There were a couple of great defensive plays with Arata making an over the shouldar catch down the lf line, but Souza made the play of the night laying out to catch a pop up in 5th with teh bases loaded to get Matias out of the inning

Norris runs very well, doesnt look like a catcher at all. He beat out a inf single and stole a base. Everyone was very agressive on the basepaths.

Moore’s 3 run double was the hardest hit ball all night, he was sitting fastball 3-2 and ripped it down the line. I was impressed by Guerrero also, he flew out deep to right and ripped a single in the 1st

I was very impressed by the team overall. They did all the little things like pitchers covering bases, backing up throws, hitting cutoff men. The defensive infield is very strong (esp Stoufer and Arata). And they all seem to really like each other. McCoy was bummed out when he had to come out and Norris(played DH) came out to meet him and talk to him. Everyone was pumped up by Matias’ energy and Souzas play in the 5th too.

Also, who gets the call-up to AAA to take Mock’s spot in the Clippers rotation?

The only chance that changes is if Odalis Perez or Tim Redding are dealt and Mock assumes their spot in the rotation.

As for Bonifacio, if Lopez or Belliard are dealt, I’d guess he gets the call. Aside from that, September roster call-up.

In Columbus, it could be Mike O’Connor coming off of the DL to take that spot. He pitched in the GCL yesterday and could just return vice making another rehab start.

Ronny - Ideally, I’d expect him to start tonight but nothing official yet.

Brian - What are your thoughts?

With regard to the trade, I am in Brian’s boat. I’m not opposed. I would have liked to have gotten more, but don’t see where the market is allowing for more. Plus, a 23-year old AAA all-star 2B who needs to improve his hitting eye is a nice prospect to have. Lets just keep him away from Lenny Harris!!

Thx Brian

The physics of a “straight” fastball means that it’s very predictably in the same spot - all pitches move downward as they travel from the pitcher’s hand to the catcher’s mitt, but “straight” fastballs travel on a predictable, downward sloping straight line from the hand to the glove. “Sinking” fastballs fall faster than expected - they travel along the expected path, and then in the last 10 feet or so drop more sharply. “Rising” fastballs fall less than expected, holding on to more of their vertical distance, so appear to actually “rise” in the last 10 feet or so.

Like Brian said, “straight” fastballs are hittable, because the ball stays where the hitter expects it to be, based on the trajectory it has coming out of the pitcher’s hand. A “straight” fastball is also more likely to get hit hard as opposed to a “sinking” fastball, because the late drop in a sinking fastball will mean that batters more frequently hit the top half of the ball, resulting in higher numbers of groundballs.

Sorry if you know all this already - once I got rolling, I just kept going. I think part of Cordero’s problem is that he doesn’t really have any break on his FB, the key for Cordero is his ability to locate his FB precisely with enough speed (90-92) to induce weak contact. If the shoulder injury costs him control, he may have a hard time returning as an effective pitcher.

So, here’s my question. The kid is 21 years old. I don’t know too much more about him than what I read here. He’s having a tremendous year and, based on his age, you’d think he’d only get better.

What is your honest take on this kid’s ceiling?

If he gets his velocity back he can still be an effective reliever, though long term he probably isn’t an elite closer.

Now I know…