MLB

They may have beaten Toronto to win their latest three-game series, but many of the same problems that have plagued the L.A. Angels through their first two months of the season were still evident Wednesday.

Here’s a short list of the minor league super-prospects that have been on my radar (and a lot of other people’s) in a big way.

Buster Posey, C Giants.  After 45 AAA games, Buster is hitting .343 with a .973 OPS.  My feeling is that he needs another fifteen games at AAA, at which point, if he’s still has an OPS of at least .950, it’s time to call him up. 

Last week, it was announced that right-handed starting pitcher Roy Oswalt requested a trade from the Houston Astros.

The three teams that were rumored to be the favorites for Oswalt were the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. The Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers are believed to be interested as well.

The Mets have shutout the Phillies in back-to-back games this week thanks to unexpected, but amazing performances by R.A. Dickey, and Hisanori Takahashi.

Takahashi

Takahshi has been especially impressive since joining the Mets rotation. In two starts against the Yankees and Phillies, he has pitched 12 shutout innings, struck out 11, and walked just one.

Opponents have a .540 OPS against him.

I think his rotation spot is safe for the time being.

Jose Reyes

The last time Edgardo Alfonzo was with the Mets organization was in 2006. That year he struggled in the minor leagues.

When it was clear he wasn’t going to have a chance to make it to Flushing, he departed for a brief stint with the Angels and then with the Blue Jays.

He lasted no more than 18 games with either team, and his combined OPS+ was minus-seven.

Coming into the 2009 season, the Atlanta Braves' Tommy Hanson was one of the most hyped prospects in baseball, even ranked by some above Jason Heyward.

Despite being seemingly ready for the major leagues, the Braves opted to give Hanson a taste of AAA, and left Jo-Jo Reyes in the rotation.

Instead of getting a full year of Hanson’s 2.89 ERA and 8.18 K/9, the Braves were treated to five starts of 7.00 ERA from Jo-Jo Reyes (Kris Medlen also made a couple starts, not faring much better than Reyes).

Watching the Rockies and D-Backs game last night, and watching Ubaldo Jimenez pitch another masterful game, I couldn’t help noticing all the empty seats at Coors Field.

The weather was good in Denver yesterday, and the Rockies ACE was on the mound (man, I love to say the Rox have an ace!) so why all the empty seats? Are the empty seats at Coors Field a concern? Is Denver not excited about this Rockies team?

In an effort to understand the future of the Rex Sox, it is important to take a look at the past. What better way to do this than examining the all-time greats: those with retired numbers.

So, we'll start this journey down memory lane with an obvious choice, Bobby Doerr, or more specifically, No. 1.

Doerr received so many awards and honors during his career, that it isn't even practical to post them all here. Just to give you a taste of his all-around talent...

After opening the season at Triple-A, Brett Cecil was recalled to step into Brian Tallet’s spot in the rotation after he landed on the DL.  Since making his 2010 debut on April 23, Cecil has had his share of good and bad, compiling the following statistics:

4 Wins
41.2 Innings
4.10 ERA
1.15 WHIP
33 Strikeouts (7.1 K/9)
12 Walks (2.6 BB/9)
.275 BABIP

In 2008, when the New York Yankees did the unthinkable and missed the postseason, team co-owner Hank Steinbrenner made an off-the-cuff comment about the best teams being shut out of the playoffs because of their tougher division, while a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers (with an paltry 84-78 record) made it in.

It was humorous because he was comparing his team to one in a different league, where his argument would have held a little more water had he complained about the Chicago White Sox making the postseason even though they finished a half-game worse than the Bronx Bombers.