There Is An Arizona
by John Sickels on Oct 27, 2008 10:33 AM EDT
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I'm heading out to the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday, to see some games and attend the First Pitch Arizona Conference. I am driving it this year, about a 21 hour haul. I flew last year, but as I have grown older, air travel causes more and more havoc with my ears. In 2007 I had a day of agony after each flight, and I'm just not going to put up with that anymore.
I am going to try and have the Phillies prospect list done for you before I leave, but that's not guaranteed.
In the meantime, are there any particular players currently in the Arizona Fall League you are interested in, aside from the obvious ones?
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You should
take the train. Costs about as much as flying – but you get to kick back and take in some spectacular scenery.
Weird as it is for me to be agreeing with you,
this is quite true. Trains are infinitely more pleasurable for long journeys than cars are. How this country developed a culture based around traveling in the most cramped, least enjoyable method possible is beyond my ken.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
People like their privacy
And the freedom to choose to leave whenever they want to and go wherever they want to go.
And we’ve got (had?) the best interstate road system around, especially considering its size.
Now, as to WHY we chose this, well, that’s another question. Personally, I blame the commies.
GM
“How this country developed a culture based around traveling in the most cramped, least enjoyable method possible is beyond my ken.”
Way back in my college days, we watched a movie about exactly this. It was about how GM systematically put bus/trolley/passenger trains out of business called “Taken for a Ride.”
thole
can josh thole play catcher in the majors?
and obviously returns on dan murphy’s play at 2b would be good too.
by Rob Castellano on Oct 27, 2008 10:44 AM EDT reply actions
Sean West
His stats in A+ and the AFL this year have been pretty good coming off of a major injury. I’d love to see a report on how he looks.
cole armstrong of the sags
would be appreciated. thanks john.
"winning tacos for America was pretty cool too."
seconded on cole armstrong.
i’m assuming that gordon beckham is obvious, but i’d also like to hear anything you got on jordan danks.
Cashing checks and having sex.
Two SD padres guys
Cesar Carillo, and Chad Huffman, if you get a chance. \
Thanks,
Tom
Here's one!
Drew Sutton – Scottsdale Scorpions
Putting on a show down there and had a good year in the TL. Age/repeating the TL are red flags, but is worth tracking.
Juan Miranda
Cuban signee. Does he have a shot at being a regular if Yanks don’t sign Tex?
The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.
Borbon
Ranger fans are interested to know just how good his defense is, and is his plate discipline is improving.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Frandsen
I’d be interested in hearing if Frandsen is close to getting back to full strength after suffering that ruptured achilles tendon. I’ve never been terribly high on him, but he might be the Giants’ best option at 2b next year. Are there any noticable lingering effects of the injury?
I know he’s not really a prospect at this point, but I’d still be interested in hearing how he’s doing.
Psycho killer, qu'est-ce que c'est?
try decongestant
I had a problem with my ears when I’d go diving because I couldn’t equalize pressure and it was incredibly painful. I started using decongestant before all my dives and it knocks out any pain of problems. They’re like magic pills. lol
Scott Campbell
new zealander who started baseball late and had a good season in AA after skipping high A. would like to know more about his defence and just your basic thoughts on the guy.
i want to know about ...
those players in the AFL we don’t already know about who might contribute in the big leagues.
Stubbs
I’d like to know how former 1st rounder Drew Stubbs looks out there. Can he put the speed and power combination together in ’09?
triunfel
he’s playing a bit of SS, 2B, and 3B – would be good to hear some defensive reviews
Brandon Snyder
Had pretty good year at Frederick, liked to know more about him.
me too
I’d also like to know about Snyder. He’s really turned it around since the Hawaii Winter League last year. I’d like to get your opinion on him. Thanks.
Brian Bogusevic
Interested to hear any and all opinions on whether he can be a big league regular. It would be really cool to brag that I used to work with his dad… not to mention the really cool story that it would bring to the media.
michael mckenry
I know the Rockies love him at catcher defensively, and has a pretty good offensive pedigree and is doing quite well in a small sample during the AFL. Be curious what you might find out about him.
like i said!
Er…change ‘quite well’ to very well.
An intriguing prospect, had among the best numbers (or the best, can’t remember offhand) on his Modesto club. People discount Cal Lg #s altogether, but Modesto is a different ball of wax than Lancaster in term
....in term
in terms of hitting environment.
