fathom

Wow Jermaine, that was a brutal jump! Not a good defensive series so far by our outfield.

Wow, thank you Upton!

Wow, he's not even close with some of these low fastballs. He's pitching too quickly.

I hate L. Diaz. That's a blatant strike.

SF1 just climaxed

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 23, 2009 -> 01:17 AM) Jack Egbert is to Heads as Carlos Torres is to SF1. We haven't even seen the sharp slider you and I witnessed in the AAA All-star game

QUOTE (AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Jul 23, 2009 -> 12:18 AM) The Red Sox are paying Lugo's entire contract. Nothing to lose on the Cards end. Cardinals needed middle infield help a lot more than they needed another outfielder.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 06:05 PM) He definitely needs to throw the change-up more, but I'm not sure if he will because he doesn't seem to trust it. I would say the change-up is the closest thing he has to a plus pitch besides his curveball, but I can't call a pitch I don't see all that often from a guy a plus pitch in his arsenal. And yeah, you are absolutely right about the prevent defense point, which is why sometimes when closers struggle I don't think it's as big a deal, and also why strikeouts are so important for them. But he's been giving up some very hard hit balls in my opinion, not a lot of the hits have been prevent defense related (although one of them was prevent defense/Pods not trying to catch the ball for some reason related on Monday.) He's claiming he lost it in the lights, but I think he misjudged how far it would travel.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:25 PM) After 05 and all the game winning hits he's had against the cubs this year, he can spell his name with a "w" for all I care. of course, it was a joke

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 06:02 PM) How does that translate with 1 year of Halladay? Might as well try to win the whole thing this year or next year. Fielder's going to be so expensive in a year or two, and Braun will be expensive soon after that.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:55 PM) I think his curveball is the only true plus pitch he has left. His others might be very slightly above average perhaps, but that's about it. I agree about his 2005 stuff though, it was unbelieveable. I really think he needs to throw the change-up more often to lefties. My opinion is he's fallen in love with his sinker, and that's due to all the homers he gave up earlier in the year. The problem is his sinker is a lot more hittable. One thing to keep in mind when he pitches is the defensive positioning. There's a lot of holes on the field due to the "prevent" defense. It's a big reason why strike outs are so important for him.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:45 PM) Yep. And back then, that curveball had some serious bite. Like it was definitely a hammer, especially after seeing two straight 100mph fastballs. He threw a curveball to strike out Jason Lane in the top of the 9th of WS Game 1 that was just insane.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:45 PM) Yep. And back then, that curveball had some serious bite. Like it was definitely a hammer, especially after seeing two straight 100mph fastballs. In 2005, Jenks had some of the most electric stuff I had seen from a pitcher in my lifetime. Now his stuff is pretty average for a closer.

The Brewers should trade Escobar when his value is high. I've seen him play a handful of times, and he seems like nothing more than a weak hitting, slick fielding SS. You might as well trade for Caesar Izturis then. The Brewers only have a few more years left with the Fielder/Braun dynamic duo, so they really should go after Halladay.

You ask for a fancy gift, and all you get is a lousy utility play who can't even spell the name Jeff correctly.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:29 PM) My memory may be failing me, but I don't recall Bobby throwing that hook very often in 2005. I didn't see it until 2006, after he changed his mechanics and was topping out at 96-97. His hook is worthless if he can't throw it over the plate. Hitters will sit on his fastball. He threw it all the time with 2 strikes in 2005. His hook is a lot less effective now because hitters don't have to start their swing as fast with the fastball coming in at a more hittable speed.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 04:29 PM) So why do the Red Sox need another 1b? Lowell might be out for the year, so they'll move Youkilis to 3rd base. I hate watching LaRoche hit, so I'm very happy the White Sox didn't get him.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:41 AM) His off speed stuff looked great for the first 2 hitters last night, I don't think anybody would argue that. The fastball velocity thing baffles me though, because his heater has looked to the naked eye to be the worst it's ever been this year, and hitters seem to be hitting it harder than they ever have been. But even last night, Hawk was SHOCKED that Pena was able to turn around a high fastball from Jenks and hit it 400 feet into the upper deck foul.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:09 AM) He's had a pretty good curveball this year for the most part, which I think helps explain the K rate. The curveball this year, IMO, has been the biggest reason he's been able to be even as ok as he has. He had a stretch in June where it wasn't there, but other than that, it's saved him quite a bit. That and the slider to a lesser degree has also helped. Tonight was the least explosive I've ever seen his stuff. He did something he never does, and that's throw his fastball in the dirt. When he's even moderately fresh, his fastball will tail up and away to lefties. And as soxfan1 talked about in the gamethread, Burrell got some favorable calls. It sucks he hit Longoria, cause that was a 5-4-3 waiting to happen.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 05:06 AM) It's funny too cause his K/BB rate/ratio has been very good this year. He's basically Rod Beck 2.0 right now, cept this is one of the rare saves he's blown. People forget how disgustingly bad his K/9 IP was last year. I wanted him traded during the offseason, and think he'll be dealt after this season. It sucks to see this happening, as he's had just a magical run with the Sox so far.

He needs to start getting ahead with offspeed stuff, as you could tell Tampa's scouting report said to jump on the first pitch. Even last night, Pena started the 9th with a blast way, way foul. He doesn't throw hard enough to just frequently blow it past hitters like he did in 2005, etc. I wonder if all the homers he allowed earlier in the year has scared him into using the 2 seamer a lot more?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 03:02 AM) Were 0-39 after trailing in the 8th, so I doubt it. Unless we tied the game up only to lose it, but I can't remember any of those. We still haven't had a walkoff homer this year.

Anyone find out if a closer has had a blown save vs the Sox this year?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 02:50 AM) Mariano Rivera makes about as much as Jenks, Linebrink, and Dotel combined. I deleted it as soon as I typed it, as I was referring to the set-up men but figured there's guys on the DL I forget.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 22, 2009 -> 02:47 AM) Relax. Take a deep breath, step away from the keyboard, and relax. I'm disappointed we couldn't keep the momentum from last night and win tonight, but I'm just happy to finally get to watch our top 9 batters play in the same lineup.