Chisoxfn

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 04:42 PM) I've always read and heard that Broadway was better than McCullogh, and that McCullogh was even a "softer" thrower. Plus, the org. seems to be happy with the progress of Lance in adding a two-seam fastball to his repertoire. Neither of them projects as more than a 4/5. However, you can see how Matt Guerrier (a pitcher with similar stuff) has really made a career for himself as a middle reliever...that's the best we can hope for them at this point. Ya, I think we should be hoping for a lot more than that out of McCulloch and Broadway. I don't think either projects as a #1 but I think both project as potential #3's and in this day and era a #3 can be a pretty darn good pitcher (a true #3). I think Broadway is the better prospect of the two though, but its not by much and I also believe both are guys that the org would consider trading to upgrade in another area. QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 08:01 PM) Zazueta's another little sleeper himself. Another Dan Cortes in the making perhaps? I haven't heard much about Zazueta and definitely don't know enough about his stuff to make any sort of assessment but I'd be surprised if he had the type of arm that Cortes has/had.

QUOTE(shoota @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 08:18 PM) I recommend Running Scared with Paul Walker and a spicy Vera Farminga looking much better than she did in The Departed. That was actually a surprisingly good movie. QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Apr 7, 2007 -> 10:39 AM) Is that for real? It looks like the next sequel to 28 days later only this time its with fluffy innocent looking sheep. Holy s***...that is a must see.

Brilliant....3 hitter, Javy did good, the pen did good and they got the timely hits to pull out the win. Very nice and the Sox are now at .500

I'm hoping for rain in the Cards game. If it rains then it means I can watch the Sox game in HD cause I'd imagine that is if the Cards game isn't played than it means the Sox game will be the game they pick up.

The new Academy Is album is simply awesome. One of the best albums I've heard in a while.

Haha, seriously, who'd of thunk it would be my lazy ass to do something like that. Its about the only work I've done in the 4 year history of this site.

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 05:51 PM) on the radar gun, and it's freezing out, literally...in Kansas City. His fastball is averaging 98-99, and those are legit numbers, because Jorge DeLaRosa of the Royals is exactly where he normally is, in the lower 90's. I expect him to breakdown, but Justin does have pretty smooth mechanics. He uses his height and weight and strong lower body to keep the pressure off his arm and he was looking filthy out there tonight. For some reason I ended up watching a lot of the Royals game and wow he's secondary stuff looked even better (great location on it) and his fastball was moving all over the place. Having that type of life on upper 90 MPH fastballs should be illegal. QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 07:51 PM) Jose and Buehrle both started out hot last year and fizzled towards the end. But no matter what Detroit does, we shouldnt' be just counting on them to be worse. I don't think the Sox should worry about anyone but yourselves. You have to do your thing, you can't look over your shoulders or worry about other people. You want to be the best, than you play like the best and forget about everyone else. If the Sox do that I'm not going to be concerned at all because I know they have talent on this 25 man roster but the club is playing in a division where every team sans one has a lot of talent and that other team (The Royals) are a bit better simply because Meche and Grienke are better than anyone they were trotting out last year) and Dejesus/Gordon/Sweeney/Teahen are all more than solid hitters (well Gordon has a bit to prove and Teahen has to show his second half wasn't just a flash in the pan).

I freaking really really liked the episode. I guess I'm in the minority but Lost has been winning me back as of late.

