Ogden

Fred, when I was very, very, very young Vin Scully lived with his mother about 1/2 mile from me. She stayed there even after he went to LA until she passed away. He often came back to visit her and a couple weeks ago I saw an old picture of him visiting with kids at our school playground back in the 50s. I also remember Red Barber coming to my church as a lay preacher every once in awhile. The Dodgers were the neighborhood team and the Yanks were the rich kids team. It wasn't so much the players that embodied those personas, it was the ownerships and front office. If Stoneham hadn't agreed to go with O'Malley to the west coast, I would have loved to see how things would have evolved over the years with the 3 teams in NY.

From the limited sample of last year, Mookie looks similar to Ellsbury in that he gets on base a lot, can run, gets an abundance of extra base hits, and is a natural. Castillo should be the 4th OFer until Victorino gets hurt. If Craig hits, he should get time at 1B, the OF, and DH. Castillo's money should not be a factor, as you pointed out.

Like I said, I don't watch the NBA much, but from what I saw of the Celts, they at least are more interesting to watch currently than earlier in the season or the last couple years. Heiny comparing Thomas to Archibald is just typical Heiny. Prone to overstatement would be an understatement. I can't tell if he just gets wrapped up in the moment or he's yanking everybody's chain with some of his comments.

Possibly but it's hard to comprehend today how big the Yankees were back then. It was like the Yankees were the Google of their day and everybody else (with the possible exception of the Dodgers) were Dogpile or Duck Duck Go. The baseball world revolved around the Bronx. I guess I'm just echoing what Fred said in another post. I loved the old Latin players back then. Minnie, Clemente, Tony Oliva, Orlando Cepeda, El Tiante, Marichal. They all had flash and style. They were never boring.

Just for the heck of seeing how successful in rating the top prospects, these were Baseball America's top 20 in 2013 and 2014. I copied these back in those 2 years fairly early so there may have been slight adjustments later in the springs. 2014 1 Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins 2 Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston Red Sox 3 Oscar Taveras, OF, St Louis 4 Javier Baez, SS, Chicago Cubs 5 Carlos Correa, SS, Houston Astros 6 Francisco Lindor, SS, Cleveland Guardians 7 Addison Russell, SS, Oakland Athletics 8 Taijuan Walker, RHP, Seattle Mariners 9 Archie Bradley, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks 10 Kevin Gausman, RHP, Baltimore Orioles 11 Noah Syndergaard, RHP, New York Mets 12 Yordano Ventura, RHP, Kansas City Royals 13 Lucas Giolito, RHP, Washington Nationals 14 Miguel Sano, 3B, Minnesota Twins 15 Dylan Bundy, RHP, Baltimore Orioles 16 Jonathan Gray, RHP, Colorado Rockies 17 Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs 18 Austin Hedges, C, San Diego Padres 19 Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates 20 George Springer, OF, Houston Astros 2013 1. Jurickson Profar, ss/2b, TEX 2. Dylan Bundy, rhp, BAL 3. Oscar Taveras, of, STL 4. Wil Myers, of/3b, TB 5. Jose Fernandez, rhp, MIA 6. Shelby Miller, rhp, STL 7. Gerrit Cole, rhp, PIT 8. Xander Bogaerts, ss, BOS 9. Miguel Sano, 3b, MIN 10. Byron Buxton, of, MIN 11. Zack Wheeler, rhp, NYM 12. Tyler Skaggs, lhp, ARI 13. Carlos Correa, ss, HOU 14. Trevor Bauer, rhp, CLE 15. Christian Yelich, of, MIA 16. Javier Baez, ss, CHC 17. Mike Zunino, c, SEA 18. Taijuan Walker, rhp, SEA 19. Jameson Taillon, rhp, PIT 20. Billy Hamilton, of/ss, CIN

Baseball Reference is a wonderful thing. So much ammunition for such a cheap price.

