Baseball America has released their annual top 100 prospects and 4 Cubs are on it. The prospect lists I always look forward to are those by Baseball America. It seems in recent years that a dozen people have tried to capitalize on the increasing interest in prospects and have come up with their own lists. I'm sure some of them are good, but Baseball America has been doing this for a long time and they've done it long before there was as much interest in prospects as there is today.
Brett Jackson is 32nd. He's quite obviously the best prospect in this system and I have an even more difficult time taking other lists seriously when they have someone higher than Jackson. Anthony Rizzo is 47th. I thought he'd be a bit lower. I was thinking closer to the 60s, but Baseball America most heavily weights production from last season and Rizzo had an outstanding year in AAA. Javier Baez is 61st and Matt Szczur is 64th. They have an ETA for Baez of 2014, which is ridiculous. Then again, they don't have any players with an ETA higher than 2014 so I doubt they really think that. He'll spend most of this season in rookie league and if he sees a full season league it probably won't be until the very end of the season. A more realistic ETA for Baez is probably 2016.
Baseball America is higher on Szczur that anyone else. If he has a strong year this season it's conceivable we could see him in September, but I doubt that. A more likely ETA for him is 2013, which is what BA has.
People have talked a lot about the improved farm system, but it's worth pointing out that 3 of the 4 top 100 prospects were already in the system prior to this offseason. They traded a former top 100 prospect in Andrew Cashner to acquire the one who wasn't in the system. The system has improved, but it's had little to nothing to do with the new front office. They've not even had a full year so that's not surprising. I expect it will continue to improve, but I just wanted to point this out before people start talking about how the new front office has already improved the farm system.
“What were we talking about?”
Ummmm… you were telling me how you got out of jury duty.”
“Oh yeah, the secret is to say you’re prejudiced against all races.”
Doh!
Worst… episode… ever.
I use this all the time
dylanj wrote:
/Al’d
@ dylanj:
That’s such a classic I don’t even think about it anymore.
I like “I believe it was a BOAKING accident….. I HAVE TO GO!”
Is it possible they fast-track Baez like they did Castro to try to inject a little excitement into next season or the season after?
EDIT: Of course, that was the past regime that did that.
[Walking late at night, Homer happens upon a gym. He reads the sign out front.]
“‘Geim’? What the heck is a ‘geim’?”
[walks in]
[nods knowingly]
“Ohhhh, a geim.”
Doctor: “We could remove the crayon for you. It could vastly increase your brain power… or it could kill you.”
Homer: “Hmm… Increase my killing power, eh?”
I use this one all the time, too:
Homer: I was working on a flat tax proposal and I accidentally proved there’s no God.
“What’cha doing, Gravey?” “I’m making a pipe bomb, for to blow up Planned Parenthood!” “I don’t know, Gravey…”
@ Aisle424:
PTBNL for PTBNL. Cubs send Austin Kirk or Anthony Giansanti to Boston. Stats. They watch him for a day, then send him back. Deal done.
We did that before once, right? With a ML reliever to the Jays maybe? Late 80s? Les Lancaster or someone like that.
So has Carpenter been confirmed? I can’t tell what the hell is going on thanks to the uselessness of the local media.
And can someone please explain to me how a PTBNL is traded for another PTBNL? Why not just let those cancel out and end this damn charade??
/small rant’d
@ Rodrigo Ramirez:
Just a guess that the PTBNL coming from the Cubs is slightly higher grade than the one coming from. Like how you have to balance out a chemical reaction sometimes by adding more carbon.
“This is still a baseball trade,” he said. “It’s satisfying the compensation issue, but it’s still a baseball trade and in any baseball trade there has to be something coming and something going.”
I guess Theo doesn’t count as something going from the Red Sox. ???
Community ————–> back on the air, March 15
@ Berselius:
HUZZAH!
I wonder what they’ll do with the other Thu night shows. Maybe Up All Night will be moved again, or they’ll push past 10pm ET like they did last year.
@ Berselius:
I just watch it on the internet. Actually, when they pulled community I pretty much drifted away from television.
