Almost won my first game of All-Star Baseball 2003 the other day. Played the Twins at the Q. Adam Eaton and Brad Radke locked up in a pitchers’ duel. Eaton tires after six scoreless, gives way to Tom Davey. One out in the top of the seventh, Davey gives up a mammoth homer to Corey Koskie. Fastball up and in, hammered down the right field line. Turned out to be the only run of the ballgame. I’m starting to figure out fielding but I still have no clue on the basepaths.

Did you notice Justin Germano’s GB/FB ratio last year? I know he doesn’t throw hard, and his numbers weren’t all that great at Ft. Wayne, but for some reason I’ve got a feeling about this one. Chris Reed over at ProtospectWatch.com compares him to Brian Lawrence, and that might not be far from the truth. Speaking of Chris, he’s doing some interesting stuff over there. He’s got his Top 301 prospects for 2002. Several Padres show up here:

• 3. Sean Burroughs, 3B
• 10. Jake Peavy, RHP
• 24. Dennis Tankersley, RHP
• 92. Ben Johnson, OF
• 119. Ramon Vazquez, SS
• 122. Oliver Perez, LHP
• 129. Eric Cyr, LHP
• 155. Mark Phillips, LHP
• 174. Bernabel Castro, 2B
• 180. Xavier Nady, 1B
• 206. Jake Gautreau, 2B
• 226. Justin Germano, RHP
• 236. Ben Howard, RHP

Interesting list. Chris is one of the few who agrees with my preference of Peavy over Tankersley, although again, when comparing those two, it’s splitting hairs. Perez, Cyr, and Castro seem a bit high on this list; Phillips, Nady, and Gautreau a shade low. But it’s a good list, and Chris obviously puts a great deal of thought into his work. You can view all 301 prospects if you’re so inclined.

Chris also has some good stuff over in the Padres team report. The comparisons are interesting: Peavy to David Cone, Tankersley to Matt Morris, Johnson to Brian Jordan, Perez to Andy Pettitte, Cyr to Billy Wagner, Phillips to Mark Langston (I even get a mention for coming up with this one; thanks, Chris!), Vazquez to David Eckstein, Nady to Marcus Giles, and Germano to Lawrence. He doesn’t compare Howard to anyone but I’ll throw out a name: Robb Nen.

Finally, Mark Jerkatis is working on something he calls his "peak projections." Rather than try to explain it myself, I’ll just recommend you head on over and read about it yourself. He’s definitely whetted my appetite.

And speaking of folks doing some cool work, Rany Jazayerli at Baseball Prospectus is exploring something he calls "improvement ratio." Again, I take the lazy way out and invite you to read about it yourself. Interesting stuff. I’m not sure what, if any, conclusions can be drawn from this, but I like the way he’s thinking here.

Okay, I could go on for hours; I’ve got plenty more to say but real-life beckons and you’ve probably had enough of me by now anyway…