winninguglyin83

yep, the question I think many of us have is: Can Reed play center field in the big leagues? what kind of range does he have? And arm? he's not going to be the right fielder as long as Maggs is around -- and let's hope that is for a long time.

Bradford Foulke wells Fogg Eyre Donnelly some pretty good arms have gotten away from the South Side

need to start chipping garland can turn this around. wasn't hit hard last inning. Just well placed grounders

need to get at least one run in the first to lift Garland back up paulie, you owe him. BIG

plus Buehrle and Garland go to arbitration next year and Loaiza is going to get a bump going to be expensive to keep this staff together -- another reason to win NOW

no lineups?

Jamie Burke he's 31 and has bounced around the minors for 9 years. played briefly in the bigs for anaheim having a decent year offensively at Charlotte, but he's pretty ordinary as a catcher. I believe he threw out 25 percent of the runners trying to steal on him last season but, hey, nobody thought David Eckstein was much either. Let's hope the kid fits right in.

Hitters 1. Reed. Hits for average with excellent command of strike zone. Plus he's a left-handed hitter. Need one of those 2. Hummel. Hitting much better during his second tour through the International League in part because he's no longer worrying about playing shortstop. But he could be a man without a position. It's second or third, but I don't see him bumping Crede or Alomar (if he re-signs) out of the lineup. 3. Borchard. But more than than the high strikeouts, I'm more alarmed by the drop in his batting average and stunning lack of power in a park that is one of the smallest in the International League. With more than $5 million invested in him, the sox will give him every chance. 4. Ricardo Nanita. Long way from The Show, but he's been the most impressive player from this draft class. 5. Micah Schnurstein. Not hitting the way he did last year at Arizona, but he's been coming on at Great Falls. Also several years away. But we're pretty bare for hitting prospects at full-season A ball. Pitching 1. Neal Cotts. His hits to innings pitched are off the charts. Can strike people out. Improving as the season moves on. Still needs to improve the walks to make it in the big leagues, but he's a lefty who'll be around next year. 2. Enemencio Pacheco. Solid righty, who doesn't strike out as many guys as Cotts, but also doesn't walk as many. Will get a chance a long reliever next season. 3. Kris Honel. Still two years away. Probably the second or third best pitching prospect in the Carolina League. Averaging nearly three strikeouts per walk. 4. Jon Adkins. A whipping boy from the Ray Durham trade. But he's pitched pretty well for the last six weeks at Charlotte and he's much closer to being ready than others who are more highly touted. 5. Jon Rauch. Hard to believe he was voted the Number One prospect in baseball three years ago. Have a B to B-minus season at Charlotte. Not as dominating as you'd like him to be and he has problems staying healthy. But there is still potential worth waiting on because he has decent control and three pitches.

Is Nanita injured or just resting? I've noticed he hasn't played the last few games. And what was the injury bug Sweeney is battling?

Olivo is a major loss. He minimized the workload on Alomara and eliminated the running game. can't hit a good breaking ball, but he had his moments offensively. Why no discussion of Mike Rivera? He's the guy KW acquired to ease the loss of Josh Paul. He's hitting well at Charlotte and has played in the big leagues with Detroit. Is it strictly a feeling that he can't handle the job defensively?

excellent reports to me the players with the chance to help a little in September are Hummel, Rauch, Cotts and Pacheco. I would have added Rivera, but the decision to summon Burke over Rivera says there are doubts about Rivera as a receiver.

attendance was 25-something need 35 tomorrow and to pound Ted Lilly

first place and don't look back boys thank u rays

buehrle starts marte relieves oakland lefty oriented

royals lose 4-0 haven't scored in 14 straight innings and most importantly we're even in the loss column

sweeney singles

ibanez whiffs

jesus colome in to close for Tampa ibanez hitting

another run for tampa 4-0 1st and 3rd two outs

rays have second and third, two outs bottom eight levine in for KC

that's why King Carl was worth Anthony Webster

jeremi gonzalez dealing rays lead 3-0 into the bottom of the 8th

fyi -- randa injured for Royals throwing arm/shoulder left game could be serious

go lou (piniella) and go Lugo (Royals killer Thursday night) go huff, Baldelli, Crawford and Lance Carter, too) 3-0 rays top of 8

rays up 3-0 bottom of 7 and they have leadoff man on go Lou go