Frayed Knot

Yeah, the better-than-Pelfrey comments are a bit over the top. There's generally a reason why one guy goes #9 overall while the other goes 33rd after being passed over twice by the team that does pick him. Plus to say he's ahead of Pelfrey doesn't mean much seeing as how Pelfrey didn't sign until that first season had passed. That doesn't mean he can't or won't pass him at some point, but it's comments like those which lead fans to think they're being over-promised with some prospects.

Dude's getting some ink from the New York Freakin' Times Thole (pronounced TOE-lee) is the most advanced catcher in the system. Francisco Pe�a, the son of Tony Pe�a, has the pedigree, but at 19 is not as advanced as Thole. �We�re going to spend a lot of time and effort on developing a catcher, and this is the guy who�s ahead of everyone,� said Tony Bernazard, the team�s vice president for development.

An entry from BA's 'Late Picks to Emerging Prospects' file: John Raynor, OF, Marlins: Raynor signed in 2006 after his senior season as a ninth-round pick from UNC Wilmington. Though he was already 23, the Marlins started Raynor in low Class A, where he batted .333/.429/.519 for hitter-friendly Greensboro. Raynor skipped over high Class A and continued his success last year for Double-A Carolina, hitting .312/.402/.489 in 126 games. Raynor�s best tool is his speed�he�s an 80 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale who stole 48 bases in 59 attempts (81 percent) last year. Despite his speed and his production, many scouts are still skeptical. Though he�s an 80 runner, Raynor is better suited for left field because his outfield instincts aren�t good and his arm strength is below-average. He has some holes in his swing and in his strike zone�low and away and then against elevated or inside fastballs�that led to 122 strikeouts in 534 plate appearances, but those strikeouts don�t come with the acceptable tradeoff of plus power.

Might be an interesting guy to keep tabs on this year. Low power, yet excellent plate discipline/OBA skills, it sounds like his career could hinge on his ability to adapt defensively as a relative late-comer to catching. BA lists him in an article about low-round draft picks making good: Josh Thole, C, Mets: A 13th-round pick in 2005 out of Mater Dei High in Breese, Ill. Thole was a light-hitting first baseman in low Class A in 2007, when he batted .267/.311/.372 in 117 games for Savannah. Last year, Thole had a mini-breakout as he hit .300/.382/.427 in 111 games for high Class A St. Lucie in the FSL. Thole has always controlled the strike zone (he has 133 walks and 131 strikeouts in his minor league career). He has excellent bat-to-ball skills, as the 21-year-old lefthanded hitter struck out last year only 38 times (nine percent of his 402 plate appearances). Thole also became a full-time catcher, the position he played in high school and dabbled in sparingly in his previous three pro seasons. Scouts have concerns about Thole�s defense and his below-average power. Thole hit only hit five home runs in 2008, but that�s an improvement from the goose egg he posted in that category in �07. He�ll likely start this season in Double-A and play all year at age 22 as a relatively under-the-radar prospect.

These two could be in my final.

This means we'll have to start buying our Soupcan in litres instead of ounces and we'll have to start paying for it with funny looking money that has pictures of European monarchs on it.

The Shack got Tootise-rolled

Murphy and Akroyd, two of my favorite SNL alumni ever, may have set a record for bad movies made in their post-TV careers. TP was one of the exceptions.

Vic Sage wrote: I cannot understand those that decry the sentimentality of ET, and then turn around and vote for KARATE KID over the surreal delight of PEE WEE. And don't give me any "but, but" excuses, cuz everybody i know has a big "but". And once again a thread leads to Vic's butt

I mentioned before my indifference and/or annoyance for Chevy Chase. On the other hand I went looking for mermaids for weeks after seeing Hannah. Splash down!

My brother, a huge Dustin Hoffman fan and a pretty good mimic, saw this in the theatre twice the first week it was out and then preceded to talk like Raymond/Rainman during an entire car-ride from NY to Virginia. He spoke and answered all questions either in dialog from the movie or at least in character for 5 hours straight. I'm voting for it anyway.

