Minors 6/24
Arizona Rangers Box
Elsewhere, grandpa Kirkman goes for Spokane, Loe goes for the Redhawks, Frisco is off, and the Cal league has its All-Star game tonight.
It's hard to get past all of the pitching on the farm, but one young hitter that has caught my attention is Eric Fry, who is an OF for Spokane. Before the season last year, JD mentioned Fry as a sleeper in the system. He was unimpressive as a 19-yo in both the Arizona and Northwest leagues. He has taken the Northwest League by storm this year, posting a .318/.400/.636 line in 22 AB. That's an OPS of 1.036, which ranks 6th in the league.
Fry was drafted in the 33rd round in 2006, after his sophomore season at San Jacinto JC, where he played CF. He signed at the last minute, passing on a commitment to Oklahoma State. Like Ed Koncil this year, Fry is described as a vocal leader on his JC World Series teams that brings athleticism and power to the table.
Fry was drafted in the 25th round in 2005 by the Tigers. Below is his MLB.com description:
29th round -- Eric Fry, CF, Barbe HS, Lake Charles, La.: Despite his 5-foot-10 height, Fry is seen as an athletic outfielder who has a chance to hit in the pros. He was rated the 26th best draft-eligible prospect in Louisiana by Baseball America. He becomes the 10th player drafted from the school since 2001.
Also, I think a mid-season top-25 prospect list will be posted at MVN today, which should generate some discussion.
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Main
1st start
1 IP 1 K 0H 0BB
The Eagle has landed....
by Lonerangers on
Jun 24, 2008 1:09 PM CDT
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Second inning
Error-walk-error (by Main)-sac fly-double scores 3, only one earned.
by Outworlder47 on
Jun 24, 2008 1:30 PM CDT
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E.Fry
JD said that about him at Newberg Report Night, too.
by Jamey Newberg on
Jun 24, 2008 1:38 PM CDT
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Eric Fry in the OF
It’s like putting Terry Pendleton out there, isn’t it? He won’t stick all the way thru the minors in the OF will he? Can he play 3rd base?
by shroomer on
Jun 24, 2008 1:44 PM CDT
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Main
already pulled after 2 1/3
3H 3ER 1 BB 1K
The Eagle has landed....
by Lonerangers on
Jun 24, 2008 1:45 PM CDT
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Time
I think he could use a little more seasoning on the farm before we call him up.
by Jack Nicholson 1974 on
Jun 24, 2008 1:55 PM CDT
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Nice name
but would you prefer Meg Ryan?
by groundingout on
Jun 24, 2008 5:56 PM CDT
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Main
he dominated the first inning, and the second one featured two errors (one of which was his own). the third inning had a groundball single, an out, and another groundball single before he was pulled. the next pitcher immidiately gave up a three run HR. it sounds like the didn’t hit him hard. i wouldn’t worry too much about this one.
by clark on
Jun 24, 2008 2:00 PM CDT
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+1
It’s only his first start of the year. There’s no need to worry.
First Hurley, now Max, and eventually, Davis. man for the first time in a while, it sure feels good to be a Ranger’s fan.
by hinduplaya on
Jun 24, 2008 2:22 PM CDT
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previous Latin signings?
what about top guys from last two years? from 06 was puello, valdez and ventura.
ventura is still in dom league. had a decent year last year and still there this year. is puello the catcher in AZ? when he signed was a 1B. valdez was 1B also. where is he?
last year besides Perez was SS Suelo. Where is he? not on either Dom team.
by mo on
Jun 24, 2008 2:33 PM CDT
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bad Juilo.
you can reaily hurt your ankle doing that if you land wrong.
by Kinslerhomer on
Jun 24, 2008 5:52 PM CDT
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Or break your leg
ask ruben mateo
"So you think the Celtics will beat Detroit? Hell will freeze over before that happens, mark my words." miles 5/20/08
by badradiorules on
Jun 25, 2008 12:33 AM CDT
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Ayyyye
I was watching that game at a get-together when that happened.
Such a freak injury.
God damn he was a special player.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 25, 2008 12:36 AM CDT
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Yea
I got tickets to the game as soon as heard that he was getting called up. I was such a big fan at that time. I just knew that he’d be making a push for the HOF at this point.
