ORS

http://www.soxprospects.com/players/images/andrewpinckney.jpg Born: March 7, 1982 Resides: Atlanta, GA Height: 6-1 Weight: 195 Bats: Left Throws: Right Drafted: 34th round, 2004 How Acquired: Draft College: Emory U. High School: Pace Academy ETA: 2008 Scouting Report: Pinckney has excellent power potential with good bat speed. Hits to all fields. Open, strong stance. Fast on the basepaths. Very good arm at third. Good range in the field. Baseball America rated his as the top infield arm in the Sox system. They rated him the #30 prospect in the system pre-Marte trade. Soxprospects.com lists him as the #20 prospect in the system. Andrew Pinckney @ soxprospects.com Stats: Year Level AB H HR RBI TB BB/SO BA/OBP/SLG/OPS 2004 NCAA 183 76 7 60 132 28/31 .415/.480/.721/1.201 2004 A 242 66 3 25 86 22/74 .273/.338/.355/.693 2005 A 508 158 21 98 272 36/78 .311/.362/.535/.897 Andrew had a breakout year last year after an offseason of very hard work, as is revealed in this interview: Five Minutes with Andrew Pinckney Hopefully the offseason conditioning has been just as good this year and it translates into continued success. He is projected to start the year as the 3B for the Portland Sea Dogs.

Thanks, I'll get to work.

Pinckney already has a thread, but I don't like it, any way to delete it stocker?

That was pretty insensitive of him considering your tragic nail clipper accident. Are you able pee staning up again yet?

For now, I'll leave him open for others, but if noboby picks him up I'll post updates to that thread.

Wow, that is news to me. I just did a quick scan of the old "Claim a Prospect" thread and had no posts in there. As the season approaches, if there are some left on the list, I may pick up another one or two, but for now I'll leave others a chance to claim someone.

I'll claim Pinckney. This year should tell if the work he did prior to last year resulted in a permanent change or if it was a fluke.

Big stop by DiPietro for the US on the short-handed breakaway for Sweden. That would have been big if they scored down 2-men.

RSR, you got custom title rights from the Super Bowl grids, right? If so, the "Banned" is hilarious. If not, can someone tell me what happened? As for post count, who cares? I know SF#1 seems to think it's a big deal, but I don't see why.

I really wasn't clear there, sorry. Here's the spectrum: DH - 1B - LF - RF - 3B - CF - 2B - SS - C There is an abundance of offensive talent capable of playing the left end of the spectrum, but as you move to the right the talent becomes more and more scarce. I agree with you and ksushi that it doesn't matter where the power comes from, but when you have below average power on the left end of the spectrum, it will that much harder to replace it as you find players for the positions on the right. So, yeah, I was really referring to the scarcity of middle in the field talent.

Actually, sticking power at the corners and paying attention to the defensive spectrum is new-school. Bill James came up with the defensive spectrum and the idea that it was more advantageous to put great offensive players on the easier end of the spectrum.

I think the last replay they showed right before the decision was the most revealing one. It was a front angle shot, and it shows Gerber catching it with the glove, then the glove moves over and is completely obscured by the post. That means the glove, the entire glove, was behind the line, so it doesn't matter where the puck was in the glove because the whole glove was in the goal. That is how I interpret it.

Yeah, Gerber was unreal. I thought the 2nd one was in too, but Gerber made a great play on it; I think that may have influenced the ref's decision. It's hard to let one go against the 'tender when he makes a play like that.

Canada just had one taken away. It was an amazing save, but Gerber caught it with the glove inside the net. The replays pretty much show his gove behind the post. By rule, it should have been a goal, but that was one hell of a save.

I agree with you about dumping the Marlins. They have won the series twice and were in contention for most of last year, yet they still can't draw a crowd. Miami just isn't a baseball town. Tampa on the other hand, is a lot younger area (demographically) and has another city close enough to draw some fans (Orlando). They just need an owner that will spend a little coin to field a winner. Nobody comes out to see a team that wins 40% of its games. I think a team can thrive there, but not if they are dogs every year.

