tell me that rios is going to hit 28 HRs and have 28 SBs this year .

(ok .... lie to me)

He's got the tools. Now he just needs to put the boots to the pavement (<-- not 100% sure that's the actual cliche I was going for).

i may be wrong , but was his batting stance a bit more crouched than in 2007 ? . sort of like youk , but without the bounce .

here's a picture for your brain , grey : combine nomar's batting glove/shoulder tapping antics , coupled with youk's bounce and the joe morgan elbow twitch .

good god , bring me a straight jacket .

if i'm on the mound , i'm head-hunting .... just on general principles .

I don't ever see him being a 30/30 guy, but I think that if TOR goes out and gets Milton Bradley, like they claim their #1 priority is, and Vernon Wells can stay healthy that Rios' power numbers will rebound. The trend, though, that I've noticed is that an increase in SBs usually coincides with a decrease in power numbers.

Isn't Upton the newer, better Alex Rios anyway? I guess I'm thinking a solid Rios 09 is Abreu Lite: 85/25/80/20/.280

@sean :
rios has less injury risk than upton , imo .
if bj finishes 2009 without further down-time , i'll draft him in front of rios , probably (this year will tell).
until then , rios is the guy .
abreu ? you're kidding , right ? wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole .
and in case you're wondering , moises alou is a goner , as well .

For the value, don't you think that guys like Werth late or Kemp a little later will be better values than Rios?

Werth a little late comes with more risk and less ability than Rios. Kemp won't be much later than Rios. In mock drafts, I've seen Kemp going in the early fourth round and Rios in the late third. If you can get Kemp at a discount, he'll definitely be someone to aim for. I like Kemp a lot for 2009.

Werth went 24/20 with 480 some PA's in 2008. This year, we're looking at 25/80/80/.275/15. I like that.

P.S. I like that there's a can of pledge on my avitar's head.

Werth is one beginning of the year slump away from being dropped and from being benched. You're talking about a guy who will be 30 in May and has had one good year. He's good for a late round flier, but you don't want invest too heavily in someone who could go to 17/7/.275 in a blink of the eye.

EDIT: That can is a sign that you pledged money. Clear or no?