caulfield12

Right-handed pitcher Mark Appel, the No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Astros in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, will join the Quad Cities River Bandits Wednesday before their six-game home stand at Modern Woodmen Park, the Astros announced on Tuesday. With 2012 No. 1 overall pick Carlos Correa, the River Bandits are set to become the first team in Minor League Baseball history with consecutive No. 1 overall picks on the same roster. The Houston Astros selected Appel out of Stanford University with the top pick of the draft on June 6. He signed with the Astros and was introduced at a press conference June 19 at Minute Maid Park. Appel made his professional debut July 5 with the short-season Class-A Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Penn League. In two starts July 5 and July 9, Appel pitched five total innings, allowed six hits, two earned runs and no walks while striking out six batters. Looks like he will start the 13th or 14th. If it's Saturday the 13th, I'll get to see him pitch. The River Bandits open their six-game homestand at 7 p.m. Wednesday against the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Modern Woodmen Park. Appel is scheduled to make his first River Bandits start on Sunday, July 14, at 5 p.m. against the Dayton Dragons. Damn. Guess not. Missed it by a day.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:52 PM) Since this thread is about shortstops, why doesn't Robin find out if Beckham can play like a big league SS? Because they're probably showcasing Alexei for a trade right now.

Micah Johnson gunned down (close play) on a pitch-out. Had a single up the middle to the SS side...barely got under the shortstop's glove into the OF.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:29 PM) There is an oft-told story where Bonds approaches Griffey at Griffey's home (they were having dinner) frustrated about 'roiders getting all the notoriety. Bonds says he's going to join the juicer club as he's been overlooked...but things get awkward. Griffey has just won an MVP and is quite happy with his current reputation and thinks the juicers will eventually be caught, ruining their reputations. Hard to say whether this exchange happened or if it happened that way, but some Bonds biographers say it did. I think Griffey was clean. He was pretty much useless after age 30, which makes sense for a guy that played the 9 years prior on AstroTurf and lacked the drugs to make himself better. The Big Hurt will always get a bit more speculation because he's huge, but the way he acted was about as anti-steroid as you can be. He was basically breaking the oath of silence during his playing days because he didn't like losing the limelight to 'roiders either. Big Frank also has the positive of being a huge SOB his entire life, not a mid-20s suddenly-become-gigantic transformation. Frank and Griffey had similar body trajectories where they continually got fatter and slower as time went on, especially as injuries piled up (though we know Frank was quite a bit healthier than Griffey) If you look at Thome video from his rookie year, he's about the same size as Pronk Hafner now.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:34 PM) The aspect you keep overlooking with Ravelo is his 17 doubles in 181 ABs. That's the main reason for his .486 SLG, which would qualify for 5th overall in the Carolina Leauge if he had enough ABs. The hope with Ravelo is that some of that gap power will turn into HR power as his body matures over time. I'm not going to overlook it anymore because it would be too depressing not to have anyone to cheer for...besides Micah Johnson and Josh Phegley. Tim Anderson, too. Barnum.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:33 PM) Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 5m mark appel has been promoted from Tri-City to Quad Cities. so at the very least, he has gained a city. Have to check the schedule and see if I can give a scouting report. I'm here in the Quad Cities through Sunday afternoon, then leaving the country.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:25 PM) Every year, there's someone that this board tries to talk up as possibly being a prospect even though they're far too old for their level. Typically, that person is long gone within a year or two. CJ Retherford? David Cook? Farrell actually made the Carolina League All-Star team. Myles Jaye is on the mound. Lenny Dykstra's son is up. Wonder if his dad is still in prison for financial fraud? Bunt single. Jaye loaded the bases with no outs but got a DP ball....DeMichele (DeMichael is how it's pronounced) to Johnson to first. 1-0. DeMichele is a MESS at SS. That transition's not going well, as they made room for Micah Johnson. 9 errors in 11 games at that spot so far. Error leads to run #2 for Potomac as the throw went into the stands. Micah Johnson with an excellent diving stop and throw to end the inning.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 04:41 PM) I have no problem with the White Sox taking a chance on a Mike Moustakas (and again, I'm using real names but assuming they're generic terms). I'm not trading Santiago or Quintana for that. And the Twins do scare me the most with Sano and Buxton (this time it is actual names), but I think, if anything, we've seen that the pitching talent at the MLB level is just supremely talented. There was a time when you saw technically sound, mediocre talent come up and hit right away, but you just don't see that. Really, if you have a guy putting up an .825 OPS in the minors, you have to expect him to put up a .675 OPS or worse in the majors. It's just absurd. Aaron Hicks would be a good example of that. Seems it's a LOT easier for young hitters to break into the NL, for any of a number of reasons (S.Marte/M.Ozuna/Puig/Gattis). Conor Gillaspie leads AL rookies in a number of categories...like being the tallest midget.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:15 PM) I hope we have scouts at the Kannapolis game, as some big time prospects for the Pirates are involved in this game. Ravelo with a walk. He's about the most exciting hitter right now in our entire system, in terms of being a "pure" hitter. Power has been coming around the last week, too. Still don't think he'll get to 10 homers, but progress. Curley and Farrell have been playing well this season but neither are true prospects...at least yet.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:07 PM) Exactly, so why not take advantage of a team that's desperate? Misread it. Both Peralta and Infante have expiring contracts. No options for 2014 (club, mutual, player). So they desperately need a SS if Peralta goes down. They're not going to play Santiago everyday...and go into the playoffs with that plan.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 05:02 PM) Plain and simple, when you go into rebuilding mode, it doesn't matter who you're dealing business with...you get the best package possible back. I highly doubt Alexei will be a huge difference maker in a few years when the Sox are looking to compete again. I bet the Cubs are happy they traded within their division and got Wood and others for Marshall. Peralta has a $6 million club option, 500K buyout for 2014. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do if he's suspended for 100 games and they have to replace him on the fly with someone better than Ramon Santiago. And Infante's contract is expiring. If I were the Tigers, in "win now" mode as always these days, I'd trade for Ramirez and move Peralta to 2B.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 04:09 PM) Delaying these suspensions is going to dick up the trade market for us!!!! Or it's going to create a last minute wave of demand for Crain, Peavy, Alexei, Dunn, Danks and Rios. There are definitely two ways of looking at it. We should get our AL Central title back because Peralta was doping!!!!! At any rate, we can deal Peavy to the A's now, with Bartolo Colon going down (we might have to eat some salary because of their payroll restrictions, but that would get us better prospects back in return)... I don't want to trade Alexei Ramirez to the Tigers. Crain would be okay, though...for Garcia. Don't want Andy Dirks....he's more of a 4th OF.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 03:25 PM) Are we really THAT shallow at 3B? Michalczweski in low minors, Morel in high minors, Gillaspie/Keppinger in MLB. None of these guys are world-beaters but it seems like we are far better off at the position than we were 12 months ago Has the cast of Jersey Shore had "enhancements"? Dan Wagner's a nice player in AA, but not a real prospect at his size. I guess you could put Carlos Sanchez in the 3B category as a super-utility kind of guy like Eduardo Escobar/Keppinger.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 04:09 PM) Delaying these suspensions is going to dick up the trade market for us!!!! The Rangers will definitely want Rios if Cruz goes down...

