Press Herald Coverage - Brandon Moss & Chris Smith

The Portland Press Herald is starting to get into the swing of things, too. Here are a couple of articles about players returning to Portland. Brandon Moss had an OK year last year. It was a bit of a letdown compared to his breakout season in A ball in 2004. However, Moss was just 21 last year, which is young for AA, and he more than held his own while showing some flashes of terrific ability. He'll get more seasoning before he gets promoted, probably later this summer (I would guess).

Chris Smith is another story, coming back to Portland for his third go-round. He was an ace of the staff in 2004 before getting hurt. Last year he was recovering from his arm injury and also from the death of his father and struggled around stints on the DL. This year his arm appears to healed, and he is in a better state emotionally. He's ready to re-energize his career. Based on what he did in 2004, and his resurgance at the end of the season last year, I'm hoping Smith will again turn into a staff ace and move up to Pawtucket before the season is out.