PROSPECTS FOR YANKS, SOX PROMOTED

While I'm always trumpeting the virtues of minor league baseball, one of its inherent liabilities surfaced today.

Left-hander Chase Wright, the Yankees pitcher who yielded the four consecutive home runs to the Red Sox on April 22, was slated to pitch in front of a sellout fireworks crowd tonight at New Britain Stadium. It isn't happening.

Wright was been promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre of the International League Thursday.

Wright wraps up his time with the Double-A Trenton Thunder with a 2-0 record and 0.90 ERA. He struck out 25 and walked only three in 20 innings.

Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan always says that when a player dominates a level, he will be promoted. Well, folks, those numbers indicate that Wright's time to graduate from the Eastern League had come.

In the meantime, the Red Sox promoted center-field phenom Jacoby Ellsbury to Triple-A Pawtucket Thursday.

Ellsbury, as leadoff hitter for the Portland Sea Dogs, was hitting a league-leading .452, scored 16 runs and swiped eight bases in nine attempts in just 17 games. He leaves the Sea Dogs with a 15-game hitting streak intact.

Ellsbury, 23, plays the game with a Pete Rose-like electricity. For those of you who never watched Charlie Hustle play the game, you can substitute Johnny Damon's name and not lose too much in the translation.

For those of you who missed Ellsbury's visits to New Britain Stadium at the end of last season and April 23-26, all I can say is, "Tsk, tsk, tsk."