NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 6, 2012 -> 11:31 AM) Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales Sox OF prospect Brandon Short, out since March due to torn labrum in left shoulder, activated and transferred to Class-A Winston-Salem Wow, I thought they had said he was out for the year.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 03:58 PM) Devenski is the PTBNL in the trade with the Astros. No huge loss there. People were worried it would be someone a lot bigger than that.

Shoemaker just keeps getting on base: .430 OBP. He might end up starting 2013 in Charlotte.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 03:07 PM) Correct. I think people get caught up in a player's age a bit too much. Only the Hall Of Famers come up at 18-22. As long as a guy is under say 32 years old, he still has a chance to be a fantastic player. Just look how the game suddenly clicked for Paulie at age 33-34. There are so many factors out there like what if a guy spends his off time drinking alcohol. That's going to directly affect his performance in a negative way. What if he still stays up past midnight every night or eats only fried foods and meats? There's a whole bunch of growing up that takes place between the ages of 18-early thirties. I believe the game can click at any time, any league, any age. 26 yr olds are not writeoffs anymore. They arent even men yet. Shoemaker and even Hankerd could still end up being MLB Allstars. Actually, I wasn't referring to this at all, we were talking about the rules associated with players in the minors and team control. After a player is in the minors for a certain number of years after draft/sign, if they are not on the team's 40 man roster, then are exposed to the Rule V draft. And after that 4 or 5 years, there is another mark after (I think) 6 years, where they can become minor league free agents.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 03:08 PM) I thought it was 3 full yrs after after drafting a college player. If not added to 40 man, subject to draft. Am I wrong? QUOTE (danman31 @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 03:10 PM) It's not 6 years. I think he has one more year protected, but he's behind other guys for a 40-man spot anyway. So it's 5 then, for college-age draftees? Either way, he's protected for another couple years I think.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 12:30 PM) Does he just need a 40 man spot? No reason not to give him one of those. Why does he even need that? He's not even finished with his 3rd year in the minors. Pretty sure he gets 5 or 6 years before he needs protecting.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 05:33 PM) C'mon, we had the bullpen revolving door, Josh Fields, Jerry Owens, Andy Gonzalez (the predecessor to Escobar in Sox lineage) and Ehren Wasserman. At least we kept Buehrle, and I think, Dye, that year...instead of giving them up, which would have precluded 2008 from happening. Andy Gonzalez and Eduardo Escobar sre nothing alike. And Wassermann was one of the few things that actually went well in 2007.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 09:33 AM) Morel was activated by Charlotte this morning. Yeah, that makes more sense.

Shoemaker is drawing a metric f***-ton of walks since joining B-Ham. Iso OBP is .150. Since the B-Ham lineup behind him is pretty weak, I wonder if they are pitching around him, especially after he started pretty hot up there. QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 3, 2012 -> 08:38 AM) Sox will have to make a decision on him in off season. This is his third full minor league season after college. Not sure what decision you are referring to here. He's got like 2 more years after this one before he has to be protected.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 05:43 PM) After being optioned to Charlotte, Brent Morel was reassigned. Why? They released McPherson, I am assuming to make room for Brent.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 05:20 PM) Thompson is taller, he's more like a Strawberry/Rios/Winfield build. Not as explosive, but more graceful. Those are three very, very different players. Winfield was also a monster physically, 4 inches taller than Trayce and built like a brick s***house. Daryl was also much taller than Trayce, but skinnier.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 04:17 PM) I've been quite pleased with what Beck has shown so far. For him to just get out there and pitch innings and stay healthy was enough for me. Maybe avoid getting completely shelled. He's done all that.

