Chisoxfn

Oh god.

If that were one of our boys I'd freaking commend him and I'm going to commend Arod for doing so.

I'm just of the theory that this team needs a shakeup, the type of move that wakes everyone up and puts the players on notice and I think Ozzie can only do so much in that department, the onus really does fall on Kenny at this point (whether that is Walker going or the team getting rid of one of its regular's and making a roster change). This team needs some youth because while youth is inconsistent, it can also create things that this slow/sluggish team can't do. And I think the reality is Ozzie has to get frustrated because this is the second straight year he's managing an offense that completely doesn't fit his style (and we can argue whether his style is right or wrong, but I've said all along you got to give a manager what he likes.

Torres signed the largest contract the Angels have ever given to a high schooler after getting drafted 10th overall in the 2000 draft and really had a fantastic arm. The Angels were enamored with him and tried to be careful as hell but he randomly lost velocity and really struggled (you could really really compare this guy to Kris Honel as they have similar stories) and he finally under-went tommy john in 2004 (missed the entire season). Prior to 04 he had battled numerous arm injuries as well as in 2003 he missed most of the season after having some ligament damage to his elbow (they opted for rest and eventually the tommy john was needed). In 2001, Torres was the Angels #1 prospect according to BA. From what I remember, when he was actually considered a good prospect he threw in the 91-94 MPH range with very good sink (but that velocity dipped into the upper 80's after his debut with the Angels) although I remember reading where doctors said there was a good chance that after the surgery he would regain his velocity. However, it should be noted in 05 and 06 he has had horrendous control, but last year he had good k numbers and didn't give up that many hits. Could be a sleeper if Perdew has gotten his delivery straightened out (and Cheat is dead on with Perdew...every pitching prospect I have interviewed recently has flat out raved about this guy). By the way, good find on that Cheat. I didn't even realize the Sox had Torres.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ May 30, 2007 -> 09:53 PM) I wouldn't mind seeing Broadway in the pen right now, he's a two pitch pitcher and I could see him having success. FB, improving 2 Seamer (reports i've read/heard indicate he's made a lot of progress with it as of late), solid Changeup, and a pretty damn good curve.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 30, 2007 -> 05:42 PM) Should have traded Haeger during the offseason, as teams were actually interested in him. Couldn't agree more. I'll let someone else deal with finishing that project. I'm just not a fan of knuckle ball pitchers because they have a lot of things going against them (especially the slow deliver that turns any baserunner into an instant double).

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ May 30, 2007 -> 08:16 PM) I don't see anything wrong with that. I'd be proud if Juan Uribe did it. If Darin Erstad did it, we'd never stop hearing about what a heady ballplayer he is. But since it's A-Rod, a player with infinite talent and the money that goes with that talent, he'll be raked over the coals for being "Bush League." Completely agree. This is just heads up baseball and it is the way I was taught to play the game as a kid and I'm glad to see a guy like Arod do something extra to try and cause some confusion.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ May 30, 2007 -> 01:58 PM) Let's see if I can come up with some similar arguments here... This guy has 8 gold gloves, 354 homers in about 90 more games than Andruw, two 40-plus homerun seasons and another 39 homer season, and a .288/.381/.534/.915 OPS. That guy must be great, he must be a future HOF'er, he's one of the All-time greats. Oh wait, it's Jim Edmonds, nobody cares. Jones is a very good player, but he doesn't really belong in the pantheon of the absolute greats. He's going to end up with some very good career numbers largely because he came up when he was 20, but he has not been a consistent game-changing hitter. Yes, he's a likely HOF'er because of his great defense and solid offensive production, but I can't say I'd ever have called him one of the top 5 players in the league, maybe even top 10. My question is who was ever considering him one of the top 5 or 10 players in the league. I know I wasn't. Do I consider him one of the 10 best defensive centerfielders of all time, yes.

QUOTE(BaseballNick @ May 29, 2007 -> 12:45 PM) You'll love Boston. I was there a couple of times and it in no way, is "Wrigley East." It's 100X the park Wrigley is. I recommend taking the tour of the stadium and checking out Yawkey Way before the game starts. Fenway is expensive, but still one of the best places to catch a game, in my opinion. Have fun. My opinion of Fenway is the opposite of yours and more in line with what Steff was saying. In fact, if in the middle of the night someone blew up the dump I'd say all the better cause it is an absolute POS and this is coming from someone that doesn't mind Wrigley and absolutely loved Old Tiger Stadium. I can't comment much on the city as the only part I really saw was when we came in to see the Red Sox game and than rolled out as part of a stadium roadtrip.

This was a bad loss.

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ May 30, 2007 -> 11:36 AM) Hey, I'm not one of those who are calling for a fire sale or want to blow anything up. I'm still positive about this season and also about this particular ballgame. My point was in answer to those implying that the reason the Twins scored four runs is because Garland is getting squeezed. When the umpire calls a close one against the Twins pitcher nobody notices much. But when he calls one against Garland, Hawk and some here start using it as an excuse. If the Twins hitters would strike out swinging on a bad pitch after getting a close call by the ump, nobody would notice. But because the Twins hitters are more selective, they capitalize on the situation and then Hawk and some here whine about the one close call that didn't go their way. That's the point. Oh I don't disagree, Hawk makes more excuses for the Sox struggles than anyone in the biz. It is always someone elses fault.

