vilehoopster

This is really good advice and thanks for the help. So tell me Mr. caulfield12, do you have much experience posting on this site?

Can we PLEASE win this game and not get swept. Can we PLEASE, this year, not make our Central Division opponents appear five or so games better than they are by giving them another 10 free wins that they really don't deserve, if they were playing real teams? If those first two are impossible; can we PLEASE make today's game appear in doubt beyond the 3rd inning (unlike the last two) so I can have some, if even a minimal amount of enjoyment as I try to watch the game today?

So glad we have a new start with Will Venable as the manager and things are going to be different. So let's look at today's game. The Angels score two runs thanks to bad defense. The Sox score early and don't score again the rest of the game. They run themselves out of a potential inning. Bullpen (can't blame them too much really) loses the game. And what happens over and over and over: the Sox have runners in scoring position in the 7th and 9th and then proceed to have four terrible at bats. Terrible situational hitting with the game on the line again and again and again. Yep, things look new and different to me this year with Venable.

I agree with this. Sometimes it seems we really outsmart ourselves with the lefty vs. righty thing.

Is MLB. TV working yet for anyone? I can't get that or radio still?

Not just the results, but doesn't Vargas's swing look so much better? Is it just confidence as opposed to last year when he was just flailing at too many pitches.

All these TJSs and Drury (their best bat of spring, far and away) injured and released. I hate the Sox right now and I hate being a fan. I try to be optimistic, and I often argue and debate with all the constant Negative Nellies on this board and defend the Sox organization, but I am down about the events the last few days. I mean seriously, look at the lineup up above. That's more or less the opening day lineup. That's, at least, three guys in the lineup who are going to bat under .200; at least three!! So every game, no matter how good the pitching, the Sox are going to start every game with three or four absolutely dead bats, almost half the lineup. I'll be okay in a few days, but right now I hate being a White Sox fan. And yes, I will still tune in and watch today.

On the topic of Varland. A week or so before ST started, I was listening to various podcasts in my excitement for the season to get going. And on one of them, I think it was the Chuck Garfien one, Ethan Katz was a guest. Again, it was a day or two before official Sprint Training was supposed to start. Anyway, there were two pitchers that Katz was really high on, really talking them up about how they had improved and, whatever, his high expectations for them this year. One was Varland and the other was Cannon. The punch line is that both of them have stunk up this spring. I'm not sure what to think about that, but for one thing, Katz has lost a lot of credibility with me.

Sometimes (most of the time??) it is so difficult to be a White Sox fan. The team has been playing better; I've been able to convince myself that they will only be bad and not terrible. But driving home and listening to the game, I hear first about TJS for Thorpe (not unexpected; we were all saying this last fall). And then I hear about Drury's thumb injury, completely out of the blue. I had such high hopes for Drury. Two of the few players I was really excited about this year are out for long periods of time. Just God Damn. It is soooo tough to be a White Sox fan.

I disagree, Drew is going to be the jewel that that makes that trade a success, maybe not next month put it will happen. And really, my crystal ball is just as truthful as yours.

Wait, we can go back to last year and use stuff from then to evaluate a trade? You see, I didn't understand that. I used to think that it would take years to track all the outcomes of the various players involved in a trade to really determine if a trade was successful or not. But from what I've seen on this thread is that all it takes is a single event like a pitcher leaving a game could completely doom a trade. So conversely, I just thought that Zavala's good day could completely validate and justify that trade completely.

Hey, with Zavala's 2 for 2 performance today against the Reds, can I now prematurely declare that the Sox have clearly won the Cease trade? Because let's be honest, making that statement after two spring training at bats is every bit as valid as all the people pronouncing that the Sox lost the Cease trade.

Are we going to be introduced to the rotation in the next few days? Burke today Martiin tomorrow and so on?

When things go against your anti-Getz rants, it's luck. But when things are bad, it's that Getz is an idiot. This example and my bringing up Thorpe's five good games in a row last year. You then bring up bip or bap or some other silly pitcher rating that showed that those five really good, solid games were luck, not Thorpe's good pitching.

The Sox will pay for it by Colson not wanting to resign with the Sox, or a action like that is a big step to turning Colson into a Clubhouse cancer. I'm telling you; Colson is not gonna be happy about it.

