Edison Volquez, pitching for Frisco tonight with John Hart purportedly in the stands, got slapped around, giving up 7 runs on 12 hits in 6 1/3 IP against the rather punchless Corpus Christi Hooks.
On the plus side, Volquez didn't allow a homer, and struck out 7 while walking none, but this outing should slow the "Volquez-to-the-majors" train. And really, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing...there's been talk about bringing Volquez up for a spot start while Kenny Rogers is serving his suspension, but as I've mentioned before, that would require adding Volquez to the 40 man roster (not a problem), and burning an option on him if he is sent back down (a significant problem). Once Volquez is called up, he needs to be called up to stay for the rest of the season, not to just be sent back down to Frisco after a start or two. I don't think the Rangers are ready to make that sort of commitment to Volquez, which could cause options problems down the road.
The other thing is, I still have to question whether Volquez is really ready yet. The guy has still thrown fewer than 40 innings above A-ball, and I don't know that throwing him into the major league rotation in the midst of a pennant race is the best development strategy. Hopefully, Volquez will get to stay in Frisco for a while longer, and keep having success at the AA level.
Meanwhile, continuing the regular Gerald Laird updates...I was beginning to despair after Laird went 0 for 5 yesterday while the rest of the Redhawk offense exploded against the Albuquerque Isotopes. Not to fear, though...Laird is 2 for 3 so far tonight (the Oklahoma game is currently in the 7th), including a grand slam, his 14th homer of the season.
Update [2005-7-6 23:45:0 by Adam J. Morris]: Laird is now 4 for 5 tonight...