Rex Hudler

If Morse makes it, he will be considered a late developer. He is not, nor ever will be at the top of the prospect charts, although, depending on Seattle's system, you could see him in the top 10 next year. He needs to move up one level at a time and may take two years in AAA or extra time in the bigs if they rush him. He is only 22. I think his true level of talent will become apparent when he is 25 or so. He had 30 doubles each of the last two seasons. Although he only had 9 so far with the Barons this year, he had 5 triples and 11 home runs. They think he will continue to develop power with age and experience, as many players do.

All talk, Jason, all talk.......

Nope..... talked to him last night as a matter of fact. He ran out of $$. lol

There are a lot of people who will disagree with you on that Jas. The Sox org., including the coaches were very high on him. They feel, looking down the road, he could be a very good MLB player. Obviously, Bob Fontaine felt the same in order to have Seattle ask for him in the deal. One can argue that Fontaine knows the Sox system than anyone in the Sox organization and he knew what players he wanted. Fontaine has done an excellent job everywhere he has been, so I would not discount him this time either. Morse is a talented, big bodied kid who is just learning the finer points of the game. He is good enough to play SS now and if he does not lose mobility as he grows older, may be able to stay there. There is definitely a risk in Morse, but the upside is huge.

Yes, because there were indications that he would have signed for less to come back. KW didn't gamble and that move was criticized. The criticisms were based on the seemingly accurate assumption that the Sox would be under a budget crunch and they needed every million they could get. In retrospect, it was a good move. As it turns out, budget issues have never really been as big of an issue as we thought they would be. Jose has done a good job and fits well with this club. His left-handed bat is important in our lineup. I just wish he could hit lefties better, but that's where Uribe can fill in some. I don't think too many people wanted to dump Jose completely, I just think they didn't think he was worth the $5 million. Lastly, I don't think KW should or will make any trades with a club he could be competing with in the playoffs. Making our club better is important, but not at the expense of also making the Angels or other like club better. That could come back to bite him in the ass and I don't see him doing that.

The California/Carolina League All-Star Game is tonight. Here's to betting that Brian Anderson is in Birmingham not long after....

Looks like Munoz bounced back from that bad 1st inning........ Charlotte Box

Isn't your roadtrip including Birmingham as well? Perhaps he will get promoted during your roadtrip and he can ride to Birmingham with you guys. LOL Bikowski is out for a few days with a sore foot, so I doubt it will be him. Anderson should be called up. Murphy may be the guy to get the callup or they could promote Martel if they want to keep a veteran presence in Birmingham. Whoever gets called up will likely get little playing time. My guess is Valenzuela plays more OF and DH's less, and Borchard and Torres fill the OF. Martel could be considered an "organizational" type guy who could go up and not play a lot. Richard Paz and Reyes are your replacements for Morse.

Just for accuracy's sake....... Andruw Jones OBP is almost 100 points higher than his batting average. His walk rate is higher than Maggs this year and has been pretty much equal to or better than Maggs the past few years. OK, back to your original programming....

Let's hope that one doesn't turn out like when they signed Billy Koch to an extension really quickly..... lol

As Dbaho said, Olivo was clearly the key to the deal. We don't get Garcia without giving up Olivo. Hence the inclusion of Davis and cash. Also, this is not meant to imply I am against this trade, but let's clarify something. Olivo caught 60% of the time, which roughly works out to 4 out of every seven games. That does not a "twice a week" catcher make. The key factor in this trade was Bob Fontaine. Fontaine was the Sox Farm Director last year and is now the Mariners Director of Scouting (I apologize if I messed up his exact titles). Fontaine knew the Sox farm system better than anyone and he knew what to ask for. I have no doubt that Fontaine had a big role in this trade for Seattle.

I guess we'll disagree on this one Yas.... It was bound to happen sooner or later. LOL I just can't see a professional team doing something like that without repurcussion, ESPECIALLY when one of their own starters has been guilty of the same thing!

Those that live in glass houses should not throw stones. Classless is not acceptable in my mind under any circumstances. So what if the fans think like that. This is a professional organization.

Major League game, Minor League game..... you say potato, I say pototto..... Bottom line is it is extremely unprofessional for an organization to throw such stones, not even considering one of their own has done the same. Fans can yell about cork all they want, but for the team to do it in such a capacity is bush league.

A little class, perhaps??? Let's not forget the Sox own catcher got busted and suspended for using a corked bat.

Two thoughts..... 1. If I recall correctly, didn't the Sox employee who played the Whitesnake song get fired for doing so? 2. If the Sox did indeed play a sound effect of cork popping, I find that very classless. I know most fans would find it funny, but there is an integrity to this game and a respect for all players in it that must be followed. I would not be surprised if someone got fired over this if it were true and it was obvious what it was. While it may be funny, from a bigger perspective, why lower yourselves with petty adolescent type antics?

My take is that is Ozzie's call. I think he likes having veterans around and feels he needs to show confidence in his players to help them rebound. At some point, a change will need to be made. Whether that is Majewski, Bajenaru, Santiago or another acquisition, I don't know.

I gotta disagree with you there Jim.... Buck, Wood and Teahen are all closer to the Majors than the three we gave up. The three we gave up have the potential to prove your point, but Rupe and Webster are still a long way from the Majors. Francisco would not be in the Majors with the Sox. Opportunity knocked in Texas, but I don't think it would have here with the Sox. He would still be in the AA rotation. I like Buck. Don't know a lot about Teahen, but a lot of people seem to be high on him. And Wood should give them a nice middle to back of the rotation starter. Time will tell, but I think KC got more than we gave up, simply because their guys have proven it at a higher level.

I think that was a continuation of last night's game...... Both starting pitchers only went three innings, which is where I believe last nights game was stopped... If it were a scheduled DH, they would have only played 7 innings.

is there supposed to be an actual poll?? or are you just asking?

Well okay, that was fun ;-)

Rauch had 80 pitches of which only 47 were strikes. He also allowed 9 baserunners and had a wild pitch. He came out of the game because they didn't want to take any more chances with him. He held on for 5 innings, but the house of cards would have crumbled had he stayed in longer.

Ken Vining? LOL

It takes two to tango....... not so easy as going to Circuit City to buy a TV. Gotta have someone willing to sell to YOU, and when others are also considering buying, the price fluctuates.

From what I have gathered here, should I assume the prevailing opinion is no? ;-) Last night on the home run hit by Matt Lawton, I think the guy that caught it threw it back. There was a guy behind him trying to grab his arm so he couldn't throw it. I found that comical.