JPN366

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 2, 2008 -> 10:07 PM) He just finished a season in the Carolina League. That means he'll be in Birmingham (AA) in 2009. So... there's time to work on his defense. Meanwhile, his offensive skills are really advanced for his age. He literally destroyed pitching in the AFL this fall... an all-star league with most MLB teams' best pitching prospects... and that's a beautiful thing. Woo Hoo! I was worried about him lighting up the Barons with the M-Braves, now it'll be the other way around. The 2009 Barons just got better. But...Andy Tomberlin is the hitting coach again. Ugh...

Yeah, I've HEARD Lilly-bridge being immature in 2007.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Dec 1, 2008 -> 10:30 PM) Why are they changing? I've always liked the Warthog name and logo.... New stadium.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 1, 2008 -> 04:51 PM) Rhinos? Seriously? That's the best we can come up with? I thought Wallbangers would've been cooler. They could have gone with a modified Wichita State look.

The new nickname, uniforms & colors will be announced on December 4th, along with a new website. From what I've read, the new nickname will be "Rhinos," & the new colors will be blue and white. The owner of the team use to own Blue Rhino before he sold it off to a bigger company to make his fortune. Apparently, the fan vote for a new nickname is a front. The choice was already decided on.

You mean Jordan "HGsHaf" Shafer? Me and my friends gave him hell when he was in town to play B'ham. Hope he wouldn't play for the Barons. That would be embarassing. But, he can rake.

Does all this mean KW is going after K-Rod???

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 21, 2008 -> 11:56 AM) You sound very confident in your statements. Will be? Do you have some inside info? No, just seems the most likely deal to me. I could be wrong. Of course, if you're trading Dye and Jenks, you could easily expect 6 players in return. Tampa got a hell of a taste in 2008, and I'm sure they want to make a serious run in 2009, so filling two of their three glaring needs would be worth sending the Sox a haul.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 21, 2008 -> 12:12 PM) I am still not sold on Allen. I really want to see him continue to get his K numbers down. I'd really like to see some video on him and see exactly what the mechanics of his swing look like. His mechanics are fine, the swing is a little long, but he gets good coverage of the plate. He sure can hit the ball a long way though. All of the homeruns he hit that I saw went 50 or more feet past the wall in right-center and were as high as the lights. Sick, sick power. Opposite field hitting may be something of an issue though. Otherwise, Ryan Howard-esque. I could watch BA and David Cook hit homers all day long.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Nov 21, 2008 -> 11:42 AM) If the Sox really are talking to Tampa, Jenks has to be brought up in conversation. I've heard that Tampa may deal Crawford, so the talk is relevant. It will be Edwin Jackson, Fernando Perez & Jeff Niemen for Jermaine Dye. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Perez. He could be a 60-70 steal guy, much cheaper than Willy Tavares. Very smart, he went to Columbia, very nice guy. Was so money in the Southern League in 2007. I'd be surprised if KW wasn't asking for him. Or, it could be Jenks and Dye, Tampa needs a closer, RF & a DH. Then you get back Jackson, Niemen, Perez & Davis. Just my two cents.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 05:05 PM) Look, i really like what Cook brings to to the table, but he's a bit old to be an actual prospect at this point. He also stuck in a fairly signifcant logjam right now, and hasbeen complelty jumped by Brandon Allen. He's kind of like the Soxs version of Micah Hoffpauier. He's a AAAA basher, that you just don't know what you're going to get with at the Major League Level. Just saying David is a good ballplayer, he'll do well in the majors, just obviously not with the Sox.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 02:51 PM) Wonder if they'll start Brandon out in AA or AAA next season. I'd say the first half in B'ham, then up to Charlotte in mid June. He's only 22 and he only played 40 games in AA. But, he can mash, so his time in AA will be short.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 06:01 PM) Yay, I got to update his wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day%C3%A1n_Viciedo I always edit the rosters for the minor league teams.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 05:25 PM) You mean Andy Gonzalez and Pedro Lopez weren't really prospects, lol? Jason Dellaero...those were the days. Not to mention bringing in Ramirez and skipping over his minor league incubation period. Who knows, maybe Nix and/or Fields will surprise a few people, and Betemit was once one of the top 2-3 infield prospects in the game. In B'ham, there is a term thrown around...the "Dallaero Line."

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 05:01 PM) Good things happen to those who wait, eh? I've got him pencield in for AA this year, but the future does look very bright for Viciedo As much as I'd like to see him play in person next year, it all depends on Spring Training. My guess at B'ham's roster for 2009 wouldn't leave room for him, and that's not counting possible veterans and whether or not Beckham and Danks start out here or in W-S.

derek rodriguez (Mistake) david cook (Big Mistake) carlos torres (Big Mistake) john lujan (Nice guy, career minor leaguer) wes whisler (Nice guy, career minor leaguer) mike macdougal (So long) Torres is a K machine with a wicked cutter. Cook is the quintessential baseball player, I've never in my life seen a homerun hit as hard as his are. They sound like cannons going off. D-Rod is an excellent swingman who can get K's and grounders. Throws from multiple arm slots.

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Nov 20, 2008 -> 04:39 PM) Anyone have any info on Santeliz? He seems kind of a darkhorse to be added, and his #'s don't look all that great. I'd guess he has a pretty live arm? Indeed. A poor, poor man's K-Rod. Young and raw. Effectively wild.

QUOTE (scenario @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 08:38 PM) LOL. You really hate that guy, don't you? Give us the rundown JPN. What have you seen (or not seen) with McCulloch? Is it a stuff issue? I seem to remember you saying something earlier in the year that McCulloch seemed prone to giving up the big inning. Yeah, it's usually the 4th inning. 89 MPH Fastball, 84 MPH Changeup, 87 MPH Sinker...which leads to hitters pounding him. His numbers speak for himself.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 07:28 PM) Armstrong is #9. Funny that Kyle McCulloch has fallen so far off the map that a first rounder in our system doesn't even merit a mention anymore. I guess that's a good thing. McCulloch blows. I've seen him pitch for the past season and a half, I know.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 01:42 PM) Doesn't BA release a top 30 eventually or no? The 2009 Baseball America Prospect Guide will be in book stores and available online from Amazon, etc. in February. I buy it every year for under $20 and it's usually around 1000 pages. It has the top 30 prospects for every team and other interesting info. Baseball America Prospect Guide

Discuss...

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 11:00 PM) I wish we could have the national team's SS to pair with Alexei...I can't remember his name, but he made a big impression at the WBC 18 months ago. The WBC was almost three years ago.

QUOTE (TCQ @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 11:45 AM) The Slayer is immune to VD... You better hope he is. If that's the case, then he's more talented than we all thought. Of course, I'm not sure it's all that difficult to bed Georgia college girls. All, and I repeat ALL, kids in Georgia get free rides for college because of the lottery there.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Nov 9, 2008 -> 08:07 PM) Essentially this. It's just a Soxtalk thing that was started b/c he supposedly "slayed a lot of pussy in college"... (sorry if that sounds crude) Well, these days there's a 25% chance he got some sort of VD. Hope it was worth it...I'm sure it was.

Can someone tell me the source of this nickname? Just curious how it started and who coined it.