Written by Greg Fertel | 29 December 2006

Two thousand and friggin’ seven. Where in the world did all the time go? This getting old thing sucks. But hey, at least I have cool things like life insurance, unexpected aches and pains, and the uncanny ability to instantly know whenever an unauthorized person touches the thermostat. Oh, and let’s not forget, I get to have my prostate checked in a couple of years! At least I’m not first in line for any kind of military draft anymore… On to the baseball stuff. Baseball Digest Daily recently released their list of the Top 100 prospects in baseball (here’s #1-50, and #51-100). Much to my surprise, Eric Duncan made the list at number 91. And that’s it, no other Yankee prospects made the cut…okay fine, Humberto Sanchez checked in at number 60 (somehow ahead of Chuck “I post sub-3 ERA’s in hitter friendly leagues like nobody’s businessâ€? Lofgren), Jose Tabata came in at number 24, and Phil Hughes came in at number 2, trailing only Alex Gordon. Tyler Clippard received an honorable mention, but fell short of making the list. Meanwhile, Fabian over at RLYW is plowin’ through his top 25 prospects list, with his latest entry being Darrell Rasner at number 14. He’s been doing a great job breaking down each prospect, providing you with far more info than I ever have. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that Phil Hughes will be numbero uno. Groundbreaking, I know. In a bit of a different prospect list, DA Humber’s announced 9 of the 10 most over-rated prospects, with just the top spot remaining. Luckily no Yankee prospect has yet been honored (Clippard has an outside chance at the top spot, but I think I have an idea of who that is), but numbers 2 through 10 (in order) are Lastings Milledge, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Joel Guzman, Ande Marte, Jeff Clement, Jeff Mathis, Dustin Nippert, Gio Gonzalez and Dustin “I’m a starter, no wait, I’m a reliever, no wait, starter, nah, reliever, yeah that it’s, starterâ€? McGowan. Here’s some filler from Jim Callis’ weekly ESPN chat:

Jack Bauer (unknown): What are your top ten farm systems? Jim Callis: Fine question. My Top 10 in order is: Devil Rays, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Angels, Yankees, Brewers, Royals (almost solely for the big three of Gordon, Hochevear, Butler), Tigers, Reds (again for the star power at the top). [number 6, yet we’ll still hear how the Yanks can’t pull off a deadline deal because they don’t have the young prospects to give up] JJ(NYC):: What about Phillip Hughes, where does he rank [amongst baseball’s top prospects]? Jim Callis: Top pitching prospect in the game for me, No. 5 overall. Jim (WI): Who are your top 5 prospects then? Jim Callis: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Alex Gordon, Delmon Young, Brandon Wood, Philip Hughes. john (ny): but you said hughes was the number 1 pitcher Jim Callis: My bad, John. I don’t think of Matsuzaka as a minor league guy, because he’s not. Jim Callis: Should have said Hughes was the best in the minors, because Matsuzaka will never spend a day there. Casey (Gainesville, FL): Matt LaPorta increases his stock next year? Jim Callis: I see him taking a Jeff Larish path, going in the fifth round or so. I’ll guess Cardinals. [I prefer high schoolers, but I’d be down with taking a healthy LaPorta in the 5th round. He was launching absolute bombs in BP at the CWS in 2005]

So you think that Zito deal was insane? Well a 38 year old Japanese outfielder recently agreed to a 3 year deal that’ll pay him 550 million bucks per season. Of course “bucksâ€? is a relative term here, meaning he’ll take home $550M yen, which works out to $4,627, 670.99 in American cash-money a season (or roughly 56.2 innings of Zito). So he’s the highest paid player in the history of Japanese baseball? Man are we Americans spoiled. (and I love every second of it) And finally, here’s yet another reminder that the MVN mail isn’t working, and if you want to email me sent it to babybombers (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks, and have a blurry New Year.

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