Laura

Fuld with a leadoff triple and Harris with an rbi groundout in the 1st. 1-0 Chiefs, middle first The ump who called the foul ball a home run is behind the plate today. ------- Two nice defensive plays by Harvey (running catch) and Rivera (diving stop, throw) in the bottom of the 1st. 1-0 Chiefs, top 2nd ------- Chiefs go quietly in the 2nd. Snappers tie it, bottom 1st on an rbi single after a PB lets a runner get to 2B. 1-1 to the 3rd ------- Slowey is impressive; he retired 16 in a row after Fuld's leadoff triple. 7Ks so far Rivera snaps the streak with a single in the 6th. -------- I missed stuff due to stuff, now 2-1 Chiefs, top 6. 1-1 to the bottom of the 6th.

April: .172 11-64, 5 runs, 4 rbi, 1 steal May .279 19-68, 13 runs, 7 rbi, 8 steals June: .321 27-84, 17 runs, 5 rbi, 9 doubles, 2 steals July .340 34-100, 25 runs, 9 rbi, 9 doubles, 3 steals Aug: .337 30-89, 16 runs, 10 rbi, 6 doubles, 4 steals .285 on road with 33 runs, 12 doubles, 1 triple, 22 rbi, 4 hr, 3 steals .312 at home, 43 runs, 18 doubles, 3 triples, 0 hr, 13 rbi, 15 steals since the All-Star break he is 75-216 which is a .347 average the other interesting split is that same is batting .328 in the leadoff spot in 61 games with 24 rbi, 18 doubles, 46 runs... and he is hitting .344 when leading off an inning, 323 with runners on, .302 with RISP and 2 outs... He really did pick it up in the second half! I read (and posted about) how Ryan Harvey gunned down another runner at the plate in Sunday's game. Since you mentioned tracking this, :) how many OF assists does that give him for the season? Does anyone track that stat league-wide?

Congrats to Sing & Nolasco!!!!! =D> We should keep track of all the franchise records being broken! Good times! :D

The question-and-answer session with Peoria Chiefs starting pitcher Grant Johnson has been posted in the Chats Forum. You can read it here (Premium Link). Many thanks to Grant Johnson for taking our questions, and to Nathan Baliva, Chiefs Broadcast & Media Manager, for coordinating this session! As always, thanks to NSBB posters for participating! :D

The question-and-answer session with Peoria Chiefs starting pitcher Grant Johnson has been posted in the Chats Forum! You can read it here (Premium Link). Many thanks to Grant Johnson for taking our questions, and to Nathan Baliva, Chiefs Broadcast & Media Manager, for coordinating this session! As always, thanks to NSBB posters for participating! :D

