MnSoxFan

He could use a little wildness, he is always around the plate, and some games gets hit rather hard, maybe if he was a little wild he could keep guys from taking such good cuts, but he is not a real hard thrower.

Agreed, Borchard arm is highly overrated, I saw him in ST last year, was not very impressed. Most likely since a QB everyone figures he has a great arm. Would say Anderson may have best OF arm in org, tho Brice is supposed to be very strong, as a pitcher Brice threw 93 or so, same with Anderson. Sweeney and Nanita have good arms too, all our OFs are decent all around. Would like to see AGon switch to the mound, he will never make it as a hitter, doubt he makes it as a Pitcher either.

She is very close friends with Rex I heard

DOUG SEGREST News staff writer The aspiring boys of summer discovered an uncommon winter chill at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Tuesday night. Forty-one degrees, to be exact. Chances are only Birmingham Barons starting pitcher Heath Phillips met the bitter chill head on with a wide grin. "I pitched my whole high school career in Evansville, Indiana," Phillips said. "Most of the times I pitched, it was just like this - frigid." Phillips turned in a dominant pitching performance, tossing five scoreless innings as the Barons toasted the Montgomery Biscuits 5-1. "What was there to say? Heath Phillips is going to be a major league pitcher," Barons manager Razor Shines said. "Tonight showed why, the way he kept batters off balance. And his cutter was nice." The cutter, a pitch Phillips just picked up in spring training, was particularly effective as the left-hander used it to handcuff right-handed batters. "When it's cold like this, the batters don't want you coming with something inside," Phillips said. The new addition, mixed with a fastball and change up, kept the Biscuits' offense out of rhythm. "He was a soft-tossing left-hander. We never caught up to it," Montgomery manager Charlie Montoya said. Birmingham improved to 3-2 with the win and a perfect 2-0 in the renewal of their I-65 rivalry. The two cities share the Southern League record with five pennants apiece, yet haven't played each other in 29 years. The Montgomery franchise moved to Birmingham after the 1980 season, reincarnating at Rickwood Field as the Barons, and was in exile until a week ago. Tuesday's game was played before a scarce crowd that could be counted by hand at The Met. The Barons reported 1,639 tickets were sold for the game. Phillips pitched out of a couple of jams. In the first inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Fernando Cortez, but retired the side after Birmingham catcher Chris Stewart gunned Cortez down on a steal attempt. An inning later, Phillips stranded runners on second and third with one of his seven strikeouts on the night. "That was a big inning," he admitted. "That's a confidence builder to get out of that jam." Phillips left the game with the shutout intact. Amado German's two-out double in the ninth, however, voided the blank job. Still, it wasn't a bad second chance for Phillips. In a cameo appearance as a Baron last year, he made a rocky June 15 start at The Met. Phillips' line from his lone Double-A appearance: 14 hits allowed in six innings against Chattanooga. "The last time out there I got hit around a little bit," Phillips said. "I just left the ball up. Tonight, I got it down. I'm not an overpowering pitcher." Neither was Montgomery starter Jamie Shields. The Barons knocked him around for the early lead. Back-to-back RBI hits by Mike Morse and Micah Franklin in the third staked Birmingham to a 2-0 lead. Rob Sasser would expand it to 3-0 with a double a few pitches later en route to an 11-hit night for the home team. "You can see we're starting to swing the bats much better," Shines said. Hitting coach "Manny Trillo is spending a lot of time with these hitters and it's paying off." The series concludes with a 12:30 p.m. matinee today. Birmingham's Arnie Munoz (1-0, 0.00) faces Montgomery's Scott Autrey (0-0, 5.79) in the finale. Don't look for a well-rested Montgomery team. The Biscuits are bussing back and forth to the Capital City for each game. As for the afternoon start, it clears the way for the Alabama-UAB game at The Met tonight.

Just looking at team stats, not individual one Do not feel like programming today anyway.

Birm hitting only .205, W-S hitting .227 or so, and Kanny at the highest with something like .238. Jeesh Birm team ERA is 2nd best in league, low 3.2's or so, W-S is next to last with 5.81 and Kanny is bad too, something in mid to high 4's.

