SouthSide2004

I am waiting for my buddy to get back with the CD, but I've heard several songs on the Massacre. So far, I must say I'm a little dissapointed, especially since there are only two Dre beats. Also, "Gatman and Robin" is just straight annoying. To be honest, I think "How We Do" and "Hate it or Love it" could have been the two best songs on the Massacre, especially since I don't like the remix of the ladder. Oh well, The Documentary is the s*** anyways.

I been trying to figure out who will be the starters for each of our farm teams this upcoming season, and was hoping some of the experts here could throw in their opinions. Thanks.

Does anyone happen to know who the PTBNL was in this trade?

AnthraxFan, you need watch a couple of baseball games before you start making all these outlandish comments. Throughout this entire thread, I have not witnessed one intelligent comment from you. And I still can't believe you think the Sox have anywhere near 40 million dollars to spend. Try using addition in the future before making such a stupid statement.

I totally agree with you on Young. Webster has pretty good physical skills, but Young is just in an entirely different league. His combination of speed and power is off the charts for a 20 year old. Not only does he have 14 homers, he also has 21 doubles. Imagine the power he will have three or four years down the road when he fully develops his strength. While his strikeouts are a concern, he is walking more than enough to counter that problem. Honestly, I think he has the highest ceiling among all of our outfielders, but he needs to become a better pure hitter if he wants to reach it.

Yah, I would have bet that Gio is going to Kannapolis to start the season. I'm also thinking Whissler will going there too. Should be interesting to see how this shakes up our A ball rotations. It seems that Tracey and Lumsden are the only locks in Winston-Salem's rotation. If both Gio and Whissler are sent to low A, some moves are going to have to be made to solve the logjam. I could see either Miller or McCarthy being moved up to Winston-Salem to open up a spot in Kannapolis' rotation. Whatever they do, our pitching depth in the low minors will be much better than it was coming into the season.

I have been keeping track of players who have officially been assigned to Great Falls so far. Here's my list: Catchers: Donny Lucy, Matt Deuchler and Josh Hansen Infielders: Chris Kelley, Layne Berry, Derek McNeil, Caleb Cooper and Mario Suarez Outfielders: Thomas Collaro, Jhonny Rivera, Scott Martin, Daron Roberts and Ferny Alvarez Rotation: Boone Logan and Sony Suarez for sure, and then probably Matt Nachreiner, Ray Liotta and Adam Russell (depending on what happens with Wissler and Grant Hansen) Bullpen: Kyle Kane (rehab), Jeff Little, Sean Thompson, Gary Bakker, Eric Everly, JD Johnson, Rylan Reed, Demetrius Banks, Matt Zeleski, Travis Doyle, Gerron McGary and John Egbert. I am sure some of these guys will get sent down to Bristol at some point, but all these players have been mentioned by the Great Falls Tribune as being on the team.

