Columbus at Charlotte - Lance Broadway with the start

 

Birmingham @ Chattanooga - Cassel starts for the Barons

 

Salem @ Winston-Salem - Rasner starting for W-S

 

Hickory @ Kannapolis - Socolovich starting for Kanny

Broadway had a great night, and Fields is having a huge night.

Another good start for Broadway: 7 innings; 5 hits; 4 strikeouts; 3 walks; 1 run

 

Josh Fields looks like he woke up: 4 for 4 including a homerun so far tonight.

 

Game still in progress... Knights up 2-1 in the 8th.

Edited April 12, 200818 yr by scenario

Fields 4-4 now with a double, home run (both oppo), 2 singles (both to left), and 2 rbi's.

 

And as fathom said, Broadway with a real good outing. 7 IP, 1/1 R/ER, 5 H, 4 K's, and 3 BB's. Those BB's cost him a run. Looks like he really wants to take someone's spot in the rotation.

Edited April 12, 200818 yr by BearSox

Fields 4-4 now with a double, home run (both oppo), 2 singles (both to left), and 2 rbi's.

 

And as fathom said, Broadway with a real good outing. 7 IP, 1/1 R/ER, 5 H, 4 K's, and 3 BB's. Those BB's cost him a run. Looks like he really wants to take someone's spot in the rotation.

 

Or Masset's spot in the bullpen

Charlotte beats Columbus 4-1. some highlights...

 

Fields: 4-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

Huffman: 2-2, BB, he's hitting .600 so far

 

Broadway: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (currently has a 0.64 ERA)

Wassermann: 1 IP for his 4th save (Wass has yet to give up a run or even a hit in his 4 appearances)

 

Birmingham leading Chattanooga 3-2 in the 7th. Cassel with a decent start, Collaro with 2 hits and 3 RBI so far.

 

Fields 4-4 now with a double, home run (both oppo), 2 singles (both to left), and 2 rbi's.

 

And as fathom said, Broadway with a real good outing. 7 IP, 1/1 R/ER, 5 H, 4 K's, and 3 BB's. Those BB's cost him a run. Looks like he really wants to take someone's spot in the rotation.

If things work out well, we can move Contreras this offseason without having to pick up too much of his contract and clear another rotation spot for a kid if that's what we want to do. Just has to keep putting up near quality starts and someone would take him as an innings eater if we sent along a little bit of $.

Winston-Salem beats Salem (ha!) 5-4. Highlights...

 

Hitters that people care about (Shelby, Miranda, Orlando, Allen, Hernandez): combined 2-for-16

Non-prospect org guys: 9-for-14 (LOL)

 

Rasner: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

 

Hickory beats Kanny 5-2. Highlights...

 

Logan Johnson: 2-4, RBI (still hitting .435)

Paiml, Marrero: 2 hits each

 

Socolovich: 5 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 6 K

 

Seems like Kanny is the weakest spot in the system right now.

 

Winston-Salem beats Salem (ha!) 5-4. Highlights...

 

Hitters that people care about (Shelby, Miranda, Orlando, Allen, Hernandez): combined 2-for-16

Non-prospect org guys: 9-for-14 (LOL)

Salvador Sanchez went 2-4. He's hitting .313 and is as much of a prospect as any of those guys. Shelby hasn't really proven much to deserve any of the hype he is getting IMO and the rest have just as many question marks as Sanchez. Sanchez is skipping Kanny this year, kind of at least, he was at Great Falls last year. A good year this year would make him a prospect again IMO.

 

Seems like Kanny is the weakest spot in the system right now.

They're 4-5, but I don't think the other teams will keep winning. Kanny has enough guys that they should start winning more.

Josh Fields went 4-for-4 with a homer and a double Friday for Triple-A Charlotte.

 

There's little doubt that Fields belongs in the majors, but the White Sox will again force him to wait his turn. The 25-year-old is hitting .308/.419/.500 so far in Triple-A.

Salvador Sanchez went 2-4. He's hitting .313 and is as much of a prospect as any of those guys. Shelby hasn't really proven much to deserve any of the hype he is getting IMO and the rest have just as many question marks as Sanchez. Sanchez is skipping Kanny this year, kind of at least, he was at Great Falls last year. A good year this year would make him a prospect again IMO.

 

 

They're 4-5, but I don't think the other teams will keep winning. Kanny has enough guys that they should start winning more.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Sanchez. W-S has some fun players to watch.

 

And when I say Kanny is the weakest, I don't just mean in terms of team record. I mean that it seems to me they are the most lacking in prospective talent.