1.62 Team ERA for Charlotte after 7 games, Stewart at 5.40 is the only one over 5.00. Course team BA is .202, tho Borchard is 3rd in league with 8 RBIs.

One of the reports I posted under the Wasserman thread talked that Yan has been ailing, pulled muscle maybe, cannot recall.

OK wiseguy, who you want there, Royce friggin Clayton. Numbnuts.

Sweeney and Cameron made errors for W-S, led to two unearned runs, not sure which one was the critical one, maybe both?

Hey, you want to take pot shots at Jose, do it on other board. The guy played amazing D last year and has much more range than most SS's in baseball. We know you do not like him already. Enough is enough.

Chris Stewart is likely the most thought of prospect at C, due to his Defense. Lisk is not much on D, he can hit, but has to prove it above Rookie League. Lee has had discipline problems, defensive problems and is not that good on offense. I think he will not make AA.

Good to see Hankins with a dinger and 3 RBI, and Bikowski with 2 walks and a run scored. Glad to see everyone contribute. Seems like they want to make Majewski a closer, will be interesting, he really disappointed me in ST.

None of us are gurus, we just follow it fairly close. Carlos's brother has been around for about 3 years and has not progressed much. I doubt he makes it.

Heath Phillips spinning a shutout, last I knew it was 4-0 after 6.

DENNIS VICTORY For The Birmingham News Birmingham and Montgomery, the two franchises with the most titles in Southern League history, renewed their rivalry Monday night after a 29-year hiatus when the new Montgomery Biscuits made their first trip to the Hoover Met. Try Our Classifieds The Barons (2-2) proved rude hosts to their new Southern League brethren, downing the Biscuits 4-3 in front of 1,627 fans. "I expect everybody in this league to be a good rivalry," said Barons manager Razor Shines. "I know all the coaches, and they're all very competitive.." The last time the two met was in 1975, and Montgomery was on its way to winning the first of three straight Southern League titles as a Detroit Tigers franchise. The Barons were playing their final season as an Oakland A's franchise. Birmingham would be without minor league baseball for five seasons until Art Clarkson brought the Montgomery Rebels to Birmingham in 1981. In the renewal Monday night, Tetsu Yofu threw five scoreless innings in his first start of the season to pick up the victory for Birmingham. Yofu scattered four hits, walked none and struck out three. "His pitching was the key to the ballgame," Shines said. "When you get that kind of starting pitching, you should win the game." Yofu was less enthusiastic about his performance. "I had some control problems," Yofu said. "I was pitching behind in the count too much." Birmingham's bullpen shut down the Biscuits until the ninth when a double and two errors led to three runs for Montgomery (1-4). Birmingham scored the first run in the second inning on Chris Stewart's run-scoring double down the left field line, scoring Nate Murphy, who singled two batters earlier. The Barons broke it open in the fifth with three runs on three hits and a pair of walks. Aaron McNeal provided the big blow with a two-out, two-run single. "In this young season, McNeal has stepped up to the plate with his hitting," Shines said. "Without his bases-loaded knock, it would have been a different game." The teams play the second game of the three-game series tonight at 7 with Heath Phillips making his Barons debut against Scott Autrey for the Biscuits. Autrey was Montgomery's opening night starter at Huntsville. The series finale is Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Thursday is a league off day, and the Barons begin a road trip to Carolina and Tennessee on Friday.

I am sure you will make it to Bham again sometime to see him play, unless he gets promoted out of the league before you see your next game.

MSFGF (I go by MSF on other board and GF is for girlfriend) says we gotta plan it when it is not as humid down there, but that may be tough, Oats says it is always humid. Course Rex says it is cold now down there, think it is warmer up here in Minny.

I will have to let you guys know when I go, if you do not mind watching a game with a wise old man

Yep, Keefner was always hurt in his 2 seasons with us. I was a big follower of Lackaff, he was a very good defensive 3Bman and had a clutch bat, but he was always hurt too. Ivy never progressed after a decent first season, too bad, I liked his name and speed too.

