greg775

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:17 AM) It's never going to happen, but it would be nice if Konerko had it all out of his system by the break, and he walked away. You might be right, but it's a cheap shot to blast a guy who goes 2-for-4 on a night the team got shutout IMO.

QUOTE (Jake @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 03:44 AM) I would have suspected DL before AAA. Big surprise, not sure what's going on with that. Robin even said it - he's not throwing hard, he's not throwing the curve he used to. Seems like injury to me Scary thought that he could be hurt. This is one of those years we could use some hacks like Guthrie, Chen, the good version of Humber (not the abysmal one), Colon, Freddy Garcia. Some bodies that could actually complement Sale, Danks and Q.

Great thing about watching Balfour's reaction is you know how shocked teams are with the White Sox doing stuff like this offensively. Remember last year when it was over if the Sox were down a run or two? They were dead and done. Except for the injuries and the sickening bullpen, this year looks like the polar opposite of last year with the team, especially regarding emotion. Some big hits in April from Semien and Abreu and Flowers and others.

Sox truly have no viable closer candidates. Only hope is to trot Lindstrom out there. He is dreadful, but the only possibility. Everybody else is even worse, including Webb. Maybe you could send Webb to the minors for a month and try to close then make him the closer.

Great win. Abreu and everybody else who has been mentioned. Don't forget Flowers for his clutch 2 run single. I still say this team could contend if it had a bullpen and a healthy Sale. It just could in this division. At any rate, it was nice to see the team hit the f*** out of the ball in April. Amazing offense this month thanks to Abreu and some others.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 25, 2014 -> 07:05 PM) Nate Jones walked 26 people in 78 innings last year. Addison Reed, who you believe would save this season, walked 23 people in 71.1 innings last year. If each of them pitched 100 innings, that is a difference of...1 walk. Do you really like Nate Jones as a prospect? If so, I defer, but what makes you think he will be adequate to special? I know you guys love stats but Nate truly truly does not pass the eye test. I can't remember too many guys I've deemed eye test failures who ended up good. Hopefully I'm wrong.

This is a 4-game series? Just like the Detroit series, would be very happy with 2, ecstatic with three wins. Can the Sale-less Sox split another 4-game set against a good team?

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Apr 25, 2014 -> 02:24 PM) Using the fact that a middle reliever has 8 blown saves vs 0 saves as evidence against his abilities to close might very well be the most asinine argument I've ever seen on this board. I don't know what you guys see in Nate Jones that encourages you. If he's a successful closer I'll be stunned. He's way too wild.

This guy is 6-foot-5 and in the minors at 29. Look for about 6-7 walks before he's yanked from the game.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:08 PM) No. Marcus Semien is not Gordon Beckham, they should have absolutely nothing to do with each other when talking about Marcus' timeline and development. Marcus has already shown that he's just not going to crawl into a hole and die if he's scuffling, he can work through any problems he might have up here. I actually think it's much better for him to be up here facing the best competition rather than guys he's more advanced than in aaa. To me, it's better for Marcus and for the team if he's our starting 2b and I don't want him getting sent down because we're stuck with Gordon Beckham. This post says it all.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 09:07 PM) Yes. You shouldn't post until at least five people support your position. If Soxtalk had a voice function I could probably explain my position better.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 09:00 PM) You spew some of the most ignorant s*** I've ever read from a baseball fan. I realize it's a bit, but give it a rest man. Obviously I approve of the split. I said before the series it would be awesome.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 09:01 PM) Come on greg, not even you're this bad. You're straight up trolling with a comment like this. I should stop now and wait for some board support. My take is the division sucks; Abreu and the lineup has been fantastic meaning this could be a .500 team. On paper with Sale, Q and Danks and an emerging Erik it's a fair to good rotation, especially for our division. But ... with a GIVE UP bullpen, the worst bullpen imaginable, .500 isn't possible. All it would take is hanging around .500 to .550 all year and we'd be in it. That brings us to REED. He would make a world of difference in the bullpen options though arguably the bullpen still "might" suck. My position is not outlandish.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:51 PM) That's the whole ****ing point of this season. It shouldn't be. Not in this pathetic division. It was winnable with Reed IMO.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:48 PM) Did any of those guys render an offer of a 6 year positional starter in a trade? I guess if Davidson is a George Brett phenom the pains of this year will be worth it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:44 PM) What you write is simply not abnormal in baseball. There is literally 1 team in MLB who came into 2014 with the same projected closer as 2011. Only 8 teams have the same projected closer as 2012. And that's before injuries! If our projected closer was Jones, that is just not right. Bad baseball minds making that call IMO.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:37 PM) Yes you can. A closer on a rebuilding team is a complete waste, especially when said closer gets you a potential starting 3B for the next six years. It doesn't really matter what the bullpen does this year in terms of rebuilding. Then why is Adam Dunn on this team? Why is Konerko? Why is Beckham? Why is Lexi? These are not guys who will be a part of the future? My point is in this s***ty division, there's no reason to give away your only possible closer when all it takes is flirting with .500 then catching lightning in September to win the patsy division. This bullpen is so bad it is laughable. Is it even a good AAA bullpen? Seriously.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:36 PM) Hahn traded a reliever for a guy who has high upside and could be in the starting lineup for 6 years. It was not a bad trade. I contend it's an awful trade because he had nobody waiting in the wings to close. I guess the answer to that is the Sox don't care about this season at all, blah blah blah. You've got to have a closer candidate and they made no attempt to find one to replace Reed. And Nate Jones is not the answer. If they thought he was ... Wow.

Let's face it. You cannot trade Addison Reed and have no closer in waiting and expect anything but this to happen. It was a boneheaded decision to trade Reed with NOTHING left over. How this team is flirting with .500 is amazing with this bullpen. And if the rotation loses Sale ... wow, the bullpen is going to be needed A LOT. The bullpen has sucked for years now but at least the Sox have always had a closer.

Let's face it. It's a miracle the Sox are close to .500. Once the hitting cools off we're still a 90-95 loss team. The split was a nice miracle in Detroit. Like I said, a miracle. Our only hope of remaining close to .500 is if Abreu, Viciedo and Dunn and Lexi rake all summer and Sale can pitch. Abreu is so good that might happen.

Good call soxfest. Time to go eat.

This should be one interesting at bat. Let's predict now. I predict he either hits him or walks him.

I'd rather have Clete Boyer than Cleto. Hope Lexi is OK. It'd be Beckham time at shortstop right?

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:29 PM) This coaching staff likes Cleto way too much. Amen. If you can't throw strikes u are worthless in the bigs.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 08:24 PM) Knowing you as a big Dunn hater, what are thoughts on his 30 Ks in under 100 ABs? At what point does it become clear he needs more time in the minors? The 30 Ks suck obviously. I'm just so down on Beckham that I want to believe it's Semien time. I've never despised Beckham like I do Dunn (as a player not a person) but Beckham could shut me and a lot of fans up if he starts excelling.