2Short

I'm gonna need some help from some Wildcats...I'm a little younger than him, and I just remember hearing him talked about as an absolute stud when he was playing. Seems like he played outfield at Newport about 1980...was highly recruited/scouted, heard he turned down big time offers and may have gotten drafted out of h.s.. He decided to stay close to home as his mother was ill or something like that. Played at NKU and had repeated knee? problems. Anyway, I really don't remember much else...thought some in the know may have added for me? I think he was one of the best at the time. I guess if we're qualifying 1980 or later and AAA or higher the pool is much smaller ... separates the NK baseball experts from the rest of us (ie >me) :idunno:

Jim Cutter from Newport was awefully good if I remember correctly...I think he got hurt and never really got back to 100%?

I'm not trying to convince you of anything...primarily I just want to clarify that I was in no way trying to spin maile as something he's not. He is a 43rd round pick. That's the only fact we have! I was simply enjoying discussing the process in general and drawing some possible parallels to maile's situation based upon what i've learned of this process. The fact is there are multiple examples over the years of kids getting above-slot money, even drastically above slot, in every round. NOT TO SAY THIS KID DESERVES IT OR IS GOING TO GET IT...simply to say "hey wouldn't it be cool if a local kid got one of these type of offers". In addition, relative to maile or not; kids do drop from top 10 rounds to bottom 10 rounds (or off the chart completely) due to 'signability', or the lack of. It's not something invented here to convince anyone that Luke is special or better than he his or whatever. You seem to want to insist that that means he wans't good enough to even be considered...well, obviously he wasn't good enough in any team's eyes to get what he wanted off the bat! There's really no question about that....and....he probably isn't good enough in anyone's eyes to get what he wants late. But the point is, it definitely does happen, and his process, so far, lays out similarly to the few who have seen that happen. So for those of us baseball junkies who root for every local kid and enjoy sharing the excitement, ... it's not a stretch whatsoever to say..."hey, it's possible..." nothing more.

Wow! First, I think Legacy misunderstood pretty much everything I wrote, but I concede to his expertise as he obviously knows much more than I about this process. Second, I was simply sharing what I've learned as I enjoy following this process and thought some of you may find some of what I've learned interesting and / or relevant. I don't think for a minute that he's that great, or that he's deserving or should expect anything. However, much of what I wrote is accurate and was shared for the sake of discussion, there was/is no intention to 'spin' or convince anybody of anything. Hopefully he is lucky enough to get a few more at bats somewhere...good luck Luke.

Congratulations! Great baseball school, great opportunity! Best of luck!

So by that logic, every kid taken higher than Maile, (some 1300+ kids or whatever) is more talented than he is? :ohbrother: If you believe that, then you really don't understand this process very well. He already passsed on some "pretty good" money, and that is a relative term, I realize. So, I'm saying he could have signed for between $350K-$550 for sure; which, if you look at my previous post, is middle to high 3rd round money (which is the top 110 picks overall!!...(may end up being be low 2nd round money this year, we'll see). The point is, those kids who went ahead of him and have similar or even less talent/projection, but maybe they are not great students, or for whatever reason, they are willing to sign for $200-$450 when he wouldn't. So they go in the 6th, 10th, or 14th or whatever, and he goes 43rd. (btw there were 26 catchers taken in the top 10 rounds...only 4 have signed in or above that range to date!!!) Where do you think Maile would have gone if he was in the $50K - $250K range?? (which is were most of this year's signees are)...There'd be a line....a BIG line! But look at it this way...they want to pay a kid like maile $350K now...he looks at the kids his played against from Texas to California to Boston to where ever and sees that he stacks up real darn well. He's bigger than most, just as strong an arm, bat speed, pop times, etc. Then he looks at these 1st round catchers and sees that they are getting (09 numbers and all college kids btw) pick 4=$2.5m; pick 33=$980K; pick 38=$858K; Physically/mentally etc he's at or above where they were as h.s. seniors...so is it that tough of a decision really? A couple hundred thousand after taxes now and go to the minors and play at 10:00 am in 98 degrees with no one in the stands and nobody truly cares about anything except for you failing and them moving past you...VERSUS... SEC Baseball and a college degree?:idunno: These teams don't just rank the kid by talent, draft them, and then hope they can sign them. Don't forget, these kids have probably not gone more than a couple of days without at least one club calling or stopping by to 'chat'. Just talk about things, and 'stay in touch'. "Whadya eat today after the game kid?... oh you ate out..where'd you go?"... So, clubs ask up front what kind of money you want. Not always directly, but they find out your value system as best they can. They come to where you live; where they work, talk to parents, level of education; things you like/dislike..always putting a label on a kid's values. If you have great grades and a high percentage scholly...if you are mature and articulate, if you read books, if you parents are educated, etc, etc, etc. They investigate everything they can, and then they make a decision and if they think you will not take what they want to pay for a slot, or they have somebody who will sign for less, they move on. You were both crap shots anyway, risk the least money you have to. Do they make mistakes...yes; do kids lie and say "I'll take X" then get drafted and say "no, I want Y"..yes; do they pay too much for one kid, and pass on one they should have paid more...sure. Do kids pass on offers they should have taken...sure; take offers they should have passed...definitely! If they knew what they were doing, wouldn't the percentage of kids drafted who make to the majors be a little better ?!?!

