The Forgotten Man

When pitchers and catchers report to camp in 4 days I'm thinking that LHP Brad Mills will probably need to be wearing a name tag. It would seem that Millsy has been passed on the starting pitcher depth chart. New field manager John Farrell didn't even mention him as a candidate for the open two spots in the rotation. Ouch.

Let's look at what we know:

- Brad Mills has 1 option year left. Meaning he can be sent down to Vegas for this year but looking forward, he needs to be on the MLB roster in 2012.

- He relies a lot on his 86 MPH fastball. Like 58% of the time.

- His change up is clearly his best pitch. Batters swing at it about half the time and they miss it about 17% of the time.

- J.P. Ricciardi drafted him twice. In the 22nd round of the 2006 draft and then in the 4th round of the 2007 draft. The player must give consent in order for this to happen.

- J.P. already pooched one of his former draft picks - Brad Emaus - in the Rule 5 draft.

Conclusion:

If Brad Mills is to be traded, based on his pitch repertoire and velo, he probably would be better suited in the NL. He does have some MLB experience and is a young, controllable left handed starting pitcher. I have to think that the receiving team would prefer to get him when he still has that option year left.

If I was in charge I would call The Mets division rivals and let it be known we are thinking of moving Mills. Then sit back and wait for the news to filter it's way to J.P.

I'm not sure how much value Brad Mills actually has - right now - but I'll venture a guess and say that it will never be higher.

Weekly Round Up: Dec. 6 - 12

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required listening for the week.

Consider this your required viewing for the week.

Boy Wonder did a couple of really solid interviews this week. You can find them here and here. Must reads.

Courtesy of MILB:

MiLB.com: What did you learn from your three starts in the Major Leagues this season?

Drabek: Just little things here and there from the players. When I got called up, I tried to learn as much as I could so I could take whatever I learned and take it into next year. The way you handle yourself on the mound is a big part of the game. You have to be able to stay calm out there to help yourself throughout the game.

MiLB.com: What's the biggest difference that you noticed between the Eastern League and the Majors?

Drabek: From [Class A Advanced] to Double-A, I thought it was a big jump in how good the hitters were and how tight the strike zone got. But in the Majors it gets a little bit tighter and the hitters are that little bit better. The hitters are the biggest thing, though. They are all pretty much amazing, that is why they are up there.

Nice interview with Kyle Drabek. Seems like he will be given every opportunity to win a job next spring. The only thing that could hold him back is the dreaded service time.

Courtesy of Beyond the Boxscore:

Villanueva's overall whiff rate of .324 ranked 7th in the majors among pitchers with at least 200 opposing plate appearances.  The slider is elite, and the change doesn't look bad, either.  There were a ton of liners, particularly off of the fastball, which is not good news.  What's particularly interesting is that, as you can by the pitch percentages, Villanueva throws the four pitches with more or less the same frequency.

All the info you could ever want on our new bullpen guy. Does he get a middle relief job or is he more of a long man?

Courtesy of Baseball America:

Emaus is playing in the Dominican Republic for the Toros and hitting .267/.353/.476 with four home runs. He played his first game at second base, his preferred position, on Wednesday after playing every other winter game at third. He said he was surprised and disappointed when the Blue Jays left him off the 40-man roster in November but excited to get picked by the Mets.
"My agent (ACES' Mike Zimmerman) told me this week that there was a 50-50 chance I'd be taken in the Rule 5, and right now I'm just very ecstatic, excited to be given another chance by the Mets," Emaus said via phone from the Dominican. Asked to give Mets fans a scouting report, Emaus said, "I'm just a blue-collar guy, a solid guy who has to know the game, has to have some (baseball IQ) because I don't have great tools. I'm not flashy but I bring my best every day and go out trying to find an edge."

I think he sticks with the Mets all season. J.P. is smarter than everybody else and can`t ever admit he is wrong. This time will be no different.

