Rex Hudler

OK, OK we have had enough Old Style discussions here... I like it, most of you don't. Are there any other necessary opinions? Can we stick to baseball? Jim, I appreciate your comments. Please understand that I remain anonymous to you guys because it helps me maintain my objectivity (although some seem to think I have none). The last thing I want is to piss you guys off if I make a comment you don't like. I don't want that to change anything if I ever do ask you for an autograph or say hello. I enjoy watching you guys play and am there most nights, while others I listen to on the radio. I'd like to think that through my own eyes, plus the opinions of many that I know and talk to, that I am fairly accurate and fair. If I don't think a guy is a Big League, I'll say so. Lastly, I think your move to the bullpen was a smart one for you. They say it was your idea so I am wondering what prompted you to request such a move, especially during the season. I have watched you over the course of the year and have seen the difference in you once you seemed to get comfortable. You still have never had a true role out of the pen, but you seem to adapt to different situations well. There are definitely spots in the Big Leauges for guys like you, but sometimes it comes down to timing. I hope you get the opportunity and take advantage of it.

Reed can play CF in the bigs. He may not be a gold glover, but he is very solid. His arm is more than good enough to handle CF. He has made many spectacular plays so far for the Barons. I am not sure why BA and others say his defense is suspect. I certainly have not seen it in Birmingham. Yes, but you have a biased interest..... That's right. I overhype everyone......... I'll get real and admit it just for you Bmr....... REED SUCKS He couldn't play LF on my son's LL team. That make you feel better?? Thats not what i meant....dont be so touchy, geez. Then say what you ficking mean!

Reed can play CF in the bigs. He may not be a gold glover, but he is very solid. His arm is more than good enough to handle CF. He has made many spectacular plays so far for the Barons. I am not sure why BA and others say his defense is suspect. I certainly have not seen it in Birmingham. Yes, but you have a biased interest..... That's right. I overhype everyone......... I'll get real and admit it just for you Bmr....... REED SUCKS He couldn't play LF on my son's LL team. That make you feel better??

Reed can play CF in the bigs. He may not be a gold glover, but he is very solid. His arm is more than good enough to handle CF. He has made many spectacular plays so far for the Barons. I am not sure why BA and others say his defense is suspect. I certainly have not seen it in Birmingham.

I think he meant he's been "pretty good" as of late. Bull, acknowledged that he was lights out early on. Lately, he has been solid, but when you hit .500 the first few weeks and then drop to .400, I guess relatively speaking, that is just pretty good. LOL If I recall correctly, Bull was very complimentary of Reed at that point.

Veal and Moviel reek of SIGN ME! High costs though. Ditto, those are the only two that the draft junkies seem to want bad. I don't know a lot about them, but they supposedly dropped in the draft due to perceived bonus demands. I do know that Moviel is signed to play for Vanderbilt.

Assume a strict 4 days rest for all starters: Colon already complained about a twinge in his back. There's no way you risk him on 3 days rest. E-LO has a history of injuries. Why tempt fate? JG,EL v OAK BC,5th,MB,JG @ ANA EL,BC,5th @ TEX MB,JG,EL v ANA BC,5th,MB,JG v TEX xx,EL,BC,MB - @ NYY JG,5th,EL,xx - @ DET MB,BC,xx v BOS EL,JG,MB v CLE BC,5th,EL,JG v MIN MB,BC,5th,xx @ BOS EL,MB,BC @ MIN JG,5th,EL v KC MB,BC,JG v NYY 5th,EL,MB,BC @ KC If they go that way, then off days will force others to go way off 4 days rest, including six days at one point for Garland. They may do it, but I see no reason not to let two guys go on 3 days when it would be followed by 5 days their next start.

Pacheco is not as polished as Cotts. He could turn out to be better in the long run, but I think it will take another year for him to prove himself for the long run.

Honestly, I have no idea. There is always a chance that someone could be signed up until the day they go back to school in a college player's situation or enroll in college for a HS player. Obviously that could be coming soon. Also, all of these guys will be watched and the Sox may try to sign some before next year's draft, hence the term "draft and follow".

Two

Yes, Jim Bullard, left-handed reliever for the Barons. He has been doing a really nice job since he left the rotation and they have stopped making him spot start. He has settled in nicely and picked up some saves.

