Rex Hudler

Crede was the MVP of two different leagues. That is real potential, and has NOTHING to do with the White Sox selling him as anything. Borchard hit .295 with 27 HR and 98, while drawing 67 BB in his first full professional season at AA. I'm sorry he hasn't panned out as you hoped, but those numbers sell themselves. HE created the expectations, not a great sales job by the Sox. Garland, while it is disappointing that he hasn't seemed to improve a lot, is still just 24. In comparison, Curt Schilling was still splitting time between AAA and the Majors (for the 4th straight year) at 24. At 27, Schilling was 2-8 with a 4.48 ERA and peripherals no better or worse than Garland's. Garland was a first round draft pick who has always received rave reviews from scouts throughout baseball, not just the Sox. Hate the organization all you want, but try and look at things objectively once in a while. Not all prospects pan out. EVERY team has "can't miss" prospects that do miss. The Sox are no different. But the Sox aren't trying to brainwash you just to save a few bucks.

whatever!

This should be no surprise at all.

Why Killa? Until this year, Beltre wasn't much better than Crede. Crede may never hit .330, but if he puts it all together, I can definitely see him hit .300/35/110. Keep in mind, until this year, Dodgers fans were saying the same things about Beltre that Sox fans are saying about Crede now. Perhaps Beltre's ceiling is higher, but I would not be shocked at all if in two years, Crede has better numbers than Beltre.

I agree with you. I totally spaced on the top 10 possibility. If that were not the case, then I would sit him, because I think that when one looks back, there is a perceptual difference between .310 and .308. Obviously the perceived difference would be much greater between .298 and .300, but you get the point. But since there is something to shoot for Sunday, then by all means, write his name in the lineup and let's watch him go 3-4.

Time to play thread police.......... Christ, there is a whole other thread about Grilli. Why must you guys talk about him there? I know keeping a discussion in the proper thread is a novel concept, but perhaps, just perhaps I ACTUALLY WANTED TO KNOW HOW BAJ PITCHED TONIGHT!!!! Gracias amigos

I have no problem with that. I didn't realize he was still that close.

You'll have the whole offseason to get over it.

If he earns it, sure.

It's not that I didn't like Weeks, I guess I just expected more.

Rowand back up to .310. I'd give him the day off tomorrow. But that is just me.

I'll be surprised if Beltre ever duplicates this season again. My best guess is he signs a big fat contract and then goes back to being very human.

He has already fallen below .310 and it is doubtful he could fall below .300 so play him. If he gets 2 or 3 hits tonight and goes back abvoe .310, I would consider sitting him tomrrow.

Marte - Due to lovely unbalanced scheduling, the G-Braves were only in Birmingham once and in mid-April. Marte started off slowly so I didn't really get to see him do much. He's a pretty big guy but to be honest with you nothing really stood out about him when I saw him. He had a solid year and was young for the league. I think he'll see a year in AAA before there is talk of him taking over 3B in Atlanta. He doesn't turn 21 until later this month. Barfield - Definitely has pop. He really struggled this year, hitting .248 and striking out 119 times, but still managed 18 HR and 90 RBI. He was only 21. There is definite talent there, but like a lot of hitters, he could walk more and strike out less. Weeks - I was really disappointed in Weeks. Granted it was his first full season of pro ball, but I didn't see a lot of improvement. He was at .262 on May 20 and finished the season at .259. He walked a reasonable amount (55 times in 479 AB), but the rest of his game was average for such a highly regarded player. He did have 35 doubles, 6 triples and 8 HR so he has some pop. I just expected him to be on more of a fast track. Fielder - I liked what I saw in Fielder. He started the year at 19 and turned 20 in May. Being 20 and skipping high A, I believe his struggles were justified. But despite struggling somewhat and never really being a dominant player in the league, he ended up at .272 with 23 HR and 78 RBI. He walkd 65 times in 497 AB's, which is solid for a young hitter with power. What made Prince different is that he would go the other way and wasn't pull-happy. But what makes him really different is that when he is at the plate, part of you is hoping he catches a fastball just so you can see how far it will go, whether you are rooting for his team or not. Reyes - He only pitched against the Barons once and I'll be honest with you I did not see much of that game. It was his first AA start and he tossed 7 IP, allowing two runs on six hits, while striking out eight and walking one. Talking with others that saw him more, he sounds like the real deal. He's just 22, but he was a college player in his first pro season, so making AA puts him on the fast track. Pinto - I liked him a lot. Good fastball, kept it down and threw strikes. He struck out 18 in two starts against the Barons. He walked seven, which is too many, but you could definitely see potential. He turned 22 about halfway through the season. Hard throwing lefties are hard to find. Brad Nelson - I really like him too. I think he was really overlooked on a team that included Weeks, Fielder and Tony Gwynn Jr. He is 22 and was coming off a wrist injury that sapped all of his power in 2003. He fell off toward the end of the year and finished at .254 with 19 HR and 77 RBI. He strikes out too much and needs to walk more (47 times in 500 AB), but he definitely has raw power. Meyer - He was only in the league until June before a promotion to Richmond and eventually a Sept. call to Atlanta. Meyer turned 23 just after going to Richmond. I only saw him once and he carved up the Barons allowing just two hits in 5+ innings in his second start of the year. A solid lefty. Loney - Lots of hype with him, but I just didn't see it. He hit better against Birmingham than the rest of the league, but it seemed like when a big out was needed, they had no problem getting him out. Willingham - I am kind of surprised he made the list. AT 25, he was fairly old for the league. He has power (24 HR, 76 RBI) and walks a lot (91 times in 338 AB). Good numbers, just older than everyone else on this list. Encarnacion - Talented, but raw. He didn't strike me as the next great player, but I didn't see him a whole lot. He's just 21 so he still has time. Freddy Guzman - I only saw one series with him and he only had one hit in the four games. He looked like a speedy CF, but not much else stood out because he didn't hit. He's 23, so getting promoted out of the league this year was good for him. Bergolla - I honestly can't recall much about him. I never saw Joel Guzman, Kyle Davies, Jose Cappellan or Brad Thompson. Keep in mind this list didn't include guys like BJ Upton or Joey Gathright who weren't around long enough.

Here is a scouting report from the Stats. Inc. database.... Still think this is the kind of player you want???

You don't think Oakland could have afforded his $2.2 million salary this year? Sorry, that doesn't fly. You may be able to explain why a guy got traded once or twice, but with six teams in six years there is something wrong. Like I said before...... things that go on inside a locker room DO affect how a team performs. There are certain guys you want to stay away from and ignore the numbers.

I would not be surprised to see him non-tendered.

Morse has a lot of potential, but is still raw. He hit well for the Barons in a tough park to hit in. He showed the power they always thought he would. The jury is still out whether he can play SS at higher levels, but he was no liability in the field for the Barons. He still doesn't walk enough and gets himself out too often by swinging at bad pitches. If he can continue to play solid D and improves his plate discipline, then hitting .280+ with 20-25 HR and 75-80 RBI in the bigs is not out of the question.

depends on which direction you are talking........

in a luxury suite? along with the Yankess-Twins game this week? They were taken care of..... and as one of the mom's alluded to, maybe too much.

We have already had a nice long discussion on this. The Sox don't need him. He has been on six teams in six years for a reason.

maybe tonight? You sounds like the women I date. lol

Do you mind posting just the names of the top 20??

I noticed that Reed was playing almost exclusively against right handers. I looked back at his stats and after he was traded to Seattle, he struggled against lefties in Tacoma, hitting only .234. Strange thing is he hit .355 against lefties at Charlotte and hit them well in Birmingham last year.

Two