Jordan4life_2007

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:58 PM) As it stands now, we would face Boston in a best-of-5 ALDS, and then likely the Angels in a best of 7 ALCS. What would the starting pitching matchups be for those series? (For Boston, I'm going to assume they trade for a closer and move Schilling to #1 by season's end because a closer is worthless if your starter gets shelled.) You can't predict series ending early, so let's just compare the top 4 starters from each team: ALDS: Buerhle v. Schilling (even) Garcia v. Clement (even) Garland v. Wells (even) Contreras/El Duque v. Wakefield (adv. Boston) ALCS: Buerhle v. Colon (even) Garcia v. Washburn (even) Garland v. Lackey (adv. ChiSox) Contreras/El Duque v. Byrd (adv. Angels) Now in both of these scenarios, the biggest thing driving my belief that the Sox need to trade for a starter is the 4th game matchups. There is no way the Sox should pitch anyone on short rest, so you need a 4th starter in each series unless you are lucky enough to get a sweep. I think Buehrle, Garcia and Garland may get it done, but given our relative lack of postseason experience and the fact we are facing stronger hitting clubs, we need every edge we can get. Go out and get a better 4th playoff starter Kenny. Please. You're pitching match-ups are horrible. Against the Red Sox, It's Buehrle > Schilling. I want to see Schilling healthy. Garcia > Clement. Garica has been good for years. Garland >>> Wells. Sorry, Wells 5.04 era doesnt do much for me. Hernandez > Wakefield. I'll take El Duqe's 9-3 career playoff record over Wakefield. Our Bullepen > their Bullpen. Angels? Buehrle > Colon Garcia > Washbrn Garland > Lackey Hernandez >>>>>> Byrd. Both Bullpens are fairly even.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 01:08 PM) Or they can lose in the ALCS and watch the prospects they didn't want to trade turn out like Ruffcorn, Bolton, Borchard, Abbott, Ruffin, Rauch, Malone, the list goes on and on. It appears like they are going to go for it. They are trying to win the ALCS, and the WS. White Sox fans should be commending management for that, not worrying about losing some 21 year old kid who will be selling cars in 3 years anyway. I remember when people were up in arms about losing Hummel. That was 2 years ago. What's he done since. Where's he at now? It can go either way. That's all I was saying. Don't think that if we lose in the post-season that fans/media/ect will just brush aside the fact we traded our entire farm for guys we ended up losing anyway. And I don't remember anybody crying over losing Tim Hummel. If so, that's sad.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:57 PM) And Burnett's performance last night against the Brewers; 124 in 6 innings? Yikes. Well, that's the thing with strike out pitchers, I guess. They throw a lot of pitches.

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:51 PM) I got my hopes up too far for Schmidt, so I'm not even gonna consider this one until it goes through. I'll be ecstatic if it happens, but my hopes won't be getting high for this one. The possiblity of landing Burnett blows away the Schmidt rumor. Schmidt's 5.11 era just scares the you know what outta me.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:51 PM) I would be giddy because the White Sox would finally be going for it, not trying to play for 5 or 6 years from now. Most of the prospects the White Sox have traded have done little at the major league level. If the White Sox don't win it all, then cry about the lost prospects. Frankly, I have come to take quickman's thinking on the subject of minor leaguers. Most are far better being used as trading chips than they ever will be on a major league field. That's all fine and dandy until we lose in the ALCS. Then Kenny will look like a bafoon for trading our top prospects for 3 month rentals. I'm all for trading for Burnett, but only if we can resign him.

I'm trying not to get too high. But man, these guys are making it tough. I just try to remember that there's more important things in life than what the Sox do. Damn, that didn't work. I forgot, the Sox are my life..lol

QUOTE(Steff @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:40 PM) Did Prior walk off the mound before Dusty came for him..??? That would be even more comedy. I'll try and find out.

Julio is not of this planet. Dude is almost 50! And lmao@Prior and the Flubs. The way they're going, they're gonna be out of it by the break.