 

Charlotte beats Columbus 4-1. some highlights...

 

Fields: 4-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI

Huffman: 2-2, BB, he's hitting .600 so far

 

Broadway: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (currently has a 0.64 ERA)

Wassermann: 1 IP for his 4th save (Wass has yet to give up a run or even a hit in his 4 appearances)

 

Wasserman couldn't take MacDougal's spot soon enough.

And when I say Kanny is the weakest, I don't just mean in terms of team record. I mean that it seems to me they are the most lacking in prospective talent.

 

I don't agree with Kanny being the weakest. Not at all.

 

In fact, I think it's the second strongest group... right behind W-S.

I don't agree with Kanny being the weakest. Not at all.

 

In fact, I think it's the second strongest group... right behind W-S.

I wouldn't dispute much if you said they were deeper in talent than B-Ham, maybe - that's close. But I think Charlotte has far more relative talent, especially with guys like Fields, Wassermann, Egbert (DL), Broadway, Lucy, Getz and Bourgeois down there.

 

why do so many people want MacDougal off the team? He's our best reliever, no doubt, when he throws strikes. And he has been throwing strikes.

why do so many people want MacDougal off the team? He's our best reliever, no doubt, when he throws strikes. And he has been throwing strikes.

Because he's the worst reliever on the team. He's had one good year. He consistently, even in his good year, has stats that get worse in pressure scenarios (runners on, runners in scoring position, close and late). He's a head case. He looked terrible in spring training and his numbers showed it. And he's most definitely not been throwing strikes - he's walked 4 guys in 6 innings. And that's doing mostly clean up work, when he is at his best, historically. Put him in when the game is on the line, and he'll likely crumble.

 

On the other hand, Wassermann has succeeded at literally every stop in his career, all levels in the minors, and in the majors last year, and in Spring Training this year. He does well under pressure, which is what you want in a reliever. And his one big weakness in 2007 - pitching against lefties - he addressed in the offseason. He was pitching full innings in ST, and is doing that now in Charlotte, facing righties and lefties alike - and he's been getting them out consistently.

 

Basically, if you want a pitcher who will actually perform and give you results, you want Wassermann. If you want to wait on this phantom potential thing, or be guided by a contract situation, then you want MacDougal.

 

I wouldn't dispute much if you said they were deeper in talent than B-Ham, maybe - that's close. But I think Charlotte has far more relative talent, especially with guys like Fields, Wassermann, Egbert (DL), Broadway, Lucy, Getz and Bourgeois down there.

 

I didn't count Fields, because's not really a prospect at this point. He's simply in baseball purgatory due to the Crede situation. I don't view Bourgeois as a serious prospect. Ditto for Getz, who is a nice player, but likely to be a utility guy at the major league level. I don't think Lucy will ever hit well enough to be more than a major league backup. Other than Fields, I think the most serious prospect in Charlotte is Richar.

 

So where is the real 'talent' at Charlotte? Egbert, Broadway, and Wasserman. If you throw in Fields and Richar, then yeah, I would put Charlotte in front of them, but not by much.

 

I think the pitching staff at Kanny is very good. Probably deeper and as good in terms of talent (although further behind in development of course) as any in our system.

 

I believe that Christian Marerro and Jose Martinez will turn into serious position prospects. Matt Inouye had a .900 OPS season in GF last year and looks to be a solid catching prospect. (The Sox thought enough of him to send him to winter ball.) And a couple of the others have potential to be utility types and not just org-guys.

 

I guess the way I looked at it is: (a) pitching is favorably comparable to any of the others; and ('b) there are a couple of reasonably serious position candidates, which most of the others, except for W-S, seem to be lacking. That's why I consider them near the top rather than near the bottom.

Edited April 12, 200818 yr by scenario

why do so many people want MacDougal off the team? He's our best reliever, no doubt, when he throws strikes. And he has been throwing strikes.

 

I really don't know how you can claim MacDougal is better than Jenks at any time.

There is just no possible way you can think this is true. I don't care what you believe about Jenks and his velocity, this is an insane statement to make.

 

...Which doesn't surprise me (or others) with that kid.

why do so many people want MacDougal off the team? He's our best reliever, no doubt, when he throws strikes. And he has been throwing strikes.

Throwing 54% strikes this season. Basically a ball for every strike

I didn't count Fields, because's not really a prospect at this point. He's simply in baseball purgatory due to the Crede situation. I don't view Bourgeois as a serious prospect. Ditto for Getz, who is a nice player, but likely to be a utility guy at the major league level. I don't think Lucy will ever hit well enough to be more than a major league backup. Other than Fields, I think the most serious prospect in Charlotte is Richar.

