BlackBetsy

Black Betsy will be in the house Saturday and Sunday...I go to most of the Sox games in Baltimore

All in all, I'd agree with his assessment of most guys (I think Honel might be coming back a bit better than he gives him credit for). But I do disagree with who is on the top 20 list. No Sean Tracey, no Bajenaru. Anyway, it's on the first page for now. Link here.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 04:38 PM) Braves Uber-prospect Jeff Francoeur was called up from the Mississippi Braves of the Southern League... AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG --------------------------------------------------------------------- Francoeur 335 40 92 28 2 13 62 21 76 13 .275 .322 .487 Young 314 60 81 30 0 18 48 42 89 15 .258 .352 .525 That's a nice comparison, da Chort. Francoeur performed like Young last year, too, only he did it in the Carolina League instead of the Sally League. I think there will be much more press on Young at the end of the year when the stat-based minor league analysis community looks over the season. I'm impressed by Young and getting more impressed. What we need to see from him more than anything is progress - i.e., getting better month by month as he goes through the minors. I think Chris might be due for a long look at ST 2006. Given Rowand's status, he might be a great possibility to be the starting CF in 2007 if (1) Anderson isn't around; or (2) Anderson can handle a corner OF position offensively.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:59 PM) I also think you'll see Brandon sporting a cutter this spring. The Sox didn't want to do much this spring cause it was kind of the first time around, but now I think they'll agressively work on him because they feel he has a very bright future (rightfully so) and now he's had some time up. This seems important to me. I think you can get up and running a lot quicker on a cutter than you can a change. After all, the change is a pitch you throw slower than your fastball and relies only on deception to be effective (if someone knows a change is coming, and sits on it, it's batting practice). Mentally, I think a pitcher might tend to throw a change out of the zone for that reason - fearing contact. A cutter, however, is only slightly off the fastball speed, has a fastball-like motion, and probably creates less of a mental block. Note how quickly Loaiza picked it up in 2003 and how effective he was with it - he had great confidence from the gitgo in his cutter. I still think Brandon needs a changeup - cutters can be fickle and come and go - but adding a cutter to give him FB / CB / Change / Cutter should give him enough ammo to make the leap. By the way, remember how long it took Garland to get comfortable with his change...now that he is, look what he's doing. (I also think Garland has a + CB that he doesn't use nearly enough as an out pitch).

Yes, Jenks does have 99 mph fastball. But the only thing you need to do to hit a 99 mph fastball is to time it. Ask Paul Konerko. He took turned a Matt Anderson 100 mph fastball around real quick in the 10th inning one game. But that curve is filthy. The last pitch he threw was redickurous - it nearly made a 90-degree angle into the ground five feet in front of the plate and the batter swung at it! If Jenks is going to be dominant, it'll be because of that yakker.

The Count turned in a great outing last night? That was news to me. I saw him give up a couple of gopher balls and walk 3 guys in 6 innings of work. Luckily, Crawford bailed him out by getting picked off in the first (he would have scored ahead of Huff's homer) or his ERA would have went UP in this game. If the Sox have a chance at a game 1 or game 2 starter in the playoffs without destroying the future of the franchise, they should take it. As of this morning, they would face the Red Sox in the ALDS.

You know I just recalled that Young was making the jump from Kannapolis to Birmingham this year rather than from W-S. At 21, he's young for the Southern League (which, IMHO, is the best "prospect" league out there) and his consistent IMPROVEMENT over the course of the season - recall danman's month-by-month HR, BB and K numbers - is extremely impressive. The guy he probably reminds me most of in terms of hitting skills is Mike Cameron. He might have more power than Cameron, though. For comparison, here is Cameron's season at B'Ham in 1995 (at the age of 22): 350 AB, 20 2B, 5 3B, 11 HR, .249/.353/.429 By his 23 year old repeat season at Birmingham, Cameron figured things out to the tune of: 473 AB, 34 2B, 12 3B, 28 HR, .300/.395/.600 I've heard Young can handle the territory in CF...but does he have a chance at being 90% of the defensive CF Cameron is? Cameron is, with Torii Hunter, and a younger Junior Griffey, one of the best defensive CF in the last 20 years.

QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Jul 5, 2005 -> 10:25 PM) What are you stoned... In this situation Thomas is one of the few guys I want to see up there... Not stoned, just experienced with Thomas. But it was mooted b/c Gooch got a single and Frank got to swing away...3 run bomb.

I LOVE it when Guillen doesn't play by the book and lets Gooch hit.

Not sure I want Gooch sacrificing here. I just don't trust Thomas to make contact with runner on 3rd and one out.

I posted my grades on my blog. Link here.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jul 1, 2005 -> 11:41 AM) No one is whining. I think some people just recognize that our offense isn't hitting as well as they should be and think it is a valid concern... Sortable Team Stats: .260 team AVG (ranked 24th in MLB) .323 team OBP (ranked 26th in MLB) *waits for the obligatory, "look at our record!" response* Other people will complain about the fact that you left out runs...I'll complain that you left out slugging. The Sox have turned their hits into more bases by hitting a lot of home runs - more so than similarly averaged teams. It's not particularly clutch, because we are outscoring teams by about a run per game - which is perfectly consistent with a very good team. If the Sox had a team average of .270 with a .333 OBP and .430 SLG (10 points better in all the rate categories), they would be in the top third of the league in all three categories, I believe. That's one more hit per 4 games. But their record wouldn't be much better (if at all) than 53-24. At some point, the extra runs and hits have diminishing returns. The Sox this year have been remarkably consistent in putting up runs - they are not boom and bust like last year - and that has been of tremendous value. Not all runs are created equal. The key to the Sox's success has been pitching. No two ways about it. They will rise and fall on the performance of the pitching staff in the rest of the regular season and the playoffs.

