Tyler

starting pitching easily.

P's
Mark Sappington (mentioned earlier)
Michael Roth (made it to the majors, looked solid)
 
C's
Zach Wright (.361 OBP, throwing out 30% of runners)
 
1B's
Michael Snyder (.316/.374/.503, 27 doubles in 81 games)
Wade Hinkle (.333./.445/.575, 49 walks in 294 at bats)
 
2B's
Alex Yarbrough (.282 AVG) - got off to a slow start in terms of power. Has improved his power and OBP vastly thus far this season for the 66ers. Contact hitter. Worth keeping an eye on.
Sherman Johnson (.266/.417/.385, 56 walks in 64 games) Other areas might need to improve but he obviously has a really good eye.
 
OF's
Jonathan Walsh (.300/.411/.522, 29 extra base hits in 64 games, just as many BB's and K's)
Kyle Johnson (.321/.424/..486, contact hitter type, never been caught stealing in 16 attempts)
Joel Capote (.328/.421/.486, not too shabby for a 28th rounder)
 
Seems like they really got away from the hacking types and are trying to develop an organization with hitters who take pitches. This is a solid draft considering they didn't have a pick in the top 100 nor did they really catch a guy by and large considered a "steal". It's still early but the hitting stats these guys are putting up are encouraging. 

Be more threatening, Mike. This ain't about friendships anymore.

No. They just suck.

Morales 'clogging' up the bases as a detriment to his value is laughable at best.

They all make tactical errors, you're talking about polishing up a car that doesn't even have an engine. 

Can't blame the manager when you got Blanton starting

"Well, we ran into a team that was gettin' hot at the wrong time for us. The ball was comin out of Blantsie's hand real well, but a couple of guys managed to get some good swings on the ball. That is just what happens in the game from time to time. You gotta remember that the season is a marathon, we're still in this thing. Butchie noticed a little flaw in Roth's mechanics last time out, so he got down in the bullpen to iron out some things, now the kid is fittin' in with Angel style pitching. We're gonna get down and grind, we'll see how it goes but guys are gettin to where they need to be. The hitting with RISP will be there, right now we just have a couple of flies in the ointment to deal with! Epsy will be workin' the cages and get some guys gettin' to where they need to be."

I literally cannot find any way to defend this signing. Dipoto assembled one of the worst rotations in recent memory.

You saw it there today.  Trout on base and hamilton gets fastballs.  I would say that putting Josh in the 2 spot would work as well, but I think MS like him 'protecting' Pujols.  Some say protection is a myth but who knows.

AO that has nothing to do with this thread. Are you venting on shuffle right now?

DR, you should write first-person novels. Your attention to detail mixed with your sense of humor is gold.

Looked like the tag had some effect in the foot being pulled off the bag.

How yall doin today? Just wanted to jump on and give yall some insight on your new pitcher. Michael is the nicest kid you will ever want to meet. He has no fear, is a real loose guy and is one of the smartest people you'll meet. There's an amazing story about how Roth got his big break with South Carolina. South Carolina had lost the first game of the College World Series and had played their way back into the sesmifinal by winning every game. This had left the team with almost no rested pitchers to face our most hated rival Clemson, needing to win 2 games to advance. Roth, by some stroke of luck, ended up on the hotel elevator with then Head Coach and current AD Ray Tanner and another coach who were discussing "well, who are we going to throw today, can we get by with just getting a few innings out of each guy?". Michael turns to them and says "Coach, start me". Tanner said why not and started him expecting to get 2-3 innings out of hiim since he hadn't thrown more than 1.2 the entire season. After the 3rd inning Tanner came to Roth and said something to the effect of "Hey, great work, thanks for taking one fot the team", and Roth replied "Coach, I'm good, I'm going back out". Tanner kept coming up to him after every inning and Roth replied the same way each time. Roth went 9 innings and pitched a 3 hitter. Tanner still tells the story and ends it with "That was the day I learned to trust Michael Roth." He ended up being the Friday Starter the next two seasons as we won another CWS and finishing runner up his senior year. His throwing style may not be the most orthodox, but he knows how to get people out and he is a winner. Hope he never goes back down

Roth is a great young kid from the GameCock who started his college career as a power hitting 1st baseman until the CWS when we ran out of pitchers and stuck him in. The rest is history and I hope y'all enjoy watching him as much as I have for the past few years.

Not until you spell his name right.

The only way the pitching turns it around is if Richards pitches like an Ace and Madson comes back and pitches lights out.

You're forever wrong.

Yep... Luis Jimenez is off to a solid start too. 
 
The best part is, he's actually more selective at the plate. He has a plus .400 OBP and has walked 3 times vs. 4 whiffs. 
 
I've always loved his ability to get the BIG HIT in the minors. Something this team has desperately needed. 
 
Two of my favorite prospects are Witherspoon and Jimenez, so I'm pretty happy about this too. 

Phil Jackson.

Ahh there's that wonderful macho bullshit sports culture.
 
Where people are pussies because they don't like seeing players miss a few months because Carlos Quentin leans out over the plate(hence him being HBP so much) and can't control his temper when he does get hit.
 
But at least he had that nonsense "history" between him and Greinke to justify it!

Since Greinke didn't hit him on purpose, he was probably yelling that to Quentin. If he were baiting Carlos, the catcher would have gotten involved much quicker.

I'll give props to Greinke. He's only 60 pounds when he's wet and wearing boots yet he still dipped his shoulder and met Quentin's charge.

Start drafting better within these next few years, actually get involved in the international market and sign guys from there. Replenish this farm system, stop overspending for players on the wrong side of 30, build around Trout