Saw McCarthy pitch tonight...

[ondafarm]

Originally Posted by Randar68

Jason Gage and the guys from futuresox.com set me up with press passes tonight for the Winston-Salem vs Frederick game, where Brandon McCarthy was pitching.

WOW. He gave up a lead-off double on a high fastball in the first inning, then went on to retire 18 straight hitters, then striking out the leadoff man in the 7th, only to see him reach first on what was ruled a WP (Wally Rosa took FOREVER to get to the ball and then double-clutched, allowing the runner to beat it out). That runner then stole 2nd base, and advanced to 3rd on a groundout, scoring on a SF for the only run scored off of him.

He only threw about 90 pitches in the 7 IP, w/ 8 K, 0 BB, 1 WP, 1 ER, picking up the W (5-0) in the 3-2 victory.

I'll be interviewing a few players to go up on that site in the coming days, but just wanted to pass along this info for those interested. Very impressed by more than just the results.

When and where does he pitch next? I might be able to make the game.

[SoxxoS]

Originally Posted by Gimm

Amen. Comparisons to Brown are silly.

Judy ain't got Brown's fastball. She ain't got Brown's sinker. She ain't got Brown's breaking ball. She ain't got Brown's bulldog mentality.

Absolutely. Not only does Brown have plus stuff on all of his pitches (maybe not anymore) but he has that mentality of a winner.

It did take Brown about 6-7 seasons to become a really, really good pitcher, however.

[poorme]

Brown had some arm troubles early in his career I think..

[habibharu]

Originally Posted by Gimm

Stewart is not a major league pitcher.

well he is a major league pitcher, just not a starter. he could probably be a lefty long man out of the pen

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by Cerberus-WG

See anyone else Randar?

I saw Harrell, Marshall, and Bello pitch for Bristol, McCarthy, Tracey, Reynoso pitch for W-S, and Lumsden in relief, and I should be able to see Diaz, Grilli in Charlotte tonight and tomorrow night. I hope to catch the Wednesday night Kanny game which should be either Whisler or Haigwood.

I was able to interview Casey Rogowski, Brian Miller and Josh Fields the other day. Miller said his fastball was 88-91 IIRC (don't have it in front of me), definitely not what I was expecting him to say.

REALLY impressed so far:
McCarthy
Tracey
Lopez
Bristol C Francisco Hernandez (VERY quick release)
Brandon Allen
Sweeney
Fields' defense
Rogowski playing well in LF

[Rex Hudler]

Diaz is pitching for Chicago tonight, not Charlotte.

See what you miss when you are on the road??

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by ondafarm

When and where does he pitch next? I might be able to make the game.

They're on a 5-man rotation, so he should be pitching on Tuesday or Wednesday at Wilmington

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by Rex Hudler

Diaz is pitching for Chicago tonight, not Charlotte.

See what you miss when you are on the road??

LOL. The only thing I've been able to keep abreast of is the fact that the Sox have been tanking it.

[Rex Hudler]

Originally Posted by Randar68

LOL. The only thing I've been able to keep abreast of is the fact that the Sox have been tanking it.

That really about says it all anyway......

[Cerberus-WG]

Originally Posted by Randar68

I saw Harrell, Marshall, and Bello pitch for Bristol, McCarthy, Tracey, Reynoso pitch for W-S, and Lumsden in relief, and I should be able to see Diaz, Grilli in Charlotte tonight and tomorrow night. I hope to catch the Wednesday night Kanny game which should be either Whisler or Haigwood.

I was able to interview Casey Rogowski, Brian Miller and Josh Fields the other day. Miller said his fastball was 88-91 IIRC (don't have it in front of me), definitely not what I was expecting him to say.

REALLY impressed so far:
McCarthy
Tracey
Lopez
Bristol C Francisco Hernandez (VERY quick release)
Brandon Allen
Sweeney
Fields' defense
Rogowski playing well in LF

Good stuff, Randar. I know that I was supposed to interview Rogowski and Fields when I was down there, but due to time restraints I couldn't fit them in. I'm not surprised at all at Miller's velo, as I said earlier I was sitting right behind two radar guns in Miller's start and was topping out at 90. His delivery was very, very violent too.

As for Sweeney, has he stopped lunging at the ball? When I saw him for two games he was really lunging his entire body towards the ball.

Note: Tracey only needs 9 more HBP to set the Carolina League record w/ 30. Go Sean go! B-Mac joked around with him on that one.

[maurice]

Originally Posted by Randar68

Bristol C Francisco Hernandez (VERY quick release)

That's good to hear. He's a switch hitter, posting .284/.339/.404 in just over 100 ABs this season.

[jeremyb1]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

As I've said before, neither is Garland. I'll bet Stewart could post a .500 record with an ERA of 4.50, and at a fraction of Garland's salary.

Based on what? You don't think Garland could post a 3.97 ERA in AAA? He posted an ERA of two there four years ago.

[Chisoxfn]

Originally Posted by Mohoney

As I've said before, neither is Garland. I'll bet Stewart could post a .500 record with an ERA of 4.50, and at a fraction of Garland's salary.

Thats crazy, you act as if Stewart has tremendous command of all his pitches. If he did he'd already be at the major league level. I'm not saying Stewart won't make it back to the majors, he probably will, as a back of the rotation guy for a mediocre club (maybe being able to show himself enough to start for a while) or as a back of the pen type guy.

However, Garland is 1000 times the ML pitcher Stewart is. Garland gets deep into games, on the most part, and has fantastic stuff. Just cause he looks relaxed doesn't mean he isn't taking the games serious. Fact is, some guys just don't have a real mad look on their face or what not.

How the heck you can say Stewart is better then Garland...I have no idea.

[Chisoxfn]

Awesome Stuff Randar. Hopefully you got the email or two I sent over the weekend. Really looking forward to hearing what you saw.

Also, the other pitcher Cerb and I saw in Kanny was Whisler. He was working on a splitter during his bullpen session with Lisk and went on to pitch a pretty solid game.

We saw Whisler and Miller. Pitching wise, on the most part, we missed all the good prospects, but were able to get a good glance at all the hitting prospects.

[Daver]

Originally Posted by Wealz

I've felt for a long time that Garland's stuff was overrated. I laugh now thinking of when Farmer would compare him to Kevin Brown in his first couple years. He's sort of a 'tweener in that he doesn't possess enough velocity or good enough control to be a top-of-the rotation starter, imo.

I don't remember ever saying that Jon Garland had overpowering stuff. If he could develop the confidence to use the ability he has he could be a succesful middle of the rotation pitcher. Pitching well within the strike zone is mostly mental, not physical, as for velocity, tell your story to Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, neither one of them throw with the velocity Garland has.