Rex Hudler

So we need an extra 144 plate appearances from Willie?

So why not get the same effect with Harris hitting 9th? You only lose the first inning. Your 9th hitter should be a table setter too, not your worst hitter.

Well the Sox haven't given too many people much reason to pay attention, have they? Like I said, Loaiza is easily forgotten about because of the lack of success of the team and the attention is more focused on Buehrle and Colon. Not surprising to me at all. But not even a mention? Give me a break! By the way, 500th post!!! I'm a starter! I didn't say it was right... just that it didn't surprise me.

Why not hit Frank #2 in the lineup? Put a guy in the nine hole that has a solid OBP and go from there. With Frank's walks, and two guys in front of him (#9 and # 1 hitter) you could better your odds for big innings (except the first, obviously) and Frank would still have guys on ahead of him to drive in. JM did it a few times before, why not stick with it? Or is it thinking too far outside the box?

Lastly, Jason, when you go to a game and get media credentials, ask them about getting field access before the game to take some of your shots. Each team will be different in what they will allow, but you can't get the access if you don't ask. Hell, some teams may even give you clubhouse access or set up interview times with certain players if you plan ahead. Generally, if you stay out of the way, they will give you good access. And don't ever ask for autographs while wearing a media credential. I have a friend that got kicked out of the park one night because he was doing that.

Welcome to the world of those of us "in the know" about Minor League Baseball. Basically it is like buying $35 or $40 seats in the first 15-20 rows of a Big Leauge park, but only paying $6-$8 and not having the rest of the stadium to deal with. Minor League Baseball is so much more fan friendly. It is much more intimate. The players are good about signing autographs before games and access is easy. They will also sign after games. Lots of guys wait until after the players have showered and catch them on their way out. If you ask nicely, and show respect, Minor League players have much less attitude than some of the Big League guys. One note: Promotions are usually scaled back for All-Star games. You will generally see some kind of promotion in between almost every inning in a Minor League game. They have to do that to cater to the families. Unfortunately there aren't enough baseball die-hards left to pay the bills.

Well the Sox haven't given too many people much reason to pay attention, have they? Like I said, Loaiza is easily forgotten about because of the lack of success of the team and the attention is more focused on Buehrle and Colon. Not surprising to me at all.

I asked about the media credentials because I figured you would have been able to get better access. I would think you shouldn't have a problem getting credentials. The Minor Leagues, at least, aren't too picky about it and with your work on the web site, I wouldn't think it would be a problem at all. I am sure there was no problem with you taking the shots and video you did. As long as you aren't making 500 copies and selling the footage, you should be just fine. Next time, think ahead damnit.

I disagree. Jose has not proven over the long run that he is a starting Major League SS. The team leader stuff is overrated if you don't produce to go along with it. Jose would be a good addition to provide depth to a playoff-bound team. He could play more than one position, provide a spark off the bench by playing 3 times a week or so. I just think his days as an everyday player have passed him by. I also wonder if playing Winter Ball every year isn't speeding up his decline. As he gets older, it has to be difficult to keep yourself up playing so many games. The 162-game Major League season is enough of a grind. I might agree if the rest of the team were producing and he wasn't, but as it stands it's just not him. He's been on Jiminez and others to get into the game all year, and since he's been here, and runs the bases like no one we've seen in a very long time. A break here or there and he's back to .250-.275. Make him team Captain and I think the whole team would get off on it. It might be all we need. I'm not trying to place the blame on him for the team's lack of success nor am I saying he doesn't add value to a club. Hence my thoughts that he would be a good bench player for the Yankees or someone. I just don't think he is a starting SS in the Big Leagues.

Can't argue with you there at all.. By the way, do the Sox have ANY players that have Boras as their agent? Isn't Boras Crede's agent??

I never said I don't believe he said it. I said I wanted to see or hear what he said and how he said it. I do believe he said it, I am just curious to the depth of the whole piece. If he said that MLB should contract 4 teams, then it is not out of the question that the Sox should at least be considered in that mix. I don't think it would happen, but let's not kid ourselves and think that the Sox are on top of the world right now. Again, I would like to know more about what was said, because I don't think he was making a prediction. And I don't believe it has anything to do with him having anything against the Sox. Perhaps someone in MLB told him certain things were being considered? Hell, I am sure if they are still looking at contraction, then they are looking at 25 differenct scenarios.

I disagree. Jose has not proven over the long run that he is a starting Major League SS. The team leader stuff is overrated if you don't produce to go along with it. Jose would be a good addition to provide depth to a playoff-bound team. He could play more than one position, provide a spark off the bench by playing 3 times a week or so. I just think his days as an everyday player have passed him by. I also wonder if playing Winter Ball every year isn't speeding up his decline. As he gets older, it has to be difficult to keep yourself up playing so many games. The 162-game Major League season is enough of a grind.

