Jump to content

VAfan

Members
  • Posts

    1,928
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by VAfan

  1. VAfan

    #3 hitter

    Let's face it, AJ and Rowand aren't the answer in the #3 hole. And Everett, despite two singles last night, is probably better suited hitting 5th. My suggestion is to move Iguchi to 3rd. The lineup could be: Podsednik Rowand Iguchi Konerko Everett Dye Pierzynski Crede Uribe And if Ozzie wanted to blow out the cylinders (see the original Flight of the Phoenix) for a game, he could go with this lefty dominated lineup. Podsednik LF Harris 2B Gload 1B Everett DH Borchard RF Pierzynski C Perez CF Uribe SS Blum 3B
  2. Here's what I fault Ozzie for. 1. El Duque instead of McCarthy. El Duque went 1-8 in the second half. McCarthy won two huge games, should have beaten Santana, and could have won tonight with anything from the hitters. He certainly should have stuck with McCarthy after back to back shut outs of Texas and Boston, yet he still lost another 2 games with the Duke. That's 2 games that would put us in the playoffs as of today. 2. Ross Gload. I can't figure out why this guy didn't get ABs in August when we started scuffling. In AAA, Gload was on fire. 45 for 107, with 7 HRs, 14 doubles, 24 runs, 24 RBI. Instead, we got a month of Timo Perez, who hit absolutely nothing. And Gload isn't just a AAA ballplayer. He had the Sox' best batting average last year for guys with more than 200 ABs. 3. Forgetting what got us here. In the beginning of the year, Ozzie used the whole team. In the last month, he refuses to use fresh blood to rest tired and tight hitters. When was the last time Rowand got a night off? We have a team full of guys who go into major funks, but Ozzie just keeps writing their name in the lineup card hoping they'll pull out of it. Eventually they do, but we lose game after game waiting for them to do so. 4. Poor game management. Tonight he finally used pinch hitters and they helped load the bases with one out in a 2-run game. But then he used Blum, one of our worst hitters, to pinch hit, and he grounds meekly into a DP. Why not Gload? Or even Timo Perez? Ozzie also left Rowand to hit for himself in the 9th even though he'd meekly grounded out 4 times, and did it a 5th time in the 9th. A pinch hitter was called for. There are many, many other examples. 5. Bizarre bullpen management. Why is Damaso Marte often used in more critical situations than Neil Cotts? Marte is a walk machine. Cotts is typically lights out. Ozzie has done a decent job here, but some of his mistakes have cost us. Thank goodness our rivals all lost tonight because our team isn't playing with any urgency right now.
  3. He does seem to be the only major league hitter in our lineup right now. Without him, it would be truly ugly.
  4. Frankly, I'm just glad he's used someone else on the roster. How about this for tomorrow's lineup? They can't hit any worse. CF - Timo Perez LF - Brian Anderson DH - Ross Gload 1B - Paul Konerko RF - Joe Borchard 3B - Joe Crede C - AJ Pierzynski SS - Juan Uribe 2B - Willie Harris
  5. QUOTE(longshot7 @ Sep 28, 2005 -> 01:07 AM) WHY WHY WHY???????? Why Blum instead of AJ??????? IT'S THE LAST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER!!!!!!!!!! f***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you see AJ hit last night?
  6. Sox played way too casual in this game. We blew a lot of scoring opportunities. AJ hitting 3rd is a nightmare. He killed two rallies himself. Now the Tigers feel like they can get us, it will be much more difficult to win tomorrow night. We really need to win 3 in a row so we go into Cleveland having secured a playoff spot.
  7. Ozzie should be fired for putting Marte anywhere near this game.
  8. Get Buerhle out of the ballgame. He can't hold a lead or even a tie any more. Something is wrong with him. Too many innings? I don't know what the answer is, but letting him lose this game is definitely not the answer. Sox need to play this like game 7 of the World Series. Win this game and Cleveland is at least 2-1/2 back after tomorrow. Lose and they could be 1/2 back. If they get there, they are going to pass us this week. Okay, Buehrle lucks out and finishes the 5th. I wouldn't let him pitch another inning.
