CheezWizHed

If Rose was on the Bucks, everyone else on the team would be a good support player. You mean like Joe Alexander, Yi Jianlian and Larry Sanders? The Bulls have their bad picks also, but overall, the Bulls have done a much better job of drafting in the last 5-6 years.

Yes, exactly. The new system doesn't level the playing field, but it limits the field at least (for comp picks). I'm sure in 10 years, NY and Boston will have more comp picks than the Brewers, KC or Pitt, but there should be fewer overall. Plus the Brewers will have a bigger field of players to try to sign in FA, since fewer will require them to give up the first either (which we just can't afford to do). I'll say it loud and proud until MLB fixes the system, that the NFL compensation system is better, since it takes into account both losing and signing of FA. Signing a big FA negates losing one and you aren't compensated for it.

1st round compensation picks since 2000: NYY: 11 BOS: 13 MIL: 5 PIT: 1 KC: 1 MN: 8 Part of that is drafting for sure. But I would wager at least part of NYY's and BOS's totals include players they signed signed as FA, then allowed to leave in FA for picks. I'm not sure how to find that information.

In a way we're sort of lucky after all that the Blue Jays or the Mariners didn't sign Prince. (Imagine having to pay one of the two picks 5-6 million to sign) Yeah, that would suck to have a chance to draft higher quality players. I know what you are trying to get at, but come on... some problems are good to have. Even with the new CBA, the big-market teams can suffice by signing star free agents while the small market teams can't. The new CBA didn't change that. Same as before. Also, since the FA compensation has been further restricted, such as the raise in the arbitration requirements, the small market teams probably won't be able to take their chances on offering arbitration to an impending FA. Again, I don't think that will change much. Remember all the discussions on whether we should offer arbitration on Player X (Cameron, KROD, etc..)? How many times did someone crow: Boy, if we were the Yankees, we could offer arby easily, because we could play a fringe A ranked player $13M. The only difference now is the monetary level we have to offer is a known quantity rather than a guess arbitration number. But again, being easier to offer that amount hasn't changed. Deep pockets always have always made it easier to offer bigger contracts. The new CBA seems to be heavily leaning towards big-market teams. More dominance by the likes of the Yankees, Phillies, Angels, and Red Sox, I suppose. The main change I see happening with the new CBA is that there are less supplemental draft picks handed out. And maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that the larger market teams got more of those picks anyway. So we will see less of the Yankees, Bosox, LA, etc... getting draft picks inserted between rounds and pushing down everyone else's 2nd round picks. I see that as a bonus for small market teams.

Its more than Rose. Rose is the superstar, but they are pretty good at drafting good support players also. Like Noah.

3 interviews and no job offers is nothing. Yeah, I was going to add something along those lines also. Don't let that reflect on you personally. At my company, I'm involved in interviewing candidates for job openings. But even while we need to hire, management is being very picky about what they want. We have passed over several good candidates because they didn't have a strong suit in one particular area. But they were still very good candidates.

Still, it's going to be a decent pick especially for a team as good as the Bulls. That is what you get for drafting well. Players that don't fit your team anymore still have some draft value to move around. We tend to get retread cast-offs...

I sounds like you are pressing too hard. What relaxes you? Do all your prep work prior to the interview. Then when you get there (or maybe in the car prior to going in), close your eyes and focus on something that relaxes you. Think about the beach, spending a day at the ball park, fantasy vacation, whatever. Breath deep. If your focus is on "I must get this job" its going to be tough to focus on the interviewee and his/her questions. Depending on what time of day, you might also try working out prior to the interview (assuming you can clean up in time). Blow off some steam. Have sex. Whatever helps you reduce stress in general.

But wouldn't that make him kind of a prima donna in the eyes of the other players? I doubt he is taking limos and staying at the Four Seasons while the rest are on the bus and at the Roach Motel. Plus, AAA is much better than A-ball too. I doubt its too "rough" on them. Not sure why its such a big deal to people that he wants to play baseball. Better to leave too late than to leave too early.

Can they really be evil anymore if Russell Branyan is wearing their uniform? They are all the more evil BECAUSE he is wearing the uniform. Does the devil become less evil because he seduces another soul? [/half-blue] I agree with Endder, though. He wouldn't have a role with the team.

it seems like Hall enjoyed Milwaukee and Boston and would be open to a return to either team Translation: I'm unemployed and want a job in the majors. http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif Might have been nice as a backup SS, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it...

