CWSGuy406

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 12:24 AM) Sigh. You sabermetricians are relentless. Why stop there? Why not include television ratings, and stadium atmosphere? Relentless? Not quite the word I'd use, but as they say, whatever floats your boat... I find nothing wrong with what the stat uses to judge players. Maybe you don't like it because it makes Foulke out to be an awesome reliever, making the Koch/Foulke trade look even worse?

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Feb 2, 2005 -> 12:07 AM) Why should I pay any attention to this stat then? To me it's bulls*** if I don't need to pay attention to it. You just simply can't compare this crap to ERA, WHIP, and strikeout rates. So basically, you don't understand the stat, so it's bulls***. Mmkay.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 06:38 AM) Someone comes up with a new bulls*** stat, and all it does is lead to another dead horse beating. Great. May I ask why it's a 'bulls***' stat...?

QUOTE(YoungstownIndians @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 11:36 PM) Just predictions is all I want. It's a White Sox fan board, I'd assume you should know the answer to that question before you even made the post... That being said, Welcome to Soxtalk, even if you are a fan of the enemy!

QUOTE(quickman @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 03:57 AM) I know a lot of people like him, I personally don't. He better not be the best we have if we are making a run for the division. We fell short last year because of injury and the number 5 slot. Although we have a better 1-5 if injury occurs we could be in trouble again. The very last thing I want to see is Diaz pitching against the cubs again at wrigley. people have now seen him pitch. Word is getting out that he has two pitches, both straight. Anyway, my point is to bring in a few more arms to minor league contracts in case something happens. Surely that would not be a bad thing. Still, though... If his pitches were so straight, wouldn't he have gotten lit up in AAA too? I'm not trying to compare the majors to AAA, but would Felix have gotten hit a little harder at Charlotte? I mean -- his K/BB ratio was sick -- and in a good size of starts, too. I'll just say this. I realize his stuff isn't as electric as one would like. But -- he has good control. And I know that didn't show that in the majors, but he's got control. When you're able to spot a 91 MPH fastball where you want it, that's a huge difference. He also has a real good changeup, too. If a guy can spot his low-90s fastball, as well as change speeds good enough on his change (which is what I happen to believe Felix did at Charlotte), he can start... And Jim, I know you said he doesn't like to throw inside. I know this isn't going to really represent my argument well, because I'm basically picking-and-choosing what backs up my argument -- but -- I was the Oakland game sometime in late August, early September. IIRC, Felix got hit pretty hard the first three innings. And then -- for God-knows what happened, but something clicked. I commented to my brother about it, but he was throwing up and in, backing the hitters off the plate, throwing low and away, and hitters started looking silly up there. I saw a totally different pitcher up there, one throwing with confidence, one throwing really, really well. And, I was in the LF/CF bleachers, so I had a real good look at his pitch location. I'm not saying Felix is going to end up amounting to an ace or even a two in this league, but honest to God, I believe the kid can be a good three/four -- and I'd tell you that if I was looking you straight in the eyes, believe it or not...

QUOTE(AirScott @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 03:20 AM) you got to remember that Podsednik isn't replacing Lee, he's really replacing Harris. the low .300 OBP is bad, but the 70 steals is good, and he'll score some runs. I'm optimistic about Everett, they say he's in great shape and Dye should be healed. losing Jose Valentin is the biggest addition by subtraction there ever was. seriously, he was a low .200s hitter that couldn't field and hit 30 HRs in a home run park. Maybe it's just me, but I'd much rather have Podsednik steal 40 bases and have a .360 OBP than steal 70 bases and have a .330 OBP...

QUOTE(quickman @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 01:35 AM) Ok so you are agreeing with me that they don't have anyone that can spot start and make a difference? Your like switzerland. Quick, I know I'm a little late on this -- and I'm pretty sure you'll disagree on this with me, but I'm pretty confident that Diaz can fill in for a short period of time and spot start. He's proven everything he can at AAA, he's right on the edge as far as becoming a fifth starter in the MLB.

QUOTE(Beastly @ Feb 1, 2005 -> 12:30 AM) I stepped in and voiced my opinion, Cheat. Let me think what I want to think...okay pal? jebus. You can do so without saying, "....some stupid journalist who has no intelligence." It makes you seem a lot more credible, but that's JMHO... If it's non-credibility you want, though... EDIT: BTW - Cheat, I probably should do this in a PM, but since you're in the thread, I figured I'd ask. I've been reading more and more of the baseball blogs lately, and wanted to get your recomendation on some of the Sox blogs. I've enjoyed reading BaseballThinkFactory as well as "Exile in Wrigleyville", yours, as well as MRKARNO's 1917spot blog. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

I assume Kurt is a lock to at least be on our practice squad, maybe getting a chance at the number three QB spot. The way I see it, Gross and Hutch are locks for the 1-2 spots respectively, and then it's up to Quinn/Krenzel/Kittner/Guy drafted-FA brought in to take the third spot...

