Chisoxfn

Mizzu needs the other starter to have a sick game (he's fully capable of it too). I don't know why, but I think somehow someway, they pull it out and make it on to a Super.

Iguchi really looked like he had slowed down. Defensively he had lost a few steps and offensively his bat looked slow. Not to mention the Sox had a guy in Danny Richar that they liked a lot (and to an extent still do). Also, the guy is only hitting .258 on the season, which is about as productive as he was with the Sox last year (he hit .251 with the Sox in 07). However, he did have a nice tenure with the Phils (.300 with an .803 OPS). Bottom line the guy is clearly on the decline.

QUOTE (heirdog @ May 30, 2008 -> 06:38 AM) I think that is Alexei's job if OC gets launched (likely after the season). No reason to do it now as even with the issues, we are winning and he is starting to hit. Uribe may be launched sooner. I still would be shocked if the Sox thought that highly of Ramirez to have him start out at SS next season. My guess is the Sox will clear some payroll in other places and make a significant push at Rafael Furcal or make some other acquisition (maybe a prospect). In house, I really don't consider Ramirez a viable SS candidate. Yes he has the arm, but all around I'm not expecting him to dominate the next 5-10 years at SS. I still think if he played there on a daily basis we'd see very high error totals and with a team built around strong pitching, the last thing you want to do is be poor defensively up the middle.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 29, 2008 -> 05:21 PM) Oh for f***'s sake, the team is winning and Cabrera is playing well and you're b****ing about it because Cabrera didn't want an error charged to him? Maybe when you see Uribe come back up and hit .220 the rest of the way you'll remember why you think he's a terrible baseball player. I was going to say, off the field issues be damned, Cabrera has been much much better than Juan Uribe. I realize Uribe is special defensively but some of you are making it out to be that OC has been bad defensively. He hasn't been a gold glover, but he's easily still one of the 6 best defensive shortstops in baseball and that isn't too shabby. Offensively, even after his horrid start, he's light-years better than the blackhole named Uribe. Come on people, Cabrera is a significant upgrade over Uribe. The key is to find a significant upgrade over Uribe at 2B. Maybe Ramirez/Richar/Getz will be that guy and prove it this year. Ramirez still has some massive holes in his swing but his raw abilities have helped make him relatively productive (to an extent, he's still not great, but I can live with it as long as he keeps playing good defense and improving because he has the ability to turn into an above average offensive 2nd baseman).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ May 29, 2008 -> 09:37 PM) The question wasnt whether our team is winning, its what to do with Swish, and if AJP is playing better in the 2 hole or further down the order. The biggest change has been Q in the 3 hole as his RBI count is above how many games they've played. Its an illusion that AJ is better in the 2 hole, he is in fact been a better hitter further down the order. Lets wait till Swish starts hitting for a week or two in a row and at that point I think the discussion is warranted. AJP had a bit of a slump in the 2 spot, but aside from that he's been rock solid. I think the biggest reasons for his successes this season have been an improved approach (back to the old AJ of using all fields) and a much much better physic (he's in great shape after being rather portly the last year or two).

We must go back to the Island!!!

