Looking Back

Though it would be interesting to go back on. Some gems in there for sure

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Fun

Some people hit some real breakouts in the under-rated selections. I think Burgos is still underrated, by the way. :)

by BobbyMac on Feb 9, 2006 2:36 AM EST reply actions

nice prediction

this guy picked the 2 Rookies of the year as, well you'll see:

"I'll go with Ryan Howard and Huston Street as the two most overrated prospects. "

Why Huston Street?

"His command needs work "

I'll say with 5 walks per 9

oh well-to each his own

by gashousegang on Feb 9, 2006 9:02 AM EST reply actions

The huston street overrated part

From user DavidCameron

Why Huston Street

"Because he's a relief prospect, and not a special one. There are maybe four or five relievers in baseball who are dominating enough to have value comparable to a good starting pitcher; Eric Gagne, Brad Lidge, Mariano Rivera, Francisco Rodriguez, and if he can sustain his 2004 performance, maybe Joe Nathan."

I'd say Street was the second best reliever in baseball last year.

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 9, 2006 9:14 AM EST reply actions

huh

looking over the overrated/underrated prospects stuff, i'm quite proud of myself. Didn't know nearly as uch as i do now about prospects, and i don't remember saying it, but:

" Chris Nelson. For God's sakes, he has played less than 40 games in rookie league, yet im reading how this guy is gonna be huge and all this stuff. I wanna see him in higher levels."

Another funny Street comment in response to one of mine:

"Street

Two words

Ryan Wagner

Blew through the minors. Had better stuff than Street. Had a better performance than Street. Did nothing last year.

Enought said"

LOL.

Overall, i'm pleasantly surprised. I sound very smart with all these prediction. (though i'm sure i missed a lot more)

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 9, 2006 9:26 AM EST reply actions

Smart

Off the top of my head
The first person that comes to mind for overrated is Rickie Weeks. He still has the talent, but so far he hasn't produced like he should be. As for underrated... I'll get back to everybody on that. Ill think and come back with overrated and underrated

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad on Thu Feb 17, 2005 at 11:40:04 AM CST

Just kidding, ohad :)

by jc3 on Feb 9, 2006 9:38 AM EST up reply actions

didn't see that one

But i sure look like an ass! Well, the good comes with the bad.

At least i can claim that once i though about it i made my post and wrote that overrated was McPherson and Nelson and underrated was Kotchman. ;)

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 9, 2006 10:40 AM EST up reply actions

Well as an A's fan I wish this had been true

A butcher at second...
As a Brewers fan, who is going to miss Keith Ginter's bat in the lineup big-time, I will say this:

If a guy's bat is good, I'll accept errors. Ginter would be one of the top offensive second baseman in the majors if he played full-time. Heck, I've always thought he could put up numbers closer to that of an average third baseman or (in a good year) an average corner outfielder. Ginter at second? I'd do it in an instant. That offense will be worth the additional errors.

Corey Hart and Keith Ginter could easily combine for 65-70 homers over a season. Darn right I'm getting them on the field. I'll live with errors if the player has enough offense.

A pro-artificial turf, pro-designated hitter baseball fan.

by Harold on Fri Feb 18, 2005 at 08:07:43 AM CST

by theblackpearl on Feb 9, 2006 12:06 PM EST reply actions

re

"His command needs work "

I'll say with 5 walks per 9

oh well-to each his own

I was talking about Ambiorex Burgos

http://www.as-future.blogspot.com/

by blee1134 on Feb 9, 2006 12:34 PM EST reply actions

Harden v. Beckett

That discussion is still relevant today. Harden's had a muscle injury that kept him out for a third of the season, Beckett had another blister flareup, and there were rumors that were shot down by Will Carroll of Beckett having a bad shoulder. I still believe what I wrote, that Beckett's blisters are a blessing in disguise, keeping the workload down for a developing arm, but I wonder if this particular pitcher comparison will be solved before the next decade arrives.

by Flynn Blake on Feb 9, 2006 3:30 PM EST reply actions

True

I think that now it's a little clearer who is the better pitcher when healthy. Harden had better everything in the AL, Becket had worse in the NL. Harden's younger. And, contrary to what people in the thread thought, Harden has a great changeup (something else i'm happy i knew, though i should since i'm an A's fan), which means he has secondary pitches as well. He uses his nasty splitter as his changeup, also has sort of a different changeup. He has a ghost pitch as well. ;)