Got this from the Great Falls Tribune today: Chris Kelly had a pretty good summer for himself all in one inning last Aug. 19. Right. One little old inning. In fact, when Kelly had a bases-loaded double and a bases-loaded triple in the first inning of a game against the Casper Rockies last year in August, he accounted for six of his 40 RBIs on the season. He finished 5-for-6 with eight ribbies in that amazing August evening as the White Sox slugged past Casper 17-11. Make no mistake, it's a highlight Kelly won't ever forget. But the perfectionist from Pepperdine, a sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft, also recalls this: "I was like 3-for-24 going into that game," he said. "So I guess it was my turn to have a good day." This year, Kelly hopes to spread out his production -- and keep the hits coming throughout the Pioneer League's 76-game schedule. "Chris is solid, a real professional hitter," said Great Falls manager John Orton after putting his team through a long workout Tuesday afternoon at Legion Park. The White Sox, with Kelly at first base, are preparing for their Pioneer opener Friday night against the visiting Missoula Osprey. "He's the guy over there at first, and obviously we're looking for big things from him. He's really got a good idea at the plate." The Sox had other ideas last year, though, about where Kelly fit into the organization. He was tried first in the outfield as the organization, mindful of a need to develop power-hitting flychasers, tried to put a round peg into a square hole. This year, Kelly is back where he feels he belongs. "It's where I'm most comfortable," he said. Earlier this spring Kelly was at Single-A Kannapolis, where he mostly warmed the pine. When he received word that another summer in the Pioneer League was in store, it was a bittersweet moment. "Nobody wants to go down," he said. "But then I sat back and realized 'Hey, I'm going to Great Falls and it's a good place with good people. The atmosphere of the city and the ballpark is real nice to be around.' So I hope to take advantage of the situation." Kelly figures to anchor the Great Falls infield. With experienced players like Scott Martin, Jhonny Rivera and Tom Collaro in the outfield, perhaps this club will be an offensive-minded team. "I think we're going to play good baseball," Kelly said. "We're playing for them, but we're playing for ourselves too. ... I think we have a respectable team now and I think it will be a real respectable team at the end of the year." Meanwhile Tuesday, several players turned in better than respectable efforts during simulated-game situations. Collaro showed some prodigious power, and pitchers Demetrius Banks, Kyle Kane, Jeff Little and Sean Thompson each turned in impressive outings. Banks, a slender 6-foot southpaw, displayed an especially live arm. "I just try to throw it, not blow it by people," Banks said. "I just try to hit my spots." Banks, 20, hasn't posted great numbers since the White Sox tabbed him in the 13th round of the 2002 draft out of Chattahoochee Valley (Ala.) Community College. "It's taken me some time to get used to everything and get my stuff together," Banks said. "I'm trying to learn how to pitch the right way." So far so good, said Orton. "Banks has a good arm, and he's deceptive too," Orton said. "He's one of the guys who really improves just about every day, and that's what you're looking for -- guys that start to figure it out and all of a sudden take off. He might be at that point. We'll see." Orton said he likes the looks of his club so far. "We've got some athletes, and they're smart kids," he said. "And that will take you a long way." NOTES: Several recently drafted players will soon join their Great Falls teammates. Catchers Donny Lucy of Stanford (2nd round) and Josh Hansen of the University of San Diego (24th), and outfielder Daron Roberts of Cal State San Bernardino (12th) and right-handed pitcher Adam Russell of Ohio University (6th) were scheduled to arrive in Great Falls Tuesday night. Right-hander John Egbert (13th) of Rutgers is to arrive today, while right-hander Garry Bakker of the University of North Carolina (11th) and left-hander Ray Liotta of Gulf Coast (Fla.) CC (2nd) will get to town on Friday. ... Kevin Pillifant, a former college baseball player at NAIA Bluefield (Va.), is the trainer for the Great Falls club. ... The White Sox are scheduled to practice at Legion Park this afternoon at 1, a workout that will probably last at least three hours. ... Tommy Thompson, Chicago's veteran minor-league catching coordinator, is a former hard-hitting minor-league catcher who at age 45 is plenty fit. Thompson was giving the business to a local reporter Tuesday for detailing in the paper the exploits of Great Falls hitting coach Mark Haley, a former Nebraska Cornhusker star. Thompson, you see, is a former Oklahoma Sooner. And the Sooners and Huskers haven't always gotten along so well. Based on this, it appears Russell is all locked up. Not sure how reliable this newspaper is, but this article has some interesting information.

Yah, I would lean that way too Rex, especially since he has a good amount of experience in the bullpen. On a different note, I got a question for you about the Baron's rotation. What do you think is going to happen when Honel and Wing come off the DL? With Munoz, Phillips , Meaux and Yofu all pitching well, a good starter is going to be squeezed from the rotation. Also, did you catch Ulacia's start against the Diamondjacks the other day? From the box score, it looks like he pitched like he did a couple of years ago. That pitching staff just has so many great arms it blows my mind.

I agree, although Hudson has been doing pretty good down there in Kannapolis' bullpen, so he might do a good job as well. I'm hoping Espinal will get a promotion when he returns, cause Kris Keller hasn't really shown enough to prove he belongs in AA over Espinal.

Just noticed on the Knights media page that Jon Aceves is taking Burke's spot on Charlotte's roster. Also, curious to hear what other people think will happen to the Knight's rotation now that Wright will be joining it. Obviously, Diaz and Rauch will keep their spots, but any of the other three starters are fair game to lose their's in my opinion.

I'm listening to the game right now, and the announcer just mentioned that Jeremy Hudson was called up from Kannapolis to replace Jose Espinal who was put on the DL. He also noted that Rick Hummel, Jose Mieses and Ryan Wade are also on the DL.

Hey Brando, this is the guy you wanted to replace Crede with at 3B. So you better stop ripping him unless you want to look like a bigger asshole.