Look Rex..... if the White Sox go with Cotts to round out the 5 man rotation, that is fine with me. However, and Roman of all people pointed this out in an earlier post, the White Sox are now serious contenders in the AL Central race. I do not desire nor do I want the White Sox embarking on the "Can Cotts Pitch in the ML's" Experiment. Not at this point in the game. No way. Unless Cotts is as certain to be successful as it was believed Prior was to be (and is) in '02, than I do not want to see NC anywhere close to a White Sox uniform. The White Sox still have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and adequate "5th starter" pitching is available over the waiver wire. Crowds are showing up at USCF. Let's see if JR is a man of his word and rewards Sox fans for showing up. I doubt it. Welcome to Chicago NC I think Cotts would be as good as an adequate 5th starter. A common trait of an adequate 5th starter is inconsistency. That is what makes him a #5 not a # 2 or #3. I understand your fear of throwing a rookie into a pennant race and respect that. But I get tired of people stating this reason or that reason that he would not be successful when they don't know what they are talking about. They look at some numbers on a sheet and assume they know all by reading them and sorry, but that is not possible when evaluating someone for the short term. Can you do that if you are trying to evaulate a guy for next season? Perhaps so... If the Sox want to use someone else, then I am fine with it. But other teams have gotten huge contributions out of rookies, so why can't the Sox. Hell, the Angels had John Lackey pitch Game 7 of the World Series last year. Dontrelle Willis wasn't can't miss when he was brought up. Brandon Webb has been huge for Arizona. When your chances of winning the game started by your #5 guy are only 50/50, why worry so much? It's not like anyone is advocating making Cotts your ace. So again, if you want to go with another starter the fine. But let's not act like we know that Cotts is not ready based on numbers he put up in April and May. That is all I ask.

I see the 5th starter needed 6 times. That would require both Loaiza to go on 3 days rest twice and Bart once. The time when both would go on three days rest, they would then go on five days rest in the start immediately following due to off days. Esteban would likely go on 3 days rest one more time two weeks later in mid-September. If they choose not to have Loaiza go on three days rest the second time, the 5th starter would be needed a 7th time. I don't see the 8 you are talking about, and I also certainly do not see the 3 or 4 times I have heard in some of the media.

You are correct. Yofu's window of opportunity to make his mark in the Majors is this year and next. If he doesn't make it by then, then he likely never will.

How about no debate, let's just take them both, cerb? ;-) Unless they let Nanita drive from GF to Kanny, there would be no reason for him to be out of the lineup for 4 days.

To be a good pitcher, strikeouts are not a prerequisite. But to say they are unimportant is stupid. Strikeouts are very important when evaluating a pitcher, but they are not the only way to evaluate. Look at it this way. Strikeouts are good and help you win, but it is possible to win without lots of them. Either way, to say they are unimportant, is uninformed.

Not sure about Nanita.... Sweeney was hit by a pitch around the knee and was out 4 or 5 days. Then a day or two after he came back he tweaked a hamstring. They are just being overly cautious with him.

Ricky Brooks, a RHP out of a NY HS was the Sox 11th round pick.

