Today's Fantasy Rx

Let's open with the box score and then move to news and notes:

2002 All-Star Futures Game, World vs. U.S.

Line Score
EXHIBITION  FINAL

                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -     -  -  -
WORLD               0  0  5   0  0  0   0     5  9  0
U.S.                0  0  1   0  0  0   0     1  3  1      (FINAL)

BATTERIES: WORLD - JOHN STEPHENS, RICARDO RODRIGUEZ (2ND), GERARDO
                   GARCIA (3RD) AND VICTOR MARTINEZ; SEUNG SONG (4TH), 
                   FRANKLYN GERMAN (5TH), EDWIN ALMONTE (6TH), JORGE 
                   DE LA ROSA(6TH), FRANCIS BELTRAN (7TH), FRANCISCO 
                   RODRIGUEZ (7TH) AND JUSTIN HUBER (4TH).

            U.S. - JASON YOUNG, BRETT EVERT (2ND), AARON COOK(3RD),
                   BILLY TRABER (3RD), ADAM WAINWRIGHT (4TH), AND
                   KEVIN CASH; SEAN BURNETT (5TH), BRAD BAKER (6TH), 
                   BRETT MYERS (7TH), RYAN DITTFURTH (7TH) AND JOHN 
                   BUCK (5TH).


              WP - RICARDO RODRIGUEZ
              LP - AARON COOK
            SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: WORLD - NONE

            U.S. - NONE



     TIME: 2:20     ATT: N/A



Box Score
WORLD(5) VS. U.S.(1) - FINAL

WORLD              ab  r  h rbi bb so lob  avg
A Torres cf-rf      3  1  2  0  1  0  0   .667
Jo Reyes 2b         2  1  1  3  0  1  1   .500
 O Infante 2b       2  0  1  0  0  0  1   .500
V Martinez c        2  1  1  1  0  0  1   .500
 J Huber c          2  0  0  0  0  0  2   .000
H Choi 1b           2  0  0  0  0  2  2   .000
 S Choo dh-cf       1  0  0  0  0  0  1   .000
J Morneau dh-1b     3  0  1  0  0  0  0   .333
M Cabrera 3b        2  0  2  0  0  0  0  1.000
 V Diaz 3b          0  0  0  0  1  0  0   .000
A Alvarez rf        2  0  0  0  0  2  2   .000
 Jo Lopez dh-ss     1  0  0  0  0  0  1   .000
W Pena lf           2  1  0  0  0  0  1   .000
A Berroa ss-dh      3  1  1  0  0  1  0   .333

Totals             27  5  9  5  2  7 12   .333

BATTING: 2B - A Torres(1, J Young).  3B - Jo Reyes(3, A Cook).  
RBI - Jo Reyes 3, V Martinez, J Morneau.  Runners left in scoring 
position, 2 out - J Huber 1, H Choi 1, A Alvarez 1, W Pena 1.
GIDP - S Choo.  Team LOB-12.

BASERUNNING: SB - M Cabrera(2nd base off B Evert/K Cash),
V Martinez(2nd base off A Cook/K Cash).

FIELDING: DP: 2 (J Stephens-H Choi, Jo Lopez-J Morneau).


U.S.               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob  avg
O Hudson 2b         3  0  1  1  0  0  0   .333
M Byrd cf           3  0  2  0  0  0  1   .667
C Crawford lf       3  0  0  0  0  0  3   .000
J Borchard rf       3  0  0  0  0  3  0   .000
L Overbay 1b        1  0  0  0  1  0  0   .000
 J Stokes 1b        1  0  0  0  0  1  0   .000
M Restovich dh      2  0  0  0  0  1  1   .000
 C Hart dh          0  0  0  0  0  1  0   .000
D Henson 3b         2  0  0  0  0  1  1   .000
 C Tracy 3b         0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .000
K Cash c            1  0  0  0  0  1  0   .000
 J Buck c           1  0  0  0  0  1  0   .000
B Phillips ss       0  1  0  0  1  0  0   .000
 B Hall ss          1  0  0  0  0  0  0   .000

Totals             21  1  3  1  2  9  6   .143

BATTING: 2B - O Hudson (1, Ger Garcia).  RBI - O Hudson.  
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Crawford, D Henson.
LDP - C Crawford.  GIDP - C Crawford.  Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: PB - K Cash.  E - M Byrd (1, overran overthrow).
DP: (O Hudson-B Hall-J Stokes). 


