...I believe.

He said it had something to do with the fact that he was hired so late. He was hired at the last minute because of a situation with one of their coaches. He didn’t say it, but I got the impression that there is a limit as to the number of coaches allowed so to get around that he was added as a player.

He is coming back from an injury.

on the slow end of the timetable with Borbon, and he’s handled new levels more easily than I thought he might. But I would be in favor of giving him time in AA/AAA next season, if they can afford to. He may be able to survive in the majors at the start of next season, but like I think with Andrus, just because someone can get by in the majors doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do. In both of these cases, it’s best for the player to emphasize a certain approach at the plate, so that they are more equipped to deal with major league pitching right away. They can also both stand to get stronger (especially Andrus). From the team standpoint, there is no need to rush either (but especially Borbon), because we are not in crisis situations at their spots (though I know that SS could be viewed as a crisis if the decision might be made to move Young over). But just as important, you have these guys under control for six years, and about 3-4 of them will be very affordable salaries. Why waste one of those on a player who really isn’t helping much but could be an enormous value in short order?

Having said all of that, I can see Borbon being pretty high on the call-up list next season, especially if a CF is needed (Mayberry probably still has him, if the need is more for a corner player).

I would have to see what happens with Byrd, Bradley, Cat first, and assuming two of them leave, what we do with Cruz and Mayberry before I could see Borbon on the major league roster to start 2009. I think we’ve got a pretty solid outfield with Murphy, Hamilton and Boggs and assuming we re-sign Bradley, so a lot depends on how we approach the Cruz situation.