scenario

The thing that worries me the most about Gavin has been his inability to recover from mistakes. He leads the majors in unearned runs allowed. One screwup behind him and it seems he loses focus.

Rookie League note... Bristol is currently 8-3 and .5 game out of 1st in the Appalachian League. Bristol has the 2nd best team ERA in the league at 3.15 They are also 2nd in the league in batting average (.289) and OPS (.796) Great Falls is 10-3, in first place, and has a 3-game lead in the Pioneer League. GF has a league leading 3.42 ERA... over .8 runs lower than the next best team. As a team, GF pitchers have struck out 130 (3rd in the league) and walked 36 (lowest in the league) GF is in the middle of the pack offensively.

It doesn't matter if it's true or not... It doesn't even matter that Morgan is a flaming moron... I'm just glad he said it... several times in fact... on national television. Nice to have some positive things about the WhiteSox for the national baseball media to talk about for a change.

QUOTE (TCQ @ Jun 29, 2008 -> 05:57 PM) Exactly and hes never won more than 15 games in a season, so hes no ace. Look at the crap team he pitched for. The fact that he has never won > 15 games means absolutely nothing.

One of Javy's problems is that he seems to want to strike everyone out. And once he gets behind on guys, he overcompensates to do it. When he gets ahead of guys, he's lethal.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jun 29, 2008 -> 12:12 PM) Was he? I thought it was just Richard and Getz. Thanks maggs. You're right. Crossed up my all-star and futures game notes. Fixed.

Charlotte lost 5-4 Loiza went an inning. Egbert threw 5 respectable relief innings. Ohka gave up a run in the bottom of the 9th and got the loss. Chris Getz went 3-5 with a double and raised his season average to .313 Danny Richar went 2-4 with a double and an RBI. Birmingham won 5-2 Cassel went 6 innings; giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits; 3 K's; and 1 BB. Link pitched a perfect 9th for his 21st save... lowering his ERA to 1.45 Javier Colina went 3-5 with a homerun and 2 RBIs. Miguel Negron and Victor Mercedes each added 2 hits. W-S won 5-3 in 12 innings CJ Retherford was the hitting star going 3-6 with a double, a homerun (his 14th), and 4 RBIs. Paulo Orlando went 2-6 with a double and a triple. Dubee had a respectable start... going 5 innings; giving up 3 runs on 5 hits; 4 K's; and 0 BBs. The pen was great... going 7 innings giving up 0 runs on only 2 hits; 5 K's; and 1 BB. Kanny won 7-3 Dale Mollenhauer... 3-4 with a walk. Hitting .468 in his last 10 games. Now batting .297 on the season Mark Fleisher... 2-4 with 3 RBIs. Probably not a real prospect, but doing a nice job for Kanny since we picked him up. Batting .378 in 24 games. .487 over his last 10 games. Christian Marerro, Logan Johnson, and John Curtis hit homeruns Levi Maxwell a nice job in a rain-shortened complete game: 7 innings; 3 runs on 4 hits; 7 K's; 0 BBs. Great Falls won 6-4 Nevin Griffith with a rough start, but the relievers did a great job of shutting Billings down... Especially Dexter Carter and Charlis Burdie... Burdie now has 16 K's and 4 BBs and an ERA of 0.00 in 9 innings of relief this year. The Bristol game was postponed because of rain.

I like him. I'm very encouraged by his increase in walks this year. IMO it suggests he is improving his plate discipline and batting eye. And with his power, that is a very good thing. The result isn't just a nice bump in OBP (up to .354), it's showing up in a nice increase in doubles (on pace for 40+) and homeruns (on pace for around 25) as well. The combination of increases in both power and OBP is a very good sign. So far, it has translated into a 75pt increase in OPS this year (.894) over last year (.819). He's a young 22 (turned in February). I don't see any reason to write him off as "only a bench player". Way too early to make a determination like that when he's performing well, at an appropriate age, in high A-ball. (He was selected for the Carolina League all-star team.) Next year, at Birmingham, should tell us alot more about his chances.

