Sky Sox Action

Had a chance last night to get out and see the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies AAA club) play the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland's AAA) on $2 Tuesday where all sets were just $2 (I sat right behind the plate in the first row). It was unusual game for Security Service Field as the River Cats won 3-1. The only offense for the Sox was the solo homerun by Ryan Shealy (his 14th) in the 6th inning. He hit it to the opposite field and it cleared the 386 foot sign in right-center on a high arc. Shealy was called up during interleague play and went 6-20 with a homerun, double, and three walks. His patience still seems to be an issue as he's walked now just 17 times in 267 plate appearances.

For the Sky Sox Jose Acevedo (still rehabbing) got the start and was not very effective giving up four hits in his two innings of work. His fastball clocked in from 87-91 and he also threw a curveball in the mid 70s and what looked like a slider that came in around 81. His mound opponent, 28 year-old Seth Etherton was outstanding. He's coming back from a torn labrum a few years ago and pitched in the Reds organization last season where he threw well for Louisville. In his 7 innings he gave up just 4 hits including the homeun to Shealy. His fastball topped out at 89 but he was very effective with his breaking stuff and hit all his spots. His ERA is now 2.29 and could be helpful for the A's in the second half as a spot starter or long reliever.

On the offensive side I got a chance to see Charles Thomas for the River Cats who was acquired in the Tim Hudson deal with the Braves and who has a chapter devoted to him in the new book Scout's Honor (and which I'll be reviewing soon). He hit .109 for the A's and so now he's back in AAA where he's hitting .287/.426/.378 and leading off. He could possibly be a decent fourth outfielder since he plays pretty good defense (he was in CF last night). The River Cats also have Jack Cust, who had a cup of coffee with the Rockies in 2002 and again with the Orioles in 2003. He has tremendous plate discipline and walked twice. He now has walked 68 times in 372 plate appearances to go with 13 homeruns and...get ready...95 strikeouts. He's almost a three true outcomes guy - really two true outcomes I guess. It would be interesting to see what he could do at the major league level. His AAA line is .283/.480/.415. The River Cats also have an interesting fourth outfielder kind of guy in Matt Watson (.313/.510/.399) who has seen a little action in Oakland this season. He was a 16th round draft pick in 1999 by the Expos and is now 26.

And as expected the River Cats are leading the league in walks while the Sox are dead last.