Let's hope this generation's Kevin Costner (Whoever that may be. Chris Pine?) is never found in bed with Russell's significant other.

from a Bruce Levine report

“Addison Russell has more talent and is more advanced at shortstop than (Derek) Jeter was in his last year of Triple-A,” a 30-year veteran scout said. “He has five-tool ability and is an excellent defender at the most important position on the field.”
Another scout who has been in scouting and player development for 40 years has a similar perspective of Russell compared to the team’s present shortstop, Starlin Castro.
“Castro is a fine player and a good baseball specimen. I think the way he has been growing that he is a third baseman in the future. Look at his body,” the scout said. “He has grown a couple inches and added some muscle. That is the body now of a future All-Star third baseman. The other kid — Russell will be their shortstop at some point.”

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

This must be an error in judgement. No Cub prospect could possibly be this good. They are all going to bust out. Beane would never trade this kind of value for a chance at a WS title. Sox fans said so.

That said Scooter doesn't anyone wonder why the great Beane did trade him for a rental?

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Elections have consequences.

because they had a darn good shot at a championship this year. At the time of the trade people thought they were the favorite to win it all.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

What RFDC said.

"Rentals" are in the last year of their deal
He wasn't a traditional rental

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I remember last spring when Levine was reporting that Baez was the best player in Arizona. I realize that a lot of you guys don't know what teams these "journalists" root for, but I'll keep you informed. Bruce is a HUGE Cubs fan. I'd take any reporting he does on the Cubs with a grain of salt. And I actually like Bruce. He's been around a long time and has a lot of connections and real sources. Still, he can't stop himself from viewing the cubs through his rose-colored glasses.

And yeah, I'm gonna guess that the best GM in baseball didn't trade the next Jeter for ten or twelve Samardzija starts regardless of how close to a championship he may have thought he was.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Bruce was a Sox fan, born and raised. He has said it on the air multiple times.

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Bigfan, if Steve Stone said that about Tim Anderson, you and other cub fans would be all over it. Just like last year with you "FAR SUPERIOR" thread. Pick a lane, bagman.

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"Mr. Reinsdorf"........

Yes he is and I have heard him say this many times over the years.

And you are wrong once again

You guys are all correct. All these guys are Sox fans but every conversation is about how great the Cubs are. North, Mac, bernstein, Bruce, etc. Bruce loves the Cubs. If you listen to him regularly you know that. To say anything else is absurd.

He was dumb and wrong and optimistic about Baez and I'd guess the same about his take on Russell.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

How much do you want to bet he isn't anywhere close to Jeter?

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I was laughed at for saying he would be lucky to have a career like ozzie guillen.

Which is not that bad. He won a gold glove and made 3 all star games

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I will venture to bet he will be Addison Russell. I never said at any time he will be better than Jeter. That would be a stupid comparison at this point.

I figured the A's dumped Russell because Russell projects to be a sub .300 OBP guy vs RH pitching at the ML level and Billy Beane's all about the OBP. Same reason he shipped Cespedes to Boston.

Russell rakes against lefty pitching, but struggles to pick up the ball against righties and that's something players typically never overcome. It's a vision thing or something.

If he has the defensive tools, he projects to be another Brandon Inge. A guy who rakes against lefties but is a liability against RH pitching. Hey, at least Inge made an all-star team and got to participate in the HR derby.

They "dumped" Russell because they were trying to win a WS title. They bet big and lost. Time will tell how it plays out but dumped is the wrong word.

Going back to that scout's report, Starlin Castro definitely bulked up this offseason. He looked like a big dude ... watching today's game. Maybe it'll translate to some power.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

"dumped" "parted ways with" "unloaded" whatever verb tickles yer pickle.

Beane likes high OBP guys and Russell projects to be a sub .300 OBP guy at the major league level against RH pitching (one of the 2 most common types of pitching in major league baseball***).

I think Beane let his obsession with OBP cloud his judgment w/r/t Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes might only be a flat .300 OBP guy but when Cespedes gets on base he crosses the plate 40% of the time. A top 10 in the league rate of run scoring:




http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/instagra ... ercentage/

Also, Cespedes brought an electricity to the Oakland Coliseum and an energy to the A's clubhouse that Beane apparently doesn't have a stat for.


***God.

Okay. Thanks for clearing that up.

Didn't you criticize Beane for trading Addison? I would assume that meant you thought he had a decent chance at being good.


And remember, Beane is the one who brought up the Barry Larkin comp.

A guy who knows a lot more than you just told you why Beane dumped him. He isn't Jeter. He's a guy who is likely to have trouble hitting big league pitching. But it's hard to see that when you're living in an "It's Gonna Happen!" fever dream.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

Because Samardzija is as mediocre as they come.



Yeah, when he was trying to dump him.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Matthew, Tulsi, and Don

I like how your world is the right one to be in. Talk about a dream world.

More hilarious stuff from Mr. cant be wrong.

Nah, that was actually after the trade was agreed upon.

you mean the guy trying to sell a player spoke highly of the player he was trying to sell?

Yep.