....aaaannnnd......?

Ryan Ernst's blog says "No update". It is interesting to me how this works. So I read a lot. Looking at PGcrosschecker, I found some interesting numbers: 26 of 49 1st round/supplemental 1st rnd kids unsigned 10 of 31 2nd round 8 of 30 3rd round 7 of 30 4th round 9 of 30 5th round 8 of 30 6th round 5 of 30 7th round 4 of 30 8th round 5 of 30 9th round 9 of 30 10th round So i guess you could say that it's not terribly unusual, however, more than 2/3rds have signed. In addition, I noticed that the bonuses to date are pretty much within "slot" with a few slightly low/high numbers for a particular round. For example here are the lowest and highest amounts per round to date: 1st ranges from $900k - $2.5 2nd $700k -$980k 3rd $200K - $450K 4th $75k - $250K 5th $30k - $200k 6th $15K - $298K 7th $100k - $350k 8th $25k - $200k 9th $25k - $150k 10th $10k $150k I've heard that Ferris and Maile were both serious 3rd to 10th rounders, but neither would accept those slots financially, looking at these numbers, I understand that better. When I look at numbers from previous years, I find that there are several bonuses that stand out as much higher than the rest in a particular round. Like a 7th rounder getting $1.1m last year, and there are others. A team that is considering paying much above "slot" is not going to do that until the last hour as it would potentially cause problems with other negotiations. None of this to say that Luke is going to receive a high offer simply because he is getting down to the wire..who knows? He could quite possibly get no offer at all from what I've read about past drafts. It seems that the logic behind drafting a kid who you know is not going to sign for slot as he has good grades, scholly, etc is that you want to 'own' the rights to him while you work through the summer. If you get a kid or two who you perceive to have similar tools etc for less money, then you let the kid go. If however, you decide that he is your first/best choice then you go late and try to go as low as you can, knowing you're going to pay well above slot. Waiting serves two purposes: pressure on the kid to accept an offer as the clock is literally running out and only paying above slot at the very last minute. For a team with the resources, it's like getting a second 2nd round pick for example. Not all teams can even consider that type of strategy as they have limited money. My guess is that this kid feels he is worth more than typical 'slot' money in most rounds. He has the ability to gamble on moving himself up after college...so if you're not going to sign for 5th round money, why would most teams take you in the 11th, 15th or even 30th when they have another kid who will sign for that slot? Most teams just move on as he is "unsignable" to them...some, (like the RedSox), gamble with a really high round and at least leave themselves the option for a late in the summer signing.. (ie Ferris / Maile / Meyer (pitcher at UK went 20th turned down $2M)...if a kid is done growing, or not a great student, or really needs money...it's a different strategy I would think. Anyway, it's an interesting business and I know I don't understand all of the nuances involved. But, if I'm counseling a kid with academic talent, with good projections, good size, plus plus arm, plus bat, plus speed and plus make up (like both of our local boys) but, doesn't yet have enough fine tuning to be a solid high rounder in anyone's eyes...I say stand firm and go to college...work your rear off, get your fine tuning, get bigger and stronger, and position yourself higher than you were out of h.s....oh yeah, and let's win the SEC and visit Omaha while you're there!

