After a successful test run on State of the Sox, I've activated a plugin that will make browsing and commenting on this blog a lot easier on many smartphones, such as the iPhone, Droid, Pre, various Blackberries and others.
Give it a shot, and let me know if you have any problems. My phone ain't smart enough to handle it yet, so I'm flying blind and relying on the kindness of strangers to inform me of any issues. So far, the feedback has been positive, and I hope it improves the experience for those of you on the go.
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Baseball America has the list of minor-league free agents, which I always have an unusual amount of fun browsing.The White Sox system's casualties:
Chicago White Sox (10)
RHP: Dylan Axelrod (Hi A), Fernando Hernandez (AAA), Kelvin Jimenez (AAA), John Van Benschoten (AAA), Ehren Wassermann (AAA)
C: Justin Knoedler (AAA)
SS: Eider Torres (AAA)
OF: David Cook (AA), Josh Kroeger (AAA), Michael Restovich (AAA)
A few thoughts...
*I liked Wassermann's story, and I'm sad he couldn't back up a pretty impressive start.He really was a Teutonic Shingo.
(By the way, I call dibs on "Teutonic Shingo" for my next band's name.)
*Reading through newspaper coverage of spring training, it's funny to think that some people thought Don Cooper could resurrect Van Benschoten's career.I was halfway rooting for it just so we'd have more reason to use the nickname "Dutch Oven."
*Blasts from the past: Oneli Perez and his extra finger, Million Dollar Man Ben Davis, Doomerang-throwin' Dewon Day, former legit prospect Daniel Haigwood, Alex Cintron and his tiny head, Baseball America favorite Ricardo Nanita, and Jerry Owens, who received an impassioned defendorsement from Dave Cameron at FanGraphs.
*Random guess for Charlotte's 2010 Opening Day first baseman: Ryan Shealy.
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Phil Rogers takes a look at who needs a 40-man roster spot. He spends a lot of time discussing Stefan Gartrell, who pretty much fulfills the Rogers Prospect Prototype. That's why it was such a shock to see him jump on the Brent Morel bandwagon -- and he's on Miguel Gonzalez's trail as well.
The Sox only need to have room for John Shelby and Brandon Hynick (who wasn't even mentioned, as Larry pointed out before I got a chance to read the article). Unless they think Brian Omogrosso's arm can be salvaged, and he's had a brutal injury history, there's nobody else of note. Gartrell is the best of the rest, and he seems destined to meet David Cook's fate (see above).
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Arizona Fall League:
- Phoenix 7, Peoria 6
- Jordan Danks went 3-for-5 with a strikeout.
- Brent Morel homered for the second straight day, along with two singles and two RBI.
- Kyle Bellamy allowed two hits and struck out two over two scoreless innings.
- Jacob Rasner worked around two hits and two walks for two scoreless innings himself, striking out one.
- Justin Cassel allowed one run on three hits and a walk over three innings, striking out three.
