Chisoxfn

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:25 PM) Not at all. I hate it when people say they are "cautiously excited". It's f***ing baseball. Get excited! Last season makes this so much more enjoyable. That and my new approach to just enjoy every game (find a way regardless) cause this is the best sport in the world and its awesome to watch.

Nice...I'd either stick with Mac or turn it on over to Thornton or Masset (I find no flaw in going to Masset today, knowing that Javy is going tomorrow as he should still be in okay shape to be an inning eater in the case that Danks gets roughed up in his start). And if Danks pitches good than Masset will be perfectly set to go (without being rusty) if either Jose or Floyd have shorter outings.

QUOTE(BurlyMan56 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:23 PM) Is it too early to be giddy at this point in the season? After last year and how bad things were, I think it would be foolish to not get excited right now (obviously not overly excited, but why not enjoy the early success). Hopefully they keep it up all season.

Wow...a changeup from Mac. Never thought I'd see that.

He gone.

Man, that was strike three.

He definitely looked better and if someone goes down I'll be semi confident that he can fill in. Its just hard for me to see how he can play significantly since it would mean one of Swisher/Quentin/Dye is either hurt or sucking horrificly. I could really go for a nice inning out of Mac here (it would be huge for Mac's confidence, imo). Get him going early and I think we'll see him rocking most of the season. He has such nasty stuff, there is no reason he shouldn't be one of the best relievers in baseball (unless of course he's on the DL and given his history that is always possible).

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:16 PM) I guess thats my issue all together. If he is going to be up here, get him AB's. If not, send him down. I agree he needs to be in AAA right now, and thought that all of ST. However, they have put him on the 25 man. If that is the choice they made, then give him AB's. Personally I'm hoping they just had a few more things to work with him on and are going to send him down shortly. I would actually like Ramirez/BA down in the minors with Bourgouis and Owens up (only if Owens is a backup/pinch runner).

QUOTE(Jordan4life @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:16 PM) Yo Jason, change that sig my friend. I don't want to be reminded of 2007. What does it even say? I have sigs/images off (cause I ocassionally visit the site at work and don't want it to be too obvious with people seeing pictures all over the place).

Swing looks a s***load better. Man is that a better looking swing. He still looks a tad long but this appears to be a workable major league swing (especially with the tools he has....speed, power ability, defense, etc). That said, there really isn't anything wrong with him spending some time in AAA further honing the swing and his approach. Robbed by Cabrera.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:14 PM) BA in the game! I want to see this new swing. He has a lot more squat in his new stance (compared to his old stand straight stance).

QUOTE(IndySoxFan @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:12 PM) i am starting to like uribe at 2b Anyone that will ever tell me that Richar, Ramirez or anyone else is better at 2B than Uribe (defensively) is nuts. He was a stud at SS defensively and moving him over to 2B will instantly make him a premiere defensive 2B (he also has the best arm of any 2B in baseball and its not even close). I can say that because Furcal was the only SS who had a better arm than he had.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:12 PM) It's 9-2. I know you put your best defensive team in the game late, but if they blow a 9-2 lead, they had a bigger problem then Ram being in the field. He should be hitting here for Juan, and Anderson should be hitting for Swisher. Why pull Uribe though, who just had an off day? I just don't think you'll see much of Ramirez (its also why he'll be down in the minors soon enough and he should still learn just from being on the major league bench).

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:10 PM) Man, I hope Crede keeps proving me wrong, its great to see. And Quentin in the lineup really makes it 100 percent more dangerous. Crede made those poor throws but he really looks healthy and he's a pretty solid offensive player (won't have a great OPS or a great OBP, but he will hit for power and knock in runs down in the order all while saving a boatload of runs). And I love Quentin, he really has a tremendous approach up there.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:10 PM) Get Ram and Anderson in this game Oz. Who does Ram replace? He's not that good of a defensive outfielder and Uribe already had a day off and is a stud defensively. I could see giving Cabrera some time off (whose a stud defensively) and sliding Uribe over to SS with Ram playing 2B but thats it (and that obviously makes the defense worse). Or are you implying playing Ramirez in CF, Quentin in LF, BA in RF (with Swish and Dye coming out).

Still plenty of baseball to play, but this is just an awesome game. Crede made two errors but aside from that its been a thing of beauty to watch. Uribe has been stellar at 2B and that was a nice flip by OC on the double play. Solid baserunning by the Sox tonight too. Lets keep it up and close this thing out over the next two innings. I also think now would be a good time to pull JD and play BA.

Nice quick inning.

Swisher...BOMB!!!!

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 03:28 PM) That's why we wait after we see how Richar does in 2-3 weeks at Charlotte. 2-3 weeks at Charlotte really doesn't prove much as he still hasn't proved he can hit major league hitting. Personally I think the Sox will do this, if Uribe plays mediocre they'll wait to give Richar his chance and at that point if Richar pans out awesome, if not and neither is really playing that good they will consider making a move for a 2nd baseman (since if Richar doesn't pan out they don't really have one in the system, sans Getz, who is considered more of a utility guy).