Questions & Answers with Starting Pitcher Grant Johnson Outshined_One (Madison, Wisconsin) Greetings Grant! Thanks a bunch for taking the time to answer our questions here. Did you watch much baseball growing up in Burr Ridge? If so, which team were you a fan of? Also, who were your favorite players growing up? I watched a lot of baseball. I was a big fan of the entire Atlanta Braves pitching staff and I followed them and watched them. I always watched what Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux did. Thanks again! -------------------- Tim (Chicagoland) Grant, I believe that Baseball America reported that you weren't allowed to use some of your pitches at Notre Dame after your surgery. Could you give us a quick update on what you're throwing these days and if you still have any restrictions? Fastball, slider, change. Not many restrictions now. When I first came back from surgery they wanted to make sure everything was ok before I threw the slider which puts more stress on the shoulder. Your numbers this season would look much better if it weren't for that one disastrous outing against Kane County this year. How hard is it to come back after an outing like that? Does the confidence get shaken at all or is it something that motivates you to come out and focus that little bit extra afterwards? After a rough outing you tend to work a lot harder. You get humbled by the situation but at the same time you have to have a way to forget about it. Pitchers are suppose to have temporary amnesia so it doesn’t sway your confidence too much though it is in the back of your mind a bit. Thanks for answering our questions! -------------------- JonMDavis (Evanston, Illinois) Grant- 1) How are your shoulder and hamstring feeling right now? I am 100 percent now. I work on both of them to keep them strong and work with the trainers to take care of them and make sure I do what he tells me 2) I asked a similar question to Sam Fuld, but did playing with Eric and Sam on the national team help you adjust any quicker to A ball when you reported to Peoria? It’s nice to have some guys that you know well going into a new situation. Eric and Sam have been great teammates and it has made it easier as a pitcher. 3) You're finishing up just your third month of professional baseball. Has it been what you had expected? It’s a lot of hard work., I expected it to be work but not as tiring as the long season has been. People see baseball players as a glorified profession but we work just as many hours and most of our work isn’t seen because it takes place before the game starts. It’s what I want to do and it's not a bad gig! 4) Do you have any sense of what not pitching in 2003 meant to your progression? You have to play the cards that you dealt and I had to learn the next year how to pitch more but you can’t look back and you have to move forward. Thanks and keep up the great work! -------------------- Joe_Cub (Rensselaer, Indiana) Hello and thank you for answering questions. I was wondering what your major was in college? Marketing What's the biggest change in pitching in proball vs pitching in college? In college you can get by with leaving pitches up or over the plate but here if you leave it up it is gonna get crushed. Does your family come see you play a lot since you're in Peoria now? Yeah they have been at every start, even the ones that are out of town. What do you think the best food is at the Peoria park? Chicken sandwich with honey mustard. Who on the team would make the best ESPN broadcast guy someday? And hopefully take Joe Morgan's job. Aaron Smith or Drew Larsen cause they both have a flair for entertaining and a unique outlook on the game. Thanks and good luck. -------------------- NCCubbieFan (North Carolina) Thanks for answering our questions. The participation we're receiving from players in the Cubs system is great. Have the Cubs given you any indication of whether they see your major league future as a starter or reliever? Do you have a preference one way or the other? I’d like to be a starter but I’ll do what it takes to make it. The fact that I’m a starter now indicates they like me starting. -------------------- CuseCubFan69 (Beautiful Upstate New York) Welcome! Looking back, is there anything you wish you knew in High School that you know now? I wish I threw a changeup a lot more which would make the transition to pro ball a lot easier. What is your workout schedule during the season and do you throw every day? We throw in some fashion every day. We throw a bullpen the 2nd day after you pitch. We run long distance the day after we pitch and we do some kind of running every day and we stretch every day. Say a team is sitting on your fastball, what adjustments do you make to get the batters out? Throw off-speed and mix them in on first pitches. Move the fastball in and out and up and down. Say an ump is squeezing you, do you try to go to what he is calling for or continue to do what works for you? Anytime you go to an umps zone, if it is a poor zone you are going to get hit hard. So it’s a question if you want to please the ump or get outs. I do know that if the umps zone is up and you bring it up it will be a long day. Can you get me tickets to the Syracuse/Notre Dame football game? ;-) No, sorry! -------------------- CaliforniaRaisin101 (Arcadia, California) Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Grant. How tough was dealing with the hamstring injury in that your pro debut was pushed back? Definitely frustrating to have all this time off before I started and then to get setback further. It’s not something I’d like to do again but overall you have to deal with what is thrown your way and learn from it. Have you had a difficult time getting used to life as a minor leaguer, or was it not as difficult for you (compared to player straight out of high school) because of your time at Notre Dame? It hasn’t been difficult. I think the fact I went to school helped me grow up and mature a lot more. The fact that I’m so close to home has made it an easier transition. Good luck to you the rest of the way! -------------------- CubbieGirl22 (Kewanee, Illinois) Hi and thanks for answering my questions!! Who do you think was the hardest hitter that you've had to pitch to this season? Each hitter has their weakness and you just have to find them. No one person sticks out as giving me a tough time. Why did you decide to wear #22?? It was the number given to me in college and it worked for me there so I was hoping it would work for me here too. What is your favorite kind of music and favorite band? I like all kinds of music but I listen to Dave Matthews the most. THANK YOU!! -------------------- rawaction Thanks for taking our questions, Mr. Johnson. South Bend, born and raised here! First question is, what did you do for fun in your days in "Da Bend!"? Where did you hang out? The Basilica! :) Secondly, obviously you had the shoulder injury in college. How hard has it been to shake that injury? Not only the effects of it physically, but mentally? Have you altered your mechanics or anything? I haven’t altered my mechanics at all. I feel like I'm back to the way I used to throw. The injury helped me grow as a pitcher because I had to learn how to pitch instead of just throwing. -------------------- DJAXXFAN (Tennessee) Are the Irish going to contend this season in football? Definitely. If not this year then next year. How has it helped the Chiefs to have Major Leaguers in Peoria this season? Did you make it a point to ask any questions to any of the guys doing rehab assignments in Peoria? I tried not to bother them too much but it’s nice to see what it could be like to be in the majors and see what these guys can do. It was fun for all of us. What is the funniest story from this season that you can share without getting in trouble? Hearing Aaron Smith do his different voices and his dead-on impersonation of Sam Fuld. Thank you very much for your time, keep up the great work! -------------------- Serena (NW Indiana) Hello and thanks for answering our questions! Did the Cubs suggest any changes to your pitching mechanics while you were in Arizona? No my mechanics are the same as they were in college. What's the best burrito place in Peoria? We’re getting local burrito recommendations for all the minor league teams. :) La Bamba on Bradley’s campus. Thanks -- and good luck the rest of the way! -------------------------------------- Many thanks to Grant for taking our questions and to Nathan Baliva, Peoria Chiefs Broadcast & Media Manager, for coordinating the session!

