fathom

QUOTE (kristofer @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 10:55 PM) how does john ely predict to end up in our organization? Huge fan of Ely due to where he played high school, but I'm not sure he has the stuff to make the majors as a starting pitcher. He's very much in the mode of the "old regime", as he throws about 89 mph with the usual offspeed pitches. I hope he makes it though, as he's a huge Sox fan.

QUOTE (knightd1 @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 11:45 PM) didnt see the replay yer. Rondo threw a punch/elbow? No, he just flung Hinrich into the scorer's table. Aaron Gray needs to become a Chicago legend and punch that ugly mother f***er right in his face.

We're not allowed to root for injuries on here, right? Well, I hope Rondo has a healthy career in the NBA. If the Bulls win and Rondo's not suspended for Game 7, the NBA might as well close operations.

Excellent news today

Todd Ritchie was a good hitter. Hit a legendary homer in Texas High School State Finals off of Todd Van Poppel

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 03:47 PM) But really, we're in the same spot we've been in for three years: a middle lineup of aging, slow sluggers surrounded by no-names. Only our pitching is noteworthy. That we didn't get a leadoff hitter/CF in the offseason I thought was pretty ominous. We have Carlos Quentin...he's one of the best players in the American League, but your "synopsis" makes it seem like we are lacking a stud offensive player.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 12:46 PM) Oh come on now. In a month and a week we'll be looking for a new 3B? Fields adjusted to fastballs, they are now adjusting to him, he'll adjust back. He may struggle in the interim, but, let's not get ridiculous here. I've been Josh Fields biggest fan on this site for 3 years now, but it's scary to see how overmatched he is by a 90 mph fastball. I wish we could be confident he'll make that adjustment, but he's never shown he can hit a fastball in the majors. The key for him, in the time being, is to put any breaking pitch thrown to him into play.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 05:16 AM) Dunno, but some of you may have jumped the gun a tad bit early on the Swish trade. Actually, yes, many of you did. Let this be a lesson learned. Now Pods (who I'm happy to see on the roster- as a backup...) and Owens will run down balls hit to center. Meanwhile everyone we got for Swisher who has 7 knocks is spitting in the face of that deal. Trading Swisher was the wrong move. I don't give two s***s about how much he was gonna make, how bad he struggled in his first year in a brand new city, what we got in return, at least for now is s***. With his versatility Swisher could cover for Dye, Quentin, Konerko, Anderwise, and even some of the clowns we've had throwing relief. In return we got absolutley nothing. As a fan of most KW moves, this gets an F-, even if Nick had 0 HR's instead of 7. While I love the rant, I hate that people think Pods will run down balls in center. Do people forget the Tinkerbell nickname he was given? He had pathetic range in LF, and when put out in CF, it was no different.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 05:40 AM) That was the story of the game IMO. He was working counts and hitting the ball down the lines, if he gets consistent ABs he's going to do this regularly. He seemed to have more doubles today than the rest of the team has had all season. Wakamatsu did a terrible managing job in pulling Bedard right before the Betemit AB in the 6th. BTW, wasn't it nice to not have our hitter give up an out with a bunt??

QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 05:34 AM) Besides the 5th starter roulette wheel, the 07 bullpen, this leadoff hitter/CF crap ranks up there with the worse moves or lack of moves he's made in his career. Hopefully this move means Getz will bat 2nd. The Fields experiment in the 2nd spot isn't working. He's now a slap hitting 3rd baseman with little power. Wilson Betemit needs to get more playing time against RHP, and I'm so pumped he performed as he did today.

Do people forget how bad Pods was defensively? The few times he was put in CF, he was a triple waiting to happen. If Anderson's out an extended period, KW needs to acquire a new CF or put Alexei in CF.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 05:17 AM) I understand...but if you say he's not a good option...you're insinuating there are better ones which there really isn't. I'm just trying to look at this as the glass half full and hope he'll come up and really provide an offensive spark...that's really all you can do at this point I think. It's not our job on this board to find a suitable replacement. It's Kenny Williams job, and he's failed miserably at it. Too often on this board, people use the excuse of "it's the best we have". That shouldn't make it acceptable to a fan base. Maybe KW will say that Scotty Pods 2009 version is a tick below the Scotty Pods 2005 version.

