Somebody hates David Cook...

[JPN366]

He was sent back to B'ham today. Gone long enough to miss the SL all star game and home run derby.

[ThunderBolt]

That's a b**** move. What does Cook have left to do in AA? Charlotte is awful, just let him play. Seriously, this is BA's fault.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Thunderbolt

[SoxAce]

WOW. Now thats a man that should be requesting a trade.

[JPN366]

That's a b**** move. What does Cook have left to do in AA? Charlotte is awful, just let him play. Seriously, this is BA's fault.

 

It has nothing to do with Anderson, they moved Matt Zaleski up to Charlotte in his place.

[qwerty]

Jpn, this is why he has never been and never will be considered for a major league roster. Never is too harsh actually, several people on the depth chart could theoretically get injured all at once. Cook is 28 years old and seemingly overmatched in triple a, the dream is over.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2009 by qwerty

[ThunderBolt]

It has nothing to do with Anderson, they moved Matt Zaleski up to Charlotte in his place.

I stand corrected. This move looks even worse in this light. No one's saying David Cook is a great player, he isn't however, an AA one

[JPN366]

I stand corrected. This move looks even worse in this light. No one's saying David Cook is a great player, he isn't however, an AA one

 

With Torres going back to Charlotte, that gives them 27 active players. They can only have 24.

[BearSox]

The love fest with David Cook is quite amusing. He's a 28 year old non-prospect. Who cares. I don't know, maybe he wants to be in Birmingham or perhaps he's a good influence and teacher for the younger guys. However, getting all worked up about this is silly.

[scenario]

The love fest with David Cook is quite amusing. He's a 28 year old non-prospect. Who cares. I don't know, maybe he wants to be in Birmingham or perhaps he's a good influence and teacher for the younger guys. However, getting all worked up about this is silly.

 

Two years ago he was a 26 year old prospect who lead the Southern League in OPS... a CF with light-tower power who absolutely toyed with Southern League pitching... at a time we were dying to get someone who could both play the position and hit.

 

So, that should provide some perspective as to why people developed some attachment to him... and wonder why the organization hasn't given him more than a token look.

 

Seems like he should have had a more serious shot at AAA for a full year, IMO, rather than getting yo-yo'd between levels.

[BearSox]

Two years ago he was a 26 year old prospect who lead the Southern League in OPS... a CF with light-tower power who absolutely toyed with Southern League pitching... at a time we were dying to get someone who could both play the position and hit.

 

So, that should provide some perspective as to why people developed some attachment to him... and wonder why the organization hasn't given him more than a token look.

 

Seems like he should have had a more serious shot at AAA for a full year, IMO, rather than getting yo-yo'd between levels.

 

I'm sorry, but big whoop. Obviously there are more reasons behind this, and with us still lacking prospects, you'd think we'd be trying to push someone like Cook in AAA. The reason why we aren't pushing him should be a pretty big indication that he isn't much of a prospect.

[ThunderBolt]

I value AA (and the player within) a lot more than AAA. The fact that we have a 28 year old guy whose proven what he has to prove, and a 1st round bust (McCulloch) toiling down there with no signs of improvement or progression frustrates me. To me they constitute, what is effectively a waste of space and time for both the players and the organization. What exactly is the goal of the organization here? There are a lot of promising prospects who have earned promotions, who could soon find their development impeded by two guys who appear not to be in the team’s future plans.

[JPN366]

This has nothing to do with his prospect status, it all has to do with the fact that he got screwed out of his chance to participate in the Southern League All Star festivities. That's what makes me mad. Getting promoted at the worst possible time was bad enough, the demotion just two weeks later only exacerbates it.

 

[JPN366]

He seemed in good spirits when I talked to him tonight. I told him he was missed during the All Star events and that he would have no doubt won the home run derby. If he doesn't have a chip on his shoulder about it, I'll let it go. I don't mind getting to see him play, but I know he deserves a better chance.

 

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

So wait, nobody is supposed to care about Cook? He'll never be on an MLB roster? Okay, well I could down the list of Charlotte's roster and come up with a bunch of names I don't give a f*** about who will likely never get a shot in the bigs. The man was long due a promotion, so just let him have it. I highly doubt Miguel Negron or Michael Restovich are in our plans, and probably not Hopper either. BA is done in this organization and will likely be non-tendered after the year should nobody else want him as a backup.

[JPN366]

So wait, nobody is supposed to care about Cook? He'll never be on an MLB roster? Okay, well I could down the list of Charlotte's roster and come up with a bunch of names I don't give a f*** about who will likely never get a shot in the bigs. The man was long due a promotion, so just let him have it. I highly doubt Miguel Negron or Michael Restovich are in our plans, and probably not Hopper either. BA is done in this organization and will likely be non-tendered after the year should nobody else want him as a backup.

 

He deserved the promotion, and should have stayed in Charlotte. I was mad that he got robbed of an All Star appearance.

[BigEdWalsh]

I get tired of prospect and non-prospect debates. Obviously some guys are better prospects than others. Some guys aren't really prospects at all. But every guy on each minor league affiliate are "our guys". Because some guy isn't a "prospect" we shouldn't give a flyin' f**k about 'em?

