havent been around much during the week as work has taken way too much time but thought i'd post this as kozlowski makes his ml debut tomorrow night in seattle. kid throws low 90s, 6'6'' with good offspeed stuff, not overpowering but enough life on the fastball to perhaps stick around in the bigs in a couple of years...now how he'll do at safeco in his debut is anyone's guess..
have a good one, probably will take roy o and the stros manana.
article from dallasnews...
by tim cowlishaw
"In April, he was a Myrtle Beach Pelican. In June, he started in the Florida State League All-Star game in Dunedin, calling it "the highlight of my pro career, absolutely."
And Thursday night, Ben Kozlowski faces Ichiro.
There are thrill rides at Six Flags that take longer than the amazing rush to the top Kozlowski has traveled in 2002.
For this, Rangers fans can thank John Hart.
The team's new general manager hasn't generated much love with his expensive acquisitions of Juan Gonzalez, Chan Ho Park, Carl Everett and others in this failed season. In fairness, Everett's inflated salary simply replaced Darren Oliver's more inflated salary, at least for this season.
But if Hart can get a few of the little things right, it can atone for some of his major wrongs. Kozlowski, even at 6-6, is on track to be one of the little things that comes up big.
Note that the Mariners' first hit Thursday night will be the first one Kozlowski has allowed in three starts. Pitching for Double-A Tulsa in the Texas League playoffs, Kozlowski tossed consecutive seven-inning no-hitters against San Antonio.
"It's just something that happened," Kozlowski said from Seattle. "There's no way to explain that. How do you give up no hits and seven walks in a game? It doesn't add up."
Kozlowski lost the seven-walk game but won the second time he held the Missions hitless. It was on the long bus road back to Tulsa after San Antonio's Game 7 victory that he received the phone call telling him his next stop was Safeco Field in Seattle.
"To tell you the truth, this season had kind of just flown by," Kozlowski said. "I don't know how to put it into words. It's just been a real positive season."
And yet it didn't start out that way. It was when Hart attempted to place two pitchers on the 60-day disabled list in order to find roster room for another player that he ran afoul of major league rules.
Basically, that created a very short window for Hart to trade one of the club's promising left-handed pitchers, Andy Pratt. Chuck McMichael, who drafted Pratt for Texas, is a special assistant in Atlanta, and a deal was struck
April 9.
The next thing Kozlowski knew, he was moving from the Braves' organization, one known for grooming and developing pitchers, to one that has labored with that concept for years.
"It was a shock because I was coming off a good season," Kozlowski said. "I didn't know how to take the trade, but then people started telling me this was the quickest way for me to move up."
He sure didn't think it would happen this fast. At the Florida State League All-Star game, Kozlowski listed his goals as "promotion to Double-A, getting on the 40-man roster in the off-season and, ultimately, the big leagues."
Hart probably didn't anticipate Kozlowski arriving on the big stage so soon, either. We don't know that for sure because the general manager did not return calls Tuesday or Wednesday.
But if Hart is going to save his reputation here, it's going to be with the likes of Kozlowski and Colby Lewis joining the rotation in the next two years. You look at the Rangers' competition in the American League West ? well, it's a stretch to say they are really competing with anyone ? and you see young starting pitching.
Barry Zito (24), Mark Mulder (25) and Tim Hudson (27) in Oakland. Jarrod Washburn (28) and John Lackey (23) in Anaheim. Freddy Garcia (25) and Joel Pineiro (23) in Seattle.
You have to have that, especially in a luxury-tax world, especially on a team that will operate with as many high-salaried hitters as the Rangers will employ in 2003.
It doesn't matter so much what Kozlowski does Thursday, although it at least provides fans a reason to watch beyond Alex Rodriguez's pursuit of Roger Maris' AL home run record.
It's what Lewis, who beat Seattle last week, and Kozlowski do in Arizona next spring and, possibly, in Arlington next summer.
You can only pay retail for so many free agents and veterans. The way to win is to develop young pitchers who can perform at bargain rates in support of those expensive sluggers.
