Morning Notes, August 26, 2010
by John Sickels on Aug 26, 2010 11:30 AM EDT
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PrintMorning Notes, August 26th, 2010
Thoughts on various things.
**I voted for Jenrry Mejia in the Bonehead Decision Poll. I thought it very unwise to promote him to the majors with so little minor league experience, and I didn't see the point of using him as a middle reliever when there were 20 guys you could pop out of Triple-A for cheap who could do at least an average job. Putting your best minor league arm at development risk for a middle relief spot seemed quite short-sighted to me.
As I stated before, I also thought the Cubs were being too aggressive with Starlin Castro, but that decision has turned out great. From the outside, the switching back and forth of Andrew Cashner (and Jay Jackson) from starting to relief seemed rather odd as well. The Tigers are consistently more aggressive with young pitchers than I think they should be, so I wasn't really surprised by the move with Oliver, even though I thought it was dumb. As for KilaMonster, the Royals are clearly skeptical about him, and many (though not all) scouts from other teams have doubts, too. But the numbers are there, and from a meritocratic point of view he deserves a shot. He needs to take advantage of it quickly.
**I was thinking this morning about the decisions of Dylan Covey and Karsten Whitson to forgo pro ball for the college ranks. The Covey thing seems related to his newly-diagnosed diabetes, and although that's disappointing for the Brewers, there doesn't seem to be a lot of bad blood about it from what I can tell.
The Whitson thing, on the other hand....well, according to Padres GM Jed Hoyer, they had a verbal agreement that Whitson subsequently reneged on.
Maybe I just have an old-fashioned sense of honor and am out of place in the 21st century ruthless capitalist world. But if what Hoyer says is true, and Whitson discarded a verbal agreement, that's dishonorable in my view, equivalent to breaking your word. We just have that side of the story though; maybe there was more to it. Even if there was no dishonor involved, I don't understand taking this kind of risk from Whitson's point of view. What if he goes to Florida and tears his labrum? There is absolutely no guarantee that he'll improve his draft position in college ball, and a considerable risk that his stock will drop. I really don't get it.
I'll have minor league notes for you this evening.
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I love this site...
the one liners about capitalism make me laugh…sounds just like my old man. Uhhh baseball……
The Whitson thing seems like A) Wants to try college life (a la Wilson) or B) Cold feet. That’s a big commitment and to make that decision without proper motivation or advising from a parent or otherwise would be a really freaky thing. He could have asked me…I’m in school…could use the cash.
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Funny
I laughed at the capitalism comment too — but because I believe this to be the least capitalist that the world has been since I’ve been alive.
Not to start a politics discussion or anything…
Capitalism is dead right?
I mean, it has sort of proven itself to be a starter system, not a long term system. That’s why everybody dislikes what’s going on now. Some people wish they could rewind to a time when capitalism was in its infancy before people learned to manipulate it fully, and others wish they could fast forward to a time where capitalism evolves into a sustainable system.
by auclairkeithbc on Aug 26, 2010 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions
uhhh
just ignore that folks. an unintentional troll. mods, feel free to delete this. i tried canceling, but too late.
by auclairkeithbc on Aug 26, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
capitalism isn't the problem
the declining honor of men is, of course the robber barrons will always be present. But the decline of man’s character has tainted capitalism on the local level. The bad thing is that the other options of social engineering aren’t that appealing either, unless that old European serf system is what you like.
"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers."
by fourfingerwoo on Aug 26, 2010 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions
capitalism etc.
All economic systems suffer from the same problem: human weakness.
Capitalism would work great if people weren’t jerks.
Socialism would also work great if people weren’t jerks.
But let’s not get into it beyond that, lol..
by John Sickels on Aug 26, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions
agreed.
as a Mets “follower” I can tell you why Mejia was rushed up like a pinball in a pinball machine: apparently Jerry Manuel “the genius” wanted his electric arm in the pen. Omar Minaya apparently disagreed with him, but somehow let the situation be.
Mets have been rushing their top prospects because their farm system is particularly weak. that said, no way to defend the stupitidy of it.
