SB Nation User Blog: rpm2419

Minor Leaguers effected by the Steroid ERA were screwed

rpm2419 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:23:32 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3554767

I never even thought about this until i came upon this story but it makes a ton of sense. If i were a minor leaguer who actually played by the rules and was blackballed by the big leagues because of it I would be livid. Not only do you not get to live out your dream to play in the big leagues but also you give up millions to be stuck in the minors. Reilly's idea may be a little outside the box but if i was a guy who went through this i would have no problem bringing it to a court of law. Minor leaguers who played by the rules put up numbers but were passed by the roids user are equal victims as the guy who is passed up for promotion because some guy in the office put together a "shady" deal to make himself look good. No doubt MLB set the standards that cheating to win is ok and i think if some of the guys who were passed took action MLB would have a chance to redeem itself at least a little bit for the massive blind eye it turned for years.

Matt Cerda story

rpm2419 — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:38:07 -0000

Good story on espn about Cerda and his work ethic.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cerda

Notice the fact of who he's compared to and how far he has fallen off the map since his dominance in high school ball.

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Rick Porcello Session

rpm2419 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:07:01 -0000

Here's something that i found pretty cool and if you've never seen Porcello throw in real life it gives you a chance to see what kind of stuff he has. Enjoy

http://rotoexperts.com/content/view/294/108/

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Eric Niesen

rpm2419 — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:44:29 -0000

Supposedly this kid is making big strides after his first year in pro ball. I want to find out if this kid is actually got a chance of making it to the bigs some day or if this is all heresay. If you guys could help me out with this it would be appreciated. As far as i knew i didn't think much of him coming out of high school but he put together a solid rookie season in advanced A ball for st. lucie with a 3.30 era but doesn't seem to have the command that is necessary yet with a 27/25 ratio so i'm not to sure that he is even close to being ready yet but maybe a promotion to AA this year? Any more insight would be appreciated.

Zumaya's "accident"

rpm2419 — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:04:02 -0000

Detroit radio host Mike Valenti read it first on the air today but it looks like big Z may have been caught red handed on this one. Eye witness accounts have it that Zumaya was riding a four wheeler at imperial dunes in southern california when he got into an accident. Should be interesting as to what comes out about this but once the story broke on ESPN someone in the comments section wrote the real story and couldn't believe the fudge job on it. Accuracy when into as much detail as the license plate number of the four wheeler and the specific model he was driving. Hopefully, by tomorrow i'll have more details on this to follow it up.

Gorkys Hernandez's Future

rpm2419 — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:11:43 -0000

I'm trying to figure out where he fits in the Tigers future plans. I'm guessing his best case of scenario is Monroe flames out Granderson shifts to Right when Maybin comes up and Gorky's lands in left. By this point Sheff should be retired and Maggs should be a full time DH. From what he's showing is he going to be good enough to start because the outfield of Gorkys, Cameron, and Granderson in the spacious COPA should be incredible to watch. It would also give the Tigers some much needed speed on the basepaths. I'm interested to see where others think Gorky's falls into the Tigers plans.

Weekend sweep of the Twins starts tonight.

Tigers needs for shortstop

rpm2419 — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 19:16:22 -0000

I think a perfect fit for the tigers this offseason would be to try and find a way to add Hanley Ramirez to their lineup. This would add a true leadoff hitter with the necessary need for a future shortstop. This allows Guillen to shift to first and Granderson to move down in the order. I am unsure about how much Detroit would have to give up in this swap. I think maybe Humberto Sanchez and Craig Monroe might do it even though i would not like to see monroe go we have Maybin on the way which will shift Granderson over to the corner anyways. It may not look like a good idea to swap Monroe on the surface but overall you might have your future Alan Trammel (not in stats but in longevity with the team) in your hands when all is said and done. Ramirez struck out 50 less times than Granderson last year (who didn't) in almost 100 less at bats. I think Ramirez also walked more than Granderson but i am not sure of that fact. This also adds true speed with Ramirez's potential to steal 50 bags a year.

Tigers Prospects Part 2

rpm2419 — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 03:46:09 -0000

The cheap answer to the tigers problems might be Daryle Ward. He's a solid left handed bat that would come for next to nothing in our minor league system and could platoon with monroe and thames on a rhp vs lhp basis. The more i think about it and the more i read what others wrote in response to my helton idea, the more i agree that a big name player may not be the answer. Soriano would help this year but the two month rental may not be worth it. Losing Sanchez for a 2 month rental is not worth it. Now losing clevelen and someone else may be worth it but they will want sanchez in return. The last thing is if we ever consider trading Maybin this town will be furious. He is being hyped as the next Ken Griffey Jr. around these parts of town and an outfield of Granderson, Maybin, and Ordonez is hard to pass up.

Tiger Prospects

rpm2419 — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 04:18:01 -0000

The tigers need to give up an arm in order to make a serious run this year. In the years past we have always been sellers. For the first time in a long time we have a chance to make a big splash come the end of july. In order to do this it is a question of how much we are willing to give up to get an equal amount in return. Right now many people locally think it is the time to give up the prospects. This is where i disagree.
If the tigers are going to give something up they better get something equal in return. By that i mean if they want to give up humberto sanchez and an outfielder on the big league club (Craig Monroe) to try and get Alfonso Soriano then i agree they should go for it. Unfortunately, i think Jordan Tata would also be a part of that deal. Still, i think this is a deal that would make sense both to the casual fan and the fan that sees the trade deeper then just the prospects. If we give up sanchez and someone else for Abreu i will be furious. Many might view this as an upgrade but we could be setting ourselves up for a financial disaster in the future. I think Hank Blalock will be a free agent this off season and i can see nothing better then signing him and moving Inge back into his super utility role. By taking Abreu and his contract i belive in the long run it could do more harm than good. Taking Abreu this year might still be taking a risk. Given that he has a high OBP people will see it as an upgrade but i do not think he is worth what we have coming up. The best fit for the tigers in my opinion would be Todd Helton. He would come at a reasonable cost and i believe would be a good fit on our current club. This means we could use him as DH or at 1b for the slumping Shelton. Ken Griffey Jr. would also be a good fit but the price may be to high. Raul Ibanez would fit nicely but i do not think the mariners would part ways with him. Garret Anderson is another guy who would fit well on this team but i think the Angels are struggling enough offensively that they do not want to give him up. Helton makes the most sense for the now and the future.