The next Cole Hamels ???

[Bathless]

Last night, I went over to see the Lakewood Blue Claws (Phils) and the Lexington Legend (Astros) in a preview of the Sally League playoffs. Lakewood righthander Carlos Carasco was coming off an effort in which he was perfect into the 8th inning. Then the kid pitched a no-no through 7 last night. He struck out 9, hit 1 guy and walked a bunched and never threw in the 90s. So he must have pretty good movement, although it was hard to judge from my seat just up the RF line from the dugout. What I did notice is that he had very little leg drive -- almost all arm. If he ever makes it to the bigs, I'm sure we'll see a change in mechanics.

There was a rumor that Roger Clemens might be there to see his son play for Lexington (the rest of the Clemens family was in town for the Saturday game), but I didn't see him. The Goodyear blimp was there, though. Then the team mascot, Buster, tossed me a free hot dog and everyone in my section got free passes to Monmouth Park.

Gotta love minor league ball.

When I got home, I watched Maddux pitch for the Dodgers. He went 8 innings complete, gave up 2 hits (in the 1st), retired about 27 in a row, and did it all on 68 pitches (53 strikes/15 balls). 40 years old. Unbelievable.

BTW, Koby Clemens made an error in the field, couldn't make the play on a sac bunt, and went 0-4, lowering his BA to .225. He did make good contact once on a liner to center, though. I suspect that when the Rocket calls it quits, the Astros will cut Koby about 5 minutes later.

[sq764]

Last night, I went over to see the Lakewood Blue Claws (Phils) and the Lexington Legend (Astros) in a preview of the Sally League playoffs. Lakewood righthander Carlos Carasco was coming off an effort in which he was perfect into the 8th inning. Then the kid pitched a no-no through 7 last night. He struck out 9, hit 1 guy and walked a bunched and never threw in the 90s. So he must have pretty good movement, although it was hard to judge from my seat just up the RF line from the dugout. What I did notice is that he had very little leg drive -- almost all arm. If he ever makes it to the bigs, I'm sure we'll see a change in mechanics.

There was a rumor that Roger Clemens might be there to see his son play for Lexington (the rest of the Clemens family was in town for the Saturday game), but I didn't see him. The Goodyear blimp was there, though. Then the team mascot, Buster, tossed me a free hot dog and everyone in my section got free passes to Monmouth Park.

Gotta love minor league ball.

When I got home, I watched Maddux pitch for the Dodgers. He went 8 innings complete, gave up 2 hits (in the 1st), retired about 27 in a row, and did it all on 68 pitches (53 strikes/15 balls). 40 years old. Unbelievable.

BTW, Koby Clemens made an error in the field, couldn't make the play on a sac bunt, and went 0-4, lowering his BA to .225. He did make good contact once on a liner to center, though. I suspect that when the Rocket calls it quits, the Astros will cut Koby about 5 minutes later.
I love watching guys come up to the bigs that you saw when they were green and rough..

I used to go to Wilmington Blue Rocks games when I was in high school (they are Single A in the Carolina league for Boston - Used to be KC until 2 years ago).. One year they had a team consisting of Johnny Damon, Michael Tucker and Mike Sweeney..

I believe John Lieber pitchers there just before that

[Bathless]

Yeah, that's what I like about it, too.

A couple of years ago, Ryan Howard was a .260 hitter for Lakewood, then he learned how to hit. Hit his 41st last night, something I never would have projected watching him play for Lakewood. The only thing impressive about him was his size. Gavin Floyd was a 1st round pick and pitched a no-no here, too. Gavin has been up and down a few times and should be back up again with the Phils when they expand the roster next month. Cole was the one who you knew couldn't miss, though. 10,000 showed up for a rehab start he made this spring, about 5,000 more than were here for Randy Wolf's rehab.

I kind of feel sorry for the Clemens kid. Probably not easy when dad is a legend and makes $6M a month (maybe I don't feel that sorry for him). Got the feeling that his teammates liked him, though.

[sq764]

Howard is a flat out beast.. His 2nd year of playing in the majors and he is likely going to hit 50 homeruns.. AMAZING..

And what's more crazy is he may hit .300 this year.. He's at like 295 right now

[Bathless]

Caught an interesting show the other night. They miked up Ryan Howard, David Wright and one other guy making his first appearance in the MLB All-Star game.