----------------------------------------------------
    WORLD           - 005 000 0   --   5
    U.S.            - 001 000 0   --   1
----------------------------------------------------

WORLD               ip      h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Stephens          1       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
Rica Rodriguez      1       0   0   0   1   1   0   0.00
Ger Garcia          1       1   1   1   1   1   0   9.00
S Song              1       0   0   0   0   2   0   0.00
F German            1       0   0   0   0   2   0   0.00
Ed Almonte            1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
J de la Rosa          2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
F Beltran             2/3   0   0   0   0   2   0   0.00
Franc. Rodriguez      1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00

U.S.                ip      h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
J Young             1       1   0   0   0   2   0   0.00
B Evert             1       1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
A Cook                1/3   3   5   5   1   1   0 135.00
B Traber              2/3   2   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
A Wainwright        1       1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
S Burnett           1       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
B Baker             1       0   0   0   1   0   0   0.00
B Myers               1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
R Dittfurth           2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00

Ed Almonte pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.
B Myers pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

HBP - W Pena(by A Cook).  Pitches-strikes: J Stephens 5-5;
Rica Rodriguez 16-9; Ger Garcia 21-9; S Song 10-7; F German 16-11; 
Ed Almonte 5-4; J de la Rosa 1-1; F Beltran 8-6; Franc Rodriguez 5-4; 
J Young 12-9; B Evert 18-12; A Cook 21-9; B Traber 10-8; A Wainwright 
18-11; S Burnett 10-5; B Baker 12-7; B Myers 9-6; R Dittfurth 3-3.  
Ground balls-fly balls: J Stephens 1-2; Rica Rodriguez 0-2; Ger Garcia 
1-2; S Song 0-1; F German 0-1; Ed Almonte 1-1; J de la Rosa 1-0; F 
Beltran 0-0; Franc Rodriguez 0-0; J Young 1-1; B Evert 1-1; 
A Cook 0-3; B Traber 0-2; A Wainwright 1-1; S Burnett 2-1; 
B Baker 2-1; B Myers 1-0; R Dittfurth 1-1.  Batters faced: 
J Stephens 3; Rica Rodriguez 4; Ger Garcia 5; S Song 3; F German 3; 
Ed Almonte 2; J de la Rosa 1; F Beltran 2; Franc Rodriguez 1; 
J Young 4; B Evert 3; A Cook 6; B Traber 3; A Wainwright 3; 
S Burnett 3; B Baler 4; B Myers 2; R Dittfurth 2.
 
UMPIRES: HP-Casey Moser. 1B-Dustin "Dusty" Dellinger. 2B-David Riley.
3B-Chris Hubler.

T--2:20. Att-N/A.
Weather: 81 degrees, sunny. Wind: 13 mph.

New York Mets' shortstop Jose Reyes won the Larry Doby Futures Game MVP for his three-run triple off Aaron Cook.

World Team Notes

Coaches: Phillip Wellman(AA Chattanooga), Brad Mills(AAA Las Vegas), Chip Hale(AA El Paso), Brad Komminsk(AA Akron), Fredi Gonzalez(AAA Richmond), and World Pitching Coach Carl Willis(AAA Buffalo).

Baltimore and San Francisco respectively kept Erik Bedard and Francisco Rodriguez out of the game for health reasons; Bedard might miss much of the rest of the season.

The World team accounted for most of the impressive pitching performances. Rotohelp Favorite John Stephens needed only five pitches in the first inning and the batters seemed largely mystified by his sub-90 stuff. Seung Song dominated Joe Borchard, Lyle Overbay, and Michael Restovich, striking out Borchard and Restovich swinging while inducing a weak fly from Overbay. New Tiger Franklyn German pitched even better, retiring Drew Henson and John Buck on swinging strikes before inducing a weak pop-up from Bill Hall.

German's trade to Detroit left Oakland without a representative while giving the Tigers three reps.

Jorge de la Rosa needed only one pitch for two outs, forcing Carl Crawford to hit into his second double play of the game. Francis Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez combined to K the side in the ninth, including Borchard, Jason Stokes, and Corey Hart. Both relievers looked extremely impressive, giving the batters little to hit.

Francis Beltran was perhaps the only player on either team to wear his stirrups high.

Jose Reyes saw ten pitches in his two at-bats, striking out once, Hee Seop Choi waited for 10 before striking out twice, and Pittsburgh's Antonio Alvarez saw twelve pitches in his two at-bats before another two strikeouts.

Miguel Cabrera displayed shortstop instincts while playing third, diving to his left to snare a Marlon Byrd liner. He also demonstrated excellent offensive speed, twice taking second base on defensive lapses.

Detroit's two position players combined for an interesting play in the top of the seventh. After Andres Torres singled, Omar Infante popped to Orlando Hudson at 2B on an obvious hit-and-run. Torres, already at second slightly after the swing, reversed himself and still made it back to first ahead of Hudson's solid throw. Definitely try to grab Torres if your team needs speed; he should emerge as the Tigers' centerfielder sometime next season.

Seattle's Jose Lopez moved to shortstop after entering the game at DH, and started a rather impressive double play, scooping Carl Crawford' grounder in the 6th, stepping on second base to force a charging Marlon Byrd, and then rifling a throw to first to beat the very speedy Crawford.

Wily Mo Pena owns prodigious power, but given his generally weak plate discipline and unrefined skills, he will not deserve a roster spot next season when he runs out of options barring and unlikely massive development in his abilities.

Alfonso Soriano would be a fair comparison for Jose Reyes, since Reyes showed significant natural talent and tools which impress all the scouts, but he possesses very weak plate discipline. He's definitely a rising star, but he likely shouldn't start in the majors earlier than 2004.