I wasn't as ga-ga over either of these when they first came out as the general public seemed to be -- but funny scenes at ballparks beats brats in bars any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Every time I see 'Stand By Me' I wish I were 12 again as I very much identified with the whole first time exploring the area beyond your boundries thing. I didn't grow up nearly as rural as the kids in the flick but there were some undeveloped land around and we used to do some of that hang out in the woods overnight stuff too. Suck my fat one you cheap dime-store hood Saw 'Say Anything' just once (fairly recently) and didn't think it did enough to distinguish itself from the myriad of coming-of-age flicks.

Spinal Tap was the birth of great concept. Spaceballs was Brooks totally out of ideas so he just found a new genre to satire and, in lieu of a real plot, just threw 2-3 dozen jokes at you each minute meaning that even if most of them sucked there were still several chuckles per minute. But it was lazy movie-making which settles for a series of puns over any kind of substance and it's main redeeming feature is that it was miles better than the still-to-come 'Men in Tights' Tap wins by tap-out

Toughest choice on the board -- went with Raiders based on the sheer scope of it's return to action/adventure bigness.

Stupid fun vs stupid stupidity. Shack all the way.

Tootsie and it ain't even close.

I don't even remember Heathers. The title doesn't even sound familiar to me. Was it some kind of a chick flick? It was a movie about chicks, but probably has more male viewers than female (or maybe not, what do i know?) It's a black comedy about HS cliques and outsiders taking action against insiders. Very dark, lots of good lines ("Dear diary: my teen angst now has a body count") and some funny teenage stereotypes get skewered. Not a big box office flick.

DH was better than most 'Lets blow up a bunch of shit' movies featuring a beyond-the-rules type cop and the evil crooks he battles. But I got a huge kick out of 'Heathers' even though its setup was far better than the payoff as it got lost there at the end. What's your damage?

Dundee's knife couldn't get me to vote for Dundee That "Knife" line was the only good line in the whole movie and the commercials for the film gave that one away before you ever went to the theatre. BttF was good enough to overcome its built-in goofiness.

I was with this flick early and enjoyed the inventiveness of it but it kind of lost me as it went on - only some of which can be attributed to Gere.

Nothing's been said about that aside from the initial post-draft speculation. He was injured and only played some in the field during this short-season so they probably want him to get steady SS time.

Named by BA as the #2 prospect in the Appalachian League - behind only #1 overall 2008 draft pick Tim Beckham. Selected Flores comments during an on-line chat session about the Appy League: - "For me, [the top prospect for the Mets] is still Fernando Martinez. Flores is an intriguing talent, but let's see how he performs in full-season ball, dealing with the grind of playing a full season. - Expect Flores to follow the Fernando Martinez path, with an assignment to low Class A Savannah at age 17 to begin his first pro season. - Maybe the most impressive number put up by Flores was only 28 strikeouts in 245 AB's at his age ... his contact ability (coupled with impressive power) is what stood out to me. Plate discipline will have to be polished against more advanced pitchers, but Flores' pitch recognition is already quite good, as he he has has the hand-eye coordination and reflexes to put all types of pitches in play. - You can see by his month-by-month walk totals that Flores became more selective later in the season, and that the higher strikeout totals resulted from his working deeper counts. As word got around the league about his ability, Flores began to see a lot more offspeed pitches early in counts. But in a positive sign, he recognized the pattern and looked offspeed early in his at-bats. - Flores will be developed as a shortstop, at least early in his career. He led all Appy League shortstops in every cumulative defensive category � total chances, putouts, assists, double plays, etc. And his fielding percentage was above the league average ... what's interesting about his development at SS is that, according to the Mets, he played mostly third base and outfield in his native Venezuela, so that the organization had to instruct him in the finer points of shortstop play in extended spring � things like making plays in the hole and getting his feet behind him on throws ... [but] it's much more difficult for clubs to find strong hitters at short than it is at third base or on an outfield corner.

Reese headed for the Hawaii Winter League - sked to get underway Sept 28

Turns 17 today and has put up a line of .331/.370/.535 (17 XBHs out of 57 hits) so far against mostly 18 to 21 year-old professionals in 200+ ABs. If an American, he would have just finished his jumior year in HS and looking forward to being a senior and the draft 10 months from now. Imagine what he'd be doing with an aluminum bat to a bunch of skinny 17 y/o hurlers? Long way to go still obviously, but Wow! so far.