scenario

Should be an interesting roller coaster before the ASB. After the games this week against the Dodgers and the Cubs, we play 10 straight against Cleveland and Kansas City (3 at Cleveland, 4 at KC, 3 at home against Cleveland)... then 3 games in Minneapolis.

Just saw something small but worth noting... 3 runners attempted to steal against Flowers today... He threw out 2 of them. ----------------------------------------- Overall, his defensive stats look much better than they did last year (his first full year as a catcher).

I think a picture gallery would be interesting. I like the idea of fan-submitted pics that people could browse through. There are several good free Wordpress gallery plugins available.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 21, 2009 -> 03:54 PM) 2-run double for Wilson Betemit won it for Charlotte. Good to see Marquez have his first good game. Alright... my first reverse psychology win of the year. And good for Wilson Betemit... who has hits in 5 of the 7 games he's played so far.

Buffalo @ Charlotte Marquez with a nice start But looks like the Knights are about to lose 2-1 Birmingham losing 7-2 in the 6th McCulloch started and got shelled But with this offense, it ain't over til... Winston-Salem playing a double-header... Won the first game 6-2 Nice start for Edwards Two hits and 3 RBI's for Morel Game 2 is tied up 1-1 in the 4th Anthony Carter on the mound. Kannapolis @ Greensboro Infante pitching

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 06:28 PM) Garrett Johnson, after starting the season strong as a 20 year old, has been in utter meltdown lately. He sure got his butt handed to him today, didn't he? Brutal. 4 innings; 11 earned runs on 12 hits in the first game of the double-header. And it looks like the second game has potential to be just as ugly. Kanny losing 5-2 in the second inning.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 03:01 PM) How many projected lineups this offseason did we see with Getz leading off? Sure seemed like a lot. Well... when the available alternatives were Owens, Wise, and Lillibridge... what do you expect?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 02:09 PM) I think this site is very, very optimistic when it comes to prospects, even though the Sox have a TERRIBLE history of developing their own. I think some of the backlash toward Gartrell is from people who don't get the David Cook love. One thing people need to remember is not every prospect is supposed to be a superstar. Maybe Gartrell can come up and be a 4th outfielder. Same goes for Shelby, who's been destroying LHP this season. Getz is an example of a guy that was way too overhyped, as people were expecting a .400 OBP and 40 steals it seems like. He's a decent little player, but probably will never be near All-star caliber. That's fine though. Very optimistic? Since when? Maybe in the last couple of months. But IMO, a little optimism is warranted given the sharp turnaround the organization has made in the last couple of years and to help balance the general overwhelming pessimism most fans have had about Sox prospects. Regarding Getz... way too over-hyped?? Are you even being close to serious? I remember starting a thread on SoxTalk last year titled "Why not Getz?" to discuss him as a viable alternative for 2B this year when everybody else on the planet except him was being talked about by fans. It was apparent from that discussion that most people knew nothing about him and clearly did not think he was a legit candidate for the job. Look back at the spring training threads this year... most people thought of Getz as their candidate of least choice for the job (after Lillibridge and Nix). And I don't think anybody dreamed much less expected him to have a .400 OBP etc.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Jun 20, 2009 -> 06:04 AM) My basement flooded for the first time in the 19 years I lived in my home. There goes my desktop, xbox, sub woofer, and considering i was walking in puddles down there probably the carpet as well. It was a nice surprise to come home too as I was planning on going to a party. That really sucks. Happened to me about 5 years ago, but I didn't lose as much as you apparently did. Hopefully your insurance will cover some of it.

A collie, a fish, and a variety of small wild animals in our backyard that my wife puts food out for so they keep coming back. We live in a semi-rural area, so we routinely have rabbits, racoons, possum, and woodchucks out back. I tell her not to feed them, but she doesn't listen to me. She's named most of them so she feels responsible for them I guess. LOL.

Saw this interesting note in the mlb.com story about the game... What was the difference on Friday? Maxwell said he found a new pitch before the game. "I started throwing a new pitch, a cutter," he explained. "The last game, I was coming off my fastball and cutting it a little, and I started working on it in my last bullpen. It started to become a really good pitch for me." Maxwell, throwing the cut fastball in the mid-80s, also featured his usual off-speed pitches. "I was getting guys to swing early in the count," said Maxwell, who induced eight fly balls and eight grounders. "But that cutter was how I got all my ground balls." Chances are the cutter will be sticking around for the rest of the season. "Everybody was asking about it and I said, 'Hey, I just learned that the other day."

