fathom

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:47 PM) I've been mostly quiet until now, because I've favored a wait and see attitude. When they were 10-6, I didn't quite believe they were that good or lucky. Similarly, during this 3-11 stretch, I certainly don't believe they're this bad or unlucky. At this point, I don't think they can compete as-is, at least not particularly effectively, beyond a lucky win of the division and a very early exit in the playoffs. Maybe that was good enough for me in 2000, but I'm certainly not interested in that now. This is an 79-90 win team, just like the last umpteen teams have been, outside of 2007 and 2005. Williams believes that putting yourself in a position to win 80 games and then getting some breaks is good enough. I guess so, if you are getting some off the chart WARs. It struck me last night how fundamentally unsound Williams' "retool" strategy has been, at the core. It has relied on static parts producing at predicted results, paired with high-variance acquisitions to produce at or near the top of their game. It's a brutally flawed strategy, because it undermines some of the fundamentals of player development. In layman's terms, a lot of dudes in baseball just don't particularly pan out, which is why your Gordon Beckhams, your Brent Morels, your Dayan Viciedos are paired with a s***load of other prospects and brought along in tandem. This is why you bottom out at 95-100 wins for a couple of seasons. You trade talent away, hoard draft picks. and 3 years down the line you know who the the 2-3 diamonds are out of the 20 pieces of coal you throw in your pan. They are still cheap, so you can go out and spend money to get the FA you need to pair with your developed talent. You break the bank for two seasons and put together your attack run. You have a 2 year window, then you break it all down again. Why is this so hard for Kenny to realize? 2006-2012 was a series of moves designed to work IF everything fell into place. It's a bulls*** strategy, because it was based on the results of a lucky season. If Williams were a poker player, he'd play A2 suited because THAT was the hand that won him the $2000 tournament, not because it was a sound play to begin with, all things considered. Do I think it was a brilliant season? Yes. Do I commend Williams for his strategy? To a point, yes. We also got no less than 8 career years in 2005, and the playoffs of a lifetime - that still could have brutally swung the other way in the ALCS. Luckily, it didn't. Unluckily, Williams believed his own hype - that he could get career years out of "his guys" like getting water from a well. Ladies and Gents, I give you exhibit A - Scott Linebrink. We need to evaluate Brent Morel and Gordon Beckham and either cast them off as dead weight or give them the tools they need to succeed. We need to understand who Dayan Viciedo and Alejandro De Aza are, and give them the tools they need to succeed or continue to succeed at the major league level. We need to stop f***ing with Chris Sale. We need to fix John Danks. We need to trade everyone who resembles a closer and probably Jake Peavy. Most importantly, we need to stop looking at wins and losses this season, because it is the cancer that prevents us from any sustained long term success. It's one thing to act like the Yankees and go "all in" every year, it's another to half-ass your way to being "competitive" with a lackluster bottom half of the lineup. Awesome post, and you also might want to add that 2008 saw career years from a lot of players also (Quentin, Floyd, Danks, Alexei at the very least).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 8, 2012 -> 05:37 PM) The other thing that makes total rebuilds a lot harder these days is you don't get Jon Garland for Matt Karchner anymore. At least its very rare. It used to be commonplace to trade a decent veteran for a top prospect at the deadline. Not anymore. Which is why the Sox are going to have to include money in deals if they want to get someone valuable in return for Peavy, etc.

I'm pro-rebuilding, but I'm also comfortable with the idea that Konerko should be used as a trade chip. I don't think everyone on this site would be on board with that.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 8, 2012 -> 05:13 PM) ADA cf Gordo 2b Dunn DH Paulie 1b AJP c Rios RF Alexei SS Tank LF Brent M. 3b I like Beckham in the 2nd spot. But mercy, this is way too many righties in a lineup against someone with such extreme R/L splits like Masterson.

QUOTE (TitoMB @ May 8, 2012 -> 05:11 PM) This. Just give me some competent hitters on the bench so I don't have to see Lillibridge/Morel/Beckham/Alexei make an out to end a rally late in a game! Kenny made a huge mistake in not getting a competent, veteran back-up 3rd baseman heading into the year. With Alexei's track record of slumping early and Morel struggling so much last year, having Escobar as the back-up option was a very bad decision. I said this the other day, but Blake DeWitt would be a much better fit on this roster than Escobar is.

Anyone see the Cards/Dbacks highlights? Goodness, it looked like they were using aluminum bats.

