Prospectin'

I still have Disney World on my brain. One of the nicest rides we had this weekend was on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We really had fun on that one - plus, there was no line so we pretty much walked right on.

The train is in Frontierland, which sets the mood for Baseball America releasing its list of top 100 prospects. I'm pleased with the SoxandPhils representation. I get just as proud with the organizational success of our teams as their on-field accomplishments.

The Phillies Domonic Brown (15) tops the SoxandPhils contingency, followed by the Red Sox quartet of Ryan Westmoreland (21), Casey Kelly (24), Josh Reddick (75) and Lars Anderson (87).

The Phillies also have Phillippe Aumont (93) on the list.

What's more impressive is that they had a decent showing on the list when each team has dealt away prospects in recent years. Former SoxandPhils farmhands include former future Phils Kyle Drabek (25), Michael Taylor (29), Jason Knapp (64) and Travis d’Arnaud (81), and former future Sox Nick Hagadone (44).

Not on the list is Brad Wilkerson, although he was ranked in 2001 (35) and 2002 (63) when he was an up-and-coming Expo. He was in Red Sox camp last year, but retired after two games in the minors. Now, he's with the Phillies. Christine thinks this line explains the move: Wilkerson is "a close friend of Phillies backup catcher Brian Schneider."

In my Baseball Mogul game, team happiness matters, and sometimes you have to acquire a player's friend to make him happy and improve team chemistry. We hope Brian Schneider is happy now.

[Photo credit: CoasterGallery.com]

Christmas is over, slow days resume ...

But in case you forgot, the Phillies were the top Philadelphia sports story in 2008. Just to be certain, though, Christine will soon pop in one of her DVDs to make sure they still win it all.

More Teixeira: The Globe profiled Lars Anderson, a top hitting prospect whose arrival in Boston may be pushed up because Mark Teixeira decided to play for the bucks, not trophies.

And, Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus has a pretty good take on what effect the Empire's spending spree will have on the AL East. Basically, the two powerhouses are now even: The Yankees will have the better offense, the Red Sox have the better defense. And the team that actually won the division in 2008?

Both are ahead of the Rays, who are likely to regress a bit in '09 before being scary good in the years that follow.

Yup, 2009 hasn't even started and the analysts are already writing off the AL champs, just like they did for all of 2008.

Personal note: I retired Mo Vaughn today.