Bristol has had a decent season, currently sporting a 26-25 mark. They are 3 games back with two teams ahead of them in the standings. The story on offense has come from two players at the top of the order, Chris Young and Robert Valido. Young (.300 6HR 26RBI 19SB .494SLG .374OBP) probably deserves to be the MVP. Robert Valido (.295 5HR 23RBI 16SB .482SLG .365OBP), was the Sox 5th round selection in this year's draft out of a Miami HS and has impressed at SS. This year's 2nd rounder, Ryan Sweeney has battled injuries but was just starting to heat up when the injury bug came. Orinny Lopez (5-0 1.66 9BB 42K in 38IP) and Fabio Castro (4-2 2.20 16BB 42K in 32.2IP) have impressed out of the bullpen. Fernando De'Aza, Tim Tisch and Jay Marshall have pitched well out of the rotation. In my mind, Lopez is the likely Most Valuable Pitcher. Full Season Stats BRISTOL SOX Individual Statistics Thru Games of: 8/08/03 W-L Record: 26- 25 PLAYER AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SLG OBP E Arias, Angel,C .239 23 71 5 17 6 1 0 4 4 7 1 2 .352 .280 4 *Bohlander, Mike,1B .222 34 81 16 18 5 2 0 8 11 15 1 0 .333 .315 1 Castillo, Cesar,C .207 33 82 8 17 3 0 1 7 13 15 0 1 .280 .330 2 Collaro, Tom,1B .229 32 105 12 24 7 1 6 20 4 31 0 0 .486 .261 0 *Herring, Matt,DH .221 38 104 14 23 2 2 3 16 16 31 0 0 .365 .328 0 #Lebron, Freddie,2B .252 36 111 18 28 6 1 2 13 8 16 10 4 .378 .311 4 Lenderman, Matt,C .257 16 35 4 9 0 0 1 6 1 18 0 0 .343 .278 0 Martin, Scott,OF .192 30 73 10 14 5 0 1 11 2 20 0 0 .301 .241 0 Perez, Melvin,3B .283 47 166 20 47 11 3 2 27 10 43 2 3 .422 .337 9 #Ramirez, Estevinson,2B .300 21 30 4 9 1 0 0 3 5 9 1 4 .333 .400 2 Rivera, Jhonny,OF .228 42 114 15 26 11 1 0 10 2 35 12 5 .342 .264 2 Rodriguez, Manuel,OF .172 23 58 6 10 2 1 1 7 3 19 0 1 .293 .238 0 Schmidt, Jeff,3B .174 18 46 3 8 3 0 0 7 2 8 0 1 .239 .208 4 *Sweeney, Ryan,OF .306 11 36 7 11 0 0 0 2 3 7 2 0 .306 .375 4 Valido, Rob,SS .295 46 166 34 49 12 2 5 23 15 20 16 3 .482 .365 13 Young, Chris,OF .300 50 180 36 54 13 2 6 26 19 29 19 6 .494 .374 1 All Others .287 136 24 39 10 1 2 17 10 24 6 2 .419 .353 16 Total-All Batters .253 1594 403 17 207 347 32 .319 236 97 30 128 70 .391 62 OPP PITCHER W-L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WP AVG *Banks, Demetrius 1- 1 7.43 11 0 0 0 0 13.1 17 15 11 1 1 12 17 2 .293 Casey, Jim 2- 2 4.50 9 6 0 0 0 38.0 34 19 19 1 1 15 37 1 .245 *Castro, Fabio 4- 2 2.20 16 0 0 0 2 32.2 20 9 8 0 1 16 42 4 .174 Curreri, Joe 0- 0 12.27 3 0 0 0 0 3.2 6 5 5 1 0 2 3 0 .400 DeAza, Fernando 2- 1 3.03 9 6 0 0 0 35.2 37 15 12 2 0 12 20 3 .272 Flores, Rafael 2- 3 3.91 12 2 0 0 0 23.0 33 17 10 1 1 8 18 1 .314 Gomez, Rafael 0- 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 3 4 4 0 0 1 0 0 1.000 Huchingson, Jamin 0- 1 18.90 6 0 0 0 0 6.2 14 16 14 0 3 11 2 3 .412 Lopez, Orionny 5- 0 1.66 13 0 0 0 2 38.0 27 10 7 1 1 9 42 3 .199 *Marshall, Jay 0- 0 2.96 7 7 0 0 0 24.1 27 10 8 3 2 7 27 1 .281 *McGary, Gerron 1- 0 4.00 10 0 0 0 0 9.0 4 5 4 0 1 5 8 2 .138 Morales, Ruddy 0- 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 *Novoa, Yunior 4- 4 5.15 9 9 0 0 0 36.2 43 22 21 3 2 14 32 0 .295 Ortiz, Dario 0- 0 5.40 7 0 0 0 1 8.1 10 6 5 0 0 4 8 0 .270 Sager, Brian 0- 1 9.00 1 1 0 0 0 3.0 3 5 3 0 1 2 4 1 .231 Suarez, Sony 1- 3 3.79 13 3 0 0 1 38.0 32 17 16 1 3 11 47 0 .227 *Thompson, Sean 0- 1 3.68 2 1 0 0 0 7.1 8 3 3 0 2 3 8 3 .276 *Tisch, Tim 3- 4 2.65 10 10 1 1 0 54.1 44 16 16 2 1 21 40 3 .227 Wasserman, Ehren 0- 1 14.73 4 0 0 0 0 3.2 9 6 6 0 0 3 4 3 .474 All Others 1- 1 4.38 25 6 0 0 4 39.0 43 20 19 3 2 12 41 3 .283 Total-All Pitchers 26 4.14 51 7 415.2 220 19 168 33 25 1 10 414 191 22 402 .259

