bighurt4life

nice work

I'll be disappointed if we don't pick the BPA with our #8 this season. last year it was widely know that Porcello was a top 5 type talent but slid down becuase of bonus concerns, with the 8 pick this year we'll already be paying a large bonus so we have absolutely no excuse to take a lesser talent just to avoid paying a big bonus

QUOTE(heirdog @ Feb 1, 2008 -> 11:28 AM) Then shouldn't he be mocking KW by putting DLS at 10, Gio at 15 and Sweeney at 45 or something like that to make it seem like the idiot KW gave up way too much for Swisher? In reality, no writer/analyst would stake their reputation and credibility by pursuing a personal vendetta 10 years later...he just really thinks our system is not very good (much like most experts). valid points

QUOTE(wsgdf_2 @ Jan 9, 2008 -> 10:27 AM) FYI - I asked Kevin Goldstein about Poreda today... wsgdf83 (Naperthrill): I've heard bad things about Poreda's delivery - that he's an injury waiting to happen. Have you heard the same? Kevin Goldstein: Not really. It's hardly perfect, but it's not end of the world violent or anything. The more legitimate concern is wether or not his secondary stuff will come -- it's still a pretty special arm. I've heard from several sources that because of his arm slot and pitching action it would be tough for him to ever develop an effective breaking pitch

I'm actually surprised to see the relative lack of success out of that group of players, who on that list has done anything in the league? Majewski, Fogg and maybe a few guys who had a cup of coffee in the bigs but that's about it. So maybe I won't rush to judgement just yet on the Swisher trade, I'll give it a few years, then we'll see

QUOTE(103 mph screwball @ Jan 4, 2008 -> 09:51 PM) Couldn't they deal Kotchman to a different team in a separate deal? Or they could keep him and DH Konerko in the future? Swisher makes this more interesting because the Sox do not need Kotchman in any potential deal. I can't see the Sox wanting anything to do with Matthews Jr. unless the Angels insist on his inclusion to unload his salary and baggage. How about Crede/Konerko for Kendrick/Matthews/Santana. I loves me some hot stove. Even if they trade kotchman they still have Morales ready to move into the 1B spot, also, the Angels have stated that they want Guererro and Anderson to get AB's at the DH spot this year becuase of the injury problems they've had the past couple years (although i dont see how you could ever take Vlad out of RF with his arm) so the DH spot isn't really open either. Finally, they wouldn't include Kendrick in a deal for Miguel Cabrera, I really don't see them being willing to include him in a deal for PK

Fifth, it would be really interesting to see how they were viewed from within the organization as everyone on the outside looking in saw gio and dls as the undisputed top two in our minors with sweeny not far behind

I don't see any way that we make a trade with the Angels for Konerko, as it stands right now Kotchman is already blocking Kendry Morales from the majors so they don't really need another 1B. Also, if somehow we do give them PK, I'd be surprised if he didn't DH for them, again, they don't need a 1B, BUT, for him to DH that would mean that he'd take AB's away from Guererro and Garret Anderson who are going to be seeing time at DH to try and cut down on their injuries. It doesn't make any sense for them to take AB's away from Guererro. The Angels have at 1B- Kotchman, Morales RF- Guererro, Matthews Jr. CF- Figgins, Willits, Matthews Jr. LF- Anderson, Matthews Jr. DH- Guererro, Anderson, Rivera They are absolutely loaded at all of those positions so there's almost no way to move guys around to make Konerko fit into their everyday lineup, they simply have too many players who are either 1. too talented not to play or 2. too highly paid to move to make it work SO, given all this information, the Angels just look like a really bad fit for him even though they were at one point interested in bringing him in, this rumor sounds like pure smoke.

There are actually many people in baseball who think that Kazmir is one of the more overrated pitchers around. Not saying that he isn't a really good player and he's got good numbers but he may not be the ace that some think he is. Just my two cents but i think someone may end up really overpaying for him and come to regret it down the line

QUOTE(scenario @ Dec 30, 2007 -> 08:16 AM) The story describes the 12-day MLBSB school held each year for execs and scouts. Is there another longer school? If so, please describe (length, etc). And where can I learn more about it? Also... I found the following quote from an interesting 2003 MLB.com article about this school. Thought I'd point it out for other posters. (BTW - the series of articles linked here is excellent and highly recommended reading.) couldn't agree more, great reading for anyone who's interested in scouting or player development

We've already got a soft hitting lefty who can lead off for us. If we're going to sign someone to platoon with Jerry we need to look at someone who can hit leftys

You always need organizational guys to challenge the youngsters. This forces them to play their way into the lineup instead of just being given a starting job becuase there is already someone there who is an older, more experienced and better player.

