4th of July Update

Holt got another start, this time at Hudson Valley, and took the loss, going 3 and 2/3 innings, yielding 4 hits, 4 walks, and 1 earned run while striking out 3. Holt is now 1-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, with 13 K in 11 IP. They're obviously bringing him along very slowly in terms of innings, and may in fact shut him down before the end of the season, given the 93 innings he's already thrown for UNCW this season. My guess is they won't let him much past 140-150 innings, which means they either keep him on low pitch counts through the end of the season (end of August), or they stretch him out a bit and then shut him down before then. If it were me, I would probably just keep him on low pitch counts and give him the experience of working with the coaches, throwing bullpens, dealing with long bus rides, etc., and keep him until the end of the season.

Since his big 2-for-4, 2B, RBI game on June 26, Carver got in 4 of 5 games since then, going 1-for-14 with 1 BB, 4 K, 2 RBI, and a CS (!!) He's now at .143/.194/.179. Still making the adjustment to the wood bats, I guess. Here's to hoping he picks it up soon.

Hargrave hasn't played since June 29, and is still at .119/.156/.119 with 15 K in 42 AB. Bryan Frew, who was drafted in the 43rd round as an outfielder out of University of Nebraska-Omaha, is trying his hand at second base and is at .261/.340/.348 in 35 AB, which is not really phenomenal, but is certainly quite a bit better than Hargrave's start.

Appel may be hurt, as he hasn't appeared since June 29, but was on a tear at the time. Let's hope he was only on a tear, and doesn't have a tear. Scelfo has been is center field since then, but has gone 1-for-11 with 6 K during the gig, so Appel's job should be waiting for him when he returns.

Nate Hall has had a couple of starts at 3B for Ottawa, and is still looking for his first hit. He's 0-for-7 with an error, a walk, and 4 K. He's undoubtedly still trying to get adjusted to life in Canada, pro ball, and both using wood bats. The team's other third baseman, Felix Escalona, has just over 200 major league at bats for the Devil Rays and Yankees from 2002-5, and is bashing the ball around in Ottawa at .337/.378/.438. Escalona, after spending his only full MLB season with Tampa Bay in 2002, was in Triple A much of 2004-5, and after a horrendous first 70 AAA at bats in 2006, was demoted to AA. When he hit a little worse there than he had been at AAA, the Yankees, deeming him at age 27 to be in decline, released him. Escalona is now trying to revive his career in the CanAm league, so it looks like Hall will probably only play when Felix needs a day off, or needs to return to Caracas to take care of personal business.

No news yet on Jeff Hatcher.