Frayed Knot

If you remember the case from a couple years ago when a StL front office employee, Chris Correa, was nabbed for having hacked into the Astros' computer system in order to steal some player evaluation info in advance to a then upcoming draft, well MLB has apparently just completed their disposition of this whole mess. Correa is currently serving jail time for the act but of course that's the criminal part of it not the MLB part. - In short the Astros will get the first two StL draft picks in this year's draft -- numbers 56 & 75 overall (the Cards have no 1st round pick due to signing Dexter Fowler). They also lose the money in their draft allocation for those two draft slots (if you can't draft the players they you don't get the money for them) while the Astros get their budget increased by the same amount. - The also have to pay Houston a $2 million fine - and finally Correa is placed on the permanently ineligible list for MLB, but that's pretty much just a formality at this point.

Yeah, Reyes also peaked at #3 in Baseball America's pre-2003 poll (there were fewer outlets doing this sort of stuff then) when he, like Rosario now, was coming off a season split between High-A & AA although Jose was more than a year and a half younger then as compared to what Rosario is now.

Ah, thanks for the reminder as my self-imposed deadline snuck up on me. So assuming that others forgot as well, let's say Thursday night (Feb 2) at midnight for any late entries and/or changes and revisions.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Not to mention that the tools to be a productive offensive player have been in evidence since before his signing ... And not just his offensive tools. In giving a breakdown of their just-released top-100 prospects, MLB.com listed Rosario in both the 'strongest arm' and 'best defender' categories in their prospect list. He wasn't named at the very top in either, but rather as "also in the running" (meaning one of the next five) and this wasn't just comparing him to other SS but to everyone on the list regardless of position. In the arm category he's there with a 3B, two catchers and two OFs - so essentially they're saying the best SS arm in the group. In 'best defender', only Philly SS prospect JP Crawford was also a middle IF among the top six (the others were two catchers, an OF, and a 1B/OF) despite there being 15 SS among the 100

Jonathan Mayo and the crew over at MLB.com place Rosario as their #5 overall prospect so that makes it a bit tougher to paint Kee Flaw as overly Amed-ophilic. Also Smith at #63 so that's right in line with Law too, although those were MLB.com's only two top-100 Mets.

Yeah, but you have to balance that against the whole package: * Age -- he's been 3 to 4 years younger than his league avg at each step and will still play this entire coming season as a 21 y/o * his rapid development -- despite essentially skipping the low-A level (just 30 ABs at Savannah) as he jumped from short-season to high-A as a teenager, he got across the board better at A+ (BA, XBHs, walk rates) and then kept on improving after moving to AA * the positional value -- most descriptions of short-stop prospects carry the "if he can remain at SS" disclaimer with them, and most don't. Of Rosario, much like Reyes a decade or so back, there seems to be no doubt that he will. I suspect Law's #3 ranking will be higher than others (I mean, it can hardly be lower) but not by all that much and at some point you're just splitting hairs when deciding who's 3rd vs who's 8th or 11th, etc.

You can't have too much hitting (IMO) but, while pitchers need to take turns, too many hitters requires one or more to sit. The NYM problem isn't that they have too much hitting but that the positional mix of their hitters is unbalanced and in some cases redundant; too many LH sticks and too many corner OFs. I've been reading that the Mets plan on keeping Jay Bruce. I don't think it's their plan to keep Bruce so much as it's the best alternative at the moment.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Plus, Flaw has been gay for Rosario for years now Law did have Rosario higher than anyone last year; he him at #42, BA at #58, while no one else (BP, Mayo @ MLB, or Sickels) put him top 60.

MFS62 wrote: Centerfield wrote: That seems way high. The kid has hit for one season. Is he talking about Smith or Rosario? My answer was assuming that CF was referring to Smith ... but maybe not. As for Rosario, I suspect most or all of the usual ratings sites are going to have him top-15-ish or better this winter. 20 y/o SSs who can field and run and hit with already a half-season of AA ball under their belts are a valuable commodity.

He hit in back to back seasons really (A+ & AA) and was at least decent in the one year before that (his first full one as a pro). Total up 2015 & '16 and you get over 1,000 ABs of ~.304/.360/.440 all while being several years younger than the league as a whole. Looked at another way, he lost none of his BA & OBA in 2016 plus he improved his power all while moving up a league. Not sure how aggressive the Mets intend to be with him this spring -- start him in LV or leave him in the AA oven for some more time there -- but either way he's likely be in AAA by the time he turns 22 in June. And we'll see how the other touts see him over the next few weeks but, good glove or not, 1st basemen are essentially rated on one thing, so the fact that he's this high means at least one (non-partisan) voice believes in the future of his bat.

