MnSoxFan

If people are too lazy to click on links, heck with em. I guess I can just skip over the posted boxes, but I like keeping things to a minimum, makes it so much nicer.

Jas, catchers almost never make it when drafted as catchers, I will betcha 95% never do. No way we waste one, remember how good Sardhina was supposed to be for Cincy, that was a wasted pick. No way we do that, if we do I will be pissed.

Just a question, but isn't the links being posted good enough to keep from posting the entire box here?

Do NOT waste a 1-10th rounder on a catcher, please. Pitching, pitching and more pitching.

Spot starter flirts with no-hitter Monday, May 17, 2004 DOUG SEGREST News staff writer Birmingham Barons right-hander Wyatt Allen is a reliever. End of discussion. So when Allen was given the spot starting assignment Sunday, the ex-Tennessee Volunteer ace decided he'd approach it as if he'd been summoned late in the game. "I pitched like I was coming out of the bullpen," Allen said after a 5-1 Birmingham victory against Mobile. "I was going to go until I couldn't go any more." So he breezed through one inning, then two. He nicked Mobile catcher Nick Trzesniak with a pitch in the third, but promptly picked him off first to thwart that threat. Even after a flirtatious fourth inning, Allen remained untouchable - as would the Barons' pitching staff, which kept the no-hitter intact for 71/3 innings. "Wyatt Allen was excellent," Barons manager Razor Shines said. "He gave us three innings in relief (on Thursday), striking out seven, and he gets the start today and look what he gives up: nothing." Allen gave way after four no-hit innings and returned to the clubhouse. Fellow reliever Jim Bullard stretched the drama in the fifth, not realizing what was unfolding before a crowd of 10,271 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. "The truth is I didn't know until just before the sixth inning," Bullard said. "After the fifth inning, I sat down in the dugout and looked up at the scoreboard and realized what was going on." Still, Allen did not know the status of the no-hitter he'd begun. He had worked out on a stationary bike, showered and changed clothes when Bullard sauntered in the locker room after two innings of work. "Jim came in and didn't say anything," Allen explained. "I asked, `Have they got a hit yet?' And he just said, `Nope.'" Josh Fields, in just his ninth appearance of the season after a delayed start on the disabled list, secured the no-hitter through the seventh inning. But with one out in the eighth, he surrendered back-to-back singles. The most recent Barons no-hitter came on opening day in April 2001, when Mike Porzio, Matt Beaumont and Brian Tokarse combined to handcuff Tennessee. Allen, who was pressed into starting by the call-up to Triple-A of Dennis Ulacia, did not pitch the minimum five innings to qualify for the win. Instead, Bullard (1-1) was awarded the victory. Jeff Bajenaru pitched out of an inherited jam in the ninth to grab his fifth save. Birmingham took a 1-0 lead in the second when Scott Bikowski scored on a bases-loaded balk by Mobile starter Chris Rojas. RBI hits by Chris Stewart and Josh Shaffer capped the inning. Bikowski, Shaffer and Mike Spidale would have two hits apiece to pace an 11-hit day for Birmingham (20-16). Mobile leadoff man Freddy Guzman, like Allen, spent the last five innings of the game in the clubhouse. He argued a call after he was caught stealing in the fourth by throwing his helmet and was ejected before the protective gear hit the turf. BARONS NOTES: The Barons drew 23,495 fans for the weekend, making it the sixth-largest weekend crowd in club history at The Met. Sunday's crowd swelled for the Safe at Home Christian concert after the game. The Barons close out the series with Mobile (18-19) at 11 a.m. with Ryan Meaux (2-3, 6.14) facing Steve Watkins (2-2, 5.17).

Why would Ulacia be in the pen with Wright, Kohlmeier both on DL and Diaz moved up?