U.S. Team Notes

Coaches: Jackie Moore(AA Round Rock), U.S. Pitching Coach Jim Hickey(AAA New Orleans), Greg Legg(AA Reading), Marc Bombard(AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre), Wally Backman(AA Birmingham), and Mike Brumley(AAA Salt Lake).

Four selected players missed the game after promotions to the Majors. Brad Baker replaced Jake Peavy, Josh Karp replaced John Lackey, Ryan Dittfurth replaced Colby Lewis, and Kevin Cash replaced Josh Phelps. The trade of Brandon Phillips to Cleveland gave the Indians three reps, leaving Karp as the lone Montreal delegate. However he and Jimmy Journell were withheld from playing by their organizations.

Sean Burnett has a hitch in his motion somewhat reminiscent of Craig House, although BBHQ's Deric McKamey's imitation of Craig House might be a better comparison. I certainly expect him to spend more time on the disabled list before reaching the majors in a few seasons.

Aaron Cook just didn't have a good day despite decent stuff, but AAA Colorado Springs' teammate Jason Young looked outstanding in the first inning, inducing Jose Reyes and Hee Seop Choi into swinging strikeouts. He should be ready to join the Colorado rotation no later than next spring.

Atlanta's Brett Evert sent a pitch to the backstop with no one base that zoomed a few feet over the catcher's head. However he settled down after his shaky debut, only facing three batters despite giving up a hit.

Brett Myers looks ready for the majors; even contenders should break out their FAAB when he arrives.

Drew Henson was either booed or "Dreewed" by the crowd, and a fan wearing a Mattingly t-shirt in our row kept yelling about Drew's $16M. Aside from an unimpressive flyout, Henson's only moment deserving notice was a grand bellyflop to his right as he attempted a dive to reach Justin Morneau's line single.

Orlando Hudson easily impressed me the most of any player in the game save perhaps the three World pitchers with first names beginning with F(German, Beltran, and Rodriguez). Hudson showed amazing range by spearing a Jose Lopez grounder smashed significantly to his left, immediately spinning to fire a bullet to second, almost starting a double play. He also started Shin Soo Choo's double play by flipping the grounder to Bill Hall at second. I also liked his performance at the plate, where despite two 4-3 groundouts, he made solid contact every time, and his third-inning double produced the only run for the U.S. Definitely acquire him if he's available in your league.

Brandon Phillips looked awful for the entire game. While he walked on four straight pitches, scoring on Hudson's double, his arm was very weak and he failed to cover second base on a steal attempt with the left-handed Hee Seop Choi batting. Hudson missed the coverage on the attempt when Tony Alvarez was at the plate, but the throw looked uncatchable by either player.

Kevin Cash, Josh Phelps' replacement, was responsible for both throws that wound up in center field, along with an apparent passed ball and generally poor pitch selection. He was overmatched at the plate, striking out swinging on five pitches, and definitely looked out of place compared to some of the other prospects.

Bill Hall, despite continually weak plate discipline in the minors and potential jitters playing in front of his likely future hometown crowd, at least displayed solid defense, looking very smooth in covering second from shortstop.

Manager Paul Molitor didn't change the outfield for the entire game, leaving Carl Crawford in left, Marlon Byrd in center, and Joe Borchard in right; they also batted 2-3-4 in the lineup. Byrd, despite overrunning the overthrow in the second inning, recovered to stroke two solid base hits along with a sharp liner that Miguel Cabrera barely snagged. He's probably ready for the majors now, and along with Myers, could give the Phillies two very solid Rookie of the Year candidates next year.

Crawford had a miserable game at the plate, sandwiching a weak grounder to first base between hitting into two double plays, removing Byrd from the basepaths twice. Perhaps he was depressed after John Stephens defensive snatch of his line drive in the first, but he also hit the first pitch of the at-bat when hitting into those double plays.

While Crawford's at-bats ended three innings, Borchard begin the three subsequent innings with strikeouts. He has a huge looping swing, somewhat similar to Jim Thome, that should allow him significant power and at least three strikeouts for every home run. His fourteen pitches give the illusion of a solid plate discipline, but even more worrisome, after fouling off the first pitch he saw, he swung and missed at five of the next eight strikes. However he demonstrated an incredible arm, gunning down the admittedly slow Justin Morneau at third base on a Miguel Cabrera single to right. He may be a better right fielder than Magglio Ordonez, so if the Sox develop a true centerfielder, they should have a fantastic defensive outfield, almost regardless of the players' positions.

Other Notes

Both Molitor and World manager Dave Concepcion did a great job in getting every eligible player into the game. The umpires, all from AA, appeared to make no noticeable errors in the game.

The major negative of our experience was a scoreboard run by seemingly dramatically incompetent operators. They failed to update changes until late each inning for much of the game, and they even listed the wrong lineup for both teams at the beginning of the game, placing Erik Bedard at LF and hitting 8th and Drew Henson in the lineup twice as both 3B and SS, hitting 7th and 9th, among other mistakes. A few players' names were also misspelled on the board at times.

I'll discuss the disastrous national anthem performance with tomorrow' review of the Celebrity Softball Game.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Home Run Derby tonight at 7PM(CDT) on ESPN; watch someone win a new house.