Great Falls got off to a great start in the Pioneer League season and then fell off somewhat. They are currently 27-23 overall and 7-5 in the 2nd Half, which is good for a tie for 1st place. They have 26 games remaining. This team has been an offensive juggernaut, averaging 6.42 runs per game. Unfortunately their pitching (4.78 team ERA) and defense (just under 2 errors a game) hasn't been good. There have been lots of great individual performances, most on the offensive side. The team batting average is .294 so there is no way to mention everyone. Ricardo Nanita is hands down the offensive MVP. The Sox 14th round draft pick this year has hit .379 with 5HR and 37RBI to go with a .548SLG and .441OBP. Brandon Bounds, Antoin Gray, and several others have had excellent seasons. Brian Anderson, this year's 1st round pick hit very well in 13 games before injuring his wrist. Brandon McCarthy (7-3 2.44) is the clear-cut Most Valuable Pitcher. He has also walked just 11 and struck out 76 in 70 IP. Full Season Stats GREAT FALLS WHITE SOX Individual Statistics Thru Games of: 8/08/03 W-L Record: 27- 23 PLAYER AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SLG OBP E Anderson, Brian,OF .388 13 49 6 19 2 1 2 13 9 10 3 1 .592 .492 0 *Bounds, Brandon,1B .321 47 184 37 59 16 4 6 31 10 35 2 2 .549 .348 6 Deuchler, Matthew,C .313 22 64 10 20 4 0 0 7 6 17 1 0 .375 .371 0 Gray, Antoin,2B .316 45 174 39 55 14 0 3 27 36 40 3 0 .448 .438 13 *Haggerty, Cory,2B .243 42 103 26 25 5 3 1 12 15 26 3 4 .379 .363 7 Hodges, Brent,2B .000 5 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .000 .091 1 Kelly, Christopher,OF .244 43 160 22 39 12 0 4 29 10 35 2 0 .394 .295 9 *King, Clinton,OF .276 44 163 28 45 4 4 3 20 18 41 3 5 .405 .357 7 Lee, Carlos,DH .310 29 113 15 35 6 0 2 20 6 14 0 0 .416 .339 0 Lisk, Charlie,C .268 37 138 28 37 6 0 6 27 12 38 4 0 .442 .342 8 Morris, Seth,OF .271 32 129 21 35 10 0 4 17 13 45 2 1 .442 .340 2 Myers, Michael,SS .296 44 159 24 47 8 3 3 35 22 38 15 3 .440 .408 15 *Nanita, Ricardo,OF .379 45 177 35 67 7 4 5 37 16 27 8 6 .548 .441 5 Schnurstein, Micah,3B .265 25 98 23 26 4 0 1 7 7 21 0 1 .337 .327 3 All Others .227 44 7 10 0 0 0 2 5 19 1 0 .227 .306 21 Total-All Batters .294 1765 519 19 284 409 23 .370 321 98 40 185 47 .439 97 OPP PITCHER W-L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WP AVG *Dizard, Fraser 1- 0 4.62 9 3 0 0 0 25.1 33 15 13 2 1 11 18 6 .324 Hernandez, Fernando 0- 1 1.65 17 0 0 0 7 16.1 15 6 3 0 1 8 9 5 .246 Hudson, Jeremy 1- 0 5.14 2 1 0 0 0 7.0 11 4 4 1 2 1 2 2 .379 Hurd, John 0- 0 9.00 2 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 2 2 0 0 2 1 2 .143 Johnson, J.D. 1- 3 4.21 14 0 0 0 0 25.2 31 16 12 3 1 6 26 4 .295 Little, Jeffrey 0- 0 4.63 8 0 0 0 0 11.2 18 9 6 1 1 4 12 3 .327 *Logan, Boone 3- 1 7.52 10 8 0 0 0 40.2 48 41 34 3 10 21 22 6 .289 McCarthy, Brandon 7- 3 2.44 11 11 1 0 0 70.0 67 27 19 5 1 11 76 3 .245 Moat, Mike 1- 0 4.03 12 0 0 0 1 22.1 23 11 10 4 2 3 10 2 .261 Moviel, Paul 0- 2 7.41 11 0 0 0 0 17.0 24 18 14 0 1 7 12 9 .329 Nachreiner, Matt 2- 3 10.80 9 4 0 0 0 18.1 33 28 22 5 3 13 14 5 .371 Reed, Rylan 1- 2 4.45 12 1 0 0 0 32.1 41 17 16 1 1 14 26 10 .325 Russ, John 0- 2 6.48 10 1 0 0 2 16.2 22 17 12 3 1 7 14 3 .310 *Surratt, Randy 4- 0 3.05 15 0 0 0 0 20.2 22 9 7 1 1 5 19 0 .286 Tracey, Sean 5- 4 4.05 11 8 0 0 0 60.0 58 31 27 2 7 16 46 2 .262 All Others 1- 2 6.17 24 13 0 0 1 54.0 68 44 37 3 5 21 56 11 .300 Total-All Pitchers 27 4.87 50 3 440.0 295 34 150 73 23 1 11 515 238 38 363 .291