INTIMIDATORS BRING THEIR BROOMS SWEEPING THE BATS (Greensboro, NC) – Kannapolis brought their brooms to Greensboro sweeping the Bats in the series with Thursday night’s win 9-1 win at War Memorial Stadium. Greensboro (9-25) bucked the trend in the series by scoring first off Kannapolis starter Rafael Flores. Cole Seifrig doubled in the first inning and scored on a two out single by Ryan Bear. Flores (2-1) allowed three hits after the first inning holding the Bats to one run total in his five innings. Micah Snurstein, 4-5, drove in the tying run in the second inning and scored with Clint King on Charlie Lisk’s three-run blast over the left field wall. Lisk drove in two more runs in the four-run third inning giving the Intimidators an 8-1 lead. The loss went to Phil Aken who surrendered eight runs in three innings of work. Fraser Dizard and John Hurd tossed four scoreless innings preserving the win for Flores. The Kannapolis bullpen shutout the Bats the entire series covering twelve and one third innings Kannapolis (19-15) is in the midst of an eight game road trip and start a four game series with Asheville Friday night in Asheville. The Intimidators return home to Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium Wednesday, May 19th for a 10:00am Education Day vs. the Hagerstown Suns. For more information, or to order tickets, call the Intimidators at 704-932-3267.

Avalanche holds off Warthogs in ninth Winston-Salem's rally comes up just short; Hogs going on the road By Dan Collins JOURNAL REPORTER The Salem Avalanche got out of Ernie Shore Field one step ahead of the broom last night. Reliever Mark McLemore fanned Brian Becker and Ricardo Nanita with the bases loaded in the ninth to preserve the Avalanche's 10-9 victory and avoid a sweep of the three-game series. In doing so, he denied a desperate, if belated, bid by the Warthogs to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season. Down 10-6 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Warthogs pushed across three runs, with two coming on a one-out, bases-loaded double by Brian Anderson. But after Manager Russ Nixon of the Avalanche chose to have Casey Rogowski walked intentionally, McLemore struck out Becker and Nanita with the potential tying run only 90 feet from home plate. The Warthogs will embark on a seven-day trip to Lynchburg and Salem before returning on May 21 for a three-game home series against division leader Kinston. "You can't give up 10 runs and hope to win," Manager Ken Dominguez said. "Our kids battled and never quit, which has been their M.O. the entire season. "They don't quit and they don't give up. We're one hit away from stealing a victory right there." The Warthogs rapped 15 hits - including three doubles - and had two sacrifice flies, yet battled uphill from the time the Avalanche grabbed a 7-1 lead in the third off struggling starter Byeong Hak An. The Avalanche chased An in an unsightly five-run third during which the Warthogs made two errors, walked two, threw a wild pitch and gave up two stolen bases and three hits. An, a left-hander from Bu Chun City, South Korea, fell to 0-4 as his earned-run average soared to 6.61. The statistics stand in contrast to those of last year, when An was 13-7 with a 3.58 ERA while splitting time between Winston-Salem and Birmingham of the Class AA Southern League. Dominguez said An's dropoff has been a source of concern for J.R. Perdew, the Warthogs' pitching coach. "I just don't see the same guy right now," Dominguez said. "I know J.R.'s working with him, trying to figure out this thing. I don't know if it's focus, or it's mechanics right now. He's just not getting anything down in the zone and he's not commanding anything right now." The Warthogs chipped away against starter Jason Hirsh (2-3) and relievers Jailen Peguero and Daniel Freeman, scoring three in the third, one in the sixth and another in the eighth to pull to 10-6. But when Freeman retired Carlos Lee on a grounder for the first out of the ninth, the Avalanche appeared ready to cruise out of Ernie Shore Field with the victory. Then Pedro Lopez, Tommy Nicholson and Andy Gonzalez singled in succession to load the bases and prompt Nixon to pull Freeman in favor of left-hander McLemore to face Ryan Sweeney, a left-handed hitter. Sweeney grounded to second, but shortstop Ryan Stegall dropped the throw from Jon Helquist as the Warthogs scored a run and kept the bases loaded.