With 15 teams on a rotating off-series (3-days), it would be next to impossible to adhere to the CBA's requirement that the players get one day off every 20 days. For example, when coming off their turn, the Sox would have to play in the next 14 straight series before they got another one off. They'd need 2 days off during that stretch to be in agreement with the CBA. So every 15 series (45-ish days), they'd need 5 days off. That gives them 20 days off for the season (6 months - 180 days), which is only 160 game days. That leaves not room for the ASB and would make it very difficult to make games up since there won't be many times when the same teams are off. That means more double-headers, which is tough on the pitching staff/bullpen coming down the stretch. Even numbers in each league are better.

Ozzie's comments, while probably a little true, weren't called for. That said, just because he speaks his mind doesn't make him a media whore. It just makes him honest.

The US vs. Sweden women's hockey game is going to a shoot-out to determine who goes to the gold medal game. EDIT: Sweden wins it. They did a good job blocking shots earlier in the game, and the US team didn't adjust by making shot fakes until too late in the game. Plus, their goaltender was standing on her head today, 37 SV on 39 SOG and no goals in the shoot-out. Although, the US shoot-out chances were pretty weak attempts.

I don't live in Tampa, so I don't know what goes on there in the offseason. I haven't heard of anything up this way in Orlando, though.

I hope to god they do medal. Not for the usual patriotic reasons, although I do want them to medal, but for entirely selfish reasons. If they don't medal, then Jeremy Roenick won't shut up about how he wasn't on the team. If they win something, maybe it will keep him from running his cock-pocket.

That's all well and good, but I'm not arguing that point. I think they will move him too (although he looks good on the roster), but there is no way that he's being overpaid at that rate, even if he is on the bench. He's worth every penny of that money.

Are you kidding? $2.05M is peanuts for a bench player with the capabilities of Graffanino. He can play anywhere in the IF and both COF positions adequately while bringing a decent stick up to the plate. The extra money to Graffanino is well worth the upgrade he presents over Harris. Mohr's on a MiLB contract, so if he's not hitting in ST, they can stick him in AAA until he proves he's ready to be Trot's platoon mate. If that is the case, Tony G suits the role fine IMO.

I enjoy the games there. The seating is comfortable. There isn't a bad view in the house. It's air-conditioned. There is ample parking surrounding the park. If you ever make it down to Tampa during the season, you should try and take in a game there. I had preconceived notions about domes before going to a game there, and the Trop changed my mind. Although, on a philosophical level, I still object wholeheartedly to concept of playing baseball indoors.

Believe it or not, that OF makes sense. With plus range for COF on either side of him, Griffey's decreased range can be hidden. If you stick him at a corner, he only gets help on one side. Plus, Vernon has the better arm for RF. This OF allows either Teixeira or Lee to DH, which maximizes the offensive potential of the team. Francouer impressed in his debut, but his aggressiveness and lack of patience at the plate can be exploited by premiere pitchers, which is what he'll be getting all game long against the good teams in the competition. He'd be best utilized as a defensive replacement (Griffey out, Vernon to CF) when they have the lead late in games. And, despite his propensity to hack, the kid can hit, so he won't be an offensive blackhole of a replacement.

I'll admit when they benefit from a s***** call. The mystery Tech on Johnson of FSU was a bad call, and that benefitted Duke since it fouled him out of the game halfway through the second half. The FSU and BC end of the game plays could have gone either way. And when it comes to either way plays, over the last 15 years Duke has gotten as many of them as the other team has. For every time they get sent to the line or get the non-call on the defensive end there is an instance where their oppenent went to the line or got the non-call. You don't like Duke, so it only sticks out in your mind when they do get it, and when they don't you see it as the right call. Trust me, I've been watching ACC ball since I was about 8 (avidly since I was 13 or so) and the officiating has always been pretty consistent.