Rex Hudler

Don Mattingly learned to hit with power after he reached the Majors and never bulked up. Hitting with power can be a learned thing, not all about bulking up.

The plane ride home will likely cure whatever illness they had today. LOL

So we both agree Brando is completely off-base? LOL

Not having been there, its hard to say.

Sorry Kreskin, I didn't have access to that crystal ball.

I can agree with that. But he is not 2-3 years ahead of Mauer.

I hope he can turn things back around. Bit MSF had a fair point in that despite his success, he has never seemed to be high on the Sox list. Likely because as a closer he doesn't throw hard and his changeup is his best pitch. Foulke-like, I guess.

Probably not, but how many left-handed hitting catchers do you find that hit well over .300 and walk more than they strikeout?? I think Mauer will show more power as he ages. The position he plays along with his skills makes him extremely rare. Also, I think you are nuts if you think Mauer will not make an impact until 2007, Brando. He is doing basically the same thing as Reed while two years younger at the same level. What makes you think Reed is on any faster a timeline? If Reed is pushed, then I could see him arriving a year earlier, but 2006 or 2007 is ridiculous.

I'm wondering if Rowand's weren't on the same play? A muff in the field followed by a bad throw trying to make up for it?? It happens, sometimes.

No boxes for W-S or Kanny yet. Kanny lost first game of DH 2-1. W-S is the only team with a chance to win the first half title, which is why you haven't seen some guys promoted, most likely. The Warthogs have been so terrible the past few years, the Sox owe them one. I wouldn't be surprised to see some changes after the first half, however. You would think Reed, Yan and possibly Wing would all get serious consideration for promotion. Honel would likely come later in the season.

Game 2 - Barons shutout on 2 hits. Now too far back to win 1st Half. BIRMINGHAM (0) AT WEST TENN (6) BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI WEST TENN AB R H BI C Durham CF 3 0 0 0 P Liriano SS 4 1 4 3 J Piniella LF 3 0 1 0 B Harris 3B 3 0 0 1 R Hankins 1B 1 0 0 0 J Powers 2B 3 0 0 0 J Shaffer 3B 1 0 0 0 J Dubois DH 3 0 0 0 G Alvarez DH 3 0 0 0 J Hamilton RF 2 1 1 0 D Ingram RF 3 0 0 0 R Sadler CF 3 1 2 0 C Saunders 1B 2 0 0 0 M Dzurilla 1B 3 1 1 0 J Acevas C 1 0 0 0 J Melian LF 2 2 1 0 C Maldonado C 1 0 0 0 C Kopitzke C 2 0 2 2 G Reyes SS 2 0 0 0 D Sandoval 2B 2 0 1 0 TOTALS 22 0 2 0 TOTALS 25 6 11 6 BIRMINGHAM 000 000 0-- 0 WEST TENN 130 200 x-- 6 E--B Harris. DP--BIRMINGHAM 2, WEST TENN 1. LOB--BIRMINGHAM 3, WEST TENN 6. 2B--C Kopitzke. 3B--P Liriano. S--C Kopitzke. SF--B Harris. IP H R ER BB SO HR BIRMINGHAM B West (L,3-5) 4 8 6 6 3 4 0 M Smith 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 J Bullard 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 WEST TENN F Sanchez 4 1 0 0 1 2 0 E Brown (W,5-0) 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 D Cash 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 HBP--R Hankins by F Sanchez. SO--BIR: C Saunders, D Ingram, J Shaffer, G Alvarez, J Acevas. WTN: J Dubois 2, J Powers, M Dzurilla. BB--BIR: C Saunders. WTN: J Hamilton, J Melian, J Powers. T--1:49. A--2,895.

Game 1 - McWhirter with a nice spot start. BIRMINGHAM (1) AT WEST TENN (2) BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI WEST TENN AB R H BI C Durham CF 3 0 1 0 J Hamilton LF 3 0 2 1 D Sandoval 2B 3 0 1 0 B Harris 3B 3 0 0 0 R Hankins 1B 3 0 1 0 J Powers 2B 1 0 0 0 G Alvarez DH 3 1 1 1 J Dubois RF 3 0 1 1 S Bikowski RF 3 0 2 0 R Sadler CF 3 0 1 0 J Piniella PR 0 0 0 0 J Velazquez DH 3 0 0 0 D Ingram LF 3 0 0 0 M Dzurilla 1B 3 0 1 0 C Maldonado C 3 0 1 0 J Arteaga SS 2 1 2 0 J Shaffer 3B 1 0 0 0 L McKnight C 2 1 1 0 J Acevas PH 1 0 0 0 G Reyes SS 2 0 0 0 TOTALS 25 1 7 1 TOTALS 23 2 8 2 BIRMINGHAM 000 100 0-- 1 WEST TENN 002 000 x-- 2 DP--BIRMINGHAM 1, WEST TENN 2. LOB--BIRMINGHAM 4, WEST TENN 5. 2B--C Durham, R Hankins, J Hamilton. HR--G Alvarez 1 (6) (off M Nannini). CS--S Bikowski, M Dzurilla, R Sadler. S--J Shaffer. IP H R ER BB SO HR BIRMINGHAM K McWhirter (L,0-1) 6 8 2 2 2 2 0 WEST TENN M Nannini (W,6-3) 7 7 1 1 0 4 1 SO--BIR: D Ingram, G Reyes, J Shaffer, J Acevas. WTN: J Hamilton, J Dubois. BB--WTN: J Powers 2. T--1:34.