However, LaPorta definitely has to be considered a bust as he was the centerpiece of the Sabathia deal for Cleveland. Touche'. I was looking from the draft perspective only. And as for Briggs' reply earlier, I personally value Kjeldgaard more highly than a LaPorta at this point. I like BK, but I'd easily trade any of our 1B (BK, Morris, Ramirez) for LaPorta. They all have similar down sides (holes in their swings), but none have LaPorta's power upside.

I'd trade Rogers for him.... SP is a team strength so the only way I see use acquiring Bailey would be if we gave up one of our starting 5 in a three-way trade. Anything else doesn't make sense, as it either leaves a hole in the team (Hart idea) or just isn't worth it (giving up one of our top prospects).

How about Arnett for LaPorta? Any GM should be fired if they give up LaPorta for Arnett. Not that LaPorta is any great shakes, but that he is struggling at the MLB level (having hit well at all minor league levels) and Arnett can't solve the A level. Arnett is a bust. I'd be hard pressed to call LaPorta a "bust" just because he hasn't hit the MLB level well. What would it have taken for the Brewers to give up Mat Gamel last year (with one option left)? Its not a great comparison, as LaPorta has had more chances at the MLB level, but its not far off either.

Cheezewizhed, I'm pretty sure a 1-7 pitch for a righty would be a screwball. Do scouts call it from the perspective of the catcher or the pitcher? Since you are talking about a pitcher, I've always thought of it from that perspective. From the pitcher's view, a 11-5 curveball from a right hander is the screwball. Maybe he will get it like Sheets and make it a 12-6 curveball so we don't have to worry about it. That would be nice of him. http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif

I think having fantastic defense in center and his baserunning already make him pretty valuable. No one is denying that (although, his speed doesn't always translate into good base-running). But that doesn't make him a 5 tool player, but a 2 tool player. Which is better than just being a tool.... http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif

Is Ginter available? He'd make a great backup 2B/3B!

Lance Allen in the "one minute sports" this morning on Channel 4 said that MLB has 25 "business days" to make a decision on Braun then he said that would be February 19. What? February 19th is a Sunday. Lance, do you know what business days are? Well, he has to work on Sundays... http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/wink.gif

Most Improved: Carlos Gomez! He is a late bloomer who still has 5 tools waiting to be unleased on the league. I don't know... that is probably a longer shot than predicting we end up 4th.

For example, Cecil Fielder said: "We all knew the kid was obese. He had a hard time running to first base without getting tired. You don't transform your body by yourself, you've got to have trainers, you've got to have people cooking for you, there's a lot of things that go into that. … Bravo Cecil! You recognized that your genes and eating habits made your kid fat, so you "transformed" him into the svelte man his is today. Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back.

I wonder if salary relief... I hope they don't do it for salary relief alone. A trade to improve the team or at least to get something back for a guy that isn't going to be with the team next year would be preferable. I know they are above their preferred salary level, but I get the feeling it isn't a dire situation.

MLB.com's video interface certainly seems to leave a lot of room for error, in terms of trying to link to a specific video. I looked at all of them, so that was probably it. What I noticed was if you watched one video, then clicked on another, the URL in the browser didn't update. So I had to "Open in new tab" to get the correct URL. The only thing I took that they considered, in terms of Morris, was that he 'reached double-A'. Nevermind that his callup to AA was more of a token thing than anything else... he's now a top prospect! He didn't hit for high average, really bad at taking a walk, so-so defense and 18 HRs. And "his bat will bring him to the majors". Never mind that Khris Davis hit 17 HRs at A+ in half the amount of games. I'm not signing off on Morris, but he still has a lot of work to become a MLB 1st baseman.

he's about 40 OBP points away from being a very solid backup OF That kind of funny. The rest of your post makes it sound like you think CP isn't too bad. But being 40 points below a backup OF in OBP is not a small amount. That's pretty large actually. Aoki's line may not end up better than CP, but he definitely has the potential to be much better.

Found a few links to the wrong video clip: Thornburg Schafer Jungmann has an "11 to 5" break on his curveball? That is pretty impressive for a right hander... I'm guessing they meant 1 to 7 break? I didn't realize Kentrail had that many steals. If he can find a bit of power, his prospect status could come back quickly. They seemed a bit high on Morris also. He has some power, but needs serious work on walks (more than "a bit") to be a serious MLB candidate.

Redd was in the ASG for the '03-04 season. I'm not sure what to make of this team. Two years ago, they looked like they had built a solid defensive team. They played well in the post-season. Last year, they fell flat. Jennings regressed a bit (or at least didn't progress). This year looked like last year to start... now suddenly looks like two years ago. Beating LA was nice. But beating Miami twice is impressive. I say pedal down and see where they can go.