Chisoxfn

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 25, 2008 -> 08:01 PM) I would very much like to have a sexy time with Carlos Quentin. I don't think it's an impossibility to think that he could be the best offensive prospect that the DBacks had in their system...at this point in time, the only other player you could make an argument for is Justin Upton. I think you could probably make a case for Stephen Drew as well. Long term, Drew, like Upton & Quentin are going to be stellar ballplayer. Of course I don't know if Drew would have been considered a prospect still at that time, considering he was playing in the majors while Quentin/Upton were in the minors. I would also say that Upton is freakishly good. He has such ridiculous bat speed/athletism.

Salmon with a seafood rub (purchased from costco, so nothing fancy or anything, just a low sodium rub) with squeeze lemon juice on it. Broil at 440 for about 17-18 minutes (change time based on thickness, but this is for a relatively thick salmon fillet). Brown rice (uncle bens stovetop, takes like 12 minutes, sprinkle a little parmessan on it for flavor; if I get creative, use chicken broth to make the rice a little more flavorful). Microwaved veggies (from a bag) and a spinach salad (from a bag). Damn tasty and if you are eating for yourself just make a little extra and have it two nights. Damn delicous and I don't know how Salmon prices are around you, but over here its usually on sale for pretty cheap (and is such a tasty/easy fish to cook). Takes about 30 minutes of overall work (including cooking time).

QUOTE (daa84 @ May 25, 2008 -> 07:39 PM) well we gave up Carter, who was a A ball 1b...and at the time was our position player prospect....not sure that anyone complained about it too much, but there were plenty of people who wanted quentin to have no part of the roster and wanted owens to start because he is fast Most of those people were on Ozzie's coaching staff and not Soxtalk. In fact, I remember most everyone being downright excited over the Quentin acquisition, much like most of Soxtalk was exstatic over a minor acquisition made by Kenny before the start of the 05 season (Bobby Jenks being claimed off waivers).

QUOTE (Brian @ May 25, 2008 -> 07:36 PM) People actually complained about the CQ deal? We gave up a AA catcher who may never see the majors. Technically speaking, the Sox gave up there best power hitting prospect (personally speaking, Carter is a better power prospect than Fields, albeit more raw). The Dbacks than packaged Carter in a deal with the A's which landed Haren and Carter is amongst the minor league leaders in HR's. I just want to point this out. I'd make the deal 1000 out of 1000 times though and thats because while Carter is a very good prospect he was still a few years from the majors and Quentin was an all star type prospect who was ready to contribute now and filled a position of greater need (OF compared to 1B, where Carter will inevitably be stuck at).

As great as Carlos has been, I want to point out that without this rotation, you'd be looking at possibly the worse team in baseball. All I can say is that hopefully Q keeps kicking ass and that some of the other bats finger things out (or Kenny finds other guys who can). And to the pitching...keep on being BOSS!!!!

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 25, 2008 -> 06:13 PM) This reminds me of Jordan and his early years with the Bulls. We've got exactly one guy we can count on right now. And 5 guys in the rotation and a few in the pen.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ May 25, 2008 -> 06:10 PM) The last time Linebrink gave up a run was April 28 in the 3-3 tie game. His velocity is up too. He looks freaking awesome on the mound. That was the most jacked I've been over a Sox HR since the playoff run in 05.

QUOTE (daa84 @ May 25, 2008 -> 06:07 PM) i dont remember if contreras has ever had 10 Ks with us He was dominant for a while and was getting a lot of K's. I'd be surprised if he didn't have a 10K plus game. This game ain't over people. Lackey pitched a good one, Sox pen is gonna have to man up now and hopefully the offense can muster up enough runs to win this (hopefully all it takes is one more run by the Sox).

QUOTE (Brian @ May 25, 2008 -> 06:03 PM) Not much you can do when our batters are having 1 or 2 pitch ABs. I thought Alexei's was in the gap for sure. If Dye were playing RF for the Angels it would have dropped by 10 feet. Matthews Jr is freaking stellar defensively.