I would love to be able to find a way to keep Tyrus/Deng/Hinrich/BenWallace but I don't see anyway that would happen. Would a Nocioni (sign and trade), Gordon, Sefolosha, plus the Knicks pick this year be enough to get a deal done? The one major problem I see is we are giving them 3 wing players in return and I don't know if they would want that. They could potentially have some interest in Duhon and letting him run the point (they are looking for a PG) and while he wouldn't be a good starter he does a lot of things right. Odom could play the 4 and they could go with a pretty athletic lineup and hope Bynum develops. Still I'd think they would have to get Tyrus in any deal. But if they could make the above deal, than get a bench player or two by splitting up the excemption (I think they could, especially with Kobe in the lineup as the Bulls are already contenders and would be even more so after the deal) and I would pretty much guarantee the only thing that would stop the Bulls from winning a championship would be injuries.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ May 30, 2007 -> 11:27 AM) Yes, they are ALL hitting 1.000 Rock...I'm thankful you are in this game thread. Christ you'd think this team hadn't won a game yet all season based on some of the stuff people are spewing.

This team will win this game.

Come on Jony boy....get the dp ball and get the offense back up.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 30, 2007 -> 08:49 AM) So, here's my counterpoint. The White Sox will by no means be mathematically eliminated when the trading deadline rolls around. This exact same argument can be made then. So the question must be posed...at what point do we decide to do something major? This team seems like they can probably hang around at a little bit above .500 as they currently stand, especially with Thome back. But we've seen too many different bursts of struggles, from the lineup to the defense to the bullpen, to think that they're suddenly going to hit a 12 game winning streak and surge back up with the Tigers and Indians. Right now, those other teams are simply better. KW has shown a proclivity, and an intelligent one at that...to make his moves early, well before the trading deadline. IIRC, Garcia was a June pickup, Alomar and Everett were first-of-July pickups, etc. That way, KW gets an extra month with anyone he picks up. So in other words, based on Kenny's past, if we're going to make moves to try to make a run at the Tigers and Twins, the time is rapidly approaching. And if we're deciding to sell on someone, say Mark for example...his value might well be higher now than 1-2 months from now (Dye I think you hold onto for at least another month to see if he keeps improving). So in other words...yes, the Sox aren't mathematically eliminated. But they're not putting themselves in a position to win as currently constructed, and the time for making decisions on what to do about this is rapidly approaching. If the Sox are in a similar position at the deadline (4-6 games out from the playoffs) I think Kenny will have to look at the deals and if a deal were to come up that would maybe be a wash or maybe a potential slight loss this year but help the club vastly next year (especially in terms of guaranteeing they would be able to keep key parts and stay competitive and continue to battle for world series) and in the coming years than I think that is something he should and likely will consider (for example moving a Dye to a contender in order to get a good young outfielder who is already solid, but maybe just isn't the big bat that team needed to get itself into the series). I mean if you were to get a top shortstop prospect and a good young outfielder with some potential than I think you make that move. Or if a team were interested in Uribe you would have to consider making the move as long as you can get a guy that can come in and play right away and projects well. I don't want to just trade to trade though, the move can't be the type that really hurts this team, rather one that retools the team and changes the face of it a bit (gets it more athletic for the stretch run and younger for the future as well). I want this team to get more athletes. QUOTE(WCSox @ May 30, 2007 -> 08:46 AM) I'd say that getting a high-tier pitching prospect for Freddy's rapidly-declining skills and his $10 million price tag was a halfway decent deal. KW was lucky that he didn't have to eat a significant portion of his remaining salary to take him off the payroll. If we're where we currently are two months from now, I'd like to see Dye and Crede dealt. With a significant amount of money tied up in aging vets like Thome and Contreras, this team needs to get younger. And I'd like to see KW take the money that Dye and Crede are freeing up to make a serious run at re-signing Mark in the off-season. Think about what Freddy would get on the open market today (significantly less, imo).

It matters, especially when players just give up on those pickles. He should have just busted his behind and tried to get back (I hate when I see players dog it in a pickle).

I freaking love Willie. Never wanted to see him go.

Time to watch the game...yes.

Do I enter that bonus code in at PSO's website or enter it in when I sign up at absolutepoker.com

QUOTE(fathom @ May 29, 2007 -> 05:51 PM) I have no f***ing clue why he's playing today. Besides for looking pathetic against Bonser last time, there's also reports that his surgically repaired arm/shoulder is causing him pain. He has absolutely no arm (but thats do to his injury) but when he's not hitting he's worthless (and he is a decent pinch hitter historically). But than again I don't want Iguchi here either so what do I know. I want some mother f***ing athletes that can run and move on this team, guys that can create (to go with the power bats we have). I'd like to pick up a speedy 2nd baseman and an outfielder that has good speed, can hit for a decent average and field.

QUOTE(Iguchicago @ May 29, 2007 -> 05:49 PM) I love how the usual pessimistic poster all come out when bad s*** happens, and declare the season over. I hope you are not calling me pessimistic because if I'm pessimistic Soxtalk is officially screwed

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ May 29, 2007 -> 05:47 PM) It would be nice if one of our infielders could run just a bit. Cintron dogged that one. Cintron is f***ing terrible in the field...Terrible.

Danks isn't getting hit hard (sans that one hit to Mackowiak in the first) but he's in a tough spot as he's not spotting much stuff (the thing I love about Danks is so far even when his command is off it seems like teams have trouble squaring him up).

QUOTE(PlunketChris @ May 29, 2007 -> 03:25 PM) Looks like Roger Clemens will be making his MLB debut on Monday (I think thats what was said.. if not, sometime in that series) against the Sox. Get your tickets now I suppose. Yes...this means I get to see the Sox on ESPN HD (I already know ESPN is going to televise this game, they have to).