@ josh:
My worry is more that something else will get the axe, I watch the other Thu night shows too. I’d love it if NBC put The Office out of its misery, but it’s the only show that still gets vaguely deent ratings.
GAH. It means a FIVE WEEK break for Parks and Rec. NOT AT THAT COST.
@ Berselius:
I got to be honest with you, I’ve never really liked the office, and I tried but couldn’t get into Parks and Rec.
@ josh:
Skip the (6-episode) first seasons of both shows, they find their footing much better when they become their own shows and not poor copies of another (British The Office and The Office, respectively). Leslie Knope is probably my favorite character on a tv comedy.
@ Berselius:
Wife and I just started watching Parks and Rec and love it. 1st season is a bit slow but it has become our favorite show on TV.
Leslie Knope is great. She came from a show called Upright Citizens Brigade.. sketch comedy at it’s greatest.
@ Berselius:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
/Vader
@ josh:
Parks and Rec is likely my favorite comedy on TV right now. However, I still generally tell people to pass on the first season entirely, and you can probably skip most of the second too.
@ Mish:
Skinner did that three times in the comet episode when Bart discovered the comet. Just throwing that out there.
@ Mish:
So long as I skip large portions, it’s a great show? That’s the same logic that makes people think David Eckstein was a great player.
@ SkipVB:
I don’t understand it. What did they call the Guillen, Piniella and MacPhail trades?
@ SkipVB:
I believe that we did that with Dickie Noles to the Tigers in the mid-80s, and I believe that the deal was voided by the league office.
I’m not sure how proud I am about remembering that.
@ josh:
No, I just don’t think seasons 1-2 are really that good. I basically started at the end of Season 2 and have been hooked since, but I didn’t really enjoy going back and watching the episodes prior to that. Season 3 is where it really becomes one of the best shows on TV.
Think along the lines of The Simpsons. The first season was WTF is this, and the second season started to find its stride but it wasn’t until the third season that all things were clicking.
@ josh:
Just watch S4E12. Best show ever based soley on that.
Just kidding. Have no idea what episode that is. I would recommend watching the entire show, but just getting through S1 if you are a bit deterred.
josh wrote:
Yeah, I don’t know what Mish is talking about. Season 2 is great. Season 3 is better but not by much.
@ Berselius:
I found season 2 hit and miss, though more on the hit side than season 1. Season 3 is where I really start to like the show. I think the permanent additions of Scott and Lowe did it for me.
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/2/21/2814658/prospect-in-the-theo-epstein-trade-chris-carpenter
@ josh:
Isn’t it only in its third season? So just skip most of it and it’s a great show. NCIS is probably an awesome show if you skip all the shitty parts.
@ mb21:
Exactly. I guess I’m not patient enough. I give a show maybe 2 episodes to rope me in.
You guys need to stop agreeing about everything and agree with me.
Just read the list. Apparently, I’m not on it.
“Marge, they’re just hams.”
Carmen Electra: “Homer, my face is up here.”
Homer (leaning over to scope her décolletage): “I’ve made my choice.”
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Steamed hams?
It’s an old Skinner family recipe.
You know, on O’s Hangout, faget points are cumulative, so there are bigger fagets than others. Didn’t OV Blog (or maybe it was ACB) have that briefly, maybe with the LiveShyte comment system?
We’re in Season 4 of Parks and Rec. If it’s 1993 and I say “The Simpsons is probably the best show on TV, but you can probably skip the entirety of the first season and most of the second and still catch all the goodness”, is that so un-cromulent? Honestly people, embiggen your minds.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Even though they are obviously grilled?
Tried that mainly to test embedding a tweet. Didn’t work. Oh well.
Or is that what it’s supposed to look like?
@ Mish:
Homer Simpson: Marge, prepare the celebration ham.
Marge: All we have left are the earthquake ham and the condolence ham.
Homer Simpson: Marge, they’re just hams. OK?