What was cool was the awe Wright showed for Vlad's early homer -- 95MPH, up in his eyes, and he still hit it out. Interesting to see one player's admiration of another's abilities.....

I missed the game itself. Was watching Randy Wolf pitch for the Blue Claws.

[sq764]

Tonight should be an interesting game - Pedro Martinez against Cole Hamels

[njcurveball]

Cole Hamels has the right stuff to be a Superstar, but right now, he is just a rookie with a ton of strikeouts. If you were ranking pitchers he would be barely above Daniel Cabrera. And I am a Phillie fan.

I traded him in my fantasy league because he hasn't shown any heart. And when he has had the chance to be tested, Manuel has babied him and taken him out.

At the present time, he is middle of the rookie pack, lengths behind guys like Francisco Liriano and Josh Johnson.

My fear as a Phillie fan is that he will be traded and then become dominant. My hope as a Yankee fan, is that they will be waiting with open arms to pick up his big contract by then.

I would say if we look at it like horse racing right now he is barely above a NW1 winner. He is facing Pedro who is a Grade 1 winner.

Josh Johnson beat Pedro this year, lets see if Cole can be that lucky.

[sq764]

Cole Hamels has the right stuff to be a Superstar, but right now, he is just a rookie with a ton of strikeouts. If you were ranking pitchers he would be barely above Daniel Cabrera. And I am a Phillie fan.

I traded him in my fantasy league because he hasn't shown any heart. And when he has had the chance to be tested, Manuel has babied him and taken him out.

At the present time, he is middle of the rookie pack, lengths behind guys like Francisco Liriano and Josh Johnson.

My fear as a Phillie fan is that he will be traded and then become dominant. My hope as a Yankee fan, is that they will be waiting with open arms to pick up his big contract by then.

I would say if we look at it like horse racing right now he is barely above a NW1 winner. He is facing Pedro who is a Grade 1 winner.

Josh Johnson beat Pedro this year, lets see if Cole can be that lucky.
Problem is Pedro struggles to even get to the 6F mark anymore..

I think the last start when he absolutely dominated St Louis (and made Pujols look ridiculous) showed how good he CAN be..

You take out his poor Braves start, his last 6 of 7 starts, he went 33 innings, 3.27 ERA, 46Ks, 10 BBs

I'll take that

[Bathless]

I'm concerned about how Hamels will hold up physically. In addition to his recent arm woes, he also broke his humerus a while back. I'd like to see him put some meat on his bones, too. He should do Barry Zito-style workouts this winter.

Hamels is just getting the hang of pitching in the bigs. Sometimes it takes a while. And he deserved better in his last start.

I like his upside. And I don't see him getting traded. He, Howard, Utley, and Rollins look like the core they'll try to build on. I would have included Myers in that list, until he Potvin'd his wife recently.

[njcurveball]

Well Pedro left the gate miserably and pulled up before the finish line the first time.

Cole Hamels kicked his Grade 1 A$$. I guess it was easy to "relax on the lead", especially when your team ponies up 6 runs in the first.

I hope they can put about 50 nails in Pedro's leg to get him back to the races.

:bang: Handicapping humans may be harder than handicapping horses.

[sq764]

Well Pedro left the gate miserably and pulled up before the finish line the first time.

Cole Hamels kicked his Grade 1 A$$. I guess it was easy to "relax on the lead", especially when your team ponies up 6 runs in the first.

I hope they can put about 50 nails in Pedro's leg to get him back to the races.

:bang: Handicapping humans may be harder than handicapping horses.
Pedro is damaged goods anymore. He struggles to get to the 5th inning anymore. Hamels just bitch slapped him tonight..

Amazing every time Pedro gets smoked this year, he comes up with a phantom injury..

[Bathless]

I want to get over to Trenton to see this kid pitch for the Thunder. He's a 20yo who was the Yanks #1 pick in the 2004 draft (23rd overall). He's supposedly the top pitching prospect in the organization and they've been babying him (5 or 6 innings/start). Don't know if he has arm issues or, as I suspect, they're just trying to be careful with a valuable 20yo arm. Just voted EL Player of the Week off 2 wins and 0.90 ERA.

Thunder now on the road, but they're returning home Friday for a 6 day stand before hitting the road again. I'd like to get a look at this kid. Next year, he might be in Columbus.

BTW, Phillie prospect Carlos Carasco (the next Hamels???), who's allowed only 2 hits in his last 14 1/3, is just 19. Should be in Clearwater in 2007.

