TheCrew07

Subscriber Content Ranking The Top Power Hitters For July 2

Minor League Roundup: Giants’ Crick Strikes Out 10

Top 10 Fantasy Prospects: Jimmy Nelson Is Ready And Waiting June 26, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

Rattlers scratch out a 3-2 win at Kane County Wisconsin hangs on in the ninth By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - Pitchers Anthony Banda and Victor Diaz held the Kane County Cougars to two runs and Johnny Davis made a spectacular catch in the bottom of the ninth inning to preserve a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers victory on Wednesday afternoon. Wisconsin held on to defeat the Cougars 3-2 at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. The Cougars (49-26 overall, 4-2 second half) went in front in the bottom of the third inning. Kyle Schwarber, the player taken by the Chicago Cubs with the #4 pick in the 2014 draft, hit a 3-0 pitch from Banda over the wall in right for his second homer since joining Kane County on June 19. Schwarber has six homers in eleven games as a professional. The Rattlers (41-34, 5-1) responded in the top of the fourth. Clint Coulter was hit by a pitch from Cougars starter Tyler Skulina with one out. Garrett Cooper doubled off the wall in right with two outs and Coulter raced home with the tying run. Jake Hannemann created a run for the Cougars in the bottom of the fifth inning to put them back in front. Hannemann drew a four-pitch walk from Banda, stole second on the next pitch, and went to third on a wild pitch on the next pitch. Hannemann broke for the plate on the next pitch as Carlos Penalver squared to bunt on a suicide squeeze attempt. The pitch was low and in and got away from catcher Paul Eshleman. Hannemann scored and was credited with a steal of home. Skulina turned the game over to the bullpen for the top of the sixth and the Rattlers rallied almost immediately. Coulter and Jose Pena walked with one out against Zak Hermans. Cooper was next and he was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Both managers made switches after that pitch loaded the bases. Kane County's Mark Johnson went back to the bullpen for Corbin Hoffner to face Steve Halcomb. Wisconsin's Matt Erickson put Francisco Castillo in as a pinch-runner for Jose Pena at second base. Hoffner got Halcomb to send a one-hop grounder to Ben Carhart at first base. Carhart stepped on the bag at first for the out on Halcomb, but he needed to throw to second for a tag play on Cooper to complete the inning-ending double play. The throw was wild and wound up in left field. Coulter and Castillo both scored on the play and the Rattlers were up 3-2. Diaz took over for Banda in the bottom of the sixth and proceeded to pitch four eventful - but scoreless and hitless innings. Diaz tosses a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth inning, but had a long wait before he went back to the mound of the bottom of the seventh as there was a 27-minute rain delay during the top of the seventh. When play resumed, Diaz walked David Bote to lead off the bottom of the seventh Trey Martin was asked to bunt Bote to second base. Martin missed the ball, Bote strayed too far from first, and Eshleman threw a strike to first to pick Bote off for the out. Schwarber came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth with one out and none on base. He launched a deep fly to center on a 1-2 pitch from Diaz, but the ball died just shy of the warning track and Davis made an easy catch. In the bottom of the ninth, Diaz got the first out, but walked Jeimer Candelario to put the tying run on base. Kane County called on lefty Jacob Rogers to pinch hit for Cael Brockmeyer and face the right-handed Diaz. Rogers leads Kane County in doubles with nineteen and has also hit seven home runs this season. Rogers hit a 2-2 pitch from Diaz high and deep to right-center. Davis had been shading Rogers to left-center, but raced back to the warning track and made a great catch. Candelario, thinking that no one could catch that ball, was racing around the bases and was about ten feet from third when Davis made the catch. Davis fired the ball into second and it rolled to third baseman Taylor Brennan on the infield grass just as Candelario was rounding second on his way back to first. Brennan lobbed the ball to Cooper covering at first to easily double off Candelario for the final out of the game. Diaz has allowed one hit and no runs over his last two appearances which total ten innings. He also earned his first professional save with four innings on Wednesday. The Timber Rattlers have won nine of their last ten games. The final game of the series is Thursday night at 6:30pm. Tristan Archer (2-2, 3.98) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Kane County sends Daury Torrez (7-3, 3.48) to the mound. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm. HOME RUN: Kyle Schwarber (2nd, 0 on in 3rd inning off Anthony Banda, 2 out) WP: Anthony Banda (4-5) LP: Zak Hermans (2-2) SAVE: Victor Diaz (1) TIME: 2:33 (:27 rain delay) ATTN: 7,421 Wisconsin Boxscore Victor Diaz was fantastic in relief, he didn't allow a hit in his 4 innings, walked 2, but only struck out 1. If you look at his player link you'll see he's done things in "2s" all season and this was his second consecutive stellar effort. Hopefully he breaks the cycle here gets an extended hot streak going. The Rattlers managed just 5 hits so Garrett Cooper (2-3,2B) had the only multi-hit game. Omar Garcia was caught stealing for the 15th time in 44 attempts, his 66% success rate is surprising given how well he runs. Wisconsin Recap