Topic: Edgardo Alfonzo when he comes back from injury. Need: Third Base Likely Cost: Unknown. Joe Crede as a stopgap third baseman...positional prospects may include Ryan Sweeney, Brian Anderson. Pitching prospects may include Brandon McCarthy, Sean Tracey, Gio Gonzalez. Analysis: Alfonzo is 31 and has a $7.5 million per year contract, signed through 2006. He has hit .306/.370/.403 this year in a pitcher's park in San Francisco. Could hit 2nd with high OBP, likely slots in at 6-8. Plays good third base - 5 errors in 56 games in 2005, 12 errors in 129 games in 2004. The key to the deal would be the amount of money San Francisco would take in this deal. Asking the White Sox to take on the remaining $12 million of Alfonzo's contract through '06 could mean that the Giants would settle for Crede and a A- level prospect such as Casey Rogowski or Sean Tracey. Asking the Giants to pick up a substantial portion of the contract will cost the Sox a grade A prospect such as McCarthy, Gonzalez, Anderson, or Sweeney.

Wow....Freddy is probably going to give the Sox a CG right after a 13-inning marathon. That is really clutch pitching & saving the bullpen. Outstanding... a four "not-worthy" performance for Freddy.

Anyone ever figure out what's wrong with Polanco's head? He looks really f'ed up.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jun 30, 2005 -> 12:37 PM) Good lineup to face the lefty. Surprising that Uribe is not in the lineup - he kills Maroth. Ozuna is a bit of an unknown here and I sure don't like him batting leadoff. Would rather have Rowand hit leadoff. Also, AJ is 4 for 10 off of Maroth in his career. Widger is 1 for 5. Small sample size, but I'd like AJ in this situation (except for the fact we are in a day-game-after-a-long-night-game situation).

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Jun 30, 2005 -> 11:14 AM) Podsednik needs to take a seat today after that butcher job in CF yesterday. DirecTV was out (bad storms in NoVa) yesterday....so I didn't see what Pods did or did not do. Did he screw up on Shelton's triple?

I don't mind re-signing Paulie at the right price. But that price is not Richie Sexson's price or Carlos Delgado's price. The right price is about what Paulie makes now - $8 million. The right term is about 3 years. Paulie should have about that left in the tank before he degrades. It's likely that Paulie will degrade really, really fast, too.

QUOTE(Yoda @ Jun 30, 2005 -> 10:42 AM) ^^^^ First time I use that smilie. BTW, Freddy is pretty much undefeatable when pitching on daylight. He looked awesome against the Cubs at the Cell and he is pitching this afternoon in a pitchers park. I just hope the Sox don’t take the Tigers lightly because they already won the series. They need to stack up as many W’s as possible. Wow, all sorts of jinxes going on in that post...using the sweep smilie, saying that Freddy is "pretty much undefeatable" [is that a word? ]... The Sox just need to play their game today. If it's good enough to win, great. It also surprises me that Maroth has a winning record versus the Sox. That's actually pathetic given the unbalanced schedule & how bad the Tigers have been.

QUOTE(OfficerKarkovice @ Jun 29, 2005 -> 04:52 PM) Just got back from the Twins - Royals game...wow they look bad. The Twins?

I like this move for both teams. It gets the Mets an "elite" corner OF bat to go along with Cliff Floyd, making it much easier to carry a weak 1B position. Yankees get a MUCH better defensive outfield in Matsui-Cameron+LF and also move their weak position to LF, which is much easier to find on the trade market. The Yankees aren't done. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to trade for any number of people in the last year of their deals /tradeable: Carlos Lee Aubrey Huff Jay Gibbons Matt Lawton (?) an outfield of Huff-Cameron-Matsui is pretty solid defensively (with Huff being the weak spot) and relatively productive. With Jeter/Rodriguez as your left side of the infield, you don't need much help offensively. The problem is that Pavano sucks, Wright is out (and sucked before that), and Johnson and Mussina are a year older. That starting pitching isn't getting any better and without a farm system, they aren't going to get a good starter on the trade market.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Jun 28, 2005 -> 10:52 PM) The Royals just can't keep a lead. Thank God for that.

QUOTE(WSoxMatt @ Jun 25, 2005 -> 09:23 AM) Perfect example is the Pods/Lee trade. Lee is exactly what Milwaukee needed and is lighting it up, Pods is awesome, Vizcaino is spotty at best and with the $$$ we saved by trading Lee, we also got 7-2 Orlando Hernandez!!! And AJ Pierzynski...who may be the Sox MVP thus far.

I saw Morse play live a few weeks ago. He's an absolute butcher in the field and probably belongs at 3B or even in the outfield. He wasn't even hitting well in AA, so if he keeps it up, I'll be surprised. But, if he does turn out to be a great hitting shortstop, I can't blame Kenny Williams. He certainly showed no signs of it in the Sox organization. And, to tell you the truth, he really didn't show signs of it in the Mariners organization.

I pull Garcia here. Although he's only at 93 pitches and can probably take the 8th, it would be useful to get some work for Shingo and maybe even -shudder to think - Vizcaino.