scenario

The more I read about the Nets new owner, the more I believe Lebron could end up there. A 45-year old jet-setting self-made billionaire... with a personal net worth that might be greater than most (or all) of the other NBA owners combined? I could picture his sales pitch on how to take Lebron global and help him join the billionaire boys club might be too tempting to say no.

Is there anybody in our network of organizational contacts who can shed some light on what our latin american plan is going forward? Laumann, maybe? Seems like it would be a good topic for an interview/article.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Jul 2, 2010 -> 10:00 AM) How much have all the recent minor league accolades boosted the trade value of Carlos Torres? How do other organizations, particularly pitching starved orginizations, view him? He doen't seem to have much of a chance with the White Sox, starter or bullpen. Would he help us land the big bat that we need? Not sure a 27 year old AAA pitcher creates a lot of excitement for trade opportunities, but Torres could probably step right in to several MLB teams starting rotations.

Link If Robert Sasser ever gives up his gig as hitting coach of the Winston-Salem Dash, he's got a career as a motivational speaker waiting for him. His simple yet aggressive approach to hitting has been embraced by the Dash, the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Chicago White Sox that rode its bats to the first-half championship in the Southern Division and a prominent place among the Carolina League batting leaders. Scan the loop's batting leaders, and there's likely a Dash player at or near the top of that category. Third baseman Jon Gilmore's .336 average is third in the league, followed by outfield teammates Brandon Short (.333, fourth), Ozzie Lewis (.323, sixth) and Justin Greene (.316, seventh). The Dash also have three of the top 10 leaders in slugging percentage, three in on-base percentage and two in OPS. The Dash's team batting stats are even more impressive. Winston-Salem's .296 aggregate batting average pales Salem's .267 team mark. The Dash's 736 hits are 97 more than second-place Salem, and their 1,124 total bases are 158 more than the Red Sox, who finished a game back in a Southern Division race not decided until the final day of the first half. Winston-Salem also leads the league in at-bats, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS at the All-Star break. "[sasser] teaches you to go into each at-bat with an approach, whether that means you're sitting on a fastball or looking for a curve or whatever," explained Greene, whose .557 slugging percentage tops the Carolina League. "You stick to it, and you don't shy away from your approach. That's what brings successful results." More at link above....

from International League New & Notes KNIGHTS SEND THREE TO ALL-STAR GAME: Charlotte Knights catcher Tyler Flowers, starting right handed pitcher Daniel Hudson and starting right handed pitcher Carlos Torres have been elected to the International League All-Star team. Flowers, 24, is hitting .224 (49-219) with a team leading 15 home runs and 44 RBI. His 15 home runs rank third in the League. This is his first full season at the Triple-A level and his first time being named to the International League All-Star team. Hudson, 23, has been arguably the best pitcher in the International League this season. He is currently the League leader in wins (11) and strikeouts (102). He has compiled an 11-3 record in 16 starts and a 3.57 ERA (35 ER/88.1 IP). Torres, 27, has been elected to his second consecutive International League All-Star team. The right-handed pitcher continues to have one of the most decorated careers in Charlotte Knights history. This season Torres has compiled a 6-5 record with a 3.04 ERA (33 ER/97.2 IP). He is near the top in the IL in strikeouts (92) and innings pitched (97.2). DON’T CALL HIS NAME, A-LE-JAN-DRO: OF Alejandro De Aza’s 14 game hit streak ended Tuesday as De Aza went 0-4 with two strikeouts in the game. The hitting streak was the longest hitting streak by a Knights player this season. Over the course of the streak De Aza was 26-53 (.490), with two home runs and 11 RBI. He had five hits on 6/28 vs. Buffalo. PUT YOUR COATS ON: Knights outfielder Buck Coats went 1-3 at the plate yesterday with sacrifice fly RBI. Coats has hit safely in 10 straight games and in 17 of his last 18 games. Over his last 18 games he has gone 30-69 (.434) with six doubles, one triple and 10 RBI. TORRES NAMED IL PITCHER OF THE WEEK...AGAIN...AND AGAIN: For the third time this season Charlotte Knights pitcher Carlos Torres has been named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week. This past week Torres went 2-0 in two starts and improved his season record to 6-5. Torres combined to pitch 14.0 innings allowing two runs off eight hits in two starts. He totaled 12 strikeouts and walked only three. Torres has now gone seven consecutive starts without a loss and his 92 strikeouts rank near the top of the International League. The 27-year-old right hander becomes just the 9th person to be named the International League Pitcher of the Week three times in a single season since the award’s inception in 1985. He previously won the award for the weeks of April 8-11 and May 31-June 6.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 11:02 PM) "On July 8, 1969, the first-place Cubs and Fergie Jenkins were leading the Mets 3-1 in the ninth inning at Shea Stadium when Young misplayed one fly ball into a double and had another fly ball fall out of his glove as he raced back to the wall. The Mets scored three runs and won 4-3. It was the Cubs' fourth straight loss and the Mets' fifth straight win to get them within 4 1/2 games of first place. The Cubs were feeling the heat and Santo, the team captain, didn't help when he publicly criticized Young for -- ironically -- letting his emotions and his offensive struggles get the best of him. "He was thinking of himself, not the team," Santo told reporters after the game. "He had a bad day at the plate, and he's got his head down. Don's a major-league player because of his glove. When he hits, it's a dividend, but when he fails on defense, he's lost -- and today he took us down with him. He put his head between his legs."" I remember that game. And I thought alot less of Santo for his comments after it. Santo was the king of hitting into rally killing double-plays that year. And for him to toss Young under the bus and back over him a few times for performance in one game was ridiculous. It's the sort of behavior IMO that foretold the collapse... that the Cubs seemed to panic and start infighting while they still had the lead.