Schwarber homered for the Cubs but the T-Rats answered back in the next half inning. Kane County & Wisconsin tied at 1s to the bottom of the 5th.

I'll just say that I don't believe all that much in luck. An older baseball guy I know has always believed and preaches that hitting is contagious both ways and I've been a believer, maybe just because I grew up hearing it when my dad would talk baseball with him. Look at the Rays, even their best player is horrible this year, it's not that they suddenly don't have any talent, none of them are hitting as a group. Is that really bad luck? Of course not, there's something much deeper than that going on. Of course the Cards were going to come back down to earth but nobody is "lucky" or "unlucky" for an entire year. I would term lucky events as things such as Colorado basically handing Milwaukee back to back victories to end the series. When hitters are smoking the ball all over the place, it's not luck, it's something else, those victories are actually being earned. The Brewers have been magnificent in close games but I wouldn't say they have been "lucky", they've been incredibly consistent and have earned those victories, the other teams didn't regularly give them away. In my opinion "luck" is just lazy statistical analysis that goes back to the first advanced baseball metrics, anything that isn't easily explainable gets dismissed as luck or noise. Too many games are won and lost in the grey area for it to be so easily ignored. I think it's easy for Brewer fans to want the Brewers to be better than the actually are and the Cards to be worse than they actually are, but I think the Brewers have played about as good as they can all season and the Cards still have more in their tank. The Brewers may take the division but we're way too far out to make any definitive claims yet, I've been very pleasantly surprised by how this season has gone. The question to be asking is if the Brewers can maintain what they've done being ranked in the middle pitching wise? They are currently 10th in runs allowed. However they are 2nd best offense in the NL and would be potentially be the best offense in playoffs on paper, but I have hard time believing the Cardinals actually have the 12th worst offense, especially if they start swapping out some of those vets for the youngsters. The Cards might struggle for a bit while those players get their feet on the ground but once they do... look out. I just don't think Kolten Wong is going to hit .228 as a professional anymore than I believe Scooter Gennett is actually going to bat .315 and SLG .470 for his career. Gennett may ultimately prove to be the better player but I think he's played over his head much like McGehee did early on.

The Baseballist: 10 Hitting Prospects Who Might Be Better Than You Think June 25, 2014 by Matt Eddy

It's too bad Clint didn't catch his entire baseball career, being a SS until his Junior year in high school has actually set him back some, but suggests he might be able to handle the hot corner. The Baseballist: 10 Hitting Prospects Who Might Be Better Than You Think June 25, 2014 by Matt Eddy