Fister back...it's about time for that 1.65 ERA in a Tigers uniform to go up

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 8, 2012 -> 03:40 AM) Peavy.Has.No.Value. Unless Sox take on a lot of the contract to get a good prospect back. I definitely wouldn't rule that out, and I think it would be a great move by the Sox.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 8, 2012 -> 03:36 AM) I guess if we win 50 games a year with no names we can all feel good about "rebuilding" Means the same as winning 75 games, especially if attendance for a 75 win team is going to be near the bottom like it has been. I know this is something that you and I have already disagreed about.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:30 AM) Danks will stop the bleeding tomorrow. I would be significantly happier if we lose 1-0 tomorrow and Danks looks great as opposed to winning 10-9 with Danks getting rocked. For all the talk about rebuilding vs trying to compete, Danks might be the most important player in the organization.

QUOTE (Baron @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:22 AM) The question is how long do you plan to rebuild? You dont think it can get worse but over time it certainly can. You can waist alot of years trying to rebuild. Don't get me wrong, I'd love for the Sox to contend every year and have the park buzzing. However, the resources just don't seem to be there, and it's vital that the current regime in the front office leave and someone else try to fix things.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:21 AM) IMO going to full rebuild is a terrible idea. That's what organizations with no money, in bad markets do. We are not the Chicago Cubs, we can put a contending on the field product while building up our system. I can live with 2006-2011 if the behind the scenes moves are made that allow us to compete for the future. No more all-in, but you can still spend on veterans, send down young guys that can't hit, etc. How do you plan on Sox being able to contend? You're going to have to spend a lot of money this offseason if you want to fill the holes that will exist, and with the attendance being as bad as it's been, that doesn't seem likely.

QUOTE (Baron @ May 8, 2012 -> 03:19 AM) No there is not...but atleast you have some decent players in place. Just wait until your the laughing stock of the league for 5-10 years. Boy thats going to be really fun. How much worse can it get? Attendance is a debacle, which goes to show you that people don't come to the park just to watch Konerko or Dunn or Peavy. All Sox fans care about is that the Sox are contending (with regards to attendance), so there's no big difference between having a 65 win team and 72 win team.

QUOTE (Baron @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:15 AM) and some of you guys want a total rebuild. You think this year is fun. Just wait until we dont have much to look forward to. I'm fine with that, as long as it's an organizational-wide effort (ie: Cubs under Theo). None of the bulls*** trying to compete on the field while rebuilding at the same time. All that's done is give us a mediocre big league team and a terrible farm system.

QUOTE (Baron @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:09 AM) Thank you Matt for once again crapping the bed. I cant wait until your off the payroll. Still want to know why De Aza was literally playing 385 feet away for Cabrera. Did he think Bonds in his prime was up? Once that flare dropped, it was the beginning of the end.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 8, 2012 -> 03:07 AM) Our young hitters cannot hit

QUOTE (Soxfest @ May 8, 2012 -> 03:07 AM) Sox scored in 2 innings, only problem Cleveland scored at the bottom of both those innings. Way to hold them down this is pathectic. Definitely a "game of inches" tonight.

Goodness, he crushed that just foul

So why wouldn't you have Konerko hit for Fukudome and let Viciedo face the LHP? Is Lillibridge a better option than Viciedo right now?

QUOTE (Baron @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:01 AM) What did you think was going to happen? He was going to read your mind every second and change the pitching when you want it changed? I'd like for him to start making some decisions that have some resemblance of making sense. With Sale available today, it's inexcusable that he didn't bring in Reed.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ May 8, 2012 -> 04:00 AM) Sox LH relievers have really cost this team some wins. At least we have 4 of them now

Wow, warning track power

QUOTE (Baron @ May 8, 2012 -> 03:57 AM) So after today it sounds like were going to burn Kenny and Robin at the stake. Ventura can stay, but it's painful seeing some of these "learning experiences" unfold.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 8, 2012 -> 02:57 AM) You can b**** at Robin for not intentionally walking the bases loaded, but Thornton needs to f***ing pitch. These are problems that are only had by bad pitchers. Thornton has done great against righties throughout his career. The legend of Shelley Duncan's fastball hitting may live on, but Josh Fields would have hit that pitch down the middle. MT needs to just pitch better. Then you bring in Reed to face him. This is the third time in a week now where Ventura completely botched the pitching match-up in a big situation, and the result was exactly what you'd expect.

Coming into today, Duncan had an OPS of 1.019 vs LHP and .523 vs RHP. It's truly amazing how bad some of these decisions by Ventura have been.