What’s Aaron Poreda up to?

Mark Gonzales is asked about Aaron Poreda. Poreda isn’t seeing much pitching time. What’s up Mark?

A: Well, the future is now. And the Sox see Poreda helping them now than anyone else in that 11th man role. When he’s not pitching, he’s working on his other pitches under the supervision of Don Cooper and Juan Nieves. This might cost him some innings, but his talents right now are better served at the major league level.

I’d like to see him pitch more, but the starters have done a better job pitching deeper into games.

Gordon Beckham getting comfortable at third base

Mark Gonzales:

“I’m definitely getting better reads off the bat,” said Beckham, adding that he has learned to stay in one spot on certain grounders. “I feel more comfortable every day.”

Beckham said he has benefited from early work, particularly in stadiums where he hasn’t played, to familiarize himself with the different surfaces and backgrounds.

“I don’t have to be told by (bench coach) Joey Cora or (manager) Ozzie Guillen to move back with two strikes,” Beckham said. “I’m figuring it out. It’s come a lot easier for me.”

Elaine Sadowski (UPDATE)

Scott Ostler @ SF Chronicle:

Mrs. Sadowski is the mother of Ryan Sadowski, the Giants’ only undefeated starting pitcher. He’s 2-0 since being called up eight days ago, and he goes again Wednesday afternoon against the Marlins. … Sadowski, who is 26, was a nice high school pitcher in the Miami area. He was recruited to Florida, where he got his butt Super Glued to the bench. In two seasons, he pitched a total of 62/3 innings. …

You can guess how much interest he stirred among pro scouts. Sadowski believed he could pitch, but he knew it would be almost impossible to get a sniff. So he asked his mom, a retired elementary school teacher, to phone each of the 30 big-league teams, get the name and phone number of the team’s Miami-area scout, call each team’s scout and say, “I’m Ryan Sadowski’s mother. Please phone my son. He can pitch and he’d like a chance to show you.” …

Ozzie Guillen on Freddy Garcia (UPDATE)

Ozzie Guillen:

I haven’t had a chance to speak with Freddy lately, but my three kids are constantly keeping me up to date on his rehabilitation. If Freddy is able to regain the strength in his shoulder, then anything is possible. Right now Freddy is with Bartolo Colon in Glendale, Arizona working hard to see if he can come back and help us in the second half. Me, more than anyone, would love to be able to count on Freddy in the second half.

Speaking of Freddy “The Chief” Garcia, did you know his .656 Win-Loss % is the the 2nd highest in White Sox history? Baseball-Reference says so (500 IP or 50 decisions required).

Kevin Goldstein on Carlos Quentin

Kevin Goldstein:

The biggest move made in the second half as for as the American League Central race goes might not come via a trade, but rather by the return of Quentin to the White Sox roster. Out since May 25th with a foot injury, Quentin made just one out in six plate appearances over the weekend in the International League, and in the league with nothing close to a dominant team, he could be the difference.

John Sickels on Nevin Griffith

Sickels:

2007 White Sox second rounder Nevin Griffith blew out his elbow and had Tommy John surgery about year ago, but is now back in action. He made two starts in June for Bristol in the Appy League, and while the numbers weren’t great (nine innings, 10 hits, seven runs, 7/7 K/BB), he threw well enough that the White Sox promoted him to the Sally League to begin July. He started for Kannapolis on July 3rd, throwing five innings and allowing two runs on five hits. Griffith is still a raw arm, but at his best he has a 90-95 MPH sinking fastball and shows a promising, if erratic, curveball. He has dropped his slider to reduce strain on the elbow, focusing on the curve and changeup as his secondary pitches.

WAR updated all the way back to 1871

Chone “Rally” Smith:

And finally, the numbers go all the way back to 1871 for hitters and 1876 for pitchers. Some of the estimates used to fill these stats in, like the baserunning regression formula or the JAARF fielding numbers, are not to be trusted as anything more than a reasonable guess. Catcher defensive ratings are based on passed balls and errors only. It is not worth it to even try to estimate performance against the running game by catcher assists. Mike Piazza had about as many assists per game as Johnny Bench. Enough said.

Here’s the WAR database.

And here’s Shoeless Joe Jackson. And Eddie Collins. And Luke Appling.

And Red Faber. And Ed Walsh. And Ted Lyons. And Eddie Cicotte. And Billy Pierce.