Here's the re-post of my Gallagher nomination minor leagues post. I updated Gallagher's stats through his start yesterday and changed some of the formatting / comments so it would post better. Here's the stats overview (BTW, all stats are from MiLB.com and are through 8/24): GS W-L IPs ERA WHIP OAvg / OObp/ OSlg/ OOps Ks - Hs - BBs 26 14-5 146 2.71 1.11 .206 / .297 / .317 / .615 139 - 107 - 55 Gallagher has put up a remarkable season. After all... What *do* you need to win a minor league POY award? --you need to be young (potential to improve; foreseeably cheap) --you need to be in an age-appropriate league --you need to have a top season within your league --you need to have a top season within your franchise The Youth Factor Your post got me re-interested in the youth factor. How young is Sean Gallagher? Birthday: 12-30-1985 Current Age: 19 That means (according to MiLB.com): Gallagher is the youngest Cubs minor-leaguer in full-season baseball. He's the youngest Cubs pitcher above Mesa. If Pawelek starts in Peoria next season, he'll be 4 months older than Gallagher was when he started in Peoria. Gallagher is currently the 4th-youngest pitcher in the Midwest League. Here's how the Midwest League kiddie corps competition stacks up: Name Team DOB W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO H Bailey DAY 05-03-86 6 4 4.60 25 19 92.0 81 59 47 5 56 110 E Morlan BEL 03-01-86 3 3 3.82 7 7 35.1 25 15 15 3 24 38 R Webb KCO 02-05-86 5 11 4.63 23 22 124.1 132 78 64 14 39 82 J Jurrjens WMI 01-29-86 10 6 3.31 24 24 130.2 123 56 48 5 35 101 S Gallagher PEO 12-30-85 13 5 2.86 25 25 138.2 104 53 44 10 54 131 He's young enough. Does he have potential to improve? A scout that BA interviewed thought so. Nathan Baliva thinks so. Gallagher & the Midwest League Fun Random Midwest League Leader Appearances 1st in wins with 14. 1st in H/9 with 6.6. 2nd in ERA with 2.71. 3rd in Ks with 139. *4th in K/9 with 8.5. *Tied for 4th in WHIP with 1.14 *not updated since 8/24 since it requires me to re-dump the MWL pitching stats into excel, which I don't have time to do anytime soon. Given his last start, if anything, his standings would improve in those two categories. He's doing well in the Midwest League. Wins Are Over-Rated! But... Gallagher leads the entire Cubs franchise in wins with 14. He's first in the MWL. Gallagher has started 26 games. His W-L record is 14-5. The Chiefs W-L record in Gallagher starts is 21-5. The Chiefs overall record is 64-68. Gallagher starts = 33% of the Chiefs win total. Gallagher W decisions = 22% of the Chiefs win total. It's tough not vote for a starting pitcher who has started one third of all team wins! Also, he's been pulled from no-hitters twice due to strict pitch counts. He received no-decisions in both games. Impressive Outings aka "The Scoreless Streak" Gallagher started out the season by throwing 40.1 innings without allowing an earned run. The streak included 6 starts (broken in the 7th start); his W-L record was 2-1 over those 6 starts. The streak was broken by solo HR by Deacon Burns just inside the RF foul pole in Beloit. He fell 4 outs short of the MWL record. He broke the Chiefs former record of 36.1 innings, set by Mike Tidwell in 1992. Gallagher started the April 20 Chiefs' 10-inning combined no-hitter vs. Cedar Rapids. He threw 6 innings, striking out 8, walking 2. Walt Nolan and Jon Hunton were the other pitchers of record. It