Frayed Knot

I've seen innings from Rodriguez where he's thrown [u:uoymbhk9]three[/u:uoymbhk9] WP/PBs in one frame.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Rodriguez on? PATIENCE, Met hitters. Yup! 100 MPH - occasionally knows where it's going.

Four benchies left still for the Nats. Bernadina here makes it three: X Nady plus two backup catchers.

Don't like the bunt there. No I don't. With these arms in the OF and Ike running a single is no guarantee of a run.

Ike gets on the only way possible for him these days.

Fman99 wrote: This fucking bullpen. This one's more on Muffy than on the pen. Even if he just gets the force there we've still got the lead.

Going to have to overcome both the pen AND the 'D' tonight

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Danny Espinosa's Wooly Willie beard is so ersatz-looking, he should name it "Katie Holmes." That's a BOC

Edgy DC wrote: Not to many MLB players out there who can claim to have thrown one over the head of Chris Young. I'm still trying to figure out how you can bounce one over the backstop and the high screen.

In all a reasonably encouraging outing from Young. If he could have retired the opposing pitcher he'd probably still be in there. And his PH cashed in his AB too.

Edgy DC wrote: I have other sources calling him a switchie. Maybe he quit in college. LJ's a twin, by the way. I think that gives Minnesota the right of first refusal. And they exercised that right in the 9th round.

Typical Nats game so far -- at least 90% of the time I tune into one of their games it's in the 5th inning and it's 1-0 somebody Sometimes there's a real scoring orgy and it's 1-1 instead.

Edgy DC wrote: Ah. Our Needs-A-Sandwich pick. I found it at the ruins of his MySpace page, so I imagine it goes back a few years. Yeah, I was going to say, if that's six-foot tall that ain't 200 lbs.

Some capsulized analysis from MLB.com (where available) Round 3; Matt Koch, 6' 3" - 205 -- While Koch has shared closing duties with senior Derek Self at Louisville this season, he's still shown enough with a good two-pitch power repertoire to garner some attention. The lean, wiry and strong right-hander will throw his fastball up to 94 mph, sitting comfortably a tick below that. There's some good life to the heater as well, and he commands it well. He also throws strikes with a hard slider that has good bite and depth. Koch seems to have the right mentality for a life in short relief, showing a willingness to take the ball at the end of the game and go right after hitters. Two Major League average or better power pitches with good command should be enough to get Koch drafted early and should help him move up the ladder quickly. Round 4; Branden Kraupe, 5' 7" - 175; [u:1gyoikt4]DOB: 4/10/94[/u:1gyoikt4] Round 5; Brandon Welch, 6' 1" - 185 -- Welch is one of the more intriguing prospects in the Draft. His fastball sits in the mid 90s, and he also has a hard slider. He has excellent command of both pitches and rarely walks a batter. However, Welch is not the biggest guy in the world, leading some scouts to think he will be a reliever at the next level. Either way, Welch's aggressive nature and pure stuff are what will get him drafted. Round 6; Jayce Boyd, 1B, 6' 3" - 200 Round 7; Corey Oswalt, RHP, 6' 4" - 200 Round 8; Tomas Nido, C, R/R; HS Florida, 6' - 200 -- "Serious raw power"

So this kid gets drafted 165th in 2009, reportedly demands well-over slot --possibly even seven-figure-- money, and then comes back three years later and gets drafted 185th and in a much more re$trictive environment. Hope he got a good education in the interim cuz he sure didn't pile up the cash with the route he took.

