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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/38348/full/38348/hes-6-foot-6.-hes-a-lefty.-hes-in-the-majors.-and-he-wears-a-chai/ <br /><br /> <b>He’s 6-foot-6. He’s a lefty. He just made his major-league debut. And he wears a chai.</b> <br /> Friday, June 12, 2009 | by andy altman-ohr <br /><br /><p><img alt="poreda2_400" height="400" src="/images/uploads/blog_art/0609/poreda2_400.jpg" title="poreda2_400" width="267" /></p> <h3 style="margin: auto 0in;"> <h3 style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"></span></h3> <span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma;"> <h3 style="margin: auto 0in;"> <h3><span> <h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I don’t get as attached to “favorite players” as I used to. Case in point: I now have a new favorite major leaguer – and he’s a 6-foot-6 Jewish kid from Moraga.</span></strong></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The White Sox this week called up pitcher Aaron Poreda, rated one of the top three prospects in the organization for the past couple of years. </span></strong></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I’ve never seen this guy pitch, but I’m firmly on the Poreda bandwagon, and how could I not be: He was born in Walnut Creek, he was bar mitzvahed at Temple Isaiah in Lafyette, he went to high school at Campolindo High in Moraga, and then he played for the USF Dons. He’s Jewish. He's 6-foot-6. He's left-handed. And he has a fastball in the mid-90s.</span></strong></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Just a few minutes ago (on Friday night), Poreda made his major-league debut in a 7-2 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee. And what an amazing debut it was! He struck out the first batter he faced (Mat Gamel), and in 1 2/3 innings, he did give up one RBI single, but retired five of the six batters he faced -- including three strikeouts!</span></strong></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Moreover, one of the strikeouts was Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun, not only one of the best hitters in the game – but also a fellow Jew! I’m sure Poreda will have some interesting things to say about that strikeout, but it’s too soon after the game to have any quotes come out of the clubhouse.</span></strong></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Poreda was hoping to make the majors coming out of spring training, but the White Sox sent the 240-pounder back to Double-A for more seasoning. The team’s No. 1 draft pick in 2007 (25th overall) didn’t sulk; with Jacksonville in the minors this season, he was 5-4 with a 2.38 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings (although he did walk 35 and allow 47 hits).</span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Sox plan to use him as a relief pitcher (at least initially) even though he’ll probably be a starter somewhere down the line. His contract was purchased and he was added to the 25-man roster.</span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I'm happy to fulfill my role first in the bullpen,” Poreda told Chicago reporters. He described his promotion as "amazing" and said he was "star-struck."</span></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Chicago Tribune reported that Poreda received some ribbing for his attire when he showed up. "The outfit I wore [Tuesday], with a long-sleeve shirt and a vest and a Kangol hat, I got some [flak] for it," the Tribune quoted Poreda as saying. "But I had to pick one outfit, and I decided to go with that one."<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In spring training, the Tribune ran a story on Poreda that said he is devoted to his faith and hopes to perform well in front of the large Jewish Chicago community.</span></h3> <h3 style="margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“I’m a big family man,” Poreda was quoted as saying. “I really like to celebrate the Jewish holidays. It’s good to know Chicago has a strong Jewish background. … Our family celebrates all the High Holidays. But it has been hard being on the road. I enjoy going home and celebrating them.”</span></h3> <h3 style="background: white; margin: auto 117pt auto 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-ansi-language: EN;">He reportedly wears a gold chai necklace that had belonged to his grandfather; he began wearing it after the death of his grandfather. A reporter for mlb.com, MOT Jonathan Mayo, reported last year that while he has seen a handful of players wearing a Star of David, Poreda is the first player he’s ever seen wearing a chai.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">At Temple Isaiah, May reported, Poreda attended Sunday school and then Hebrew school on Wednesdays, even though his father isn’t Jewish.</span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></h3> <h3 style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“The majority of the family on that side is Jewish,” Poreda told Mayo. “I’d say our family was pretty religious, but more based on family traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation.”</span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></h3> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 117pt 0pt 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> </h3> </span></h3> </h3> </span></h3>

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