I think I'm going to die. I play in a weekly soccer league (pretty competitive league but in the end its still for fun) but with our busy season just ending we were down a few players (no subs plus 2 short) and I now feel like I want to vomit. To make matters worse all our players that were there stepped up and played our best games only to lose near the end.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 08:22 AM) He's better than Rogo, but he sure isn't a future three hitter. BTW, don't forget, guys are probably on the DL on that roster. Probably Lubs, for one. Long Term I think most scouts you'd talk to would put Sweeney in the 3 hole. The key is whether he learns to start to drive the inside pitch and with that you'll see his extra base hits (and hr's) take off. However, if he doesn't, than you are probably talking about Sweeney as a two hole hitter. QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 09:21 AM) His skillset probably projects to the two hole or somewhere like 6th/7th with what he's got now. He's shown, well, not a whole lot in the bandbox in Charlotte. I'm not on high on Sweeney as most, because while he can hit for average, we need him in a power position as he projects right now to right field. Sweeney is a plus right fielder or left fielder and is at least an average center fielder (especially with a bit more playing time out there). If we put him in left I'm not as concerned about his power simply because the Sox haven't had any power there for a long time and with all the power they have in the infield and the rest of the lineup you can get away with not having power in left. And I admit, Sweeney gets talked up a lot more than his stats would indicate but its because of his feel for the game as well as his pure swing and natural tools (he has the strength and bat speed to hit for power, the swing to hit for an average, the speed to run, and he has a very nice arm). QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 09:56 AM) Both him and Anderson, actually, unless Anderson can develop some of his power. Anderson will never hit for the average to be that high in the lineup. I think Anderson is a 6 hole hitter. The type of guy that will have a few seasons in the low .280s but most of the time he'll be in the low .270's with xtra bases, a s***load of k's and somewhere between 20-30 HR's. If he fails, he'll stick around the big leagues because he can play plus defense at all 3 positions and pinch run and do some other things. I don't really see an in between with Anderson. He either reaches that line or just fails miserably as a hitter. QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 12:56 PM) It's tough to see Sweeney ever becoming a 'star' at the plate. He'd have to make a pretty big leap in his power for that to happen. It will be interesting to see if his power surge in the second half of last year is for real. If he comes out this year and hits .300/.350/.500, that will be very encouraging (although some will probably be due to the fact that he's hitting in Charlotte). I still can't see Sweeney ever being more than a very good player, though. What are Sweeney's prospects in centerfield? I know that he's better suited for RF, but do you guys think he could play an average CF if given the chance? His value goes up quite a bit if he could stick in CF, although that would mean moving Anderson to the corners, and I'm not sure that he has the power to stick in one of the corners. Either way, I'd love to see a scenario in which Fields (LF), Sweeney and Anderson are all in starting spots next year for the Sox, although that would mean that the Sox would have to bring in a big time free agent (A-Rod for third?) because it's going to take some time for the three to adjust to the big league level (Anderson included). (Sorry for the run-on.) If those three guys are starting for the Sox I'd probably throw up...unless we have an infield with Arod, Konerko, Howie Kendrick, and Miguel Tejada with Joe Mauer behind the plate. I expect two of those three prospects to actually succeed with the Sox (but I'll admit, Josh Fields is really growing on me).

Yet again why I think BP is terrible. How is John lackey a breakout candidate. Last I looked he's the ace of the Angels and has been ever since Colon went down (and some would say he's been it even before than).

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 07:53 PM) Great selection. I'm surprised Chris responded so quickly. Good to see he is atleast honest when answering quesitons; ideally the last and whether he is a Tigers fan. It'll be interesting to see what Getz' future within this organization is if Iguchi is signed longterm after the season concludes. If this were to occur, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to try and field several other infield positions. He'd be up in 2009 as a UTL INF, without question. Getz is an interesting guy. He really impressed in his debut at Kanny and than struggled in AA and initially you would say eh not a prospect but you got to remind yourselves that he made a big jump and had a lot on his shoulders as one of the clubs few quality positional prospects. He now has a full season under his belt and plenty of time to get acclimated and I really believe he's prime for a break-out year. He's too good fundamentally to struggle and all of those quality tools will get him on a major league roster for some time (he'll never make an all star game, but he's a good guy to have).

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 6, 2007 -> 07:46 PM) Phillips is out of options, and at least put up quality numbers last year. He should be moved for something @ trade deadline time, or at the very worst moved over the winter. I hate just losing people as FA like we did with Tracey because we don't have room. The club is trying to move him, but there just aren't many takers at this point and imo, if you don't get any value you might as well hold him as a potential throw in in a trade deadline deal (if the club is buyers).

Aside from Dan Patrick, he's my favorite sports show on the radio.

