Rex Hudler

After 5 innings, Barons lead 2-0...... Bullard with the spot start.

Hamstring..... not sure of the severity, but I am told he is listed as day-to-day at this point.

See the "Velocity Lies" thread on the Pale Hose Board for some good info on lost velocity. I got some good info from a professional baseball trainer and shared it in that thread.

Birmingham wins 6-3 in 8 innings. The rains came and ended the game in the middle of the 8th inning. Munoz pitched pretty well, but wasn't real sharp. He had one bad inning where he got a bad break on a balk call which scored a run, and then forgot to catch a throw from the 1B while covering first to allow the third run. He allowed 3 hits and three runs in 6 innings, but got a no decision.

Anderson needs to be promoted before the June 17 Rickwood Classic, so you can see him when you and Shoe get your asses to Birmingham, MSF!

Man, I just don't see what you guys are seeing. I don't see one thing in that article that would cause even one little ripple in the clubhouse. Sometimes thinking less is good.... lol

That's strange..... I didn't get any whining or digging from that at all. I think he was just referring to the fact he is not an established player and therefore his leash is a little shorter. In a sense, he acknowledged he wasn't producing.... I find no problem with that comment at all. If there was more to it when reading the whole article, then perhaps I am off here, but I didn't think it was a big deal at all.

I about fell out of my chair at "slutter". lol w/ lemon, obno? That would be an interesting combination. Unfortunately for Baj, I don't drink a certain kind of beer, so I doubt that will help. It just depends on my mood. But I am curious who the wife thinks it is. ;-) I do want to thank Jeff for his time. That was a great read. His answers were concise and to the point, yet honest and informative. From everything I have been told, Jeff is a quality guy with a ton of class and it showed here. Thanks also to those that set it up.

Problem is MSF, they can't find anything wrong with his elbow. He has just lost velocity from what I hear but the pain has gone away. I am sure it is extremely frustrating not knowing what's going on. As Baj referred to, I think the throwing program will be designed to try and build arm strength back up.

This is a great read on Munoz and the switch from reliever to starter..... Making a Fresh Start He goes for a Southern League record for consecutive wins tonight.....

they needed whoever was scheduled to pitch that day.......

I had heard Ulacia was just going to make one start in Charlotte....... so perhaps they flip-flopped?

I just saw this on the local news...... hadn't heard this from my contacts or via email. Kind of caught me by surprise........

He could be a temporary stopgap if Jeremy Reed is hurting or struggles.

Why didn't I think of that? lol

I agree about Jack Buck. Even though I didn't like the Cardinals, I enjoyed listening to Jack and Mike Shannon for years.

I am not that big of a fan of Joe Buck. Perhaps it is because McCarver bugs the hell out of me and he is by his side, but Buck irritates me. There are a ton of great ones, many who have already been mentioned and others I cannot think of, but two great ones that come to mind are Ernie Harwell and Harry Calas (sp?).

So who would you rather listen to each night? Those guys are far from idiots and they do a great job for what that show is supposed to do. Kruk's claim to fame may be as you mentioned, but at least he was IN the All-Star game. They get guys who have played the game and know it on a level that regular fans do not. I say if you don't like who they have on there, head on up to Bristol and tell them you want to audition. See how tough the job is. Until you walk a mile in their shoes........

They're right! Fireworks during the daylight are stupid. Yes you can see them, but they certainly don't have the desired effect. You don't see 4th of July firworks shot off at noon, do you? You guys are way too damned sensitive about shows like that. Those shows are designed to give everybody a broad picture of what is going on in baseball. There is no way they can cover every team every day, nor are they going to cover teams like local media does (or should). If you actually sit back, watch Baseball Tonight and take it for what it is, it is a great show. They give you highlights, decent information and a little humor thrown in. What else do you expect them to do in 30 minutes?