Is there any chance of Gload being a September call-up? I doubt he will get called up...... not to say that he doesn't deserve it. Also, remember, some teams call up fewer players when they are in a pennant race for fear of added distractions, and paying guys while they sit on the bench.

Kannapolis has not had a great season, from its record of 48-66 to some disappointing performances. They are 16-30 in the second half and 17.5 games out of first place. After losing Rupe and Webster to the Rangers, a promotion of Rick Hummel and a disappointing season by Andy Gonzalez, there is not much there. They are hitting .242 as a team and have no one over .300. Webster (.289 2HR 33RBI 20SB) or Thomas Brice (.278 0HR 41RBI) seem as logical candidates as any for offensive MVP. Rupe (5-5 3.02), BJ LaMura (6-9 3.55) or Hummel (2-3 1.47 10Sv) are the best choices for Most Valuable Pitcher. Full Season Stats KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS Individual Statistics Thru Games of: 8/08/03 W-L Record: 48- 66 PLAYER AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SLG OBP E Acevas, Jon,C .284 24 81 14 23 9 0 5 15 9 15 0 0 .580 .359 2 *Brice, Thomas,OF .278 101 327 39 91 19 1 0 41 34 54 6 6 .343 .349 8 Christensen, Mike,3B .229 47 157 21 36 9 0 3 21 10 34 0 0 .344 .282 2 Ciraco, Darren,OF .245 83 278 28 68 14 3 3 43 20 55 4 0 .349 .293 8 Cook, David,OF .136 22 66 7 9 3 0 0 4 8 17 4 0 .182 .227 2 Gillikin, Joey,DH .202 35 104 14 21 9 0 2 14 26 34 3 0 .346 .359 0 Gonzalez, Andy,SS .236 104 356 49 84 14 1 1 34 55 68 15 8 .289 .348 31 Ivy, Bjorn,OF .188 24 64 5 12 0 1 0 2 6 13 7 2 .219 .278 0 Lackaff, John,3B .180 19 61 9 11 4 0 2 8 10 10 1 0 .344 .311 3 Lopez, Pedro,2B .260 99 354 35 92 19 0 0 29 23 39 23 13 .314 .308 13 Luna, Leonardo,2B .158 12 38 3 6 1 0 1 5 2 3 0 0 .263 .200 1 Molina, Gustavo,C .242 82 265 24 64 14 1 4 38 15 47 4 2 .347 .296 7 *Reyes, Julio,1B .253 75 277 30 70 15 1 2 30 8 58 1 1 .336 .277 5 *Terrell, Jim,DH .246 35 114 10 28 4 0 1 6 13 21 5 3 .307 .323 3 Young, Eddie,OF .200 6 15 2 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 .267 .250 1 All Others .244 1014 143 247 47 2 7 95 114 215 23 17 .315 .326 43 Total-All Batters .242 3571 865 10 386 684 54 .316 433 182 31 354 97 .325 129 OPP PITCHER W-L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WP AVG *Arellan, Felix 1- 2 4.23 24 0 0 0 0 38.1 36 20 18 1 5 25 33 7 .254 Deininger, Todd 4- 3 3.19 27 9 0 0 0 84.2 63 47 30 8 7 46 81 5 .201 Fryson, Andrew 1- 3 3.35 14 5 1 0 0 40.1 42 24 15 1 3 20 25 1 .266 Garza, Rolando 1- 1 3.63 14 0 0 0 1 17.1 11 8 7 0 2 21 17 9 .200 LaMura, B.J. 6- 9 3.55 21 20 2 0 0 116.2 114 64 46 3 7 57 93 10 .263 Larson, Adam 2- 2 3.58 30 2 0 0 4 60.1 62 27 24 4 3 11 51 3 .262 *Lubisich, Nik 1- 1 2.49 13 4 0 0 1 47.0 47 17 13 3 4 12 21 1 .266 *Malone, Corwin 0- 1 4.91 3 3 0 0 0 11.0 11 8 6 0 0 4 9 2 .262 Miller, Brian 7- 9 5.40 21 21 1 1 0 103.1 105 70 62 5 10 51 75 10 .266 *Perez, Armando 3- 5 3.92 28 1 0 0 0 59.2 57 35 26 4 5 30 47 2 .247 *Reynoso, Paulino 5- 7 3.17 21 21 1 0 0 108.0 79 46 38 7 5 55 86 8 .210 All Others 17-23 3.66 107 29 3 0 19 263.1 227 135 107 14 25 148 243 21 .234 Total-All Pitchers 48 3.71 114 7 950.0 501 50 480 79 66 8 25 854 392 76 781 .242