Courtesy of Gregor Chisholm:

Anthopoulos declined to name any specific players he is targeting but did admit he is trying to be as active as he can. The GM did not leave the Winter Meetings with any free-agent offers on the table, though, because that goes against the way he likes to operate.

"I don't like leaving an offer out there, [because] then it allows it to be shopped," Anthopoulos said. "My style is more getting the parameters, letting the agent know those parameters probably make sense for us, [then] we'll be in that mix.

"I want to know that the player wants to be here, or at least we're on a short list. If the agent then comes back and says, 'Look, he's willing to come here, you're definitely one of the top places he wants to be,' ... If I can get a window to start negotiating with someone and we're engaged and there's a back and forth, that's usually my process."

Some decent insight right there.

Courtesy of Gregor Chisholm:

"That's strictly based off our scouts," Anthopoulos said of the selections. "If we have a scout that believes strongly in someone, we don't have anything to lose. I'm a big believer that if you have a scout pounding the table for someone that's a Rule 5 Draft -- or a waiver claim or something like that -- you just got to go ahead and do it. ... If you can't do that for your scout, there's something wrong."

If you wanna see just how many scouts we got click here. Scroll about halfway down the page.

Courtesy of Samuel Wilner:

Lawrie will go to Las Vegas this year, and see if he can tear it up there.  Lesser talents have done exactly that.

This trade, which is most assuredly a step back in the hopes of moving a couple of steps forward, now gives the Jays young elite-level controllable position-player talent in Escobar and Snider at the major-league level, Gose and d’Arnaud in the low minors, and Hechevarria and Lawrie in the high minors.  These guys - along with Romero, Morrow, Cecil, Drabek and Stewart - are the building blocks of the teams the Jays will have when they become perennial contenders.  Shaun Marcum wasn’t going to be one of those guys, by the simple matter of his age.

Rarely - if ever - do I bother reading Mike Wilner`s bullshit. But I must say he was on quite a streak while covering the winter meetings.

Courtesy of  Scott Carson:

Most of you might complain that dealing that much future is foolish, but I beg to differ. I’ve seen Snider since he first arrived as a 20-year-old after just 305 games of minor-league experience. I was wowed by his line drive home run power, an above-average arm and okay foot speed for a "thick bodied" youngster. But I also became leery of his average baseball IQ and the fact that he had trouble with the in-game coaching he was receiving from Cito Gaston and Gene Tenace. That raised some red flags from members of the Sportsnet broadcast booth who once played this game.

As for Drabek, I’ve only seen him pitch three times in the majors, but I won’t say that I was blown away at any time. Average height (6-foot-1), he certainly won’t intimidate opponents from six feet, six inches away. And I saw nothing that screamed out "ace" (though it was a small sample I admit.)

On the other hand, I rarely miss one of Scott`s columns. I was quite disappointed in this one.

I never did end up getting any info on Alan Farina

It all started with a kind offer. I decided to take him up on it.

Good day sir,
I am writing you in response to your gracious offer for video and your thoughts on Blue Jays prospect Alan Farina.
I have a Jays blog and we did a massive post a while back on all of the prospects in the system. At that time, we had very little info on Farina.
I would like to update the post now and would appreciate any thoughts you may have on him, or anybody else. We just used second hand info on his out pitch and repertoire.
Thanks for your time.
--
The Man with the Golden Arm

I can be very diplomatic when the time calls for it. He replied, quite quickly in fact, with this.

Farina pitched at one of the AFL games I attended, but I don't believe I got any video of him. Pitching was really down in the league this year, so I spent most of my time watching hitters from down the first and third base lines. 

I think I saw every Blue Jay hitter who was in the league at least once. Any one in particular you'd want info on?

Adam

Yes, yes there is.

