Rex Hudler

Great pitching from Charlotte..... Two shutouts Game 1 CHARLOTTE (2) AT RICHMOND (0) CHARLOTTE AB R H BI RICHMOND AB R H BI A Miles 2B 3 1 1 0 D McDonald CF 3 0 0 0 T Hummel SS 4 0 0 0 W Betemit 3B 4 0 1 0 R Gload 1B 4 1 1 1 J Estrada DH 3 0 0 0 J Borchard CF 3 0 0 0 A LaRoche 1B 4 0 1 0 M Rivera DH 3 0 1 0 T Wilson LF 3 0 0 0 A Rios RF 3 0 1 0 R Langerhans RF 4 0 0 0 R Hankins 3B 3 0 0 0 M Hubbard C 4 0 2 0 N Murphy LF 3 0 0 0 S Clapp SS 3 0 0 0 J Acevas C 3 0 1 0 N Green 2B 3 0 1 0 TOTALS 29 2 5 1 TOTALS 31 0 5 0 CHARLOTTE 000 000 002 -- 2 RICHMOND 000 000 000 -- 0 E--A Miles, N Green. DP--RICHMOND 3. LOB--CHARLOTTE 6, RICHMOND 9. 3B--R Gload. SB--A Miles 1 (8). S--D McDonald, T Wilson. IP H R ER BB SO HR CHARLOTTE J Rauch (W,7-1) 8 4 0 0 2 5 0 M Ginter (S,14) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 RICHMOND C Fussell 8 2 0 0 4 6 0 B Hernandez (L,4-4) 1 3 2 1 1 2 0 WP--C Fussell. HBP--M Rivera by C Fussell, S Clapp by M Ginter. SO--CHA: T Hummel 2, M Rivera, N Murphy, A Rios, J Acevas, J Borchard, A Miles. RIC: J Estrada 2, D McDonald, S Clapp, T Wilson. BB--CHA: N Murphy, A Miles, J Borchard, A Rios, R Hankins. RIC: J Estrada, N Green. T--2:25. Game 2 CHARLOTTE (2) AT RICHMOND (0) CHARLOTTE AB R H BI RICHMOND AB R H BI A Miles 2B 2 0 1 0 D McDonald CF 4 0 0 0 T Hummel 3B 2 0 1 1 L Evans DH 3 0 1 0 R Gload 1B 2 0 0 0 J Estrada C 1 0 1 0 J Borchard CF 3 0 0 0 M Hubbard PR 2 0 0 0 J Burke C 2 1 0 0 A LaRoche 1B 3 0 0 0 M Rivera DH 3 0 2 1 T Wilson LF 3 0 0 0 A Rios RF 3 0 2 0 R Langerhans RF 3 0 1 0 S Morgan LF 3 0 0 0 W Betemit 3B 3 0 2 0 J Nunez SS 2 1 1 0 S Clapp SS 2 0 2 0 N Green 2B 3 0 0 0 TOTALS 22 2 7 2 TOTALS 27 0 7 0 CHARLOTTE 000 001 1-- 2 RICHMOND 000 000 0-- 0 E--B Nelson. LOB--CHARLOTTE 3, RICHMOND 9. 2B--M Rivera. SB--S Clapp 1 (6). CS--A Rios 2, M Rivera, W Betemit. S--A Miles, T Hummel. IP H R ER BB SO HR CHARLOTTE T Jacquez (W,4-2) 5 6 0 0 1 4 0 G Majewski (S,3) 2 1 0 0 1 4 0 RICHMOND S McConnell (L,7-4) 6 5 2 2 2 4 0 B Nelson 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 WP--S McConnell. HBP--J Estrada by T Jacquez. SO--CHA: S Morgan 2, T Hummel, R Gload. RIC: M Hubbard 2, R Langerhans 2, L Evans, T Wilson, N Green, A LaRoche. BB--CHA: J Burke, R Gload. RIC: L Evans, S Clapp. T--2:03. A--5,004. [/dohtml]

You've got to give Rauch another year to prove himself. It takes time to fully recover from these surguries. I've seen it time and time again. Note that the Yankees signed Jon Leiber to a two year deal when they knew he wouldn't be healthy enough to pitch at all till right about now. They know the history.... out one year, one year of marginal effectiveness, then back to normal. In leiber's case, it will be almost two full years since the surgery by the time spring training rolls around, so he should be back to his normal, high quality pitching self by then. Funny you should mention Lieber. He made his first rehab appearance in rookie ball last Friday.

I'm sure there have been such examples, but I don't know of any off the top of my head. I never said I think he will make it, only that to judge his progress accurately, his numbers right now are not as important as him making progress and showing signs of improvement. Those signs could simply be throwing more innings, walking less guys, striking out more, etc. Another could be just staying healthy and throwing without pain. Any of those signs could indicate progress, not necessarily all of them.

You are correct on this one but you are also off. Don't judge Corwin by his sumulative stats right now. The 0-3 with a 5+ ERA is completely insignificant. What is significant, is him getting his confidence back and believing that his arm is healthy. If/When he is able to get get over that mental block and let it fly again, then you can start judging his numbers again. Corwin has really struggled and has fallen off as a prospect, you are right there. But the Sox are doing everything they can to get him back into the fold and that will mean taking baby steps with him for the rest of this year and likely into Instructional League. Next year will be the year that in my mind, will make or break him. Could he make it to the Bigs later than that? Yeah, but the odds go down as well as the potential impact he could make.