I didn't want to waste anybody's time with my opinion as I've never seen any of these guys play, just read about them but what the hell 1. FDLS- Mid 90's FB, plus slider and a developing change, could become a top of the rotation starter in 3-4 years if everything goes right. 2. Gio- Plus plus curve, average change and plus FB that can hit mid 90's at times, could play his way into the rotation in spring training. 3. Sweeny- Good defense, great arm, plus speed, and power potential. Tweaked his swing in winter ball supposedly, if he starts out strong in AAA he could be an early/mid season call up. I don't think he's been handled properly, deserved more of a chance last season to prove that he belonged. 4. Poreda- Lefty's with high 90's heat don't grow on trees. Hopefully he won't become the injury problem everyone thinks he will be. If he can add a second pitch he could be a pretty nasty closer 5. Getz- Good contact hitter with great speed, he's also still young and developing. 6. Miranda- He's a good contact hitter, not much power but can get on base, great so/bb ratio. Also has a good defensive pedigree. 7. Egbert- Average stuff but he really know how to pitch and at the cell we need groundball pitchers like him. 8.Brian Anderson- He's a great defender, if he can figure out how to hit a bit more he could be our starting CF for years to come. The talent and potential is still there, just need to develop it. Supposedly he dedicated himself this winter and has been working harder than ever trying to perfect his craft. After this I'd just be guessing so I'll stop here. Bureau, Don't know if you have anything on DLS but if you do I'd love to hear your take on what he brings to the table.

Interesting info on Miranda, I wonder why he's struggled with his glove, are the balls hit that much harder in rookie/A ball?

Just like several others have said, he won us a title, that is something that nobody had been able to do in Chicago (both sides) for the previous 90 years so I'll give him a grace period, he has earned the right to a couple more years to get the team back in order. If he can't do it by 2009, then I think its time to move on

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 11:43 PM) Give it a flipping rest man. second

QUOTE(BureauEmployee171 @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 09:42 PM) Position Players (not pitchers) do not get 48 M and another get 4+ M for no good reason fellas. Ramirez is a known quantity. All 30 MLB teams have seen him play and have the report above in on him. You don't "steal" a player for 4+ M when all teams have their reports on the player turned in. thanks for the educated info on our new signing, i always appreciate your posts here and I couldn't agree more on this one. while i do think that the cubs overpaid for Fuku it's not like we somehow managed to sign a comprable talent for 1/11 the price. I'm happy that we made a very low risk move to solidify our ballclub but i'm not expecting the second coming of Jeter or even yuniesky bettencourt. we got a good player who might turn into something down the road for a small investment, for that i am pleased

This is an exciting signing in that 1. He sounds like he has great potential 2. He's still pretty young and has a good deal of experience already (seven years in cuban pro leagues) 3. He is versitile enough to help us at several positions of need , CF, 2b, SS but lets remember that cuban pro ball is compared to single a ball here so this guy is anything but a sure thing and could very well need to spend the entire season or more in the minors adjusting to the game here.

Buerhle for Ryan Freel straight up

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Dec 17, 2007 -> 09:58 PM) Agreed -- Honel wasn't a bad pick, he's just one of the many pitchers whose arms don't hold together long enough for them to get to the majors. Even great scouting organizations aren't able to pick who will get hurt and who won't. No one ever thought Prior wold go through what he has... not true, lots of people thought that Prior might run into injury problems at some point

I'd rather see Richar sink or swim. We gave up a good OF prospect in Cunningham for him and we only got to see him for less than half a season. If he doesn't get it done this year then we can just sign O Dog as a FA next year or look elsewhere. Besides they would probably not be interested in any deal that includes and overpaid and over fed Uribe

Only time will tell with these guys. I thought that both of them showed some real potential last season, especially Danks who pitched his way into the rotation at just 21 years old. If he continues to develop he could be something special, as far as Floyd goes, this season is really sink or swim, he had a good last month of the season. If he can carry that momentum over to this season the sky is the limit for him because he has great stuff (he was the #4 overall pick in '01) In summary, sure the potential is there for both guys but KW really tied his wagon to these two guys, if they pull through he'll look like a genius, if they falter, he's going to be in hot water

Just looking at his stats from W-S high a ball last year looks like we're grooming him to be a closer. He's got a k/9 rate of almost 10 with low walk totals. But he did throw 7 wild pitches and gave up 7 HR's in 80 ip so there's definitely some wildness, he's also 23 already so hopefully they start him at AA next year. He's been in A+ for 2 full seasons now, time for him to sink or swim

this came from a rangers team reporter/blogger rangers farm report about 1 1/2 years old but still sounds like an interesting prospect, hopefully the change in organizations didn't set him back too much changing coaches and all

You wouldn't think that someone would lose weight moving from a health-conscious metropolis in the northwest to the world's sausage capital. go figure