Jerry_Manuel
10-24-2001, 04:09 PM
Mesa Solar Sox manager Chris Cron did an interview with CS.com about the Cubs and White Sox prospects participating in Major League Baseball's Arizona Fall League. I'll just post the Sox portions of the article:
CS.com: And on the flip side, the White Sox best prospect Joe Borchard, or at least one of their top ones, is off to a slow start hitting but by most accounts he’s seems like he’s got what it takes.
Cron: Oh, he’s going to be a heckuva player. You know, the one thing about these players is that this league is not going to break you. If you don’t do well in this league, it’s not going to really break you but it certainly can make you. Because if you do some things in this league that aren’t really positive, you may struggle. You may not hit the way you’re capable of hitting. You may be tired. I mean, Joe Borchard, he had 500 at-bats in the regular season. That’s a good season. He came down here and he’s working his tail off and he’s hitting .130, or whatever he’s hitting. It’s not real good but that’s not going to break Joe Borchard.
If Joe Borchard ended up hitting .330 that may make Joe Borchard a quicker climb. It’s definitely not going to hurt him at all. So that’s what you’ve got to keep saying. These kids really care and they really want to do good and it’s really nice to see a guy like Joe Borchard when he is struggling and he comes in early and he wants to work and he wants to get better. It’s not just a two-week vacation out here in beautiful Arizona.
CS.com: At this point you’ve been using a couple of the White Sox pitchers a bit. Matt Guerrier and Kyle Kane have been putting up good numbers.
Cron: They are putting outstanding numbers up. Right there are two guys who are opening up eyes for themselves. When you’re a Chicago White Sox pitcher, especially a young pitcher, there really isn’t a whole lot of opportunity there as there may be in other organizations. So they do something good and positive in this Arizona Fall League, the Chicago Cubs may see them, or the Minnesota Twins, and say there’s no room with the White Sox, let’s try to get him. We may be able to get him for nothing, and he sure as heck can pitch for us if he can’t pitch for the rich prospects the White Sox have. That’s another way these guys can open up eyes.
CS.com: How’s Tim Hummel been doing down there?
Cron: Tim Hummel’s been doing a great job. He’s not doing quite as well as he was earlier in the year, I think he’s hitting around .275 but he was over .300 for the first part of the year and he’s in that situation like Bobby Hill. He’s getting a chance to play a lot because there aren’t as many players playing his positions so it’s a big plus for him. He does the same thing. When he’s in there he plays his tail off.
CS.com: And on the flip side, the White Sox best prospect Joe Borchard, or at least one of their top ones, is off to a slow start hitting but by most accounts he’s seems like he’s got what it takes.
Cron: Oh, he’s going to be a heckuva player. You know, the one thing about these players is that this league is not going to break you. If you don’t do well in this league, it’s not going to really break you but it certainly can make you. Because if you do some things in this league that aren’t really positive, you may struggle. You may not hit the way you’re capable of hitting. You may be tired. I mean, Joe Borchard, he had 500 at-bats in the regular season. That’s a good season. He came down here and he’s working his tail off and he’s hitting .130, or whatever he’s hitting. It’s not real good but that’s not going to break Joe Borchard.
If Joe Borchard ended up hitting .330 that may make Joe Borchard a quicker climb. It’s definitely not going to hurt him at all. So that’s what you’ve got to keep saying. These kids really care and they really want to do good and it’s really nice to see a guy like Joe Borchard when he is struggling and he comes in early and he wants to work and he wants to get better. It’s not just a two-week vacation out here in beautiful Arizona.
CS.com: At this point you’ve been using a couple of the White Sox pitchers a bit. Matt Guerrier and Kyle Kane have been putting up good numbers.
Cron: They are putting outstanding numbers up. Right there are two guys who are opening up eyes for themselves. When you’re a Chicago White Sox pitcher, especially a young pitcher, there really isn’t a whole lot of opportunity there as there may be in other organizations. So they do something good and positive in this Arizona Fall League, the Chicago Cubs may see them, or the Minnesota Twins, and say there’s no room with the White Sox, let’s try to get him. We may be able to get him for nothing, and he sure as heck can pitch for us if he can’t pitch for the rich prospects the White Sox have. That’s another way these guys can open up eyes.
CS.com: How’s Tim Hummel been doing down there?
Cron: Tim Hummel’s been doing a great job. He’s not doing quite as well as he was earlier in the year, I think he’s hitting around .275 but he was over .300 for the first part of the year and he’s in that situation like Bobby Hill. He’s getting a chance to play a lot because there aren’t as many players playing his positions so it’s a big plus for him. He does the same thing. When he’s in there he plays his tail off.