  9. Will the Sox become the team that has blown the biggest lead after August 1st and let the Indians pass us for the AL Central division crown this year? When I think of this question, frankly, it doesn't cause me any more heartburn than I already have as a Sox fan. Why not? Because in my lifetime, and even in my father's lifetime (he died in his 80's a few years ago), the White Sox haven't won a single postseason series. So what does it matter if the Sox pulled an all-time division race fade? It really wouldn't make things any worse than they already have been for us Sox fans. Thus, I'm not losing any sleep over our recent troubles. In fact, I'm confident that our recent troubles are going to toughen the team and get us back to playing the kind of baseball that led us to having the best record in the AL. The Sox have nothing to lose. And if they play like it, I think this Sox team is still destined to do something really great - win in the postseason. Because this team plays its best baseball when no one, absolutely no one, thinks they have any chance.
  10. After today, should we add Garland to the pile along with Buehrle?? I think Buehrle-Garland 1-2 in the postseason could be a recipe for a quick exit. Frankly, Contreras is pitching the best of any of our starters, with Brandon McCarthy second (blasphemy I know), and Garcia probably third. If I were Ozzie, I'd be pulling my hair out trying to figure this out. We really don't have any long term Aces. We have Aces of the moment, and Ozzie has to figure out the best Aces of the moment once we hit the postseason.
  11. After Jenks, anyone for McCarthy on 3 days rest? This could be a long one. Ozzie really blew it by leaving Buerhle in an inning too long.
  12. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 02:25 AM) Or how about he was hot over an 11 game span but has cooled off the past 2 games. Aug. 28 - Sept. 6 (11 gms): 16-41 (.390 BA) HOT Aug. 28 - Aug. 31 (5 gms): 9-20 (.450 BA) HOT Sept. 1 - Sept. 6 (6 gms): 7-21 (.333 BA) HOT Sept. 7 - Sept. 8 (2 gms): 0-8 (.000 BA) COLD His last 9 games, he's hitting below .250, his OBP is less than .300, and he's only hit 1 HR during that period, so his slugging isn't making up for his lack of hitting. He's been cool or cold in 8 of those 9 games, with the only exception being September 3rd against Detroit when he had a HR and 3B. Under no definition can you say he's been HOT.
  13. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 02:10 AM) This was brought up in the game thread... Hypothesis: Mark Buehrle beats up on the weak teams, but gets killed by good teams. I plugged his splits into a simple spreadsheet, and ran some correlations. ERA vs. Opponents wins = .297 WHIP vs. Opponents wins = .442 There is some correlation. In fact, he does allow quite a bit more baserunners to good teams. I've never fully understood these statistical correlation numbers. Any chance you could break them down in lay terms?
  14. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 02:05 AM) .329 batting average over 13 games when he was previously hitting .270 before that stretch. He went 6 for 12 against Texas pitching. Since then, in 9 games, he's 7 for 31, with 1 HR, 2 runs, and 4 RBI in the middle of the lineup. You still think he's "hot"?? Uribe and Konerko. They are hot. If you are going to talk baseball intelligently, don't butcher the numbers.
  15. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 01:57 AM) That's AAA You missed the point, obviously. What is your measure of someone who's "hot"?
  16. Wow, Ozzie yanked him to start the 7th even though Buehrle can't get the win and had tossed only 84 pitches. It was an inning too late, but I'm impressed.
  17. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 01:47 AM) Check his game log. He's hot. He's 7 for 29 with 2 walks in September. When did that become "hot"?? That is awful. Ross Gload went 45 for 107 in AAA in August with 7 HRs, 14 2Bs, 24 runs scored and 24 RBI. That's hot.
  18. I should have written it. Buehrle should have been hooked after Konerko gave him a 5-4 lead. He hasn't pitched even a half inning in this game with the lead, blowing leads each of the last two innings, as well as giving up runs in the top of the first. If I were Ozzie, I would have sent him a message that this kind of pitching is not satisfactory right now. To me he seems to have lost a lot of the intensity he had early in the season.
