Chisoxfn

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 06:00 PM) Note I said his ceiling is comparable to Gary Majewski. Minor League relievers are a dime a dozen to a point. Losing such a player is not a huge deal. Some will work out. Some won't. And Majewski was at AAA when we moved him (yet people really didn't think much of it than), Lamura still has a ways to go and I think you pretty much nailed his value right on the head. I'll definately be rooting for him, but the Dodgers got some good arms and he's going to have a tough time trying to get his way up to the major league level. I wouldn't be shocked if the Dodger dealt him at one point or another.

Ranger, 101...Kalapse is entitled to his opinion. I've deleted all those posts out so if you all want to keep telling one another to shut up than enjoy your suspensions. I'm making a point to make sure people are allowed to make posts and as long as they are intelligent and worthwhile they are fine. And I don't want to see people throw opinions out if they aren't intelligent, leave that to the mods to remove. QUOTE(Sonik22 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 06:06 PM) what about AJ, dont they have a good relationship? Ya, Buehrle and AJ get along good, but maybe Alomar will take over and see if a change of pace behind the plate will help Mark (imo).

QUOTE(JimH @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 05:28 PM) It's on the White Sox site, and Williams is quoted as saying his coaching staff has been after him to acquire Alomar for the last month or so. So the coaches want Alomar, that means there was something they didn't like about Widger's preparation routine with the pitchers. On the surface it's not much of an upgrade but I think they traded for their next bench coach as much as a backup catcher. Great stuff. I also want to remind everyone that Alomar ALWAYS caught Buehrle. If you recall Buehrle hated throwing to Olivo (and that says something considering Buehrle usually is pretty easy to throw to) and my guess is we'll see Alomar begin to catch Buehrle again. The two had a very good relationship (just like Buehrle had a pretty good relationship with Burke).

After Beltre gave the M's a lead in the 8th with an inside the parker, Varitek tied things up with a HR but than Sexson went yard on a walkoff in the bottom half of the 9th. Mariners Beat the BoSox.

This is from Soxtalk's article on Lamura for those not familiar with him. I usually put in pretty detailed stuff about guys we traded cause we tend to get a lot of visitors from opposing teams (especially FutureSox).

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 04:18 PM) Wow, Lamura for Sandy. That's over paying imo. Lamura has a pretty damn good arm and could be a decent reliever one of these years. I think BJ could have maybe been a decent throw in, in a larger deal. Wish we could have given up a Munoz type... Munoz probably has more trade value than Lamura, but this is a fair move. Lamura has a lot of work to do before he ever turns into a legit prospect. He does have a nice arm, but he's the exact type of guy you can move. He's a college reliever thats taken a while to develop. That said, its starting to look like he's finding things out, but he is 25 and still just in AA. His numbers have been fabulous this year though.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 04:08 PM) Pitch selection isn't the same as calling out somebody's game preparation. I haven't followed Widger's career, but he must have been a decent catcher throughout his career, how else would you stick around the bigs for 11 years despite hitting .222??

Not the right thread, but Beltre just hit an inside the parker against the Red Sox to take the lead in the bottom of the 8th. In terms of work ethic, Widge may have just felt real comfortable this year, while last year he was new to the team and trying to prove that he still could play at the major league level so he worked doubly as hard. And you never know, something else could have been going on in Widge's personal life, but I can't speculate on that. Either way I wish him the best.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 04:00 PM) This sure wasn't the case last year. Everybody raved about his pre-game preparation last year. I guess a lot can change in a year. Widge always seemed like a solid guy. I always thought this move was double edged. One we get a guy that hits LHP better than Widge and two the move shakes the roster up just a bit by adding in a well respected veteran (at the same time we are getting rid of a vet).

That tells me the staff wasn't very happy with the pre game work he did with the pitchers prior to starts, if not more.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:46 PM) Wes has that era under 3 now. He's definitely come a long way so far this year. Trying to get an interview set up with him to discuss any potential changes he's made.

QUOTE(Sonik22 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:49 PM) wait so this isn't for sure yet, cuz i dont know if i like this move The White Sox post game guy reported it but nothing has been announced as official.

QUOTE(CySox @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:41 PM) No, I always thought Rongey was an idiot. I personally can't stand him, and I think he is one of the worst pre/post game guys the sox have had. I wish we could bring back the guy from last year. His names escapes me right now... That i understand. But from here on out the site is trying to do away with posts calling anyone an idiot because it really doesn't say much. If you just say I don't think too highly of Rongey because he is one of the worse pre/post game guys the Sox have had, imo.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:37 PM) He'd know better than anyone else. Great research Thanks, just finished it up with all of his starts. Only reason I looked is I remember a few Dodgers saying how he's really good to pitch to but I also remember someone telling me that he always catches the really bad players (some fan called into the Dodger station and whoever the Dodger radio guy was brought up this info about who he actually caught). QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:43 PM) I liked that guy too. The Dodge people gave him a car to drive around during the season, and he always gave them airtime and a lot of pub. With all the mentions, he deserved better than the Neon they let him use. Bryan Dolgin is the guy you are thinking of. QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:41 PM) Back-up catcher ERA;s can be deceiving no question. Sandy's has generally been higher than the team's ERA for his entire career however. The White Sox have always thought very highly of him, and think he's a future major league manager. IIRC they tried to get him to retire a couple years ago, and make him a coach or manager somewhere in the organization. Ya, I know the organization has always raved about Sandy. He is a veteran that fits in very well and goes about his business in a professional way yet he's still willing to help out the young kids too.

QUOTE(CySox @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:35 PM) please change the title of this thread. It is not official that Alomar is back. The only source we have is Chris Rongy, speculating that we got Alomar. No need for that one thing on Rongey. He's just reporting info, no reason to get person with him. Consider this a warning.