Here’s to having depth in the minor leagues…at every position possible.
"So you think the Celtics will beat Detroit? Hell will freeze over before that happens, mark my words." miles 5/20/08
by badradiorules on
Jun 25, 2008 1:12 AM CDT
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You should've come over and said, "Hi"!
I was at that debut game with my Dad. We hadn’t listened to the radio on the way in so we didn’t know what was up. During the back end of warm ups all the sudden a guy neither of us recognizes trots out of the dugout and starts playing catch. He’s really zinging the ball. We both sit there going, “Is that Ruben Mateo? Did they call up Mateo? There’s no one else that could possibly be. It has to be Mateo, doesn’t it?” We asked the usher, but she didn’t even know who Mateo was. Finally he turned around and we saw the name on the back of his jersey and we both broke out into hysterics. We had heard so much about the kid, and then lucked into seeing his debut. That was special. If I remember correctly he hit an absolute bomb that game and made a couple of throws from the OF that took your breath away. It still breaks my heart that his career turned out the way it did. He had a better package of tools than any Ranger I think I’ve seen other than Hambone and maybe Sierra when he first came up.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 25, 2008 1:58 AM CDT
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I remember a game where he made a catch at the wall, spun, and fired the ball back deep into the infield, all before his feet hit the ground.
He was big, we were little…
Don't knock masturbation, it's sex with someone I love .
by Brian Thomas on
Jun 25, 2008 10:45 AM CDT
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From Jason Cole
Cristian Santana to the DL. LHP Joseph Ortiz promoted to Clinton. Ortiz doesn’t turn 18 until August.
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 5:30 PM CDT
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I probably should have clarified which Santana
it’s actually Julio Santana, the pitcher, who is going back to the DL. Whoops.
by JasonCole on
Jun 24, 2008 6:10 PM CDT
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Man
This is getting redundant, but that is really impressive. Here’s a 17 year old who was excellent as a 16 year old in relief in the DSL now pitching one inning in AZL and getting bumped to full season ball. I love the influx of lefties (assuming the high picks get signed).
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 24, 2008 8:26 PM CDT
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Apparently he can throw 90-91
At least that’s the word going around the ballpark here. Nobody really knows much about him—he got to Clinton about 30 minutes before tonight’s game. I’m here for three more games though, so I should get to see him pitch.
by JasonCole on
Jun 24, 2008 8:57 PM CDT
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How bored were the CLN OF'ers
behind Beavan tonight?
by shroomer on
Jun 24, 2008 8:59 PM CDT
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Pretty bored
Second day in a row that they have lost a big lead late in the game. Five errors from Clinton tonight and a few more miscues in the field. Lost a 5-0 lead through five innings, now down 7-5 in the 7th.
by JasonCole on
Jun 24, 2008 9:04 PM CDT
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Tough Night for Dominquez
According to the box score, four errors…two on back-to-back plays…and two passed balls.
Not one for the highlight reel…
by T Coleman on
Jun 24, 2008 10:37 PM CDT
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and the opposing team
was 4-4 on SB attempts.
Ouch.
by clark on
Jun 24, 2008 11:04 PM CDT
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Jason, Z, jparks
Can one of you kind fellas please post a brief description on Ortiz, whom I have never heard of till today? If he’s getting promoted to Clinton I’d like to know a little about him. Thanks.
by Hull Fan on
Jun 24, 2008 11:41 PM CDT
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The BTiA prospect rankings
http://mvn.com/mlb-rangers/2008/06/24/the-btia-top-25-prospect-rankings/
Quite a long read, but hopefully well worth it. Took Jason and I quite a while to come to a clear consensus on many of these selections, particularly in the bottom half where it becomes much more cloudy.
Thoughts, praise or hate mail are most appreciated.
by jamcadbury on
Jun 24, 2008 5:35 PM CDT
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Great work guys
Excellent read. It’s fun to look at a list like this, then consider some nice prospects who couldn’t even make it.
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 24, 2008 8:37 PM CDT
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Vallejo and Ross
It hurt to exclude them.
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 9:45 PM CDT
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Marcus Lemon
how close to making the cut?
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 24, 2008 9:59 PM CDT
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Lemon
I like him quite a bit but I rank Vallejo over him and Vallejo was probably #26.