Get your ass in a car and go scout

Morse's hot bat cools off Biscuits Thursday, May 13, 2004 A. STACY LONG For The Birmingham News MONTGOMERY - The Southern League's best shortstop may not have been promoted Wednesday. Montgomery's B.J. Upton, rated Baseball America's top minor league prospect, was promoted to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday. Birmingham's Michael Morse is still around. "That's the best shortstop in the league," Barons first baseman Aaron McNeal said after Birmingham's 7-2 win over the Biscuits on Wednesday at Riverwalk Stadium. Morse had a line-drive bad-hop RBI single that helped key a big third inning, and singled and scored in the eighth. Morse and left fielder Mike Spidale both had two hits and scored two runs in front of an announced crowd of 3,782. Morse, a 6-foot-5 21-year-old, entered Wednesday with a .303 average and left it with a team-high 18 runs scored and 19 RBIs. "He's an Alex Rodriguez-type of shortstop, I like to tell him," Barons manager Razor Shines said. "I'm ecstatic he's on my club." Morse's third-inning single skipped over Montgomery shortstop Nestor Perez - Upton's heir apparent - and helped the Barons piece together a five-run inning. Ruddy Yan's two-run double erased Montgomery's 1-0 lead. After Morse's RBI single, Nate Murphy had a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. McNeal's single to center scored Morse and ended the five-run outburst. "When you're not swinging the bat good or feeling good, you have to get some of those to go through," Morse said. "It kept that inning going." Birmingham's Ryan Meaux (2-3) scattered 10 hits over six innings, allowing only two runs. The Biscuits left four runners in scoring position against Meaux and finished with eight left on base. Brian McNichol gave up one hit over two innings for the Barons. He's yet to allow a run in 19 innings this year. "McNichol has been outstanding and phenomenal," Shines said. "We couldn't ask for anything more than he's done." Montgomery's Jim Magrane (1-2) surrendered six runs on six hits in five innings. He issued two key walks in the Barons' five-run third, including one to Josh Shaffer, who started Wednesday with a .108 batting average. Perez was 3-for-4 with two RBIs in his first game since Upton's promotion. He also played shortstop Tuesday night and is a combined 5-for-8. Perez had a two-out single in the second to score Fernando Cortez, who had tripled. In the sixth, Cortez and Perez hit back-to-back two-out doubles to cut Birmingham's lead to 6-2. Perez has started four of the last five games. It's the most playing time he's seen since Upton left the team in April for a family funeral. "Now that I have a chance to play every day, I definitely want to do my best," Perez said. "It's not easy to have three hits in a game, so it's very hard to remember the last time."

Look at the relief from Allen for Munoz, he is getting me excited whether or not he looks good, his stats the past 2-3 weeks have to be pretty damn good. 2 hits for Yan, Munoz now 6-0, Vets hit. http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnfor...px?GAMEID=16256

Charlotte loses 7-4, poor start for Stewart. http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnfor...px?GAMEID=13560

W-S almost comes back, loses 10-9, An got clobbered early and relief not a lot better. The Kids keep hitting, 3 hits (2 doubles included) and 3 RBIs for Anderson, 2 hits and 3 Ribbies for Sweeney, 2 hits for Rogo, 2 hits and a walk for AGon. http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnfor...px?GAMEID=11769

2 hits and 5 RBIs for Lisk too. Nice relief for Dizard and Hurt.

Looks like the minor leaguers went 3-0 yesterday, I think that was 2nd day this week to go 3-0, they are really starting to all play pretty well.

Spidale and Morse each with 2 knocks, Meaux with decent start, great relief by McNichol again, and also Smith. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...px?GAMEID=16255

Yes, bump.

bump

Nice comeback for the Warthogs. Rogo with a 3 run dinger to help win it, he had all 4 RBIs, maybe he will see Birmingham this summer yet. Anderson with 2 hits and a walk, Sweeney with a hit, Nice relief pitching, that 30 year old ex Royal farmhand, Kenny Ray, with the win. 7th save for Pollak. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...px?GAMEID=11768 Charlotte has day off.

