One problem I think we all face at some point in following prospects is wondering how in the world to pronounce someone's name. They can't all be Joe Smith. And since one of the best things about this site is the huge pool of knowledge people can share, I thought we could pool some of the tricky ones. Got a question on one? Let it fly, and someone else on here *has* to know, right? Right? A couple years ago, Kila would have been all over this. Hechavarria's full name is bound to be on here. How about Kirk Nieuwenhuis? I have no idea.

I think this thread could actually help us.

I'm a worried, pessimistic Mets fan, or as most sensible people call us, a Mets fan. While I grant that Buster Olney, like Duffman, says a lot of things, his report that Jenrry Mejia is likely to start the year in the majors really worries me. I'm excited by Mejia, and I approve of breaking in top starting prospects in the majors in the bullpen, but isn't this a little extreme? The guy has less than 50 innings above A-ball, and was walking more than a guy every two innings in Double-A. Combine that with an arsenal that needs work and a very recent birthdate, I just see the Mets rushing another prospect egregiously. Is there an argument to be made for keeping him with the team? (Not counting to do anything to save your job if you're Manuel or Minaya.) Could this over-encourage the fastball and stunt the development of his other pitches? Should he even be starting above Double-A? Can you blame a Mets fan for carving "Brooks was here" in the ceiling?

In case you guys haven't seen this, it's pretty amusing. Fernando Perez makes a good straight man. Nice to see a guy have a sense of humor, and some of the stuff at the end about other players is great. Mostly, this beats the hell out of reading stories out of spring training from writers desperate for anything at all to cover that are just as ridiculous as this, but not on purpose: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQjt0Xzb5F8

I'm just curious how many of you have seen the movie Sugar and what you think. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a very non-Hollywood movie that follows the path of a teenaged Dominican pitching prospect in the DR and in the minors. It sort of gave an interesting perspective to go along with all the time we spend talking about Latin prospects or only seeing them on the field. Any thoughts on it?

For a bunch of dyed in the wool baseball nerds, I figure this should be a fun conversation. What's your favorite all-time individual tool on a particular player? There's no right or wrong answer, but in many cases, I'm sure there's a story behind it. Tony Gwynn's hit tool? Clemente's arm? I'm especially interested in guys that aren't hall of famers or even superstars, but had that one insane ability. And it has to be someone you saw/see. I, for one, am certain I'll tell my grandkids about Vlad's plate coverage. But it can also be on the other end of the spectrum, like Mackey Sasser's arm or the most astonishingly/endearingly slow player you've ever seen. There's no right or wrong answer. Go!

As I've read the various reactions to Pittsburgh taking Tony Sanchez, even since it was just a rumor, there are two things that stand out: 1) People think it was an over-draft, likely due to signability, and that he would have been available ten to fifteen picks later, and 2) The Pirates, even if signability helped, seemed to fall in love with the kid. With that said, I think this is another angle to the argument in favor of allowing the trading of draft picks.

If the guy you really want in your organization isn't a good value where you're picking, you should be able to trade down, just like the Browns did repeatedly in this year's NFL draft. How many teams would have loved to pick fourth to guarantee they could get, say, Zack Wheeler? The Pirates probably could have picked up an extra pick somewhere in the first few rounds. It works the other way, too. If the A's had gotten wind that the Astros wanted Castro and not Smoak last year, you don't think they would have found a way to swap picks with Houston?

I think people are so paranoid about the Yankees, etc., monopolizing the high-end talent that they've denied teams the right to value the actual picks.

I know I'm not breaking new ground or anything here, but I'd love to see some intelligent debate about the trading of draft picks. Thoughts?

The Cardinals released Tyler Herron, who was the 46th overall pick in 2005. Anyone know the full story here? The guy wasn't great or anything, but this seems like an odd move.

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I'm sure most of you know by now, but the BBWAA has added Rob Neyer and Keith Law of ESPN.com and Christina Kahrl and Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus to its ranks. Now I know some of you like to bash one or two of the aforementioned names, but I think we can all agree this is a very good thing. Not only are four very good writers (ones who are better than most of the group they're joining) and good analysts being added to the group that determines Hall of Fame inductions and end of season awards, but for the mainstream media to accept four predominantly internet-based writers is a big step in the right direction. These are direct peers of Sickels. The best newspaper baseball writer in the country (Posnanski) is a blogger--it's about time the best bloggers and internet columnists get a voice on par with the Murray Chass types of the world.

In short: Hooray!

Please don't make this about politics. I want to honor Mr. Sickels' request for politics to be restricted to his OT post. But I have a dead-serious question about the election's effect on baseball and I'm honestly curious as to the answer:

If McCain is elected president, who throws out the first pitch on opening day next year? The president would obviously not be able to throw the traditional pitch (I'm not making fun--even mint condition presidents tend to throw like Mackey Sasser), so what would happen? Would McCain do some sort of other opening gesture, like being the one to say "Play ball"? Would Palin throw instead?

Again, no politics or flames please. I just think it's a good baseball hypothetical for election day. And we just can't trust a decision like this to Bud Selig.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/10/31/sheehan.trades/index.html?eref=T1

Most of these aren't that interesting to me, but the idea of a Liriano-to-Texas trade is. What do you guys think of the one he suggests? He says Liriano to Texas for Salty, Andrus, Blalock, and Poveda. Now at this point, I figure the Rangers just want to get rid of Blalock, which helps the trade. But the Twins don't seem like the best fit to pony up for Salty, and trading Andrus seems like a strange move, although Young is still locked in through perpetuity. I do think Liriano would be a good fit for the Rangers.

On a day when Mr. Sickels introduces political and economic discussion (which is cool by me), I feel like it's important to counter-program, as well. So with that said, George Brett can't control his bowels. If you're at work without headphones, sensitive to language, or are currently eating lunch, maybe don't watch this: http://www.theunticket.com/george-brett-shits-himself-story/

The best part is watching young Royals try to get away from a hall of famer who really wants to talk to them.

...Is definitely my new favorite euphemism. Maybe even a good band name. They just keep saying it as if it's the way an actual human being would refer to someone's body. It's sort of the reverse of Keith Law talking about Tim Beckham's five tool package.

As a Mets fan I'm glad Steve Phillips has been reduced to having to listen to grown men in ties talk about a college boy's ass all afternoon.