Emmanuel Burriss
I’ve heard differing accounts on his defense, from gold glove @ SS to adequate @ SS and gold glove @ 2B. What’s your take?
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
He's got a tough assignment
following in the fancy footsteps of Omar Vizquel, but he looked pretty good at times during the ’08 season. What I am interested in even more so than his defense is his offensive development. Again he looked pretty good at times in ’08 but he was definitely rushed to the majors.
by baseballjunkie on Oct 27, 2008 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Plane Suggestion
I had a little bit of trouble on planes and was told by a friend to start chewing gum. Apparently the process of chewing and occasionally swallowing helps you to constantly equalize the pressure – and it seems to work for me. Next time you get on a flight you might give it a shot.
Halman
Is plate discipline improved at all? also Steven Kahn
Kahn
It would be interesting to see what stuff he has after a 2 year lay off. The injuries that caused him to be on the DL were knee injuries, which do not have the same negative effects as arms ones for a pitcher, I believe.
by tdot mariner fan on Oct 27, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Tyler Flowers
Interested in how the defense looks!
Kevin Pucetas
It’d be great to hear your take on him. He never gets any top prospect love, but just continues to produce in the minors.
I second Pucetas...
…he falls into every non-prospect old shoe comment…lack of velocity, age, etc…but he definitely produces (MSP in 2007) and remains effective, even in the California League.
I’d love to get your thoughts on him firsthand.
SFDugout.com is BACK! See the Top 50 Giants Prospects!
by BruteSentiment on Oct 27, 2008 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions
jordan danks please
thanks john
The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.
Well as long as you're being a homer...
I’d like to hear John’s thoughts on Hanson. Particularly, I’m wondering why no one thinks his ceiling goes beyond that of a #2 (not that that’s a particularly low ceiling or anything).
Phil Hughes
Can you see how his fastball is?
Daniel Murphy
and after your done watching murphy, watch some more murphy, then watch some more murphy, and finally watch some more murphy.
about your ears
John,
I had that problem. I thought my head was going to explode and wasn’t right for a couple of days afterward. For me it happened during descent. Someone suggested taking Sudafed about 45 minutes before landing. I still sometimes feel pressure, but it is much, much better with Sudafed. The worst that happens is that I feel like I’ve got water in my ears for a few hours after landing. Hope this has been of some help.
by choo choo coleman on Oct 27, 2008 8:31 PM EDT reply actions
I tried that
I tried that on the trip home after a horrible trip out there. the sudafed helped some, but the pain was still intense.
by John Sickels on Oct 27, 2008 10:38 PM EDT up reply actions
To name a few Im curious about
Mark Wagner, Scottsdale
Clay Buchholz, Scottsdale
Dan Cortes, Surprise
Josh Rodriguez, Surprise
Andrew Bailey, Pheonix
Desmond Jennings, Javelinas
+1 on Bailey... he's been a completely different (and completely dominant) pitcher since moving to the 'pen
Curious to get a firsthand report on what he’s throwing.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Kevin Frandsen
missed all of last year nursing an Achilles injury, would be curious to see how his comeback goes.
In no particular order: Adrian Cardenas, Sean Doolittle, Jared Lansford, Josh Donaldson, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Carignan
but of particular interest are Cardenas and Doolittle.
'That's something we do...thirteen hits and not score'-Terrence Long
by DyeLongJustice on Oct 28, 2008 11:52 AM EDT reply actions
Yeah
Cardenas and Doolittle… I was going to list them, too. I am generally curious about them, but I dont think there’s a whole lot that can be learned from their AFL performance, or that John could really tell from seeing them that would help me. So I took them off mine.
Of course, I'm interested in Brett Wallace
he’s obvious, of course. A Cardinal prospect that makes me scratch my head is Brad Furnish. When I saw him, he showed a 92 MPH fastball and a sharp breaking curveball. I thought he could make a nice middle rotation lefty but his numbers were quite oogly this past season.
Justin Fiske is interesting as well. I heard he throws like 84 but has a screwball like change up. Both are on the Saguaros.
Amaury translates into "Punisher of Spheroids" in the lost tongue of Atlantis. Marti means "Belgian Waffle." www.futureredbirds.net
Air Travel
I’ve had problems with my ears in that past. One thing that has nearly eliminated the problem is popping a nasal decongestant before I get on the plane. I’m no doctor, but it has realy helped me out.
John
From the list of names provided, I think you’re being asked to provide a report on just about each and every player :)
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