Sheets matched up with Rocky Biddle in two awesome pitcher's duels in 10 days in 2000. Biddle actually beat him both games, throwing two straight complete game shutouts. The Barons won the first game 2-0 and the second 1-0. Rocky Biddle DATE G# OPP H/R DEC GS GF CG IP H AB TBF R ER HR BB SO WP BK 05/19/00 HVL R W 1 1 9.0 2 27 31 4 9 05/29/00 HVL H W 1 1 9.0 5 31 32 1 9 Ben Sheets DATE G# OPP H/R DEC GS GF CG IP H AB TBF R ER HR BB SO WP BK 05/19/00 BIR H L 1 7.0 5 24 26 2 2 1 2 4 05/29/00 BIR R L 1 7.0 7 26 27 1 7

I have heard the lighting just sucks at Charlotte. Haven't seen it myself, but I have heard it more than once. on wrist problems....... I had a good friend that played in AAA for many years. About 4-5 years ago, he was off to his best start ever, hitting .320 with 7 HR and 20 RBI in April. Early in May he hurt his wrist (I don't recall specifically how) and he missed several games. He was listed as day-to-day but never went on the DL. After about two weeks he started playing again and played through the rest of the season. He finished .275ish, with 8 HR and 48 RBI. The wrist injury just sapped all of his power and made it even tough to hit it well enough to hit doubles. Yet, he never went on the DL and played in over 100 games for the season. Sometimes, numbers can lie and guys like us, have no way of knowing what is really going on. Not saying that is the case with Reed..... just tossing out a real scenario.

Munoz has a nice changeup as well. He is not a two-pitch guy. He throws his change fairly often, actually. As JimH said, the Sox don't seem to be too high on Yofu for some reason, yet he keeps producing results. I'd like to see him get a chance to see if he can do it at a higher level. I believe he belongs in AAA at the minimum right now. Meaux is a pitcher with outstanding command. He mixes a 12-6 curve and a nice change with his fastball and spots all of those pitches very well. He is small and doesn't throw hard, so he is not sexy as a prospect, but the guy can pitch. Can he make it in the bigs? Not sure. Time will tell. I really haven't seen Honel or Wing at all so I can't give you much there. Wing is not even in Birmingham and Honel threw 4 innnings in the season opener and hasn't thrown since. I would not be shocked at all if Honel doesn't pitch the rest of the season. His last simulated game he was only throwing 80-83, topping out at 86 once. I talked to him a few days later and he isn't hurting and they can't find anything wrong, so he is really frustrated.

Ripped the field out and started over. Neither the fences or the seating areas were touched. I don't know about "park factor" but I do know that less runs are scored here at The Met than on the road, year in and year out.

I'll be honest with you in that I never seem to pay attention to the gun when Baj is throwing. It is usually late and my mind is on getting home. I know he can hit 92-93 for sure, but I will look and see what he is throwing the next few outings I see. I have heard 88-91 on BMac, which is basically the same as what Jason said. Yofu can get it up there on occasion, but he doesn't throw hard a lot. Last year the Sox wanted him to use his fastball more. He is the type of pitcher that seems to throw 7 different pitches all at different speeds and arm angles. He never seems to throw the same speed twice. I think I have seen a high on him of 93, but that is rare. Pacheco was a legit 93-95 in the second half of last year. He just really turned it up a notch once he gained confidence after starting the year in the depths of the bullpen. I never saw it any higher than 95, but he was consistent with the 93-95 range. Munoz, like Jason said is in the 80's, consistenly 86-88. He is the kind that can lull a hitter to sleep with an 86 mph fastball, two types of curveball with serious bite and then pop 90 mph fastball right by a guy. I don't ever recall him reaching higher than 91 and similar to Yofu, he doens't throw as hard as he can all the time. He is definitely not a "max effort" guy.

The guy I was really disappointed with and was crowing about last year in terms of "scouting reports" being far from reality was Royce Ring. HE was touted as a 90's guy, even mid-90's at times and he was throwing 86-88 consistently in Birmingham last year. Rarely did I ever see him even reach 90. I did see him get to 91 once, I think.