Winston-Salem won their division in the first half of the season and will be headed to the playoffs for the first time in several years. They are currently 23-22 in the 2nd half and are 3.5 games back. They are 62-51 overall. They have 24 games remaining. The fact that they are in the playoffs for the first time in awhile (they have been terrible in recent years) is likely the main reason there have not been more promotions to AA Birmingham. The strength of this team is pitching and the offensive production is spread pretty evenly throught the lineup. Reed deserves the offensive MVP because even though he is gone, he was the man when they were winning in the first half. I'll give Brian Becker and Ruddy Yan honorable mentions here. Their rotation has been solid all year with Kris Honel (8-6 3.05), Ryan Wing (9-5 2.78), Frankie Francisco (7-3 3.56 - now with the Rangers) and Wyatt Allen (6-5 3.73). Ryan Meaux (1-3 1.15 10Sv) was dominant in the first half and Rick Hummel (1-0 0.00 in 12 games) and Julio Castro (2-1 1.16 2 Sv) have picked up where he left off. Josh Fields (4-6 3.28 16Sv) has been solid as well. I would say it is a tossup between Honel and Wing as the Most Valuable Pitcher. Wing has struggled as of late, otherwise I think he would be the more clear choice. Full Season Stats WINSTON-SALEM WARTHOGS Individual Statistics Thru Games of: 8/08/03 W-L Record: 62- 51 PLAYER AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SLG OBP E Amador, Chris,3B .197 26 66 6 13 1 1 0 3 4 18 8 0 .242 .250 8 Barnett, Dan,DH .111 9 18 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 6 0 0 .167 .150 0 Becker, Brian,DH .266 94 331 39 88 19 1 16 62 22 76 2 3 .474 .306 1 Holt, Daylan,OF .249 88 265 38 66 21 0 10 49 28 50 6 4 .442 .316 2 Lackaff, John,3B .391 7 23 6 9 1 0 0 6 2 2 1 0 .435 .500 1 *Martel, Normand,OF .279 92 262 28 73 11 3 3 27 17 25 9 4 .378 .325 4 Morse, Michael,SS .240 98 341 39 82 24 2 8 48 20 74 3 4 .393 .293 14 *Rogowski, Casey,1B .261 94 295 41 77 17 1 7 36 44 58 17 3 .397 .362 2 Rosa, Wally,C .222 54 158 17 35 5 0 1 10 13 28 1 1 .272 .290 8 Spidale, Mike,OF .245 97 314 51 77 14 5 0 32 48 58 22 5 .322 .347 3 Stewart, Chris,C .216 63 185 18 40 8 2 2 26 22 26 1 0 .314 .298 13 Storey, Eric,3B .260 94 285 42 74 21 1 8 30 39 88 10 4 .425 .353 23 *Welsh, Eric,OF .251 79 251 39 63 14 0 11 43 24 62 2 1 .438 .320 2 #Yan, Ruddy,2B .271 106 398 76 108 11 3 1 20 43 65 64 11 .322 .341 12 All Others .312 333 54 104 26 2 6 61 48 37 28 7 .456 .398 25 Total-All Batters .258 3525 911 21 454 673 47 .332 495 194 73 375 174 .388 118 OPP PITCHER W-L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WP AVG Allen, Wyatt 6- 5 3.73 22 22 0 0 0 120.2 104 60 50 10 8 78 75 16 .242 Castillo, Carlos 0- 2 7.20 2 2 0 0 0 10.0 15 8 8 2 2 3 4 1 .366 Castro, Julio 2- 1 1.16 16 0 0 0 2 23.1 21 4 3 2 4 9 19 1 .241 Fields, Josh 4- 6 3.28 47 0 0 0 16 60.1 45 26 22 4 4 20 58 0 .203 Honel, Kris 8- 6 3.05 20 20 3 1 0 115.0 100 42 39 6 8 35 105 3 .238 Hummel, Rick 1- 0 0.00 12 0 0 0 0 14.2 14 3 0 0 1 1 7 0 .246 O'Neal, Brandon 1- 2 4.32 29 2 0 0 1 41.2 42 36 20 1 6 34 12 13 .273 *Phillips, Heath 1- 5 3.52 8 8 0 0 0 46.0 54 24 18 3 0 3 31 1 .297 Pollok, Dwayne 0- 0 1.80 4 0 0 0 0 5.0 5 1 1 0 1 0 5 0 .263 Purvis, Rob 4- 0 1.31 7 3 0 0 0 20.2 9 3 3 0 0 7 16 1 .130 Stumm, Jason 1- 0 3.60 20 0 0 0 0 25.0 28 10 10 1 2 11 23 0 .295 *Ulacia, Dennis 1- 1 1.93 3 0 0 0 0 4.2 4 5 1 0 0 5 3 1 .222 *Wing, Ryan 9- 5 2.78 21 21 0 0 0 120.0 92 49 37 7 4 56 80 11 .220 All Others 24-18 3.33 136 35 2 1 12 335.1 301 162 124 24 20 148 270 17 .242 Total-All Pitchers 62 3.21 113 10 942.1 433 60 410 65 51 5 31 834 336 60 708 .241

