So, I was sitting on the couch with my wife tonight surfing the internet when she came across a story of someone that she grew up and went to school with. The girl she grew up with is traveling across the country with her husband to visit minor league teams and document their experiences in each minor league park - 120 in all. This isn't necessarily a project to discuss prospects or the results on the field, but more to discuss the game of baseball and how it effects each and every person involved in it - including the fans.

I think this idea is very cool, and although I haven't gotten all the way through, I instantly thought this would be something that a lot of people on BCB would love. I know that a lot of you don't only love baseball for the stats and results, but for the deeper meanings and feelings it brings out in us.

A better write up of their journey can be found here

Article by Bradley Woodrum from Fangraphs.

Don't we have enough depth yet?

This is an interesting list, as he explains it as a pref list - meaning who he would trade for in order from 1st to 101st should he have to choose. I also included it because he adds this interesting excerpt as well:

Q: Where would Jorge Soler rank?
A: Number 38 (or number 39 if Cespedes was also getting ranked), ahead of Yasmani Grandal.
Q: Where would Gerardo Concepcion rank?
A: Concepcion has signed with the Cubs, so he is eligible for this list, but he's not a Top 101 prospect for me.

This work was done by a member at MinorLeagueBall - Dougdirt.

It's a very in depth and analytic look at farm systems rankings based on John Sickels' grading scale and a weighted value based on work by Victor Wang.

It gives, what I think, is a very interesting view into the balance of hitting and pitching among minor league clubs. The work places the Cubs at #17 in terms of farm system, which feels about right to me.

The one issue I see with the work is it is impossible to differentiate a high ceiling C+ prospect from an organization C+ guy, which would effect all clubs, but not likely equally. It should be noted this is only based on the top 20-25 prospects in each system.

Updated with better story and contract information

During his chat today, Callis was asked about how Rizzo slotted in the Cubs farm system as well as where the system sat overall with the new additions to the team. I was a little surprised by the answer, but it's definitely getting me more excited to watch these kids play in 2012. I'll cover the highlights below.

John Sickels released his Cubs top 20 prospects with some good analysis of the players and the system as a whole. John basically backs up what a lot of us have been saying here: the system has very few high impact players at upper levels, but are loaded with potential talent in the low minors.

2012 is going to be a very interesting year to see how this team pans out, and hopefully we can see a lot of those C+ prospects progress and turn into B- or B prospects for next years lists.

Oswalt, much like Pena from last year, is looking for a one year deal to show his value and go after one more big contract year after 2012.

With the Cubs need for pitching depth, and the general lack of risk on a one year deal like this, should the Cubs consider Oswalt for their rotation?

Earlier today reports were coming out of the winter meeting that the Phillies are looking to deal Polanco and his 6.4MM salary for 2012 in order to pursue FA 3B Aramis Ramirez.

Polanco, while not a typical 3B, has a decent AVG, OBP, and is extremely strong defensively. He'd be a stopgap for the 2012 season at a reasonable price, and might be able to teach the Cubs young infielders some tricks of the trade.

Polanco is 35 and has a career line of .301/.346/.406 and has been worth 2.8 WAR for each of the past 5 years.

What are the thoughts on BCB?

It looks like a new 5 year deal could be in place as early as today or tomorrow. This new deal would apparently significantly restrict the amount of money that teams can spend on draft picks and also on draft pick compensation for free agents.

It will be interesting to see how this effects teams that focus on spending big in the Rule 4 draft, and how it will effect Epstein and Hoyer depending on how strict the slotting is.

It looks like there still may be a market out there for Zambrano who posted better numbers than Lowe. Indians were willing to take on $5 Million and give back a no name prospect in the deal.

Interesting development for the Dodgers. McCourt was offered 1.2 Billion in a bid headed by LA Marathon founder Bill Burke and backed by a group of Chinese investors. It's definitely worth noting that this bid is entirely cash and is 800 million more than McCourt paid for the Dodgers in 2004.

Baseball America came out with their farm system rankings today, with the Cubs coming in at #16. Prior to the Garza trade, they were ranked #8 by BA. Nothing in here is too surprising when compared to the other lists that have already been released.

[From the FanShots. Earlier, Anthony Morrow was signed to an offer sheet by the Nets -ed.]

Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher that Chicago offered restricted free agent Redick a three-year, $20 million deal. The Magic have seven days to match the contract.