scenario

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 12, 2009 -> 09:44 AM) Surprised Goldstein's assessment of Viciedo so far hasn't generated much response. He has shown a swing at anything approach with little power and is out of shape. I think it's too soon to label him a bust, but that clock has started to tick. A 20-year old in AA playing his first year of professional baseball has a clock ticking on him? I don't think so.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Jul 11, 2009 -> 09:58 PM) I have to say, even with it being very early, Phegley is really, really struggling. He's played in what... 9 games? And he played great in the first 4 games... (6 for 16.. .375)... So, he's struggled for 5 games???

Gwinnett @ Charlotte Whisler pitching. Gave up 3 runs early. Cole Armstrong has his average up to .263. Pretty impressive given where he started. Mississippi @ Birmingham Hudson pitching... has a very solid outing going... 7 innings; 2 runs on 7 hits; 5 K's; 0 BB's. Retherford 2 homeruns in 3 at-bats. Birmingham up 3-2 in the 7th. Barons win 4-3. Hudson with the win. McCulloch with the save. McCulloch? Moved to the pen? I think that's the beginning of the end for him. Lynchburg @ Winston-Salem Infante stumbles in tonight's start giving up 5 runs (3 earned) in 5 innings with 7 walks and 2 K's. Fortunately the offense woke up. Logan Johnson hit a 3-run homerun; Shelton hit a 2-run. BTW, Logan Johnson's batting average is now in the .280's. :0 Lakewood @ Kannapolis Kanny with a 6-run first. Sauer with another solid start. Kannapolis up 8-4 in the 8th. Great Falls @ Orem Just started. We have a SoxTalker in attendance tonight... BigEdWalsh. So we should get some good feedback on the game later. Bristol @ Kingsport Bristol comes back from 4 down. Now tied 5-5 in the 7th. Brady Shoemaker 4-4 including a homerun.

Who, except our team, didn't see that coming?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 09:21 PM) I think you walk Mauer here and take your chances with Morneau. Absolutely. I think it's beyond stupid that we pitched to Mauer. Geezus.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 09:17 PM) No, I totally agree with you. It was absolutely bulls*** by the umpire to take control of the game the way he did. Sorry. I guess I was just looking for a good argument and you were a convenient target.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 09:12 PM) Don't get me started on this. Not sure what you have to argue about... It was pretty freakin' obvious that the ump had Danks pitching into a postage stamp strikezone in that first inning.

QUOTE (tommy @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 09:10 PM) That was low. If the ump gave Danks that in the first inning, we'd be up 4-0 in this game.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 09:01 PM) Gordon has been squaring up the ball about 2 times every game. He's had worse luck than anyone over the last month with liners going right at anyone. 2nd worst luck. Getz has had the worst luck. During his recent 0-24 stretch he got robbed of around 8 hits. He was hitting the ball hard, but right at people. It was starting to get ridiculous.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 07:42 PM) Crede with a bad decision there, as he would have easily got Thome out at home. Oh, and I just got a call that Colon's fastball was at 84 mph yesterday. Giving him the 'ol fathom discount are you? Link Bartolo Colon's five-inning outing Thursday night for Triple-A Charlotte was more encouraging than his April 23 outing against Baltimore, according to a major league source who witnessed both outings. "He definitely threw more breaking pitches and change-ups," the source told the Tribune Friday after Colon pitched five innings of one-run ball against Triple-A Norfolk. "You could notice he was throwing more sliders and wasn't afraid to throw them to left-handers as well as right-handers." The source was unaware that the Sox wanted Colon to throw more breaking pitches. Colon was tagged for five runs on eight hits and two walks without striking out a batter in a loss at Baltimore on April 23. "He was throwing in the 88-to-90 (mph) range," the source added. "It looked like when he wanted to throw harder, he did. He was throwing more four-seam fastballs. I could tell because he was trying to raise the hitters' eye level."

