thxfrthmmrs

Looking at his K total per game is not any more useless than looking at his HR/AB. The true indicators of his development as a useful hitter are his BA and OBP.

The HR rate is cool and all, but I would MUCH rather see a line of 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and no K's We know Hawkins has power, but without seeing any game videos and just looking at the boxing score, it seems like he's swing for the fences every time, as evident by his 10 HR, 50 K and 2 doubles in 95 AB's. Until he changes his approach and start making better contact, I wouldn't get too excited about him. We have too many guys in our organization, top to bottom, who can hit the long ball, but also strikeout over 200 times a year.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 2, 2013 -> 12:52 AM) Semien starting to heat it up. Up to .279 with .380 OBP. Rangel Ravelo continues to hit. Hitting .386 at W-S. Still needs to show some pop though, especially for a 1B. I like Semien, I really hope he makes it to the majors. But he's had one good game the past two weeks, cooling down considerably. I also can't take Ravelo seriously. He's a good contact hitter playing in a power position. But he has hit exactly 3 homeruns in 900 minor league plate appearances. That's unheard of for a 6'2" 210 lb guy.

It's hard to imagine this guy is already turning 33 next year. It wasn't too long that this kid walked into our classroom and introduced himself to us during a high school Chemistry class in which his mother was our teacher, while he was at Double A in Detroit.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ May 23, 2013 -> 02:01 PM) Meh. Unless Hibbert was standing under the basket and never guarded Battier or Bosh he wasn't going to be able to do anything on that play. On the prior possession where LeBron got a layup it was a different story though. That last possession was a well designed play by Spoelstra (pains me to say that) and a huge f*** up by George. He got himself way out of possession and had no chance to even slow LeBron down once he caught the ball. But you have to consider there is no way Lebron won't go to the basket for a game winning layup without a rim protector, especially after what happened at the end of regulation. I would rather let the perimeter guys beat me than to give up the layup, and they only need a 2 to win, so they would like to get something at the rim versus taking a 3. So it's either Frank Vogel didn't expect a layup from Lebron, or he expected Paul George to stop Lebron from getting to the rim. Both of which are mistakes regardless. He should have put Hibbert in, twice.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 23, 2013 -> 11:20 AM) Pressey supposedly looked really bad at a workout yesterday. As for Shabazz, I'd rather have Caldwell-Pope. Shabazz reminds me so much of Xavier Henry. I see a hybrid of Nick Young and Xavier Henry. A wing who can score, but provides nothing else. It's very disappointing that just 3 years ago, this guy was going to be the next Kobe, killer instinct and winning attitude and all. Now he probably won't even be a starter in the league.

Was really hoping to rain out tonight's game so we don't have to run into Buchholz who is pitching out of his mind.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 22, 2013 -> 03:53 PM) I've seen video. At 2nd, he starts a walking lead, then reaches a point and sort of walks paces in place, facing the pitcher. From 1st it is a similar thing, but he is facing 2nd base instead of the pitcher. Is there a link to the video?

Micah Johnson caught twice stealing third base today. I would like to know what's his stl % on third base this season. From what we read before, he uses the regular lead instead of the walking lead when stealing third base.

looking at the hands, he's guaranteed to be better than Tyson Chandler. /half green

I thought all the Rose mockery will stop now since we mostly likely seen his last days in a suit

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 22, 2013 -> 01:31 PM) That's not an answer. If there's no top line scorer in the draft, but there is a top line defender... Right. And their defense was one of the worse in the league. Their offense would automatically improve if Kyrie stays healthy this year, Waiter progresses naturally, and they don't have to start Tyler Zeller at center. Drafting Noel really fits the need for them.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 22, 2013 -> 12:57 PM) This is exactly who I was trying to think of earlier, but was too lazy to look him up. I'm not so sure about McLemore, but I really think Burke has a pretty good chance to be a very, very good player. I'd rather take a guy like that and worry about fitting him in to my roster if I am the Cavs right now, then to take Noel with the #1 pick. But again, that is just me. Thabeet to Noel is not a fair comparison at all. Thabeet was no where near the athlete and certainly wasn't as mobile as Noel is at all. Thabeet was just known for being tall, and from what I hear, the dude has the brain of Javale McGee. I don't know if you know how good Kyrie Irving is, but he is a franchise PG by all means. Would you draft Burke if you are the Bulls and you have Derrick Rose already?

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 22, 2013 -> 10:54 AM) He also has a blown acl and cannot score. But hey, thanks for being a tremendous prick about it. He has a similar built and athleticism as Chandler when he came out of high school. He can get garbage points just off dunks and put backs with his size, and even only 90% of his athleticism going forward. He can easily provide 10-12-3 blocks a game two years down the road. A 7 mobile footer who can defend and patrol the paint is hard to come by in this league. He might not be as talented as past number one picks, but he's the kind of player you need if you want to build a championship defense. I don't really see Burke and McLemore making sense here when they already have the backcourt of the future in place. Potter and Oladio is nice, but they certainly aren't worth the 1st pick. The most important thing here is Varejao is only guaranteed through next year, and the Cavs have a team option to decline his $10 mill contract. The only guaranteed players on the roster are Noel if they take him, Thompson, Waiters, and Kyrie, all still on their rookie contracts. Drafting Noel really would allow them to do serious damage in the Summer of 2014, bringing back a certain SF that they crowned as the King.