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 9, 2006 3:52 PM EST up reply actions

Beckett

Is cash in the clutch. If I get either one to pitch one game... I want Beckett without a doubt.

by williethekid20 on Feb 9, 2006 6:41 PM EST up reply actions

Not that is matters for this conversation

But on a different site I got into a discussion as to whether Harden's breaking ball was a splitter or actually a slider. I think the way it breaks down and sharply to the left as well as how he appear to hold the ball indicates that it is a hard slider rather then a true splitter

by Trenchtown on Feb 9, 2006 9:08 PM EST up reply actions

I'm pretty sure

That he actually throws both. I've seen various variations of pitches. He definitely has a splitter/changeup that breaks in to right handed hitters though.

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 10, 2006 4:14 AM EST up reply actions

re

Because of what, a 3 game stretch? I'll just take the better pitcher in big game, Harden

http://www.as-future.blogspot.com/

by blee1134 on Feb 9, 2006 7:24 PM EST reply actions

Please

It's not like that was a three-game stretch of games plucked randomly from Beckett's career. They don't get any bigger than that.

And what big games are you talking about that Harden has been in, exactly? Sheesh.

You asked for evidence of homerism earlier, I believe. Look in the mirror.

by Flynn Blake on Feb 9, 2006 7:55 PM EST up reply actions

re

And what big games are you talking about that Harden has been in, exactly?

I didn't say anything about Harden being in a big game. What I said was if I'm taking a pitcher in a big game, I'd start the better one - Harden.

http://www.as-future.blogspot.com/

by blee1134 on Feb 9, 2006 8:22 PM EST reply actions

Good luck with that

By the way, are you still posting Baseball America's proprietary subscriber-only content on your blog by posting that A's prospect chat? I think you're violating copyright. I know you just want A's fans to benefit and think they wouldn't be paying BA anyway, but it's wrong.

by Flynn Blake on Feb 9, 2006 8:37 PM EST up reply actions

Fair Use

"By the way, are you still posting Baseball America's proprietary subscriber-only content on your blog by posting that A's prospect chat? I think you're violating copyright. I know you just want A's fans to benefit and think they wouldn't be paying BA anyway, but it's wrong."

I'm not a copyright lawyer, and I know fair use is out of fashion, but I think you could make the case that posting the chat is fair use. I wouldn't post it in its entirety. But, depending on the purpose and how it is used, you could probably make the case for doing so assuming the only thing at stake is BBA's ownership of the copyright.

by TT @ Minor League Ball on Feb 9, 2006 9:24 PM EST up reply actions

re

thanks for visiting

http://www.as-future.blogspot.com/

by blee1134 on Feb 9, 2006 8:49 PM EST reply actions

Ethics

So I see you have none. Why am I not surprised.

by Flynn Blake on Feb 9, 2006 9:08 PM EST up reply actions

re

Classic. You aren't surprised, like you know me or even have the slightest idea about anything I do.

I don't have a BA subsciption. How'd I get the chat? It's easy to find. I really doubt someone was going to pay the subscription fee just to read the chat, which had been a free feature anyways for years.

http://www.as-future.blogspot.com/

by blee1134 on Feb 10, 2006 1:52 AM EST reply actions

why

why isnt it a free feature anymore? i was pretty bummed this year when i found out it wasnt.

by npurcell on Feb 10, 2006 3:38 AM EST up reply actions

Classic, indeed

> How'd I get the chat? It's easy to find.

Someone else did it first, so it's okay, apparently.

> I really doubt someone was going to pay the
> subscription fee just to read the chat

That's not really for you to judge, is it?

> which had been a free feature anyways for years.

Moral relativism. It was free before, it should always be free. Subscriptions be damned.

Thanks for shedding more light on your absence of morals.

by Flynn Blake on Feb 10, 2006 4:11 AM EST up reply actions

Relativism

Moral relativism.

I fail to see where morality enters into the question. The only question is whether it is a violation of BBA's copyright.

That's not really for you to judge, is it?

Ultimately its for the law to judge. But the question of whether people pay the subscription just to read the chat is I believe one of the questions of whether it fits into fair use.

Subscriptions be damned.

I'm not sure what subscriptions have to do with it. If someone took the prospect lists John posts here and posted them with ot whitout attribution on their web site, the issue of copyright violation would be exactly the same.

For instance, even though they are on the free portion of the site, BBA's top ten lists have the same copyright protection as the chats, Do you object to them being posted here?