posted on Thursday, July 24, 2008 3:45 AM
by
Jim
Former quarterback gets passing grade
When Clayton Richard's minor-league career was interrupted by his promotion earlier this week, he was known as an efficient, pitch-to-contact sinkerballer.
However, he began his big-league career as a K-racking, big-fastball-throwing southpaw who couldn't get a grounder when he needed one.
Pfft. So much for scouting reports.
Richard looked like a guy making his first start on the mound at times in
the Sox's 10-8 comeback victory in the series finale against the Rangers Wednesday afternoon. He seemed to struggle a little with figuring out when and how to let baserunners see his pickoff move, he lost David Murphy with a big walk after getting ahead 0-2, gave up a lot of two-out hits and generally struggled to get quick outs.
The one trait that translated from Charlotte to Chicago: He didn't change his pace for anybody. His one 1-2-3 inning was a sight to behold, and hopefully we'll see a few more of those in his next start against the Twins.
What should come in handy against Minnesota is his apparent effectiveness against lefties. He has a whippy, deceiving delivery that frustrated Josh Hamilton all day long, threw that across-the-plate curve pretty well, and also mixed in a changeup at daring times against guys who could hit it a long way if they saw it coming. Fortunately, they never did, and hopefully Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will have similar results.
If he can get them out, I wonder if Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams might try keeping Richard in the bullpen if Boone Logan doesn't get his act together.
Mark Gonzalez speculated about the pool of available lefthanders and said Kenny Williams found the cost of an upgrade to be prohibitive. Of course, that's always subject to change.
Whether or not Williams acquires another lefty, it certainly seems Guillen isn't going to let Logan off easily. He set down all three lefties he faced, but couldn't retire any of the three right-handed batters in the seventh inning -- even Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who came in hitting .155 from that side of the plate.
That he faced two righties before Saltalatlatamachalaaiaaia tells me that the only way Booner's going to get his confidence back is through tough love. He hasn't proven to be resilient yet, so the Sox probably won't be content with Logan if he continues to struggle after the trade deadline.
Richard's never spent serious time in the bullpen to my knowledge, but it's hard to see any other options in the system.
Scott Sauerbeck is the primary lefty in the Knights' bullpen -- no thank you -- and the only lefty of note in Birmingham is Aaron Poreda, and I don't see him going the Bobby Jenks Birmingham-to-Pennant-Race route.
Whatever the case may be, Richard's start against the Twins will tell us a lot. Charlie Haeger took eight miles per hour off his knuckleball from his first start to his second, so I imagine Richard's fastball will lose a little zip as the adrenaline drops off, too, and Richard will look more like his minor-league self. He might not see another start this year after July 29, but if he can make it tough for the Twins' lefties, he may not be away from Chicago for long.
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On the subject of trade talks, a months-old rumor has resurfaced with the White Sox and Red Sox talking about swapping backup infielders: Juan Uribe for
Alex Cora.
Oddly enough, it comes on the heels of Uribe's best back-to-back games this year. He hit two doubles
Tuesday night, then worked two walks, hit a key single and turned it into another double with smart baserunning the next day. Hell, he even stole his first base of the season in his first attempt Wednesday, after going 1-for-10 last year. Maybe it's the gold beard.
Meanwhile, Cora, brother of Joey, is just about the same player, except older and supposedly worse defensively. Since we're 100 games into the season, there isn't much money to be saved, so I can't quite say I get this rumor on its face.
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ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick had perfect timing with his article
about Guillen's top 10 tirades. Shortly after it was published, Ozzie earned an ejection calling balls and strikes, and Carlos Quentin got revenge on C.J. Wilson for his alleged excessive celebration which prompted the whole piece.
My favorite is still his tweaking of Buck Showalter.
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Minor league roundup:- Indianapolis 3, Charlotte 1
- Adam Russell took the loss in his return to Charlotte, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks over two innings.
- Wes Whisler threw five innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out three.
- Danny Richar had one of Charlotte's five singles and the lone RBI.
- Josh Fields was 0-for-4 with two Ks.
- Mississippi 6, Birmingham 4 (Game 1, 7 innings)
- Javier Castillo hit a three-run homer; Stefan Gartrell added a solo shot.
- Kyle McCulloch allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings, but one was earned. He allowed five hits and three walks and struck out three.
- Jon Link had a rare blown save, allowing just one single that made its way around the bases thanks in part to a balk.
- Mississippi 6, Birmingham 5 (Game 2, 7 innings)
- Brandon Allen just missed hitting the cycle for a second time this year. In only three plate appearances, he homered, tripled and doubled.
- Gartrell and Miguel Negron each hit solo homers.
- Esteban Loaiza threw two scoreless innings.
- Dewon Day gave up four runs in five hits over his two frames, and has allowed eight runs over his last five innings.
- Winston-Salem 3, Salem 1
- Matt Long struck out seven over five shutout innings. He allowed just two hits and a walk.
- Ricky Brooks went nine up, nine down in relief, striking out three.
- Freddie Thon went 2-for-3; Francisco Hernandez had a key pinch-hit RBI double.
- Johnson City 4, Bristol 2
- Brandon Short went 3-for-4; Justin Greene had two hits and scored two runs.
- Gregory Infante allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings.
- Dan Puls pitched a perfect 1 1/3 innings.
- Kannapolis vs. Savannah PPD
- Great Falls OFF