Alomar's last start was in June. 6/28: Odalis Perez, 6 runs in 4.1 innings (no other runs allowed) 6/18: Aaron Sele gave up 5 runs in 4 innings (no other runs allowed) 6/2: Seo started and gave up 3 runs in 4 innings (making a start for Perez who was just demoted); Baez gave up 5 runs in the 9th inning of that game 5/26: Brett Tomko gave up 6 runs in 4.2 innings (pen gave up 4 runs, but the relievers of that game are both no longer with the DOdgers and had ERA's over 6). 5/13: Sele gives up 2 runs in 7 innings, but Baez gives up 4 runs (2 earned) 5/4: Tomko throws 7 shutout innings with Saito coming in and giving up 3 runs in relief 5/1: Penny gives up 3 runs in 6 innings (no other runs given up) I want to point out that Alomar has caught just once since May 1st for one of the Dodgers front line starters and most of his starters came from a combo of Perez (whose awful), Tomko (who has pitched surprisingly decent and was alright in Alomar's starts) and Sele (who had one good and one bad with Alomar Jr). Most of the runs allowed came from Baez who has been terrible with whoever caught up. Just trying to show kind of why he's catcher ERA is so high. 4/19: Penny gives up 2 runs, Baez gives up 3 (none earned) 4/12: Tomko gives up 5 runs; Two relievers give up 4 (Brazoban and Kuo, both have been hit hard whenever they have pitched in the majors) 4/9: Penny gives up 1 run in 7 innings; Lance Carter gives up 1 run 4/5: Perez gives up 7 runs in 3 innings (as mentioned before he has been horrible with whoever has caught him); Carter and a rookie who was demoted each gave up 1 run a piece the rest of the game 4/3: Lowe was rocked on opening day giving up 7 runs; Kuo and Osaria gave up 3 (both are young rookies making a debut) Thats all the games he started in and I think as a whole you can see Penny pitched very well when Alomar Jr. caught and Tomko/Sele each were solid enough with him (one not so good, one solid to good start) while Perez, Baez and a few other guys that have stunk with whoever is catching have really hurt his ERA. That and opening day start by Lowe where he was pitching sick, IIRC.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:27 PM) Chris Stewart, hopefully. We'd look for another vet first. Stewart is next year's plan and will also get some experience this September. Obviously if we couldn't find anything else, than Stewart would be up this year.

Decided just to merge it into one large thread. May be against my better judgement. Has anyone other than Rongey reported this?

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 03:12 PM) In what way is this an upgrade over Widger? Better offensively, neither are great defensively, but Alomar is the much more savvy veteran, imo. I realize Widge is a veteran as well, but he's not nearly as respected around the baseball world as Sandy is.

Guys, I'm going to close this thread since its turning more so into Alomar talk and that would be a better fit in the Alomar thread. Maybe its a bad idea and I thought about merging them into one thread, but both moves should have some discussion.

The main reason Stewart isn't about to get called up is because he isn't near as experienced of a game caller nor does he have much of a relationship with our current MLB pitchers. Alomar Jr on the other hand is familiar with at least a few of our starters and while some don't think he's the best game caller, he is a savvy vet whose a good fit in the clubhouse and pretty smart.

I remember saying Sandy a few weeks ago and I like this move. He's familiar with the clubhouse, calls a decent game and is a pretty good hitter against lefties. Of course he isn't that good defensively. Oh and I'm sure he won't cost us much prospect wise.

Sox Acquire Alomar Jr., Designate Widger for Assignment By Jason Gage Soxtalk.com Soxtalk.com has learned that backup catcher Chris Widger was designated for assignment following Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers. Chris Rongey of the Score has reported that the White Sox have acquired backup catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. from the Los Angeles Dodgers to replace Widger. A former rookie of the year and three time all star, Alomar, saw his playing time drop in LA following the acquisition of Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson. He has spent parts of 4 seasons with the Sox, most recently in 04 and is a career .274 hitter over his 18 year MLB career. Alomar Jr. may not be the flashy name people expected, but he hits LHP better than Pierzynski (or Widger) and will be able to provide a veteran presence in the clubhouse. He was batting .323 with 9 RBI in 27 games and is batting .500 off lefties (9 for 18). After playing a key role off the bench in 05, Widger struggled behind and at the plate for the club in 06, batting .184 in 27 games while posting a 5.36 CERA (Catchers ERA). While this move was primarily made to upgrade the club's lineup against LHP, it will also serve as an attempt to shake up the roster and break up the comfort level of the Sox. It is unclear who the White Sox traded to the Dodgers, but Soxtalk.com will have its sister site FutureSox.com give information on the prospect(s) involved as soon as the details of the trade are released.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 02:45 PM) Wasn't Freddy Garcia traded for at like 5:05 or 6:05 on a Sunday? Ya, it was a later Sunday trade because I remember coming home for our families Sunday night dinner (we'd always have dinner during baseball season by bbq'in and watching Sunday night baseball with my dad and grandpa) and being absolutely shocked that we made the move. I also remember how pumped up I got that season after he made his first start (man did he have dominating stuff). Shows what I know, Cheat says Saturday so I'm guessing he looked it up. I swear it was a Sunday, but maybe I'm confusing trades or something

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 23, 2006 -> 02:28 PM) Why would Texas get rid of him. With everything going on between the teams, I can't imagine us trading with them. Also, from what I've heard in the past, the Rangers have asked for a lot in return for Laird. Laird was pretty highly touted. He went to high school out my way (same school Ian Kennedy and Crosby and a few others went to) and there is no way the Rangers are going to move him for anything but pretty well thought of prospects. Laird would start for a lot of teams, imo.