Well shit.
Your site is the one with the kick ass prospects write ups and what not. It wouldn't be right to just rip off your insights and say they were my own.
That being said, I would love to share ANY Blue Jays related stuff you can give with our readers. In my experience, video is especially valuable. Guys taking BP, infield warm up, in game situational plays, whatever.
Absolutely anything you wanna include in the way of scouting reports, personal observations, what you overheard other people saying etc is a bonus.
Really appreciate the help.
I will run everything I plan to post by you, once it's completed, if you wish.

Now I'm pretty sure he can see I'm not a square. 

Sounds good. Maybe you can give me a guy or two who you want to know more about and I'll give you some info.

Translation: What do you wanna know?

AFL guys from this year?

Eric Thames for sure.
Conflicting reports by the "experts" on his game.
Mike McDade and Adam Loewen would be a distant second and third.

There always comes a time when you have to get specific. 

What are some of the conflicting reports you've heard about Thames? Maybe I can help clear those up. I've seen him four or five times now. 

At this point I go find some stuff off the top of my head. He may have been testing me a little bit.

Well Sickels likes him. Thinks his power is legit.

The stuff behind the BA paywall says he is strong and projects as an average LF.
And Klaw hates him. "Don't see him as more than a fringe regular. Probably a 4th OF or up-and-down guy."
All have him in the big leagues in some role. Interested on your take.

Wait for it.....

Thames really improved his core strength and agility between the time I saw him last spring and last fall. He went from being a bulky dude who looked ready to pull a muscle at any point to someone with very impressive flexibility and athleticism.

I haven't broken down his swing in detail yet, but it is a bit long. He has enough power to put a charge into the ball regularly. A rhythm hitter, I think he borders on being too selective at the times -- takes a lot of pitches. He'll chase out of the zone and take some ugly swings when he's behind in the count. Thames gets good reads in the left field, has solid speed and can make some impressive plays. His arm is below-average.

I think Thames has a chance to turn into a near-average regular. And he'll almost certainly be a big leaguer. But he may not hit enough to be a starting left fielder for a playoff caliber team.

Loewen is an amazing athlete for a dude his size. As most people would expect, he has a cannon of an arm. He's a very impressive runner for a giant, too. And he has elite raw power. He won't ever be much of a contact hitter, but he went from being hopeless for much of the 2009 AFL season to decent in 2010. I see him as a power bat off the bench, but he might manage to turn into someone that a big league team feels comfortable starting a few days a week, when the matchup looks good.

AKA the good stuff. Not really a whole lot I can add at this point. But I give it a go.

Thames does yoga religiously. Could explain the body type transformation.
Interesting take on Loewen. My buddy who works at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame said he saw him back before he got drafted while he was still a pitcher and raved about his power with the stick of all things. That was like 5 or 6 years ago.
Thanks for that.
You got any video on either guy you can share?

I guess you could call me greedy but someone told me to always keep your eye on the prize.

Yep. I'll upload some video of both taking BP today.
Oh and McDade is not a big leaguer for me. Poor approach to hitting
and no defensive value.

Bonus!

That's awesome. Thank you.
Do you think Loewen gets selected in the Rule 5 draft?

Just one more thing.....

Eh, Loewen would be a gamble in the Rule 5. Maybe. He'd get embarrassed at the plate.

This is good news people.

Here are those videos.

Money in the bank. Is it just me or does the ball sound different coming off the bat of Thames?

If you got something on the brain and you are not a moron, why don't you try shooting Adam an email adamf@projectprospect.com and see what happens.

If you don't wanna bother with that, then you should at the very least follow him on Twitter. May I also suggest you bookmark this site and subscribe to this channel on YouTube while your at it.

Rock solid stuff.

Quickly:

Speaking of the Rule 5 draft, it's tomorrow and I have a prediction.

J.P. and the Mets will take Brad Emaus and they will keep him all season.

Call it a hunch.

Weekly Round Up: Nov. 15 - 21

Consider this your required reading for the week.

Consider this your required listening for the week.

Consider this your required viewing for the week.

