VAfan

What do y'all think of this set of comments from an article on the MLB Sox site? ***************** Ed Farmer, one of the astute White Sox radio announcers, has mentioned on the air that Wright has the stuff to become an All-Star closer. Both Wright and Cooper aren't giving up quite yet on his career as a starter. But veteran catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. sees Wright's pitching style as a reminder of former teammate Jose Mesa. The veteran right-hander started 75 games in three seasons for Cleveland, pitching 208 2/3 innings in 1993, before becoming one of the premier closers in baseball. "He has the similar repertoire as Jose Mesa, who was converted into a closer," said Alomar of Wright. "Early in the game, (Mesa) had great stuff but would then get in trouble later. Danny has a good quality to be a closer, and the same kind of velocity and pitches." "There are some thoughts that (Wright) can pick up a couple more miles per hour coming in for one or two innings, and that might be true," Cooper added. "But the bottom line is he showed us 14 wins last year as a starter, and he didn't do that with mirrors." *************** With Neal Cotts available to fill Danny's starting job for the few remaining starts #5 will get this year, why not move Wright to the pen right now and get those couple of extra miles on his fastball??

Rex, in the short time I've been on this board, you have stood out as the most knowledgable about Cotts because you have seen him the most. Can you follow up with some additional information on the point you were making with walks? Namely that many have come late? Do you have the box scores for Cott's starts this year? I'd be really interested if anyone ever got to him early, since lately he has been throwing goose eggs through 6 or 7 innings. You were also the one, I believe, to post the stat showing Cotts had precisely the same stats as Mark Buehrle (8-4, etc.) when Mark was called up from AA. Did you see Mark then? How would you compare the two of them? As I noted above, Buehrle helped in 2000 and it seems to me Cotts could do the same. Especially when the alternative is not working.

Yes, it's me. But I've long ago given up that fight. Go Miguel!! You might be surprised if you checked out the MLB site as to what I've posted this year. For one, I started a "Faith" post when things looked bleakest and held to it through thick and thin. The question was -- who still had faith the Sox would make the postseason this year? At this point, the Sox just need to play well. But the one move they could still make that would have the greatest positive impact would be to bring up the hot hand -- Neal Cotts -- for the 4-5 starts remaining for the #5 guy.

I think JM doesn't give ENOUGH work to Marte and Gordon, frankly. In the stretch of games just out of the ASB but before we went to KC, JM went to Marte and Gordon a lot. But if you were watching those games, the more JM used Marte and Gordon, the sharper they became. In one outing, Gordon was 0-2 on just about every hitter. Marte too. Then he "rested" them and neither were as sharp in the KC game we eventually won 8-6. One thing JM does is push both beyond a single inning, and perhaps this is where he should adjust, using both in 1-inning stints more often.

Let me throw in another point. Who here thinks Danny Wright will give us a better start against Anaheim on Tuesday than Neal Cotts could?

Mark Buehrle anyone?? He had 19 walks in his first 50 innings in the majors, which is not that much better than Cotts' walk rate, especially since he also gave up 55 hits. Yet he was 4-1 in 2000 and started 3 games up from AA. Cotts can do just as well.

Stick to the issue here. It's Neal Cotts as 5th starter. Secondarily it is how that might affect the bullpen.

Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan were both wild and it didn't hurt them. Granted Cotts isn't in their league, but walks don't always kill you if they can't hit the ball after you've put them on. It seems to me that Cotts has managed his walks this year very well. They don't seem to phase him or cause him to lose focus or start grooving the ball because then you would see 3-run HRs or big innings. No one has done that to Cotts. And I don't have the breakdown, but I'm guessing a fair number of those walks have come late after he's thrown a lot of pitches. In other words, after he could have been retired from the game. As for Danny Wright, Sandy Alomar is among those who think he might be better out of the pen. He suggested Wright could add a couple MPH on his fastball if he was focused on only going an inning or so. And if he came after hitters with a plus fastball like Bartolo has been doing recently, his offspeed stuff would be a lot more effective.