[sq764]

I want to get over to Trenton to see this kid pitch for the Thunder. He's a 20yo who was the Yanks #1 pick in the 2004 draft (23rd overall). He's supposedly the top pitching prospect in the organization and they've been babying him (5 or 6 innings/start). Don't know if he has arm issues or, as I suspect, they're just trying to be careful with a valuable 20yo arm. Just voted EL Player of the Week off 2 wins and 0.90 ERA.

Thunder now on the road, but they're returning home Friday for a 6 day stand before hitting the road again. I'd like to get a look at this kid. Next year, he might be in Columbus.

BTW, Phillie prospect Carlos Carasco (the next Hamels???), who's allowed only 2 hits in his last 14 1/3, is just 19. Should be in Clearwater in 2007.
Did you see Hughes in the Futures game on ESPN? He got absolutely shelled..

[Bathless]

Missed it. Have never seen him pitch. There was a Thunder game on the cable Saturday (I think), but Hughes pitched Sunday (5IP, 0R, 9K, 2BB). In any event, missed that one, too. He's so young, maybe they will keep him at 'AA' next year...

I read something somewhere that pitchers selected in the 1st round right out of HS have a history of not making it big in MLB. Might be something like none of them have won 20 games in years. Or might actually have something to do with HS 1st-rounders who get rushed to the bigs, a la Kerry Wood.

BTW, Cole is never going to win an easier one than last night's game. Had great stuff. And the Mets had no more of a clue with him the 3rd time through the lineup than they did with their first looks. Super effort. Good command, great control, and he changed speeds like a veteran.

Now the Phils need to find the next Joe Mauer. Catching and 3B are big ???? Rowand gets to everything in CF, but you need more than .260 from your CF. Will be interesting to see what they do this winter. With Abreu gone, they've got some $$$ to play with with the free-agents. I kind of liked the team they had out there last night, lots of speed. But you can't rely on Utley and Howard for all your offense, especially since Ryan Ks so often.

[sq764]

Missed it. Have never seen him pitch. There was a Thunder game on the cable Saturday (I think), but Hughes pitched Sunday (5IP, 0R, 9K, 2BB). In any event, missed that one, too. He's so young, maybe they will keep him at 'AA' next year...

I read something somewhere that pitchers selected in the 1st round right out of HS have a history of not making it big in MLB. Might be something like none of them have won 20 games in years. Or might actually have something to do with HS 1st-rounders who get rushed to the bigs, a la Kerry Wood.

BTW, Cole is never going to win an easier one than last night's game. Had great stuff. And the Mets had no more of a clue with him the 3rd time through the lineup than they did with their first looks. Super effort. Good command, great control, and he changed speeds like a veteran.

Now the Phils need to find the next Joe Mauer. Catching and 3B are big ???? Rowand gets to everything in CF, but you need more than .260 from your CF. Will be interesting to see what they do this winter. With Abreu gone, they've got some $$$ to play with with the free-agents. I kind of liked the team they had out there last night, lots of speed. But you can't rely on Utley and Howard for all your offense, especially since Ryan Ks so often.
Yeah, Hughes went 1 inning, 4 hits, 3 runs, including a homer.. Got rocked..

Hamels has pitched against the 2 best NL teams in 2 of his last 3 starts and has absolutely dominated them.. I can't say I hate it

I am fine with Coste as the everyday catcher.. He's 33 but catchers can play to late 30s anymore..

[Bathless]

19YO Carlos Carasco pitched 7 innings of shutout ball last night, allowing just 3 hits and striking out 8. With help from the bullpen, Carasco and the Lakewood Blue Claws racked up their 18th shutout of the season, tops in organized ball. Looks like the Phils have some live arms among their prospects, at least at this level.:jump:

2 starts back, Carasco pitched perfect ball into the 8th inning. Last Sunday, he pitched 7 innings of no-hit ball, striking out 9. Shades of Drysdale and Hershiser? OK, maybe not, but he's only 19.

Now if they could just develop a good-hitting 3rd baseman with some pop in his bat, the Phils would have one of the best infields in the game. Maybe the Mets would be willing to trade David Wright for say, Nunez, Myers and Burrell. :lol: :lol: :lol:

BTW, Hamels pitches tonight against the Nationals and Maddux faces the Giants. Hope I can catch at least one of these on the tube.

