hogan873

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 08:22 AM) You're under the assumption BOTH Keppinger and Gillaspie will be 750-800 OPS hitters for 2 months against all pitching in everyday play. I'll believe that when I see it. I'm not sure anyone is assuming that. However, Gillaspie has shown through spring training and now with some at-bats in the regular season that he may be a starter caliber player. Keppinger's history shows that at a minimum he can put the ball in play. If not much changes with these two guys, I like Keppinger and Gillaspie in the lineup over Beckham and Keppinger/Gillaspie.

How long will a broken collarbone keep Grienke out? Non-throwing side, but still that's gotta take a while.

I think this is Gillaspie's big shot here. He's looked pretty good so far. If he gets the majority of the time when Beckham's out and continues to hit well, a tough decision will have to be made when Beckham comes back.

I went to an Indianapolis Indians (Pirates AAA team) game on Tuesday, and Brandon Inge was playing for them on a rehab assignment. That was kind of cool. And Felix Pie was playing for them, too...wow he still sucks at baseball. Struck out three times, twice looking, and argued with the umpire.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Apr 5, 2013 -> 02:04 PM) vs. There it is!

Too bad about Ebert. He was obviously in much worse shape than he led on when he reported the cancer's return the other day. RIP

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 4, 2013 -> 08:55 AM) I nominated "Andrew" for turd of the year. I second the nomination.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 3, 2013 -> 03:04 PM) Robin with some coachy moves So is Viciedo in the corner with a dunce cap on?

So...it's only been two games, but Flowers is already showing the power we've been hoping he has. The guy could be a 20+ HR hitter.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 3, 2013 -> 10:31 AM) from now on all posts will be automatically copied and sent to your inbox to be reviewed. regardless of any rule. enjoy. I respectfully withdraw my last post...unless it's been moved to the catch all.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 3, 2013 -> 09:05 AM) I think this discussion belongs in the catch all. Excuse me while I move posts You could set up a complicated matrix that distributes posts. - Every third post in a game thread is automatically moved to the catch all, unless: a) The post mentions the players Sale, Peavy, De Aza, or Keppinger 1) These posts will be moved the waiting queue to be distributed based on how each player does in said game b) The post contains a mis-spelling c) The post is written by someone outside of the central time zone 1) These posts will be discarded d) The post mentions a particular play e) The post contains an avatar of a beautiful woman 1) These posts will be sent to my inbox

Looks like my afternoon at work will not be very productive.

It wouldn't have been that bad without the unbeliveably bad lip synching. I mean, it wouldn't have been great, but at least it would not have been sooo bad. You have to wonder if they even reviewed it before deciding it was a go. They must have directed this like Ed Wood directed his movies.

Great finale for Justified last night. Boyd's circumstances set up some interesting possibilities for next season.

I think he's entertaining. He is a homer, and some of his calls get ridiculous, but he does not shy away from praising players on other teams nor from criticizing the Sox when it's needed. He did go on and on yesterday about the Royals' catcher Perez. He can get fixated on players sometimes to the point of bizarre. I really don't think there's another announcer out there like him.

Finally got around to seeing Oz The Great and Powerful yesterday. I was very impressed. Great visuals and a pretty good story. Even though it was a Disney PG film, Sam Raimi tucked in a few Evil Dead-esque scenes with the camera zooming in at the characters and the creeping ground fog. The tornado scene was pretty good, too. Both my wife and I really enjoyed it, and my kids (11, 10, 8) loved it. I'm sure we'll see another prequel/sequel/something.

Finally here. And I may get out of work early enough to catch most of the game. A big win over the pesky Royals with our ace on the mound will be an awesome way to start the season.

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Mar 31, 2013 -> 10:56 PM) I thought it was really good. I thought it was a good finale. I can't say I'm surprised by anything, but

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 07:38 AM) Don't you think that $23M could have gotten them a division title if it was used last year? No, not without identifying where that money would have been spent. For a big chunk of the season, there wasn't a glaring need except for third base, and what third baseman could have been had for the right amount of money? Just about everything fell apart at the end. So unless that $23 million could have been spent on keeping the team healthy and reduced their fatigue, what could they have done with the money to ensure a division title?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 07:03 PM) There's no point to being in the middle as they have been. Bump the payroll and compete for the division. Bump the payroll and spend it on what? One impact bat? One starting pitcher? A couple bullpen guys? It's easy to say spend more, and the team will be better. But we all know that isn't necessarily true. What happens if the Sox spend an extra $20 million and still don't make the playoffs? Sell and start over? Spend more? Ask the Miami Marlins how spending a bunch of money worked out for them.

The Following was solid again on Monday. I wonder what they are going to do about next season. I hope they don't pull a "The Killing" and overextend a storyline.

I know as a Sox fan I'm overly critical of Sox players. Floyd has a lifetime ERA of 4.29 (4.20 with the Sox), and has averaged nearly 170 innings and 134 Ks a season while with the Sox. That's not bad at all. If he can gain some better consistent control, he could be a 18-20 game winner with a sub 4.00 ERA.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 08:18 AM) When he does that, I generally see it as an inability to find a consistent curve and/or change, so he has to work primarily with his fastball. He locates his fastball pretty well, but it doesn't have a lot of movement and when hitters square it up, they hit it a long way. He's a decent pitcher with inconsistent stuff who gets destroyed as a result. With regard to his stuff, he's probably got the most inconsistent stuff I've ever seen in a pitcher, that I have no problem debating. One outing his curve will have the bottom fall out, the next his change will dive down and in to righties and be incredible, and the next he's nothing but fastballs. It's maddening I have noticed that at times his curve is nearly unhittable. When he has a day like that, I have high hopes for him. Then he has a day when he's essentially throwing BP.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 08:07 AM) That happens to all kinds of pitchers though. Mark Buehrle got like 45 outs in a row and ended up giving up 5 runs in 6.1 IP. He blew up once he gave up a hit. I wouldn't classify Mark Buehrle as a guy who folds under pressure. The only guy I can honestly say I saw consistenly fold under pressure was Javier Vazquez. You're right. It does happen to all pitchers from time to time. And yes, Vazquez was the king of falling apart. But, to me it seemed like this happened to Floyd more often than some of the other Sox pitchers over the past few years.

Floyd has always seemed to me to be a pitcher with good stuff, occassionally great stuff, who seems to fold under pressure at times. I've seen him cruising along, give up a couple hits, and completely fall apart. However, I can remember two starts where he flirted with a no-hitter. Overall, he's an inning eater and has the potential to be a good, sometimes great pitcher. With Danks seemingly not 100%, having Floyd makes things look a lot better.