Sweeney, Warthogs romp past Avalanche Winston-Salem scores 10 runs in third inning, cruises to 13-8 victory By Dan Collins For all those wondering how the Chicago White Sox could take a 6-4, 200-pound left-hander with a 90 mile per hour fastball and make a right-fielder out of him, Ryan Sweeney last night helped provide the answer. Slamming a homer, a triple and a single, Sweeney sparked the stampeding Winston-Salem Warthogs to a 13-8 romp over the Salem Avalanche last night in front of 977 at Ernie Shore Field. He came to the plate in the seventh needing only a double to hit for the cycle, but struck out for his only out of the game. The homer, his first in 106 Carolina League at-bats, was a long blast down the right-field line with a runner aboard in the fifth. But equally impressive was his two-run triple off left-hander Tom Lipari that sailed to the warning track in right center and capped the Warthogs' biggest inning of the season, a 10-run third. The Warthogs, who have won 11 of their past 15, will play the Avalanche today at noon in the second game of a three-game series. Left-hander Paulino Reynoso (0-0, 3.94) is scheduled to make his third start for the Warthogs and right-hander Francisco Pena (1-0, 3.57) is scheduled to start for the Avalanche. Only 19, Sweeney was drafted by the parent White Sox in the second round last June. Though he was 9-0 with a 0.35 earned-run average as a junior pitcher for Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sweeney was penciled in at right field when he reported last summer to Bristol of the Appalachian Rookie League. "When you watch him swing the bat, watch him run and you watch him play the outfield, you understand," Manager Ken Dominguez of the Warthogs said. "The thing about guys like that, when they've got the ability to play the field, you want them to play the field first. "You want to see if they can hit and do things. Ryan can run well. He's got a good arm. He can run balls down in the outfield. He can hit. You've got to give those guys a chance to see if they can develop." Sweeney said that his fastball in high school was timed between 88 and 92 miles per hour. Even so, he said he drew more attention in high school for his offense when he was named Louisville Sluggers' National Player of the Year. "I was looked at as a pitcher too," Sweeney said. "But once I started hitting the ball in my junior and senior year, they mostly looked at me as an outfielder. "And if I need to fall back on it, I have pitching too." Sweeney's outburst, which also included a walk in the first, continued his recent hot streak and raised his batting average from .233 to .252. Two of the hits came off left-handers, raising his batting average against southpaws from .105 to .182. Despite his early season problems against left-handers, Dominguez has left him in the third spot in the Warthogs' order. Last night, Dominguez had left-handers batting first, third, fifth and seventh against Brian Rodaway and the Warthogs improved their record to 5-2 against left-handed starters. "When you've got quality hitters, they're going to hit anybody," Dominguez said. "And these kids are starting to come around. They're talented, and like we talked about early in the season, all they needed was some experience. "And that experience is starting to come about. They're not rookies anymore. They're slowly starting to become young veterans." Rodaway, who was 3-0 with a 2.19 earned-run average coming into the game, lasted only 22/3 innings. Seven of the first eight Warthog batters of the third reached base and one of the outs he recorded came when Tommy Nicholson was caught attempting to steal second base. But Chris Amador, batting ninth in the order provided one of the game's biggest hits, a three-run homer to left field off the first pitch thrown by Lipari. The home run, Amador's first of the season and his seventh in 1,097 professional at-bats, extended the lead to 8-0. Left-hander Nik Libisich encountered trouble in the sixth, but not before pitching well enough to five to pick up the victory and improve to 1-2.

Nah, been quite a while since I have done a bender :-) Just confused and been too busy, some buddies got let go at work, been a tough last week, a couple had 25 years in with IBM, really sucks.

Twins with first 3 on off Hasegawa in 8th, bases loaded no out for Hunter.

Excellent start for Rodriguez, very good. Valido got 2 hits, 3 for Brice, 1 hit and 1 walk for Young. Kanny and W-S are really looking good and both are young teams I would think. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...spx?GAMEID=9480

f***, I missed all 3 of them, Lubisich for Win-Salem, LOL Sweeney with huge night, everyone else chips in, AGon with 2 walks and a hit, he has really stepped it up, like it when a guy goes up a league and steps it up. Nanita with another RBI, he may not be hitting for average, but seems to get runners in. Anderson 3 Ks http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnfor...px?GAMEID=11767

Dang it, I almost went with him, oh well, ceste la vie