Ok, so I missed it...... Call me out, make me look stupid, hurt my feelings........ Go Ahead!

Birmingham looks to be headed to the playoffs for the 4th straight year. They currently have a 1.5 game lead over Huntsville in the 2nd Half standingswith a 26-20 record. Since Huntsville won the 1st Half, if Hunstville would pass the Barons in this half also, then the 2nd playof spot would go to the team with the next best overall record, which is currently Birmingham with a 4 game lead over West Tenn, the Cubs AA affiliate. The Barons have 23 games left including 4 each against Huntsville and West Tenn. They have The Barons are 59-55 overall. After watching this team all year, I can honestly say that I am not sure how they are winning. Part of it is that there are no great teams in the league this year. Last year they won with speed ala Wally Ball. This year the speed is only so-so and there is absolutely no power (55 HR for the team all year). Backman has guys that have settled into specific roles and the team behind great starting pitching, finds ways to win. The bullpen is still shaky since the departure of Ring. Jeff Bajenaru who was arguably the team's best reliever in June and July, has been inconsistent since Ring left and his role has changed. Gabe Alvarez (.311 10HR 64RBI .485SLG .401OBP) has to be the offensive MVP because he has been there all year. Jeremy Reed (.390 7HR 23RBI .585SLG .455OBP) has dominated in 44 games and really helped solidify this club. Neal Cotts (9-6 2.12) has dominated SL hitters and has to be the Most Valuable Pitcher, although Enemencio Pacheco (10-2 2.66) is right on his heels. They could be voted the top LH and RH in the Southern League this year. Both are among the league leaders in several categories. Tetsu Yofu (8-6 3.48) has been solid as well and Byeoung An (3-1 3.18 ) has pitched well, giving the Barons 4 solid starters. Bajenaru, Jim Bullard and Ryan Meaux have been solid out of the pen. Since the departure of Ring, the pen lacks the dominant closer that allows everyone else to settle into a specific role (sound familiar?). Full Season Stats BIRMINGHAM BARONS Individual Statistics Thru Games of: 8/08/03 W-L Record: 59- 55 PLAYER AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SLG OBP