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 03:21 PM) His chance to prove us was two years ago, and he clearly has changed his swing since then. I don't think that 2006 campaign is a good enough evaluation. And I'm not saying to rotate them for the whole season, or even that long, I just think BA deserves as many starts as Quetin gets in the first 2-3 weeks of the season. It's just how it should be to evalute the talent we have. I don't agree with the way BA has been handled by this organization, and I don't think I ever will. That's just how its gonna be, I guess. Hopefully Quetin just keeps producing, I guess, and BA is traded to a team that needs an ace centerfielder (defensivly) with a bat that appears to be workable (based on his spring). I complain more than anyone about the way the Sox have handled young players and while I griped a lot about Brian Anderson and the way he was handled early in his career in Chicago the more I ended up finding out the more I realized why. He worked hard this off-season, but last year in limited play his swing hadn't been fixed. It definitely looked improved this season but lets not forget he's had good springs in the past. I will say that I was impressed with hearing about his new attitude and about his improved swing. That said why not show off that improved swing down in AAA if need be. Carlos Quentin is better. He's more talented almost all the way across the board with BA being better defensively (since he can play a better CF, in fact, an outstanding CF). But BA put himself in that spot and now after having two different chances (he had a chance last spring to earn a starting job but again had a poor attitude and Erstad started over him; yes Ozzie liked the veteran but had BA showed up last year with this seasons attitude he'd have gotten a chance). After that you aren't going to get handed s*** and now he's going to have to wait his turn. I will say I wish he wasn't hurt the 2nd half of last year because it was horrid watching guys like Owens/Gonzalez/Terrero/Erstad/Pods actually play cause none of those guys are even close to being as talented as BA. This season, I can safely say that Swisher/Dye/Quentin are all more talented and thus I can't b**** one bit about BA not playing. The only gripe I have is to Owens or BA being the 4th. BA provides the better defense while Owens provides a great pinch runner of the bench. BA could always stay up when Owens comes back as the defensive guy with JO being the runner (Alexei to the minors) but I really would like BA to get consistent AB's and continue to work on his new swing.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 11:59 AM) hopefully we can somehow ditch Uribe by the time Richar is ready, and let Richar start at 2B for us. Also, I can't remember if I said it in this thread or not, but we should really consider sending Ramirez down to get everyday AB's and playing time at SS and calling up one of Rouse or Bourgeois who would be better suited for bench roles. I wouldn't get rid of Uribe until we see that Richar is healthy and productive. Plus it really doesn't hurt to have a bench player with the infield defense of Uribe at your hands for late inning defensive replacements (Juan would also be a solid pinch hitter in the right situation because he is great at getting the timely sac fly as well as laying down a sac bunt).

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:06 AM) Swisher leaves a lot to be desired out there in CF, IMO, but he's a hell of a lot better then Owens at playing CF Honestly, I can't see how anyone can say that based on the way he's played this season. I'm not saying it will hold up (its a small sample size) but he has looked very good out there. He's not the best CFer in baseball, but so far this year he's been better than average (very good reads, good routes, making all the plays and than some).

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 07:02 AM) Yeah, he looks good in the lineup... plus, I don't know when the Sox have had a cannon like that in their outfield. Surgically repaired what?? I am 100% against Jerry Owens being anything more than a 4th outfielder upon his return from the DL. I thought Swisher leading off was a waste of his power, but the dude is always getting on base. I love it. I also believe he is a plus defender in centerfield. What a talent! Quentin - Swisher - Dye is fine with me for awhile. If the Sox really want a leadoff hitter with speed, trade for one that plays 2nd and slide Swisher to a run production spot.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 02:25 PM) I have to disagree with this. We've already won the series, so if Ozzie wants to rest a starter or two, tonight is the night to do it. The fact that it's on national TV shouldn't matter. I wouldn't have a problem with Ozzie playing our usual lineup, but I definitely don't want to see Bobby or Linebrink out there tonight. Those guys need a day off. If you want to rest a starter, don't do it against the big dogs in the division, where a win is considered more important (because you add a win to your count and give a big AL contender a loss). If there is ever a time to go for the sweep, tonight would be that night. Plus you are going up against the teams ace and have your very own ace on the mound so why not try to make a statement that last season is gone and this season is here.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Apr 6, 2008 -> 10:58 AM) I can justify it by saying he's still extremely young, and we have other young players that need to be given a chance too. I've always been a fan of the theory that we need to put the best team on the field at all times, and I can't say that we have that right now, ONLY because BA hasn't been given his fair chance. Why not let Brian and Quetin rotate for a few weeks, and see what we have? If Quetin out-performs, fine, let him have it, I'd be fine with that, but I think its pretty agreed upon that Brian seems to have turned the corner. I just want to see what the kid can do at this level. Besides, if he can do well, maybe next year we have an outfield of Swisher-BA-Quetin. That's probably even the best solution now with how old Dye is getting (although, he is raking at the plate right now). IF you have the two of them rotating you are really asking for them to both fail as neither would truly be given an opportunity. The reality is Brian Anderson had a full season to prove himself and he didn't. Now he's going to have to have a few things go his way (on top of doing nothing but busting his ass) to get a second shot at starting every day (and he better make the most of it if that chance happens again in Chicago). I'm not saying BA can't be a good player, but there is no way you could possibly make a case for sitting Carlos Quentin over him. Quentin has better tools, is patient at the plate and projects to be such a better player (not to mention he already is a better player). IT may not be fair, but when you have two other veterans who are locks to start (Dye/Swisher) than BA is just going to be the odd man out (I will say that I would see the point if Owens was starting every day and BA was just stuck behind him with the Sox not having Quentin).