@ Mish:
I, uh….the thing is…uhhhh
Tomorrow’s DFP better include all these excellent Simpsons quotes, with episode/season citation and YouTube clips as available. (dying laughing)
I just doubled my productivity!
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
TRIPLED.
@ josh:
This method would not have worked for Justified. It took 4 episodes to hook me. I’m pretty sure it took about the same for DJ too.
Please, kids, stop fighting. Maybe Lisa’s right about America being the land of opportunity, and maybe Adil’s got a point about the machinery of capitalism being oiled with the blood of the workers.
Never, Marge. Never. I can’t live the button-down life like you. I want it all: the terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles. Sure, I might offend a few of the bluenoses with my cocky stride and musky odors — oh, I’ll never be the darling of the so-called “City Fathers” who cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and talk about “What’s to be done with this Homer Simpson?”
“There was an optics festival and I wasn’t informed? You go now.”
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
What do you expect from a bunch of minions?
Aisle424 wrote:
This is exactly the kind of quote that I love from the show but could never recall on memory when asked.
“I don’t know what you have planned for this evening, Homer, but count me out.”
Homer: Thanks. Are you sure you don’t want to come? In a Civil War re-enactment we need lots of Indians to shoot.
Apu: I don’t know what part of that sentence to correct first, but I cannot come.
You can’t sex-fire me! I sex-quit!
@ josh:
I don’t even give a comedy 2 episodes. Make me laugh in a few minutes or I’m turning the channel. Sitcoms are stupid so I have no patience to sit and watch one that doesn’t make me laugh.
@ Mish:
Yes, it is uncromulent. You’re saying to skip something like 40% of the episodes.
@ Mish:
Never seen it. I just finished Spaced. I liked it a lot. The first season was better. Coupling and The Wire were shows I recently enjoyed.
@ ACT:
It must work for admins only. Weird.
@ josh:
Maybe my two favorite shows, ever. I need a mashup of Jeff explaining the giggle loop to Omar and Wee-Bey.
@ Aisle424:
WINWINWINWINWIN
Oh, everything’s too damned expensive these days. This Bible cost 15 bucks! And talk about a preachy book! Everybody’s a sinner! Except this guy.
ACT wrote:
This is probably the best Simpsons quote of all time.
@ Mish:
I was hooked on Justified after the first episode.
Uh-huh. Pinchy would’ve wanted it this way. My dear. sweet. Pinchy. [takes a bite] No more pain where you are now, boy. [rips him in half and sucks out the meat inside while sobbing] Oh, God, that’s tasty! I wish Pinchy were here to enjoy this. [sobbing] [takes more bites] Oh, Pinchy …
@ GBTS:
Isn’t that what he said?
@ mb21:
I dunno I actually liked Season 1 so I’d watch it. I didn’t enjoy most of S1 of Breaking Bad, but knew S2 and S3 would be great due to everyone so I kept watching. It also helps having the entire season in hand and not waiting a week on the next episode.
Homer: You su-diddely-uck, Flanders! [grabs a bell from him] Hear ye, hear ye! Ye olde town crier proclaimed crappy by all! Chooseth Homer Simpson, and he shalt rock thy world!
Wiggum: Good God, he is fabulous.
Skinner: Yes, he’s embiggened that role with his cromulent performance.
Quimby: Top-notch criering, I admit, but the hat and bell belong to Ned Flanders, so no dice.
Ned: Oh, they’re just family heirlooms. They shouldn’t stand in the way of Homer taking my job.
Homer: Less chat, more hat.
“Bart, do you want to play John Wilkes Booth or do you want to act like a maniac?”
@ GBTS:
Agreed.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Make it so.
“Krusty! This camp was a nightmare! They fed us gruel, they forced us to make wallets for export, and one of the campers was eaten by a bear!”
Oh My God!
“Well, actually, the bear just ate his hat.”
Was it a nice hat?
“Oh yeah.”
Oh My God!
@ WaLi:
I thought the first season of Breaking Bad was really good. It’s different than the next 3 seasons. The first season was hilarious in many ways.