I tend to value arms more than position players so the list was very arm heavy. There are guys like Vallejo, Lemon and Whittleman who could be in the mix for the top 25 but I just couldn’t find a player to remove to create the opening. Especially with the season #25 Gomez is having.
Pimentel, Ross and Boscan were all in the discussion as well.
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 10:21 PM CDT
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So
I’m the only one who believes the new contact rate of JMJ is real?
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 24, 2008 9:52 PM CDT
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Nope
Longhorn and miles are right there with you. Of course they believed when he was a .230 hitter. :)
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 24, 2008 9:54 PM CDT
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It's getting closer and closer
to 250 ABs, rising LD%, declining K rate
At what point do we call it more than a fluke?
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 24, 2008 9:59 PM CDT
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I'm becoming
a believer, but still harboring some skepticism. Here are some things I see when I look at JMJ’s numbers:
- He has had an above average OPS at every level
- All of his numbers trended up, from 2005-2007; then they took a big dip when he moved up to AA…since then they’ve again trended upward and he’s having what is easily his best season as a pro.
- The one truly new thing this year is the much lower K rate. To have that happen in concert with the much higher line drive rate speaks volumes to me about his potential to make solid contact.
How many prospects suddenly see their avg. jump 50 points when moving up to AAA while at the same time halving their K rate, and doubling their line drive rates? Something is going on here. I hope, anyway.
I think that he can be a contributor at the ML level given the outfield depth the Rangers have right now. If he is not depended on to be the bat in the lineup, but instead is viewed as the 6th or 7th best hitter, you can use him and be happy.
...and curse Sir Sidney Ponson, he was such a stupid git.
by t ball on
Jun 24, 2008 11:51 PM CDT
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I am going to have to be
behind the curve on this one. I mean I’m excited by what I’m seeing, obviously. But I’m not convinced that he’s going to be a quality starting COF yet. It would be really, really cool if he did, though, and especially cool if he turned out to be a better player than Ellsbury.
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 25, 2008 12:03 AM CDT
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Mayberry
I worry about his swing and the exploitation of it at the major league level. I want to see how he handles a quality fastball on the inside part of the plate. Can he shorten his stroke to handle that kind of a pitch?
by jparks77 on
Jun 25, 2008 12:12 AM CDT
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Not this season
I’m basing my questions on comments and analysis from other sources. (Not secret sources) I’ve seen him in the past and he crushes balls out over the plate when he can fully extend. I’ve also seen him get jammed inside quite a bit. He’s an interesting player.
I’m honestly concerned about a hole in his swing that may or may not exist. If that makes any sense. I want to see him against major league quality pitchers.
by jparks77 on
Jun 25, 2008 12:25 AM CDT
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I've seen him
although in Frisco. Swing was certainly not without holes at that point.
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 25, 2008 12:26 AM CDT
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Well I can't take a prospect list seriously when it doesn't include
Lil’ Lemon, but other than that it ain’t bad.
It’ll tide me over till the community list anyways.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 24, 2008 10:01 PM CDT
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Planning on July 1st
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 24, 2008 11:09 PM CDT
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Chet
Who would you remove from our 25 in order to rank Lemon? Just curious.
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 10:32 PM CDT
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I'm not
Carrot Top, but German Duran, Fabio Castillo, Cristian Santana, Thomas Diamond are four guys I would have no problem taking out for Lemon. (For different reasons, obviously)
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 24, 2008 10:36 PM CDT
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Vallejo
You would rank Lemon over Vallejo?
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 11:01 PM CDT
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I would, yes
I super duper heart his OBP skills, and I’m especially happy with the way he’s really come on with the stick after being thrown to the wolves to start ‘07 as an 18 year old in Clinton. He’s nearly two years younger than Vallejo and is performing just as well or better in a lot of categories (including a 70 point OBP advantage).
Is Vallejo considered a better defender? I know he’s a good base stealer and has a few more HR’s, but I find it hard to believe people like Vallejo’s offensive game better than Lemon’s.
Lemon is the shiznit.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 24, 2008 11:17 PM CDT
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I, too
would probably rank Lemon just ahead of Vallejo. He is a year and a half younger, and has more walks than strikeouts, and has a longer trend of improving his bat numbers. Vallejo looks quite promising, but this year he had a very, very hot April followed by less inspiring numbers the last two months.
