so i remember when alex gordon was in AA with the wichita wranglers, the team sold t-shirts with his name and number on the back.  they did the same with billy butler.

the springfield cardinals sold one of colby rasmus last year.
which i'm terribly sad i missed out on,
when i put my order in - they had just sold out.

has anyone seen any of these this year?

at a game, on a website, anywhere?

Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg will return to the Wrigley Field dugout as a minor league manager on Tuesday, July 29 when his Single-A Peoria Chiefs host the Kane County Cougars in an official Midwest League contest. The game will begin at 7:05 p.m. and is believed to be the first minor league contest in the ballpark's 94-year history.

this is really cool.
things like this should happen more often.
(has it?  maybe i've just missed it?)

i've never been to a minor league game, so it'll be a nice first one for me.
making the trip from minnesota.

anyone else going?

to me, one of the most intriguing and engaging parts of following prospects is the comps.

some people are better at it than others,
and some players just dont have good comps.

but it's fun nonetheless.

feel free to post comparisons you've read or heard,
or just make some up.

Billy Butler is a mix of Todd Helton and Edgar Martinez.

Prince Fielder is the next Frank Thomas,
with a little Cecil thrown in.

what's the general opinion on Kuroda?

he was left off BA's top 100,
and listening to their podcast,
a scout apparently brought that up,
saying he should've been on it.

BA also has a little article on him,
where they say he has 3 plus pitches, according to one scout. along with great control and command.

if this is the case,
shouldn't he be getting a bit more hype?
did Fukudome steal all the thunder this year?
too many imports to pay attention to?
or is everyone slightly down on him because of his ST performance to this point?

would anyone here be interested in creating a minor league baseball podcast?

my computer knowledge is fairly modest,
but it really wouldn't be too hard to figure out.

i'm sure we could just use a normal voice over ip program like ventrilo, record and edit.

we could make it a community project,
having a specific members covering teams and organizations.

we could set up interviews / phone calls with prospects and anyone else we could get ahold of.

but yeah ..

anyone?

BJ Upton hits a HR for the Durham Bulls,
as does Joel Guzman,
who is putting together a real nice June.
how much hope is there left for him?

and while Andrew McCutchen looks to continue with his month to month improvements, the other Upton is looking to raise his June SLG over .400, which would be quite a disappointment if he doesn't

who are you watching today?

Joba the Hut gets a nice lead early against Erie tonight.

will Ankiel hit #20 tonight?

will Adam Jones make up for his 0/5 last night?

will Longoria hit in his 9th straight game?

will Brignac continue to disappoint?

will Desmond Jennings ever reply to my myspace message?

we'll see!

sorry if this is uncalled for,
but in case anyone wasn't aware,
A special Baseball Tonight is on ESPN2 right now. Theyre going to be showing Roger Clemens pitching in tampa against the twins single A team the Fort Myers Miracle.

I don't know that there are any good prospects for the Miracle, but it should be fun watching anyways.

"BOSTON -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland said today that the Tigers are putting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman on the disabled list and will recall left-hander Andrew Miller to start in his place Friday night against St. Louis at Comerica Park.

Leyland said that Miller will stay in the rotation as long as Bonderman is unavailable, but the plan is to send him back to the minors once Bonderman returns."

personally i'm not too sure what to make of this kid.

he obviously played over his head while with the angels last year,
and most people seem to attribute this to his funky delivery.
but by just how much?

i know his "stuff" isn't the best,
but he seems to have great command and a few intangible aspects that make him likeable.
of course, i've also read that he might not be much more than a #3.

do any of you agree with that?
or are the opinions of him varying that much?