Hind sight is 20-20. If Cotts could have gotten through the sixth, he would have had a quality start if I remember things correctly. That would have bolstered him up a bit also. Also, with Colon's lousy outing, JM probably needed as much from Cotts as he could get, to save the bullpen. There are always other things the manager has to take into consideration besides what appears on the surface of an issue. Just a couple of thoughts thrown your way, not critcism. I said at the end of the 5th, knowing he was at 91 pitches, that he should have been done. I think that would have been the best scenario for him and wish they would have done that, but I don't think it is a particularly bad decision to leave him in. He had a 1-2-3 inning in the 5th, if I recall.

I think the fact that he threw 8 innings shows progress. I hope he makes it back, but I am not holding my breath.

Not sure exactly sure how it all works, but the Angels Rodriguez last year sneaked in somehow.

I really like Reed as a player but let's not get carried away here. Let's not forget that Borchard, the guy everyone is so down on, had a helluva year in AA at the same point that Reed is now. Reed doesn't have the holes that Borchard had, but also doesn't have the upside either. Reed should not and will not be called up in September.

There are a couple of loopholes but your point is correct. Playoff rosters are set Sept. 1.

Thanks for your input. It is hard to understand why the Sox need a more controllable time, yet I do to a point. I am also not there in their offices, so there is no way to know everything that is going on. It is easy to judge from afar.

Enough of that s*** already! It's not like you are going to bed him. LOL

Jason you hit it on the head saying that he varies speeds on all of his pitches. He can even cut the fastball a little into RH's, but I don't think it would technically be a 4th pitch, more just a variation of his fastball. At times, I have seen his curveball be very good with a lot of bite. Other outings, it has had more of a roll to it, but he has been able to locate it well enough to get away with it. I haven't seen either of the games he has pitched for the Sox, but my guess is he is getting more comfortable, which should enable him to be more effective. Which he will need to be facing Texas a second time in a row.

Ok, one more question Ncorgbl.... Is there any truth to the rumor that KW had a contract extension with Buehrle agreed upon and ready to be signed, but that JR nixed it? I'm talking last off-season, of course. Thanks for your input.

JR is informed about everyone, but it is pretty individual as to who he gets involved with and not. Most are handled by the G.M., when Schu was here it was more than not. Thomas' contract has always been handled by JR only, but Williams invoked the RPR clause when he was not supposed to, so JR had to rework it. Right now if Hemond wants someone, as he did Alomar and Everett, he turns around and asks Einhorn. If Einhorn agrees, and he almost always does with Hemond, the deal is done. JR will never say no to Eddie, and vice versa. Fair enough, but your answer brings me to another question (intended respectfully) ......... Is Hemond really making the decisions? If he is, then what good reason on earth would there be for the Sox to hide it and allow Kenny to maintain the title publicly, including doing all of the media interviews? Also, if KW is not dealing with other clubs in terms of trades, etc., how in the hell are the Sox keeping a lid on this? I am all for KW not being the GM for the Sox so I am on the same side here, but I just find it hard to believe there is a valid reason for this charade to exist, which makes me wonder if it really does. Surely you can understand my skepticism here?

Barons look to be playoff bound. Should be a nice series between them and a prspect-loaded Huntsville team. Reed came back to earth tonight. Had to happen eventually. It was fun watching Castillo tonight. He threw all different speeds and would drop down sidearm from time to time. In one sequence, he threw a lollipop curve ball that registered at 53 mph. Followed that up with a 88 mph fastball low and away and then dropped down sidearm with a 74 mph curve/slider (who can tell when its thrown sidearm lol). He has a really good 12-6 curveball and gives the hitter a lot of different looks. He had Tommy John surgery last July, so he is recovering pretty quickly.

Nanita, Anderson and Sweeney all losing serious time sucks! I had heard Nanita had a bruised hand (or something like that) and was day-to-day. He came back and played, but only one game. Not sure why he is back out of the lineup, unless it is a break or something and was aggravated on a swing when he came back. Good to see Mario and Kane back. Kane's recovery has been very slow.

That is exactly what I would have done. I said it to a friend before it happened. Let him leave on a high note and something to build on. He had K'd ARod twice and was at 91 pitches, after struggling in the 2nd inning. I didn't like his odds of beating ARod a 3rd straight time. Regardless, Neal gave the Sox a chance tonight. He settled down after the second inning and didn't let walks hurt him the whole night. I would have liked to see him leave after 5 and the Sox win, but I definitely think this outing was something to build on and should give Sox fans a positive outlook on his next start. I will be really curious so see how Texas will react to him the second time around. That will definitely be a challenge.

Nice work. Can you be a bigger jinx? You talk about no-hitters in the 8th inning too, don't you? LOL I read this entire thread after the game, knowing what happened so your comments made me just shake my head.

And Frank might hit better!

Someone has WAY too much time on their hands.

Diminishing skills, perhaps?? (no subconscious reference here) He is definitely a different hitter now. Perhaps he needs the aggressive approach to be able to turn on the inside pitch now, where before he was quicker?? I'm not saying that is accurate, but it could be a possibility....

Hey Ncorgbl, this is off topic, but I thought you might be able to answer it... How much input does Mr. Reinsdorf have in what players are obtained (thinking more of free agents than trades, but not excluding trades) and their contract negotiations? Does he give the GM a set of guidelines, or does he get personally involved in approving/disapproving of contracts of individual players? On more than just a rubber stamp level? Not being from Chicago and seeing the Sox organization from the bottom up, so to speak, I am not sure how involved he is and am curious. Thanks for your input.

How many times shall we go over this?? Stewart is on the DL I repeat....... STEWART IS ON THE DL When he gets off Rex. I will repeat myself When he gets off Rex. He will be essential next year. Stewart has not pitched regularly since he was sent down from Chicago early in the year. I doubt you will see him pitch much, if at all for the Pale Hose this year.

Keep on throwing s***, Jim.

King has really come on. He struggled big time and has hit his way out of it. I'm impressed.