striker

I don't care how hard Danks got hit, he didn't walk anyone. Floyd walks the first batter. I can't stand that.

The umpire squeezed Danks and Wells. No excuse though. You still have to pitch above it.

What a stud Danks is. Sorry Gavin. Good luck in AAA.

Ozzie and KW emphasize how they want their pitchers to throw strikers. Heath Phillips did just that and I think he's a very good option as a pitcher. The Sox appear to not take him seriously, even though he did better than Floyd. Could it be because he doesn't throw hard? Or is it because Floyd and Danks got all the press because they were acquired via trade? If I was a rival GM in need of pitching I would come after Phillips. Thoughts?

I know its spring training but our relievers (Jenks, Thornton, Macdougal, Sisco, Logan) have been lights out. Masset has been good too. I've been really impressed with Danks and Gonzalez, but haven't seen Floyd or Masset pitch. The jury is still out on Aardsma. Our starters appear to be solid, and I'm sure they will get better as the spring progresses. I love the fact that KW locked up Vazquez for 3 more years. Everyone has been freaking out about it but the key is the no trade clause. What KW did is lock a talented (though the numbers don't show it) pitcher up for the next 4 years for a very reasonable price (considering the market). This gives him leverage with the most important position in baseball, pitching. KW has turn into an "arms dealer" with all the pitchers he has. Thats why the door is still open for Buehrle. KW won't pass up good arms for the right price. I'm pumped baby.

Epstein and Minaya are overrated. Hendry sucks. He shouldn't even be on the list at all.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 5, 2007 -> 12:56 AM) Fixed. :-) It is nice to see these guys in action. Danks looks like the real deal, and Floyd was not that bad either. I wouldn't mind having Danks or Floyd as the 5th starter and Haeger in the bullpen to spot start or come in for long relief. He would actually be the 6th starter (if needed). It would be hilarious to sandwich Haeger's knuckler in the bullpen between Sisco, Mac, or Thornton, then close with Jenks. Hitters would have a hell of a time adjusting from 65 mph knucklers to 100 mph fastballs. Haeger would never see the same batters as Thornton, Jenks & MacDougal. Assuming they don't allow any baserunners, 3 different batters would come up in the past 3 innings.

From what I saw today I really liked Danks. He had great stuff and a real smooth delivery. Gio didn't look so smooth but has good stuff. He needs at least another year in the majors and really needs to work on his changeup. Haeger didn't have a good outing but I still like him as a 5th starter or long relief/spot starter. He did awesome last year after getting called back up so you know he can get the job done. I didn't see how Floyd looked yesterday so I'm still up in the air with him, Masset also. I defininitely like Danks more than McCarthy, so Masset is just a plus. I don't miss Freddy.

I was told he drove up in a white bronco

I may be overly optimistic, but I think Erstad is going to be a huge contributor to this teams success. He's on a new team and he's coming off an injury so he is going to be motivated to prove himself. We all know he has the talent. With Pod's injury and our iffy CF situation he is going to have plenty of opportunities to contribute.

Does anyone know where to get a Whitesox schedule printed on poster (like at bars) or a calendar? I want something to put up at work.

I don't think Clevelands starting rotation is better then ours. Paul Byrd is just plain garbage. Out 5th starter, whoever it may be, will still out perform Byrd. I agree with the Tigers having the best rotation. I'm anxious to see how their youth + inexperience + world series run wears them down.

Where can we find someone that can bat .235 to replace him???

QUOTE(bad at best @ Feb 7, 2007 -> 07:26 PM) From the front office finanacial standpoint this offseason was pretty amazing. Reinsdorf has to be pretty happy. They saved themselves alot of money going forward. We will have a very cheap pitching staff for the next 6-7 years if any of these prospects pan out. From a fan standpoint i could care less about finances. I dont see Jerry buying me hotdogs. That being said, there werent any players in free agency i wish they had gone after AND i think we will still be competetive in the central. Should be a fun year. Plus, the money can always be spent later when there are more talented free agents. If CF sucks again this year and Dye leaves then maybe we sign Hunter or Ichiro. You can't just spend to show face to your fans (See Jim Hendry), you have to spend wisely.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 7, 2007 -> 07:19 PM) But my biggest concern is that we seem to have made much bigger bets this offseason than last offseason, and since I'm not a gambler, that doesn't leave me feeling hugely confident. Last years moves weren't big bets like this year but where did it land us. I don't think the moves we made make us worse, if anything this team will be the same or better. Dye and Buehrle are in contract years. Look for awesome numbers from them.