Also Dom Smith at #60, Thomas Szapucki = #76, Justin Dunn = #84

I just look at the WBC as being slightly more interesting than the usual spring training season. I don't get all jingoistic about the results or anything, but it adds a small element of fun that's missing from typical run-of-the-mill ST.

btw, Lin-Manual Miranda is up for the song "How Far I'll Go" from MOANA, which is significant in that, if he wins, it'll make him part of the exclusive 'EGOT' club designating those who have won an EMMY, a GRAMMY (2 in his case), an OSCAR, and a TONY (3). He also has a Pulitzer (PEGOT?). But don't feel too bad, it will have taken him nearly nine years to accomplish all that so he's practically a slacker.

The Mets have "some level of interest" on RHRs Sergio Romo & (one-time NYM) Joe Smith and are "keeping an eye on" Jerry Blevins says FOX's Ken Rosenthal, but are said by sources to NYDN's Jon Harper to be "just browsing" at this stage and not close to an agreement with any of the three. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets-sergio-romo-joe-smith-aren-close-deal-article-1.2956172

Per capita auto death rates are huge on most of the Indian Reservations around this country. While they might not have the religious fatalism bent of Islam, at least some tribes decide anyway that seat-belts just aren't their thing which, when combined with the rates of poverty & un/under-employment plus some pretty brutal levels of alcohol consumption, makes for some pretty predictable results.

BB-Ref lists it as: Jer-ISS

Well if KC [u:3g0g8vwe]DOES[/u:3g0g8vwe] wind up being required to pay then insurance would be funding most of it. If the circumstances let them off the hook for the remainder they may likely reach a settlement with the family for a portion of the total (thus avoiding the pr nightmare of which you speak) but could pretty much dictate terms of it since they wouldn't be obligated and it would now be all their own money.

Not wearing a seatbelt alone probably wouldn't count, but there's a clause in Ventura's contract (and probably most others as well) which would take KC out of owing his heirs the remainder of his ~$20 mil contract if the cause of the accident is ruled to be due to his negligence, such as driving under the influence. There are also reports that he liked racing. "That was his weakness" said a coach. Ventura reportedly owned a collection of motorcycles but was killed while driving a custom jeep.

Wow, I saw a whopping 20 movies released in 2016 (quite high for me) even though many of them were seen just recently via cable and/or DVD In rough order of goodness, although that bottom section are essentially just interchangeable versions of 'Meh' that could go in pretty much any order HELL OR HIGH WATER - loved it the first time (theater) and even more the second (DVD) LA LA LAND - I'm not quite as over the moon as some, but very good ————————— CAPTAIN FANTASTIC - odd story well told, and the rare feat of having multiple child actors that I didn't want to strangle A MAN CALLED OVE - well-done version of the popular book which, by coincidence, I finished on the day this became available on disc. yes, it's in Swedish SING STREET - Irish music movie where I almost needed the subtitles as much as the Swedish film above ——————————- HAIL, CAESAR! - those goofy Coen boys get some good performances out of Clooney, Brolin, Swinton (x2) MANCHESTER BY THE SEA - well done but geez is it depressing SULLY - just watched it last night and found it better than I expected. (spoiler alert: Tom Hanks plays the hero) THE NICE GUYS - silly fun with R. Crowe and R. Gosling WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT - silly fun with Tina F. - albeit during a war and shit I SAW THE LIGHT - as bio-pics go it wasn't bad MIDNIGHT SPECIAL - Well done but, like this guy's other movie w/Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) I don't get where he's going with them A BIGGER SPLASH - Ralph Fiennes plays a music industry asshole, then things happen around him ——————————- ——————————- MONEY MONSTER - George Clooney solves the financial crisis in a matter of hours ... and with a gun pointed at his head no less DEEPWATER HORIZON - the better of the two Peter/Wahl Berg flicks (see also: Day, Patriots) THE BOSS - Melissa McCarthy being Melissa McCarthy PATRIOTS DAY - not sure if it wanted to be a procedural, a documentary, a tearjerker, a fundraiser, a flag-waver - so wound up as a confused slice of each RACE - a cookie-cutter-like bio like that Jackie Robinson one from a year or two ago, only not even that good 13 HOURS - I guess it gives a reasonable account of when things went sideways in Benghazi, but mostly just a lot of shit blows up EDDIE THE EAGLE - pretty much a waste

Well, for me it was more that even guys that were on the team would have been more effective And, like I said, I think sticking him below the likes of Johnson, Flores, Conforto, and some others is perfectly justifiable. I just couldn't see off the list entirely or at the very bottom down below the guys who barely hit AND barely played. Is there a deadline to this? Midnight Jan 31 -- aka: one week from tonight -- sounds like as good a cut-off as any.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I don't remember now... At the time the Mets signed Loney, what was Duda's prognosis? Was there still hope that he'd be back earlier than it turned out? It certainly wasn't known immediately that it would be essentially a season-long thing. And the real impetus for Loney came after Wright when down in addition to Duda which meant that Wilmer was no longer the first option. On the subject of his ranking, I'm not trying to pull a Woody Allen here and claim that 90% of life is just showing up, but the idea of marking down Loney because you think that others who weren't actually on the team would have done better if they were isn't exactly the idea of this thing. These other maybe/possible names might have tallied more than 26 XBHs if given 300+ ABs but they weren't and so taking it out on Loney based on that reasoning is silly. And while I certainly have no issue if he's slotted behind guys like Flores and Kelly Johnson, I'm just having a heard time seeing the logic in him either off lists entirely or at the very bottom in back of likes of Ty Kelly and Brandon Nimmo.