QUOTE(Butter Parque @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 09:19 PM) If Everett is in good condition and ready to go, he could force some major changes after Thomas gets back. He would probably go to left, Podsednik would move to Center, and Rowand would to right. Jermaine Dye better be ready to play from ST through September. If I were to pick one corner OF on this team -- Pods or Dye -- who I think has a more likelihood of becoming a liability, I'd definitely think that Podsednik has a better chance of falling on his face, but that's just me...

For those who have ordered Opening Day Tickets off of whitesox.com/ticketmaster.com, and just ordered the opening day tickets alone (as opposed to part of one of the nine-game packages or a partial/full season ticket package), have you received any info on when the tickets should be sent out? I know, it's a long, long time till April 4th, I just thought that I'd get the tickets by now. Anyone with knowledge on this who could post any useful info would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 01:18 AM) You did say you'd take a guy who hit .290 over a guy with a .375 avg, based on his higher OBP. Which no GM or manager in the world would do. Those extra hits would bring in many, many more runs than those walks/ HBP would. It's nice to get on base. But it's much nicer driving those runs in But the scenario that someone (was it me?) created earlier was that these two players -- your .290/.430 guy and your .375/.385 guy -- had within five homers of each other, and an OPS within .020 points or so of each other. Of course, if the .375 guy is knocking in 30 more runs than the other guy, and hitting 20 more homers, I'll definitely take him. But I put them on an equal plane as far as driving in runs/x-tra base hits/homers.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 01:38 AM) If Everett gets 400-450 ab's the sox prob. won't make the playoffs. That would mean someone went down with an injury, like Rowand, or Pods. Right now, Carl is only backup for Frank and Dye. Could the sox get better depth elsewhere, say at SS [in case Uribe went down], or SP [if #1-5 went down] C, or another leadoff type guy? My point is the sox have greater depth concerns at other positions than plugging in a guy at DH or RF. JMHO, but if Podsednik and Everett were to have equal AB's this season, I'd bet on Everett having a better season. He's shown that he can do it more than once. Podsednik, on the other hand, is just as unproven as a Joe Crede -- both have done it in the past, though for a short time, but both are still questionable going into this season. If it so happens that Podsednik isn't able to revert to his '03 form, I'd stick Everett in left in a heartbeat. Let Iguchi/Harris-Rowand lead off, and stick Everett towards the back of the lineup. Either way, I think Carl is going to have a huge impact upon the team this year...

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 31, 2005 -> 12:57 AM) I said all things being equal, not taking into account OPS or other stats like you said. I was just comparing two guys with similar avg and OBP stats. IMO, batting avg. isn't an overrated stat. Esp. if someone has a high avg over a period of years. Is it luck or skill? Some guys do have career yrs based on getting the "right bounces". But if a guy consistently hits for a high avg, I'll take that over a guy who takes a few more walks. I wasn't saying that AVG was an overrated stat -- rather, a guy is more likely to consistenly put up a .430 OBP than consistently (and by consistently, I mean year after year) hit .375...

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 04:35 PM) His being a switch hitter is good. Yet he has better numbers from the left side. With Gload, Timo and Davis [also a better hitter from the left side] already LH bats, having another one for the bench might be overkill. Are you trying to tell me that Davis or Perez are even half as good at the plate (LH) as Everett is? I think like Harris, Everett should be kept around as a safety net incase one of our players (Podsednik, mainly) fails to hold down their jobs. Many people over at another message board also feel that Podsednik might not regain his 2003 form, or even come close to it -- and, if Everett is pounding the ball, Everett is going to have to be in the lineup everyday -- LF being the only logical place he can play...

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 11:38 AM) No. All things being equal, I'll take the guy with a higher avg over the guy w/ a higher OBP. That would be saying you'd rather have Alex Cora over Juan Uribe[who both had almost the exact stats you posted]. Uribe had a higher avg, but Cora had a much higher OBP. Is Cora better because he can take more walks? Dustan Mohr also had a very high OBP [like .370] with a lower avg. Yet both he and Cora were non-tendered, and didn't have all that much interest from other teams. If your theory was true, then teams would have been beating down the door for guys with a high OBP. Your first theory about me rather having Cora than Uribe is absolutely wrong. I said leaving OPS out of the equation, but OPS is a stat that really shows what Uribe can do. Uribe and Cora are totally different players, so it's really a poor comparison, IMHO. Let me rephrase my statement -- say you have two guys, both have hit 20-25 homers, 70-75 RBI's, and both steal ten bases per year, with a similar CS rate. One has a .305 AVG/.330 OBP, the other has a .285 AVG/ .375 OBP -- I take the latter every time. And the reason Cora didn't draw interest from other teams, IMHO, is because he's only had one good season (2004 -- 2002 was good too, but in limited ABs). His stats have fluctuated throughout his career, so I really can't judge what kind of player he is. He also can't hit left-handers very well, making him a part-time player.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 04:37 AM) Well that's the thing, I say it says something about player's skill level, not luck OK, but that's really not the point. Hitting at a .375 for a whole season is absolutely outrageous, crazy -- something that very, very few guys can do over the course of 500+ AB's. A .430 OBP, however, isn't uncommon. It's definitely something that not many guys achieve each season, but more guys have a .430+ OBP than a .375 AVG. Either way -- the .290/.430 guy is, IMHO, the better choice over the .375/.385 guy, but maybe that's just me...

