scenario

Before it's all said and done, Bobby Cox's name should be brought into the discussion. I don't care how good their scouting supposedly is. 14 first place finishes in 15 years is unbelievable.

For what it's worth... He made it to AA before Fredrick Alfred Porcello did. (His parents must really like the name Fred.)

Sounds like it may be valuable for someone from Soxtalk to interview Poreda. I'm sure there are alot of people who would be very interested in learning more about him... things he's working on, etc... especially in light of his promotion. Winston-Salem seems light years away when you think about a player making the WhiteSox. But Birmingham? He could be a Boone Logan or Matt Thornton injury away from a call-up if he does well there.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 09:58 PM) Poreda was starting to get roughed up a bit at WS, correct? He pitched pretty well last night (6 innings; 2 runs on 4 hits; only 1 walk). His two outings before that were mediocre (each was 6 innings; 4 earned runs). Overall, he's pitched pretty well. Not world beating but pretty good. The most impressive stat has been his low walks. In his last 10 starts (62 innings), he's had a total of 10 walks (vs. 38 K's). And he's only given up 1 homerun all year.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 05:40 PM) He lost a year of development then. Same thing either way. He's in the same position he was in last year. Goes back to my earlier question... When somebody ranks the top prospects, what are (should) the critieria be? For example: If it's potential (ceiling), then Griffith shouldn't have dropped since last year, should he?

QUOTE (almagest @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 01:01 PM) I don't agree. He's hitting .277/.306/.405 on the year in 243 AB. A .306 OBP from your leadoff hitter is nothing to praise. And also keep in mind that his stats are inflated a bit by his performance against us -- .302/.318/.558 in 43 AB. I actually think he's a bit overrated, and doesn't look to be any better than a 4th OF. 4th outfielder?? I think you'll end up eating your words on this. Disregard the .306 OBP. He's only 22 years old and wasn't even expected to be in the majors this year. He played his way onto the roster in spring training. This kid is 6'4" 195 lbs... and he's the fastest guy in baseball... that's pretty stunning for a guy his size. Not only is he the fastest guy in baseball... he is one of the fastest guys in baseball in the last 30 years. Plus he's not a slap hitter. He drives the ball. Watch as he grows into that frame. Power will come. And then he's really going to be trouble. I believe within two years Gomez is going to be sort of a combination of Carl Crawford and Curtis Granderson. (Look at their first years in MLB. Very comparable. And when Granderson was Gomez's age, Curtis was in A-ball.) IMHO, Gomez is not somebody we're going to look forward to competing against in the years to come.

Richar was moved to 2B in the DBacks organization because he was a butcher at SS. He's been pretty good at second. Getz can play multiple positions well. If the plan was to bring up a guy they could move around, like Ozuna, it would be Getz.

I heard Doug Laumann interviewed before the ballgame Saturday night. He said they had 7 different guys scout Morel. And without any input from each other, the grades came out almost exactly the same. He said in all the time he's been in baseball, he's never seen scouts have such consistent reports on one guy.

St. John's has a website... but for some reason the pages kept timing out when I tried to view them. www.sjrcc.edu

An interesting article about Kendrick... Also tells a little bit (not much) about the school http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...27530/index.htm

What are you guys basing these rankings on? Your opinions of what their ceiling is? The likelihood of them making it to the majors? How fast you expect them to make it to the majors? Their 'star' potential? What are your ranking guidelines?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 8, 2008 -> 06:04 AM) I think I'd rather give Richar a shot at 2B before Getz. Thow 'em both out there in spring training next year. Let the best man win.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 09:28 PM) You guys really should see David Cook hit a homerun. It is something to behold. I've seen homeruns, but his are absolutely majestic. Majestic lasers. Sounds pretty exciting JPN. You going to the game tomorrow to watch them clinch?

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 10:28 PM) Look at a guy like Tulo though. I'm not comparing Beckham to Tulo right now, as I have seen about 6 AB's by Gordon in his career, but he was the 7th overall pick in 2005. Got just under 100 AB's at high A, then in 2006 got a full season at AA, with a cup of coffee with the big club. 2007 he was up and starting for the Rocks. Once again, I'm not saying that will be the path Becks takes, with Tulo being a really special player, but it's been done in the past, and the situation is comparable. That would be beautiful if it works out that way. But I can't think of too many examples where it has happened that fast. Tulo... Ryan Zimmerman... Ryan Braun... If Beckham comes on that fast, that will be very exciting to watch.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 07:19 PM) i assume next year uribe will be gone, cabrera gone and alexei at SS with getz getting a long look at 2b to start the year, and beckham pushing for time by the end of the year I don't think we'll see Beckham til 2010 at the absolute earliest... and 2011 is a much better bet. Think about it... if he signs early enough to have much of a season this year, he might (might) finish up the year in Winston-Salem. Then next year (2009), he'll play in Birmingham. And if all goes well, he'll play the next year (2010) in Charlotte. So, a fast-track process puts him in Chicago spring 2011. 2-1/2 years for a position prospect is about as fast as it gets.

