After reading this Fanshot, I thought this might be a fun thread. We've all heard the generic "If you could take 5 albums to a desert island to listen to for the rest of your life, which ones would you take?"

This might be a tired question, but it's still kinda fun to answer and I always enjoy seeing other peoples choices.

Rules:

1. Double albums count as (1) selection
2. No "Best Of" compilations
3. (5) total albums
4. No music dick waving! We all like different sounds.

What five albums would you take?

Mine:

1.

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

I'm a big fan of electronic music and this is one of my favorites and a classic. They don't make music like this any more, dense, moody, ambient, dancey at spots, kinda dreamy and rhythmic. Xtal and Tha are probably my favorite tracks. The rumor is that Richard D. James made portions of this album when he was 13 or 14 years old.

2.

Boards of Canada - Music has the Right to Children

Another classic that changed the way people thought about IDM in the 90s. Instead of glitchy and hyperactive, Boards release an album that was warm, nostalgic, tonal, and inviting. Tons of samples spliced in among tones and textures, love it. I still can't get over how great this album is nearly 10 years later.

3.

Radiohead - OK Computer

This album probably changed the way I thought about music. I'd never heard an album before that drew such emotions out of me like OK Computer did. I was a big fan of Radiohead, discovering The Bends in the mid-90's, but OKC is an epic album. The production, song writing, music, and most of all, the emotion that is contained in this record is jaw-dropping. Favorite songs The Tourist, No Surprises, and Let Down.

4.

Dr. Octagon - Octagonecologyst

Kool Keith and Automater hook up for one of the most diverse sounding records ever. Automator's production is splendid and meshes with Keith's weird, space alien influenced, doo-doo obsessed, time traveling flows. Great hip-hop record.

5.

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers

The greatest hip-hop record ever, in my opinion. It was tough to choose a final album, but I have so many good memories with this album that I had to include it. The album is almost 15-years-old and the production still strikes me as stark, unique, and creative. Then, add in maybe the most talented group of rappers ever and you've got the best hip-hop record ever recorded. Can't It All Be So Simple, C.R.E.A.M., and Shame on a Nigga are some of my favorites.

With the addition of Posey, Crawford, Kieschnick, and some other draftees that have just been signed, I thought it would be a fun debate to try and rank the top-10 prospects for the Giants farm system. In years past, this would have been a painful activity, but things are looking better now down on the farm.

Here's my list with small blurbs on each player.

1. LHP Madison Bumgarner - Has dominated A-ball in Augusta. Plus velocity from the left-side, pinpoint control, and a developing slurvy breaking pitch. One of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

2. C Buster Posey - Everyone knows what he did in his junior year at Florida State; he hit: (.463/.566/.879) with 26 HR’s. A Golden Spikes winner, Posey is very athletic and entered college as a shortstop. Some question how well his power will translate — most see him as more of a 10-15 HR guy than 20+ HR guy — to the majors, but he’s one of the “safest” picks in the ‘08 draft in terms of reaching a sustainable ceiling.

3. RHP Tim Alderson - Tim 2.0 has responded extremely well to the challenge the Giants set forth to him; skipping a high school draftee straight to the California League is something you don’t often see. Watching him survive a hitters league and flourish is also out of the ordinary. But, the Giants were very impressed with the polish that Alderson had coming out of high school. He leads the Cal League in FIP at the age of 19 and is third in K%.

4. 1B Angel Villalona - Lots of power and still very, very young. He just turned 18 and has been competing for most of the year as a 17-year-old in the South Atlantic League where the average age of the competition is 21-years-old. He’s striking out a good bit, K% of 24.8, but scouts still love where he’s at in his development. Leads the Greenjackets in HR’s.

5. 1B/C Pablo Sandoval - Out of any Giants prospect, Pablo may have taken the biggest step forward this year. He carried his power surge from San Jose in ‘07 over into this year, posting ISOP’s of .200 or greater across two levels of A and AA baseball. He’s a switch-hitter and can handle both 1B and catching duties. For a system that’s lacked hitters near the upper-levels, Pablo has been a diamond in the rough. He should make his debut tonight against the Astros.

6. 3B Conor Gillaspie - Currently in the AZL, Gillaspie profiles as a solid contact hitting 3B. He probably won’t develop much power but he should hit and hit a lot of doubles. The Giants have had talks about moving him to 2B, but the system is thinner at 3B, so he’ll probably get every chance to play himself out of that position.

7. 2B Nick Noonan - I’m not thrilled with Noonan’s microscopic walk rate, his BB% is currently at 3.7%, but it’s his first full-season of pro-ball outside of high school, so he gets a little slack. He would benefit from cutting his K’s down, his K% is currently at 18.4%, but he still profiles as a 2B that can hit a little and run a little. There are a couple of things I don’t like about Noonan, but I can chalk it up to “he’s still young” for now.

8. RHP Henry Sosa - Sosa has battled some injury problems this year, his season was delayed from knee surgery but when he’s right the tall lanky pitcher works in the mid-90’s and has a plus curveball. His K% is strong at 24% and I still love his arm. I think he’s a prospect that you can’t really judge by his performance this year but by the overall package.

9. OF Wendell Fairley - Fairley might have the highest ceiling of any Giants prospect currently in the farm system. His start was delayed this year because of some health issues but he’s finally getting regular playing time in the AZL. His batting line of: ( .241/.371/.324) isn’t dominating, but he’s getting playing time to develop and that’s the most important thing.