Minor League Roundup: Bryant Bashes His Way To The Top

Pipeline Perspectives: Reds have Minors' best rotation Starting five for Double-A Pensacola loaded with potential future stars for Cincinnati By Jonathan Mayo Every Major League organization makes a strong effort to develop pitching from within. That pitching can be used to help out the big league club -- the Cardinals called up 2013 first-round pick Marco Gonzales this week to make his Major League debut -- or used in trades to make the club better. Typically, even an organization that is rich in pitching has its arms spread throughout the system. Sometimes, though, the talent gets stacked up in one place, leading to an exciting prospect-laden rotation for one Minor League team. That's what Jim Callis and I are tossing around in this week's Pipeline Perspectives: Which Minor League rotation do we believe is the most talented? Jim decided to champion the Astros' troubled yet extremely talented staff in Lancaster of the Class A Advanced California League. While the Cincinnati Reds don't have quite as deep of a farm system as the Astros, I do think that their rotation in Double-A Pensacola trumps the JetHawks staff that Jim loves. The Blue Wahoos' starting five -- yes, that's the team's name -- doesn't have as many Top 100 prospects as Lancaster does, but all five starters are in the Reds' Top 20. You'd be hard-pressed to find another Minor League rotation that can claim that. It all starts with Robert Stephenson, ranked No. 16 on the overall Top 100 list. The Reds' top prospect is headed to next month's Futures Game, and with good reason. I'd put him up against just about any right-handed pitching prospect in the game in terms of his electric pure stuff and upside. Stephenson's fastball-curveball combination is as good as it gets in the Minors, and his changeup gives him a third Major League-average-or-better offering. He misses a lot of bats -- 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings in his career -- and he profiles as a top-of-the-rotation type. And he's pitching all year in Double-A at age 21. While Stephenson is the only Top 100 guy in Pensacola's rotation, there are plenty more intriguing arms. It wouldn't surprise me if Michael Lorenzen, Cincinnati's first-round pick from 2013, ends up on that list at some point. Lorenzen was a closer and center fielder at Cal State-Fullerton, and he is focusing on pitching full-time for the first time. Lorenzen is also learning how to be a starter for the first time. You'd think the Reds would start him off slowly, and at a lower level, but no. Lorenzen showed he was ready for a challenge, and he's been up for it during his first full season. His 2.61 ERA is third-lowest in the Southern League. Lorenzen is not missing a lot of bats, but he is getting a lot of ground balls, with a 1.77 groundout-to-flyout ratio. Considering he's still learning how to be a starter and is developing a third pitch, you have to believe he has a lot of upside. The one "weak" link in the rotation is Daniel Corcino, if only because he pitched at this level in 2012, then was in Triple-A a year ago, only to have to return to Double-A. Still, he's only 23, an age that would be acceptable at this level if he hadn't taken a step back. Ben Lively recently joined Pensacola's rotation and had a bit of a rude introduction in his first start on Monday. But he's really put himself more firmly on the prospect map with his pitching in the California League, a hitter-friendly environment. At the time of his promotion, Lively led the Cal League in wins and strikeouts and was second in ERA. He joined Lorenzen as the second 2013 draftee (he was a fourth-rounder) in the Blue Wahoo's rotation. Honestly, that quartet would be enough to make a good argument. But the staff goes five deep. Jon Moscot, No. 20 on Cincinnati's top prospects list, has kind of been flying under the radar with guys like Stephenson and Lorenzen as rotation-mates. But the 2012 fourth-rounder, who led the organization in strikeouts last year, has been pitching very well. His 2.82 ERA is fifth on the Southern League leaderboard, two spots behind Lorenzen. What excites me, and should get Reds fans pumped up, is that this rotation is an outstanding mix of upside and production. All five starters are performing well, and the fact that they are doing so in Double-A bodes well for the future of the pitching staff in Cincinnati.

The complete rosters for archive purposes. Bryant, Lindor head Futures Game rosters US prospects to take on World standouts July 13 at Target Field

Cal notes: Reds' Silva sneaking under radar After Blaze depleted by promotions, outfield prospect set to shine

Bryant hits fifth homer in sixth Triple-A start I-Cubs third baseman cracks three-run shot in first to help beat 'Topes