"Fantasy, reality, science Fiction. Which is which? Who can tell?"
by feslenraster on Aug 26, 2010 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions
A Paul DePodesta blog post the day after the deadline alluded to Whitson breaking a verbal agreement as well.
http://itmightbedangerous.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-after.html
http://www.chop-n-change.com
by alexwithclass on Aug 26, 2010 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Whitson/Wilson
Not the same thing as Wilson IMO. Not knocking a U.Florida education, but it’s hardly Stanford.
by mattp31 on Aug 26, 2010 6:09 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Laughed From
The diabetes bad blood comment.
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yeah
I did to, then felt bad about it. Then did it again.
joke
Ok, the really funny thing is that I didn’t make that joke on purpose, lol.
by John Sickels on Aug 26, 2010 10:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed on Whitson
He’s a very good pitcher, but to me, Whitson doesn’t fit the profile of a pitcher would ever receive a huge bonus ($5 million or so) justifying him passing on going into the minors as a top 10 pick. It showed some guts for the Padres to pass on him, but I think it’s the right decision assuming Whitson was going back on his word. Another thing that’s interesting is that Whitson’s father pitched 10 years for the Padres, which made it particularly surprising they didn’t reach an agreement.
The bright side for Whitson is the Gators should be pretty good next season, meaning he’ll get some publicity pitching in college. If everything went perfectly though, I just don’t see him cracking the top 5. He could prove me wrong…just my guess.
Apparently
Karsten is not Ed Whitson’s son as had been originally reported by a couple of outlets (Perfect game and Baseball America most notably).
Florida is going to have a heckuva good young team next season.
by blackoutyears on Aug 26, 2010 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Where was Whitson's advisor in all of this?
If I’m Whitson’s advisor, I’m reminding him of all of the awful things that could happen to his career because of this decision.
Being a professional athlete can’t really wait like going to school can. He just turned down a $2M signing bonus for a scholarship that doesn’t remotely match that kind of value… and there’s obviously huge risk in terms of getting injured or watching his stock drastically decline. Not to mention that there could end up being hard-slot bonuses in place by the time that he’s draft-eligible again.
I mean, if you’re his advisor, you really have to emphasize the point: “The Padres are going to nurture your athletic ability with the sole goal of turning you into a high-quality MLB pitcher. And THAT is where the big money is. By going to school, you risk having college coaches that have no direct interest in your MLB career destroying your arm, you risk getting hurt even if treated properly by the school, and you don’t even know if the same kind of offers will be there by the time that you’re draft-eligible again given that a new CBA will likely be in place. By signing with San Diego, you get the big money signing bonus AND the opportunity to develop your trade in an environment whose highest priority is turning you into an MLB pitcher.”
In this economic climate and with everything else going on in the world, giving up a $2M signing bonus to go play baseball in college would seem to be an awful decision.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
+1
agreed on all accounts. I really don’t get this decision at all, even ignoring the ‘going back on his word’ aspect.
by John Sickels on Aug 26, 2010 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
There have been musings
that the advisor is to blame for this mess.
by blackoutyears on Aug 26, 2010 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Not so much musings
As outright accusations of it by the Padres’ front office. In an interview on their flagship radio station, Hoyer pretty much said all our conversations with the family before and after the draft were on track, then “somebody” inserted themselves into the process and all the family expectations changed.
by realitypolice on Aug 27, 2010 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree for the most part...
but going back to college at a later date isn’t the same. He would miss a pretty great life experience. I can fully understand athletes turning down the money to go to college. You only get to be that age once.
That said, it appears there was a lot more going on here… and if it was me I’d almost certainly take the money.
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I think the whole risk
of getting hurt in college meme is somewhat overblown. It completely depends on the program. LSU and Vandy are two schools I see pursue reasonable usage patterns. There are plenty of others which don’t. Gerrit Cole and Matt Purke are two former first rounders who are poised (anything can happen) to improve their draft position and I doubt either would have traded their CWS experiences if you asked them. Anyone have particular reservations about Florida’s handling of pitchers?
by blackoutyears on Aug 26, 2010 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
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