I'm guessing his pitch count was up there. 9k's too, pretty sick. Vazquez threw a scoreless six so the no no is intact. And the Cubs Rich Hill gave up a bomb to Corey Hart to end his bid at a perfect game in the 6th.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 11:43 PM) We could draft Jordan Danks first, and then KW's horrific offseason will make sense. How can we consider this a horrific off-season. So far Danks won the fifth starters spot and Brandon McCarthy and Garcia had terrible springs and Garcia is now battling a bit of the injury bug while McCarthy had a very mediocre first start.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 12:37 AM) Big game this weekend b/w Arsenal and West Ham Gage. It's on at midnight Sat Night for me, so I can't wait. I actually think we're in with a decent chance, if recent form is anything to go by. We need Noble and Reo - Coker to break even in the middle against Fabregas and co., and hopefully Tevez gets a chance or 2 to work his magic on the ball. The Gunners will win by 2 or more goals...BOOK IT. Arsenal is getting new ownership as well apprently.

QUOTE(Linnwood @ Apr 5, 2007 -> 06:02 AM) I thought there was a rule against posting links here to that guy? No, we aren't WSI. While Jay Mariotti isn't Sox fans favorite reporter I see no reason why his articles can't be posted here.

I also predicted the Sox to finish second in the division to the Indians, but don't worry, I have the Sox winning the Wild Card with the Yankees NOT making the playoffs (I also am predicting that the Mets and Cardinals miss the playoffs; I'm more confident on the Cardinals prediction but I couldn't find it in my to pick the Mets after looking at how brutal that rotation is; same with the Cards terrible rotation).

QUOTE(greg775 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 09:48 PM) If the Sox had a horrific April and you were GM, would you be tempted to go young and tear it up? I know it's early but I think by the second week of May we're going to know if we've got a team this year or not. No, why go young than...you have till at least early July to make that decision (whether you are buyers or sellers) and I see no reason why any GM would or should give up that early.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 10:11 PM) Dear Mark Buehrle, I really have lost a lot of faith in you since the 1st half of last year. You really have been s***, and I blame you for the 2nd half collapse of 2006. So far in 2007, are starting pitching has been terrible. The Nationals have more wins than we do. Yes, those Nationals. If you could step up tomorrow, and give this team 7 strong innings, and get a much needed W, a lot of the doubt I have about you would be wiped away. Somehow, the third game of this young season looks to be a very big one, and it would be great if you could step up, and not piss down your leg. Thanks. Your Pal, Tony. Don't worry Tony...I took part in a panel for a Chicago newspaper this past week and was the only person to predict anything decent out of Mark (and yeah I predicted 20 wins) and Mark will get the job done this season, book it.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:51 PM) Nope. just checked. I'll be working tomorrow and it's a WGN game anyway, so as long as my provider starts showing them in time for the Twins on Friday I will be happy. Anybody know how much InDemand had to fork over in this deal? Not sure but Direct TV is not paying 700 million anymore. My guess is both providers are paying the exact same amount and I'd imagine Direct TV and In Demand are probably spending somewhere between 400-550 million a piece.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:48 PM) Hamga opened his recruitment, I know that. Ya, I heard he's considering Tenn. It sounded like pretty much everyone opened there committments or at least is considering it (which is understandable). It figures Alford leaves when he actually has a good recruiting class (something he failed to do well during most of his tenure at Iowa).

He would have been one of the last guys on the list. We considered him but opted to pass mainly because we feel he did little to truly distinguish himself in his debut. I do expect Shelby on next years list though as he has the tools to be one of the 25 best prospects in our system. Of course speaking of tools, Collaro has as much power as anyone in the Sox system (with the possible exception of Vernon Carter) and didn't even make the top 25 (mainly because he still has a lot of holes in his swing).

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Apr 4, 2007 -> 08:43 PM) What about all the garbage pitchers that mowed the Sox down last year by just going low and away all game? Garbage pitchers tend to cause more problems for good hitting teams. The reason is you have to completely change your offensive makeup at times for one hitter and there is a theory in baseball that making those type of adjustments can do more long term harm than good so often times a player will try to make minimal adjustments and use his ability to get him through the game. And I also believe that the garbage pitcher theory is a bit over-exagerated because some of the times we got shut down guys just came in and hit there spots and when that happens you typically are going to have a tough night at the plate. But by all means I'm not saying our hitters are going to be perfect every game and I think thats the point, they won't be and people seem to expect them to be perfect (or for there approaches to be perfect every time). I know one thing, our guys have a better approach at the plate than almost any team in baseball (New York is a clear exception as hands down they have the best approach in baseball).