The White Sox packaged the extremely talented righthander Javier Vazquez and bullpen lefty Boone “They’re not saying Boone” Logan to the Braves for C-1B Tyler Flowers, SS Brent Lillibridge, 3B Jon Gilmore, and southpaw reliever Santos Rodriguez. Vazquez has a dynamite fastball, an explosive curveball, and very good control, yet he is two games below .500 in his career, despite the fact he has over 2,000 strikeouts. Down the stretch, when the White Sox needed him most, Ozzie Guillen & Vazquez, himself, lost confidence. This game is hard enough, but there is no way to succeed when you don’t believe in your stuff. That, in a nutshell, seems to Javier’s problem, not believing in his ability. It seemed, from my vantage point 34 rows behind home plate, Vazquez would be getting batters out, overpowering them, when all of a sudden he’d start trying to fool hitters, rather than just get them out. He’d get ahead 0-2, then nibble, rather than take advantage & put the hitter away. Still in this pitching starved era, this 32 year old will give you 33 starts & 200 innings, not bad, but he’ll drive you crazy, good luck Atlanta! Then there’s the case of Boone Logan, a herky jerky motion, from the leftside, couldn’t get my grandmother out in the second half of the season. In fact 97 year old granny was two for three, with a homer against Logan.

Now here’s what we got back, it was better than a half eaten bag of potato chips, so I’m happy. Tyler Flowers is a 6′4″ 245 pound righthanded hitting catcher/firstbaseman out of Georgia. Flowers played in High Class A ball for the Braves in 2008, where he hit 17 homers & 32 doubles, while hitting .288, with 98 bases on balls. But where Tyler really shined was the Arizona Fall League, where he was the home run leader with 12 home runs in only 20 games, with a batting average of .387. Atlanta drafted him in the 33rd round of the 2005 draft out of a junior college, then he was suspended fifty games for testing positive to taking performance enhancing drugs. A knee injury may limit him to a career at firstbase.

Brent Lillibridge was the Bucs shortstop of the future when he was drafted out of the University of Washington in the 4th round of the 2005 draft. In 2003 at the age of 19 Brent batted .388 with some pop at Washington. Even though he batted .220 with 90 strikeouts in 2008 with Richmond, it’s hard to think he’s washed up at the age of 24, in fact the Braves brought him to the majors for a cup of coffee, where he batted .200 in 80 at bats with the big league club. The book on Brent is that he’s a good fielder, with speed, who needs to re-find his stick.

Jon Gilmore is an interesting prospect, drafted by the Braves with the 33rd pick in the 2007 draft out of high school. This, 6′3″ 195 pound, 20 year old, thirdbaseman was born in Florida, but played his high school ball in Iowa City. 2008 was a split decision for Gilmore, as Jon batted .337 with 23 doubles in only 258 at bats in rookie ball, but then really struggled at Class A, hitting only .186.

Then there’s 20 year old lefty reliever Santos Rodriguez. It’s hard to get a read on Santos, as he’s only pitched two years of rookie ball. But in 2008 Rodriguez struckout 45 batters in 29 innings, with a nifty 2.79 ERA.

All in all, I like the deal. Sure we gave up a solid member of our rotation, but we got back value, and Vazquez had pitched on the Southside long enough, let the Braves enjoy him. Kenny Williams has been a genius and I’m not going to second guess him at this point.

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This article by Diane Grassi elaborates in good detail on the signing of the two Indian pitchers by the Pirates. 

Apparently, they’re under the physical training of former MLB pitcher Tom House who now specializes in working to develop young pitchers. 

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I’m back in Chicago, but Joe (who went with me to the all the games in Arizona) was in the Phoenix house last night. Joe had gotten a free ticket to see the Saguaros battle the Desert Dogs in Phoenix. He gave me a report on the game, including a couple of members of the White Sox. One up, Gordon Beckham, who seems to be finding a home at secondbase, while batting .396. He was three for four last night, including his 5th double of the Fall. Beckham could be the starting secondbaseman for the White Sox in 2009, with Alexei Ramirez moving to SS, and fellow countryman Dayan Viciedo over at 3B. One down, Aaron Poreda, of the University of San Francisco, didn’t make out too well, three earned runs, walking three & surrendering a solo bomb off the bat of Mike McKenry (his 9th) in 2/3 innings of work. The 6′6″ lefthander now has a 7.71 ERA.

Joe picked up a free ticket for Saturday, look forward to his next report.

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Tags: Arizona Fall League, Rookie Watch, White Sox by Teddy Ballgame
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Man, for a pitcher, I just love this guy’s name. 

Josh Outman pitched his first start today for Oakland (he had appeared in two games earlier).  And at least for today, his name fit.  In his first career start (against the Rangers) he allowed only one run, four hits, struck out three and walked two. 