10. OF Rafael Rodriguez - An international signing from this year, Rodriguez became the highest paid international talent that the Giants have ever signed. The 16-year-old inked a deal for $2.55M, surpassing the $2.1M that Villalona got in ‘06. The reports on him are vague, he’s got great raw power, but his hitting mechanics need work. He should be a strong fielder in a corner OF spot, sporting a strong throwing arm and good speed to cover ground. He’s had comparisons to Dave Winfield and Vlad, which both should be taken with grains ‘o salt. The Giants hope that Rodriguez can see a little time in the AZL this year and he’ll start ‘09 as his first full pro-season.

Just missed: Nate Schierholtz, Roger Kieschnick, Brandon Crawford, Jesse English, Travis Ishikawa, Kevin Pucetas, Ben Snyder, Clayton Tanner, and Joe Martinez.

After I did my list, I think I might have ranked Nate too low, he didn't make the top-10. So, you could swap him out with Noonan if you wanted and I wouldn't have a problem with that.

So, let's hear it, who's on your list. Is Posey #1 now? Mabe Bumgarner or Alderson? I'm interested to see your guys lists.

I was running through BB-Ref's awesome PI index this morning for fun and I came accross some interesting numbers on Tim Lincecum*. So, I thought I'd share them with McC.

*Note, this isn't a TIM IS BETTER THAN MATT post, so don't take it that way. Both are very good pitchers.

I love looking at historical numbers like this. I'm blown away by the amount of innings that guys like Christy Mathewson threw. Of course the baseball environment in which Mathewson played was radically different than it is today, or in any era, but throwing 390.2 innings in a season is cool to think about.

Tim Lincecum had another very, very solid performance. Lincecum’s final line was:

8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 SO

Tim lowered his ERA to 2.68 and raised his ERA+ to 160. Among all major league pitchers with at least 140 innings pitched and ranked by ERA+, Tim is currently 4th. Only Cliff Lee, Danny Haren, and Carlos Zambrano have had better years. If the season ended right now, Linecum’s ERA+ would be good enough to place him 5th all-time since 1956 for Giants starters. Think about how amazing that is. Those four guys in front of him?

Cnt    Player    **ERA+**   IP  Year Age
+----+-----------+------+-----+----+---+
1 Jason Schmidt    179   207.2 2003  30
2 Juan Marichal    169   295.1 1965  27
3 Juan Marichal    168   299.2 1969  31
4 Juan Marichal    167   307.1 1966  28

If you ranked Giants pitchers since 1956 by ERA+ who were 24-years-old or younger and who threw at least 140 innings.

Cnt    Player      **ERA+** IP   Year Age
+----+------------+------+-----+----+---+
1 Tim Lincecum       160   157.2 2008  24
2 Bob Knepper        131   260   1978  24
3 Shawn Estes        130   201   1997  24
4 Mike McCormick     129   253   1960  21
5 Jim Barr           123   179   1972  24

Since 1956, Tim Lincecum is having the best season of any young Giants pitcher, ever. Bob Knepper went 17-11 in 1978. We’ve got a Shawn Estes sighting for his 1997 All-Star season. Mike McCormick and Jim Barr are also well known Giants pitchers. Let’s increase our range and go from 1876-2008 and look at the Giants franchise. Same parameters of innings pitched, age, and ranked by ERA+

Cnt    Player      **ERA+** IP   Year Age
+----+------------+------+-----+----+---+
1 Christy Mathewson  230   338.2 1905  24
2 Amos Rusie         189   444   1894  23
3 Johnny Antonelli   177   258.2 1954  24
4 Jeff Tesreau       173   243   1912  24
5 Tim Lincecum       160   157.2 2008  24
6 Hal Schumacher     148   258.2 1933  22
7 Christy Mathewson  147   366.1 1903  22
8 Amos Rusie         144   482   1893  22
9 Christy Mathewson  138   336   1901  20
10 Rube Marquard     134   277.2 1911  24

Christy Mathewson, greatest young Giants pitcher, ever? Lincecum’s having a good year, but I don’t think he’s going to catch Mathewson’s 230 ERA+ 1905 season. In fact, Mathewson makes this list 3 times. He’s also the youngest player in our top-10 of young greats. At the tender age of 20 Mathewson went 20-17 with a 2.41 ERA. Johnny Antonelli is an interesting player. He debuted in 1948 as an 18-year-old with the Boston Braves. In 1954, he was traded from the Milwaukee Braves along with Billy Klaus, Don Liddle, Ebba St. Claire — great baseball name — and cash to the New York Giants for Bobby Thompson and Sam Calderone. In that ‘54 season Antonelli went 21-7 with a 2.30 ERA. For those looking for Matt Cain, his 2007 season at age 22 places him 26th on this list.

Our list is rounded out with Amos Rusie, Jeff Tesreau, Hal Schumacher, and Rube Marquard (another great baseball name). Regardless of where Lincecum ends up in Giants history, it’s amazing how well he’s done in such a short time.

I'm stuck at a conference right now (I get to hear Jant Reno speak tomorrow, I'm pumped about that) so let's post pictures of ourselves ON THE INTERNETS.

I've seen what some of you freaks look like but it's always amusing to connect a face to a name.

Here's me in my STATS LAIR (A Marriot). Currently waiting for my next presentation.

Feel free to make fun of my face.

Listening to KNBR at work and they just reported that Lincecum was taken out of his hotel room on a stretcher because of flu-like symptoms. He also apparently didn't take part in the red carpet walk where the all the athletes walk the carpet.

Has anyone else heard this? If so, that sucks, he was one of the few reasons I had to watch the ASG.

Get better, Tim! And I hope it's nothing serious.