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 29, 2008 -> 08:40 PM) No doubt an international draft would be so good for the game, as it would keep the richest teams (Yankees, Red Sox) from automatically grabbing the best international guys, but, like ya said, the complications would be endless(assuming all older international players would automatically be in the draft too like college guys here)... -why would japanese teams give up their signed guys when they just got $50 mil from Boston just to talk to Dice-K -how do you decide between an 18 year old with all the potential or a 30-year old with experience that will contribute now... -does the worst team get the first pick in both drafts? i know the questions go on and on, just something i've thought about it a lot before Clearly if another league holds the rights, than a team drafting them would be taking its chances on negotiating a deal with the International Team that owns the rights (whether its the Seibu Tigers or someone else). I'm guessing there will be rules for what makes someone an International Free Agent (ie, someone who would no longer be eligible for the draft). Look at the NBA, players drafted high often times are under contract with a Euro Team. Heck, the Spurs drafted Thiago Splitter (sp?) in the 1st round this past year and were anticipating bringing him over this off-season but he's opting to resign with his international team for another year (and at that point, if he wants out of his contract to come to the NBA, the Spurs and that franchise would have to work out a deal).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 29, 2008 -> 08:26 PM) The only question I've ever had about an international draft are the ramifications on international free agency. What would have happened to Contreras, Ramirez, Matsuzaka, Ichiro, and the others as a result? Would there be a pardon to those that have played at a professional level within their own countries? It'd be complicated, but some form of an international draft would be for the best of the game. I think that is the major question and something they will have to figure out. At the same time, this would really help put a competitive balance within the international market and would be great as a whole for international players. Having this sort of draft not only enables small market teams to get some of the best international talent, but it also enables international players to get a better say in the contract situation (since the whole thing will be better monitored and long term that is beneficial to these guys cause I'm sure long term it will lead to International Draft picks getting sizeable bonuses as well). The next question is if the International Draft is separate from the Amateur Draft.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 29, 2008 -> 07:20 PM) Gammons was just discussing Wilder on Baseball Tonight. He basically said he was singing to the feds and its probably going to implicate another organization. He also thinks it will ultimately lead to an international draft. He didn't just indicate another organization, Gammons indicated that what Wilder was screaming was going straight to the top of some organization (which leads me to believe it could be as high up as a GM). Gammons also indicated that such organization(s) he was telling the feds about were not related to the White Sox (it sounds as if the fallout from the Sox is pretty much over). The question is whether its the Brewers (could you imagine if it were the case, considering Selig's general closeness to the franchise) or Braves as those are the two organizations that Wilder was in the longest (IIRC).

OC singled in Swish I'm guessing?

Dye homer or something?

Whats the score, inning etc. Thanks

That doesn't mean the Cubs would have gotten him. Again, I don't think DSL/Gio would have been enough. Remember all the rumors about the various trades the Sox/Angels could have made based upon reports.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 29, 2008 -> 03:41 PM) I hate thinking that we could have easily gotten Hamilton, or even McLouth, for less than what we got Swisher for. Who the hell would have known McLouth would have done what he did and no way would the Sox have gotten Hamilton. Volquez is 10 times the prospect (hell the Sox didn't, nor do they have anyone in the system who even comes close to being Volquez).

Collins did do a very good job in Washington though, especially considering the pieces he had.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ May 28, 2008 -> 07:29 PM) I'm bored, and I figured it would be fun to take a look back at what could possibly be the greatest draft ever, not to mention a draft where the Sox screwed up. First Round (bold have reached majors) 1. Ari-Justin Upton 2. KC-Alex Gordon 3. Sea-Jeff Clement 4. Was-Ryan Zimmerman 5. Mil-Ryan Braun 6. Tor-Ricky Romero 7. Col-Troy Tulowitzki 8. TB-Wade Townsend 9. NYM-Mike Pelfrey 10. Det-Cameron Maybin 11. Pit-Andrew McCutchen 12. Cin-Jay Bruce 13. Bal-Brandon Snyder 14. Cle-Trevor Crowe 15. Chw-Lance Broadway 16. Fla-Chris Volstad 17. NYY-C.J. Henry 18. SD-Cesar Carillo 19. Tex-John Mayberry Jr. 20. CHC-Mark Pawlek 21. Oak-Cliff Pennington 22. Fla-Aaron Thompson 23. Bos-Jacoby Ellsbury 24. Hou-Brian Bogusevic 25. Min-Matt Garza 26. Bos-Craig Hansen 27. Atl-Joey Devine 28. Stl-Colby Rasmus 29. Fla-Jacob Marceaux 30. Stl-Tyler Greene Other notable selections 36. Oak-Travis Buck 40. LAD-Luke Hochevar (didn't sign) 42. Bos-Clay Buchholz 66. SD-Chase Headley 73. Min-Kevin Slowey 76. Atl-Yunel Escobar 83. Ari-Micah Owings 102. Cle-Jensen Lewis 107. Atl-Jordan Schafer (really good prospect, but just got busted for PED's) Very, very impressive. Already have players who are about to be stars with guys like Rasmus and McCutchen on the way. Dissapointing that the Sox have Lance Broadway when there were guys like Buchholz, Volstad, Garza, Ellsbury, Rasmus, etc. on the board. Although at the time the word was the Sox were interested in Bogusevic and Carillo, and Lance should turn out to be better than both of them. It could be worse, we could have been the idiots who took Ricky Romero (from CSUF) in the top 10. Heck, the reality is the Broadway pick isn't looking like a horrid one. He's done nothing but produce in the minors and in his short stint at the major league level he flashed the ability to get big leaguers out and make an impact. I realize he won't ever win a Cy Young, but I think a lot of people underestimate what we have in Broadway (ie, a guy that can give us 200 innings and a boatload of quality starts).