My stance was that I was OK with it, as long as they surrounded Robin with some good, veteran coaches. Cooper was there, but I wanted a serious, major league bench coach. Didn't get one, so I thought it wasn't a good move. Apparently I was wrong about that need - other than Cooper, a very inexperienced staff has been doing quite well so far.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 2, 2012 -> 12:29 PM) Chris Beck has a 4.00 ERA, but a pretty miserable 26 hits in 18 IP. He really needs to get straighted out by the coaching staff and Allen Thomas. Take a look at pitchers on Great Falls, and the entire Pioneer league, really. In the entire Pioneer league among qualifying starters, there are a total of 4 - again, in the entire league - with ERA's below 3.86. One of those is a 23 year old NDFA, another is in his 3rd year in rookie ball. It is a hitters' league in a big way. Also, everyone knew Beck was in GF just to get some innings in and work on some stuff, with the plan of getting him in shape for 2013. No one was expecting much of him statistically, especially in that league.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 27, 2012 -> 05:33 PM) Been a long time since I watched a preview that had me that focused and interested. I hadn't even heard of this until now. Wow.

First monthly update for Brandon... So far, they've primarily been using Brandon in relief in Great Falls, probably due to his innings count for the year (inclusive of college). He has pitched in 7 games, 2 of which were starts, but he hasn't pitched more than 3 innings at a crack. Here are the overall numbers for the just-turned-21-year-old... 12 IP, 16 H, 7 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 14 K... 5.25 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .296 BAA, 2.43 GO/AO, 10.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 Core results aren't too great, he's getting hit a bit... but look at the bolded. He's missing a lot of bats, and when they do make contact, he's getting a lot of ground balls. Those are both good signs. Best guess is, Brandon is a starter in Kanny next year as a 21 year old. The numbers he puts up there will be more meaningful than in rookie ball after a full college spring season.

Dan is back in Birmingham after 9 games in Charlotte. Here are his numbers in that short AAA stint: 18 IP, 25 H, 9 ER, 3 HR, 3 BB, 19 K... 4.50 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, .338 BAA, 9.5 K/9, 1.5 BB/9 Obviously he got hit a bit, but I'm a little surprised he got sent back down in such a hurry. He was missing plenty of bats, just like in AA, and showed plus control, also just like in AA. And compared to his 2011 AAA stint, his peripherals were looking much better (though the core numbers were similar). Just seems to me like 9 games is an awfully short time, especially when he had improved in some areas since last year... and since, honestly, the guy has nothing left to prove in AA. I wonder if part of the demotion is the simple fact that the Charlotte bullpen was getting too crowded (Rem was promoted when guys like Bruney, Omogrosso, Heath/Veal went up to the big club, and now they are back), and they want him to get more consistent innings. Back in AA he's pitched twice so far, with results you'd expect from him there: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Hopefully he gets another shot at AAA this year, but if not, I'd expect him to be in AAA in 2013.

Monthly update... Keegan had a couple rough starts in July that hurt his overall numbers. One of those, on 7/13, seemed odd: he pitched just 0.2 IP, gave up 3 ER, but didn't throw many pitches either. Not sure if he was ejected, maybe he was ill or had an injury, hard to tell. He also got hit around on 7/30, but he pitched a more typical 5.1 IP in that case. July numbers: 28 IP, 36 H, 17 ER, 1 BB, 19 K... 5.46 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, .305 BAA (without the bizarro outing, ERA is 4.65) Overall numbers: 44.2 IP, 53 H, 24 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 34 K... 4.84 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .291 BAA His control continues to be phenomenal, with an almost impossible 0.6 BB/9 rate. He walked 1 batter in the entire month of July, covering 6 games. His ground ball rate is also encouraging, at 1.59 GO/AO, and he's only given up 1 HR, so he seems good at keeping the ball down. Guys who pitch to contact and induce ground balls like that are sometimes hit around a little more in the lower levels, where infield defense may not be very good. For example, look at his 7/30 outing, where he gave up 10 H and 6 ER in 5.1 IP. Here are listed the people who reached base against him from the recap: --Brandon Dailey singles on a ground ball to shortstop Bradley Salgado. --Jesse Winker doubles (8) on a line drive to left fielder Patrick Palmeiro. Brandon Dailey to 3rd. --Seth Mejias-Brean reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Bradley Salgado. Brandon Dailey scores. --Seth Mejias-Brean singles on a ground ball to third baseman Tyler Williams. --Matt Lentz triples (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Yoandy Barroso . --Robert Ramirez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Yoandy Barroso . Matt Lentz scores. --Brandon Dailey singles on a ground ball to first baseman Brent Tanner. Robert Ramirez scores. --Jesse Winker singles on a ground ball to right fielder Yoandy Barroso . Brandon Dailey to 3rd. --Seth Mejias-Brean singles on a ground ball to shortstop Bradley Salgado. Brandon Dailey scores. Jesse Winker to 2nd. --Carlos Sanchez triples (6) on a line drive to center fielder Daurys Mercedes. --Robert Ramirez singles on a line drive to center fielder Daurys Mercedes. Carlos Sanchez scores. So out of 11 batters who reached... 1 was on an error, 4 were infield hits, 2 were ground balls that made it to the outfield, and 4 were real line drive or fly ball hits. Just an interesting illustration of life in the Pioneer League. With his superb control and good ground ball rate, in addition to his decent velocity, the question at this point is about movement and secondary stuff. I don't have any scouting info of that variety, but I think we'll get a better idea on that come 2013, when he'll likely be in Kannapolis.