Met picks so far are confounding the conventional wisdom out there. All have been "over-drafts" in the opinion of the draft-eratti with these recent two ranking in the low-mid 100s by BA for instance. Reynolds -- Playing for a top-notch program in one of the best college conferences in the country, Reynolds has been seen by plenty of scouts. And while he might not be among the top tier of college bats in this class, he has some skills that could translate at the next level. With a balanced set-up at the plate, Reynolds has a good approach and hits line drives. He doesn't have a ton of power, mostly to the gaps, and is more consistent to the pull side. Without average power, Reynolds will have to learn how to hit to all fields. He's a heads-up baserunner who will swipe some bases even without particularly good speed. He's a very good defender, with the potential to be above average with his arm and fielding to go along with solid average range. Reynolds plays mostly third, but has seen time at shortstop, and that kind of flexibility will only help his value. If the bat doesn't progress, he could have a very good future as a utility type. Stankiewicz -- High school pitchers are often projectable. Sometimes, they have good pitchability. Every once in a while, there's one like Stankiewicz, who's a little bit of both. Tall and lanky, there's room for growth in the Texas prep right-hander's frame. That could mean a few more ticks to a fastball that can already touch 93 and sits in the 88-91 mph range. Stankiewicz backs up the fastball with plus pitching instincts, mixing in three other pitches for strikes. His slider is the better of his two breaking balls, but both could be at least Major League average. He may not throw the changeup that much at this level, but he shows a good feel for it. If the fastball develops into a plus pitch and his secondary stuff is average to go along with his outstanding command and mound presence, this is a Major League starter in the making.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: I'm confused. If he's committed to a college, does that mean he doesn't play for us? Or does he now pass on college? Which guy are you talking about? The HS kid Cecchini is "committed" to [crossout]Auburn[/crossout] Ole Miss in the sense that if he decides to go the college route that's the one he's promised to attend. But few 1st round HS picks opt for college so, most likely, some time in the next month (signing deadline is July 13th I believe) he'll get a trunk full of cash from the Wilpons and kiss his educational life goodbye forever. NCAA rules would prevent him from playing college ball once he signs a pro deal. If it's the catcher already at Perdue, college players are permitted to enter the draft (or re-enter it if they were picked out of HS but didn't sign) following their junior season. He can choose to stay for his senior year if he either doesn't like the offer or is really committed to advanced physics or something but, again, few do. Bottom line: Both guys are almost certain to be NYM property in the next few weeks.

Niese - 3.8 Francisco - 0.3 Byrdak - 0.1 Nieuwenhuis - 3.0 Torres - 2.3 Duda - 0.5

Dickey - 5.0 Wright - 2.1 Murphy - 1.6 Thole - 0.9 Quintanilla - 0.4

Ceetar wrote: seawolf17 wrote: Not looking forward to facing Strasburg-Giolito ten times a year. well, chances of that are pretty slim. Rizzo in Washington is sure showing himself not to be afraid of injuries. Last year Anthony Rendon was considered the top bat coming into the season but the Nats nabbed him at #6 after an injury limited him to DH for the entire college year. Now this year they get the consensus best arm coming into the year who dropped to 16th due to a strained UCL. And all this comes after two straight years of getting the best arm & bat available - although that was from sucking rather than because of guts. The one risk in this choice is obviously the health of his elbow. The other though is paying him. The spot he's picked in is going to limit what the Nats can pay him (or essentially they'll have to blow off most of the rest of this draft) which maybe means he'll opt for college or indy league instead and hope for a better spot & higher bonus in a future draft.

BA: Cecchini has good tools, but that's not what wows scouts. Cecchini has solid offensive ability, and some scouts consider him more of a bottom-of-the-lineup hitter. He makes consistent contact and is an above-average runner, but his strength is his defensive ability at short, baseball instincts and overall ease of play. He can make shortstop look easy and has plenty of arm strength and accuracy.

Gavin Cecchini -- SS - Lake Charles, Louisiana

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Max Fried? Isn't that one of the chicken varieties at KFC? I heard he has a brother named Deep 9 - Marlins - Andrew Heany - LHP OK State 10 - David Dahl 11 - Addison Russel - HS SS Mets up

1 - Astros - Correa 2 - Twins - Buxton 3 - Mariners - Zunino 4 - Orioles - Gausman 5 - Royals - Zimmer 6 - Cubs - Almora 7 - Padres - Fried 8 - Pirates - Appel (the odds-on consensus for #1/1) Well, the top 8 were the top 8 as predicted - even if in an unexpected order Now things get a bit more free-wheeling

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