"Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us." – Oscar Wilde

Sparked by HumbleFan’s recent tongue-in-cheek post and abetted by Springsteen's Tunnel of Love album popping up on my iPod shuffle this morning, let’s talk about me & you remembering about that time we use to remember. Remember?

Having turned 30 this past November I’ve resolved the fact that I am heading out of the non-prospect phase of my life into that phase where I’m now just sad career minor leaguer, holding on with the faint glimmer of hope that someday, someway, I will get my deserved call to the big leagues. As such, I’ve started wondering where the hell my youth went. I’ve noticed my memories are not what they used to be. I used to be great with putting names to faces and numbers – hell, I remembered my high school locker combination five years after I graduated. Nowadays I couldn’t even tell you the name of my prom date. Or what I had for lunch yesterday.

The strange thing is, though, I’ve recently started having the weirdest flashbacks sparked by the most ordinary of circumstances. The smell of wet pavement reminding me of a four-square game in front of my house; The back of a 1988 Topps baseball card sparking a memory of the time I threw up on a Saturday morning while looking for my Fred McGriff rookie; a car backfiring outside my office sounding like that time neighbor’s Camaro had a flat tire – it’s amazing how such mundane things can invoke a wealth of vivid memories to completely trivial times of my life. Maybe it’s nothing more than a subconscious attempt to reconcile the fact that I am getting older. My biggest fear is that this is the dying flash of something bigger as my brain attempts to flush out the old to make space for the new.

What are some of your favorite memories? What are some of the more mundane memories that you’re surprised you carry to this day? Any specific memory triggers? Do you ever ask yourself, well, how did I get here? Where is that large automobile?

Disclosure: this is a fantasy-related question inasmuch as this is a question regarding prospects in my fantasy minor league farm system. However, I’m not really concerned about the fantasy implications as much as I am curious as to how you would rank the following players in a real-life organizational Top 25 (i.e. considering their real-life, non-fantasy value). How would you rank the following players? My list and rankings below:

1. P Trevor Reckling (LAA)

2. 3B Alex Liddi (SEA)

3. OF Francisco Peguero (SF)

4. OF Greg Halman (SEA)

5. P Wilkins de la Rosa (NYY)

6. RP Kam Mickolio (BAL)

7. C Miguel Gonzalez (CWS)

8. P Chia-Jen Lo (HOU)

9. P Tyler Sample (KC)

10. SP Jorge Bucardo (SF) [Personal favorite]

11. 2B John Tolisano (TOR)

12. 1B Jesus Guzman (SF) [He even worth noting any more?]

13. P Brett Lorin (SEA)

14. P Esmailin Caridad (CHC)

15. 2B Jerome Hoes (BAL)

16. P Chaz Roe (COL)

17. P Chris Cody (MIL)

18. P Juan Jaime (WAS)

19. P Nick Hill (SEA)

20. P Roque Mercedes (MIL)

21. SP Kenn Kasparek (SEA)

22. P Jose Perez (LAA) [Sleeper that I really like]

23. SP Matthew Way (PHI)

24. OF Matt Angle (BAL)

25. P Fabian Williamson (BOS)

Organizational flotsam: P Sean Black (NYY) OF Joe Dunigan (SEA); SS Dustin Coleman (OAK); P George Kontos (NYY); SP Alex Periard (MIL); SP Justin Souza (OAK); P Kenta Suda (SEA); P Aaron Pribanic (SEA); OF Alexis Espinoza (DET); C Nevin Ashley (TAM); P Brian Moran (SEA)

Is there anybody you feel ranked too high? Too low? Remember this is in actual prospect terms, so treat this as if it were a fictitious Sickels’ exercise.