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 11:41 PM) I'm sorry, but I absolutely hate this argument. Most of us have seen very little of him, and everything is based on stats, scouting reports, and shot clips or a game or two in ST we saw them in. It's mainly opinion at this point. You disagree, fine, I really don't care. However, it'd make a lot more sense if you went with an argument involving stats, referencing scouting reports, and the little you have seen of him. The argument saying "how many times have you actually seen him play" is crap unless your JPN and have seen about half of his games this year. It's not a crap argument. The crap argument is making negative comments about a guy's 'hand-eye coordination'; comparing him to other teams' failed prospects; etc., without any freaking evidence. What the hell is that? IMO the referenced post was nothing more than typical 'our prospects suck until they prove otherwise' garbage. But I AM willing to change my mind (and even apologize) if somebody has something other than 1/3 of a season of stats to back it up. (That's why JPN's input is so valuable. He actually does see people play on a regular basis. If he said somebody has lousy hand-eye coordination, I'd buy it because he has something to base it on.) Sorry for coming off as so critical. I just don't get why some people trash prospects based on 'opinions' (which they state as facts) when they have very little to no evidence to back them up. I'd expect that stuff on some other boards, but not on SoxTalk.

QUOTE (Adele_H @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 06:42 PM) Unfortunately, if pitch-recognotion, strike-zone management and hand-eye coordination (read: bat control) aren't top notch, no amount of power/speed will help a player succeed in the majors. Chris Young, Felie Pie and Corey Patterson are finding that out the hard way -- and Shelby is a lesser talent IMO. His struggles in AA do not surprise. So... help me out here. I'm willing to be influenced. What do you know about his pitch recognition, strike-zone management, and hand-eye coordination? Where do you get that information from? And how many times have you actually seen him play?

Ely with an excellent start in the first game of the Baron twin-bill. 7 innings; 2 runs on 3 hits; 6 K's and 1 BB.

Dexter Carter throwing a great game so far tonight for Kanny. 5 innings; 0 runs on 1 hit; 6 K's; 0 BB's. Kannapolis up 1-0 after 5.

Sox pitching prospects on fire! Carlos Torres with a rain-shortened perfect game last night. Levi Maxwell threw a no-hitter for Winston-Salem today. Have we ever had two prospects throw no-hitters on consecutive days before?

One of the factors I haven't seen discussed yet is the possibility that the young guys who have struggled during the first half of the season might play better in the second half. I wouldn't be at all surprised if one or more of Getz, Beckham, and Anderson step up and play much better as the result of getting regular playing time and experience. (I left Fields out because I think he would need regular playing time to get a hitting rhythm going and I don't see him getting enough at-bats going forward to allow that to happen.)

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 12:06 PM) Wasn't he removed from 2B for a reason? Wasn't he a butcher over there? Sort of... He was struggling for a while in 2007 both in the field and at the plate. They moved him to left to allow him to take fielding out of the equation and let him focus on his hitting. It worked and his offense kicked back into gear. Personally, I think Shelby has alot of potential. Not too often you find a player with the speed/power combo he has. He typically starts slow and picks it up as the year goes on... so the second half of this year should be very telling (and important) to determine if and where he fits in the Sox prospect picture.

10 days ago Linebrink was a lights-out set-up guy having a great year... And now a grand total of four and one-third innings of pitching later, it's time to push the panic button? Yawn.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 08:05 AM) Too bad for Torres losing the chance to continue that perfect game. Kroeger is on fire in June: .419/.457/.698/1.154 And we get Dewayne frickin Wise. Somebody ought to write Kroeger and suggest he hire you as his agent.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 19, 2009 -> 01:11 AM) You people really want to neuter the championship-bound Barons, huh? How much talent must we bring to direction-less Charlotte? Well... Birmingham's got a playoff slot wrapped up. Maybe Charlotte could win the 2nd half in the IL and get in too. I think it would be great to promote the whole Barons team and see if they could make the playoffs at two different levels (AA and AAA) this year.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 08:55 PM) First off, I was the first one who got on the Huddy bandwagon. Just wanted to clear it up Also, with Allen, I think it's a legit possibility we see PK go on the DL sometime within in the next 2 weeks (depending on he and the team are doing) and Allen getting called up (if he's hitting at AAA, I wouldn't be surprised to see him mash while playing in Charlotte's stadium). So... are you finally on the Allen bandwagon now?

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 09:35 PM) CJ does it again. Double to knock in a run with two outs in the 9th. 4-4. He's had more big hits late in games than anyone in our minor league organization. Not just this year. All 3 years he's been with us. QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 18, 2009 -> 09:37 PM) Viciedo wins it with a basehit. This team is awesome.

As of today (Thursday the 18th), Omogrosso is still listed as active on the Barons roster.

There's pretty good info on picks from the first 10 rounds available on pgcrosschecker. You have to search through pages for each round, but it's worth it.