Managing a professional team means more than managing the talent, making lineups, scouting, skill development, and whatever else we associate with running a professional team. It also means managing players and their egos, usually big egos. You have to take into account those egos. So, let me say something that many on here will disagree with. I really don't think the Sox want to leave ST with Meidroth on the MLB roster. For one reason, I don't think his bat is ready. But here's the other. . . Also, if Meidroth, batting .133 or whatever, is playing in Chicago, and Colson was sent down to the minors two weeks ago, Colson is never going to forgive or forget that. I'm sure Colson will say all the right things, blah, blah blah. But he will see the combination of those two decisions as a big slight to him (he's been in the orgainzation much longer) and that is going to fester. Colson already feels he wasn't given a real shot due to an injury that he will feel is not his fault. Can I prove this? Of course not. but if you work with players and their egos, you have to know this is a reality. If Colson is at Charlotte and Meidroth is in Chicago, down the road, the Sox will pay for it. I've said this before: Send them all down to Charlotte, let them play together and win together; then after the big flip sale at the trading deadline, bring them and their winning attitutes and expectations up.

Maybe because he was their best (least bad) bat the 2nd half of the year.

1. 63 wins 2. Even with the super lefties and Grant Taylor coming up, Drew Thorpe will be the Greg Maddux-like ace of the staff for the next five years, at least.

This is a great point that's hard for me to argue with. I'm upset about the team not looking at ST performances, especially Smith's; but then I'm ignoring Burke's incredible September in real MLB games. Maybe he is the way to go? We'll see. With that said, if Smith is not in the starting rotation, I'm going to be posting the first fire Venable post . . . maybe.

Have you seen Smith in ANY of his starts this spring. In his first start, he was nervous and walked the 1st two guys and they scored. But since then he has been amazing. Did you see him against the Dodgers and a very real Dodgers lineup? And I know it's spring training yada, yada, yada. But Smith has looked really impressive.

This is me. I am shocked (and concerned) by this call. It seemed Martin really, really deserved it. But I could have understood Perez or even Shane Smith; Cannon not so much. Martin has been in the organization longer and has been untouchable in ST. I would really like to know the logic behind this decision.

I said this in the other thread: Vaughn at 1st; Drury at 2nd; Sosa at SS; and Vargas at 3rd. Injuries have to stay away and Drury not be flipped, but that could very well be 70 to 80 home runs from the Sox infield. Maybe more than 80.

Drury is a 2nd baseman. Play him at 2nd and let's get some home runs out of our infield. I think someone suggested this in the Opening Day 26 man roster thread. Oh yeah, it was me.

If Shane Smith is not in the starting rotation, my opinion of Venable is going to plummet. Really, right now, I have no opinion of him good or bad, but not going with Smith is a good way to start it off really poorly.

I don't understand people suggesting this or that lineup or infield and everyone seems to keep leaving Sosa out of the lineup. He's cooled off lately, but he was/ is one of the Sox's best bats in spring training, and that's coming off his great September where he seemed to really figure things out at the plate. I really think he's got to play and have his at bats. Also, I don't start to understand this, "Play Amaya at short until Colson is ready" thing? Amaya is terrible offensively; I'm angry he's still getting ST at bats. He's Maldonado 2.0: a complete dead bat in the lineup. Why would anyone want to play him? Meidroth is not quite ready yet; I really think he needs to go to AAA for a while and to bond with the others. So, this is the lineup, more or less, that I want to see; let's score some runs! 1st Vaugh 2nd Drury SS Sosa 3rd Vargas Rojas fills in five days a week where he can. At 3rd when Vargas is DH or at 1st, same with Sosa, Drury and so on. That's 70 to 80 home runs next year from your infield. Again, let's score some runs. When whoever is ready to come up at the trade deadline, trade Drury, hopefully he'll have 12 or so home runs with less strikeouts and be this year's DeJong. Outfield: Benintendi, Robert (let him prove he can stay healthy and get some real value at the trade deadline), and I have no idea in right. There's nothing in right as a option that I start to like, some lefty/ righty platoon. With Benintendi and Robert (full season, maybe traded), that's another 50 home runs. Now, what I would like to see is all the youngsters stay down in AAA and have success and bond. Then I say bring them all up together in late July: Meidroth, Colson, the cacthers and the two lefty pitchers a little bit later in August. But basically bring them up as a group and work them in full time into September. Well, I'm tired typing, but that is what I would like to see.