[Bathless]

Now if they could just develop a good-hitting 3rd baseman with some pop in his bat, the Phils would have one of the best infields in the game. Maybe the Mets would be willing to trade David Wright for say, Nunez, Myers and Burrell.

Hey, let's throw in CJ Henry, living proof that even the Yankees make mistakes. Henry is a big, Jeter-sized SS, was the Yanks' #1 draft pick in 2005, and came over in the Abreu/Lidle deal. But any resemblance to Jeter ends with his size (although he might be good with cliches). I've seen him play 2 games in the last week and he can't seem to field even routine ground balls -- 3 errors. And he's not making up for it with his bat. Talk is of moving him to 3B, although I'm hard-pressed to see what that solves.

[sq764]

19YO Carlos Carasco pitched 7 innings of shutout ball last night, allowing just 3 hits and striking out 8. With help from the bullpen, Carasco and the Lakewood Blue Claws racked up their 18th shutout of the season, tops in organized ball. Looks like the Phils have some live arms among their prospects, at least at this level.:jump:

2 starts back, Carasco pitched perfect ball into the 8th inning. Last Sunday, he pitched 7 innings of no-hit ball, striking out 9. Shades of Drysdale and Hershiser? OK, maybe not, but he's only 19.

Now if they could just develop a good-hitting 3rd baseman with some pop in his bat, the Phils would have one of the best infields in the game. Maybe the Mets would be willing to trade David Wright for say, Nunez, Myers and Burrell. :lol: :lol: :lol:

BTW, Hamels pitches tonight against the Nationals and Maddux faces the Giants. Hope I can catch at least one of these on the tube.
I heard last week they had a combined no hitter in Lakewood?

[Bathless]

I heard last week they had a combined no hitter in Lakewood?
That was one of the two games I attended. Carasco struck out the side in the first, retired the first two in the 2nd, then proceeded to let in a run via HBP and three walks. Settled down and cruised the rest of the way. A kid named Barb pitched the last 2 and Henry made it exciting for him by making 2 errors in the last 2 innings.

Floyd threw a no-no when he was here (game shortened by rain). But this is the Sally League, where pitchers dominate -- at least since Hank Aaron was in the league.

[sq764]

That was one of the two games I attended. Carasco struck out the side in the first, retired the first two in the 2nd, then proceeded to let in a run via HBP and three walks. Settled down and cruised the rest of the way. A kid named Barb pitched the last 2 and Henry made it exciting for him by making 2 errors in the last 2 innings.

Floyd threw a no-no when he was here (game shortened by rain). But this is the Sally League, where pitchers dominate -- at least since Hank Aaron was in the league.
i hear Manual is deciding to keep Mathison in there to let him pitch.. He's a guaranteed loss every 5th day..

I've heard the Phils have a 30 year old guy down in AAA that is tearing it up

[Bathless]

That was one of the two games I attended. Carasco struck out the side in the first, retired the first two in the 2nd, then proceeded to let in a run via HBP and three walks. Settled down and cruised the rest of the way. A kid named Barb pitched the last 2 and Henry made it exciting for him by making 2 errors in the last 2 innings.

Andrew Barb is a Blue Claw no more. Leaves Phillies organization for Mariners, as part of the deal for Jamie Moyer, Digger Phelps's son-in-law.

[Bubbles]

I love watching guys come up to the bigs that you saw when they were green and rough..I went to a Hudson Valley Renegades game a few years ago. They're a local Class A affiliate of Tampa Bay. Saw Jorge Cantu play shortstop for them. He was a good hitter, hit about .310, but didn't show a lot of power. Couldn't have foreseen the big year he had last year, for sure.

[Bathless]

It's one guy's opinion, and he's not a scout, but his blog is comprehensive. And, apparently, he actually gets out to see some games from time to time (or he watches them on the Web):

http://philliesbaseball.blogspot.com/

BTW, he picks Carasco as one of the top 3 pitching prospects in the whole organization.

[Bathless]

The Crabs' staff recorded its 19th shutout of the season last night, tops in MiLB.

I was wondering how Phils discovered Carlos Carrasco, since he wasn't drafted. Found the answer on Baseball America web site:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/news/261801.html

Kid has made big gains in 2 seasons.

Going to tonight's game -- last of homestand. Hoping to get another look at Matt Maloney, who leads SAL in wins(14) and is 2nd in ERA(2.09).