Boy Jeenius

Etheridge and Bramhall make their debuts tonight. Etheridge gives up a hit and gets a k in the 8th. Bramhall strikes out two, walks two in the 9th. Talk is Merklinger debut forthcoming. Haydel after starting out 1 for 20, now on a 13 game hitting streak.

Thatcher comes in and strikes out both lefties - again. Then k's Botts too. Boy's a future LOOGY for sure. Helena up 12 - 0. Donavon Hand finally gives up a hit in the 5th.

Is Laynce Nix in the zone or what? I have a feeling the next pitch he sees is going to hit him square in the ribs.

I know we have a thread or 2 every year about who's box score we check first every day(mine has been Darren Ford for 2 years.) But Edgar Trejo's line has caught my attention since the first day. A 17 year old kid at 6'3'' 195 lbs, he seems to put the bat on the ball with some pop already, and only 2 errors so far. I know it's early and small sample size, but so far,pretty cool.

The K's do not bother me much at all either. He has addressed and worked on the K issue, and is showing marked improvement. His off the chart speed will grant him the luxury of the the fact that the Brewers will be patient to the last measure. I'm old enough to have seen the Royals take the same type of player - Willie Wilson - and turn him into a dynamic lead off hitter. Obviously, with his speed, the more he puts the ball in play, the more effective he'll be, but the dude's only 21. His growth curve looks very, very positive.

Pasma passes the test. One semi-rough outing and 3 complete shut downs. Movin' on up son.

Has John Alonso done anything but hit since he signed? An anonymous .300 at every level he's been at. Still only 21. Hmmph.

Definitely say nothing. If he mentions the messages just kinda shrug and say you don't remember if you got it or not, and you'll check later.

It does not appear the the gap between AA and AAA is as severe as between A+ and AA. Big clubs have had 2 to 3 years of low minors to determine if a guy is truly a prospect or not. They add 30 to 40 new prospects a year. Non-prospects generally don't get invited to AA. Maybe that's why the big gap. AA seems to be different from AAA only because there is where you'll find the kids making their first "big jump".

I think Al has it. It's where you seperate the men from the boys - literally. Lot's of guys in AA who are 26, 27 and have had a cup of coffee, some real strong roster filler types like Joe Dillon, or are someone like Grant Balfour who are rehabbing from major surgery. It's where you find rosters full of guys who have the experience to know how to beat you just by being smarter.

He ran down some balls in the gaps against the Brewers and made it look easy. On the other hand, he did drop a ball the other night that just shocked everyone, so you are probably making a valid point about the decline. But to say his glove is no good anymore may be a stretch. If he's in decline, it's from spectacular to way above average. IMO, he'd still be the best outfield defender we'd have if he came here, even in decline.

The Minnesota kicker makes up for his missed extra point in the opener by kicking 4 field goals in the second game.

Well, because Parra got pushed back a day, I decided to stay in OKC one more day and go to the game tonight. I walked out and watched Parra warm up in the bull pen, and he was having trouble locating his breaking ball. He looked ok, but not razor sharp. He could not get the breaking ball over for a strike early on, and they got some good rips on him off his fastball. But once he found the duece, it was lights out. He was consistent 93/94 on fastball, 84 on the curve and an amazing 73 on his change up. When he had all 3 clicking, they had no chance. I was VERY suprised that Tim Dillard threw as hard as he did. He was 93/94 with the fastball tonight. Unfortunately, I had to leave at 9pm to drive back to Dallas, so I did not see Dillard give up the run, nor see Aquino strike out the side. NOTE: Callix Crabbe, playing RF tonight, made one of the best catches I have ever seen in my 45+ years going to the ball yard. Full extension diving backhanded catch into the RC gap to rob the guy of a triple. He also showed a average to above average arm in right, nearly throwing out Cruz going 1st to third on a hit. I was sitting 1st row by the dugout again and told him "nice catch Callix" as he came in. He stopped, gave me a big smile and said "thank you" as he tipped his cap to me. Nice gesture indeed. By the way, Cruz had 2 opportunities to show off his arm and did not disappoint. Nashville, of course, knew his arm and did not run on him. He has an absolute cannon, and is dead on accurate. Dillon's HR went all the way out of the stadium and into the parking garage behind the field. Left fielder did not even move. Vinnie looked more than passable behind the dish, and swung the bat well too. Brad Nelson just missed 2 HR's, wrapping a ball just outside both the left and right field foul poles. They were both way out of the yard. Then later he legged out an infield hit to extend his hitting streak. That's all I can remember, so off to some sack time. Ni-night.