It will take an impressive package of players to convince the Nationals to part with Dunn. Nats GM Mike Rizzo said that it would be "very painful" to part with Dunn, and "very painful for the team that wants to acquire him." from the Los Angeles Times

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 09:02 AM) Also I hate all the Keith Law bashing. I respect his opinion perhaps more than anyone else when it comes to prospect evaluating. The White Sox system doesn't get any love from him because it doesn't deserve any and it may be the worst in baseball right now. Yikes. Why? He's not a scout. He's a media writer. I collect quotes of stupid uninformed comments he's made over the years... and it's not small. The only reason he has any 'street cred' as a baseball insider is because he got hired for a short stint by one of the worst GMs in recent baseball history. So... I guess you can tell that I'm not a big Keith Law fan.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 09:53 AM) The only way that I'd deal Beckham for Dunn would be if Dunn signed a 3-year extension as part of the deal. And even then, I don't know if I'd want to do that deal. So... trade a very talented and cheap player under control for 6 years for a very talented and expensive player under control for 3 years. Why not just keep Beckham and use the difference to bring in a quality free agent in the offseason?

Trading Beckham for Dunn would be beyond ridiculous. Why is it that any player who has a bad half-season automatically turns into dogsh** in some fans eyes?

Kotsay over Linebrink and Williams?

Looks like Pods is wearing an oven mitt on his left hand.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 05:41 PM) And he's an incredibly different and more advanced pitched than Poreda was. Kenny is already on the record as saying Sale's changeup is better than either Buehrle's or Danks' right now.

Carlos Torres Named Pitcher of the Week for Third Time 06/28/2010 2:11 PM ET Knights Right Handed Just 9th Person Ever to Win Honors 3 Times in One Season FORT MILL, S.C. - For the third time this season Charlotte Knights pitcher Carlos Torres has been named the International League's Pitcher of the Week. This past week Torres went 2-0 in two starts and improved his season record to 6-5. Torres combined to pitch 14.0 innings allowing two runs off eight hits in two starts. He totaled 12 strikeouts and walked only three. Torres has now gone seven consecutive starts without a loss and his 92 strikeouts rank second most in the International League. His two wins this past week were part of a strong stretch of play for the Charlotte Knights who have won 10 of their last 13 games. The 27-year-old right hander becomes just the 9th person to be named the International League Pitcher of the Week three times in a single season since the awards inception in 1985. He previously won the award for the weeks of April 8-11 and May 31-June 6. Torres continues to have one of the most decorated careers in Knights franchise history. Now in his third season with Charlotte, Torres was named to the I.L. mid-season and post-season All-Star teams in 2009. That same year he was named the Triple-A Starting Pitcher of the Year by MiLB.com and also pitched a rain-shortened 5 inning perfect game on June 18 vs. Pawtucket. This is the fourth time this season that a Knights pitcher has won the award. In addition to Torres being honored twice, Knights right handed pitcher Matt Zaleski won the award last week.

I really wasn't trying to read too much into it... I was just pointing out that he was hitting better lately. May was a lousy month for him. June has been much better and closer to what he did in April.

OK... whatever. He's gotten on base in 8 of his last 10 games. It appears he's making better contact. Just seems like something people should feel good about... Rather than look for yet another reason to pan him.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 06:05 AM) With 11 strikeouts, 2 walks and minimal power. You say that like a .361 average and .395 OBP is a bad thing.

Will there be any competition for Dunn? Who else needs him? If so, THAT will determine the price. If they are just arbitrarily asking for a high price, screw them... keep looking rather than be held hostage for an expensive rental.

Jordan Danks batting .361 over his last 10 games.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Jun 23, 2010 -> 12:17 AM) Any word on whether Sale will report to AA or higher? They have him in some reports as being MLB ready by September by not likely. Winston-Salem... to be tutored by Bobby Thigpen.

Torres has a 2.15 ERA over his last 10 appearances (62 2/3 innings)... Including 7 quality starts...(In fact, during 5 of these starts he has given up 1 run or less.) And has only given up 2 homeruns during the 10-games.

Great Falls pitcher Charles Delk got hammered in the opener. Knocked out in the 3rd after giving up 8 runs.

Johnny Bench is a baseball GOD and he only did it twice in his career. So definitely not a standard that should be applied to mere mortals.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jun 20, 2010 -> 09:20 PM) I had a foot in, then I brought it out. I've put it back in, and I'm in the process of shaking it all about. ^^^^ What he said. I'm not ready to put my whole self in yet.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jun 20, 2010 -> 08:38 PM) Sox going back home having won 6 in a row and 11 of 13 and finally reaching .500. Enjoyed todays game immensely and posted a lot in the game thread until I left to watch Toy Story 3 with my 24yr. old daughter with the Nat's coming to bat in the 9th. She also made me breakfast of waffles and strawberries , bought a pizza at Roundtable for lunch and paid for the Toystory tix. I bought Icees at the movies . Yikes $6 for one medium Icee. Also got a call from my 22 yr old son in AZ. Best Fathers Day in a long time. Hope you all had similarly good ones ! Feel free to post what you did either with your kids or with your dads. This might seem more like a twitter post than something for Soxtalk so if there is an appropriate place for this some where on Soxtalk feel free to move it as now I have to call my Dad. Good post. Sounds like you had a great day! I consider being a father the best thing I've ever done in my life. Although sometimes having two kids in college at the same time momentarily makes me reconsider. (j/k) Talked to them both today... and my 88 year old father too. A very good day.