...and curse Sir Sidney Ponson, he was such a stupid git.
by t ball on
Jun 24, 2008 11:54 PM CDT
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Yes
the way I see it, I can easily see Marcus Lemon projecting as an above average top-of-the-order bat, but I can’t say the same thing about Vallejo.
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 25, 2008 12:16 AM CDT
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Vallejo
strikes me (especially after seeing that bit of video on him) as sort of a poor man’s Brandon Phillips. If they both pan out at least into major leaguers, Lemon just needs to maintain that on-base ability and have at least some pop to figure to be a more valuable player. That’s asking a lot though.
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 25, 2008 12:23 AM CDT
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I dunno
He’d likely slot in the late teens or early twenties for me. We’re just so damn deep. Font is done for the year (or is he?), so he’s a cnadidate. Castillo and Cristian have dissapointed at times, but there’s oh so much talent there. German Duran. Warner Madrigal. Gomez. Poveda. Hunter. NeRa. Others.
I was mainly just messing with y’all about not taking the list seriously sans Lil’ Lemon, though. There are so many good prospects in this system that it’s impossible to do a top 25 and have everyone agree. I have no problem with your list.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 24, 2008 11:20 PM CDT
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To expound on that...
I don’t think it’s just our depth that makes a top 25 for this system so tough, but the amount of high-upside prospects who have only shown glimpses of their talent. Dudes like Beltre, Castillo, Font, Santana, Main, Perez, Ramirez and even Diamond and Andrus to an extent. For example, there will be people who have Engel in their top 5 and people who don’t even have him in their top 10 or 15.
1 farm, 500000000 tools.
by LiamP on
Jun 24, 2008 11:29 PM CDT
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Curiosity Question
Beltre is rated above Borbon, yet the “realistic scenario” for Beltre is stated as “Toolsy player that never reaches the big leagues”, while the “realistic scenario” for Borbon is stated as “Above-average defensive player with high contact rates, yet poor on-base skills”.
These comments would lead me to believe that Borbon would be rated higher than Beltre. What in the analysis caused Beltre to rated higher? Just curious.
Thanks.
by T Coleman on
Jun 24, 2008 10:53 PM CDT
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Higher ceiling
It’s impossible to accurately project 18 year olds playing in Low A but Beltre’s ceiling is very, very high.
Borbon is the safer bet to play at the major league level but we decided that Beltre’s lofty ceiling had the greater value.
It’s tough. With so many good players and so many subjective opinions, it’s hard to produce a list that is universally pleasing. We tried.
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 11:00 PM CDT
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10 of top 14
were not in the org before last year’s draft. that is pretty crazy.
by clark on
Jun 24, 2008 11:08 PM CDT
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Tim Murphy
Hulett just said we’ll see him pitch tonight in relief of Kirkman.
by shroomer on
Jun 24, 2008 8:52 PM CDT
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Guinn debuts
Starting at 1B and batting cleanup.
by shroomer on
Jun 24, 2008 8:57 PM CDT
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well that was a privilege
3 walks and a HR in less than an inning. rusty.
by clark on
Jun 24, 2008 11:14 PM CDT
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He pitched like he was on meth
Way way too amped up. They’ll slow him down and get him to pace himself.
by shroomer on
Jun 24, 2008 11:42 PM CDT
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Good start for Beavan
6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
11/3 gb/fb on the outs
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 24, 2008 9:20 PM CDT
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You mean that he doesn’t have many?
Yeah. We all know basically what’s happening to cause the sorts of numbers he’s putting up, but especially when he walks a couple of guys as he did tonight it’s weird to see the Ks so low.
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 24, 2008 10:09 PM CDT
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Swear to god.
My kingdom for a velo report.
Is it too greedy that, despite the magnificent numbers he’s putting up (sans k/9), I just want to see him start hitting 93+?
by LiamP on
Jun 24, 2008 11:17 PM CDT
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Jason Cole
was at the game. I’m sure we will get a detailed report on Beavan very soon.
by jparks77 on
Jun 24, 2008 11:24 PM CDT
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I listened to most of Beavan's stint
I might be mistaken, but I think the CLN radio guy said once that Beavan hit 90 mph on the gun. The CLN home gun is really slow. For instance, the fastest pitch I heard Feliz throw Sunday was 90 mph – same as Beavan tonight. I think the gun is up to 5 mph slower than most guns in the league. So, if I heard right … and the gun is indeed as slow as it seems, Beavan had some gettyup on at least a few of his pitches. Hopefully JC will clarify.