Charlotte @ Durham http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...chraaa_dubaaa_1 Whisler on the mound Montgomery @ Birmingham http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...sco&lid=111 Cassel pitching Frederick @ Winston-Salem http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...frdafa_wswafa_1 Ely pitching Kannapolis @ Greensboro http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...kanafx_gboafx_1 Maxwell with the start

And it's not unusual for players to go to the rookie leagues as "orientation" and then get moved to another level quickly.

Ponson should undergo a brain scan... to determine if he has one. Here is an excerpt from an mlb.com article that provides a little info regarding the Rangers decision... Texas GM Jon Daniels declined to discuss the specifics and Ponson was unavailable for comment, but team sources said Ponson was put on notice after creating a serious disturbance at the hotel bar in St. Petersburg during the team's last road trip. He was told that further problems would not be tolerated. Two more incidents occurred this week. Ponson started with three days' rest on Wednesday against the Indians and allowed six runs in four innings. Only two were earned because of three errors committed behind him, and Ponson reacted furiously after being taken out. His actions were interpreted as "showing up" his teammates. The second incident occurred when manager Ron Washington informed Ponson on Thursday that he would be pushed back in his next start so that Kevin Millwood could start Tuesday on his regular four days' rest. Ponson would have pitched on Wednesday on six days' rest. Ponson wasn't happy with that decision and made his feelings clear in a heated discussion with the manager. That led the Rangers to the decision to drop Ponson before Friday's game with the Rays. http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article....sp&c_id=tex

The rookie leagues play a 'short season' particularly for this reason. They start after most players finish up their college or high school seasons. Alot of our draftees will be playing on those teams (Bristol and Great Falls) as soon as the leagues start up. The majority of the contracts will be no brainers and happen quickly. The only players I see getting held up from playing within the next month are Beckham and Danks... because their contract negotiations may take longer.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 01:07 PM) Even with this news, I can't help but feel the Indians still pose a huge threat to make a run. I don't think the Tribe provides a serious threat. They look like the 2006 version rather than the 2007 team. The fact is that they were banking on several players to reproduce the career years they had in '07 and it hasn't happened. The 2006 hitting version of Jhonny Peralta has returned and he sucks as a SS. Asdrubal Cabrera is proving 2007 was a flash in the pan. Travis Hafner is having trouble covering the fastball. Their cleanup hitter, Vic Martinez, has ZERO homeruns. Franklin Gutierrez is proving to be less of an offensive threat than Ryan Sweeney. Carmona is walking more people than he's striking out. Andy Marte is a bust. Their bullpen sucks. And their offense is making ours look really good. Frankly, I'm more worried about the Twins than the Indians. Carlos Gomez is better than advertised. They have the best defensive outfield in the American League. Their young starters are stepping up and they've got a very good bullpen. Mauer and Morneau are having good seasons. And their SS-2B situation has been much better than anyone expected. I don't think there is any doubt at this point that the Twins are the better team. Who would have thunk it at the beginning of the year?

One very interesting aspect of tonight's game... Nobody on the Sox struck out. It's the first time it's happened since late 2005... The day we clinched against Detroit.

Egbert struck out the side in the first inning. Good start. He had a great outing last time out (7 inning, 3 hits, 1 run, 4 Ks, 0 BBs)... let's hope he keeps building on that.

Pawtucket @ Charlotte Egbert pitching Listen on MILB.com Montgomery @ Birmingham McCulloch pitching Game Notes (pdf) The Barons magic number is 3, and they're playing the 2nd place team tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday. Listen on MILB.com (free) Frederick @ Winston-Salem Long pitching Listen free on MILB.com West Virginia @ Kannapolis Jones pitching Game Notes Listen live at 6:45!

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 02:18 PM) I guess if Crede leaves, we'll need a backup for Fields, but I wouldn't say we're really "in need" of a 3rd baseman. I think it's fair to say we're fairly weak there prospect-wise. AA - Javier Castillo A+ - CJ Retherford A - Logan Johnson Nice players, but... If Morel ends up in Kanny, Johnson will probably move back to 2B which probably makes more sense for him anyway.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 12:09 PM) MIL just drafted a guy with a great name... Stosh Wawrzasek A guy with a name like that could become a god in Milwaukee.