats & Information and Elias have some telling facts about Puig: • His .443 batting average is the highest since 1900 by any player in his first 30 days in the majors (60 or more plate appearances), per Elias. • His .436 batting average in June was the highest in a player's first calendar month since 1900 (minimum 60 PAs), per Elias. • His 44 hits in June were the second most in a player's first calendar month since 1900, behind only Joe DiMaggio's 48 in May 1936 (minimum 60 PAs), per Elias. At the same time, Puig's detractors will cite his "lucky" measures: His .513 BABIP, which leads the majors during the past 30 days, and his 36.4 home run/fly ball percentage, which is second highest (Pedro Alvarez leads with 37.5). They'll also point out that he has averaged just 3.24 pitches per plate appearances, fourth lowest during that span, and that is the area of worry to me. Yasiel Puig does look unstoppable now, but keep expectations in check. Will pitchers begin working around him more often or attempt to fluster him with more breaking stuff? Perhaps. Puig will also inevitably experience some degree of regression to the mean in both his batting average and home run total. He is not going to bat .443 or hit 48 home runs in his first 162 career games. Let's assume for a moment that Puig enjoyed success on batted balls in play at the major league average rates broken down by type (line drive, ground ball, fly ball, etc.) and quality of contact (hard, medium, soft). In that event, he would have batted .283 with only five home runs, rather than .443 with eight. That's why any rest-of-season projection for Puig might have him batting in the .280s, rather than well above .300, and it's why he's a smarter bet for 10-12 home runs, rather than 20, in the Los Angeles Dodgers' remaining 80 contests. He could exceed those numbers, sure, but those estimate his safest odds. And that's really what projections are all about, forecasting the most likely outcome. Perhaps that Puig moved up only to 50th this week, a rise of 10 spots, puts me in the "Puig detractors" camp. It's all a matter of your perception of his value … … but that's exactly what today's column is about, right? Perceived player value, and your questions about mine, in the rankings below. So hitting in .280's the rest of the season, finishing with 18-20 homers (that still would be 24-30 extrapolated over a full season) instead of 28 or so (that would be a 42 homer pace for a full season). And his BA would be right around .295-.315, roughly, after 3 more months of play. We'll see who is right.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 12:31 PM) Black is 26, in AA, and a 14th rounder. He's been old at every level he's played and I don't think we should think about him and Wilkins the same way. They very well may both wash out, but Wilkins is a lot closer to being a legitimate prospect IMO I'll give you that much. Black isn't very mobile...I haven't been super impressed with his defense in the recent games I've watched at milbtv.com.

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 09:03 AM) Brilliant considering the lack of pitching depth in the Cubs organization & the fact that a mega SP prospect like Gray was right there for the taking. A lot of people had him down as the highest-ceiling pitcher in the draft. Most GMs under the same circumstances would have drafted him, although I could be wrong. Weren't there some last minute PED's or steroids or injury/velocity concerns with Gray? A lot of scouts said there was actually a better pitcher on Oklahoma, but that Gray had the better tools/physical package. He was starting to fall back those last 2-3 weeks before the draft. Follow Jesse Sanchez ‏@JesseSanchezMLB IMHO fact that Eloy hasn't signed is an indication #Cubs not ignoring potential penalties, @davidrelliott. He hasn't signed for a reason.

Not betting on Wilkins or Black. They have the look of the classic tweener/AAAA guys that play until 30-35 years old with about 100 big league AB's.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 08:26 AM) A fit? Yes. But it doesn't sound like Tampa at all. Don't they have Luke Scott as DH? I know he has sucked this year...but that's not a Rays move unless we pay for 60-75% of the deal, and they're not going to do that.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 6, 2013 -> 07:15 AM) It certainly doesn't look that bad. He traded expiring contracts for prospects that didn't pan out. Something that is exactly what the majority of this board wants Hahn to do except they think these things usually work out. The fact is dumping soon to be free agents for minor leaguers turns into a virtual salary dump the vast majority of the time. Even the good prospects fail. That's certainly the case with all the KW salary dumps. Adkins, of course, is the most famous, because we lost the compensation pick, too...and Willie Harris never turned into a regular. Lofton, for Felix Diaz and Ryan Meaux. Any of the Sandy Alomar deals. James Baldwin. We did get Frank Francisco back for Bob Howry. Thome in 2009, Contreras, Scott Linebrink, etc.

