easyw

These jobs are pure crap. Long hours, stressful environment... if you make the right contacts, you might be able to move on to a slightly better crappy position, making $15,000.. maybe... oh, and no benefits - no health care, no dental, no 401K, no paid vacation, no tuition reimbursement... maybe you get free hot dogs and nachos from the media room, and the chance to have Konerko look at you funny when you ask for his autograph... Jobs in sports/media/journalism pay nothing, and they are a suicide career choice in a dead medium. I know, I spent a decade in this field in Chicago. Do yourself a favor - you want a real life? - get a degree in econ or accounting, get a teaching certification, or manage a restaurant.. avoid the sports/media/journalism field like the plague... like lady heroin, its sexy at first, but eats you alive from the inside out. Unless you're KW.. or Mike North.. in which case its the other way around.. and trust me, those guys got problems in their personal lives, too.. big time scary problems. Run as fast as you can in the other direction. You've been warned. Don't say I told ya so, cause I'm tellin ya now...

Back to the topic... Its official Torre will manage the Dodgers. He's bringing along Mattingly. I'm not convinced torre was the best choice for this position. What other managers were available? Phil Garner? He's quite good.

I see again today on the Sox Machine blog Collaro characterized as an ill-legitimate prospect. I would continue to disagree with that assessment. However I would agree that he needs to improve his plate discipline in order to make it to the major league level for anything beyond a cup of coffee in September. He'll be invited to spring training in March. Let's see how he does there, and a full season at AAA in 2008, before he gets written off completely.

I'll wait til he end of the year to give a full update. Suffice to say that Collaro is doing about the same so far in AAA as he did in AA. Look for him in Tuscon come March, and on the southside as a sept call up in 2008.

sorry,dude. you can keep him. The search function on this site ain't worth Sh**

I'll adopt Leroy Hunt.

Despite his poor plate discipline, Collaro just got the bump up to AAA. Future Sox sums him well - good power numbers, but must improve his plate discipline if he is to be considered a serious major league prospect.

Some people don't even consider Collaro a prospect. His numbers are hard to ignore. But if he is to make an appearance in the big leagues, he will have to have better plate discipline. The guy strikes out waaaaay too much.

Wrong! If Collaro were to play for the Sox, I would DEFINATELY buy a ticket to see him and cheer him on!

Picture yourself on a boat on a river. Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river. Old Mississippi, she's calling my name Why don't you come along and mosey on down, I said down, come on down, down by the lazy river. She sits on the dock a fishin' in the water uh, huh. She's so very nice, you should break the ice, let her know that she's on your mind. Across the streams of hopes and dreams where things are really not. Have to believe we are magic, nothing can stand in our way. Look here, Brother - Who you jivin' wit dat Cozmik Debris? When that moon gets big and bright, it's a supernatural delight. You wish upon a star that turns into a plane Don't know when I'll be back again Take my chances on a big jet plane - Never let 'em tell you that they're all the same Big ol jet airliner, don't carry me too far away

I think that ESPN (or ESPN2) is going to televise the first round of the baseball draft on saturday. I read that this is the first time this has ever been on TV. Usually, its a conference call. I'm not too sure what to look for... more than any other sport, highly touted baseball prospects seem to wash out a lot more than football or basketball. Maybe it will be intersting to see if the A's draft another Jeremy Brown-type guy... I want to see who gets that tall pitcher from Vandy, and that catcher from Georgia Tech... other than that, I dunno. Anyone gonna watch?

Picture yourself on a boat on a river. Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river. Old Mississippi, she's calling my name Why don't you come along and mosey on down, I said down, come on down, down by the lazy river. She sits on the dock a fishin' in the water uh, huh. She's so very nice, you should break the ice, let her know that she's on your mind. Across the streams of hopes and dreams where things are really not. Have to believe we are magic, nothing can stand in our way. Look here, Brother - Who you jivin' wit dat Cozmik Debris? When that moon gets big and bright, it's a supernatural delight. You wish upon a star that turns into a plane

Last night, Thomas Collaro was 4-for-7 with two homers and three RBI, including the go-ahead shot in the 12th. thru 59 games this year: .288/.312/.538/.850 13 HR 46 RBI 129 TB 67 K in 240 ABs 4-4 in SB He is near the top in every power-oriented offensive category in the Southern League. For years I've been hearing again and again that this guy is NOT a prospect. BULL! He IS a great prospect (still needs to get the strikeout rate down)!

Collaro already has two homers for the Barons this year.

Loved his cameo in 'Back to School'.

For any of you with expanded basic cable, I believe that the MLB Season ticket (or 'Extra Innings') is giving away a free preview this week, until April 15th. I have Comcast digital and the coverage begins around channel 465. Watching the out of market games is addicting - I saw Bmac pitch, and got to watch most of the Tigers/O's marathon last night. The season package costs $160, too rich for my cheap bastard ass, but its still nice to have it free -- if only for a week.

This is terrible news. I think Hall's role with the 2007 Sox was going to larger than KW led on... Everyone knows Hall can hit the lefties, and he would've started maybe 40 or so games behind the plate, and maybe another 10-20 as a DH (depending on injuries, etc..). The Sox were awful against left handed pitchers last season, and acquiring Hall was a step towards correcting that. How important is winning against left handed pitchers? 11 of the 12 teams that finished 1st or 2nd in their division last season had winning records against lefties (the exception being St Louis). Of all the remaining teams, only one (or maybe two) had a winning record against lefties. If the Sox want to contend in 07, one thing they will likely have to accomplish is to have a winning record against left handed pitching. Losing Hall makes that task a lot tougher.

I posed this same question to John Dewan, asking him about the two you mention, plus the Ron Shandler book. He said they are all pretty much the same, and you should just go with the one you like best. Forecasting is a damn near impossible science. I went with BP one year and it was way off. I have Bill James this year, so I dunno. Year after year, I go after 'Lindy's Baseball Preview' - a bargin at $7 and they have a nice style with good scouting reports.

at 5 in the morning, I'm not checking my spelling. I think collaro has played on the lower end of the split squad games. He strikes out a lot. So far that hasn't been the case this spring. Maybe he's turned the corner? Does anyone know if he's worked with Greg Walker much in the offseason? He didn't handle the promotion to AA all that well last year. He may start the season back in Birmingham, but he might move up to Charlotte quickly. Still, for more than 2 years now, I've been hearing from 'fans' that he is not a serious prospect in the Sox organization.

I think the Brewers will contend for a playoff spot in the NL, but won't go much further than that.

In 2 games so far this spring, Collaro is 4 for 6 with 5 TB and 3 runs scored. No strikouts, one double. I think these are mostly 'B' squad games, but at least he hasn't embarressed himself....yet.

Might not have been his wife - could've just been some baseball annie.

Toronto has a great outfield, but their infielders don't seem that great to me. Plus, their pitching is shaky. Baltimore could be the sleeper in this division.

Hall can hit left-handed pitching KW acquired him to rest AJ (who I believe logged a career high in playing time last year) when the Sox face leftys. AJ can't hit the leftys. The Sox face a lot of left-handed pitching. Hall can also DH in place of Thome. Acquiring Hall was maybe the best move KW made for 2007.

My initial evaluation indicates the AL East is going to be dogfight this year, much like the AL Central was last year. I don't see anyone beating the Yankees. Toronto may have taken a step back (they've got less pitching). Even with the loss of Anna Benson's husband, I think Baltimore could be a surprise contender - they've got young pitching, and their position players look solid to me. They're not too deep, but did add to their pen. I think the Red Sox are shaky, and Tampa will again be the most talented last place team in the majors. Any thoughts on the Os?