Cougars snap Rattlers win streak Wisconsin falls 9-3 to Kane County By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GENEVA, IL - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers four-game winning streak came to an end with a 9-3 loss to the Kane County Cougars at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark on Tuesday night. The Cougars erased a 3-2 Wisconsin lead with four runs in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back. Wisconsin (40-34 overall, 4-1 second half) pulled a successful double steal to get on the scoreboard in the first inning. Johnny Davis walked and went to third on a single by Omar Garcia. Garcia stole second and the throw went through to the base. Davis took off for the plate with the ball on the way to second and scored without a play. But, Kane County rallied (49-26, 4-1) for two runs in the bottom of the first. Jake Hannemann and Carlos Penalver singled to start the inning. Kyle Schwarber was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Yasiel Balaguert's grounder to second was enough to get a force play at second, but the throw to first was wild. Both Hannemann and Penalver scored to put the Cougars up 2-1. Jose Pena struck out but reached first on a wild pitch to start the Wisconsin second. Garrett Cooper singled to center and Pena hustled around for third base. Angel Ortega knocked in Pena with a sacrifice fly to right to tie the game. The Rattlers went back in front in the top of the third. Michael Ratterree and Clint Coulter both walked to start the inning. After a fielder's choice and a flyout to shallow left Ratterree was at third and Taylor Brennan was at first. Pena knocked in Ratterree with a sharp single to center for a 3-2 Wisconsin lead. But, the Cougars came right back against Wisconsin starting pitcher Preston Gainey in the bottom of the third. Schwarber walked to start the inning. Balaguert doubled to right-center and Schwarber came around to score the tying run. Jacob Rogers singled on an 0-2 pitch to put runners on the corners with no outs. Will Remilard's grounder behind third resulted in Balaguert scoring as the only play Brennan had was to first base. Balaguert's run made it 4-3 in favor of the Cougars. Jeimer Candelario kept the inning going with an RBI double to get Rogers home. A wild pitch by Gainey let Candelario score the fourth run of the inning and the Cougars were up 6-3. Kane County starter Paul Blackburn tossed a 1-2-3 fourth and allowed a two out single to Brennan in the fifth before exiting with the 6-3 lead. The Cougars added a run off reliever Tyler Alexander in the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Hannemann to score Remillard. The Rattlers could not score in three innings against Kane County reliever Michael Wagner, who struck out four and allowed one hit. Kane County pushed two more runs across the plate in the seventh inning against reliever Harvey Martin. Hannemann tripled with one out to get Trey Martin home from second. Penalver followed with an RBI single and the Cougars were up 9-3. In the ninth, Garcia singled with one out against Michael Heesch. It was the third hit of the game for Garcia. But, Heesch struck out the other three batters he faced in the ninth to close out the game. The loss was the first of the second half of the season for the Rattlers. The Timber Rattlers are 2-8 in ten games with the Cougars this season. Kane County is now 32-8 at home in 2014. Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Anthony Banda (3-5, 4.47) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Kane County will counter with Tyler Skulina (4-3, 2.70). Game time is 12:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM and IHeartRadio starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:40am. WP: Paul Blackburn (6-2) LP: Preston Gainey (2-4) TIME: 2:51 ATTN: 4,212 Wisconsin Boxscore Boo to losing to Cubs yet again and also for the pitching in this one. Since Chris covered everything else of note in the game story and this was a sour loss anyway I'll mention that Ortega committed his 18th error of the season and Coulter had 2 passed balls bumping his season total to 9. But hey, at least Ratterree scored an OF assist so the defense wasn't all bad. To end on a happy note, Coulter's OBP is over .100 higher than his AVE but he's not alone, although Brennan is only hitting .241 his OBP is actually .375. When Denson was healthy and qualified he was the 3rd member of that club as he was hitting .245 at the time of the injury but posting a .376 OBP. Not too shabby for a trio of A ballers, 2 of which came to pro ball directly from the HS ranks... Wisconsin Recap

Sounds Stung By Bees, 5-1 Nashville's Bullpen Allows One Run in 8 2/3 Innings; Gindl Continues Hot Streak Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/6/2/2/77552622/cuts/Caleb_Gindl_517_1_Large_97zt2vl4_jn7kjlqe.jpg SALT LAKE CITY - The Nashville Sounds (40-40) could not overcome a poor start in a 5-1 loss to the Salt Lake City Bees (32-48) on Tuesday afternoon at Smith's Ballpark. The defeat dropped Nashville to an 8-16 mark in its last 24 road games. The Bees tagged Sounds starter Johnnie Lowe (0-3) for four runs in the top of the 1st, providing all the offense they would need to pick up a win. Lowe lasted just 2/3 of an inning, taking the loss after allowing four earned runs on four hits and two walks. Salt Lake took a 2-0 lead after just two batters when J.B. Shuck hit a home run following a lead-off single from Matt Long. The Bees added two more runs in the opening frame on an Ian Stewart sacrifice fly and a Roberto Lopez RBI single. Kyle Heckathorn took over for Lowe and gained control before things got out of hand, providing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. Heckathorn combined with relievers Alfredo Figaro, Donovan Hand, Arcenio Leon and Brent Leach to allow just one run in 8 2/3 innings of bullpen work. Nashville's offense had batters reach safely in six of nine innings, but failed to put together a big rally needed to get back in the game. Outfielder Caleb Gindl, however, continued his hot streak, going 3-for-4 including an RBI triple in the top of the 6th that cut the deficit to 4-1. In his last 12 games, Gindl has posted a .364 batting average (16-for-44) with six multi-hit games. Sounds second baseman Pete Orr has hits in 14 of his last 16 games after hitting a double in the 2nd inning, posting a batting average of .373 (19-for-51) during that span. The Bees answered in the bottom half of the 6th when Matt Long hit an RBI single off of Hand. Salt Lake City then put the game away by retiring the Sounds in order in two of the last three innings. The Sounds return home and will begin an eight-game homestand on Thursday against the first-place New Orleans Zephyrs at 7:05 p.m. Sounds RHP Ariel Pena (4-5, 4.04 ERA) will face off against Zephyrs RHP Alex Sanabia (2-2, 5.23 ERA). Jeff Hem will have the call on 102.5 The Game. Nashville Boxscore I've been down on Kyle Heckathorn but he's been better over longer outings and hasn't given up any runs over his last 2 appearances (5.1 IP). Alfredo Figaro went 2 scoreless and Donovan Hand's struggles continue as he's now given up runs in 5 of his last 6 appearances. Arcenio Leon was oddly pulled after a single in the 8th so Brent Leach had to retire the final batter the Sounds faced. The bats had a forgettable afternoon with Caleb Gindl (3-4,3B) putting half the hits on the board. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