QUOTE (daa84 @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:51 PM) AJ, Crede, Uribe, Ramirez and even OC are guys who simple dont work pitchers...we have too many guys in this lineup liek that....the fact that konerko, thome and swisher are the only ones who really do is really tough when those guys are scuffling like they are OC has actually worked pitchers pretty well. He may not draw a ton of walks, but he's pretty effective at fouling pitches off and as a result working pitchers. I would agree with the other guys fitting that case. Heck, I'd actually compare OC and Dye in the sense that neither work pitchers tremendously well but they do a decent job of it (and shouldn't be in the same sentence as the other guys).

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:44 PM) Do we have one good hitter on this team? And that's it? I'm starting to think so. Dye & AJ have been good. I realize AJ is in a funk, but you wouldn't be hitting what they were at this point in the season if they were bad hitters. The bright side is OC is looking as good as he has with the Sox.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:43 PM) Anyone following the Reds game? Nothing like pitching your young superstar on 2 days rest in the 18th inning. Technically speaking, this would have been a day where he'd probably do a bullpen session. f***, DP.

That would have been a great catch given how much ground he had to cover to get there. Too bad, now the Angels are in a prime spot to take the lead.

QUOTE (Brian @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:33 PM) You're being generous. I honestly have not seen a more pathetic batter in some time. Swisher is right up there in terms of futility though, not going to lie.

QUOTE (daa84 @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:33 PM) it seems like a great majority of our baserunners in the last 5 or so games have been erased by double plays or base running mistakes Swisher getting thrown out at 2nd wasn't a base running mistake. Don't know what other mistakes there were. OC would have been safe on anything but a solid throw and had he not hesiated initially would have been safe. I'm not so sure i'd call it a baserunning blunder, rather an agressive out. In terms of DP's, most of this lineup rolls over on things (for f*** sake, half of the lineup is hovering the mendoza line) and as a result you have pretty good odds of seeing a DP. The Sox need to drastically adjust this lineup and add a hitter or two into it (and sacrifice a little power by moving two people like Thome/Konerko/Swisher/Uribe).

In terms of Lackey looking hittable. If you watch him throw one or two pitches you'd say, wow he's hittable. Than you watch him over the whole game and you'll see how he spots his FB in/out and up and down in the zone as well as moves his breaking stuff around the plate. That combination turns a guy who doesn't have eye popping stuff (his FB & Curve are both good pitches though) into one of the best pitchers in the AL.

Thome makes solid contact about 3 times a week now a days.

Quentin with a hard slide. Too bad Dye crushed it right to the 3rd baseman for a DP.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:19 PM) OC finally gets a nice hit, and then shows terrible instincts to go for it. He's made his career by having good instincts but any player that is agressive will ocassionally make an agressive mistake. s*** happens, if he consistently made stupid mistakes thats one thing, but this is a guy that consistently makes good agressive decisions and he's widely regarded as one of the smartest baseball players in the game for a reason. CQ with a hit. His mini slump looks to be ending

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:18 PM) Who's been the bigger bust? OC or Swisher? Swisher by a long shot.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:18 PM) I am speechless on how stupid that was. You have an offense that is struggling, you get into scoring position and then pull that stunt. Dumb. Technically with an offense struggling I expect the team to be additionally agressive on the basepaths. Not saying it was the smartest of all moves given that the middle of the order is due up, but had he not hesitated to begin with he would have been safe at 3rd. Still, I'd prefer not to run ourselves out of things. On the bright side, it was the 2nd straight AB where OC hit the ball HARD.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 25, 2008 -> 05:13 PM) His forkball is just nasty again as well. Thats for sure.

3 1-2-3 innings so far from JC.

Wow, I'd have called that a strike on Rivera.

Morgan has brought up a very astute point regarding Jose Contreras telegraphing his fastball when he drops sidearm. 90% of the time that is all he's throwing from that arm slot and I'm surprised we haven't seen him throw more changeups out of that spot (to at least ensure hitters have to stay honest). For the most part he hasn't gotten too sidearm happy, but I've noticed it a bit more from him tonight. Luckily he's had pretty damn good command as well as velocity. He's really looking good.