Courtesy of Dejan Kovacevic:

The Pirates are set to make four significant moves toward forming new manager Clint Hurdle's coaching staff: Ray Searage as pitching coach, Gregg Ritchie as hitting coach, Jeff Banister as third base coach and Nick Leyva as bench coach.

Leyva, 57, is the only outside addition, having been bench coach last year in Toronto under Cito Gaston. It is believed that he was Hurdle's choice for right-hand man.

Good luck Nick. You are gonna need it in Pirate land.

Courtesy of Jon Paul Morosi:

Will the Toronto Blue Jays trade for Justin Upton? It's too early to tell. But the mere fact they're making a push says plenty about their intent to become a perennial contender in baseball's best division.
Numerous times in the last week, I've said to people in the industry that Toronto will make at least one playoff berth in the next three seasons. No one has laughed. The organization is indeed in very good shape. The addition of Upton, 23, would speed up the Jays' transformation into a postseason club.
The 2012 season looks like a prime target for Toronto's first October baseball since Joe Carter and Mitch Williams. For one thing, commissioner Bud Selig is dropping strong hints the playoffs will expand to include a fifth team in each league beginning in that year. And the Jays' best prospects — right-hander Kyle Drabek and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria — should be high-impact players by then.

This column kicked off the hot stove season for Jays fans in a hurry. Would we like to see Upton in a Blue Jays uniform? Sure we would. Would we like to pay the price tag (Snider and Drabek) needed to make it happen? Ah, no.  

Courtesy of MLBTR:

The Blue Jays are keeping their options open when it comes to ranked free agents. Even though signing a Type A free agent before next Tuesday would mean surrendering a draft pick, Anthopoulos says the Blue Jays would not hesitate to sign a Type A player this week if the deal is right. Though the Blue Jays may simply be keeping their options open, the news will interest the Toronto fans who are wondering about Type A free agent Manny Ramirez. It seems unlikely that the Blue Jays would sign a Type A free agent before the deadline to offer arbitration, since the organization appears to value draft picks highly, but Anthopoulos says he'll consider it. Toronto's first round pick (21st overall) is not protected.

Deadline to offer arbitration to free agents is tomorrow. (At midnight I assume) Naturally, Manny's name came up a bunch of times this week.   

Courtesy of Los Angeles Times:

It is also about supply and demand, in a DH market crowded with Guerrero, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, even Andruw Jones.

Ramirez did not wow the White Sox. The Angels and Boston Red Sox do not need a DH. The Yankees say Jorge Posada will be theirs. The Oakland Athletics, a landing spot for Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas and Jason Giambi in recent years, say they are not interested in Ramirez.

If Guerrero returns to Texas, that could narrow the Ramirez market to the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and perhaps Baltimore Orioles.

"There aren't many guys that can hold down the middle of the lineup," Boras said. "That's the issue.

"I think Manny Ramirez is a Hall of Fame hitter. Teams look at that ability and, if they adjudicate that ability is still intact, they're going to be seeking those extraordinary talents before they proceed elsewhere."

Scott Boras = the devil

Courtesy of Jeremy Sandler:

Prepare for it to end badly. Book the talk radio time for angry callers. Make sure any giveaway of 10,000 dreadlocked bobbleheads happens early in the season.
Because if there is one piece of advice for the Toronto Blue Jays should the much-discussed rumour of Manny Ramirez ending up at One Blue Jays Way come true, it is to prepare for the inevitable train wreck, one even Denzel Washington has no chance to stop.
While team officials insist Ramirez’s visit to town last weekend did not involve official talks, the team appears to be giving the 39-year-old a long look. It is unlikely anything will happen before next Tuesday, when Ramirez will certainly be available without the cost of a compensatory draft pick.

Toronto’s interest in Ramirez goes back, at least, to baseball’s 2008 winter meetings. Former general manager J.P. Ricciardi told anyone who would listen that Ramirez was all set to sign with Toronto, but ownership refused to give him any money.

Cheap bastards @ Rogers keeping it real yo!

