Edmonds heading to San Diego

[clement]

If they are so concerned with getting that viable farm system like they insist, Mr. Eckstein would've been offered arbitration.

The only reason you wouldn't offer arbitration to Eckstein is because you're afraid he'll take it. And given where Eckstein landed, is there any doubt that he would've taken it?

[jim]

Nobody thought to draft Pujols until the 13th round.

This is false actually. Tampa Bay's story is the most notorious -- they had a scout quit in part because they wouldn't draft Pujols -- but the Red Sox passed on Pujols earlier in the draft because he wouldn't agree to their bonus demands. More to the meat of your point, it says something to me that nobody threw a 13th round or 62nd round pick at Freese. Not at HS, not when he was a JuCo, not after his fourth year. That's an untold story I find hard to ignore.

And what's with being out of baseball at 18? That's kind of strange that he didn't want to play at all after HS. I'm not saying it's necessarily important, but there are alot of strange things with this guy. And like greenback said, my main concern is why he wasn't drafted earlier. I'm counting in my head, and I believe there would have been four drafts he was eligible for and was passed over... (1. HS 2. after Juco, 3. after Junior year, 4. after Senior year)

And another thing I agree with on greenback is this really seems like a financial move, and that really sucks.

Why oh why did Antonetti go running for the hills?

[arnie.k]

[/youtube]

[jim]

Thanks for the post arnie!

He's got a nice, compact stroke.

[UK]

This is false actually. Tampa Bay's story is the most notorious -- they had a scout quit in part because they wouldn't draft Pujols -- but the Red Sox passed on Pujols earlier in the draft because he wouldn't agree to their bonus demands. More to the meat of your point, it says something to me that nobody threw a 13th round or 62nd round pick at Freese. Not at HS, not when he was a JuCo, not after his fourth year. That's an untold story I find hard to ignore.

Who would've drafted him before he started w/more power? He's always had defensive questions that he appears to be answering finally.

If you projected him as a 1B, would you draft a RH'ed 1B with limited power and an avg. hitter?

His signability and more importantly, his improvement his final year at USA prob. is the reason he was drafted.

Two of the top 4 collegiate pitchers (one from Missouri and one from EKU) were not drafted out of HS, we're talking about top 20 overall picks, not someone like Freese who prob. at the time of the draft was projected as a back-up that might be exceeding his time of draft expectations.

[ghostrunner]

Nobody thought to draft Pujols until the 13th round.

This is false actually. Tampa Bay's story is the most notorious -- they had a scout quit in part because they wouldn't draft Pujols -- but the Red Sox passed on Pujols earlier in the draft because he wouldn't agree to their bonus demands. More to the meat of your point, it says something to me that nobody threw a 13th round or 62nd round pick at Freese. Not at HS, not when he was a JuCo, not after his fourth year. That's an untold story I find hard to ignore.

And what's with being out of baseball at 18? That's kind of strange that he didn't want to play at all after HS. I'm not saying it's necessarily important, but there are alot of strange things with this guy. And like greenback said, my main concern is why he wasn't drafted earlier. I'm counting in my head, and I believe there would have been four drafts he was eligible for and was passed over... (1. HS 2. after Juco, 3. after Junior year, 4. after Senior year)

And another thing I agree with on greenback is this really seems like a financial move, and that really sucks.

Why oh why did Antonetti go running for the hills?

At what point do the Freese's numbers start to count for something? I'd like to see him do something at double or triple A before I get excited, but as has been said - (so far) where he goes, he hits.

Taking a year off isn't a big deal. I don't feel comfortable proclaiming him a flake based on that. It's pure speculation on my part, but it's not uncommon for kids to feel pushed into something and push away from it, only to find they truly love it.

[fanforever]

Thanks for the post arnie!

He's got a nice, compact stroke.

Yeah, he does...But like Pedro Cerrano he can't hit the curve ball

[jim]

At what point do the Freese's numbers start to count for something? I'd like to see him do something at double or triple A before I get excited, but as has been said - (so far) where he goes, he hits.

Taking a year off isn't a big deal. I don't feel comfortable proclaiming him a flake based on that. It's pure speculation on my part, but it's not uncommon for kids to feel pushed into something and push away from it, only to find they truly love it.

You would have to talk to the experts on modeling players to decide when they really count for something. Scouting reports I have read on him aren't exactly painting him out to be a blue chipper either. I'm just saying that based on his history, how old he is right now and what level he is at, scouting reports by Baseball America, taking a year off ....

All that matters is how he performs, I don't mean to imply anything else. But as a fan who has just now seen a video clip of one swing, I have to judge on other things. And there are a bunch of red flags here.

And by the way, taking a year off is a big deal to me. I've never heard of a case where a player talented enough to play major league baseball decided to not play after high school. Again, I suppose it could be fine, and I'm sure it's happened before, but just not to my knowledge.

And I freely admit that I'm sore over turning '08 into a complete rebuilding job, I thought with the division we have and Pujols in the lineup we had an outside chance of competing while rebuilding.

[UK]

David Freese, of low-A Fort Wayne, is another former college third baseman who is drawing notice. After the Padres drafted him in the ninth round two months ago, Freese batted .379 in 18 games with short-season Eugene, Ore. He since has batted .342 with low-A Fort Wayne, and overall he has 11 homers in 167 at-bats.

Freese, 23, isn't as able defensively as Headley, but his left-handed bat came highly recommended by longtime coaches at the University of South Alabama who compared him favorably with fellow USA alum Luis Gonzalez, the Diamondbacks slugger and five-time All-Star drafted in 1988.

“Their coaches told our scout, Bobby Filotei, that Freese was the best hitter they ever had there, and that's pretty damn good,” Gayton said. “I don't know how the guy goes undrafted a year ago and then we get him where we did. You get lucky, really, but we did our homework.”

[Hungary Jack]

If they are so concerned with getting that viable farm system like they insist, Mr. Eckstein would've been offered arbitration.

The only reason you wouldn't offer arbitration to Eckstein is because you're afraid he'll take it. And given where Eckstein landed, is there any doubt that he would've taken it?

I think Moz wanted to make sure that Eck was not on the roster in 2008 because he would have taken significant time from Ryan. This explains the premature Izturis signing and the decision not to offer arbitration, and is also consistent with rumors of an organization split over whether or not Ryan deserves a shot. Unless Ryan turns into Mario Mendoza with a concrete glove, TLR will be forced to use him.

Methinks Moz is clearing the deck so he can see what he has in his young players in 2008 in order to prepare for 2009 and beyond. He figures we might as well take the medecine early and in full. It's painful, but it's the proper course.