I’m much more patient with dramas, but not sitcoms.
@ mb21:
I liked it, but I think I was going off my love of all things Olyphant. I think when Boyd started to work into the major plots (after being shot in E1) is also what triggered this.
Also, I don’t know if I should be extremely depressed that this Simpsons clip basically sums up my nights out in Chicago:
@ Mish:
Ok I have no idea how to embed videos so here’s the link:
God-dang-diddly-amnit.
here are some words that rhyme with corey…
glory, story
@ Mish:
allegory
Are there any Youtube clips from the Frank Grimes episode? I know not everyone likes that episode, but it’s grown on me.
That’s greatest case of false advertising I’ve seen since I sued the movie “The Never Ending Story”
MONORAIL!
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
The monorail is featured prominently in the Simpsons video game “Hit N Run”, which is one I recently enjoyed.
Mmmmmmm…unexplained bacon…
Well, he’s kind of had it in for me ever since I accidentally ran over his dog. Actually, replace “accidentally” with “repeatedly” and replace “dog” with “son.”
Wish I thought of posting this right when the announcement that Carpenter was the Theo compensation was made.
@ GBTS:
That would be for the Theo haters and not for you, I assume.
I also loved the Operation Enduring Occupation ending for one the Treehouse of Horrors.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
MO beat me to it…the wife is making pancakes and bacon for dinner tonight (dying laughing)
Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic.
I was saying Boo-urns…
Mmm… forbidden donut.
Homer: Marge, for you, I will give up all clear liquors.
Marge: Even Zima?!
Homer: I only drink that when I’m already drunk!
Shopkeeper: Take this object, but beware it carries a terrible curse!
Homer: Ooh, that’s bad.
Shopkeeper: But it comes with a free frogurt!
Homer: That’s good.
Shopkeeper: The frogurt is also cursed.
Homer: That’s bad.
Shopkeeper: But you get your choice of toppings.
Homer: That’s good!
Shopkeeper: The toppings contain potassium benzoate.
Shopkeeper: …That’s bad.
Homer: Can I go now?
How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?
favorite Homer moments:
1.) Continuing to eat the piece of broccoli that kills him every time.
2.) acid rain and the TV antenna.
Mrs. Krabappel and Principal Skinner were in the closet making babies and I saw one of the babies and then the baby looked at me.
Tom: It’s a lovely day for a launch, here, live at Cape Canaveral, at
the lower end of the Florida Peninsula, and the purpose of
today’s mission is truly, really electrifying.
Man 2: That’s correct, Tom. The lion’s share of this flight will be
devoted to the study of the effects of weightlessness on tiny
screws.
Tom: Unbelievable, and just imagine the logistics of weightlessness.
And of course, this could have literally millions of applications
here on Earth — everything from watchmaking to watch repair.
Fire can be our friend, whether it’s toasting marshmallows or raining down on Charlie.
Feel free to use this whenever someone starts commenting about how Aramis wasn’t a productive offensive player or how the Cubs will eclipse 95 wins this year.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
The baby looked at you?
“Well, Bart sure seems more confident.”
“Ha ha ha… yeah…. I’ve always said the boy could use more… confidence.”
Aisle424 wrote:
Sarah, get me Superintendent Chalmers
“Have you noticed any change with Bart?”
New glasses?
“No… he looks like something might be disturbing him.”
Probably misses his old glasses.
I bent my wookie!
Dear Advertisers,
I am disgusted with the way old people are depicted on television.
We are not all vibrant, fun-loving sex maniacs. Many of us are bitter,
resentful individuals who remember the good old days when entertainment
was bland and inoffensive. The following is a list of words I never
want to hear on television again. Number one: Bra. Number two: Horny.
Number three: Family Jewels.
— Grampa Simpson
Look at meee… I’m a Star Wars!
Homer: “Moe, I have this friend… Joey… JoJo Junior…. Shabadoo…”
Moe: “That’s the worst name I ever heard.”
(man at the end of the bar runs out crying)
Barney (calling after him): “Hey! Joey JoJo!”