Hankins did catch once or twice earlier this year. With Birmingham having three catchers this year, I don't think it was more than just an experiment. If I recall, each time it was only for a few innings, but I am not sure.

good job, but i still question yan hitting and that is why i don't see him as a bona-fide prospect. Isn't that what I said??

Don't have a clue as to what you are talking about UNS. Of course it is Jeremy Reed. ;-)

Nice work Jason. Just curious though, did you have media credentials for the game or were you just there as a fan?

Heather, that is a question to which I have not given much thought at all. There was another thread started today called "All-Prospect Team" that has a pretty good breakdown of prospects by position. I had to actually do some work so I had to stop without including pitchers and catchers. MSF and Chisoxfn, and others stepped in and filled in the list.

Well damnit, the Barons box came up right as I was about to sign off... Jeremy Reed Sucks! BIRMINGHAM (6) AT MOBILE (7) BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI MOBILE AB R H BI C Durham CF 2 2 1 0 B Scales DH 5 0 0 0 C Maldonado PH 1 0 0 0 J Gautreau 2B 4 1 0 0 J Piniella LF 3 0 0 0 R Washington 3B 3 2 1 0 J Reed RF 4 1 3 1 J Knott RF 3 2 1 3 G Alvarez 3B 4 0 1 2 D Bravo SS 4 1 1 0 D Ingram DH 3 0 1 0 J Benick 1B 4 0 1 0 J Acevas 1B 3 0 0 0 V Faison LF 2 0 0 0 S Morales C 3 1 1 0 H Quintero C 4 1 3 3 G Reyes SS 4 1 1 1 T Donovan CF 3 0 1 1 D Sandoval 2B 4 1 2 1 TOTALS 31 6 10 5 TOTALS 32 7 8 7 BIRMINGHAM 210 020 001 -- 6 MOBILE 000 131 20x -- 7 E--J Acevas, D Sandoval, J Gautreau, C Stewart. DP--MOBILE 3. LOB--BIRMINGHAM 4, MOBILE 9. 2B--D Sandoval 2, G Alvarez, D Bravo. 3B--T Donovan. HR--G Reyes 1 (3) (off R Tucker), J Knott 1 (20) (off J Bullard). CS--J Reed, J Knott. S--J Piniella, J Acevas, C Durham. IP H R ER BB SO HR BIRMINGHAM K McWhirter 3 1-3 3 1 1 2 7 0 J Bullard 1 2-3 3 3 3 1 1 1 R Purvis 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 T Yofu (L,5-5) 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 J Bajenaru 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 MOBILE C Stewart 4 1-3 8 5 4 1 6 0 J Trujillo (W,1-0) 2 2-3 0 0 0 2 1 0 R Tucker (S,22) 2 2 1 1 0 2 1 WP--R Purvis. HBP--J Knott by T Yofu, V Faison by T Yofu. SO--BIR: D Ingram 2, J Piniella 2, J Acevas 2, S Morales, G Alvarez, D Sandoval. MOB: B Scales 3, J Gautreau 3, D Bravo, J Benick, J Knott, T Donovan, V Faison. BB--BIR: D Ingram, S Morales, C Durham. MOB: R Washington 2, V Faison, J Gautreau, T Donovan, J Knott. T--0:00. A--3,277.

No problem. But I am going to have to retire tonight and there is no box for Birmingham up yet, so someone is going to have to finish for me.

Here is a brief report on the four Sox prospects who played in the game tonight. Ryan Wing - starting and winning pitcher. Pitched 2 innings and gave up no runs on one hit with 2 K's and 1 BB. Also hit a batter. Kris Honel - pitched a hitless 7th inning with one walk. No K's No runs Ryan Meaux (pronounced Moe) - Earned the save but gave up a bomb on his first pitch. Next guy reached on an error and was erased on a 6-4-3 DP. Meaux struck out the last batter to end the game and preserve the 5-3 win. Ruddy Yan - Went 0-3. I am sure Chisoxfn will give a more detailed report since he went to the game (unless plans changed). A side note: I had heard Meaux was pronounced Moe but I assumed it to be incorrect. I always figured it for Mew. Guess I shouldn't assume.

