CWSGuy406

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:51 PM) I just would hope that Ozzie wouldn't stop him from starting if he hits .280 in the spring while willie hits .250 or so. Who knows though. Numbers don't mean much in ST. I think we are all ready for the season to get here. Haha. I definitely agree with that.

Let's hope Ozzie remembers that Politte is best when he's only used for one inning, not multiple innings... Ugh -- he was terrible when he was asked to come off the bench for another inning. :puke

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:43 PM) Yah, I see what you are saying. Maybe its just hte media. I think Iguichi is going to be really good though, but I think platooning him to start off the season won't do him any good because he needs to see live batters in real competition on a consistent basis, whether he struggles or not, to get a good read on him. It almost sounds like Farmer and Rooney and KW and everybody want Willie to start over Iguchi. Who knows though. I just hope he gets named the starter here coming up. For the record, I think Iguchi deserves the spot to start off the season too. I think his upside is a .300 hitter with good gap-power, and a pretty solid eye at the plate. I just think that Harris shouldn't be tossed aside, because he is an asset -- he can hit righties pretty well -- and if Iguchi proves incapable of handling a full time job, I think it would best serve the team if he was platooned with Harris.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:42 PM) Politte is back to serving up homers, but it was Vlad so I can't really complain. Except that it was on an 0-2 pitch. :headshake Fastball was supposed to be high, instead it was right over the heart of the plate. Bye bye.

QUOTE(El Caballo @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:37 PM) The question I have is why would you change what hes doing if hes doing ok as it is with his current pitches? From what I've read, he has pretty much mastered his 3 pitches, I would rather him have 3 pitches he can throw at anytime than adding 2 more and being shaky on those. That's what I'm wondering. SS2k aluded to Coop wanting Mac to have some sideways movement, rather than up and down, but Stone said that his fastball seems to cut in on both lefties and righties (which is odd, but good).

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:25 PM) I agree. ANd if he sucks through the end of May we can think about replacing him, but as of right now I think he is doing great considering the circumstances and for KW to say that Willie is catching up to him puts a lot of uneeded pressure on him. I just think it's a stupid thing for KW to say. While the writer of the article hinted towards Kenny saying that Harris is catching up, Kenny actually didn't say that. What he says in the article is that Ozzie should play the better player, regardless of money. He's saying that whoever Ozzie feels gives the team a better chance to win, that's who should play...

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:23 PM) Slider and cutter give him pitches with sideways movement instead of up to down movement. Its something to give the eyes a difference arc to think about. Yeah, a slider is a pretty filthy pitch, but if he can lear the two-seamer, won't he have the sideways movement? Err -- well, I dunno -- if it's a Colon like two-seamer, then that thing tails away from righties and in to lefties, but if it's a Derek Lowe-like two-seamer, that one is basically a sinker. I dunno, sliders tend to do the arm a lot of harm if thrown improperly. I'd rather have a B-Mac confident in his three pitches (four, with two variations of a fastball) then have him with a slider.

Uh-oh. Stone says that in talking to Coop, they eventually want to teach him a two-seamer (which I'm OK with), and a slider. Why a slider? If he has good command with a changeup, curveball, two-seam fastball, and a four-seam fastball, there's absolutely no need to put more stress on the arm with a slider... Guys -- the comparisons have begun. Brantley comparing B-Mac to Prior...

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:10 PM) He was 5 for his first 15, then went 0-4 in one bad game against the A's and RICH HARDEN. I wouldn't call that struggling for a week. I'd call it struggling for one game. Everybody does that. True, but with Iguchi, we have no prior knowledge as to how he'll do in the major leagues. We simply don't know how Iguchi will do (not saying that you know how others will do, but usually one has a general range...).

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:07 PM) I cant watch the game, but does he remind you guys of Buerle? I don't want to lead you down the wrong way, but as far as my opinion: -He has awesome command. I'd say, he could potentially have better command than Buehrle. He seems to know where every hitter doesn't want the ball, and he pitches to their weaknesses. He also sets up his pitches well. Like, he'll waste a high fastball to get the hitter's eyes set on a high pitch, and follow it up with a curveball low. So, I actually doesn't say he waste pitches, rather, he purposefully throws balls in order to set up his next pitch. -He throws three pitches well right now -- curveball, four-seamer, and a changeup. Stone mentions how he only throws one type of fastball, but that it goes down and in on righties, as well as down and in on lefties. -And, as Yas says, he works quick like Buehrle. I personally love how Buehrle pitches, and the more and more I see B-Mac, I love him too...

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 08:00 PM) :headshake :headshake :headshake ??? I believe qwerty is right. There's a reason they have you pay for EI... Also, isn't that (more or less) why ESPNLite was shut down?

QUOTE(El Caballo @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 07:54 PM) Whats the lineup for the Angels? I don't know the whole lineup, but Figgins, Davanon, Guerrerro, Cabrera, and Finley are all starting. Not the whole Anahiem starting lineup, but a good portion of it.