And don't forget about baserunning. Like when Robbie went from first to third on a dribbler down the first base line, then drew a wild throw from Harvey and scored. Nice job -- scoring from first on a ball that didn't leave the infield. I wanted to keep Jimenez and send out Harris, mostly because Jimenez would have given us a lot more versatility as a pinch hitter and occasional right handed substitute for Alomar at second. (Tony G can't cover both SS and 2B against lefties.) But he probably had to go for the same reason Rick White had to go. He'd lost his position in the clubhouse by slacking too many times. I think Jimenez will remain an above average hitter with a good on base average, but his play in the field will drive Cincy fans nuts.

Is there any chance the Sox will finally see the light and bring up Neal Cotts to be the 5th starter through the end of the season? Last night he again threw 6 shutout innings, with 2 hits and 4 walks, one of which was intentional. In 100 innings, he's given up only 60 hits while striking out 124. His only "flaw" is walking 52. But not many of them have scored, as he's surrendered only 25 earned runs. Others have watched this much more closely, but I believe in his last 4 starts he has yet to give up a run through 7 innings in any of the games. As a AA callup that no one has seen, he would have a tremendous advantage over major league hitters for a short stretch. If they don't hit him through 6 innings, that's just twice through the lineup and then see ya next year. (Jimmy Gobble is the latest example of this phenomenon.) And how many advance scouts for the teams we have on our schedule are watching Birmingham's games?? Danny Wright should go to the bullpen and Cotts should get the starts. This would help Wright too, as he tries to pace himself in games which leads to passive pitching, too much offspeed stuff out of the strike zone, and trouble. Cotts is the "right man at the right time." Bring him up. Anyone disagree?

Jimmy Gobble, just up from AA for KC, shut out the Rays through 6 today. I certainly hope the Sox see the value of going with a hot AA pitcher down the stretch. One thing these guys have going for them is they are complete unknowns to the hitters. Cotts could get through 6 before they have a chance to even start to figure out what he's throwing, and by then, he's on to the next team and the next start!

Maybe, but that doesn't answer whether Evans has done a good job. He actually was hornswoggled into giving up value for Robin Ventura, which won't help his team win even one more game.

Just to add another point in favor of Cotts coming up. KC just brought a guy up from AA -- GOBBLE -- and he's shut out the hot hitting Rays through 6. Sox management has to have faith in the guys we acquire and use them when they are HOT. Cotts' is certainly HOT. Wright is NOT.

So Rex, did you see the Barons' game? You're the Cotts man. How did he avoid the free passes tonight? Could we expect him to baffle the Angels in 10 days?

I've been on the Cotts bandwagon for a month. But it may be better to have worked out this way. With 14 wins last year, Wright wasn't a terrible choice, and if Manuel had gotten him after 5, he would have done as well or better than Porzio did in his games. This way it is clear he just doesn't have it and needs the offseason to see if can put it together. Trying a Rocky Biddle conversion with him might be the best thing. Plus, the next start for the 5 hole is August 12th at Anaheim. Cotts is right on schedule for that, so we'll get even another game to see him. But it also allows the Sox a chance to get ahead of KC and take some of the pressure off.

No way is Diaz better than Cotts right now as a starter. Tonight Cotts tossed his third gem in a row, and this time walked no one. Cotts is right on schedule for the 5th spot, which next comes up August 12th. If we can keep up our torrid pace, it might not be as pressured as Wright's spot was tonight (with a tie for first at stake). I've never seen Cotts pitch, but I'll take Rex Hudler's word that he's the real deal and is ready. I see him as our secret postseason weapon in addition to cementing that #5 role. Plus, I'd like to see him in meaningful games before next year, so we know a lot more about what we have.