sharpie wrote: although how [Viola Davis for FENCES] qualifies as a supporting actress is beyond me. The promotional material for LION doesn't exactly paint Dev Patel as a supporting player either. Back in 1979 the Academy manipulated the rules by putting George Burns into the less competitive Supporting Actor category for GOING IN STYLE* in what certainly looked like a blatant attempt to arrange what was in effect a lifetime achievement award for the then 85 y/o. I'm sure it's happened other times as well although that's the only one that comes to mind. Maybe they're trying their hardest for an OSCARSNOTWHITEATALL hashtag. * a movie which is about to be remade with Alan Arkin, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine in the Burns, Art Carney, & Lee Strasberg roles

sharpie wrote: Viola Davis' nod is for FENCES, not HIDDEN FIGURES ... That I got this wrong I believe makes me a racist; either that or the site I copied this off of made the mistake in which case they are and I'm in the clear. At least I didn't call it HIDDEN FENCES IN THE MOONLIGHT

To be awarded Feb 26th [u:1df4y5v5]PICTURE[/u:1df4y5v5] ARRIVAL FENCES HACKSAW RIDGE HELL OR HIGH WATER HIDDEN FIGURES LA LA LAND LION MANCHESTER BY THE SEA MOONLIGHT [u:1df4y5v5]DIRECTOR[/u:1df4y5v5] DENIS VILLENEUVE - ARRIVAL MEL GIBSON - HACKSAW RIDGE DAMIEN CHAZELLE - LA LA LAND KENNETH LONERGAN - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA BARRY JENKINS - MOONLIGHT [u:1df4y5v5]ACTOR[/u:1df4y5v5] CASEY AFFLECK - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA ANDREW GARFIELD - HACKSAW RIDGE RYAN GOSLING - LA LA LAND VIGGO MORTENSEN - CAPTAIN FANTASTIC DENZEL WASHINGTON - FENCES [u:1df4y5v5]ACTRESS[/u:1df4y5v5] ISABELLE HUPPERT - ELLE RUTH NEGGA - LOVING MATALIE PORTMAN - JACKIE EMMA STONE - LA LA LAND MERYL STREEP - FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS [u:1df4y5v5]SUPPORTING ACTOR[/u:1df4y5v5] MEHERSHALA ALI - MOONLIGHT JEFF BRIDGES - HELL OR HIGH WATER LUCAS HEDGES - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA DEV PATEL - LION MICHAEL SHANNON - NOCTURNAL ANIMALS [u:1df4y5v5]SUPPORTING ACTRESS[/u:1df4y5v5] VIOLA DAVIS - [crossout:1df4y5v5]HIDDEN FIGURES[/crossout:1df4y5v5] FENCES NAOMI HARRIS - MOONLIGHT NICOLE KIDMAN - LION OCTAVIA SPENCER - HIDDEN FIGURES MICHELLE WILLIAMS - MANCHESTER BY THE SEA [u:1df4y5v5]ADAPTED SCREENPLAY[/u:1df4y5v5] ARRIVAL FENCES HIDDEN FIGURES LION MOONLIGHT [u:1df4y5v5]ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY[/u:1df4y5v5] HELL OR HIGH WATER LA LA LAND THE LOBSTER MANCHESTER BY THE SEA 20th CENTURY WOMEN

Stuff from various lists that I'm having trouble seeing: - Loney off, or at the very bottom of, several evaluations. As I mentioned elsewhere, no other player was as wildly over the map as Loney - top half of some lists, not listed at all on several others. And while he was certainly a comedown from Duda, he was still the starting 1st baseman for four months and not a bad one (fair to below average maybe, but not terrible). 350 AB guys usually have to be pretty terrible to get left off entirely and it's certainly odd to see him and his 703 OPS behind Ty Kelly and even lower OPS w/just 58 ABs. - Logan Verrett (5.20 ERA, 1.56 WHiP) ahead of Harvey (4.86, 1.47) in essentially the same number of IP. Henderson is well above Harvey on several lists as well. Yeah the Dark Knight was lousy and then out of the picture, but we shouldn't be grading on the curve here. - Rene Rivera shutout and way behind d'Arnaud despite similar stats and much better defense. Maybe that one was accidental (JCL)? - And, yeah, Neil Walker in 2nd place