Diehard Blog: 8/21/06

In his latest blog, Diehard’s Chris Paddock takes his usual tour around the minor leagues and stops to talk to Lowell’s Ryan Khoury, who discusses his whirlwind experiences with the Spinners and Triple-A Pawtucket.

Pack Your Bags, Kid
On August 3, opportunity knocked for Lowell shortstop Ryan Khoury. Due to promotions and injuries, the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox were left with a few holes on their roster, and Khoury, located only a couple hours north, was called upon to help out.

Khoury, who was Boston's 12th round pick in this year's amateur draft, is considered to have an advanced approach at the plate. Spinners hitting coach Alan Mauthe recently told Diehard that he liked Khoury "right from the get go" because Khoury likes to see a lot of pitches. The former University of Utah star and Mountain West Player of the Year was sent back to the Spinners earlier this week, but not before Diehard had a chance to catch up with him.

DH: So, how did you find out about your promotion? Were you surprised?

RK: [Lowell manager Bruce Crabbe] told me about 15 minutes before batting practice: "Pack your stuff, you're going to Pawtucket in 20 minutes." I was shocked. I thought he might be joking at first.

DH: What's the difference between Triple A and Single A? Is it even faster than you imagined? Have you even had time to process it?

RK: The biggest difference isn't really the speed of the game, just the combination of guys being smart and talented. Pitchers put the ball right where they want to. It's tough to adjust to them.

DH: Have you been told how long you'll be in Pawtucket?

RK: I haven't been told how long I'll be here. I'm here to fill some holes, play wherever I'm needed, and try to learn as much as I can while I'm here.

DH: How has your experience at Triple A helped your development as a baseball player?

RK: The experience has been amazing. It has mostly helped me to see first-hand that I have the ability to play at this level. Now I feel that if I work really hard and learn as much as I can, I will have more confidence about the higher levels [of the system] as I move up.

DH: What have you learned from the veterans on the team?

RK: The veterans have been amazing to me, just teaching me about the game and how it is played at this level. And also how to act like a professional. Just being exposed to these guys and talking to them will help me so much in the long run. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity because not many guys my age get the chance.

In this interview for Baseball America, Khoury admitted to Dave Laurila that he feels like he's a kid stealing candy. Manager Ron Johnson talked to Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal about Khoury, and says the experience will pay dividends. Khoury seemed to take what he learned back with him to Lowell; he picked up two hits in his first game back on Friday, another on Saturday, and two more yesterday, giving him a hit in every game since returning to the Spinners lineup.

Pawtucket Red Sox
Dustin Pedroia put together another fine week for the PawSox. The diminutive infielder went 3-for-3 on Tuesday, and 4-for-5 on Wednesday, and added a grand slam Friday night. Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Times says Pedroia is a sure-fire bet to get called up to Boston when the rosters expand. Johnson tells McGair that a lot of players are talking about call-ups, but that promotions will be determined by need.

David Murphy returned from injury this week, and presumably left his batting slump in rehab. He went hitless in his first two games back, but is .294 since then. The Florida Marlins are supposedly interested in obtaining Murphy, according to MLB.com, perhaps for young reliever Taylor Tankersley. The deal would probably have to wait until the offseason, as both players would presumably have to clear waivers before they could be dealt.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe catches up with a forgotten prospect, Charlie Zink, who credits his resurgence to being in shape. Zink pitched well again on Saturday, going six strong innings and picking up his eighth win for the PawSox.

Portland Sea Dogs
Top prospect Jacoby Ellsbury was named Eastern League Player of the Week after hitting .400 last week. The speedy center fielder also made Baseball America's "Team Photo." Brian Meehan of the Oregonian has a very in-depth feature on Ellsbury, which is sure to tell you a few things about him that you did not know. Ellsbury's strong work ethic comes through in this interview with Jay Prindall of Up on the Monster. Ellsbury has been turning up the power in Portland, hitting his second home run for the Sea Dogs on Wednesday. Since his promotion, Ellsbury has improved his OPS by nearly 50 points, and already has more doubles (nine) in less at-bats (142) than he did at Wilmington (six doubles in 243 at-bats).

At the bottom of this notebook, Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald says injured third baseman Chad Spann, who is thought to be out for the season with a severely sprained ankle, was back taking ground ball this week . . . on his knees. Now that's dedication.

Wilmington Blue Rocks
Clay Buchholz won his Wilmington debut Friday night, giving up only two earned runs in five innings while striking out six and walking three. The fire-balling right-hander, who turned 22 this past Monday, said he thought he'd get called up earlier, but that he's happy to be in Wilmington now. Buchholz may have a point—he held opponents at Greenville to a batting average just north of .180.

Mark Wagner made his Blue Rocks debut earlier in the week as the team's designated hitter. Wagner was a named to the Carolina League All-Star team as a catcher earlier this season.