Here's the box. Awesome. Since we're off in 5 days, we could let him have one more AA start, then bring him up on the 12th. He's right on the 5th starter's schedule. Southern League Saturday, August 2 Updated: 08-02-03 23:48 ET Birmingham 5, Huntsville 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOX SCORE HUNTSVILLE (1) AT BIRMINGHAM (5) HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI R Knox LF 4 0 0 0 C Durham CF 2 1 0 0 D Krynzel CF 4 0 0 0 D Sandoval 2B 3 1 1 1 J HARDY SS 3 0 1 0 J Reed DH 3 1 1 1 C Hart 3B 4 1 0 0 G Alvarez 1B 3 1 2 2 N Varner RF 4 0 2 0 S Bikowski RF 4 0 2 0 B Gemoll DH 3 0 0 0 C Maldonado C 3 0 0 1 B Nelson 1B 4 0 1 1 J Hamilton LF 3 0 1 0 K Johnson C 4 0 1 0 G Reyes SS 3 0 0 0 A Machado 2B 2 0 0 0 J Shaffer 3B 3 1 0 0 TOTALS 32 1 5 1 TOTALS 27 5 7 5 HUNTSVILLE 000 000 001 -- 1 BIRMINGHAM 100 040 00x -- 5 E--G Reyes. DP--HUNTSVILLE 2. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 7, BIRMINGHAM 7. 2B--G Alvarez, D Sandoval, J Reed. SB--S Bikowski 1 (3), J Reed 1 (11). S--C Durham, A Machado. SF--C Maldonado. IP H R ER BB SO HR HUNTSVILLE D Nolasco (L,0-2) 5 6 5 5 4 3 0 B Adams 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 BIRMINGHAM N Cotts (W,9-6) 7 3 0 0 0 7 0 M Smith 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 J Meyer 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 WP--J Meyer. HBP--J HARDY by J Meyer, J Reed by D Nolasco, G Reyes by B Adams. SO--HUN: D Krynzel 2, K Johnson 2, B Nelson 2, R Knox, A Machado, J HARDY. BIR: G Reyes, G Alvarez, C Maldonado, C Durham. BB--HUN: B Gemoll. BIR: J Hamilton, J Shaffer, G Alvarez, D Sandoval, C Durham. T--2:40. A--4,904.

Who can give the report? I see he won.

It's just nice to see Harold hanging in the dugout, regardless of his contribution. Another link to 1983. He can tell stories of our 42-13 finish then to win 99 games. (Believe it or not, we're only 1/2 game off the 1983 pace at this point.)

The M's have beaten him already this year at Safeco, but I hope he brings it. The next slot for #5 is an off day (Thursday), so he'll have plenty of rest until being called again in mid August. With a rested pen, Jerry will want 5 or at most 6 innings too. If he can throw strikes, he'll be okay. The M's are susceptible to a post-trade deadline funk like they went into last year.

Regardless of who the Sox bring up, what do they need? 1. A right handed infielder who, with Graffy, can rest Jose and Robbie against lefties. 2. A lefty pinch hitter who could hit for Crede, Olivo, or Sandy. 3. A power right handed arm for the pen. 4. A 5th starter (if Wright stumbles) or if we need a spot start. 5. Possibly a second pinch runner behind Harris. 6. A better outfield defensive replacement than Harris. Those of you who know our minors better, who fits these roles? 1. Hummel? 2. Borchard? 3. Rauch? 4. Cotts? 5. Miles? 6. Borchard again?

I like Gordon in the closer role for the rest of the year. Marte would remain my back up. Schoney #3. One other advantage for Gordon is he closed in Boston, so he's been through a pressure cooker before. And Schoney was just on the WS Champs, so that helps. I wouldn't be looking to make Koch the closer again. He should concentrate on helping like Foulke did last year. Just take care of business when he's in there.

If we keep applying the afterburners, like the 1983 team did in the second half, we won't have any AL Central team to worry about. Just don't look back.

This is exactly the same thing the Sox did with Jiminez and Rios. With Jiminez, it gave them time to work a trade, which the Sox may be able to do with White. I would guess the Cardinals might want him, as they rehabbed him last year too. We might get a toss in. I certainly hope he doesn't go the way of Rios and accept reassignment. He's blown his goodwill in the organization.

The trouble with Billy is that even before he "blew his arm out last year" he was always a cardiac closer -- too many walks and too many hits to make you feel comfortable with a 1-run lead. That said, it would be nice to have him pitching closer to old norms than this year's levels. However, if I were making the Sox' decisions, I wouldn't pin my hopes on a Koch comeback for the power righty we could use behind Tom Gordon. I would put Danny Wright in that role (then give him another shot at starting next spring) right now and bring up Neal Cotts to be the 5th starter. Wright's problem this year, like Biddle's before him, has been stretching out a consistent performance over several innings. If he didn't have to pace himself or hold back, he might be the best we have after Gordon in short right handed stints.