It went fine. Nothing really to report, fortunately. Some steady texting every 4 or 5 hours that kept me posted. The area they camped was not as crowded as others and the partying was apparently pretty calm, though they did have a great time. There was another group there, by coincidence, whom we know. A dad with his teenage kids and friends, so that was a bonus having a back up near by. She looked like she was camping at a concert for two days, but other than that, I guess they stayed adequately within tolerable limits. The user name originated more from a sports point of view, not so much 'let the party-ers play'.... anyway, she seems to have passed this small test ... I'm sure there's more I don't know, but I know enough to feel okay with letting her "spread her wings". Thanks all!

Just thought of another...Dice Clay :ohbrother:

Thanks gang! I'll let you know how it went after the weekend.....

Boston Legal

Good call....I'm on it. They'll expect it from me, however...dad's never to shy to pry!

Camping...and it is a leap of faith, somewhat calculated, but a leap none the less. Obviously, my gut tells me she is adequately prepared to handle it as I have no problem telling my kids 'no', and I said 'yes'. I checked out what i could about the venue, read past police reports from past concerts, talked to the other parents...etc. She, and the others, are not sheltered type kids...they have shown me an ability to handle situations in the past. I am (was) a semi avid concert goer, so I'm not blind to the reality of them. I'm not familiar with this venue and was curious of others' experiences....and simply surfing and thought I'd see if I got a "NO WAY YOU'RE CRAZY :scared: out of any of my fellow BGP-ERS. Add this group to your prayer list this weekend for a little extra guardian with them...thanks for your input!

After much deliberation, I am allowing my 17 yo daughter to attend a Dave Mathews Band concert and camp at Deer Creek in Indy with a group of friends whom I know well and trust. Curious if anyone has been there and thinks I'm a complete idiot? The group as a whole is fairly mature, good students/kids, etc, no 'troubled teens' to date, and my kid is really a pretty mature, smart kid so far...but....I'll let you all 'let me have it'.... :idunno:

As bad as Cho is imo...I have to agree that Rosanne takes top billing! I'll throw Carlin and Ron White out there as two of my favorites.

PLus...I think it's safe to say that Walt is communicating with and accommodating any and all scouts for all his kids...

Yes. He was coming on strong at the end of the season. Look for him to impress in the next two years!

University of Kentucky

It is quite possible that there is more discussion between the teams and the prospect prior to and during the draft than we know. It is also possible that this, or any player could have gone fairly early in the draft for a decent price, just less than he wanted to accept. So, a team like Boston, says, we'll take him as 1 of our 45 picks this year..knowing that he's not going to sign for 43rd round money. We're willing to use the summer to evaluate and get to know him better; then see how close they're willing to get to his number and/or how low the kid is willing to backpeddle. Or...he goes to school and we have a start on him for 2012...?

That is just great news! Well deserved! EJ is definitely one of the very best players in the state. It frustrates me that he doesn't appear to be getting more attention from colleges...hopefully I'm wrong? I hope I am wrong because he can flat out play the game and I really want to see him playing in college. Hits for average and power; plays exceptional defense at any position on the field; just an awesome athlete and my number one pick for the right attitude on and off the field! Congrats EJ!

Where / when was this announced? Haven't seen it anywhere else.

I heard Darner is at 65 and Maile is at 56 and Isler is at 52 ... could it get broken and rebroken before season's end?

Just curious...what are the numbers?

(You need not answer if you're tired of my questions, I'm kinda workin it out now)...the net is we have to sweep and they must lose at least 2 for us to get in...not good. Or.... we win two, rain out one; and they lose two...good night.:isurrender: