Royal Rooters > Sox Minor League News Links, Mon. July 14, 2008

Full Version: Sox Minor League News Links, Mon. July 14, 2008

Royal Rooters > WE'RE TALKIN' BASEBALL > DOWN ON THE FARM

RedSoxAnni

Jul 14 2008, 11:50 AM

Amalie Benjamin - Red Sox Notebook: Papelbon's 100th save exciting news

Sox minor leaguer Che-Hsuan Lin, a center fielder with the Single A Greenville Drive, was named most valuable player of the Major League Baseball Futures Game yesterday at Yankee Stadium. Lin entered as a defensive substitution for the World team in the sixth inning and went 2 for 2 with a two-run home run in a 3-0 victory over the US team . . .

RedSoxAnni

Jul 14 2008, 12:09 PM

John Tomase - Che-Hsuan Lin’s Futures MVP a positive development

Previous Red Sox [team stats] management focused its scouting efforts on local talent, which resulted in disappointing first-round selections like Rick Asadoorian.

The current group has taken its search global with much greater success, as Che-Hsuan Lin demonstrated yesterday.

The Taiwanese outfielder, signed for $390,000 early in 2007 following a two-year courtship by executives Craig Shipley and Jon Deeble, was named MVP of the Futures Game after slamming a two-run homer in the World’s 3-0 win against the United States at Yankee Stadium.

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Lin’s athleticism is off the charts. The 6-foot, 180-pounder won 100-meter dash and high jump national championships in Taiwan, where he’s a member of the Olympic baseball team. He patrols center, in the words of former teammate Chris Province, “like he’s on roller skates.” Baseball America proclaimed his arm the strongest in the system.

“You see some guys who can run around on defense because they’re great athletes, but he’s the complete package,” Sox director of player development Mike Hazen said. “He can dive, he can throw, he’s got great make-up speed in the gaps and excellent instincts.”

His arm is something else. Hazen paid a recent visit to Greenville and was wowed by one of Lin’s missiles from center that hit halfway up the backstop on a line.

“It wasn’t exactly a good throw, because he airmailed the catcher,” Hazen said, “but his arm strength was ridiculous.”

RedSoxAnni

Jul 19 2008, 02:11 PM

The Providence Journal

Jim Hodges - PawSox 10, Tides 3 - Zink picks up 12th win, but won't be an All-Star

In the No-Good-Deed-Goes-Unpunished Dept., knuckleballer Charlie Zink was the beneficiary of the PawSox’ first offensive largesse of the four-game series. He used it through seven innings to pick up his International League-leading 12th victory, then learned that his services were no longer required in the Triple-A All-Star Game, Wednesday at Louisville.

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Jeff Bailey had two hits and Joe Thurston drove in two runs with a double in an eight-run fifth inning for the PawSox, who broke out of a scoring drought. They had only four runs and 17 hits over the first three games of this four-game series. Yesterday, they had 10 runs and 15 hits.

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Bryan Pritz’s trip around the bases in the fifth inning was like a run through a minefield. Pritz reached on a fielder’s choice, then had to leap to avoid having his legs taken off by Sean Danielson’s line-drive single to right field. Pritz reached third on the play, then was almost decapitated by the barrel of Gil Velasquez’ bat on his single to left field. …

Paul Kenyon - Michael Gwynn - The ‘heart and soul’ of a day at McCoy

What most fans do not realize is that Gwynn is one of those most responsible for making McCoy such a fun place to watch a game.

Owner Ben Mondor, president Mike Tamburro and general manager Lou Schwechheimer are the ones credited — deservedly so — with molding the hugely successful franchise.

Gwynn usually remains in the background, which is fine with him.

“I don’t mind at all,” Gwynn said as he took a break from preparations for a game. “We have a team on the field, and we also have a team off the field. Ben and Mike always talk about how we all have to work together to give the fans who come here the best possible experience. That’s what we try to do.”

Gwynn is the vice president of sales and marketing, a title that barely begins to describe his role.

“We’re blessed to have some great folks with us. Bill Wanless, Mick Tedesco, Matt White,” Schwechheimer said. “Michael Gwynn is one, too. He doesn’t get a lot of public credit. He doesn’t seek the limelight, but this is a guy who is the heart and soul of the day of a game at McCoy. He really is.

RedSoxAnni

Jul 19 2008, 06:40 PM

Brendan McGair - Get Your Tickets Fast: David Ortiz is Heading to McCoy

But all-star nods are about individual achievement and a reflection of the numbers put up. Thurston is near atop the IL batting list (.312) with Bailey and Van Every tied for the team lead with 23 home runs (good for third most in the IL) while Carter’s 19 puts him in fourth.

Bailey, Thurston, Carter and Van Every share this in common; they’ve all been summoned to Boston at some point to fill-in. The stays may have been short and their at-bats few, but what truly makes them all-stars is that they’ve come back to Pawtucket and picked right up, playing at the same high level that led to getting called up in the first place.

Baseball is full of tests, and one of them is to see how players react upon getting sent down. Apparently Bailey, Thurston, Carter and Van Every have passed which their all-star nods attest to.

All have had a taste of baseball life in Boston and all want to make sure they remain on Theo Epstein’s radar. All it takes is one phone call to Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson’s cell phone to confirm the message every player in that Pawtucket locker wants to hear: “Get up to Boston.”

RedSoxAnni

Jul 19 2008, 07:29 PM

Ken Lipshez - Sea Dogs' long-ball binge falls short to one big blow; Portland accounts for all its runs with three homers, but New Britain wipes out a 3-0 deficit for a victory.

Portland took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning against Yohan Pino (3-3).

Corsaletti, hitting .358 against New Britain this season, smacked a leadoff homer, his 12th of the season. Bates singled and with one down, Mark Wagner homered over the wall in left.

The Rock Cats countered against Mills in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Lis, Danny Valencia and David Winfree loaded the bases, and Felix Molina delivered two runs with a hit up the middle, slicing Portland's lead to 3-2.

"We got ground balls but they got four balls in a row through the (third base-shortstop) hole," Beyeler said. "Those balls go at people, we're out of the inning.

"We get a couple of runs and we have trouble throwing a zero up. If you're going to be successful, you have to go out there and throw that zero up after your team gets a couple runs for you."

The Sea Dogs cut the lead to one when Daeges homered to open the sixth against reliever Armando Gabino. Daeges, who came into the series with one homer, has one in each of the last two games.

RedSoxAnni

Jul 19 2008, 09:42 PM

Lakewood's four-run sixth does in Drive

Oscar Tejeda led off the Greenville fourth with a double and scored on Juan Apodaca's single to make the score 3-0.

Meanwhile, Greenville's Ryne Lawson, making his second start of the season, scattered three singles over five shutout innings.

The BlueClaws' rally came against Drive reliever Michael Rozier (0-1). Dominic Brown had a one-out single and went to second when Karl Bolt was hit by a pitch. Michael Durant singled in Brown, and Matthew Rizzotti walked to load the bases.

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Tejeda and Apodaca had two hits each for Greenville.

Drive's Lin homers in Future Stars Game

Lin, a 19-year-old Red Sox prospect, hit a two-run homer and nine World team pitchers combined on a three-hitter for a 3-0 victory over the United States.

"It's one of the best memories of my life and my whole career," the Taiwanese outfielder said through a translator.

Lin is hitting .251 with five homers, 34 RBIs and 26 stolen bases for Greenville.

RedSoxAnni

Jul 20 2008, 09:32 PM

Shannon McCarthy - Corsaletti has sights set on big leagues

Last fall, Jeff Corsaletti sampled the Fenway Park experience he’d always dreamed of: patrolling the expanse of green in front of the famed Green Monster, taking in the deafening noise of the 30,000-plus crowd, enjoying the thrill of a comeback win

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Though he was named to the Eastern League All-Star team last season, that goal didn’t seem likely unless the 25-year-old outfielder made some changes.

He faded a bit after the midseason mark, ending the year batting .266 with six home runs and started this season repeating Double-A.

All the while, murmuring in the background were the scouting reports that projected the former Gator as nothing more than a backup outfielder in the major leagues.

“My whole career, people have constantly been telling me what I can and can’t do,” he said, “and I’ve constantly proved them wrong.”

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Before, Corsaletti was more focused on getting on base and not striking out. Now, he has a slightly different approach.

“I’ve been focused on driving the ball more in advantage counts,” he said. “When pitchers get behind, I’m hitting their mistakes. It’s working out really well.”

The difference has been remarkable. Though Corsaletti is striking out more — 58 times in 76 games as opposed to 37 in the same timeframe last season — his production and power numbers have improved significantly. He is batting .310 at the midway point with 12 home runs, as opposed to half of that in all of last season. His doubles, triples and RBIs are all up as well.

But Corsaletti hasn’t lost his patience at the plate. He has an otherworldly strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost one (58/51).

He also ranks first or second on the Sea Dogs in every offensive category.

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