was the first Chiefs no-hitter since 1993, and that game was 7 innings. Gallagher started the May 1 Chiefs' combined 1-hitter vs. Kane County. He threw 6 innings, allowing 0 hits, striking out 10, walking 2. The no-hitter was broken in the top of the 9th with a bloop double; Chiefs won, 1-0. The Glitz Factor Gallagher started the MWL All-Star Game and pitched a scoreless inning. Long socks! http://peoriachiefs.com.ismmedia.com/ISM2/NewsManager/660.jpeg.300.jpeg Gallagher was named to the (honorary) MWL Post-Season All-Star Team. The team is selected by a vote of league managers. Only 4 pitchers are named: 2 starting pitchers (1RH, 1LH) and 2 relievers (1RH, 1LH) In Baseball America's "Best Tools by Class" feature, Gallagher had the "best breaking ball" in the MWL. He also had the best breaking ball in BA's review of the '04 Cubs draft class. Hanging with the Franchise Here are raw numbers, a rough cut at including Cubs franchise SPs (full season) with 90ish IPs or more. No splits for starting/bullpen; GS shown. Raw Pitching Numbers for Minor League Cubs Starting Pitchers, sorted by ERA because it has to be sorted by something Name TM W - L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR K/BB HR/9 K/9 H/9 BB/9 K/BB WHIP Pinto WTN 9 - 3 2.62 20 19 116.7 90 38 34 3 115/54 .23 8.9 6.9 4.1 2.1 1.23 Gallagher PEO 14 - 5 2.71 26 26 146 104 53 44 10 139/55 .65 8.6 6.6 3.4 2.5 1.11 Wells DAY 9 - 2 2.91 40 9 92.7 91 33 30 5 97/22 .49 9.4 8.8 2.1 4.4 1.22 Nolasco WTN 12 - 3 3.15 25 25 148.7 145 57 52 13 160/40 .79 9.7 8.8 2.4 4.0 1.24 Mateo DAY 9 - 5 3.42 30 14 97.3 92 45 37 9 105/23 .83 9.7 8.5 2.1 4.6 1.18 Ryu WTN 9 - 8 3.42 24 24 152.7 139 62 58 11 116/46 .65 6.8 8.1 2.7 2.5 1.21 Hill ALL 10 - 4 3.45 20 20 122.7 92 50 47 20 185/34 1.47 13.6 6.8 2.5 5.4 1.03 Weber PEO 6 - 9 3.98 24 23 135.7 168 69 60 12 81/24 .80 5.4 11.1 1.6 3.4 1.41 Koronka IOW 8 -10 4.30 21 19 121.3 121 59 58 9 86/44 .67 6.4 9.0 3.3 1.9 1.36 Brownlie IOW 6 - 6 4.70 26 13 97.7 91 52 51 9 64/39 .83 5.9 8.4 3.6 1.6 1.33 Mathes DAY 9 - 8 4.74 22 22 119.7 149 74 63 8 92/35 .60 6.9 11.2 2.6 2.6 1.54 Estrada PEO 6 -10 5.18 25 25 140.7 178 90 81 13 57/35 .83 3.7 11.4 2.5 1.5 1.54 Tavares DAY 4 -11 5.32 26 20 113.3 145 80 67 14 92/34 1.11 7.3 11.5 2.7 2.7 1.58 Please note: These are the MiLB stats through 8/24, which were the most current when I originally posted this. I upated Gallagher's stats through his 8/29 start because I had them; you are welcome to do the same for other pitchers if you wish. Hill totals include only minor league appearances (not MLB). Thus, Hill's numbers include his starts in low-A, AA and AAA. You can look up the splits for each at MiLB.com. Pinto totals do not include his AAA stint, because I didn't take the time to incorporate them. I'd like to see that BB/9 reduced for Gallagher but I like that H/9. He's hard to hit. (Check out Weber not walking anyone -- his saving grace.) 1st in H/9 2nd in ERA (to Pinto) 2nd in WHIP (to Hill) Regardless: Gallagher can hang with the other franchise minor-leaguers. Seems to me that Gallagher is the youngest Cubs minor-leaguer east of Boise; the games he's started account for 1/3 of all Peoria Chiefs wins this season; he's been named the best pitcher in his league by league managers and other MWL experts; and the pitching season he's putting up is (albeit in raw numbers) among the very best in the franchise. I'm voting for him. :D