Courtesy of Benjamin Kashin:

What it means:

After clearing waivers this past June, the Blue Jays couldn't sneak Encarnacion through a second time as the Oakland Athletics claimed him on Nov. 12. Regardless, Encarnacion wasn't likely to fit in the Jays' plans for next season. His departure leaves the Jays with a significant hole at third base, especially if All-Star Jose Bautista spends the majority of his time in left field as expected.

It's pretty hard to take the author of this piece seriously when they say shit like this. Guess the sports editors over at the Sun are few and far between.

Courtesy of Slam! Sports:

Buck, 30, is coming off a breakout season with the Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .281 with 20 homers, 66 RBI and an .802 OPS in 118 games -- all career bests. However, he also had the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio in all of baseball at 111 to 16.
Still, his terrific campaign landed him on the American League All-Star team for the first time in his career. He also threw out 28 percent of baserunners attempting to steal.
Before signing a one-year, $2 million deal with Toronto last winter, Buck had spent the first six years of his career with the Kansas City Royals. He is a .243 lifetime hitter with 90 home runs in 702 games.
The Marlins were in need of catching help.

I guess fucking so. 3 years at 6 million for John Buck. That is just a little bit insane.

Courtesy of Yahoo Sports:

“I think the more teams you have in it, the month of September will obviously be more meaningful,” said Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston, Selig’s onetime No. 2. “The minuses - two of them obviously are the integrity of the schedule and the history of the game, where you know the best teams always moved forward. But we really crossed that bridge, didn’t we, when we went from two teams to four teams, and then four teams to eight teams? So that bridge has been crossed. I’ve changed. I could add more teams.”

Beeston is old school. But I'm guessing the shit TV ratings for the playoffs are too much to ignore. I'm thinking a few extra playoff spots can only benefit teams like us moving forward. But I still maintain that a balanced schedule is the way to go.

Courtesy of Gregor Chisholm:

The Blue Jays added five players to their 40-man roster Friday in advance of a midnight ET deadline for setting rosters prior to next month's Rule 5 Draft.

Right-handers Joel Carreno (Class A) and Alan Farina (Double-A), catcher Brian Jeroloman (Double-A), and outfielders Darin Mastroianni (Double-A) and Moises Sierra (Class A) were all added.

The additions mean all five players will be protected during the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 9 and cannot be selected by another Major League team. The Blue Jays still have two open spots on the 40-man roster, which could indicate the club plans to be active during or prior to the Rule 5 Draft.

Two notable omissions on the 40-man roster are third baseman Brad Emaus and outfielder Adam Loewen.

The new Jays beat reporter has spoken. Make sure to give Gregor a follow on Twitter if you have not already. I think that Emaus gets scooped in the rule 5 draft but doubt he stays on a 25 man roster all season. That being said, if the team that selects him is from the NL, then I think his chances of being lost forever increases due to the extra bench spot.

Courtesy of Scott White:

9. David Cooper, 24, Blue Jays
Where played in 2010: Double-A
Minor-league stats: .257 BA, 20 HRs, 78 RBI, .769 OPS

Cooper entered last season as the expected replacement for pending free agent Lyle Overbay, which is perhaps the reason why the Blue Jays were willing to deal Brett Wallace to the Astros. But the team's first-round pick in 2008 appears to have stalled at Double-A New Hampshire. He spent his second full season there last year, and though he doubled his home run total from 10 to 20, he actually declined in batting average (.257) and on-base percentage (.327). He profiles as more of a doubles hitter than a pure slugger, which is already a strike against him at a position like first base, and he'll have to improve his consistency if he ever hopes to hold down a major-league job. Still, the Blue Jays' lack of options at the position gives him some low-end AL-only appeal.

I found this article while I was looking for potential trade targets at 1B for Boy Wonder this offseason. To my surprise, we have a guy on the list. Not to sure how I feel about that.

