No Exception to this Rule (V)

Gotta hand to it Dr. Phil -- he’s one of the more consistent writers out there.

Both the Cubs and the White Sox lost players in this year’s Rule V draft. Dr. Phil doesn’t seem too interested in the guy the Sox lost, but has enough space to give a capsule scouting report on the former Cub, and even mentions the players the Cubs chose to protect instead of this guy.

Just setting up one of Dr. Phil’s favorite scripts: the one about the great minor league pitchers the Cubs were too dumb to hang on to.

Somehow, I’m reminded of last year’s Rule V draft. Dr. Phil went on about what a great prospect the Cardinals plucked out of the Cub’s minor league system.

The Cardinals wound up returning that great prospect to the Cubs before the end of training camp. Dr. Phil, of course, couldn’t be bothered to mention this until the young man was called up to Chicago late in the season. Then, of course, Dr. Phil was only too happy to talk about the rumors that the Cardinals sent him back because they weren’t happy with the former prospect’s work ethic.

It was a whirlwind summer for young Juan Mateo -- from non-entity to top prospect to shiftless bum in the course of eight months. But that’s how you roll in Dr. Phil's world...