Barons Lose 7-6. Rotation problems noted in another thread. No box yet. Bristol wins 2-0. DANVILLE 0 AT BRISTOL 2 YTD YTD DANVILLE AB R H BI AVG BRISTOL AB R H BI AVG M.Hanson 2B 4 0 1 0 .333 J.Rivera RF 3 0 0 0 .222 J.Hemingway LF 4 0 1 0 .289 L.Luna 2B 4 1 1 0 .241 D.Partridge RF 3 0 0 0 .152 C.Young CF 4 0 1 1 .406 D.White SS 1 0 0 0 .258 M.Perez 3B 4 1 1 0 .267 M.Esquivel CF 2 0 0 0 .206 A.Arias CAT 2 0 1 0 .333 B.Thomas 3B 3 0 0 0 .185 M.Lenderman CAT 2 0 0 0 .000 G.Donato DH 3 0 1 0 .286 E.Young LF 2 0 0 0 .133 S.Schade 1B 3 0 0 0 .318 S.Martin DH 4 0 0 1 .250 A.Barden CAT 3 0 0 0 .158 T.Collaro 1B 3 0 1 0 .167 W.James SS 2 0 0 0 .080 M.Bohlander 1B 0 0 0 0 .231 W.James RF 1 0 0 0 .080 F.Lebron SS 2 0 1 0 .385 D.Collins PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.DeAza PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Blakeney PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Suarez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Weichard PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 O.Lopez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Mead PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 29 0 3 0 TOTALS 30 2 6 2 DANVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 3 3 BRISTOL 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 X- 2 6 1 E--M.Hanson, A.Barden, W.James, E.Young. DP--DANVILLE 1, BRISTOL 2. LOB--DANVILLE 3, BRISTOL 8. 2B--M.Perez (4), A.Arias (3). SB--M.Esquivel (2), J.Rivera (4), F.Lebron (1). HBP--J.Rivera. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA DANVILLE D.Collins (L,0-1) 4.0 4 1 1 1 2 0 1.13 J.Blakeney 2.0 2 1 0 0 1 0 3.86 P.Weichard 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 D.Mead 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 12.27 BRISTOL F.DeAza 4.0 3 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 S.Suarez (W,1-0) 4.0 0 0 0 0 5 0 2.25 O.Lopez (S,1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 HB--P.Weichard. PB--M.Lenderman. SO--M.Hanson, J.Hemingway 2, B.Thomas, G.Donato, A.Barden 3, W.James, L.Luna 2, C.Young, M.Perez, M.Lenderman, S.Martin, T.Collaro. BB--M.Esquivel, E.Young 2, F.Lebron. T--2:26.

Charlotte loses in 12 inn. Miles 5-6, Borchard 0-6... Eric Hinske rehabbing in AAA CHARLOTTE (2) AT SYRACUSE (3) CHARLOTTE AB R H BI SYRACUSE AB R H BI A Miles 2B 6 0 5 0 E Hinske 3B 5 0 1 0 T Hummel 3B 5 0 0 1 R Thompson CF 2 0 1 1 R Gload LF 5 0 1 1 J Werth RF 4 1 1 0 J Borchard CF 6 0 0 0 S Pond 1B 4 0 1 1 M Rivera C 6 0 2 0 K Cash C 5 0 0 0 R Hankins 1B 4 0 1 0 J Sequea 2B 5 1 3 0 J Burke DH 4 1 2 0 D Wise DH 4 0 1 0 S Morgan RF 5 1 1 0 B Aven LF 5 0 1 1 J Nunez SS 5 0 0 0 K Keene SS 4 1 2 0 TOTALS 46 2 12 2 TOTALS 38 3 11 3 CHARLOTTE 000 000 020 000 -- 2 SYRACUSE 000 100 010 001 -- 3 0 OUT WHEN WINNING RUN SCORED E--K Keene. DP--CHARLOTTE 4. LOB--CHARLOTTE 12, SYRACUSE 8. 2B--A Miles 2, J Burke, J Sequea 2, S Pond, J Werth, K Keene. SB--R Thompson 2 (6). CS--A Miles, J Sequea. S--J Burke, R Hankins, R Thompson. IP H R ER BB SO HR CHARLOTTE J Adkins 6 4 1 1 2 2 0 E Almonte 1 1-3 2 1 1 0 0 0 A Munoz 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 M Ginter 2 2-3 1 0 0 2 3 0 J Meyer (L,0-1) 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 SYRACUSE J Arnold 7 1-3 7 2 2 1 3 0 S Wiggins 1-3 1 0 0 0 0 0 K Frederick 1 1-3 1 0 0 0 0 0 J Kershner 1 2-3 2 0 0 0 1 0 S Cassidy (W,2-2) 1 1-3 1 0 0 1 2 0 HBP--R Thompson by J Adkins. SO--CHA: M Rivera 2, J Borchard 2, J Nunez, R Gload. SYR: B Aven 2, D Wise, J Werth, K Cash. BB--CHA: T Hummel, R Gload. SYR: S Pond, D Wise, J Werth, R Thompson. T--3:41. A--4,937.

That was the last time they played Orlando. They play an unbalanced schedule, so they see the teams in the Eastern Division much less often.

The back-to-back DH's do nothing but create chaos. McWhirter started today on 3 days rest. Bullard relieved after pitching 6 innings in a spot start Sunday night (1 day of rest) and Yofu pitched out of the bullpen on 2 days rest, having started on Saturday night. Barons lost 7-6 by the way. Yofu picked up the loss in relief. No box yet.

Green is sarcasm. Sorry, thought it was obvious enough, but your point is made. Consider my hand slapped.