Lunch on the Farm

What Happened Yesterday

Chi Cubs 0, Cincinnati 3

Ted Lilly was really good on the mound and really bad in the field
Milton Bradley had an 0-for-4 day with three big strikeouts
Look out for Derrek Lee…maybe he’s heating up.

Iowa 9, Albuquerque 1

Brad Snyder had himself a big day with five RBI and two HR
Andres Blanco, who is mentioned below, was 3-for-4 with a HR
Randy Wells was absolutely unhittable, going 7 innings and allowing just one hit while striking out four.

West Tenn 7, Easy Rider full Tennessee 2

Tony Thomas got on base three times out of the leadoff spot, two of which came on walks.
Hung-Wen Chen gave up five earned over the course of six innings of work

Stealing Beauty move

Dunedin 7, Daytona 5

Marquez Smith had a night to forget going 0-for-5 at the plate with two K’s and committing two errors at 3b
Jovan Rosa went 2-for-2 but left the game in the 7th after being hit by a pitch

Wisconsin 3, Peoria 2

Christopher Carpenter (not that one) started the game and went five innings, allowing one hit and striking out six.
Chris Huseby pitched two scoreless innings of relief and struck out four.

Organizational Depth Chart – SS

This one goes out to Tommy, who is president of the Ryan Theriot fan club. When you look at the system at this position, based on the start so far, there are some reasons for optimism. The name that sticks out for me is Ryan Flaherty, who is playing for Peoria. He played well last year with Boise (short season) and received a promotion to Peoria this year. Given his age and the fact that he was a supplemental first round pick last year out of Vandy (perhaps Mark could lend some knowledge here), he should be on the fast track to move up the system. If he continues to show he can handle this level of competition, I don’t see a reason why a promotion to High-A Daytona or even AA-Tennessee couldn’t happen. My guess is that moving to AA would hinge on Darwin Barney continuing to hit well enough to earn a promotion to Iowa. All in all, things look good in the early going for this position.

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Mastrick

Flaherty projects as a 2B or a 3B, he has soft hands and is a defensive plus. He is not a power hitter though so I like him more as a second baseman. Also worth noting is the fact that Hendry DFA’d Luis Vizcaino today to make room for Samardzija; some people are going to ballyhoo about the Cubs eating $6.5M in contracts for Vizcaino, Gaudin and Bako but I like the message it sends. Hendry is dead serious about winning and it shows.
http://www.viewfromthebleachers.com/meetmatt.php Matt

If they were dead serious abot winning, they’d have kept DeRosa. The argument of getting rid of him holds no water now. You can’t DFA a guy with a $6.5 mil contract, after you use that argument for trading DeRosa.

I’m sorry but Patton should have been dumped. He’s a Spring Training flash in the pan, whereas Vizcaino at leasst has a servicable track record of being decent.

And thanks for the report on Flaherty. It’s nice to actaully have someone that has first hand knowledge of a guy.
Mastrick

Vandy’s stadium is walking distance from my apartment FWIW Vandy has yet another future major leaguer in freshman pitcher pitcher Sonny Gray, look for him in the 2011 draft. The $6.5M in salaries I referred to were Vizcaino, Gaudin and Bako combined – assuming Vizcaino isn’t traded the Cubs will get $1.2 million back if all three of these guys get picked up by other clubs.

What I saw in spring ball and April indicated that Vizcaino’s better days are behind him; likely that conclusion was also reached by Hendry and Piniella. Vizcaino was obtained as part of a salary dumb – the Cubs assumed his $3.5M contract and $500K buyout in exchange for Jason Marquis and his $9M salary.

I was sad to see DeRo and Wood go and history will judge Hendry on those moves. Will Miles and Gregg measure up to what Mark and Kerry would have given us? I seriously doubt it but that doesn’t justify keeping Vizcaino. Nor will it be justification for keeping Cotts or others who may not pan out this year. Only time will tell as to whether or not Hendry’s 2009 acquisitions are a net plus or minus. Until then he has to play the cards he has and try to improve his hand.

Lunch on the Farm

Chi Cubs 0, Cincinnati 3

Iowa 9, Albuquerque 1

West Tenn 7, Easy Rider full Tennessee 2

Dunedin 7, Daytona 5

Wisconsin 3, Peoria 2

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