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 13, 2013 -> 12:27 PM) The damage is already done. The first thing that should have been done was Selig's resignation for looking the other way, therefore allowing Congress to get involved. The next generation of sports writers will put probably some of the dopes in the Hall. Mark McGwire despite admitting to cheating will probably get in because some forgive for being honest when the act wasn't honest in the first place. Frank Thomas, Griffey, Jr., Thome and Omar Vizquel. That's it, for the HOF, in terms of the last generation of ballplayers (non-pitchers). Everyone else is tainted. No way someone like Mike Piazza makes it now.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 04:19 PM) **As a quick aside, these trades wouldn't happen, but merely hypotheticals for example's sake** I would trade Quintana or Santiago for Kyle Seager. I would not trade Quintana or Santiago for Mike Moustakas. It fills a gaping hole (that's what she said) and is absolutely someone that can be a centerpiece of the team for years and has already shown good success at the MLB level. There are others that are harder to judge - Andrelton Simmons is one of those. Valuable young SS, but has struggled with the bat and never had eye popping numbers in the minors. Hechavaria on the Marlins (from Jays) would be another example at the SS position. I'll do the opposite and take the potential (higher ceiling) on Moustakas, simply knowing that we've got to find guys with the potential to hit 25-35 homers at the corners, and can't be satisfied with average or slightly above average if we legitimately want to compete with DET. (Not to mention Buxton/Sano arriving in MN, Kyle Gibson....and the Indians and Royals being ahead of us in many respects...Hahn has his work cut out for him. It almost seems like it will be a miracle now to compete again before 2015 or 2016.)