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ May 28, 2008 -> 11:13 PM) This logic is ridiculous. Cook is running out of time already as a guy who turns 27 later this summer, ancient by minor league standards, plus he already has proven that AA pitching can't touch him. The minor league system isn't about winning (crazy but true), it's about finding talent and promoting it as it proves itself. David Cook at AA is pretty ridiculous, he should be in Charlotte. That is the point, Cook is an organizational guy anyway and taking him away from Birmingham could have a significant impact on the Sox relationship with one of there minor league affilliates. I realize to fans of the big league club, we don't necessarily care if Bham wins or loses, we care if the prospects are doing well. However, to the minor league organizations, they care about winning and making the local fan base happy and moving a guy like Cook (org guy) would be a bad move. Now if you are talking about a guy whose a top top prospect, development would win out and the guy would get promoted, not so much for those organizational type guys (plus in the grand scheme of things, another couple weeks in AA isn't going to have a significant effect on whether he turns into a good player at the next level or not).

You must respect...My Authority!!!!!

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 28, 2008 -> 03:25 PM) Ford Escape Hybrid: 30/34 Saturn VUE Green Line, out this fall: 34/32 Toyota Highlander: 27/25 Lexus RX 400h: 27/24 Ford has done an awesome job with the Escape Hybrid. In terms of the market for smaller SUV's they were ahead of the game (as I'm pretty sure that was the first hybrid SUV out on the market and was actually one of the first hybrid vehicles as well). It will be interesting to see Saturns as this will compete with the Escape (in the small SUV market). The key to me is in the description of SUV's, while the Saturn/Escape are SUV's, you still aren't talking about the big boys of the SUV world (in terms of sales and therefor drivers) which is the Ford Explorers, Tahoe/Yukon, Honda Pilot's, Toyota Highlander (its nice to see Toyota coming out with there hybrid), Nissan Pathfinders, and 4Runners of the world. You can easily pinpoint those vehicles as making up probably 90% of the SUV market (maybe I'm exaggerating but its probably close to that). Right now the options are the Highlander (which is a solid car, comparable to the Pilot which I drive and based on what I get in mileage, you are talking about a 32% increase). I think this is a step in the right direction. Again, the next step and the key step is to have these hybrid versions priced at a similar cost to the non hybrid version (I think as these hybrid options become more mainscale and as technology increases as well as economies of scale being reached, we could see a hybrid costing maybe 1K more and at that point for a 32% increase in fuel efficiency you are talking about a no-brainer and the beginning of hybrids becoming the standard vehicle purchased. The Lexus version is essentially the more luxurious Highlander and its nice to see Lexus spreading the wealth (Lexus has added a lot of hybrids to there line of vehicles and again the current problem is structured on the cost/benefit factor which consumers need to consider, imo (ie, cost of hybrid up front and payback period).

