Archive for July, 2009

Sorry about missing yesterday’s DFR. It was certainly not planned. The devastation from my food alergy not only cost me the joy of writing for a few hours last night but cost me the first 3 hours of The Open Championship I planned to get up and watch. Thank goodness for DVRs.

As many of you know, I’m a sports broadcast collector.  Today was a bizarre cross-convergence of information in that arena (sort-of) when NASA announced that the original lunar landing tapes had been erased and dubbed over much like baseball broadcast prior to 1975.  They had to compile footage for a restoration from CBS archives and kinescopes (which is what most baseball games survive on).  In that same vein, the BBC chose to broadcast Wimbledon in full HD this year, leaving them broke and out of position to provide feeds for The Open in HD to the USA.  In 2009, we still have not had The Open transmitted in HD.  It’s the only major sporting event done that way.  Anyways, enough with that chatter.

As for the farm, I’d like to try a little something tonight I like to call ‘offense’. It’s fun, and it’s all the rage on the East Coast. Here have some offense after the break.
Read the rest of this entry »

Quick pinch-hit on the DFR.  Springfield was off and AAA had their All-Star game which included Jess Todd.

Read the rest of this entry »

With it being All-Star break in the big leagues, some of the minor leagues took their time to have off-days as well.

Everyone’s focused on St. Louis’s showcase in the All-Star game and rightly so.  Consequently, its a slow news day.

Only 2 games in the system tonight, so I won’t delay you.

Like Apples in Stereo…lets “Go!”

Read the rest of this entry »

Not speaking for the whole FR crew, just myself.

Getting right down to it, I’ll go 1-17. 17 because Miller makes the list in spite of still being unsigned (still too early to worry about that) and one of these guys is likely a future Indian.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s player feature is Nick Derba.

Nick Derba is currently the catcher for class AA Springfield. He’s 23 and a very good catcher defensively. However…he has originated the phrase “Derba Line” for his work in the batting box as he is batting .098 on the year. .100 is the Derba Line if you haven’t guessed.

All in good fun as we obviously wish Nick Derba the best as he is the second best defensive catcher in the system behind Matt Pagnozzi.

Matt Baker has a great write-up about Nick here.

Also, here’s what Ben Badler of BA had to say about yesterday’s topic, Mr. Daryl Jones. (Update: DJ Tools is back on the DL for the same injury Ben references below.)

Ben Badler: Hard to get a real feel for Jones’ abilities yesterday because he’s only played in two other games this month due to injury. A lot of scouts will look at him and see a fourth outfielder, but I think he could be a starting left fielder in a different mold from your typical plus-plus power LF who gives half of it back in the field. The power is going to need to continue to develop, but that’s typically the last thing to come around for a hitter. If he’s a high on-base guy with moderate power and above-average defense, that’s good enough to be a starting left fielder in the big leagues.

Let’s rock 4 games tonight.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight’s DFR brought to you by Jet Li’s Hero. (We’ll see how a subtitled movie works as DFR writing background.) Barely edged out Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Curse of the Golden Flower. Have there been any quality stylised fight movies since those three?

Kevin Goldstein had some nice writeups for the Futures Game. Here’s the pertinent stuff about the Cardinals.

Brett Wallace, Cardinals (US): On-base machine with questionable power ceiling, even more questionable range at third base.

Had this same conversation at the game today and I don’t think power is ever going to be Wallace’s calling card. He’s a 20-25 guy for me with a great OBP . . . and questionable range at third base.

Daryl Jones, Cardinals (US): His tools really are only a tick below than of Jennings; he can play, too.

Daryl Jones is good. He’s hampered by his knee right now but to get an idea of how good, here’s the pertinent stuff on Jennings from the article.

Jennings is not the middle-of-the-order threat that the other two [Mike Stanton & Jason Heyward] are, but he’s a potentially game-changing leadoff hitter with a patient approach, gap power, and plenty of speed; think Carl Crawford with a little less power but 40 more walks a year.

I still love the Crawford comp for Jones. Speedy left fielder with plus defense and ok power. It’s not the typical LF skillset but it’s one that I prefer to the hulking slugger that the Cardinals have been trying to unsuccessfully employ since the departuer of Reggie Sanders.

Francisco Samuel, Cardinals (World): Nobody questions his stuff (a 93-97 mph fastball and upper-80s slider), but he has no idea where it’s going half of the time.

And that’s exactly what Samuel showcased. Great stuff and questionable command. The Cardinals do not have a good track record of correcting command problems in the minors.

[clang, clang. whip. clang clang. slice]

Read the rest of this entry »

This DFR is brought to you by Role Models.

Allen Craig is versatile. I don’t know if this is an organizational philosophy or the lack of standout talent but I remain opposed to the constant positional shifts that seem to occur.

“I think at this point in my career with the Cardinals, they see me as a utility guy that can play third, first, and left,” Craig said. “If there’s an opportunity for me to go up and fill in the outfield or third or whatever, then I’ll be ready to do that.”

The River Bandits love democracy.

When he plays next, will Greene be a proven rookie?

Brad Furnish is demoted to High-A. He’s Rule V eligible next season but has struggled in his pro career.

This is an older link but I’m not sure that we’ve previously linked to Ben Badler’s scouting report for Wagner Mateo.

A statiscial analaysis of hitters in a certain range with significant standard deviations above the average hitting line for their league. Descalso, Rapoport and Henley all make the cut.

I like to rock and roll all night and part of every day.

Read the rest of this entry »

This DFR is brought to you by an early morning viewing of ‘Old School’.

Palm Beach and Quad Cities both had their games rained out.

Honey, you think KFC is still open?

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll be at the Futures Game on Sunday with one Mr. Fritz.  We’ll be in section 501A, Row 3, Seat 12 & 13.  It’s the bleachers (which are my favorite spot to sit in the entire stadium) so feel free to wander over if you’d like.  Look for a Rasmus #28 t-shirt jersey & a white STL cap.

Note: I’m not actually a robot.

It’s everyone’s favorite game — compare anonymous stat lines!

Both of these players are Cardinal prospects.  Both of these players are in AA. Both of these players are outfielders.

Read the rest of this entry »