My first impression of Callix Crabbe was that he isn't really a big guy. But he sure is a solid player. He made all the plays last night, turns 2 real well. He seems to be real disciplined at the plate. Crabbe got a hit off of the soft tosser Redmond, and the hard throwing reliever (smoking a double into the LF corner). Most of the guys had trouble with the soft tosser. The only other guy that hit the ball hard off of both was Gwynn. Crabbe reminded me of that really nice minor league 2b we got from KC a couple of years ago, and then later we traded him to Boston(somebody help me out with the name). A guy that's a really, really nice player, but is going to need the right spot(and may need to play more positions) to break in. I know I became a fan of his last night, and I'm pulling for him.

Wild game with some clutch hitting in the late innings for a Helena victory. What entertainment. These games are a must listen. Gindl leaves the game early with a tender hammy. 2 for 2 when he left, but tweaked it on a triple. Haydel and Farris continue to emerge from ether and Lucroy with another jack. Harvard boy with 3 more hits. He and Zealous have 3rd base pretty well covered.

One word: Strouds. It's the best food I've ever had, and like you, I get to eat on the company dime all over the country. Go there very hungry. Recommend the pan fried pork chops.

Travis Wendte too. He's too old to stay in WV and keep on dominating.

Back from the AAA game. I sat right on the dugout, Parra was there all night, laughing and joking with the team. Vinnie coached 1st. The scoreboard gun seemed slow all night. Both starters hitting 83 and 84 mph, and 73/74 on breaking stuff. Then Thatcher came in and it went up to 88 and 89 right away. He is filthy to lefties. The lefties that faced him never had a chance. Then Balfour came in, hit 93 on his first pitch, then 94 to 96 the rest of the night except for a first pitch change up that Cruz hit off 3rd base for a double. Trust me folks, Balfour is for real. He has a nasty, tight, late breaking slider or cutter too. He just blew through the heart of their line up with straight gas.

Well, I'm off to see Parra tonight in OKC. Looks like rain may hold off. Scoutig report later tonight.

Sure he has a chance. All kids progress at their own rate. He's progressed thru the system ok & having a decent year this year. Who knows when the light will go on.

Oh I agree. The fact that they chose the easy, "sexy" pick is what I was trying to make as my point. Jordan was selling the most advertising and merchandise at the time. Jim Thorpe was Gold Medalist in track, played in the baseball in the World Series(Note: he did not fail to make it past A ball), member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a Champion Billiards player and Champion Ballroom Dancer. Babe Didrickson had even more accomplishments than that. They were not going to get top billing, because ESPN could not sell air time on the last night with those people being hi-lited. Was MJ great, you betcha and deserved solid consideration, but the final call came down to $$.

Instant Replay will be everything you want it to be. Go for it. For those who enjoy Shaara, the sequel and prequel of Killer Angels are equally as good, as well as the pre-prequel about the Mexican War. He has written 2 more about the Revolution, one about WW1 and one about WW2, with another on the way about WW2. I did not enjoy those as much as the first 4. Kinda got tired of the premise of the fictional history.

I haven't watched ESPN since 2000. They lost me when they named Michael Jordan the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. Every time one of those lists comes out, the winner is always the current star of that year or decade, because that person is the one they are looking at, so they must be the best. I thought for sure that ESPN would be the one sports authority that would look at it objectively and historically and tell everyone clammoring for MJ that there were plenty of other greats like Jim Thorpe, Babe Didrickson, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, heck even Babe Ruth that were better all around athletes. Nope, they couldn't do it. I knew then they were straight media entertainment, a sports people magazine, not a sports authority. Buh bye.

Cody with a decent start for his first time in Brevard. In line for the "W." Darren Ford with a jack. Also: Good job Mat Gamel !

Sir, I demand to know who are you, and what have you done with Roque Mercedes?!?!?! 7 IP 0 R 1 BB. I repeat - 1 BB. Whoa.