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 07:43 PM) I thought AJ was Anthony James? It's Anthony John.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 07:42 PM) WOW, nice slide AJ. OMG, he took Punto OUT. LOL.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 07:17 PM) Where were some of those pitches? Jeez... ^^^^^ Could be a long night if the ump isn't calling those. Looks like it took Danks out of his rhythm too.

Keep in mind that we would only get 1 full season out of Halladay... Then we'd have to outbid the RedSox and Yankees to keep him.

Hmmm... didn't see Mitchell in the lineup tonight... Then I looked on the Kanny roster and he's listed as being on the 7-day DL. ??? WTH... stub his toe getting off the airplane or what?

Harrell with 5 walks in the first two innings tonight. Charlotte losing 2-0 after two.

Getz will never hit for deep power but he does hit more line drives than a typical slap hitter. He can push the ball into the gap. When you look at extra-base hits that stay in the park (doubles+triples), he is second on the team with 16 (in 233 at-bats) only behind Paulie who has 18 in 299 at-bats.

I like Poreda and think he'll eventually be in the rotation, but frankly... I'd leave him in relief right now because I think it strengthens our pen to have another hard throwing lefty... especially one with good control... who can come in and throw bullets for an inning or two. So... what do we do with the 5th starter position? We do have a few players in the minors worth giving a start or two to see what we have... and Bart. In the upcoming double-header, I'd give Bart the start if he's ready. If he is, he'd get the job until he proves he can't handle it... with Carlos Torres and Jack Egbert as short term backup plans. (For those not watching the minors, Egbert has been dealing since he was put back in a starter's role. A 1.53 ERA over his last 10 games... 37 K's and only 6 BB's.) Meanwhile, I'd send Richard to Charlotte and see if he could work out his control issues in a lower pressure environment. Worked wonders for Contreras. Why not give that a shot? If it works he gives us another valid 5th starter candidate. If not, better that he get beat up in AAA not Chicago. So... if I was given the GM's job for a day, that's probably what I would do... Poreda in the pen... Bart to start... with 2 Charlotte guys as the short-term backup plan. Richard to Charlotte until he pulls his head out of his tucus. And I'd be very tempted to bring Egbert up for a game to two to take advantage of the hot streak he's on and potentially showcase him for other teams.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 04:17 PM) No one's dumping Josh Fields for Josh Kroeger. I think it says more about Kroeger's outfield ability (or lack of). Learning to play first base is probably his best shot of making it to the majors.

QUOTE (CSF @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 02:47 PM) Another former Sox prospect on the move. Maybe this was a factor in moving him A 22 year old guilty of public intoxication and urination... shocking. Can I get a quick show of hands on how many guys over 21 who can say they have never done the same thing? (only didn't get caught) 0? I thought so.

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Jul 10, 2009 -> 12:37 PM) So when does he start? Did they declare when his first day would be? He reported to Kannapolis last night (Thursday). Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the lineup tonight.

Why did this get hijacked into becoming a Swisher thread?

Regarding Carter... I think you have to take into consideration that the reason he's still in Kannapolis may have nothing to do with his performance. For example, they may have him working on certain pitches and don't want him to have to adjust to dealing with a new level at the same time... or they want him working with specific coaches... or it may be based on which pitching coach has more time to work with him given their current load and responsibilities, etc. Can't just assume that performance alone triggers the decision to move a guy.

Jon Gilmore with a walk-off double in the 9th for a 5-4 Kanny win. CJ Retherford with a bases-clearing 3-run double to help Birmingham regain the lead against Mississippi. Barons up 7-3 in the 7th.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 9, 2009 -> 08:54 PM) I actually want Haren more then Halladay, but Halladay is the superior pitcher who would require a superior package. Actually Haren would require more in trade. It's not just about quality of the player. You have to look at the contracts. You'd get Halladay for 1 year (2010) @ $15M. You'd get Haren for 4 years (2010-2012 +option year) @ an average cost of less than $12M per year. Teams always pay more to control a player longer... thus a richer package required for Haren. (You beat me to the draw Palehosefan.)