Being at the game today, it made it even easier to see how off Josh Fields is from squaring up a fastball. The league has already made an adjustment to him, so he better learn to speed up his bat or we'll be looking for a new 3B come June.

QUOTE (PlunketChris @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 01:07 AM) I could open the "what if we had actually signed Torii Hunter" can of worms if we're opening cans of worms... or of course not trade Swisher when his value is at his lowest. Swisher is a Gold Glover compared to Pods in CF.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 01:30 AM) Let the Scott Podsednik/Brent Lillibridge center field era begin. This is a disaster. Yet KW has no one to blame but himself.

I'm convinced Lillibridge is putting some curse on players in order to stay on the roster. First Nix, then Getz, and now Anderson. I can't believe we might have to watch Pods play a month straight in CF against LHP/RHP. Please KW, go find someone else or move Alexei to CF and let the Slayer era begin!

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 06:13 AM) Yeah because Getz's 7 major league ABs against left handed pitching (3 hits by the way) is proof enough to Ozzie that he can't f***ing handle them, right? That's just stupid. It was from a clip prior to either Friday or Saturday night's game when there was a brief rain delay.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 06:05 AM) Well luckily it looks like Getz will be in the lineup tomorrow and Thome probably Friday. I feel like Lillibridge is still going to get the majority of the starts against LHP. Ozzie was asked about Getz facing lefties the other day, and he said it's not something that's going to happen very often.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:02 AM) I couldn't agree more. Its amazing how many people stil put Lillibridge ahead of Anderson and Wise. Lillibridge is no better and probably worse offensively than Jerry Owens, but for some reason(probably because KW said so) they think he's a viable offensive major league player. He's nothing more than a late inning defensive replacement and a pinch runner. I said earlier...he'd be a great September call-up. As a 25 man roster player, it's an absolute joke. The problem is that we have 3 of these types right now (Lill, Owens, Broadway). The talent level on this team is pretty scary right now with Getz/Thome out.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:52 AM) I haven't seen all of his AB's so I don't know, I just glanced at the stats. But tonight he looked god awful. Like I said though, we get someone to teach him to stay on top of the ball and have quick short line drive swings, he'll be a completely different player, IMO. Nothing that great, but not nearly as bad as he is now. As someone who has seen almost all of his at bats, I'll sum it up this way: HE f***ING SUCKS! He looks like a bad hitting pitcher at the plate. For someone who has speed, he is absolutely pathetic at hitting the ball on the ground. He must have got lucky to hit .220 in the minors last year.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 04:48 AM) He was drawing walks because he wasn't trying to drive the ball, you can tell when he's looking for a walk and when he's trying to hit the ball out, rarely does he put together a good AB and end up with a walk. He's also employed the "don't swing until you get a strike approach" which has led to 3 or 4 4-0 walks which just isn't going to happen in the future. I was going to say, he drew some walks in situations against pitchers that had no command (Kazmir, Liriano). Y. Bettancourt would have walked in those situations. The problem with Lillibridge being on this roster is that Ozzie's going to find any excuse to get his "grinder" abilities in the lineup. This team needs less grinder, more talent.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 04:47 AM) An 0-30 or so is just around the corner. The problem is, unless Flowers is called up, there is no obvious better option in the system and calling up Flowers to play part time is not wise. Our depth at nearly every position is pathetic this season. That's what happens when you don't spend any money during the offseason. It's funny that the Sox really thought Viciedo would contribute at the MLB level this season.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:44 AM) Pierzynksi the best option whether we like it or not, sadly. Why, so he can hit into a double play if our leadoff man gets on base?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:44 AM) Broadway or Owens or Miller or Lillibridge. None are major league players. I think it probably will be Owens the first out, followed by Broadway. For some reason, Ozzie and a portion of soxtalk think Lillibridge brings something to the table and perhaps he does as a pinch runner. He would be on base far more as a pinch runner than he would be as someone who actually had to earn his way on base. He sucks. Miller's done an incredible job behind the plate....no issues with him so far.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Apr 29, 2009 -> 05:37 AM) 2B Getz SS Ramirez LF Quentin 1B Konerko DH Thome RF Dye 3B Fields C Pierzynski CF Anderson I like it, but don't mind Thome 4th because it should theoretically put someone on base 40 pct of the time for Dye/Konerko. Fields batting 2nd is just stupid, and I feel like he's changed his approach because of it. He's worthless if he's just a slap hitter.