[JPN366]

I get tired of prospect and non-prospect debates. Obviously some guys are better prospects than others. Some guys aren't really prospects at all. But every guy on each minor league affiliate are "our guys". Because some guy isn't a "prospect" we shouldn't give a flyin' f**k about 'em?

 

Agreed, I'll point it out when I see a player getting a raw deal.

[witesoxfan]

Minor league fodders is peoples too guys

[ChiSox_Sonix]

The love fest with David Cook is quite amusing. He's a 28 year old non-prospect. Who cares. I don't know, maybe he wants to be in Birmingham or perhaps he's a good influence and teacher for the younger guys. However, getting all worked up about this is silly.

 

+1

 

Exactly. We sent down an outfielder, Cook wouldn't be getting any playing time so he was sent back down. Birmingham will be in the playoffs, maybe this was an org move to help them out the rest of the year? Either way it doesn't matter. He wasn't a prospect coming into the year, and he still isn't.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

I value AA (and the player within) a lot more than AAA. The fact that we have a 28 year old guy whose proven what he has to prove, and a 1st round bust (McCulloch) toiling down there with no signs of improvement or progression frustrates me. To me they constitute, what is effectively a waste of space and time for both the players and the organization. What exactly is the goal of the organization here? There are a lot of promising prospects who have earned promotions, who could soon find their development impeded by two guys who appear not to be in the team’s future plans.

 

That has nothing to do with Cook. Only a percentage of players on every team at every level are players who are considered to have a "big league future". However, it is still the job of the parent club to sign players for each of those teams to field a team with. McCulloch's skill level is fine for the AA level. He is still on his initial contract and Birmingham needs pitchers. He isnt blocking anyone there anymore. Why do you think Adam Ricks and Jared Price are backup catchers at AA/A+? Because they are org filler guys there for their respective teams. It works the same way with hockey and the AHL/ECHL/CHL. There is nothing to get frustrated about. They are both org guys. Cook is a great AA player, McCulloch is a mediocre one. Kind of like the different types of players you get at every level.

 

And that last sentence is not true at all if you take time to think about for a minute.

[NorthSideSox72]

Regardless of how prospecty you think Cook is, it seems pretty clear that he has gotten shafted the past couple years. Of course, there is also the possibility that something odd is going on that we don't know about - personal issues between him and the org, or who knows what. But the fact that he was 26 when he started getting screwed over, is not in itself enough of a reason for it to have happened. The AAA roster is filled with guys just as old or older and with apparently lower ceilings.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Regardless of how prospecty you think Cook is, it seems pretty clear that he has gotten shafted the past couple years. Of course, there is also the possibility that something odd is going on that we don't know about - personal issues between him and the org, or who knows what. But the fact that he was 26 when he started getting screwed over, is not in itself enough of a reason for it to have happened. The AAA roster is filled with guys just as old or older and with apparently lower ceilings.

 

IMO, the only argument you have for Cook is over Hopper or Restovich. BA needs to play and Kroeger does as well. Also, no one knows what is said to get players like Restovich to sign with AAA. Bringing up a AA guy who to start over someone like that might not look good to other players like him. If it was someone like a Shelby, Danks, even Gartrell yeah that's justifiable as they have likely futures in the majors, but someone like Cook probably not.

 

Being in a city with a AA team and an AHL I know a little about the ins and out of stuff like this. One of KW's jobs is to try and field competitive teams at all levels. He needs the support of Charlotte and he needs the support of Bristol. Every year there will be signing like Restovich, JVB, Daryle Ward to try and better those teams. Obviously prospects come first, but roster fillers are crucial to the success of affiliates and the relationship between those teams and the parent club. Does Cook deserve to be in AAA? Probably. But I doubt the organization "has it out for him". They are probably doing what they feel is in the best interest of the entire organization, Charlotte and Birmingham. Unfortunately for Cook, what is in the best interest of a player like him comes last.

 

There's also something to be said about growing in a winning environment. They probably want some of those guys in AA to experience that and without Flowers, Beckham, Poreda and Allen they need the David Cook's of the world more than Charlotte does for a month of every other day playing.

[scenario]

I get tired of prospect and non-prospect debates. Obviously some guys are better prospects than others. Some guys aren't really prospects at all. But every guy on each minor league affiliate are "our guys". Because some guy isn't a "prospect" we shouldn't give a flyin' f**k about 'em?

 

Thank you. My sentiments exactly.

 

 

[JPN366]

This has nothing to do with his prospect status, it all has to do with the fact that he got screwed out of his chance to participate in the Southern League All Star festivities. That's what makes me mad. Getting promoted at the worst possible time was bad enough, the demotion just two weeks later only exacerbates it.

 

I'm going to say this again, the above quote is the point I was trying to make.

Edited July 24, 2009 by JPN366

[scenario]

I'm going to say this again, the above quote is the point I was trying to make.

 

Not arguing with you JPN. I think you make a very good point.

 

My comment is in response to the "guy is not a 'prospect', so who cares" posts.