For now, Kozlowski's remarkable tale offers Rangers' fans a unique opportunity.
He provides them a night to say: "Thank you, John Hart."
have a good one, probably will take roy o and the stros manana.
article from dallasnews...
by tim cowlishaw
"In April, he was a Myrtle Beach Pelican. In June, he started in the Florida State League All-Star game in Dunedin, calling it "the highlight of my pro career, absolutely."
And Thursday night, Ben Kozlowski faces Ichiro.
There are thrill rides at Six Flags that take longer than the amazing rush to the top Kozlowski has traveled in 2002.
For this, Rangers fans can thank John Hart.
The team's new general manager hasn't generated much love with his expensive acquisitions of Juan Gonzalez, Chan Ho Park, Carl Everett and others in this failed season. In fairness, Everett's inflated salary simply replaced Darren Oliver's more inflated salary, at least for this season.
But if Hart can get a few of the little things right, it can atone for some of his major wrongs. Kozlowski, even at 6-6, is on track to be one of the little things that comes up big.
Note that the Mariners' first hit Thursday night will be the first one Kozlowski has allowed in three starts. Pitching for Double-A Tulsa in the Texas League playoffs, Kozlowski tossed consecutive seven-inning no-hitters against San Antonio.
"It's just something that happened," Kozlowski said from Seattle. "There's no way to explain that. How do you give up no hits and seven walks in a game? It doesn't add up."
Kozlowski lost the seven-walk game but won the second time he held the Missions hitless. It was on the long bus road back to Tulsa after San Antonio's Game 7 victory that he received the phone call telling him his next stop was Safeco Field in Seattle.
"To tell you the truth, this season had kind of just flown by," Kozlowski said. "I don't know how to put it into words. It's just been a real positive season."
And yet it didn't start out that way. It was when Hart attempted to place two pitchers on the 60-day disabled list in order to find roster room for another player that he ran afoul of major league rules.
Basically, that created a very short window for Hart to trade one of the club's promising left-handed pitchers, Andy Pratt. Chuck McMichael, who drafted Pratt for Texas, is a special assistant in Atlanta, and a deal was struck
April 9.
The next thing Kozlowski knew, he was moving from the Braves' organization, one known for grooming and developing pitchers, to one that has labored with that concept for years.
"It was a shock because I was coming off a good season," Kozlowski said. "I didn't know how to take the trade, but then people started telling me this was the quickest way for me to move up."
He sure didn't think it would happen this fast. At the Florida State League All-Star game, Kozlowski listed his goals as "promotion to Double-A, getting on the 40-man roster in the off-season and, ultimately, the big leagues."
Hart probably didn't anticipate Kozlowski arriving on the big stage so soon, either. We don't know that for sure because the general manager did not return calls Tuesday or Wednesday.
But if Hart is going to save his reputation here, it's going to be with the likes of Kozlowski and Colby Lewis joining the rotation in the next two years. You look at the Rangers' competition in the American League West ? well, it's a stretch to say they are really competing with anyone ? and you see young starting pitching.
Barry Zito (24), Mark Mulder (25) and Tim Hudson (27) in Oakland. Jarrod Washburn (28) and John Lackey (23) in Anaheim. Freddy Garcia (25) and Joel Pineiro (23) in Seattle.
You have to have that, especially in a luxury-tax world, especially on a team that will operate with as many high-salaried hitters as the Rangers will employ in 2003.
It doesn't matter so much what Kozlowski does Thursday, although it at least provides fans a reason to watch beyond Alex Rodriguez's pursuit of Roger Maris' AL home run record.
It's what Lewis, who beat Seattle last week, and Kozlowski do in Arizona next spring and, possibly, in Arlington next summer.
You can only pay retail for so many free agents and veterans. The way to win is to develop young pitchers who can perform at bargain rates in support of those expensive sluggers.
For now, Kozlowski's remarkable tale offers Rangers' fans a unique opportunity.
He provides them a night to say: "Thank you, John Hart."