 

So where is the real 'talent' at Charlotte? Egbert, Broadway, and Wasserman. If you throw in Fields and Richar, then yeah, I would put Charlotte in front of them, but not by much.

 

I think the pitching staff at Kanny is very good. Probably deeper and as good in terms of talent (although further behind in development of course) as any in our system.

 

I believe that Christian Marerro and Jose Martinez will turn into serious position prospects. Matt Inouye had a .900 OPS season in GF last year and looks to be a solid catching prospect. (The Sox thought enough of him to send him to winter ball.) And a couple of the others have potential to be utility types and not just org-guys.

 

I guess the way I looked at it is: (a) pitching is favorably comparable to any of the others; and ('b) there are a couple of reasonably serious position candidates, which most of the others, except for W-S, seem to be lacking. That's why I consider them near the top rather than near the bottom.

Good call on Jose Martinez, I didn't know he was at Kanny. I don't see Inouye being much, but, who knows. And I guess I didn't see a lot of pitching talent, but, if its there, great. I wasn't really seeing it.

 

As for Charlotte, I guess it all comes down to your definition of "prospect". I think that squad has 8 or 10 guys who are likely to see significant major league time in their careers. But if you dismiss Fields, Bourgeois, Getz and Lucy, then yeah - its a much thinner roster.

 

Well, I'll happily stand corrected - I'll have to keep my eye on Kanny and see who blossoms. Hopefully some of those guys can prove me wrong. W-S is the team I am most interested in watching.

 

Good call on Jose Martinez, I didn't know he was at Kanny. I don't see Inouye being much, but, who knows. And I guess I didn't see a lot of pitching talent, but, if its there, great. I wasn't really seeing it.

 

As for Charlotte, I guess it all comes down to your definition of "prospect". I think that squad has 8 or 10 guys who are likely to see significant major league time in their careers. But if you dismiss Fields, Bourgeois, Getz and Lucy, then yeah - its a much thinner roster.

 

Well, I'll happily stand corrected - I'll have to keep my eye on Kanny and see who blossoms. Hopefully some of those guys can prove me wrong. W-S is the team I am most interested in watching.

 

I'm not really meaning to bash Bourgeois, Getz, and Lucy. I just don't see them turning out to be MLB starters, much less stars. I hope I'm wrong.

 

W-S is definitely the team I'm most interested in watching... probably because of Poreda and Miranda.

 

I'm also really interested in watching the progress of CJ Retherford. The kid is a classic bat-rat... was a two-way player (pitched and played a position when not pitching) on a team that won a JUCO world series. Pitched, played catcher, 3B, and shortstop at Arizona State. Actually pitched and caught in the same inning of a game once. LOL. Hurt his senior year or definitely would have been drafted. I've got a feeling we may have picked up a diamond in the rough with him.

 

Offensively, he was 'the star' at Great Falls last year on a great hitting team. He not only lead the team in OPS (over 1.000). He broke the all-time Pioneer League record for doubles in one year. I listened to alot of the GF games on radio last year, and he was incredibly clutch. Seemed like he always came up with the big hit.

 

I figured he would be at Kanny this year, but the Sox bumped him directly to W-S, so I figured the they must see something in him. Maybe he won't turn out to be anything special... but... I think it's definitely worth watching his progress. Sort of a classic 'underdog does good' type story.

 

Here's a few notes I put together after doing some research on him last year (link).

Edited April 13, 200818 yr by scenario

I'm also really interested in watching the progress of CJ Retherford. The kid is a classic bat-rat... was a two-way player (pitched and played a position when not pitching) on a team that won a JUCO world series. Pitched, played catcher, 3B, and shortstop at Arizona State. Actually pitched and caught in the same inning of a game once. LOL. Hurt his senior year or definitely would have been drafted. I've got a feeling we may have picked up a diamond in the rough with him.

 

Offensively, he was 'the star' at Great Falls last year on a great hitting team. He not only lead the team in OPS (over 1.000). He broke the all-time Pioneer League record for doubles in one year. I listened to alot of the GF games on radio last year, and he was incredibly clutch. Seemed like he always came up with the big hit.

 

I figured he would be at Kanny this year, but the Sox bumped him directly to W-S, so I figured the they must see something in him. Maybe he won't turn out to be anything special... but... I think it's definitely worth watching his progress. Sort of a classic 'underdog does good' type story.

 

You mean you haven't accepted Kent Gerst as you personal savior yet? :unsure: