I don't remember in John allows OT posts, but John can delete this post if he wants.

Anyways, I thought since the stock market is recovering, this is a good opportunity to share our blunders and our good choices. You can include any investment vehicle. (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, collectibles, real estate, etc)

I am willing to share my stock blunders:

First of all, I believe it or not, first bought stocks when the market was at its highest point before the recession!. I have lost plenty of money, with nearly every stock getting shelled. 

I am a young investor, turned 19 just 2 days ago, but I am a big believer in investing young. I know I bought at the wrong time lol, but I convinced my father that I wanted to invest, and he bought into it.

My biggest mistakes were the mutual funds Dodge and Cox International, Vanguard Global Equity, and the stock China Mobile Limited.

You?

I am a Giants fan. I have been since 1994. Madison Bumgarner's loss of velocity, I've heard from various reports, was due to common late season fatigue, not injury or some random drop of talent and/or strength.

Due to a large group of fans that rank Buster Posey well ahead of MadBum are over their head. Either that--or just thinking too hard.

Look. Madison Bumgarner even did well in the MLB from what I saw, with good control and a great fastball. Yes, I understand he had a deep cut in strikeouts in the minors, but it really was only in the late season, when many young pitchers get fatigue. (Madison Bumgarner is under 20!)

So, calm down folks. Your all over thinking. Maybe it is just because Giants fans are desperate for a hitter, so they pick Posey over MadBum. Anyhow, I disagree strongly.

Ok, enough said. I made my point.

I have been a baseball fan since 1978, and I find it fantastic that a woman gets a chance to prove her self behind the Padres desk. Rotoworld, often wrong, said that the chances of her inking the job are slim.

For those who don't know, Kevin Towers, former Pads GM, was the longest tenured GM--in work since 96'

Brian Sabean is now the longest GM.

What do you think of a women running a team. I have seen smart women reporters, such as Erin Andrews and Jaymee Sire, but the GM job is more challenging. 

I think that the only roadblock stopping her from taking the seat is her sex. However, she has experience.

Thew only thing I question about her is if she knows all the players in the MLB right now. 

What does the minor league ball community think? Would she make a good GM if hired, or not? 

I was playing OOTP10, which, for those who don't know, is the best baseball video game out there. (It is like baseball Mogul but with better like, everything)

When I simulate, it tells me a baseball fact or trivia question--many of which are interesting. I came across one that I thought was worth sharing.

Continue reading this post »

My American League Pick-Elvis Andrus: Not a HR threat, but a great base runner. 23 SB with only 2 CS. Also note the 7 triples in 337 AB.

AL Runner up: Brad Bergesen

My National League Pick-Dexter Fowler: There are really not many solid rookies to win the award in the NL, but Fowler stands out because he's played almost every game this season, and he's a .274 hitter with slightly above average plate discipline and a solid base stealer

NL Runner up: TIE (Colby Rasmus and Kenshin Kawakami)

Overall, not a real great crop of rookies this year. People may argue that Rasmus should be the NL pick, but he's not hitting well other than decent power. AKA his batting average is in the .250's

Now, some CY thoughts

NL: Tim Lincecum-The KKKKK King

Runner Up: Matt Cain (whoo! Both Giants!)

AL: Zach Greinke-Well, I'm a fan of the CG, and he racks the complete games up!

Thoughts

As many of you know, on July 2nd, teams are able to go overseas to sign players at age 16 or older. Use this thread to discuss and post news on which teams sign who. Some top names include:

-Guillermo Pimentel -Miguel Sano -Jacob Beltre -Wagner Mateo -Gary Sanchez -Juan Urbina -Jurickson Profar -Leonardo Perdomo-Jose Vinicio-Santo Luis Aybar-Rosel Herrera-Jairo Kelly-Luis Sardinas-Humberto Valor.

There are many, many more players, and these are just a few. More on these guys can be found on Baseball America

Some players, like Kelly, have already been linked to teams. He's been linked to the Mets.

Sano, the pretty obvious top international prospect, is rumored to be either a Pirate or Cardinal

http://taiwanbaseball.blogspot.com/2009/06/cubs-sign-yao-lin-wang.html

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I don't see how Perez doesn't get enough hype as a player heading into the 2009 draft. The switch hitting shortstop was only ranked #122 on Baseball America's top 200 draft prospect list.

Perez is that rare switch hitter who can hit well from both sides of the plate. Out of all his tools, the only "average" one out of them is speed. He can field, has power, and can flat out rake period. If he signs, which may not happen,  his ceiling could be that of Hanley Ramirez, maybe even with a tad more power! This is all my opinion, but I would like to see others thoughts on Stephen Perez.

Furthermore, I would love to here Andy, with that great MLB Bonus Baby blog of his, to comment.

I could not find, even in google or yahoo advanced search, any site that has statistics for 2009 future picks or I guess any following year statistics. You see, I am working on/writing up a list of the top 100 amuature prospects according to me, but I need evidence to back up my reasoning. So far Strasburg I can't even find stats for.

So, my question is: Where can I find such stats? Does anyone know of a "free" site for this.

Any help would be appreciated. Thks

I think that its great to see the the O's go after a Japanese pitcher, but perhaps they should have gone after Kenshin Kawakami.

According to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TausE4nhypk, half of Koji's pitches are right over the plate. I did some community service one year for a Giants scouting program, and this guy doesn't fit the "movement" catagory. He's controlled, yes, but the pitches are right down broadway. 

He'll have to make major adjustments to keep his ERA under 5.00 at the MLB level.