As a healer going back to EQ and Ultima Online (yes I know I dated myself) I switched characters frequently in the first DA to heal the tank until I came with up with better healing rules than the default and got the AI to do it for me. If you go with 2 mages in your party token heals out of either will work fine, because the fights don't last long enough to matter.

Nashville down early after Johnnie Lowe didn't make it out of the 1st, 4-0 Bees in the top of the 4th. Salt Lake Bottom of the 1st Matt Long walks. With J. B. Shuck batting, Matt Long steals (16) 2nd base. J. B. Shuck homers (2) on a fly ball to right field. Matt Long scores. Luis Jimenez singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Zach Borenstein doubles (3) on a line drive to left fielder Kevin Mattison. Luis Jimenez to 3rd. Ian Stewart out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Caleb Gindl. Luis Jimenez scores. Zach Borenstein to 3rd. Roberto Lopez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Logan Schafer. Zach Borenstein scores. John Hester pops into a force out, second baseman Pete Orr to shortstop Jeff Bianchi. Roberto Lopez out at 2nd. John Hester to 1st. Vance Albitz walks. John Hester to 2nd. Pitching Change: Kyle Heckathorn replaces Johnnie Lowe. Taylor Lindsey flies out to right fielder Caleb Gindl.

Sounds Defeat Bees, 8-6 Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/0/5/4/76302054/cuts/MattPagnozzi_z8x9usa1_a8t9z4fm.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) SALT LAKE CITY - The Nashville Sounds defeated the Salt Lake Bees, 8-6, on Monday evening at Smith's Ballpark. Right-hander Taylor Jungmann (3-4) turned in his best outing in his past four starts, picking up the victory with a quality start for Nashville. He held the Bees to two runs on four hits over six frames of work. Catcher Matt Pagnozzi homered and drove in three runs while Pete Orr went 3-for-4 and Caleb Gindl also plated three to lead the Sounds' offensive effort. The Sounds got out to a quick start against Joel Pineiro, grabbing a 3-0 lead with a two-out rally in the top of the first inning. After the first two batters were retired, Nashville filled the bags with a pair of walks sandwiched around a Hunter Morris single before Gindl cleared the bases with a three-run double to right. After Salt Lake got a run back in the second on an Ian Stewart RBI single, Nashville upped its lead to 6-1 in the fourth. Orr contributed an RBI knock before Pagnozzi slugged a two-run homer to left off Pineiro, the backstop's sixth big fly of the year. Pineiro (1-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits in his five frames of action. The Bees got another run back in the home half of the fifth when a leadoff walk came back to haunt Jungmann. John Hester drew the free pass and later raced home on a Tommy Field sacrifice fly to make it a 6-2 contest. Nashville got the run right back in the top of the sixth against Salt Lake reliever Anthony Lerew when Gindl led off with a single and later scored on Pagnozzi's two-out single to left. The Sounds missed a chance at a larger output, leaving the bases loaded in the frame. Salt Lake center fielder Matt Long pulled the Bees back within 7-4 in the seventh when he roped a two-run homer just over the wall in the right field corner off Sounds reliever Dustin Molleken. Logan Schafer tacked a run onto the Nashville lead in the top of the eighth when his two-out RBI double to right plated Orr, who had opened the frame with a single off Yoslan Herrera. The Bees didn't go down without a fight in the final inning against Nashville reliever Jeremy Jeffress. Pinch-hitter Jack Shuck led off with a single and raced around to score on Taylor Lindsay's double to the right-center gap. After a strikeout, the Sounds' right-hander issued a walk to Field to bring the potential tying run to the plate in the person of Luis Jimenez, who slapped an RBI single to left to cut the Sounds' lead to 8-6. Jeffress recovered to fan Brennan Bosch and Stewart in succession to close out the victory. The Sounds will look to secure just their second winning road series of the year when the teams wrap up the four-game set with a 1:05 p.m. CT finale on Tuesday afternoon. Right-hander Johnnie Lowe (0-2, 4.79) will make the start for the Sounds and face Salt Lake right-hander Jared Grube (4-2, 4.92). Nashville Boxscore Taylor Jungmann's full line; 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, and 2 HBP while throwing 46 of 86 (53.49%) pitches for strikes. Without elite stuff and/or control he's going to have to settle in at each level like he's done in the past. Hunter Morris (2-5,2B) and Caleb Gindl (2-4,2B) were the prospects with multi-hit games. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