Read today in a Winston-Salem newspaper that the Warthogs released Troy Cameron. The move opens up a spot for Andy, which means he's probably sticking around for a while. Personally, letting him play everyday, even if most of the starts come at third is a good idea. Hopefully he takes advantage of the opportunity the Sox are giving him.

Konerko isn't a free agent until after the 2005 season. He signed a three year deal that started in 2003 and will make $8.75 million in 2005.

It's really hard to say at this point. He's 26 years old (and turns 27 later this year) and is pitching in high-A. He was a first round supplemental draft pick, but he has always had control problems until recently. In my opinion, he is going to need dominate for the Warthogs so he can move up to at least AA this year. Otherwise, I see White Sox giving up on him after this season.

Here's the list without Shingo Takatsu (he was #8 before): 1. Jeremy Reed, OF (AAA) 2. Kris Honel, RHP (AA) 3. Neal Cotts, LHP (M) 4. Ryan Sweeney, OF (A+) 5. Joe Borchard, OF (AAA) 6. Ryan Wing, LHP (AA) 7. Brian Anderson, OF (A+) 8. Chris Young, OF (A) 9. Arnie Munoz, LHP (AA) 10. Brandon McCarthy, RHP (A) 11. Brian Miller, RHP (A) 12. Robert Valido, SS (A) 13. Jon Rauch, RHP (AAA) 14. Enemencio Pacheco, RHP (AAA) 15. Fabio Castro, LHP (A) 16. Mike Morse, SS (AA) 17. Felix Diaz, RHP (AAA) 18. Ryan Meaux, LHP (AA) 19. Pedro Lopez, 2B/SS (A+) 20. Micah Schnurstein, 3B (A) 21. Corwin Malone, LHP (DL) 22. Antoin Gray, 2B (A) 23. Ricardo Nanita, OF (A+) 24. Andy Gonzalez, SS (A) 25. Tim Tisch, LHP (A) 26. Ruddy Yan, 2B (AA) 27. Josh Stewart, LHP (AAA) 28. Orionny Lopez, RHP (Ro) 29. Jason Stumm, RHP (A+) 30. Todd Deininger, RHP (A)

I agree that the Sox need to spend more money on the team if they want more fans to come to the park. But going out and spending wildly isn't going to gurantee we make the playoffs, just look at the Rangers and Mets. Kenny has already spent well over the team's budget of $58 million, showing that Jerry is willing to spend extra money when needed. Look at what the attendence was for last year (not good) and now look at what our payroll is for this year (5th in the AL, 1st in AL Central). You can't expect him to just go out and increase the payroll by $20 million when attendence is low and there's no gurantee to make the playoffs. If we are in the playoff race close to the deadline, Jerry will spend the extra money to improve the team. I wish he would spend the money before the season begins, but until attendence consistently improves, it's not going to happen. Making the playoffs this year would allow the payroll for 2005 to increase, and along with shedding the contracts of Valentin and Koch, allow the Sox to go out and get the players we need to consistently win.

Fabio Castro is ranked as our 16th ranked prospect by Baseball America. He's a 19 year old lefty from the Dominican Republic, who pitched for the Bristol White Sox and the Kannapolis Intimidators last year. For Bristol, Fabio pitched in 19 games as a reliever and went 6-2 with a 1.72 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 47 innings. For Kannapolis, he made two starts and went 0-2 with a 3.27 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 11 innings. Here is what Baseball America had to say about him: If his talent came in a bigger package, Castro already would have become a highly touted prospect. Don't be surprised if he emerges as one in the next couple of years. All the undersized lefthander has done for the last two years is get outs, first in the Rookie-level Domincan Summer League and then as an 18-year-old in the Appalachian League, where he faced mostly hitters coming from college. Castro has very good command of an 89-91 mph fastball, a breaking ball and a changeup. His secondary pitches need more consistency, as is typical with young pitchers. He made two late-season starts for in low Class A, impressing with his poise as much as his stuff. Should he catch a growth spurt, he could turn into a monster. He'll return to Kannapolis in 2004 and could get a full-time look as a starter.

I am sorry about that, I meant to say he was converted to a pitcher in one of the past two seasons. Both Castro and Reynoso were converted from position players to pitchers, Reynoso a starter and Castro a reliever. Castro pitched in relief for both Kannapolis and Winston-Salem last year. He had a 3.38 ERA in 29.1 innings with an impressive 44 strikeouts for Kannapolis. He did even better in Winston-Salem where he had a 1.01 ERA in 35.2 innings with 26 strikeouts.

