Hak-Ju Lee Leads Impressive Wave of Talent

This isn't exactly a killer article, but it does give some props to the Cubs for their focus on Korean baseball talent. Some hope for the future?

over 2 years ago IowaCubs- 25 comments 1 recs |

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The system's in fairly solid shape

As for next year, another decent group of overseas signing. The most intriguing guy to me is Tzu-An Wang, a big, raw, righty that will likely fill out some more, and IIRC, sits in the low 90’s already.

by toonsterwu on Sep 24, 2009 2:57 PM CDT reply actions

Wang

top end? I haven’t seen any reports yet. Can he get it to the 95 or 96 range if he sits low 90’s. He could be blowing smoke like The Farns with his frame in 3-4 years.

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions

sorry that was a typo on my part

meant to say he was topping out in the low 90’s, iirc. not sure why i typed sits.

by toonsterwu on Sep 24, 2009 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions

that's still a positive

report on him, FWIW.

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions

race

did anyone read the first comment after the article by “Harry Caray”?

What a douchebag!!!!!! And to think back to the discussions about race on this board in the last days—this sh*t just disgusts me.

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:07 PM CDT reply actions

I pretty much ignore any comments on articles.

They either are ads for the porn industry or just some angry person venting.

Hey, it's a new century!

by cowsarecool220 on Sep 24, 2009 4:18 PM CDT up reply actions

I forget...was this the one that killed the bird?

Anyway, it is good to see the Cubs tapping into a market. I actually thought Hee Seop Choi was going to be fairly good, although he made Fukudome’s helicopter swing look like a toy plane…

I remember when he hit his head on the field though. That was one of the scarier things I’ve seen on a diamond.

There is no such thing as an ugly female breast

by Worf on Sep 24, 2009 3:11 PM CDT reply actions

Jae-Kuk Ryu was the one who killed the bird.

He’s no longer in the organization.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Sep 24, 2009 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions

nah

that was Jae-Kuk Ryu

Choi looked dead as he laid there. He never got another chance after that and pretty much ended his reign with the Cubs. Really scary to watch.

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions

He wasn't the same player when he came back, and never seemed to get back even after he was traded.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Sep 24, 2009 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions

didn't he have 1 good half with FLA

and then flamed out. Maybe I am remembering another player?

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Just looked him up

he’s in some Korean minor league system now. He had one good first half with the Marlins and got traded to the Dodgers, where he couldn’t get playing time. When they signed Nomar to play first, they let him go.

He was in the Red Sox system for a while, but then went home.

Now he’s not even on a Korean major league team. Sad.

There is no such thing as an ugly female breast

by Worf on Sep 24, 2009 3:21 PM CDT up reply actions

he is a classic example

of why I am in the camp of trading minor leaguers for proven major leaguers (and I do realize you cannot do this all the time or you will have an $800 million payroll). There was nothing in his minor-league track record to say he wasn’t going to be an All Star caliber player. Nothing.

We got D Lee for him. Amazing one-sided trade.

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:26 PM CDT up reply actions

Which was a salary dump by the Marlins.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Sep 24, 2009 3:50 PM CDT up reply actions

got any more of those for us?

“I got this kid named Vitters and another named Jackson……”

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 3:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Disagree

I see where you’re coming from, but I think developing your own talent really makes an organization look good. And its cheaper. Also, if you look at this years probable playoff teams, building from within seems to be a fairly common theme.

by Mulhollandmania on Sep 24, 2009 4:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Building from within can include dealing your prospects for valuable established players.

Or would you rather have Bobby Hill and Matt Bruback than Aramis Ramirez?

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Sep 24, 2009 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions

a balance

is certainly needed. Sometimes team overpay for the hype of a hot prospect. I bet we could have got a lot for Juan Cruz early on as well as Corey Patterson.

You do need some of your own to become stars. No homegrown Cubs player has hit .285 with 25+ HR’s in 5 consecutive years since Santo and Williams—that’s 40 years now.

by socalbob on Sep 24, 2009 5:42 PM CDT up reply actions

I have often thought of this.

Before the 2005 season, the White Sox traded Carlos Lee to Milwaukee for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino (and a PTBNL).

A center fielder and a middle relief/setup guy.

What if the Cubs had offered Corey Patterson and Kyle Farnsworth for Lee? I’m sure the White Sox would have made that deal. And it would have been a terrific deal for the Cubs.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Sep 24, 2009 8:22 PM CDT up reply actions

yep

I believe the Sox would have jumped at that one.

We over-value our prospects and oftentimes do not know what we have. I think this can be attirbuted to one of the smallest front offices in baseball.

I will share this with you. When I played in the SAL league, we played against a Cubs affiliate in Charleston, WV. They looked like and ran a terrible operation. I was so disappointed in the Cubs. Their pre-game BP was a joke, their IF-OF pre-game was run horridly. I was ashamed to be a Cubs fan.

I hope Ricketts beefs up our minor league operations. We deserve it for all the money we put into the Cubs pockets.

by socalbob on Sep 25, 2009 9:47 AM CDT up reply actions