It's official: Jed Lowrie is heating up. After hitting a home run and a triple Monday night, Lowrie hit another home run Tuesday, driving in four runs on three hits. It was starting to look like a lost season for the highly regarded shortstop, who has labored mightily since returning from injury June 7, is hitting at a .304 clip in August.

BlueRocks.com recently took note of manager Chad Epperson being named by Baseball America as the top managerial prospect Carolina League, providing ample support material.

Greenville Drive
Is Mike Rozier turning a corner? The big bonus baby went seven strong on Friday, giving up only two hits, and, most surprisingly, no walks, while striking out five. The timing was interesting given that Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus just ranked the top left-handers in minor-league baseball. Rozier wasn't on it, though many had hoped he would have been by now when the Sox signed the 12th round pick for $1.575 million in 2004. Meanwhile, Tim Cox, undersized, and far less talented than Rozier, carried over his relief success into a start, his second of the season. Given his size and overachieving ways, Cox may be the pitching equivalent to Jeff Natale, but the 19-year-old has proven he deserves a shot at a promotion. He's small and his stuff is fairly pedestrian, but what can you say about a guy who just keeps getting batters out?

Prized bat Luis Soto, like Lowrie, appears to be resurrecting a lost season. Soto had been slumping badly since returning from injury, but has had a fine week, highlighted by a 3-for-6 effort on Friday night. He went 2-for-6 with a home run in the nightcap of Thursday's doubleheader. Soto is hitting .367 since last Sunday.

Chris Jones was locked in a pitcher's duel Saturday night, but did not figure in the decision. Jones went seven innings and gave up only four hits and one walk while fanning five. His 2.84 ERA makes him yet another Drive starter with an ERA under 3.00, joining the recently promoted Buchholz (2.62) and lefty Ryan Phillips (2.62). Michael Bowden, who takes over the title of staff ace since the departure of Buchholz, isn't far behind (3.28).

Lowell Spinners and Gulf Coast Red Sox
Outfielder/third baseman Zach Daeges and 19-year-old catcher Luis Exposito represented the Spinners in this Wednesday's New York-Penn League All-Star game. Daeges reached based twice on walks and scored a run, while Exposito went 0 for 2 at the plate. Daeges told Diehard that being selected was an honor. "Hopefully I can carry over the momentum to the end of the year -- through the last 20 or so games," Daeges said. "I was consistently making adjustments in the first half. I'm just working to get better every day."

Exposito said making the All-Star team is "a big accomplishment," even in short-season ball. "I was representing the big league club -- the parent club -- and having my name on a jersey that said Red Sox was a thrill. I've been working hard, and as the saying goes, hard work pays off."

Justin Masterson continues to dominate at Lowell. You wonder what they have him working on at Lowell right now.

Jordan Craft made a strong debut with the Spinners this weekend, throwing two innings and giving up only one hit while striking out three and walking no one.

Dave Laurila of RedSoxNation.Net spoke with Dustin Richardson, and actually talked to him about—gasp—baseball, though Dave did ask an obligatory "Knight School" question.

Slugger Mike Jones is simply going off in Ft. Myers, turning his plus raw power into results with two multi-homer games. The big first baseman hit two bombs and drove in five runs on Wednesday, then hit two more dingers and drove in three runs on Saturday. Jones was only able to manage one home run on Friday night. At 21, Jones is a little old for the GCL, but this type of power if very rare in rookie ball, and his age would be fairly standard if he were to start next year in Greenville or even Lowell. He may not have to wait that long to make is debut with one of those clubs.

Rumors were swirling this past week about Jason Place, Boston's top pick in this year's draft. It was thought that Place may have been hit in the face (scroll down), but it appears that it was actually the side of the helmet (scroll down). GM Theo Epstein told Nick Cafardo that it's policy to shut down a player for a week after such an incident, but that Place may return to finish the season.

On the draft front, it's coming down to the wire for the Sox’ remaining prized draftees: Daniel Bard, Matt LaPorta, Lars Anderson, and Brandon Belt. Bard and LaPorta would presumably start classes on Wednesday if they can't agree on contracts with the Sox; Anderson has until next Monday. Belt? He still has a Red Sox logo as the background of his MySpace site, but a recent message from a friend indicated that he's going to "San Jacinto," which has lead members of Sons of Sam Horn and Sox Prospect message boards to believe that he'll be attending Mt. San Jacinto Community College as a draft-and-follow. That would mean that the Sox have until the eve of next year's draft to sign him to a contract. Given that he was previously committed to the University of Texas, Sox fans should considered this to be a positive sign.

Multiple sources have reported that LaPorta is likely going back to school, but his father recently told the Gainesville Sun that LaPorta has yet to receive a contract offer. Given that Scott Boras is his agent, LaPorta can't be counted out until he's spotted on the University of Florida campus. Like Bard, we'll know where he stands one way or the other by mid-week.

Dave Laurila contributed to this report.

Chris Paddock is a columnist for Diehard Magazine. You can send your comments and questions to Chris at [e-mail].