An under the radar performance worth noting... Javier Castillo at Charlotte Castillo, who was called up to fill in at 3B with Fields on the DL, has an 8-game hitting streak. And since he's been in Charlotte (13 games) he's hitting .314 May not be important in the big scheme of things but he's doing a good job and I thought it was worth sharing.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Jun 28, 2008 -> 01:23 PM) Charlotte Knights vs. Richmond Braves Clayton Richard 3-0, 1.80 vs. Damian Moss 3-7, 4.86 Birmingham Barons vs. Mississippi Braves Kyle McCulloch 5-6, 3.94 vs. James Parr 5-4, 4.32 Winston Salem Warthogs vs. Lynchburg Hill Cats Kannapolis Intimidators vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers Bristol White Sox vs. Bluefield Orioles my first topic started ever go easy on me Charlotte won 9-3. 17 hits for the Knights? With Fields, Owens, and Lucy on the DL? Bourgeois 4-5; Getz 3-4; and Armstrong 5-5. Good stuff. Clayton Richard is looking so good. Tonight... 6 innings; 2 runs on 4 hits; 5 K's; and 1 walk His record at Charlotte is now 4-0 and his ERA 2.08. Looking forward to seeing him in September. Birmingham lost 6-1 McCulloch got lit up Offense couldn't do squat. Winston-Salem lost 8-7 Anthony Carter continues to struggle since his promotion. Pity. He was doing GREAT at Kanny. Not just good... great. Shelby went 2-4 and continues to rebound after his recent slump Brandon Allen hit a homerun. Kannapolis? They won 20-6. LOL. Yep that's right. 20 runs on 23 hits. I feel sorry for Sergio Miranda. He's the only guy in the lineup who didn't get a hit. Even Oney Guillen got a hit tonight. Offensive gameballs for everybody tonight, especially Escobar, Fleisher, Marerro, and John Curtis. And oh... btw... Lucas Harrell did a nice job in a 3-inning rehab stint. Bristol won 14-4 Gregory Infante with a great start 6 innings; 1 run on 4 hits; 7 K's and 1 BB. Offensive star of the game... Brandon Short who went 3-5 with a double, a triple, and 6 RBIs. Andrew Garcia (2B) and Jorge Castillo (1B) also with 3-hit nights. Jordan Kendall (RF) went 2-3, with 2 walks, and scored 3 runs. Great Falls lost 5-2 They were winning 2-1 but gave up 4 runs in the 9th. Good start for Frank Rosario... 6 innings; 1 run on 5 hits; 7 K's and 1 BB. Two hits apiece for Morel and Thennis... both who have been looking very solid so far this year. Morel is batting .341. Thennis is batting .346. Nice cornerstones for the infield.

Eduardo Escobar finally broke out of his slump... 2-2 so far (Kanny game in the 4th inning tonight) with a double and 3 RBIs. Hopefully that breaks the dam and he starts swinging the bat like he did in Great Falls.

Jason Bourgeois is now officially ridiculously hot... Over .400 in his last 10 games... 3-4 tonight (and the game's not over) including two triples... His season average is now .290

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 28, 2008 -> 03:30 PM) How many walks is that? Seems like it would have to be a lot with a .191 average. 13 hits and 7 walks in 20 innings.

Per the SunTimes... Alexei's wife delivered a baby boy on Friday. It is their 3rd child. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Missile

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 27, 2008 -> 10:37 PM) They scored 5 runs last night. The no-hitter was the night before. Whoops. Thanks. My memory is slipping. Samuel Adams induced amnesia.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jun 27, 2008 -> 08:09 PM) Also, since when was Scott Sauerbeck on the Knights? I didn't know that. Since June 6th.

Charlotte @ Richmond Lance Broadway with the start Charlotte lost 7-6 Danny Richar went 4-5 with a homerun and 2 RBIs. His BA is now up to .270. Broadway went 6 innings; gave up 6 runs (4 earned); on 9 hits; 5 K's; and 1 BB. Wasserman pitched two nice innings of relief, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits. Scott Sauerbeck lost the game in the bottom of the 9th. Birmingham @ Mississippi Carlos Torres starting Barons lost 4-0. Second game in last 3 nights they were shut out. Winston-Salen @ Lynchburg Santeliz starting W-S won 6-1 Santeliz: 5 innings; 0 runs; 1 hit; 5 K's; 5 BB's Santeliz's ERA on the season is now 2.45 CJ Retherford hit his 13th homerun of the year. Kannapolis @ Greensboro Shirek pitching Kannapolis won 8-2 Shirek has a nice start: 7 innings; 2 runs; 4 hits; 5 K's; 1 BB Great Falls @ Missoula Skogley pitching Skogley with 9 K's in 5 innings tonight. Great Falls had a 7-run 9th and won 12-3. Brent Morel went 5-6. Great Falls pitching combined for 14 strikeouts, 1 walk, and only gave up 3 hits. Bluefield @ Bristol Garrett Johnson pitching Bristol won 6-5 Johnson: 5 innings; 0 runs; 4 hits; 7 strikeouts; 2 walks

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 27, 2008 -> 04:34 PM) The funny thing is, how'd he get a name like that being from the Dominican Republic? Well... Burt Sr. did get around... a little venture down to the Caribbean maybe.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 27, 2008 -> 12:08 PM) First, here is a reference for you to get simple info like that: www.milb.com. Type it in, then type "Getz" in the player search box. Getz hits lefthanded. He has enough speed to steal double digits in bases in a given minor league season, but also gets caught a fair amount. Hard to say with MiLB stats though, on SB's. A better gauge would be a scouting report, but I don't know his speed that well. He's not slow - let's start with that. Description of Getz from mlb.com - Spring 2006: "Getz represents a new kind of player coming in via the draft, guys who can fill super-utility roles right off the bat. One of the best pure hitters in the 2005 draft, Getz spent most of last summer with Kannapolis, where he hit .304 and drew 35 walks vs. only 10 strikeouts. Mostly a second baseman at Michigan, Getz can also play short, third, even center field, where he can use his plus speed to be a Chone Figgins type. If he doesn't end up being an everyday player at one spot, he could be a guy who gets 450 ABs moving around the field. He's impressed his organization so much that they plan on jumping him all the way to Birmingham to start 2006."

