fathom

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 09:54 PM) I just remember hearing all spring, "Wait til you see Alexei at SS." So far, I think I'd rather have OC back at SS. And am starting to think that we shouldn't move Beckham away from SS just to accomodate Alexei, should be the other way. Um, Ozzie basically said he was wrong yesterday. Of course, I'm waiting to see Jose's cutter from the spring.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 09:52 PM) That, and by the time he backhands it and raises up his glove, it takes him awhile to get the ball out of his glove, similar to Soriano. Both have good arms, but both take ages to get the ball to the target due to not being able to find the ears on it. Which is why Alexei has been BRUTAL turning double plays also. Getz and Alexei have worse timing than any DP combo on the southside I've seen.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 09:53 PM) Don't get too down Fathom. I know you still feel we can win this thing so trading someone isn't really the answer I'm from the KW school where you can trade and still try to compete. I absolutely, positively would get rid of Contreras the second a decent offer came in.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:50 PM) now the shadows are over home plate. oh well -- wanted the sweep, i'll take 2 of 3. Lineup will look significantly better tomorrow with 2 more lefties in it. I'd also love to see Ozzie shake things up and move Alexei down in the order to try and put him into a more run-producing role.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:50 PM) But...it's his first year in the majors as a SS, so it's alright. Honestly his lazy throws, his ability to make easy plays into tough ones, and his lack of concentration is getting really old. My biggest issue is how many hits he gives up due to playing everyone so far up the middle. If a player hits one in the hole between 3rd and SS, it's an automatic hit.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 09:48 PM) Alexei...get your f***ing head in the game. ss2k had a great comment comparing Alexei to Tyrus Thomas. Unfortunately, it's a lot harder to just bench Alexei like it is Tyrus.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:47 PM) Does Hawk know that Mark Teixeira is in the AL and is 10x better defensively at 1B then Konerko is? Anyways, this one doesn't look good. Hopefully, in a game I'll be at, they can win tomorrow. They usually hit Dempster around pretty well. Also might be time to scrap the idea of Castro as Contreras' personal catcher, and use him more against LHP. With Castro's splits, it makes no sense to keep playing him against RHP.

Might be time to pull Contreras. 90 pitches in this weather and with a possible back injury is enough for him. Don't want to ruin any potential trade value either.

Me thinks we're going to see Wise in CF tomorrow and Sunday. Hopefully CQ gets back in 2 weeks so we don't have to see either.

It's strange..Getz was on fire, and now all of a sudden he's in a 1-21 slump. PK is definitely keeping this infield afloat this year.

The crazy thing is that coming into this game, everyone knows the Cubs have 3 good hitters right now: Lee, Soto, and Fox. They have all 6 of their hits. If we can shut them down the rest of this series, we should be in good shape.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:40 PM) Jose hasn't thrown a decent splitter since his back problem. He also hasn't gotten anything in the lower half of the zone. He is still hurting. What happened with the back injury? I saw you guys mention it.

What pitch did Soto hit out?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:37 PM) Ha, there it is. No, no shot at a DP on PK's error. There what is? Am I supposed to be happy about this? I didn't say anything bad, but giving up a 3 run homer immediately after an error would get someone like Gavin or Garland booed off of this site.

QUOTE (G&T @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:36 PM) Len says Soto is playing more relaxed after saying he tested positive for weed. He'll play even better once everyone knows he's a huge HGH user.

Wow, what a meltdown. Would PK have turned two on Fontenot's? I can't believe we just let Panama Red beat us.

Ugh, we make a lot of errors at the end of a game it seems.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 10:26 PM) Podsednik steals 2nd and takes the bat out of Thome's hands. That's just stupid. Have we even tried a hit-and-run with Alexei up and Pods on?

Way to tie it Jim!

We need our 3-4-5 to keep producing right now. We have a pretty bad 6-9 today against this type of pitcher.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 09:54 PM) When are we going to bunt to test slow-ass Jake Fox at third. Pods, Alexei, Getz, Anderson and Beck should all be thinking about that. This is the same team that didn't bunt against Dontrelle when he was on one leg.

You can't throw Fox a fastball there. Cubs and their damn offseason program for their minor leaguers.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 08:18 PM) I want Bacon to be at 2b for the long term. You can get power from your corners pretty easily, but a power+average combo at 2nd base is hard to come by (Utley types) and I think putting what would end up being an average power hitter at 3b is a waste. Couldn't agree more

Yikes, 5 lefties in their lineup. Let's hope Jose has a good forkball.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 26, 2009 -> 06:28 PM) I keep wondering whether we'll be able to keep Podsednik as a stolen base coach after his legs finally give out. He's not that fast any more and it kills him on the basepaths this year, but he knows when to run and he has the technique down pat. He'd be an ideal guy to have working with people who have speed but need to develop stolen base skill (Owens, Mitchell, perhaps D2: the Mighty Danks) Not to turn this into our weekly coach bashing thread, but as long as it's not who is currently teaching players on the Sox, that would be fine. We are giving up way too many outs with our predictable base running (2 out and runner on 1st).