I should add, me and a couple friends debate this subject often via emails so I've done quite a bit of research on the various auto manufactures and the current alternative fuel projects they have going on.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 28, 2008 -> 04:01 PM) When we do a Texas roll call, just shout out a howdy! You would so fit in down here. Giving the consumer what they need, instead of what they want, may be a nice social thing to do, it rarely works long term. Like The Big Mac and 48 oz Cokes, the SUV will not die even though it is bad for you. I drive an SUV now and I'm looking hard at switching to a car and every time I really think about it, I get pissed at the fact that there just isn't a more fuel efficient SUV. Heck, most of the cars I'm looking at aren't all the fuel efficient. And like I said, I have no desire to drive a Civic/Prius Hybrid (nor do I want to spend the assloads in additional costs to get the Prius or Civic). I absolutely love being able to go up to the mountains when I snowboard (pile in all the people and boards and go). I also prefer sitting up higher and being able to look out on the road (visibility) and quite frankly I love the fact that when I haul crap I can actually fit it in my car and not make special trips. I have a Honda Pilot so its not like a huge V8 guzzler and its my favorite car I've ever owned (I love the s*** out of it and drive the s*** out of it too; pretty long commute to a couple of my main clients). Still, if I want a car, I'd want it to be a sporty car and that means no to the Prius/Civics of the world.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 28, 2008 -> 03:46 PM) 18 months ago, SUVs ruled the world. That was what was selling and what Americans seemed to want. Whenever we can go big, we go big. I still think GM has been the American Car company that has been doing a stellar job on this front. I also believe long term the consumers like there SUV's and various other products and with GM trying to push Hybrid technology in various lines as the hybrid efficiency (basically put as you can power the car more and more on battery power) increases they will be better prepared to drop such technology into the next Tahoe's and so on, thus continuing increasing the efficiency of those vehicles (maybe its not like a Prius which gets 100 MPG, but I still say a good chunk of the market likes SUV's and prefers them so me buying a version that is 30% more fuel efficient than my previous car should still have a significant impact on the oil demand (thus, simple supply/demand, we'd see increases in the price of oil & thus gas).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2008 -> 03:34 PM) The idea is not just a 40 mile per day car, the idea is a 40 mile per day car with a standard, but fairly small, gasoline engine, so that when the battery for the day has run nearly dry, you can switch to the gasoline system to run for the day. So, hence, the plug-in-hybrid system I keep hoping we'll actually be able to set up. There are already more than a few places that have sprung up that do those sorts of conversions on Priuses. If you can get that system running, then you can kill off a huge chunk of this country's oil production. The key is getting the battery to the 30-40 mile per day, 5-10 year lifespan point. That's a useful threshold, because you're not demanding something unreasonable like 200 miles per day from a small battery, but you're also not so small that everyone has to flip to the gas system on their normal commute. I agree with you that in the next 2-5 years that should be the plan and it should be the bridge between what will be the next fuel source for vehicles (I'm thinking full blown battery powered cars, but we'll see if they can make those sort of leaps in technology). Also, there are places that trick out those Hybrids today (turning them into plug-in versions), however the cost is in the double digit range and Toyota has recently indicated that despite reports indicating the next-gen Prius will possess such capabilities, that currently it is not cost effective and they do not anticipate being able to add such into the next gen Prius in the early years of production (they are hoping to roll it out in the latter years, so we are talking 2011/2012 on). The one big factor is that we are talking about one car, which is going to have 450K in production in 2009 (that is Toyota's anticipated production number). This is not going to have a large scale impact on the economy. What would have that sort of impact is a full blown roll-out of this technology on the various models throughout the industry (thus not vastly limiting the market that you can truly hit). I do realize that the reason the Prius has been so successful is because early on it relied on consumers who bought the car wanting people to know that your driving a hybrid (Honda didn't have much success as they just offered the technology in the standard car).