I'll get Nashville on the AM side, at least Taylor Jungmann was much better this evening.

Offensive Players of the Week For the week ending June 22

K-Rod is a guy you like more if you are a purely statistical type of fan. If you watch him closely he gets by being effectively wild, he rarely even comes close to target setup by the catcher and gives up a ton of loud outs. I remember a game earlier this year where he threw more balls than strikes but made it out of the inning unscathed. I don't trust him, I never have, as I hate his mechanics as a pitcher. If he ever loses his plus secondary offering he's done. I often wonder why hitters don't just sit on his off-speed and force K-Rod to throw a FB, he can't throw it by them and the breaking stuff is rarely located in the zone. It's pretty much the same way I've viewed Estrada... why wouldn't you just sit change and react to one of those juicy 88-90 MPH waist high FBs when you get one? Pitching coaches and industry insiders often talk about hitters getting themselves out and I think with a guy like K-Rod that sentiment rings very true. He's not hard to figure out, he just lets hitters make enough to mistakes to be successful. Now that I'm thinking about it maybe that's my biggest problem, he success doesn't have as much to do with his pure talent as it does relying on the opposition to make mistakes. If hitters won't chase then he's in trouble but the flip side is that when things are going well for him then he's getting hitters to chase those pitcher's pitches. With his velocity down he's been pretty much the same whether he gives up runs or not; he understands how to setup hitters it's just the sequence of the pitches which will be the determining factor, if he has to give a hitter a FB when they are looking FB he's in trouble. He's relatively cheap for the position and thus far he's been effective so has been a good acquisition. I don't like his abusive (allegedly) past so I don't care for him as a person, and as I said I'm not thrilled with his mechanics or his pure talent at this point in his career either. I don't hold closers in very high regard at all so I'm pretty indifferent to his status, I'd much rather have a pen full guys capable of going multiple innings and a manager willing to utilize the pitchers in longer outings than the standard 1 inning rule. I understand that's just my utopian view of the bullpen and isn't realistic at this juncture given the pitchers on the staff and the manager so K-Rod is fine for what he is, but I really don't want to bring him back for 2015.

I had the first one on the DVR for years, everyone used to make fun of me but I thought it was brilliant and watched it at least once a week in my dead time.

There was an article linked earlier in the year about Zarraga's career and how he didn't really dedicate himself until this most recent off-season. I'm not going to take the time to go find it right now because I'm busy at work but there are apparently very good reasons that Shawn's progress has been basically stagnant for this long. I remember something about his defense being pretty bad but I don't recall exactly how it was quoted.

Almost missed this... Palm Beach's Helisek flirts with no-hitter Cardinals prospect makes one mistake, fans three over seven innings

Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs focused on during this week's PCL summary. PCL notes: Hendricks toils under Iowa radar Focus on hitters gives Cubs' No. 14 prospect time, space to improve