QUOTE(Athomeboy_2000 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 07:49 PM) How does BMac look? Looks great. I've preached how you can't judge a guy off of a sample size, but you could just see that this kid knows how to pitch (with, of course, the backing of awesome minor league stats). He attacks both sides of the plate, up, down, changes speeds. Excellent approach to Mathis. Gave him everything high and away, 2-2 count, takes something off a breaking pitch and gets Mathis to swing at a pitch in the dirt.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 06:39 PM) I'm confused. You say people shouldn't judge on 20 ABs, and yet you say Iguchi can't be an upgrade at 2B when he has played their for 6 or 7 games in a totally foreign country. How can you make that judgement when he is a gold glover in Japan, but already judge what he is on defense after 6 or 7 SPRING games, when we know he was a gold glover in Japan, after you just said you can't judge someone on a small sample size. Simply put, Harris is one of the best defensive second basemen in the majors. It's not a knock (yet -- like you said, can't really judge a guy when I've seen him play once) on Iguchi, more of a compliment of Harris.

Talking about Ozuna and Burke, I'd love to see both of them make it -- Ozuna for his versaitility, and Burke for his versaitility, as well as (I'll presume here -- I know Davis doesn't hit lefties well at all) being able to hit left handed pitchers -- which would be something nice to have considering we have a starting catcher who hits righties well...

QUOTE(YASNY @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 06:09 PM) Lucky you! Yeah, definitely Anyways, I'm glad my mom isn't really picky when it comes to me being sick. I'm rarely sick from school, maybe three times a year, but those days I am sick (or just plain really tired, a little sick and probably could go to school, but just want to stay home), she doesn't hound me with the thermometer. Really a nice thing...

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 05:55 PM) I want to see he vs Vladdy..Man I wish we had Vladdy playing rf for us.. I think at some point during the season, everyone will picture what it would be like to have Vladdy in a White Sox uni... I'm sick today, so I get to see B-Mac. First time I'll actually get to sit down, no distractions, and watch the kid pitch.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 01:52 PM) Bingo! This is pretty obvious. Iguchi's contract indicates that he will be our starting 2nd baseman. Kenny is just trying to hype Willie up as our starter even though he's having a crappy spring to make teams offer up more for him in a trade. And with the way Pablo Ozuna has been playing, it looks more and more like we need a backup 3rd baseman to cover Crede's sorry ass. Rob Mackowiak anyone? I'm pretty sure major league baseball clubs are smarter than judging a guy based upon about 20 AB's... It's unfortunate that we won't be getting a defensive upgrade in Iguchi, too. I'm hoping Gooch is able to begin adjusting to the grass ASAP, because from what it sounds like from our radio voices of Farmer and Rooney, they aren't impressed at all... A platoon might be just what benefits the team the most, but Iguchi will probably get the majority of the starts. I'd just like to see Ozzie get Willie in there against tough righties...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 15, 2005 -> 03:38 AM) I'm not ready to give him a roster spot or anything but he can pitch. Maybe he's one of those diamonds in the rough kenny sometimes finds. From what I've seen he works both sides of the plate, he changes speeds, he just knows what he's doing out there. Like I said, don't get me wrong I'm not saying he deserves a roster spot yet but I like what I see out of him. I respect your opinion, but your basing your opinion upon less than ten innings pitched. I certainly can't tell whether or not a pitcher "can pitch" based upon ten innings pitched -- or, at least make an honest opinion on the guy. To me, at least, it seemed like he was pitching against scrubs -- and, while he did a good job of doing that, he also left a couple of pitches over the heart of the plate -- pitches that, if are going to a guy like Derrek Lee or Nomar Garciaparra -- would be crushed. I'd like to think that Kenny might have found some diamond in the rough, but his IP in the minor leagues, and not even being able to produce a sub-four ERA tells me differently...

I agree with Cerb. So what, Walker has had a few nice outings? Maybe a nice guy to call up in September, too... But he shouldn't be anywhere near our major league roster if we want to compete. Hell, give me Man Hands, Diaz, or Adkins over him. He has a career 4.10 ERA in the minors -- he's average in the minor leagues. The guy is nothing special, IMHO.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to make El Duque's "eephus" pitch? The obvious choice would be a real slow curveball, but with El Duque, he throws different types of curveballs, some slower, some faster, bigger/smaller hooks -- and in MVP, you can only have one curveball. Perhaps a real slow 12-to-6 changeup? Not Shingo slow, but a little faster than that? Any suggestions?

LOL! For those watching the game on CSN, Mike Remlinger's last changeup was clocked at 110 MPH...

While Marte did a little worse last year, I am now realizing how much we take his arm for granted. I mean, he was b****ed out for having a bad year last season, and his ERA was still under four. I'm definitely glad to have #43 in a Sox uni for a couple more years...

Uck. DJ seems like a real nice guy, but he says some dumb things -- like the other day, Hawk was like, "The buzz around here has been Brandon McCarthy." And DJ goes -- "Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz". I mean, how is Hawk supposed to respond to that?

QUOTE(munchman33 @ Mar 14, 2005 -> 03:23 AM) Jose is a guy that stats truly don't tell the whole story. He's wildly inconsistent. He's either exceptional or terrible, and in stretches. But he's never had a season where the bad overwhelmed the good. In fact, he's never had a season where the bad was as often as the good. To state that it is more likely is completely baseless. There is absolutely no evidence to expect that. But I guess I'm the one who deserves an "I'm a dumbass" sign.... :finger So we're paying him six million to have half of his starts be dynomite, and half of his starts be s***? If Jose is going to ever pitch well, this is the season to do it. No more excuses. His family is here. El Duque is here. He's finally "settled", in a place that is a lot less of a pressure cooker than New York is. He's our number four, so the expectations aren't very lofty. It's time to be consistent. No more bulls***. He certainly has the stuff to be an awesome pitcher, I think everyone knows that. We all know it's between ears with him. Now it's time for him to go out and do it.