Oh, and he recorded 15 outs, man

Pitchers (past and present) whose names did NOT inspire confidence:

Bob Walk

Homer Bailey

Grant Balfour

Bruce Hitt

and I know it’s part of his nickname but I can’t ignore

Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy

…any others?

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The ultimate supersub Wilkin Castillo got the September callup from the Cincinnati Reds, despite the fact that he batted only .246 at Triple A. I fell in love with this intriguing prospect when I saw him last year at the Arizona Fall League. Castillo is a switch hitter, but what makes Wilkin exceptional is his versatility. Although his primary position is catcher, he grew up playing SS, and I saw him at secondbase, but truth be told, he can play anywhere on the field. Today against the Buccos he’s in leftfeld and he nailed a ball that bounced over the wall for a ground rule double.

Everybody seems to know about Jed Lowrie of the Boston Red Sox. Lowrie has been doing the job for the Bosox in a pennant race filling in at both SS & 3B, but before he got the callup, I remembered Jed as the switch hitting middle infielder with a little pop I’d seen go yard for a walkoff homer in the AFL.

I saw Chris Dickerson play for the Reds in spring training the same day I watched Jay Bruce, Johhny Cueto, and Joey Votto. While I was impressed with the other three youngsters I was to see that day, Dickerson did not impress me. Chris is the nephew of former NFL great running back Eric Dickerson, and while he could run like the wind, there’s one thing that is vastly different between success in baseball and success in football, the ability to hit a curveball. This youngster really didn’t put up the numbers in the minors before this year. Well something must’ve clicked because Dickerson has responded well since his callup to Cincinnati. He got a chance to play when Ken Griffey, Jr. was dealt to the Chicago White Sox, and really came through, hitting six home runs in his first 19 big league ballgames (only the 2nd Red in the team’s history with five homers in his first twenty contests). The 6′3″ 225 lefthanded batter has done quite a bit in his short time in the majors, six homers, 7 doubles, 2 triples, five steals, while batting .320, all this in only 75 ABs. While I might’ve overlooked this 26 year old, it’s going to be hard to overlook him if he keeps playing the way he’s been thus far.

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I liked Travis Snider the first time I saw him. This 5′10″ 245 pound lefthanded hitter out of the great State of Washington can rake. When professional hitter, Matt Stairs was shipped off to Philadelphia, it was time for this kid to get the callup.

I missed this 20 year old’s debut, but tuned in the Blue Jays game last night with an eye on Snider. Travis did not disappoint. The Minnesota Twins, who are in a fight with my White Sox for a playoff spot, might’ve won last night’s ballgame if it were not for Travis Snider.

The rookie found himself in an unusual position in the lineup, batting 9th. But came through when it counted most, hitting against closer Joe Nathan, with two outs, down by a run, he lined a hard single to rightfield, and when the rightfielder bobbled the ball, the tying run scored from firstbase.

Where was replay??? In the bottom of the 10th inning Alex Rios ripped a one out triple to leftfield. However upon further review the TV replay clearly showed Rios’ flyball hit a speaker beyond the wall and then careened straight down, and off the fence. As the leftfielder crashed into the wall, Alex streaked into thirdbase, where he died as Nathan wriggled off the hook.

Then Travis found himself in a position to help his team when he stepped to the dish in the bottom of the 11th with the game knotted at four. Scott Rolen was on 2nd after a leadoff double, Snider lined a single just in front of a sliding leftfielder Jason Kubel, who made a nice play to keep the knock from being a game winner. This hit showed the kid hangs tough against southpaws as he got this one off Everyday Eddie Guardado. John McDonald was the hero a few moments later hitting one over the centerfielder’s head for a walkoff single.

This guy looks like a guy who gets better as he moves up the ladder. He batted .279 at Class A Dunedin, .262 with 17 homers at Double A, then .344 in 18 games at AAA, and is hitting .333 thus far in the bigs.

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Aaron Cunningham played his first big league game Saturday for the Oakland A’s, collecting two hits (an opposite field double that almost cleared the wall on the fly in rightcenterfield & a 2 RBI single to center). Cunningham was originally drafted by the White Sox and traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Danny Richar, then shipped off to Oakland in the Dan Haren deal.

I saw Aaron play last fall in the Arizona Fall League. He was hard to overlook. He’s a hustling kid, who plays the game hard. Everybody was saying Cunningham really isn’t a tool guy, but he makes the most of his talent. I became an AC Fan!

Looking over his minor league stats I saw where he even pitched a little bit, with some success, a 3.16 ERA in 53 games over 71″ innings pitched. But AC really got the job done in 2008 with the bat, hitting .317, with 12 homers, 6 triples, 18 doubles, & twelve steals at AA Midland before being called up to AAA. Cunningham turned up his game a notch at Sacramento where his batting average soared to a robust .382, with five homers, five doubles, & four stolen bases, in just 20 games.

This kid reminds me of Shane Victorino, the way he plays the game. I’m looking forward to watching this exciting ballplayer, the way his career unfolds, even though he’s no longer a member of the White Sox, I wish AC nothing but the best!