Bochy softens stance on Puig in All-Star Game (latimes.com) SAN FRANCISCO – On the eve of the unveiling of the All-Star rosters, San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy sounded as if he was more open to the idea of Yasiel Puig making the National League roster. Bochy will manage the NL team. “He’s done a great job,” Bochy said. “Tomorrow we’ll know exactly who’s going to make the club and which way we’re going to go. He’s done a great job. Believe me, that’s not gone unnoticed. He’s a very exciting player. There’s been a lot of talk about him, a lot of interest from different people to have him in there. I understand that. I have to do what I think is right and tomorrow you’ll know.’’ Asked if he could remember a player with as little major league service time who made an All-Star team, Bochy mentioned Bryce Harper last year. “Part of it is you understand as a manager the fans want to see a certain player,” Bochy said. “It’s exciting for them. They’ve made a huge splash. They’re bringing so much energy, it’s intriguing. And even though it’s a small sample size, when you look at the noise [Puig] has made, and it happens in a big city, and he has to be credited with what’s happened with their club. He’s been a spark for their team.’’ When the Giants visited Dodger Stadium last week, Bochy didn’t think Puig deserved a place on the team "Generally, guys that go to the All-Star Game are guys that have a great first half, not a great three weeks,” Bochy said at the time. “If you ask me a week from now, I may say I've changed my mind." Bochy, in consultation with the league office, will make the final few selections for the NL roster. There will be one other spot open to an online vote. Another in-depth article from the LA Times. Yasiel Puig fuels All-Star debate http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...0,1242498.story He just broke the all-time 22 game rookie record for batting average formerly held by Cardinal/Braves favorite Terry Pendleton.

Friday Update: Despicable Me 2 continued to lead the daily box office with ease on Thursday with an Independence Day take of $24.5 million. The computer animated sequel from Universal and Illumination Entertainment has grossed a massive $59.5 million in its first two days. It should be noted that the Wednesday estimate for Despicable Me 2 has been revised upwards to $35.0 million. BoxOffice is currently projecting a five-day start in the range of $146 million - $152 million, which would outpace the film's already lofty pre-release expectations. Despicable Me 2 did drop a sizable 30 percent on Thursday, but that was likely largely a result of family audiences turning their attention towards other holiday activities. Even with the percentage decline, Despicable Me 2 claimed the second largest unadjusted July 4th performance ever (behind only the $29.07 million Wednesday take of Transformers back in 2007). Expect Despicable Me 2 to pick back up nicely today. Despicable Me 2 has received a very encouraging A rating on CinemaScore, which is a good sign for the film going forward. Disney's The Lone Ranger stabilized on Thursday with a second place take of $9.85 million. However, in the bigger picture the expensive western starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer is off to a very disappointing two-day start of $19.50 million. The Lone Ranger was up a solid 2 percent over Wednesday's performance, a sure sign that the film is skewing heavily towards older moviegoers and not drawing in family audiences. After Thursday's stronger than expected hold, BoxOffice is currently projecting a five-day start in the area of $49 million - $54 million. With a respectable B+ rating on CinemaScore, it does appear that the poorly reviewed film is going over better with audiences than with critics. On the heels of Wednesday's much stronger than anticipated start, Lionsgate's Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain did drop a sharp 46 percent on Thursday to gross $2.59 million. While the comedy concert documentary looks to be quite front-loaded in its initial days of release, the film is still off to an impressive $7.36 million two-day start (especially since it is only playing in 876 locations). BoxOffice is projecting a five-day take in the area of $15 million - $18 million for Let Me Explain. In comparison, last year's Laugh at My Pain grossed $7.71 million during its entire domestic run. www.boxoffice.com

http://blogs.seattletimes.com/hotstoneleag...syndication=rss A cautionary tale from the Mariners and Jack Z about what not to do at the trade deadline over the last 4 seasons. Amazing he still has a job. That said, the White Sox will be somewhere in between the M's approach this off-season (adding Morales/Morse/Bay/Ibanez) and that of the Indians (adding Bourne, Swisher and Reynolds, although they're still short in their starting rotation). If Phegley turns out, that will be one less FA they have to go after.

(1/5) 2 for his last 12...he did have a double (8), run scored and a rare walk, though. AvG down to .430 from a high of .449. Game was all about Juan Uribe coming back to life and debunking the idea they need to trade for a SS and move Hanley back to 3B. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...&mode=video Lots of memories of my former favorite player, Juan Uribe, as his 7 RBI's tied in performance in the infamous Arnie Munoz/Montreal debacle which they lost at the very end when Willie Harris messed up a bunt, if I remember correctly. So now he's got 5 homers and 27 RBI's on the season (800 OPS) after being absolutely atrocious the first two months. Last season he was good was 2010, when he hit 24 homers and was a post-season hero for the Gigantes in the playoffs, before signing the big FA contract with LA.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-160051699.html Coolest first pitch ever...South Korean rhythmic gymnast will sign to be part of Sox bullpen in 2014, Takatsu-esque specialist. Would that be a balk, the move she has? http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-180827853.html Worst first pitch ever, Tiffany Hwang from Girls' Generation, famous pop group....at least she looked good in the white hot pants and her pre-pitch repertoire.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 5, 2013 -> 03:26 PM) Not that it matters, but I don't think Viciedo is a good fit at all for 1B. It takes away his throwing arm, which is one of his biggest tools. And he can jump a little, but he's honestly 5'10" or 5'10 1/2," thus making a big target but not a tall one... Definitely not Dunn's wingspan...and then he'd have to work on so many different facets of the game that he hasn't been practicing since 2009 and 2010.