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:33 PM) You have to give up quality to get quality. Plus, Ozzie is very familiar with Burnett. I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd just be afraid of the prospects that KW would throw in. Our rotation would be so nasty. As long as we hold on to Anderson and Young, I'm cool. We can always restock the farm.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 12:22 PM) I think Contreras earlier in the season was pitching about as well as he can. And if you look at his numbers over his short MLB career, he has now fallen into form by following a good month with a bad one. Basically he's a pitcher with good stuff who can't harness it consistently. He's not a guy I would be confident in trotting out in a game 4 of the ALDS or ALCS. I also think he would be worthless in the bullpen in the postseason. So if we haven't traded him, I would just leave him off the postseason roster. He had a stretch of 4 starts where he pitched poorly in 3 of them. Besides that, he's been good. Once again, nobody uses a 5 man rotation in the post-season. Contreras would be in the pen. And you do know El Duque's career playoff record is like 9-3? Jose has had 2 pretty good starts against the Angels this year. He's given up just 5 earned runs in 13 innings. And yeah, the Red Sox have owned him. But like I said, he'd be in the pen come playoff time anyway.

All these rumors are driving me crazy. It's gonna be a stressful 24 days before the deadline.

This game sucks.

No shock here. lol@anybody who really thought Redd was gonna sacrafice 22 million just to play with Lebron.

QUOTE(Hideaway Lights @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 10:29 AM) The ERA does not tell the story. The WHIP does. I was at a game earlier this year, April 18th vs. the Twins. Contreras loaded the bases something like 3 times in the first 4 innings. It was ludicrous. He ended up getting 2 double plays to get out of it. I swear, on EVERY SINGLE BATTER he would go 0-2, and then 3-2. A couple of those he walked the batter on four straight balls. It was one of the most aggravating outings I've ever watched. Honestly, we should have been down something like 10-1 after three. Somehow, he only allowed a couple to score. Did we win the game? sure. Contreras' line? Only 2 earned through 4 2/3rds. Not bad...translates to an game ERA of about 3.86. But 6 hits and 4 walks through 4 and 2/3rds is flat out ATROCIOUS. It's a WHIP of over 2! I know people b**** about his lack of run support, but Contreras' is also always getting himself into these situations by walking way too many guys. 48 walks in 101 innings pitched is just awful. The mindboggling thing is that his hits allowed per inning is actually stellar....only 86 in 101 innings pitched. His total WHIP is 1.32...not horrible, but certainly below average. And what's the WHIP for Jason Schmidt? The guy everybody is in love with. My point is, Jose is our 5th best starter. What we're getting out of him to this point is more than acceptable.

Just looked it up. The Sox are currently 6th in the al in runs scored.

QUOTE(DukeNukeEm @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 10:18 AM) Yea, but I'd be willing to call this the high-point of the season. I dont think things could be any better. I think winning the World Series would be the high point.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 10:16 AM) I called Contreras shaky. Yes Schmidt has been shaky this year for a big part of it, there is no question about it. Jason's track record is much better as he was better than Loaiza and Halladay in 03 but he clearly isn't that pitcher this year and health is the obvious reason why. Scmidt being shaky doesn't mean Contreras isn't, which makes the point of your post rather muddled. But we don't have to give up the farm to get Jose. He's already here. Jose, to this point, has been better than Schmidt.

