Why isn’t character one of the 5 tools? Can we make it the 6th tool? Those who have it, have it. Those who don’t, well…they’re their own version of a tool.
On to the DFR!
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Archive for July, 2010
Jul
08
2010
The Farm System: Major Relief?Posted by azruavatar in Adam Reifer, Blake King, Casey Mulligan, Eduardo Sanchez, Fernando Salas, Francisco SamuelIn an effort to be timely, I though I’d take a quick glance at the big name relief prospects in the high minors. Before we get into the numbers, I think the major league pen is fine despite two nasty outings in a row. These things happen when you have a closer who lives on his control and a somewhat crazy-ex catcher who throws pitches into the dugout on a bad play. There is not currently a player in the pen that I can definitively and unquestionably point to and say, “What is he doing in the majors?!?!?”. Generally, that statement is followed by an expletive but we’re a family friendly blog. Part of what brought this post to fruition was a comment from the Cardinals broadcasting pair last night with regards to Kyle McClellan’s future. There seems to be some continued curiosity about his repretoire and converting to starting pitching. It’s understandable considering that he has a full complement of pitches (FB, CH, CU, SL) but I’ve long had trepidation about Kyle McClellan. In any event, the Cardinals continue to produce some interesting relief options in the minors. What follows is an admittedly incomplete list of players that may be ready in 2011 or 2012 for a shot at the bigs. Yesterday was a good day for Evan MacLane. No matter what the outcome was of his appearance, what I’m sure was his childhood dream came true. Evan found himself in a big league park, on a big league mound, pitching to big league hitters. Congratulations to Evan. As for the Cardinals, I have to wonder sometimes two things. These are things that have irked me for at least the last 4 seasons. Do the Cardinals make conscious decisions to poorly handle their roster management and does the on-field staff EVER have any idea about what players do in the farm system? Perhaps one of LaRussa’s greatest failings this late in his career is that he seems incapable of understanding what to do with these farm hands he is given. That may be why he leans more towards acquiring veterans, a body of work that he has actually seen with his Transitions Lenses colored eyes. On to the DFR! First inning.com loves to not work every single night, the links are now added. Let’s make this a quick one since most people have to actually go to work tomorrow. Jump! A quick site note: You’ll note the ‘Contact Us’ page on the head bar of links. It has our e-mail addresses there so if you ever want to get in touch, that’s the easiest way to do so. I’d ask you to use your judgment about conversations that may be best had off site. I can’t promise to respond instantly to e-mails but I’ll get back to you as quick as I can. My goal is still to have the best minor league site for the Cardinals and I want to be receptive to feedback, from any source, about what goes on at this site. I have the utmost respect for each of the writers who do work here — they wouldn’t have been invited to contribute otherwise — but the proverbial buck stops with me. Enough of that though. Kudos to Tyler Greene on the (well deserved) callup and the HR against former farmhand Chris Narveson. Springfield and Palm Beach get rained out today. Just 4 games to cover tonight. Away we go. Read the rest of this entry » Batavia impressions are pushed back until tomorrow as I’m having trouble uploading the video. Those who had trouble accessing the site yesterday, the issues have been resolved. On to the DFR! I’ve made my views pretty clear on the international market. As difficult as it can be for fans to get good information on stateside prospects, it’s orders of magnitude more difficult to sort through the specious International prospects. I’m also a strong advocate of the wait and see approach with these types of prospects and thus far none of our international signings have made me reconsider that (despite the Carlos Matias watch). Ben Badler at Baseball America is the premier source for international prospects though and he’s ranked the top 33 this year with video (free) and full scouting reports (subscription — but seriously you should subscribe to BA). I do not expect the Cardinals to sign anymore big name players and certainly not hand out any additional 7 figure bonuses to international prospects but it’s fun to speculate. |
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