You're welcome Jim. This kid was a non drafted FA, seems to be doing ok for not being drafted.

Some of these I knew about, others I did not. Chicago White Sox Signed RHPs Giancarlo Alvarado, Jose Mieses and Enemencio Pacheco, Cs Jamie Burke and Michael Rivera. Released 1Bs Dustin Brisson, Eric Keefner, Leonardo Luna, Nate Rolison, Jeremy Todd and Eric Welsh, OFs Raymond Cabrera, Darren Ciraco, Derry Hammond and Bjorn Ivy, LHPs Derrin Ebert, Chris Jones and Michael Kesten, 2B John Lackaff, RHP Devin Rogers and Luis Torres, Cs Kevin Sullivan and Darvin Withers.

From Birmingham newspaper. Samford's Wasserman may be on his way to The Met again 04/12/04 DOUG SEGREST News staff writer Former Samford pitcher Ehren Wasserman may be on the road back to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The 23-year-old Sylacauga native attended an open tryout at The Met last summer and made an immediate impression. On the advice of Chicago White Sox regional scout Warren Hughes, Wasserman was signed to a free-agent contract and shipped off to Bristol for rookie league play. After just four appearances, Wasserman was promoted to Low-A Kannapolis, where he pitched in six games, striking out 10 batters in nine innings. Wasserman opened the 2004 season in Kannapolis again, and in his first appearance of the year he earned his first professional save in a 3-1 win over Lakewood Saturday night. More good work and Wasserman could be on the move again. The next stop would be High-A Winston-Salem, followed by Double-A Birmingham. Birmingham would be a good fit, considering Wasserman's Samford degree is in sports medicine. Rising stock: Arnie Munoz. A career reliever, Munoz made the move to the starting rotation this spring. In his first start with the Barons, Munoz set the table for a 5-0 blanking of West Tenn. Declining stock: Ruddy Yan. The swift Barons IF has been slowed by a shoulder injury, missing his last two games. Yan has 220 steals in three minor league seasons and in his only Birmingham appearance swiped a base in the season opener. On deck: The Birmingham Barons' Sunday matinee to close out the opening series with West Tenn was postponed. The game has been rescheduled as part of a June 2 doubleheader. While the weather battered Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Saturday night and Sunday morning, the real culprit behind the postponement was a power outage. According to Mike Hobson, the Barons' media relations director, power throughout the concourse level and club offices was out, and electricians had been dispatched to repair the problem in time for today's 7 p.m. first pitch against the Montgomery Biscuits. Top 10 White Sox prospects: According to Baseball America: 1. OF Jeremy Reed, Charlotte; 2. RHP Kris Honel, Birmingham; 3. LHP Neal Cotts, Charlotte; 4. OF Ryan Sweeney, Winston-Salem; 5. OF Joe Borchard, Charlotte; 6. LHP Ryan Wing, Birmingham; 7. OF Brian Anderson, Winston-Salem; 8. RHP Shingo Takatsu, Charlotte; 9. OF Chris Young, Kannapolis; 10. LHP Arnie Munoz, Birmingham.

Gotta disagree, he struggled due to injuries before the season, still top 30 prospect on the team, you in the top 30 you are not low profile.