I am curious, how long are Euro League games?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2013 -> 11:03 PM) but you made it sound like he was some over aged scrub who struggled to make it out of A ball. If there's a long list of current major leaguers who were in A or lower (short-season/summer league) for years 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 and then suddenly blossomed at that time and became the equivalent of an All-Star, I would love to see it Because that's the way baseball works. For the longest time, it took convincing that a Mexican position player could make it successfully at the major league level. It's like an African-American quarterback....as soon as someone proves it can be done, then it's not an issue. I'm not saying that's WHAT I believe...just the way a lot of the older scouts that I used to be around looked at things back in the 90's. Maybe it has changed a bit (but, for an example, I haven't seen an influx of women as Assistant GM's or even running minor league organizations...it takes decades to change that good 'ol boys network). I remember in 1994, one of the scouts saying Ordonez is going to get fat or doesn't project as a major leaguer because, at that time, his only plus tool was hitting. Or that players from Mexico all eat too many tacos and burritos and enchiladas, don't stay in shape, whatever. It was silly and fed into some of the worst stereotypes. All of the minor leaguers from the Dominican back at that time...90% of them were rail thin (like Alexei) or were built like Ricky Henderson or Jose Canseco. That's ridiculous. What part of he didn't pitch full time until 19 years old don't you understand? He only pitched 4 fulls seasons prior to being released, and he was very good during all 4 years. Did people think he can be this good this soon? No. Did people has expectations for him? Of course they did. I don't think anyone sees a 22 year old who just finished A ball as a major red flag. He was viewed as a guy with no potential as you are making it sound like.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:10 PM) Cavs also have Varejao, who before his injury was one of the best centers in the NBA last year. The same center who people actually thought he finally figure it out at age 30, who would be 31 years old by the start of next season, and who only played 81 games combined the past 3 seasons?

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:06 PM) I really would not like having to pick Noel if I had the #1 pick...he has a chance to be a nice defensive player, but probably not going to do much offensively...that's sort of setting your sights low with the numero uno... Defense wins championships, and center is still the most importantly position in the game. A supreme defensive player, with his size and athleticism, is still a pretty special player, even if he has an offensive game of Marcus Camby or Tyson Chandler. This is a weak draft, and the only other player worthy of the top pick is McLemore, but I don't see Cavs drafting him with Waiter as their 2 guard of the future. Noel probably won't be a superstar, but it fits them very well, and potentially set up for Decision Part Deux next year.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:29 PM) If you go back to the day of the acquisition, I don't even think ANYONE knew what to make of it. He's one of, if not, the first, Colombian pitcher to make it successfully. Orlando Cabrera and the Renteria brothers were the others, but were all position players/hitters. I just meant he was in the Yankees' system at the A Level of lower for a good six years. That doesn't scream someone who's going to spend a month in AA, skip AAA and pitch like an All-Star for 3+ months in the majors. In fact, I would guess that has never happened before that someone spent most of the previous year in A ball before being claimed by another team and making that jump all the way to the majors the following season. Maybe Liriano, but he was part of a trade, not a roster claim. What does it have to do anything at all? You pull the most random things out sometimes. Is there anything against Colombian pitchers we don't know about? 6 years, hell, two of those years he didn't do anything. He was only 19 years old when he pitched his first full season in DSL. The fact that he made such a smooth transition to the majors can even tell you the Yankees were too safe with him. I would like to pull up some old posts, because I am positive people were surprised Yankees released Q, and he has some potential in him. No one expected the quick promotion and success that he has had, but you made it sound like he was some over aged scrub who struggled to make it out of A ball.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2013 -> 10:06 PM) I'll trade for their payroll and 26 or 27 or whatever number of World Series titles, lol. I'm sure it rankled Cashman that Contreras won a World Series for us, too...but it's just a blip on the radar for Yankees' fans, like Hideki Irabu or Kei Igawa. Keep in mind, Quintana was in his 6th minor league season and still in A ball. BTW, trade Reed and Crain, NOW. 75% joking. Way to skew the statistics. He only pitched like 5 innings in 06, got injured and didn't pitch in 07, 2008 was his first year legitimately pitching. He only spent 4 years below Double A, and two of which are in DSL. He was on his way to Double A at age 23, nothing wrong with that. There were plenty of people, this board included, puzzled by the Yankees move to release Quintana, because he had some potential. I am glad it worked out for us. BTW, Reed with 16 saves in 21 wins for us. Baseball has been pretty fun this year.

Cavs will most likely draft Nerlens Noel and their starting lineup would look something like this. Hm Irving Waiters SF Thompson Noel.

LOL @ Bobcats/Hornets

I wouldn't read too much into the AFL invite. Nevin Griffin and Brandon Kloess were invited as well in recently. They weren't highly touted guys by any mean. Thompson is a 26 year old reliever, being in his first year above A ball, and average about half a strikeout per inning. His good stats could be attributed to him always too old for every level he was in. He'd be extremely fortunate to make it to the majors, let alone be a closer.

Sanchez's hitting tool is a tad overrated. His average last year was skewed by his unsustainable .370 avg in a 30 game stint in Double A. Other than that, he hasn't shown he's a consistent .300 hitter even in the minor league level. Also, he's a bit rushed to the Triple A last year, with only 30 games under his belt in Double A. If he continues to hit around the Mendoza line in Triple A, I would like to see him go back to Double A to continue to work on his hitting and promote a guy like Semien or Saladino.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ May 16, 2013 -> 05:49 PM) he said he'd decide after the season was over, and he might not even need it. haven't heard anything mentioned yet. I really hope he does. He needs to fix the wrist and the broken thumb he has been dealing with. His shooting has been pretty bad ever since he broke that wrist last year. I think he skipped out on surgery last year mainly because he wanted to play for the British national team badly, and with Rose out this season, having him out as well is basically throwing in the towel. We have proven we are still a pretty good team without him in the playoffs, and with Rose back (can't imagine), he can take all the time he needs to finally get healthy.