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The Cubs may have won four straight against the tough Milwaukee Brewers but couldn’t handle the last place Pirates today. 

Is this how it’s going to be the rest of the season?  Surely, if we can take on big shots like Sabathia and Sheets, we can beat uhhh, Jeff Karstens??  Who is Jeff Karstens? 

Karstens pitched his NL debut against the Cubs today and well, he showed some good stuff.  He spread out five hits in six innings and didn’t allow a run for the win.  Karstens is a Yankee product who was drafted in 2003 out of Texas Tech.  In the past two years, he’s only pitched fifteen games (9 starts).  In that small sample, his numbers were unimpressive but he’s had some decent stats in the minors.  Most particularly in 2007 when he combined for a 5-0 record, a 1.49 ERA and 47 Ks in 48 plus innings.

That said, one game is one game and I hate to say it but the Cubs have a tendency to have problems with newcomer pitchers.  Maybe that’s why we’ve done not so good with Pittsburgh in the last two years. 

Go Cubs!

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MONEY BALL keeps on rolling!!! Billy Beane has brought up one of the youngsters he acquired this past season, retooling his ballclub. The Oakland A’s don’t have alot of money to keep their established stars. So instead, they need to rely on a good farm system and the ability to bring in blue chippers from other organizations when the talent on the A’s get too overpriced for their budget.

Some of the talent they’ve jetisoned recently has been Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Dan Haren, & Nick Swisher. Now with alot of teams, getting rid of that much talent would mean disaster. But that’s not the case with the A’s. Oakland is currently in 2nd place in the AL West with a record of 29-26. While nobody expects this team to be there at the end, it’s something they’re only 2 1/2 games behind the LA Angels of Anaheim.

The pitching staff is pretty much made over, with a rotation of Rich Harden (if his arm stays on), Justin Duchscherer (from bullpen to disabled list to the rotation), Greg Smith (a lefty prospect acquired from the D*Backs), Joe Blanton (will get his 30+ starts in), and Chad Gaudin (can work the rotation or the pen). If anybody falters, there are a couple of highly touted hurlers waiting in the wings, Gio Gonzalez (a nice lefty) & Fautino De Los Santos (a fireballing righty), both picked up from the White Sox. Huston Street is still around to close out the games, one of the best, and still young enough to stay in Oakland, for now.

The infield is made up of some veterans, the oft-injured Bobby Crosby & Eric Chavez at SS & 3B respectively, with Mark Ellis playing 2B. 1B Daric Barton & C Kurt Suzuki are two youngsters, who’ve been holding their own, but look to be good ones. Beane brought in DH Mike Sweeney from KC and brought back Frank Thomas, after Toronto cut him loose, both at bargain basement prices.

Speaking of bargains, Emil Brown has 37 RBIs for the A’s in 53 games this year. A young talented outfielder from Iowa, acquired from Chicago, is Ryan Sweeney. Then there’s Travis Buck, who batted in the .280s as a rookie, last year. A couple of other castoffs on the team are Jack Cust (who can hit the ball as far as anybody) and Rajai Davis.

After all this talk about the A’s, it’s time to talk about the man of the hour, Carlos Gonzalez. Carlos was one of the best prospects with Arizona. Gonzalez is a lefthanded hitting outfielder, with a line drive stroke. The Venezuelan youngster was hitting .293 at Sacramento when he was called up to the big club. In his first game he was two for three, with two doubles, and an RBI. This kid is a special player, he belongs. Believe it or not, the pipeline’s not dry yet as there are still a couple of players down there, power hitting firstbaseman Chris Carter (whom the Sox traded to the Diamondbacks for Carlos Quentin) & always hustling switch-hitting outfielder Aaron Cunningham.

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The Cincinnati Reds have finally called up phenom Jay Bruce. Bruce is a 6′3″ 205 pound outfielder from Beaumont, Texas. Jay is the #1 prospect in all of baseball and it looks like there’s still plenty of time for him to make a strong run for Rookie of the Year. At Louisville this year he was hitting .364 with ten home runs, 37 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases.

I saw Jay Bruce in Dunedin, FL (home of the Toronto Blue Jays, a looong way from Toronto) this spring when the Reds came to Dunedin. Alot of the regulars didn’t make the trip (where’s Junior?), but that was okay with me because I wanted to see Bruce play. He didn’t disappoint that day, got a hit, ran like the wind, and patrolled centerfield like he belonged.

Before the game I had to take care of some business in the Men’s room. Standing in front of a urinal a few down was a gentleman in a Reds cap, who struck up a conversation with me. It turns out it was none other than Jay Bruce’s Dad. He was a very nice man, explaining how the offer from the Reds was just too good to pass up. Jay was all set to accept a college baseball scholarship before the Reds made Bruce their man.

I’m very excited to see Bruce in action in the big leagues starting tonite. The Reds will play host to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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