Anderson still recovering from wrist, nice article here from BA By Chris Kline April 12, 2004 While White Sox outfielders Joe Borchard and Jeremy Reed have garnered the majority of the preseason buzz roaming the same garden in Triple-A Charlotte, the class in Winston-Salem has gone largely unnoticed. That won't last very long. Right fielder Ryan Sweeney and center fielder Brian Anderson begin the 2004 campaign skipping low Class A, heading from Rookie-level Great Falls to the high Class A Warthogs. Both rank among Chicago's Top 10 prospects, with Sweeney ranked fourth and Anderson ranked seventh. The 19-year old Sweeney, who spent most of spring training in big league camp, is especially excited to be leapfrogging a level. "I'm definitely thrilled to be here--as fast as you can move up is great," Sweeney said. "To have this opportunity to be here and be just 19 years old really is something. Some guys have been here for a while, and I really need to learn whatever I can from them to make me a better player. Hopefully I keep moving as quickly as possible, but I'm going to do my best to win games right now." Both Sweeney and Anderson came out of the 2003 draft, Anderson a first-round selection out of Arizona and Sweeney a second-round steal out of an Iowa high school. Scouts feel Sweeney has more offensive upside of the two, though he tends to struggle getting around on high heat. "He hasn't shown great bat speed--more slider bat speed to me, but that could change at this level," an American League scout said. "It could be a comfort thing. You get offspeeded to death in this league--especially guys like him. But if you know he can't get around on the fastball, it makes it easier to set him up." Sweeney has been compared to John Olerud as a hitter with gap power, but he is still very raw--and still has time to grow into his 6-4, 200-pound frame. As Sweeney is quick to point out, power is traditionally the last tool to develop. And he's trying not to be as pull-conscious as he was in rookie ball. "I just started lifting a couple of years ago, so I feel like once I get what some people call 'man strength,' or whatever you want to call it, the power will come," he said. "I still feel like I can hit the ball out of the park right now, and they have a great weight program here so that will only work to help me. But if hitting the ball out of the park happens, that's great. I'm just looking to use the whole field and get doubles, singles and drive in some runs. "I get pitched outside a lot and I'm seeing a lot more offspeed pitches too, but I'm going to go after it with the same approach, get a little load while the pitcher's in his windup and go from there." Sweeney is batting in the No. 3 hole for the 'Hogs, with Anderson following him in the cleanup spot. The 22-year old Anderson hit .370 his freshman year for the Wildcats, struggled terribly his sophomore season and turned it around last year. He was a second-team All-American for Arizona, hitting .366-14-62 and going to the White Sox with the 15th overall pick in the draft. A two-way player the majority of his career, Andy Lopez moved Anderson full-time to the outfield during his first year as Arizona's coach. Anderson is still learning the nuances of hitting and still misses the mound. "I don't even want to talk about it," Anderson said with a laugh. "Yes I do miss it, without a doubt. If there's ever a chance where we run out of pitchers and the coach doesn't call me in to pitch I'll probably walk off the field I'll be so pissed. "I've never been a real serious hitter because I was a pitcher my whole life. In high school was really my first year of hitting and I really didn't have a clue what I was doing then, but last year was the first year I knew what it took to be a consistent, good professional hitter. My approach was just way better last year. "Coach Lopez taught me more about the game than anything--what pitchers are doing and what I needed to do to consistently battle them." Anderson is coming off wrist surgery in which he had part of the radial bone shaved down to allow better blood flow through the entire wrist. He is still trying to find his way back after the surgery, still fighting through the tentativeness. "My strength isn't all the way back," Anderson said. "It's not really a confidence thing, because I think all baseball players are so cocky that once they can just start playing again they already feel like they should, or they can go back to what they were doing. "Right now, health-wise my wrist feels like 100 percent, but I still mentally am babying it a little bit. I had all that time where I had to do that during rehab, and I knew that I couldn't swing the bat and I need to personally break through that. It's a personal issue I have to deal with. It's just breaking through that mental wall that I have, that my wrist is going to hurt when I swing and now it doesn't. But I developed bad habits before the surgery when my wrist was hurting. Now I just have to break those habits." Both players are finding it hard to break through--at least in their first series. Sweeney is 1-for-8 with a double and Anderson has struggled more, going 1-for-7 with four strikeouts. On opening night against Kinston, Anderson went 1-for-4 with three K's. "When I'm hot and in a zone and locked in, there's really no pitch a guy can throw that you're going to look stupid on," Anderson said. "But right now my timing is pretty bad. Just coming off the wrist surgery, I'm just trying to get back to where I can make consistent contact and have good at-bats. I'm not going to strike out like I did Opening Night. Hopefully I can just keep working and work myself into a groove." DISH PIECES