Miles and Hummel with nice days. Ginter finally shows a chink in the armor. CHARLOTTE (7) AT OTTAWA (8) CHARLOTTE AB R H BI OTTAWA AB R H BI A Miles 2B 5 2 4 1 B Littleton CF 5 1 2 0 T Hummel 3B 4 1 2 2 J Hammond 1B 4 2 1 1 R Gload 1B 5 0 2 1 E Garabito SS 4 2 1 0 C Brumbaugh RF 4 1 1 1 J Cust LF 5 1 2 4 A Rowand CF 5 1 1 0 J Leon 3B 3 0 1 2 A Sanders LF 5 1 1 2 R Machado DH 3 0 0 0 S Morgan DH 5 0 1 0 N Calzado RF 1 0 0 0 S Morales C 3 1 0 0 F Bates RF 2 0 0 1 T Nicholson SS 4 0 0 0 S Lomasney C 3 0 1 0 R Sasser 2B 3 2 1 0 TOTALS 40 7 12 7 TOTALS 33 8 9 8 CHARLOTTE 030 100 300 -- 7 OTTAWA 013 000 301 -- 8 1 OUT WHEN WINNING RUN SCORED. E--A Rowand 2, T Hummel 2, J Leon. DP--CHARLOTTE 1. LOB--CHARLOTTE 9, OTTAWA 10. 2B--A Miles 2, R Gload, J Hammond, R Sasser, J Cust. HR--C Brumbaugh 1 (9) (off J Stephens), T Hummel 1 (4) (off J Stephens), A Sanders 1 (9) (off J Stephens). SB--B Littleton 1 (3). CS--S Lomasney. S--S Lomasney. SF--J Leon. IP H R ER BB SO HR CHARLOTTE M Porzio 6 1-3 7 6 4 3 4 0 M Ginter (L,2-2) 2 2 2 0 3 1 0 OTTAWA J Stephens 6 1-3 11 7 7 2 6 3 T Rizzo 1 1-3 1 0 0 1 2 0 D Cubillan (W,3-4) 1 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 0 HBP--R Machado by M Ginter, R Machado by M Porzio. SO--CHA: A Sanders 3, S Morgan 2, C Brumbaugh 2, A Rowand, T Nicholson, S Morales. OTT: J Leon, E Garabito, J Cust, S Lomasney, R Sasser. BB--CHA: C Brumbaugh, T Hummel, S Morales. OTT: J Hammond, J Leon, F Bates, E Garabito, R Sasser, N Calzado. T--2:53. A--4,203.

Almonte certainly seems to have lost it. He was a very good pitcher in 2001 and 2002. Struggled badly this year, especially of late.

Brando, did we just agree??? How scary! LOL

Just pick out all the stats you don't like why don't you?? The kid just happens to be hitting .340 with more walks than strikeouts with 12 doubles and 42 RBI. He is also very higly regarded as a catcher with a very strong arm. He also is a left-handed hitting catcher, which is rare. No he isn't going to steal 30 bases and no he hasn't developed a lot of power as of yet, but most scouts feel he will with time. It is common for HS players to develop their power later. And just to be fair, we'll include his stats (and what the heck, compare him to Jeremy Reed)...... Name Year Level G Avg. 2B 3B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG Mauer 2001 Rookie 23 .400 6 2 0 14 19 10 .492 .491 Mauer 2002 Low A 110 .302 23 1 4 62 61 42 .393 .392 Reed 2002 Low A 57 .319 15 0 4 32 11 24 .377 .448 Mauer 2003 High A 57 .340 12 1 1 42 24 23 .406 .420 Reed 2003 High A 58 .330 16 1 4 46 39 16 .434 .480 Reed had 17 SB in 2002 and has 25 this year. He certainly deserves credit for that. Mauer will steal very few bases, which you would expect for a catcher. The fact that the Midwest League is considered almost Middle A (remember when the Sox had 3 Class A teams?) and a better league than the Sally League (although the Sally was loaded with pitching prospects last year) and Mauer is doing this while 2 years younger than Reed makes a statement. Not taking anything away from Reed at all (I'd love both of them) but your comment "Compared to Jeremy Reed, he AIN'T s***" is completely baseless. Spin it however you want, but anyone in baseball circles will tell you Mauer has a bigger upside. That said, if I am a Twins fan, I am happy with Joe Mauer's progress. If I am a Sox fan, I am very happy with Jeremy Reed.