Courtesy of Brad Johnson:

Now entering his age 23 season, Snider once again appears to be a good late-round sleeper candidate. Albert Einstein is credited with defining 'insanity' as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Indeed, promoting Snider for a third straight season may be a bit insane. Thankfully this is something we can take advantage of since "sane" owners should be passing on him.
There are several reasons to like Snider in 2011. From a pure scouting perspective, the kid is strong. His isolated power should easily eclipse the .200 mark. It also appears as though he has a stable niche on the roster, putting him in line for about 140 starts. Taken together, 25-30 home runs along with a fairly strong contribution to RBI seems very plausible. Depending on where he bats in the order, he could be in line for a decent amount of runs scored, thanks to Toronto's power-centric approach. His batting average might hurt a little, but then again it could bounce back. As noted previously, Snider hits the ball hard. In 2010, he managed a ridiculous 24.1% line drive rate. Further, if he can increase his fly ball rate above last year's 34.9%, a true power outburst might be in the offing. Ironically, "the next Jose Bautista" could very well be a fellow Jaybird.

The annual Travis Snider will be a breakout star articles have officially started up.

Courtesy of Dayn Perry:

AL Manager of the Year

Who will (probably) win it: Ron Washington, Rangers
Who should win it: Cito Gaston, Blue Jays

There's no assailing the fine work done this season by Washington, who led the Rangers to their first postseason series win and first pennant. He's a steady hand who inspires loyalty in his men while also maintaining control. Still, Washington had a talented roster and benefited from a weak division. Gaston, in contrast, led the Blue Jays to a winning season despite playing an unbalanced schedule in the brutal AL East. Given that the Jays lost Roy Halladay last winter, got uncharacteristically poor numbers from Aaron Hill, struggled to find a third baseman and played 111 games (!) against teams with .500 records or better, it's a minor miracle they won 85 games. That's to Gaston's tremendous credit.

Fox Sports runs this piece and.....

Courtesy of BBWAA:

The other first-place votes went to the Tampa Bay Rays’ Joe Maddon, the 2008 winner who placed third with 44 points, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ Cito Gaston, who retired at the end of the season.

Somebody bought it!

Courtesy of You Don`t Know Dick:

Why? Because Davis has an on-base percentage that needs work and Anthopoulos is not done dealing. As he continues to try to strengthen the team, he doesn’t know in what area future additions will come.

Anthopoulos is like a street juggler with a pocketful of extra balls. The other day, the ball with Dan Uggla’s name dropped and bounced away so he reached into his pocket without breaking rhythm, with an array of balls still in the air, and replaced it with another. He believes he can keep that act going all winter. Using an analogy from a different sport, Anthopoulos runs the West Coast offence of trade strategies. Instead of looking for the bomb on every down, he dinks and dunks his way down the field.

Jesus Christ Dick. 

Courtesy of BBWAA:

Because of the heightened interest in this award, the list of voters is below, grouped by which pitcher they listed first on their ballot:

Hernandez: Ken Rosenthal, Fox; Amalie Benjamin, Boston Globe; Michael Silverman, Boston Herald; Erik Boland, Newsday; Joe Smith, St. Petersburg Times; Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune; Lynn Henning, Detroit News; John Lowe, Detroit Free Press; Sam Mellinger, Kansas City Star; Joe Posnanski, SI.com; Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star Tribune; John Shipley, St. Paul Pioneer Press; Hirokazu Higuchi, Chunichi Shimbun (LA); Tim Brown, Yahoo Sports; Jorge Ortiz, USA Today; Ray Ratto, At Large (SF/Oakland); Kirby Arnold, Everett Herald; Larry Stone, Seattle Times; Richard Durrett, At Large (Dallas-Fort Worth); Anthony Andro, Fort Worth Star Telegram; Morgan Campbell, Toronto Star.

Price: Mel Antonen, USA Today; Tony Fabrizio, Tampa Tribune; Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune; Chris Assenheimer. Elyria (OH) Chronicle.