I just came across this article about the influence of SABERmetrics on specific teams. It's late and I haven't had time to read it yet, but I wanted to post it here so I and others can check it out later. http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12331388/the-great-analytics-rankings#!mlb The headline: In a Moneyball world, a number of teams remain slow to buy into sabermetrics

Anybody watch the Celts - Charlotte game last night? I don't usually watch the NBA due to the atrocious refs and the proliferation of chest thumping prima donna players, but somehow I got caught up in the game. Their roster has been overhauled due to trades and injuries so they have some guys I've never seen play before. And they were entertaining. Heinsohn was in rare form comparing Isiah Thomas to Tiny Archibald. They've won 7 out of 10 and 3 in a row but unfortunately they play the Warriors tomorrow which could be a mismatch. The playoffs are actually a possibility which is a total shock to somebody like me who hasn't payed attention to them all year.

http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/ctl/websavvy/img/eyes.gif I guess there really are 187 ways to support, refute, critique Napoli's level of contribution. Delving into all the stats available on Baseball Reference for one player boggles the mind. Pick 2 or 3 of your choice to assist or crush any opinion. I think I'll pass for now.

The good old days of 11,000 attendance, parking for free on Van Ness Street, great seats at the box office a hour before game time, Ned Martin, Hawk Harrelson, and Ken Coleman in the booth, no luxury or Monster seats, no Wally, no inter-league play, George Scott philosophizing in his high pitched voice, Jimmy Piersall going off the rails. Yep, those were the good old days.

Is he the one responsible for losing Hazel Mae, Jenny Dell, and Heidi Watney? I wasn't a fan of his before, but letting them walk really pissed me off.

I suspect agents would argue with you if they have clients that advance the runner 30 times a year but have a mediocre BA. Get Bill James on the phone. What's his assessment?

LOL. Is that your phrase or did you steal it or am I living a sheltered life and it's been often used?

Napoli last 6 seasons' batting avg - 272, 238, 320, 227, 259, 248. Craig - 315, 307, 315, 215. Napoli has had 75+ RBIs twice in 9 years. Craig had 92+ RBIs twice in 5 1/2 years. Both guys have had injuries that affected their performance multiple times. They both have had one year that varied from their norm. Craig's norm looks more promising to me than Napoli's, but I suspect Craig may not get the chance for regular playing time to test the theory. I've had foolish expectations before and I'll have them again, but I don't think you can refute Craig's talent in the past. I also have no idea how Napoli's sleep apnea affected his lack of ability to make consistent contact, but we'll see if there is any kind of improvement fairly early I would think.

It is the name of a school. Located in Lexington. Their mascot is a cheater ... oops ... cheetah.

If he keeps all his money in his back left pocket, that will anchor his leg in the batters box so he shouldn't have a problem.

When Craig has been healthy, he has been a heck of a hitter. I don't see any reason to expect him to be the player he was last year. He's been a better hitter than Napoli when he hasn't been hurt.

Worries? They should be down right terrified. Their only problem in trying to bring somebody in on a trade is they have no minor league studs to trade.

That must be going way back, Fred but apparently that's the guy. I just remember him as the Orioles PA announcer.

I saw a TV report that said they want a site that is by the intersection of Ship St and Eddy St which is north of 195 and the Point St bridge. Not as bad of a location as I was thinking previously.

If Pedroia has another 2 years like last year and Moncada projects as a 2nd baseman, I'd send the dirt dog on his way in 2017 and say thanks for the memories. But if Pedroia regains his form, as Emily Litella once said ..... http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4251599/Emily-Litella-Never-mind.jpg

But he hits like Don Buddin.

He has a big body, he's 19, and will be in Class A. Trading Bogaerts shouldn't be given a thought.

Where are they talking about building the ball park ... off of Allens Ave with a magnificent view of the oil tanks or 95/195? I'd much rather park on the streets of Pawtucket and sit on the LF berm.