The signing bonus has to be paid (I believe) by the end of the calendar year in which they sign, with an exception for a player that is a two-sport athlete (ala Borchard) where the bonus can be spread out over threee years. Player's salaries in the Minors are minimal until they are placed on the 40-man roster (for the 2nd year) or become a 6-year free agent. For example, a first year player may make approx. $1,000/month (for the 5-month season - April-August). A guy in AA starts out around $1,500 or $1,600/month.

I agree and disagree with both of you. LOL The college vs. sign out of HS decision really depends on the individual. Most contracts include provisions to pay for college or a certain portion of it if the player does not make the Majors within a specified time. But the reality of many of these kids going back to start college after playing Minor League ball for 3-5 years is not likely. At that point, most of these guys feel they need to go get a job and make money, especially if they have gotten married. A lot depends on the physical and mental maturity of the kid. In my mind, if a guy is a 1st-3rd round pick, the decision is pretty easy. The money is such that it would be really difficult to turn down the money and opportnity. As a general rule, kids drafted that high are obviously the most ready for professional baseball physically, but there are exceptions. Kids drafted in the 4th thru the 10th round are in that gray area and the decision really should reflect on the individual. After that, it is pretty much a crapshoot. The less money an organization has invested in you, the less chances you will get. A guy drafted in the 12th round will have to far outperform guys drafted earlier just to get the same opportunities. Remember, some kids just aren't great students or school is just not for them. Obviously those kids are more likely to sign out of HS. Lastly, something to be considered. I read recently that almost 80% of pitchers drafted out of HS end up having arm surgery before they ever make the Majors (if they do). I don't recall the % of college players, but it was considerably lower.

Frank's problem is that he has completely looked like a clueless hitter at times. He has been overmatched and then whines about not getting any pitches to hit. Obviously he has made some adjustments, which is what we were hoping for instead of his whining. Frank's numbers are certainly respectable as he has heated up nicely. But there is still no comparison for the two players. Not now, and only somewhat based on the past. Lastly, don't get too lost in OBP with your # 3 hitter. He needs to drive in runs and 28 in 61 games is not All-Star like for a player without a position.

Heck, Willie Harris might end up outhitting Joe when he comes back if he ever got the ground-ball mentality down. Nobody bats 420 in AAA over almost 90 atbats without having good skills. Only problem with that statement is that when Willie was hitting .420 in AAA he wasn't hitting with the ground-ball mentality. His 5 HR in 23 games matched the 5 he had last year in 89 games in Charlotte.

That is your opinion , I have mine, Clemens /Wood does nothing for me, has nothing to do with Sox, this was Clemens 3rd try at 300 ...yawn.....and Wood has barely been a .500 pitcher. Then your scope of baseball knowledge is way too narrow. Anytime a guy is going for 300 wins is huge and to be doing so at Wrigley where the Yankees hadn't played since 1938 and against a fellow Texas pitcher, not to mention the young vs. old plotlines makes for great baseball. If you didn't watch, then you have no clue how this game played out. If you don't care, then get the hell off this thread and go back to your narrow view of the game, however sad it is. Because my opinion on game does not agree with yours is no reason to get personal, 2 people can disagree without questioning someone's scope of baseball knowledge. Sorry, if you can't see that matchup today as a great one, then I certainly question your baseball knowledge and your understanding of its history. If that is considered getting personal, then so be it. If you aren't interested in it, fine. If you can't see the significance of it that tells me all I need to know. Opinions are like assholes everyone's got one, matchup was 100% ass kissing media hype in a month no one will care or talk about the great Clemens/Wood matchup. Game was one for the ages You have no clue and obviously no sense of history. The media hyped that game because it deserved to be hyped. Crawl out from under your hatred of the Cubs and be a baseball fan for a day. Hate to break it to you, but the game is much more than just the Sox.

How about getting rid of both of them?

I understand your point and it is somewhat valid. Don't discount, however, that the more guys win at lower levels, the better then understand how to win and that can only help once they reach the big leagues. So winning and losing, along with playing the game the right way is emphasized along with individual player development. One does not go without the other. But yes, you are correct in that the purpose of the Minor Leagues is to develop players for the Big Club.

I believe he has taken Ulacia's spot in the rotation. Ulacia will be out awhile.

For a guy who doesn't give a s*** about the minors, you sure as hell know about a lot of the guys in it.