I said I was going to wait until this evening to cast my vote to see the arguments, though I haven't read much to dissuade me. :) The turnaround time also came when I knew I'd be crunched between work and family in town -- but it needs to be done now given the regular season ending soon for most leagues. Next year there should be separate awards for pitcher and player of the year. I guess I can re-post my minor leagues post here for folks who don't make it into the minor leagues forum all that often.

Excellent! :D His ERA is to 2.71. Andrew Sonnanstine is the MWL's ERA leader at 2.55 (he's been promoted, but he still qualifies). Gallagher has one more regular season start; even if he were to throw a CG shutout, he'd finish the season at 2.56. This sounds like a heck of a play from the first inning today: Nick McIntyre triples (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Harvey. Nick McIntyre out at home, right fielder Ryan Harvey to catcher Oscar Bernard. Sam Fuld went 2-4 and officially gets his avg to .300. The opposing starter, Lucas French, had 5 wild pitches in 5 innings!

Add Big Z into tomorrow's mix, and it's all good. :) Good luck in West Tenn, Eric!

you win!

I don't know about Pinto since he had that horrid start to the season in Iowa. True, I was only looking at his AA starts. I don't think it's *that* clear comparing the two. They've both had good years, and they're the same age. Similar K rate, similar BB rate, Wells has the edge in HRs and ERA. I like that Mateo has started more games, pitched more innings, and has the lower avg against.

Pinto and Mateo should be mentioned in any discussion of minor league pitchers having the best years. Not the best game for Yepez this time around.

Nathan called this WAY before it happened!!!!!

My optimism is fading in terms of this boxscore ever getting posted. BUT it must have gone well for the Guz, since he's starting for Peoria Tuesday night. YAY! :sunny:

And congrats to Matt Weber, who put together a quietly solid season in Peoria. :D

CHEERS! :cheers: SOOO, doesn't this lend credence to the theory that if Eric has a good AFL showing, he could start in AA next season?

Nathan, could you show us some time-based hitting splits on Sam Fuld? Maybe by month or whatever seems reasonable? Thanks!

True. I'm still intrigued by the stark contrast between the first half and the second half of his season.

P.S. If you get there early, you can park along the west side of N. Hightower street (there's a link to a mapquest map in the ballparks sticky at the top of the page) for free.

That depends -- if you want to do the buffet option, you have to buy the tickets ($30) by next Wednesday, I think -- the info is on the link in the first post. Otherwise, you should be fine walking up and getting tickets at the box office the day of the game. If you don't mind the extra charges (I think it's like $3 for the transaction), check out the online ticketing service they use on the website. It will show you the available seats in each section, and you can decide if you want to lock in front row seats or seats behind home plate, etc. I've done that a couple of times when I wanted good seats for visiting friends. It's a great service. The whole team signs autographs after the game on Sundays, so if you're interested in that, plan ahead! They do have a gift shop that sells jerseys and baseballs (and very overpriced sharpies and pens) and other stuff. The games are fun and O'Brien is a great field -- I was surprised at how nice it was the first time I went there.

*sigh* Sorry, Maddux.

Update: Fuld's now hitting .299 with an OBP of .375. 45/40 BB/K, 9.8 K/100 AB. He now leads the team with 30 doubles (4 triples). Harvey has 29 (2). Eric Patterson has 26 doubles (11 triples). I know some view triples as doubles + speed, so I listed both.

I hope he didn't K while trying to bunt-single.