The only thing that needs to improve is the players performance, not their names. We fielded an awesome team last year and they didn't get the job done, specifically the pitching. I'm not afraid of how the 5th start turns out because these days a 4.5-5.0 ERA is rewarded. People are so obsessed with moves when moves don't win baseball games, playing good baseball wins baseball games.

My first Sox game was the season of the strike, I believe '94. I lived in Seattle at the time and the Sox came out for a four game series. My dad bought me two tickets to each game. The highlights of the series: 1. Sox swept 2. McDowell out dueled Johnson for a 2-1 victory. Sox won on an Officer Karkovice solo homer. 3. Buhner threw a foul ball up from the on deck circle into the crowd. I reached in front of a group of kids (who didn't have tickets for the seats they were in) to snag the ball. I later gave the ball to one of the kids because he gave me a pouty look the rest of the game. That ball meant nothing to me. 4. The best highlight was the last game where I had tickets right behind the Mariners dugout. Marty the Moose was dancing on the dugout between innings. He came over to me, wearing a Sox hat, took my hat off me, turned it inside out and put it back on my head. The crowd was all cheering and it was on the big screen.

QUOTE(bulokis @ Jan 27, 2007 -> 06:07 PM) I would hate to see Buerhle go. He has been our Ace. At some point, we need to reward the players who grew up in our system and who had been successful. Mark has been one of my favorite White sox and I would like him to finish his career with the Sox. We should reward him? $10 million/year isn't exactly minimum wage. Besides, I recall alot of players getting "rewarded" and not earning their money: Kevin Brown, Darren Dreifort, Chan Ho Park, Mike Hampton I hate to see Buehrle go but I also hated to see Jack McDowell, Wilson Alvarez and Alex Fernandez go only to be glad later. We said good bye to Magglio, Frank and Carlos and won a championship. I'm betting Buehrle has an awesome year, the Sox at least make the playoffs then he walks.

Great, the Cubs get the headlines again!! KW better be making a move soon!!

I think the Sox next big move will be in Spring Training. Here are some questions that will be answered: 1. Will Uribe's fiasco get in the way? 2. Is Crede's back healthy? 3. How does Fields perform? 4. How do the newly acquired arms perform? 5. How does Pods perform? 6. How does Anderson perform? These questions will answer our needs at the time and Kenny will make a deal to fill the whole. I think: 1. Uribe's mess will get cleared up. 2. Crede is healthy 3. Fields will do go, making Crede expendable 4. Arms will look good 5. Pods will perform well. 6. Anderson will not perform well The Sox will then trade Crede (perhaps to Angels for Santana and prospects) and trade a Prospect and Santana to Tampa for Carl Crawford. LF Scott Podsednik CF Carl Crawford RF Jermaine Dye DH Jim Thome 1B Paul Kornerko CA AJ Pierzynski 2B Tadahito Iguchi SS Juan Uribe 3B Josh Fields SP Contreras SP Buehrle SP Garland SP Vazquez SP Haegar RP Jenks RP Thornton RP McDougal RP Floyd RP Sisco RP Aardsma

I don't see us making a deal for a SS until mid spring training if at all. The Sox will have a better idea then if Uribe will be able to play. In regards to Dye, unless the sox are getting a huge break in his price they probably won't sign him, Buehrle or Crede to extensions until they see how their new crop of young hurlers pans out. If they all appear to be busts then I bet at least two of the three get extensions.

I grew up in Springfield, IL where everyone was either a Cubs or Cardinals fan. I wanted to be different so I followed the Whitesox. My love grew strongest the summer of '91 when my sisters and I were staying with my dad and his girlfriend at her house on the Ohio river in the middle of nowhere. We didn't have cable so everyday I would wake up anxious to read the sports page and see how Big Frank and Ventura were doing. I missed watching games so much I created the American League West teams in the nintendo game Baseball Stars and play as the Sox. In '92 or '93 (can't remember) I became obsessed with Jason Bere because he was just plain nasty on the mound. In '94 I lived in Seattle and would go to card shows and buy up as many Bere cards as I could. I've since used them to start the fire

Good read. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Aiig...o&type=lgns

I saw a link on Saturday morning on whitesox.com where you could download the Whitesox Weekly show archives but the link is gone now. Anyone have any idea?

How is this depressing? We get two pitchers for one, one of which is just as good as the one we got rid of. That sounds good to me.