Hey everyone, I'm doing some research on a few Cal League players, and I remember there was a guy with a website who wrote scouting reports on all the players in the Cal League. Only problem is, now I can't find it. Can anyone link me? Thanks.

Since I need 300 characters, here is some haiku:

Magazine Intern
Writes story about baseball
Gets drunk on lunch break

Gaucho Beat Reporter
Years ago drank beer in stands
Then interviewed coach

Wow, that title is sort of homoerotic, isn't it? <wind whistles, tumbleweed rolls by>

Anyway, in Gleeman's latest Hardball Times article he talks about how Joe Blanton can't miss bats, and he comes up with a statistical comp that should terrify all of us: Nate Cornejo. Scroll towards the bottom for impending doom.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/disappearing-numbers

Peter Gammons was just on Sportscenter, and he called Miggy "unquestionably the best shortstop in the game" and "maybe the best player". He pointed out that Tejada is a 140-150 RBI guy who has great leadership skills and seems to always get the big hit.

Gee, we couldn't use a guy like that, could we?

I just returned from a week long trip to Death Valley. As most of you would guess, it is a low-tech kind of place; no cell-phone reception, no television, barely even any running-water--so, obviously, no internet. I spent the week hiking up bone-dry canyons and watching my girlfriend try to identify pin-head sized wildflowers that, honestly, did not interest me in the least. The things we do for love, right? But, none of you care about any of this, so I'll get to the point.

When I got home tonight I flipped onto the computer and went to the first website I always visit, AN. I figured I would see who won the 5th starter spot, if Scutaro made the team, if Street made the team, yadda yadda. When I saw what Blez had done, I was completely floored. I don't mean to kiss ass, but the level of content that he has brought to this website is stunning. I hope every one who frequents AN realizes that Blez gives us a window through which to view our favorite team that is unprecedented. No other group of baseball fans is this lucky, and I for one would like to thank the guy that made it possible.

So, a toast to AN, from it's humble beginnings to its meteoric rise to being the best baseball site on the internet, and to Blez.

Cheers!
<jmoney drunkenly falls off his barstool>

The new Christian radio owners of KFRC, and courtesy of baseballtoaster.com, I give you: baseball bloggers write the Book of Genesis! (and oh, yes, Blez gets his due):

http://humbug.baseballtoaster.com/archives/156981.html

stupid 300 characters rule................................................................................................ ........

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2000669

It's not a done deal, but he says it's pretty close. The numbers ESPN gives are 3 years at $11 mil per, with 2 option years that vest based on innings pitched.

My reaction is, of course:

THAT'S IT! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? YOU'RE TELLING ME WE COULDN'T HAVE MATCHED THAT?

I will now go throw myself into the ocean.

I know that nobody's even reported to spring training yet, but I thought I'd throw out some handicapping. In my opinion, in order, these are the A's most likely to get traded this season:

1)Byrnes--will not break camp with the team.

2)Rincon--there will always be a team looking for a lefty reliever. He will be traded

3)Dotel--We have Street and Garcia, and there is almost guaranteed to be at least one team (I'm looking at you, Chicago) with playoff hopes that needs bullpen help in July. I'd say odds are 60-40 or better he gets traded.

4)Hatteberg or Durazo--This probably only happens if the A's suck this year, but I could see there being a market for one of these guys as a left-handed bat for a contending team.

5)Dan Johnson--he has a nice prospect resume, but it seems to me that Beane doesn't like him that much (if Billy did like him, he would make room for him, as he is doing with Kielty, "the human popup", by trading Byrnes). I could see him being packaged in a deal with one of the above players.

Guys I don't see getting traded:

1)Kielty--The only way Beane gets rid of him is if he sobers up and releases him.

2)Zito--I really don't see Zito getting traded unless everything goes wrong and the A's are a 100-loss team this year. Even if we're middle of the pack this year, Zito is important for 2006.

By the way, I make a few snarky remarks about BB here, so let me just say that I think he is a great GM--I just think he has a blind spot on Kielty. Hopefully I will be proved wrong (especially b/c Kielty looks exactly like my buddy Drew, which is hilarious).

This is all pointless conjecture, but so is everything else we've been writing the last two months. God, I can't wait for the season to start.

Well, Wait till Next Year got to a bunch of A's in the 16-30 range of his prospect list. Here's a few nutshell statements:

Dan Meyer--Rich man's Mark Redman, will combine with Joe Blanton to throw 300+ solid innings.

Daric Barton--Had an inconsistent year, could be compared to Scott Hatteberg. Could also be compared to Carlos Delgado (Me likes that).

Nick Swisher--Potential ROY finalist, could be second or third best hitter on the A's In 2005 (me likes this, too).

Here you go, read for yourselves:

http://www.all-baseball.com/nextyear/

The Yankees just gave Tony Womack 2 years and $4mil, and they gave Jaret Wright 3 years and $23 mil.

Read that again.

The only explanation I can come up with for these ridiculous contracts is that Brian Cashman has finally had it with Steinbrenner, and he's decided to MAKE King George fire him. I wonder if he'll even show up at the press-conferences, or is he going to be in the office sprucing up his resume?

Good news, though. These are both going to end up being bad moves for the Yankees. It's going to be a while before they win another World Series.

John Sickels has a mailbag on Down on the Farm, and he talks a little bit about Swisher and Street.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=1929139

Basically he says that Street is one of the better pitching prospects around, but he expects him to start next year in AAA. He also says that Swisher might have even more power than we have thought if he can play with a fully healthy thumb.

Blez has the link to Carrol's page over there on the right. For those of you not in the know (as if any of us really are), Carrol is a BP guy with a lot of MLB connections, and in a recent post he outlines the contract offers that Carlos Beltran has received. As such, they are:

Angels = 5x20 ($100m)
Phillies = 10x15.5 ($155m)
Yankees = 8x18.1 ($145m)
Orioles = 6x18.3 ($110m)
Red Sox = 7x17 ($119m)
Astros = 10x11 ($110m)
Dodgers = 5x18 ($90m)
Cubs = 7x16 ($112m)
Rangers = 7x15.7 ($110m)
White Sox = 6x15 ($90m)

If you want to read the rest of the article, head on over to his page. I just thought I'd show this because, well, that's a shitload of money.

On the one hand, I'm glad this abortion of a baseball season is over, and the offseason has started.  It'll be fun to see how Billy B remakes the team the next couple of months.

On the other hand, I'm not going to get to watch a baseball game for five months. Five Months!

whimper

Someone, please... Hold Me.

As Blez says over there in the main column, if we had resigned Keith Foulke, the A's would have won the division, easily. Now, I'm not even a Foulke fan (he fucked up in the playoffs, he dissed the A's when he left), but the biggest reason the A's missed the playoffs was because of their bullpen.

That's what makes this such an appropriate ending; in a season full of games our bullpen lost in the ninth inning, we lost in the ninth inning of the season because of our bullpen.

I don't know how much commenting gets done on these diaries, but I've got a question for everyone. Mulder or Blanton on Friday. Now, I've always been a huge fan of Mark Mulder's, but we have to be honest at this point. The guy hasn't been getting it done for two months now, and he's not going to turn it around this season. If we need a win come Friday, I don't think he should be pitching. I know this is a severe act of jumping off the wagon (I haven't fallen off the wagon this bad since my post-UC graduation drinking binge a year and a half ago), but the A's need to do what it takes to make the playoffs. And besides, you've gotta love Blanton. He really does look like a guy from Kentucky.

Oh yeah, fire Curt Young, too.