BTW – JC has some free content up at LSD – Matt Harrison post-game interview
by shroomer on
Jun 24, 2008 11:49 PM CDT
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Harrison
What Jason failed to report was that Harrison blew a kiss to me after the game. He’s coming around.
by jparks77 on
Jun 25, 2008 12:00 AM CDT
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Clinton's stadium gun
is pointed at the catcher, not the pitcher. It only registers on about 1/4 of the pitches and it’s 3-4 mph slow when it does. It registers the catcher’s throw back to the pitcher more often than it gets the actual pitch.
I didn’t sit behind a gun tonight (but I do know a little bit about how hard he was throwing, have to save something for the article :) , but I plan on talking with some people about it tomorrow.
by JasonCole on
Jun 25, 2008 1:18 AM CDT
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holland
i would have holland in top 25. other than that, i can go with the others, just in a different order. good job.
by mo on
Jun 24, 2008 9:29 PM CDT
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2nd sign of Apocolypse confirmed
Joaquin Arias with a walkoff home run against former Rangers great Nick regilio.
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 24, 2008 10:49 PM CDT
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JD's boy
Eric Fry hits another homer, 2-3, now hitting .360
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 24, 2008 10:52 PM CDT
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Aw, shucks
I was hoping he was kin to Rangers legend Jeff, but not only do they spell their last names differently, but Eric is a little, um, dark in the skin to be directly related to pasty-boy Jeff.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 24, 2008 11:24 PM CDT
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Putting faces to names ...
![]()
Wilfredo Boscan, Yoon-hee Nam, Martin Perez, and a bad motherfu… Eric Fry
More Spokane Indians pics – just select a player
by shroomer on
Jun 25, 2008 12:33 AM CDT
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Eric Fry
seems unimpressed with me
by FirebatM3 on
Jun 25, 2008 12:52 AM CDT
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+1
He seems even less impressed than he did when he was drafted.

If you search for “Eric Fry” on google images, you also come up with this:

Which looks like an excellent Spokane Indians mascot to me, although I will always have a soft spot in my heart for OTTO.
by rooster on
Jun 25, 2008 8:29 AM CDT
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So overrated. Total butterface.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 25, 2008 12:46 PM CDT
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I don't even know who she is. I just liked the uniform.
by rooster on
Jun 25, 2008 3:30 PM CDT
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That's Timothy "Tuck Rule" Brady's gal-pal, no?
She’s from the Jennifer Garner school of “decent-but-overrated body just cause she’s tall and skinny, but if you actually pause to look at the face you quickly realize that thing used to be a dude”.
I mean, block out that body with a sheet of paper and just look at the face.
That’s a freaking GUY.
Whoever shaved her adam’s apple did a tremendous job, but facts are facts and that used to be a freaking dude.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 26, 2008 3:22 AM CDT
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Possibly the greatest body in the world today.
by BudLight on
Jun 25, 2008 3:41 PM CDT
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Over
rated.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 26, 2008 3:23 AM CDT
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Perez and Boscan
don’t look their listed ages there.
by Brett Perryman on
Jun 25, 2008 8:26 AM CDT
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Yeah
I’d have to agree, especially about Perez.
Go Strangers.
by hightowersmith on
Jun 25, 2008 8:52 AM CDT
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You think they're older?
By how much? And is there a way to verify ages in the DR, like you can here in the States. I imagine there’s been a big push by baseball to find out for sure how old a kid is, rather than just take some family’s word about it.
by Hull Fan on
Jun 25, 2008 12:24 PM CDT
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Perez
is Venezuelan. I believe all the age-gate controversy was centered around Dominican players.
by jparks77 on
Jun 25, 2008 12:52 PM CDT
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Plus
since he’s in America now we can safely assume he’s been through the now-stringent visa process and has therefor been pretty thoroughly vetted.
The 40 Trumps All!!!
by thedirkatron on
Jun 25, 2008 1:52 PM CDT
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