Sabathia: George King, New York Post; Bob Elliott, Toronto Sun; Sheldon Ocker, Akron Beacon Journal.

Bobby Elliott didn't vote for King Felix in the AL Cy Young ballot. Just bringing some attention to that fact.

Courtesy of Shi Davidi:

The cost for Davis — double-A right-handers Trystan Magnuson of Vancouver and Daniel Farquhar — will do little to deplete a farm system stocked with potential trade chips, and Anthopoulos isn't wary about throwing them on the table.
"If the right trade is there, we'll make trades," said Anthopoulos. "You can't look at it and say I need to have 'X' amount of prospects in the minor-leagues. What are you getting back, what are you trading away, what are they ultimately going to be, how replaceable are they, whether it's in the following year's draft, whether it's minor-league free agents, big-league free agents.
"That's the evaluation."

Some insight behind the thinking of the Rajai Davis trade.

Courtesy of FanGraphs:

The slowest 5 pitchers are:
Daisuke Matsuzaka – 25.9 sec.
Matt Garza – 25.8 sec.
Josh Beckett – 25.2 sec.
Clay Buchholz – 24.6 sec.
CC Sabathia – 24.6 sec.

All of them are in the AL East! Shocking, I know. 

Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

Luis Rivera, manager at Class AA New Hampshire in 2010, explained his role as a major league coaching assistant for 2011: “I will be in the coaching staff, but not in the game. My job is to get the players ready before the game. I’ll be on the field for batting practice, maybe throw some, and watch the players. When the game starts, I will go to the press box to take notes on the game and prepare a report for (manager John Farrell) after the game. I’ll share my thoughts. It’s something I’ve never done before, and hopefully it will be a great experience for me. I’m going to see how I like it. I have a choice. If I don’t like it, the doors are open for me to come back to coaching and being a manager again.”

You forgot to mention translate for Yunel and eventually Adeiny.

Checking In On The Farm

Triple-A Las Vegas (12-12) accomplished the difficult feat yesterday of compiling 17 hits and three walks... but scoring only five runs (four in the ninth) in an 11-5 loss. The 51s now have a .294 batting average as a team, paced by 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir (.345). Meanwhile, 1B Brett Wallace continues to lead the Pacific Coast League with nine home runs.

Good news from Double-A where the first place New Hampshire Fisher Cats (16-7) are on fire, winners of six in a row. C Brian Jeroloman's batting .350 with a league-leading .458 on-base percentage; OF Eric Thames has 20 RBIs, second in the league; and speedy OF Darin Mastroianni leads the league with 12 stolen bases. I should mention, too, the terrific performance by 2B/3B Brad Emaus (.326, 2 HR, 16 RBIs, 15 walks and just two strikeouts in 14 games).

Yesterday the Cats were tied 5-5 with Reading in the fifth inning -- and then received a grand slam from Callix Crabbe amidst a seven-run explosion. New Hampshire cruised to the 16-5 rout.

In Dunedin (14-9), immensely talented 20-year-old Henderson Alvarez has only allowed one earned run in four starts (24 1/3 innings). He's 3-0 with a 0.37 ERA. Joel Carreno leads the team with 34 strikeouts, including 10 in six innings in a win at Tampa on April 27.

At Single-A, the Lansing Lugnuts' (14-10) six-game winning streak (including the first victory for 2009 1st round pick Chad Jenkins) came to an end on Thursday night. Two nights later, some history in Lansing: the 1,000th win in the franchise's history, thanks to a walk-off blow from sparkplug outfielder Chris Hopkins.

Unfortunately, perhaps the main early headline has been injuries to some promising players. Kenny Rodriguez is DL'd in New Hampshire, Travis D'Arnaud is on the shelf in Dunedin, and Matt Fields, Dave Sever, and Mark Sobolewski have all been sidelined in Lansing. Nothing looks serious as of yet, but it's worth keeping an eye on.