E Alvarez, Gabe,1B .311 97 334 47 104 28 0 10 64 46 73 2 4 .485 .401 13 *Bikowski, Scott,OF .316 98 326 43 103 20 2 2 37 41 55 3 6 .408 .394 4 Durham, Chad,OF .281 101 345 44 97 12 1 1 32 32 68 15 15 .330 .341 4 2*Hamilton, Jon,OF .237 29 97 15 23 1 1 2 8 11 23 6 1 .330 .315 1 T*Hamilton, Jon,OF .249 100 338 44 84 17 2 6 35 35 60 18 5 .364 .321 3 Maldonado, Carlos,C .260 99 334 38 87 18 1 3 45 38 43 1 1 .347 .336 7 Morales, Steve,C .222 20 54 4 12 0 0 1 3 4 9 0 0 .278 .288 2 *Nicholson, Tommy,3B .265 25 68 5 18 3 0 1 6 7 7 2 0 .353 .338 6 Piniella, Juan,OF .281 95 285 31 80 18 2 2 19 22 71 10 5 .379 .342 4 *Reed, Jeremy,OF .390 44 164 32 64 9 1 7 23 15 16 12 9 .585 .445 0 #Reyes, Guillermo,SS .198 94 308 32 61 9 1 4 29 29 63 13 8 .273 .271 17 #Sandoval, Danny,2B .269 107 390 47 105 21 1 3 36 35 56 17 9 .351 .329 13 Saunders, Chris,3B .191 17 47 4 9 0 0 0 6 11 15 1 0 .191 .345 1 *Shaffer, Josh,3B .216 83 259 14 56 6 1 0 18 11 51 1 2 .247 .255 27 All Others .235 656 84 154 32 3 19 83 75 172 9 6 .380 .324 27 Total-All Batters .265 3667 973 14 409 722 66 .338 440 177 55 377 92 .366 126 OPP PITCHER W-L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WP AVG *An, Byeong 3- 1 3.18 10 9 0 0 0 51.0 43 21 18 2 0 20 26 1 .226 Bajenaru, Jeff 4- 2 3.62 41 0 0 0 9 54.2 45 28 22 2 0 24 53 7 .225 *Bullard, Jim 3- 3 3.87 45 5 0 0 3 76.2 93 42 33 5 6 35 47 4 .304 *Cotts, Neal 9- 6 2.12 20 20 0 0 0 106.1 62 27 25 2 3 56 131 0 .170 2 Dunn, Scott 3- 1 1.69 8 0 0 0 1 10.2 8 2 2 0 0 5 14 0 .216 T Dunn, Scott 6- 3 3.35 39 0 0 0 9 51.0 39 23 19 3 0 21 68 6 .212 McWhirter, Kris 2- 6 5.68 18 4 1 0 0 44.1 42 30 28 1 3 30 34 1 .253 *Meaux, Ryan 1- 1 2.31 15 0 0 0 1 23.1 30 8 6 0 2 2 21 0 .326 *Murray, Brad 0- 0 0.00 1 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 Pacheco, Enemencio 10- 2 2.66 26 20 0 0 0 128.1 112 45 38 5 6 46 99 5 .237 Smith, Matt 4- 1 4.70 42 0 0 0 0 53.2 66 31 28 7 2 28 32 6 .299 West, Brian 3- 5 5.80 12 11 1 0 0 54.1 70 39 35 6 2 28 37 10 .313 Wylie, Mitch 3- 5 4.64 12 10 1 0 0 54.1 53 33 28 2 2 17 38 2 .257 Yofu, Tetsu 8- 6 3.48 25 16 0 0 2 108.2 97 45 42 8 11 33 90 7 .241 All Others 6-16 4.91 109 19 0 0 21 212.2 253 135 116 16 13 107 179 12 .295 Total-All Pitchers 59 3.88 114 7 977.0 486 56 431 55 55 3 37 975 421 50 801 .260