Rex Hudler

No one here is comparing the NL to the AL. We are comparing Kip Wells the young pitcher the Sox gave up on versus the pitcher he has become and will continue to become. It has everything to do with a young pitcher maturing and NOTHING to do with AL vs. NL, thank you.

Tex, I am having one helluva a stressful day. I sneaked on here to get a 5 minute break and saw your post from Miss Simpson. I laughed my ass off, so thanks for that. I needed it. By the way, is Miss Simpson doable? I have always had a thing for teachers. ;-)

I never said that at all. I said I knew he would be very good and that it was a major mistake to give up on him like the Sox did. If you don't like my opinion, fine. But I have the right to say it, thank you.

PERHAPS SOME OF US WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS KIP WELLS. I DO BELIEVE WE HAVE THAT RIGHT. I HOPE THAT ANSWERS YOUR SO ELOQUENTLY ANSWERED QUESTION OF "WHO THE f*** CARES?"!!!!

Which is exactly why I expected great things from him..... Aaron Myette, I questioned. Matt Ginter, there were questions. Garland never talked so nobody knew. I never had a doubt that given time, Kip would be a very good Major League pitcher. How good he would be is arbitrary, but what he has done has not surprised me one bit.

I said the very same thing. I was sitting with a colleague and we had both heard that the Sox were going after Giles. How he mysteriously disappeared from that trade, I have no idea.....

Absolutely I did......... The Sox flat out gave up on Kip Wells and traded him knowing it could come back to bite them in the ass. It did just that. At the time of that trade, Wells was very highly regarded and just needed patience. Young pitchers need time to mature and he did not get that time with the Sox. Josh Fogg was coming off a solid season in AAA where he worked as both a starter and out of the bullpen and he had a great September with the Sox. He definitely had value, even though I don't think the Sox ever felt he would be a starter. He could have been helpful in the bullpen, however. Add to that, Sean Lowe who was coming off a very nice season for the Sox where he was valuable as a long reliever and a spot starter. Despite the fact he never did anything for Pittsburgh, he had value at the time. That trade was highway robbery for Pittsburgh. Todd Ritchie was coming off a good half season and had never proven anything beyond that. The fact is, that trade was being discussed a few days before it was finalized and Brian Giles was included in those talks. The players involved may have changed slightly, but the principals of the trade were Wells, Ritchie AND Giles. You can't underestimate the value Fogg and Lowe had at the time of that trade based on what they have done since.

Couldn't find Veal at either Arizona or Arizona St. I stopped searching at that point.

Hodges is hitting .333 in 30 games at GA Tech. He has 12 doubles, 3 HR's and 21 RBI to go with 11 BB, 13 K's and 5 SB's.

Thanks for the correction on Rodriguez. I knew it was arm related, just got the shoulder/elbow thing backwards... I hope he and Haigwood can bounce back strong from missing a season.

I am not sure why, but I have this bad feeling that Jeremy Reed will disappoint this year.......

Actually, Jason, I think it is quite the contrary. I think the Barons will score runs this year. They have more veterans than ever before that are quality AA players. They may not be sexy up and coming prospects, but I think you will see a different Barons club offensively than those of the last few years.

Moviel was committed to Vanderbilt. Thought education was important or something dumb like that....... He has appeared in 7 games at Vandy, all in relief. He's pitched in 9.1 innings and only given up 3 hits, yet has walked 13. He has struck out 9 and has a 1.93 ERA. Vandy is 21-6 overall.

Rodriguez was shoulder related........

shoulder tenderness or something..... i think they are just being cautious.

Russ..... John, maybe?

Here is Bullard's post from earlier this week. I just copied and pasted... THe Bham roster looks like it is pretty much set. I think we can carry 24 active players. There is 27 on the roster right now, 2 on the DL This is what it looks like now: Pitchers: Starters- Honel, Meaux, Phillips, Munoz, Yofu, Wing(on DL for a month or so) Relievers- Bullard, Ulacia, McNichol, Baj, Smith, Keller, Allen, Fields(DL for a couple of weeks) Infielders- McNeal, Yan, Reyes, Morse, Shaffer, Sasser Outfielders- Spidale, Blakely, Franklin, Murphy Catchers- Maldonado, Aceves, Stewart

Not an official one, no. But from what I understand, Bullard hit the nail on the head earlier this week. There were no changes from what he posted. They do have an extra player, so they may be waiting to find out who will go on the DL before they release it. I was told they didn't know who that was going to be yet.

Wing and Josh Fields are starting the season on the DL.

Munoz is in AA being converted to a starter. Birmingham's roster is the same as Bullard posted a few days ago in a minor league thread. Charlotte's roster is only at 23 (plus Wunsch on the MLB DL), so they are short one player. AAA roster's are 24 for entire season this year. AA roster's will be 24 for the first and last month of the season and 23 in between.

Random notes: Kyle Kane is on the Birmingham DL. He is at least a half season away from being ready. Honel is definitely at AA. The Birmingham rotation is: Honel, Munoz, Meaux, Phillips and Yofu, not necessarily in that order. The rest of the Birmingham roster is, I believe, exactly as Bull posted in a minor league thread a few days ago. Valido was teammates with a guy the Sox couldn't sign. Can't recall who it was. There are new managers and coaches in many places this year, so it is hard to say for sure how things will go, but I see the possibility of good teams at Birmingham, Winston and Kanny. Not sure how Charlotte's roster will shake out. Haven't sat down and thought about it. It seems their rotation should be strong.

I believe either Rooney (I think) or Farmer does the Final 4 on radio each year as well. Don't the Sox always have a sub on their broadcast each year at that time?

We already know about you..... you're old news. We're looking for new meat!

Another surprise is Brian Becker's name on the roster. I was told he had been released. Not sure if he initially refused the assignment to W-S and then changed his mind or what.... Apparently there were a couple of guys that were released and then were saved a day or two later for one reason or another.

Details are sketchy, but what I hear is he is immature, not a bad kid. Has problems with pouting and getting down on himself. And apparently when he is not in the lineup he sulks and basically sits by himself, not doing the team thing, like he is mad at the world. That is vague, but I am only going on what I have heard from a few different people. I heard he has gotten suspended/disciplined a few times, but that is not confirmed. That help at all?