which makes him a hypocrite.

“My father was a relentlessly self-improving salon owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a french prostitute named chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize…. he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy… the kind of malaise the genius possess and the insane lament.

My childhood was typical….. summers in Rangoon….. luge lessons. In the spring we’d make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds….. pretty standard, really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe. At the age of 14 a Zoroastran named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing quite like a shorn scrotum. It’s breathtaking. I suggest you try it.”

I went to Baltimore from South Carolina only to see us lose 9-1 and 9-0. I did however get to stand about two feet away from Hamilton and get the incredible Scott Feldman’s autograph.

I think so. Returns from TJ are almost never graceful. Look at how Liriano started the season. For that first step I really think that you just hope to see the velocity there and the pain gone. It takes almost two years after surgery, even in most successful cases, for guys to have their complete game back. And remember, it’s not like this was a level that he’d mastered before surgery.

Robbie Ross goes? Spokane?

i think he is in the High A rotation instead of Castillo, who returns to Low A.

Not to pick on you cause everyone seems to be doing it… but, seriously. It’s been well over a year since he was drafted. This is reaching Blaylock/Vincente/Bourbon/Neftali Perez proportions.

I think the Rangers are just waiting until the last minute because they’ll probably have to go above slot since Smoak slid down.

By the way, here’s a cool site breaking down his swing (just found it).

http://www.baseball-intellect.com/Articles/scouting-justin-smoak.html

says that most first rounders will sign, with the exception of Allen Dykstra (Grady Fuson is on a big draft losing streak…).

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/ask-ba/2008/266659.html

Miami first baseman Alonso, Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham (No. 8, White Sox) and South Carolina first baseman Justin Smoak (No. 11, Rangers) all appear to be angling for big league contracts, while the second tier of college bats typically has received slot money or slightly more. I believe all three will turn pro, and if they do get larger-than-precedent deals, it will set the bar higher for the future.

Also, this article talks about Holland

Holland just missed cracking our Rangers Top 30 in the 2008 Prospect Handbook, but he’ll easily make it in next year’s edition. In his first full season as a pro, he has gone 10-1, 2.60 in 22 starts between low Class A Clinton and high Class A Bakersfield. Opponents are hitting just .217 with three homers against him, and he has posted a 128-34 K-BB ratio in 125 innings.

A 25th-round pick out of Wallace State (Ala.) CC in the 2006 draft, Holland signed as a draft-and-follow the next spring. Credit area scout Rick Schroeder with a tremendous find. Holland has a better fastball than most lefthanders, as it ranges from 91-97 mph and really jumps on hitters. His changeup is a solid second pitch, and he’ll also flash a quality slider. He still has a ways to go, but Holland has a ceiling of a No. 2 starter.

Haven’t seen that here yet – sorry if it is a repost

I can’t figure out the timeline. Did *Colborn get hired before or after Fukumori? This article suggests at the same time such that he wouldn’t have been involved in the Fukumori deal.

Also, interesting note in that article – if Fukumori spends more than 30 days on the DL, the club has a buyout for next year. Isn’t he close?

we’re still sadly 4 games out of WC

my heart will freeze instantly from shock and I will die. No chance that happens. Zero.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&hl=246715&id=2121

Doesn’t sound like it cost anything.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3531866