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 03:42 AM) It depends on the speed of the player. I was saying I would take a guy who's .375/.385 over a guy who's .290/.430. Look at Mark Bellhorn's stats from last season. Wow, I definitely would take the .290/.430 over the .375/.385 any day of the week... That's a huge difference in OBP, and it tells me that the .375 guy is probably having a very lucky season in terms of hitting the ball...

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 29, 2005 -> 03:44 PM) I give Hendry credit for dumping Sosa, and getting some talent in return. Hairston's a better leadoff hitter than PAtterson, and could fill an OF spot. But they still have a hole in either LF or RF. Carl Everett anyone?! Do they have anyone the sox could use? Prob. not. I know it's been mentioned around here before, but I'd take Kyle Farnsworth off their hands in a heartbeat... Wait -- you don't even have Epstien up there? I realize he has a lot of money to work with, but he sure as hell makes good use of every penny he's given. Also, isn't Sabean the Giants GM? What has he done to warrant the number three? All he's done is signed a bunch of old guys (Alou, Grissom, Vizquel -- three years for Vizquel, ugh), and he has the most dangerous hitter in baseball to work with, and still hasn't won a WS...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 12:24 AM) Because I think Jason is a better starting pitcher then Felix is, I'm not saying I want to get rid of Felix, I'm just saying Jason is a better emergency starter, imo. Felix might be useful some day if he brings his control with him from aaa but if he's not pin point he's going to have some problems, cause he has 0 movement on his fastball. But see, that's the thing. One doesn't just lose control, and at AAA Charlotte, Diaz had awesome control -- 2004 B-Mac like control, IIRC. One might have the jitters for a while, but one doesn't just lose control -- unless it's after a surgery, or in changing your throwing motion. GeneHC and I (Gene, I hope you're still in this boat... ) still maintain that Felix can still make it as a real solid number 3-4 starter. He's got good control, he can locate the pitches that he throws, and he mixes it up well (at least -- when I saw him when he was on, so-to-speak). Sure, he doesn't bring the heat, but he can still be a good pitcher. With our one-two pitchers locked up for a while -- as well as our threes and fours locked up through '06 -- Felix might be able to serve as our number five in 2007, with (hopefully) B-Mac and someone else (Garland, FA brought in, Tracey) in front of him. Wow, am I doof or what -- looking ahead to 2007... :banghead

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 02:23 AM) Personally, I would rather have a guy who's batting average is considered "high," over a guy who's OBP is considered "high." Leaving OPS out of the equation (because doesn't OPS consider extra base hits as well as OBP & AVG...?), wouldn't you rather have the guy who has a .250 AVG/.360 OBP over the guy with the .285 AVG/.330 OBP? I know who I'd take (again -- leaving OPS out of the equation)...

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jan 30, 2005 -> 02:16 AM) In fact I would go as far as to say that obp is one of the more overrated stats. :banghead :headshake Anyways, I think I'd rather have a platoon @ CF of Harris/Hairston, with Rowand in left, than Podsednik, but it's close. I think Pods should be right around .270 with a .340 OBP or so with more SB's, but I think the Harris/Hairston platoon would give us a OBP closer to .390 or so.

QUOTE(TheBlackSox8 @ Jan 29, 2005 -> 07:07 PM) He has the ability to do well on the road....he did better on the road than home in 2002.....and well...2003 sucked period. 2002 season road-.318-average .374-obp .516-slg. .890-ops home-.288-average .343-obp .480-slg .823-ops Yes, but IIRC, US Cellular field didn't really start playing like one of the best hitter's parks until last season... Your point is well taken, though. I'd like to see how Paully performs on the road the first half of this year before they offer him a contract exceeding 7.5 million, though...

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 29, 2005 -> 07:13 PM) Ugh, this argument needs to just go away. Well, no... People want to bash Harris into oblivion, and then go around and praise the cute Timo Perez. I agree with Badger 100% -- if Harris is cut loose from this team because Perez is taking his spot, it's a real s***ty decision by management. Clutch is a word thrown around far too often, BTW. Too fluctuating, and not enough sample size to really judge anyone in 'clutch' situations...

QUOTE(SEALgep @ Jan 29, 2005 -> 05:53 PM) Timo = clutch Willie = not EDIT: My bad, double post.