He'll eventually end up in Chicago... just not as a player.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 08:08 PM) I don't like that CF option though. Need an upgrade there. David Cook for CF in '09!! http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...&pid=449803

Charlotte over Norfolk 6-5. Bourgeois had 3 hits and 2 RBIs. His batting average is up to .281. Pretty amazing given his rough start. Richar had 2 hits and reached the .250 mark. Loiza blew. Haeger gave up 5 hits and 6 walks in 5 innings but only gave up two runs. He got the win. Birmingham loses to Mississippi 6-5. Poreda gave up 6 runs in 6 innings... but here's the thing... his pattern this year has been to have a bad inning early in a game. Tonight he gave up 4 runs in the 1st and then was decent the rest of his outing. Cole Armstrong had 3 hits. He's been pretty hot lately. .351 in his last 10 games. Winston-Salem lost to Lynchburg 4-3. John Ely gave up 3 runs in 6 innings... a decent outing. Henry Mabee got promoted to W-S. He pitched pretty well in relief but took the loss. Estee Harris had 3 hits including a homerun. Kannapolis beat Greensboro 10-5. Kannapolis is warming up offensively. Dale Mollenhauer went 4-5. Christian Marerro went 2-4 with a homerun. Miranda went 2-5 and had 3 RBIs. His average at Kanny is now up to .298. Great Falls beat Missoula 7-5. Kent Gerst went 3-5. Looking very good so far. Jesus Avila went 2-5. Batting .355 Mike Grace and Doug Thennis hit homeruns. Daniel Hudson looking studly in his second start: 4 innings; 0 runs; 1 hit; 7 K's; 1 BB Bristol beat Bluefield 8-7. Po Yu Lin with a good start: 6 innings; 2 runs; 3 hits; 4 K's; and 1 BB. Offensive star of the game was RF Jordan Kendall who was 3-5 with 3 RBIs. C Kevin Dubler got his first hit tonight, in his second game since joining the team, and had an RBI. CF Brandon Short was 2-2 with a walk and an RBI.

Shelby probably would have gone, but he had a long cold streak that killed his average... knocked it down into the .250's. He's just starting to rebound. And I think Getz is proving to be a much better player than many fans expected. Look at his track record... he played most of his draft year season in Kanny and hit .304. Went to AA in his first full minor league season - and that was the only place he stumbled. Then the last two years, including this one, over a .300 average... a good OBP. Shoot... he's got a better track record than Ryan Theriot. I don't think it's unreasonable to assume he could be starting at 2B for us next year. So, does he belong in the Futures Game? Why not?

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 06:41 AM) Great Falls somehow managed 12 runs with just 4 RBI LOL. That's the beautiful thing about the rookie leagues. Crazy stuff happens. Here's the big 7-run 7th inning by GF. This ought to provide a clue as to the reason... Great Falls Bottom 7th - Brent Morel walks. - With Mike Grace batting, Brent Morel steals (4) 2nd base. - Mike Grace grounds out to first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard. Brent Morel to 3rd. - Doug Thennis walks. - With Jordan Cheatham batting, passed ball by Corey Kemp, Brent Morel scores. Doug Thennis to 2nd. - Jordan Cheatham walks. Pitcher Change: Jorge Crespo replaces Rolando Pascual. - Lyndon Estill walks. Doug Thennis to 3rd. Jordan Cheatham to 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Johny Celis replaces Zach Larson. - Johny Celis reaches on fielding error by second baseman Jose Duran. Doug Thennis scores. Jordan Cheatham to 3rd. Lyndon Estill to 2nd. - Jesus Avila hit by pitch. Jordan Cheatham scores. Lyndon Estill to 3rd. Johny Celis to 2nd. - Kenneth Williams walks. Lyndon Estill scores. Johny Celis to 3rd. Jesus Avila to 2nd. - Luis Sierra grounds into a force out, first baseman Brock Kjeldgaard to catcher Corey Kemp. Johny Celis out at home. Jesus Avila to 3rd. Kenneth Williams to 2nd. Luis Sierra to 1st. - Brent Morel reaches on throwing error by pitcher Jorge Crespo. Jesus Avila scores. Kenneth Williams scores. Luis Sierra scores. Brent Morel to 2nd. - Mike Grace pops out to shortstop Michael Marseco. 7 runs on NO hits.

It would be nice to see Georgia win, but... Gotta appreciate the magnitude of underdog that Fresno State is. If they win this thing, it's practically movie worthy. If they win, they will be the lowest seeded team in NCAA history in ANY sport to win a championship. WOW!!! That's amazing.