Sanchez now with 11 games at AA under his belt, still hitting .400.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 1, 2012 -> 02:56 PM) Sucks that the club has to waste an option, but I guess in theory, that wasted option shouldn't be that bad. Yeah, I think he's got at least one more option year, right? I've obviously been wrong on this stuff recently so I'll let someone else figure it out. This is probably best, though having him on the bench would work too.

Rangel hasn't played since 7/3, and is still on the restricted list for personal reasons. No change to his stats or status.

Charlie continues to pleasantly surprise in Charlotte. So far on the season, starting for the Knights: 22 G 133.1 IP, 142 H, 52 ER, 10 HR, 19 BB, 96 K 3.51 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .269 BAA, 6.5 K/9, 1.3 BB/9 Core numbers look good, control looks very good. K rate isn't spectacular, but its better than he's done in previous years, and its not a number that's declining quickly like in previous years. It sure looks like they "fixed" something for Charlie. He still doesn't miss a ton of bats, and the BAA is a little high, but he may be in the picture for a bullpen spot in 2013. He needs to be on the 40-man next season or the Sox risk losing him, and given his AAA performance, I think there is a fair chance someone would claim him off waivers if they outright him.

Mark came off the DL on 7/31, and celebrated with a 3-for-5 performance with a home run and a double. On the season thus far, his slash line is .322/.403/.466/.868. Has 66 K (17.8% K/PA) vs 40 BB. He continues to do well, but he was a victim of some bad luck. The one time a small window opened, where there was a slot open in W-S's OF that he was likely tagged for, he got hurt and Bill Rice took the job instead. Guys like Mark don't have much margin for error. Ideally, you'd like to see him in AA some time next year, given his age. Sort of a Shoemaker-like path. He'll be in W-S to start next year almost assuredly (even if he gets to W-S late this year), but if he does well, might see AA during the season.

Just curious... what exactly is the Cubs' starting rotation now? With Demp and Maholm traded?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 31, 2012 -> 05:20 PM) http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/p...sp&c_id=ari BR has his minor league service time at 8 years going into 2012, that would put him at 5 years after '08 (he was signed in '03 originally, I assume he played in the DWL) and he was added to the 40 man after the '08 season in typical protect-a-player-from-the-rule-v-draft fashion. His contract history has him making $400K in '09 which was the minimum for a player on the 40 man at the time. I only see his US minor league play, if he played 2 or 3 seasons in the Dominican, does that count as minor league service time? I guess it must, otherwise AZ wouldn't have needed to protect him. I had assumed (obviously incorrectly) that those DSL/DWL leagues weren't really regular service time. QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ Jul 31, 2012 -> 05:25 PM) So well debunked that it's actually true. Which is why I said "unless someone can show me otherwise" (which Kalapse did), sarcasmo.