  19. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 12:00 AM) Absolutely not. All that would do is f*** up that gorgeous swing of his. His stance is perfect for his swing, the lean-in that he does helps him keep a shorter stroke a leg kick would just would just elongate his swing. Rowand has been hot of late, it's not time to start f***ing with him. Maybe I should have put the "leg kick" in green. But "hot of late"??? Who are you watching. He's got a .266 OBP in the month of August, and its bumped all the way up to .290 in September. That sucks.
  20. QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 01:25 AM) Actually the postseason rotation will not be a dilemma for Ozzie at all. He'll pitch the hottest guys at the moment, in the playoffs and in an order that will set them up for the best chance to win. Sure, sounds easy, doesn't it? But to set up the rotation, Ozzie may have to make a move to line guys up in mid-September, before he even knows whether we'll be playing Oakland, LAA, or the Yanks. Right now it is Buehrle, Garland, El Duque, Contreras, Garcia. With that order, it would be relatively easy, especially with McCarthy around, to lead with Contreras or Garcia. But if you want Garcia pitching on the road, yet still want Contreras to pitch one of the first couple of games, especially if we're playing the Yankees, it could become dicey.
  21. QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Sep 10, 2005 -> 12:46 AM) No. It's only two runs so far tonight. Also, Garland and Garcia haven't been otehrworldly lately. Also, I can't think of a worse thing for the lockerroom or for Buehrle's confidence than to start someone else. Spoke too soon? Given a 4-2 lead, Buehrle can't even hold it for half an inning.
  22. The Angels may be the last postseason team we play until October, and Buehrle didn't start out any better against them tonight than he has recently against Boston or the Yankees. Plus, we know he has trouble with Oakland. Should Ozzie use someone else to start the first game of the postseason? And how will he know if Buehrle is up to it come October if he doesn't have a solid opponent to test him against between now and then? I think the postseason rotation is going to pose a huge dilemma for Ozzie.
  23. Anyone think Rowand should also try a leg kick? I know Ozzie has used him at just about every place in the lineup, but we need him to hit like he did last year.
  24. Phil Rogers has no clue about this stuff. He's just making it up. Without Crosby, the A's probably aren't going to make it at all, and he has them first. Meanwhile, Boston really has been the hottest playoff team and with the way they play at home, are likely to crush their opening opponent. He has them last. The Sox are going to have a tough time advancing at all, but I believe that has as much to do with our history as our team. If we win 100 games like we last did in 1917, I'd say the sky is the limit for this team, regardless of how we get there.
  25. Crede should start every postseason game. The rest might also help his bat. This year he's been either very good offensively, or just awful. Look at these splits by month. April 79 12 24 6 0 2 9 5 3 9 0 0 .304 .368 .456 .824 May 84 8 13 2 0 3 9 5 2 17 0 1 .155 .211 .286 .496 June 80 11 22 3 0 6 17 5 2 10 1 0 .275 .333 .538 .871 July 69 10 21 5 0 4 12 4 0 11 0 0 .304 .342 .551 .893 August 58 2 6 1 0 1 1 2 1 10 0 0 .103 .148 .172 .320 Total 370 43 86 17 0 16 48 21 8 57 1 1 .232 .285 .408 .693 We would all love April, June, and July's offense. .300+ hitter, .345 OBP, .530 slugging, .875 OPS. We just have to hope October is like one of those months. We know we are going to get the solid D. Ozuna can't match any of those numbers, not even against lefties. And his numbers against righties are like one of Crede's bad months. vs. Left 83 10 27 4 0 0 3 2 3 9 8 5 .325 .364 .373 .737 vs. Right 91 14 21 2 2 0 7 4 1 12 5 1 .231 .271 .297 .568 Forget about Blum. He doesn't have the D or the O to compete. When he's played 3B a lot in the past, he's made a lot of errors. Lastly, Crede is the only one of these guys who can hit the long ball, which can win a postseason game with one swing. Sure, I might agree with those who want someone better next year, but for right now, Joe Crede is far and away the best 3B option we've got.
×
×
  • Create New...