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 28, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) You appear to be misinformed here on some things. First, the Prius already gets 48 to 50 MPG, in the CURRENT version. You can look at the vehicle stickers, with the current (tougher) rating systems, to confirm that. Second, the 2nd gen cars are still in prototype mode, so of course its all hype no one knows for sure what it will actually be. But if the current car gets 48, which it does, then the new tech sure as heck won't be 46-60 (or else they wouldn't bother with all that investment). And as for GM's hybrid Tahoe, its really not even remotely comparable to a Prius, or any other hybrid that gets 30 to 50, or even other hybrid SUV's like Saturn's or Ford's that get 25 to 35. The hybrid Tahoe gets 20 to 22, and that's according to GM's estimates, which are sure to be liberal. That hybrid is still worse in economy than most regular cars. Why on earth GM made the poor business decision to go to the Tahoe for their first hybrid, when people are running away from those vehicles at this point, is something I don't even understand. As usual, the American car companies don't seem to get it. The one thing in your post I do completely agree with though, is that hybrid tech is a bridge to other things. Electric cars will become a major factor in the relatively near future. The SUV market may be decreasing, but the Tahoe Hybrid has an ~30% increase in fuel capacity. The actual mileage may be less than the typical "car", but the fact is even with the decreasing SUV sales, many Americans drive SUV's (just check out a California freeway on a daily basis, where the ratio is pretty even between Car & SUV, in fact, in many areas I drive, I'd say there are more SUV's than cars). Now lets say I'm in the market for an SUV, this means I'm not in the market for a freaking Prius (I should preface this by saying there isn't anyway in hell I'd ever buy a Prius, things are a rip as far as I'm concerned; your paying 30K for a car that has the features/quality of a compact car), I basically have the option of buying a Tahoe Hybrid or one of the other many gas guzzling cars (the bright side is more SUV's are doing the variable engine (ie, 4/8 cylinder where the engine runs on 4 during highway driving (unless you are stepping on it)). If Honda/Ford whomever all had the typical SUV's with hybrid engines and 30% better fuel capacity, than I would be buying a car and in turn effecting the gas supply. The reality is the majority of SUV owners aren't going to just turn over there SUV for a freaking Prius or Civic Hybrid. We drive SUV's for a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with the fact that we probably haul stuff/have kids/drive in winter conditions/prefer to have the extra room, and the Prius/Civics of the world aren't going to fix that. In terms of the NextGen Prius, they are scheduled to come out in the near future and the technology is already set aside and they are in heavy testing stage. In fact, the Next Gen Prius will be out during 2009 (Model Year 2010). The MPG ratings which estimate the "100" MPG Next Gen Prius estimate the current generation Prius at "85" MPG (you can expect to get 45-48 MPG out of the current Prius, not 85MPG). These estimates are based on Japanese standards and from everything I've read online are completely out-dated and ridiculous. The new Prius is actually going to offer two batteries and the key is the new hybrid engine will run on hybrid ("battery") power for an extended time (ie, the car will run up to 25-30 MPH before the "Gas Engine" kicks on). The version that is expected to get the best mileage will be based on a lithium ion platform (anticipated 10 MPG improvement from the previous Scion, which pushes it into the 55-58 MPG range) while the version using the current batter (although a tweaked version of such battery platform) will see a 5MPG improvement (estimated). The release is scheduled for Detroit Auto Show in January 09 and will hit show-rooms early in 2010. Toyota is working on coming out in future years with an option which involves a bigger, plugin type battery, which would push the MPG into the 100MPG range (this is something which would work for short-range use and Toyota has already nixed reports that it will be available in the next few years as the cost is currently far too high).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2008 -> 02:41 PM) You really don't need 100's of miles to put a major dent in the U.S. oil consumption. Most people drive 40 miles per day or less. If you can get a battery that can last 5-10 years and run 40 miles on a 1 nighttime charge combined with hybrid recharge systems, you're pushing hundreds of MPG for the average driver. But you really do, because a lot of Americans may only drive 40 miles on a random basis, but we also like to be able to make weekend trips or extended drives and having a car that only goes 40 miles can severly hamper/limit Americans (to the point that we won't buy the car). I would never consider buying a car with a range of 200 miles a day, never. You get that range to a more reasonable amount and than I'd consider and I'm guessing there are a chunk of Americans who feel the same way I do. I agree that if everyone bought that car, you would be talking about a major dent and I do agree with your last statement (supplanting a battery that goes about ~40Miles without using any gas and at that point it just turns back to a hybrid vehicle (still averaging a good amount of MPG). It removes any long term restrictions while still putting a major savings on gas (although at one point we will have to figure out a way not to use gas in general and I think that will come via battery power or hydrogen (battery seems more reasonable in the sense that it would appear easier to recharge/refill than hydrogen).