QUOTE(DukeNukeEm @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 10:12 AM) Anybody notice the strange sense of negativity, the need to change and shakeup the roster a little? The talk of Jason Schmidt? The obsession with Eric Chavez? The fantasies of Joe Randa and Roger Clemens? It seemed as if 1/2 wasnt satisified and wanted winning, but more of it (if thats possible), while the other 1/2 was enjoying the run and wanted things to just run thier course. Arguments got heated and the board started a major split, Sox Nation in general had the same thing. We all loved the winning, but we were getting spoiled, both 1/2's found it more interesting to argue the things that could go wrong than argue who we'll be playing in the playoffs, and what matchups we should exploit. Then came Pods. It unified a splitting Sox fanbase behind one giant need to get the catalyst of the new baseball into the All-Star game. It put the entire board in a good mood, even Hawk and DJ got thier props in! How many negative posts have thier been since Pods started reeling in votes? Not many. I think Podsednik did much more than just get into a game that could directly affect what happens to the team. It unified a fanbase behind one simple cause; get this kid to the game, where he belongs. We beat Derek Jeter, the face of baseball. We beat the Yankees, the most dominating sports franchise in History. Us, the White Sox, who many think doesnt even have control of thier own town. So, thanks Podsednik. Thank you Ozzie. Thank you Mark. And Thank you Soxtalk.com, we set aside or idiotic needs to argue with each other and focus on what we have, the best team in f***ing baseball.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 10:04 AM) Wow, not a single negative comment - nor even a lingering doubt - among anyone who has posted so far. I don't want to rain on the parade, but my sense is: 1. Contreras is a servicable 4th or 5th starter because he's healthy and seems to pitch well enough to win about half of the time. He can even occasionally pitch a great game. 2. He's completely unreliable, however, especially against good teams, so he's essentially worthless in the postseason. (Over the last three years he's 0-1 v. LAA (21.00 ERA) and 1-4 v. Bos (13.50 ERA).) I wouldn't even have him on the roster if we still have him. I guess I also remain concerned that our top 3 pitchers may not be able to win a series against Boston or the Angels by themselves. Buehrle and Garland have essentially zero experience in the postseason (Buehrle pitched 2/3 of an inning in relief), and Garcia is a very good pitcher but can be beaten by good hitting teams. So I hope KW is still looking for that 4th, reliable, guy who will win for us in the ALDS, ALCS, and WS. Contreras is not it. And if we had a separate post about El Duque, I don't think he's it either. It was just one month ago today that Jose was sitting on a 3.13 era. He went into a funk. But how surprised can you really be? For the most part, Jose has been good. He was cheated of atleast 3 wins earlier in the seaosn when he was pitching lights out. If his era were to remain around 4 or even lower, could anybody really complain? The guy is our 4th if not 5th best starter. As far as the playoffs go? What team uses a 5 man rotation in the playoffs? Jose would undoubtedly be moved to the pen. Leaving us with Buehrle, Garica, Garland, and Hernandez as our playoff rotation. You say Buehrle/Garland/Garica have no playoff experience? And? What should we do, trade for 3 or 4 guys that do? It doesn't work that way. There's not a whole lot of quality starting pitching on the market. We're one of the few teams in baseball that can say we sport 5 legitimate starters. We don't need to trade away the farm when we already have a solid 5 man rotation.

Thanks Rowand. I'll be sure to listen.

Why is everybody pickin on Jose? Damn. It was less then a month ago that the guy had an era of 3.13. He went into a little funk. Does that surprise anybody? He's our 4th if not 5th best starter. He's been cheated out of atleast 3 wins earlier this season. Honestly, I've been very happy with Jose to this point. If he can keep his era around 4 and give us a chance to win most of the time, I'm more than happy. The guy we need to worry about is Hernandez.

It's not just Frank. I mean, he's a big part of it, but having guys like Rowand and Dye come to life has been a big part. Everett has been hot as well.

There's a new rumor floatin around that would have the Spurs sending Rasho Nesterovic to the Blazers for Shareef Abdur Rahim. That would be highway robbery. And the best team in the league would be even better. Staring 5=Duncan, Nazr, Bowen, Manu, Parker. Bench=Barry, Beno, Rahim, Horry, Scola, Brown, Massenburg or Rahimi? I'm assuming they'll be able to resign Devin Brown. Hopefully, the Blazers aren't that stupid.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jul 6, 2005 -> 11:21 PM) Terrible move, no way the Blazers are going to be competitive for a few seasons at least. Wonder what Ray Allen is thinking right now. He's got to be pissed. But as we all know, money talks.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 04:31 AM) Except the trade deadline is only 24 days away. I still see the sox adding a proven impact arm to the pen. Jenks may be the Sox "K-Rod" [a rookie having a big impact on a team's playoff run]. Yet that type of rookie impact is very rare. Seems like your in a hurry to trade this guy. Lets see what he can do first. The package and potential is most definitely there. Nobody can deny that. If he turns out to be legit, we won't need another reliever. We could look to add elsewhere. I'm hoping Ozzie gives this guy every chance to show what he can do, which won't be easy considering we have a pretty deep pen.