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 04:03 PM) My problem with this is the word "a". Given that these guys have really started to establish themselves as above average starters who will keep getting better, yes I'd consider it if there was a top flight guy coming back, but with their contract status I hope that they've set themselves up as guys who should bring back multiple pieces in addition to the headline guy. If we're going with THAT approach, it really makes much more sense to deal Chris Sale for a Stanton like bounty (making sure we hit on the prospects) before he gets injured and hold onto both Santiago and Quintana. Really, trading either one of those guys ahead of Peavy and Danks just isn't logical in any way that you look at it. Not to mention that you can use the payroll savings from Peavy and Danks to improve the offense, but you're certainly not getting as much value to the Sox in prospects (for Quintana and Santiago, if they were dealt before maximizing their potential) that probably will never be as good as Santiago/Quintana in the first place and then you're turning around and waiting 2-3 more years for them to develop. Then you're just in perpetual rebuilding mode.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/atlanta-brave...-175300360.html Complaints about Braves fans stuffing the ballot but not attending playoff games at Turner, lol. County by county voting in the NL race, reminds me of the presidential election splits in 2008 and 2012. http://mlb.mlb.com/visualization/all_star/y2013/final_vote/ http://espn.go.com/mlb/allstar13/story/_/i...l-all-star-team Dodgers fans making final push Interesting game for Puig. 1/3, 2 walks, no K's. The biggest problem he's having now is overconfidence on the basepaths, and taking too many foolish chances with Hanley Ramirez coming up right behind him. Last night, he was on 1B when Adrian Gonzalez hit a double....stopped/hesitated, blew through the 3B coach's stop sign and was out by plenty at home, overestimating his ability to beat the relay throw in from Didi Gregorius. Luckily, the Dodgers have a translator and one of the all-time best baserunning guys in Davey Lopes. That's the 3rd or 4th time he's cost the Dodgers by running into foolish outs. There was at least one other time, when he scored from 2nd base on an infield error by Buster Posey that he should have been out at home but got lucky forcing the issue.

They should send Ramirez and Rios to the Pirates (along with money) and get back the prospects they really want. Likelihood of that happening? 10%?

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 01:41 PM) Yeah that 2003 team was very deep offensively. It was also the year Esteban Loaiza came out of nowhere to dominate 3/4ths of the season. Colon and Buerhle also had good seasons. However, Garlands inconsistencies and Loaiza being out of gas near the end was costly. But the offense in 2003 was sick! (Valentine, Everett, Maggs, Lee, Thomas, Konerko, Alomar, Olivo, Crede) That 2006 team should have made the playoffs for sure. In fact they started the season off going 53-27 and were on pace for winning 100 games. However, they finished the season 37-45 and missing the post season. A huge reason for that was the fact that the starting pitchers were out of gas from such a long post season the year before. My only issue with that 2006 squad was that they didn't give McCarthy a spot in the rotation. I am pretty sure they placed him in the bullpen that year? I didn't think the trade for Vazquez was necessary. You could have had a rotation of Contreras, Buerhle, Garcia, Garland and BMac while using El-Duque in the long relief role. I didn't have an issue with the Rowand for Thome deal. It made sense at the time- Anderson needed a chance to prove himself and getting a lefty DH with pure power made sense. I'd say the White Sox had their most successful decade from 2000-2009. Three division titles, one world championship and two really good teams that just missed the playoffs. So far this decade has been kind of rough with the exception of last season. 2010- 88-74 (Missed post season by 6 games- Ozzie's last respectable season) 2011- 79-83 (Drama off the field led to a team that was supposed to be 'All In' out of the postseason. The End Ozzie's Regime) 2012- 85-77 (Welcome Robin Ventura, spend over 100 days in 1st place, but came up short after a September collapse) 2013- 34-52* (One of the worst Sox teams to date, team in desperate need for change/ new players/ manager) I'd say KW was pretty darn successful. Yes he had some down seasons, but more winning teams than losing teams and you knew one thing, he was always out looking for ways to improve the club in attempt to make the playoffs each season. The White Sox didn't have anything approximating a 5th starter that year (2003), and the Twins hit paydirt on a cheap FA deal with Kenny The Gambler Rogers. Also, that was the year we tried Koch as the closer and it was a complete disaster, along with Gordon/Marte later in the year.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-180906313.html Newest Marlins' marketing trick, promoting ticket packages around opposing players/teams like Gio Gonzalez.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 12:55 PM) Brett Lawrie is a 23 year old 3B in another organization, a recent first round pick and the #40 rated prospect in baseball just two years ago and who is still in the pre-arb years of his contract. He has never played an inning at 1B in either the majors or minors. Why was he brought up again? Because it's a lot more likely that the White Sox try to find guys like the names mentioned (for 1B/3B) than giving Andy Wilkins a shot...players that are in the doghouse with their teams, which might make them more available than would otherwise be the case.

Lawrie could possibly be another option....even though a lot of people around baseball think he's an ass.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2013 -> 12:09 PM) IIRC they ate some money when Thome was sent to the Dodgers and Iguchi was sent to the Phillies. Linebrink, too. MacDougal, they just ate the whole contract, what was left of it in that final year.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 9, 2013 -> 08:45 AM) 1. Granderson and Pence? Granderson is old, injury prone, bad defensively, and strikes out 25% of the time. Pence is a no-patience hack with a 6% walk rate and .309 OBP -- which is precisely what this team does not need. 2. Unquestionably, as you just defined it, the Marlins have to be the worst franchise in baseball. Especially now that they just gave away their best pitcher for salary relief despite already having a $30m payroll. Jose Fernandez far and away is their best pitcher... This thread only proves there is really no good options that 1) aren't too expensive, like Choo or Ellsbury, 2) are capable of hitting both lefties and rights, and 3) aren't too old.