The rotation, in my opinion, is the worst of the four teams. Purvis was one of our first round picks from the infamous 1999 draft (along with Jason Stumm, Matt Ginter and Brian West) and was the only one who seriously struggled in the minors. Now, at the age of 26 (almost 27), he looks like he has figured out how to pitch, but it is probably too late for him unless he dominates and can make it up to AAA by the end of the year. Byeong An, 23, actually made it to AA last year and pitched pretty well. He kind of got caught up in a numbers game, but needs dominate in his second season for the Warthogs if he wants to make a name for himself. BJ Lamura, 23, is probably the best overall pitching prospect in the rotation. He was a fifth round pick a couple of years ago and has pretty good stuff. I believe he had problems with his control last year with Kannapolis, but he could be poised for a breakout season. Nik Lubisich, 24, is a left-handed swingman. He has had some success in past seasons as both a starter and a reliever, but he doesn't have a really high upside. Sean Tracey, 23, is a interesting prospect. He started last year in Kannapolis, struggled and was sent down to Great Falls where he did much better. From what I heard, he has good stuff, but it's still strange that he was sent to Winston-Salem this year. He could really go either way this year, but I gotta think the White Sox have a reason to move him high A ball. The bullpen has some really good arms in it. Rick Hummel, the brother of former White Sox Tim Hummel, has a blazing fastball and will probably be the closer. He pitched really well last year and could move to AA pretty fast. Jason Stumm and Julio Castro are the top two setup men, and two of the better reliever prospects in the system. Castro was converted to a starter in the past few years, so he should continue to get better and better. The other guy worth watching is Paulino Reynoso, who is making the transition from starter to reliever. He might turn out to be a stud left-hander in the bullpen, and he might return to the rotation if one of the other pitchers struggle.

Here's is a link for a pretty good Winston-Salem newspaper website for anyone who is interested: Winston-Salem Journal An article from a couple days ago listed the starting lineup for opening day along with the regular season rotation. Here's what they had: 1. Ricardo Nanita, LF 2. Pedro Lopez, SS 3. Ryan Sweeney, RF 4. Brian Anderson, CF 5. Casey Rogowski, 1B 6. Brian Becker, DH 7. Troy Cameron, 3B 8. Carlos Lee, C 9. Chris Amador, 2B #1: Rob Purvis #2: Byeong An #3: BJ Lamura #4: Nik Lubisich #5: Sean Tracey A couple of interesting things that I noticed. First, I am glad to see that they are showing a lot of respect towards the younger guys like Anderson, Sweeney, Nanita and Lopez. This should give them a great chance to have big seasons. Another interesting thing is that Chris Amador is starting at 2B and Carlos Lee is starting at C. Amador has always been an extremely athletic player with an insane amount of speed, so it's nice to see he will be given a chance to prove his worth. Lee starting surprises me because the other catcher, Wally Rosa, played the entire season last year with Winston-Salem. Hopefully, Lee can be a good offensive player coming out of the catcher spot. The one thing that seems really strange to me is that Paulino Reynoso is not in the rotation. He was converted to a pitcher in one of the past two years, and he did pretty well for Kannapolis last season. He has pretty good stuff for a lefty, but maybe they think he would make a better reliever. I would love to hear anybody else's thoughts on the team.

For those of you who live outside of Chicago and have digital cable, there is a free preview for MLB Season Ticket until Sunday.

I'm not exactly sure why it hasn't been officially released yet, but from what I've read on this site and a Birmingham newspaper, the roster is pretty much set. I think there was one too many players on the Barons' roster and Josh Schaffer was the guy they ended up releasing. The tentative Barons' roster: Pitchers: Wyatt Allen, Jeff Bajenaru, Jim Bullard, Josh Fields, Kris Honel, Kris Keller, Brian McNichol, Ryan Meaux, Arnie Munoz, Heath Phillips, Matt Smith, Dennis Ulacia, Ryan Wing and Tetsu Yofu. Catchers: Jonathan Aceves, Carlos Maldonado and Chris Stewart. Infielders: Aaron McNeal, Mike Morse, Guillermo Reyes, Robert Sasser and Ruddy Yan. Outfielders: Darren Blakely, Micah Franklin, Nate Murphy and Mike Spidale. This is the roster from the newspaper article. If you want to read the rest of the article click here: Strong-armed Barons headed for the Met

Thanks a lot Brandon, I really appreciate the info. Good luck against Lakewood this weekend.