Dear Mr. President,
There are too many states these days. Please eliminate three. I am not a crackpot.
I am so Crunchy the Clown!
What are doing in my corpse hatch…errr. I mean…Innocence Tube!
You think I’m gonna waste A-material on charity?!?!?
“Hello, my name is Mr. Burns. I believe you have a package for me.”
Ok, Mr. Burns. What’s your first name?
“I… don’t… know….”
Okay, search party, before we set out, let’s take a moment to humor the children.
Kids, your father’s gonna be just fine! Okay, everybody, put on your corpse-handling gloves, we’ve got
two frozen bodies buried somewhere in this mountain.
You there, give us a gallon of petroleum distillate and re-vulcanize the tires! Post-haste!
We should have hyped this place as a Simpsons blog a month ago.
@ mb21:
Every blog is a Simpsons blog.
Agent: Now, before I give you the check, one more question. This place “Moe’s” you left just before the accident. This is a business of some kind?
Brain: Don’t tell him you were at a bar! Gasp! But what else is open at night?
Homer: It’s a pornography store. I was buying pornography.
Brain: Heh heh heh. I would’a never thought of that.
This is my favorite thread ever. Could use more Batman, but this works. (dying laughing)
Mish wrote:
And just like sex, I take care of my own requests
Homer: “Welcome to the Internet, my friend, how can I help you? ”
Comic Book Guy: “I’m interested in upgrading my 28.8 kilobaud Internet connection to a 1.5 megabit fiber optic T1 line. Will you be able to provide an IP router that’s compatible with my token-ring ethernet LAN configuration?”
Homer: [stares blankly for a few seconds] “Can I have some money now?”
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
In America, every man is a rockabilly king.
/not a Simpsons quote
It tastes like burning!
Is that some sort of plush novelty?
@ Mish:
Perfect moment for the original Bart Christmas song…
Too bad I can’t find it on Youtube. DAMN YOU, INTERNET!
@ ACT:
I consider that clip to be one of the pinnacles of cinematic art, ever. I spent like 4 months during college just laughing at that clip.
What is your fascination with daddy’s Forbidden Closet of Mystery?
You don’t put me on hold, I put you on hold! [sings "Wichita Lineman"]
@ uncle dave:
Right, Dickie Noles! DICKIE NOLES. How could I forget a great baseball name like that?
Surely DICKIE NOLES could find a home in the banter here, on non-Simpson days.
We now return to our regularly scheduled Tuesday Simpson’s quotes.
Why must life be so hard? Why must I fail at every attempt at masonry?!
You guys need to knock it the fuck off. It’s baseball time, not TV time.
@ Smokestack Lightning:
I don’t think this will embed, so:
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=156442&title=blernsball
BOMBARDMENT
When’s the last time you played Citizenship?…Hippo in the House… oooh, The Game of Lent.
Sam Fuld inspired a rule change. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7599453/mlb-tweaks-rule-prevent-stalling-relievers
ACT wrote:
The baseball talk will stop NOW.
But yeah, stall tactics are lame.
I would definitely like to see a rule limiting the interruption in the middle of a half-inning. My thought is that for all substitutions after the first one in an inning, the pitcher can throw no warm-up pitches on the mound (i.e. managers would have to make sure he warmed up sufficiently in the pen). Maybe it could even be extended for all mid-inning substitutions.
Of course, advertisers would hate this rule and probably fight it.
@ ACT:
This is a good thing. Although if Felipe Alou were still around, this would basically ruin his entire managerial strategy.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Now they just need a Steve Trachsel rule. The man was a human rain delay.
Twirl King!
@ Berselius:
I’m pretty sure that rule exists. (dying laughing)
Marge, you’re a tool of the doghouse makers.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Shut me the right up.
Look Homer, all of us have pull a few boners now and then, go off half cocked, make asses of ourselves. I don’t want to be hard on you but I just wish you wouldn’t curse in front of my boys.
new shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/transactions/cubs-and-red-sox-finally-complete-theo-epstein-compensation.html