fathom

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 12:39 AM) It's not a question of being terrible. It's a question of how much better our other option is. It's comparing a decent CF to a possibly great CF. You give up maybe 20 runs in a season if you go from Swisher to Mackowiak, but then you save like 20 more runs if you go from Swisher to Anderson. Thanks for summing up what I meant when comparing Mackowiak/Swisher to having Anderson out there. Hopefully Quentin hits well at the start, and Anderson isn't needed.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 12:29 AM) I don't care if Swisher is decent or even above average in CF. Any time Anderson has been in CF, he has been stellar. If he is going to be in the lineup, at least put him in the position that he is most effective in, CF. If it really is Anderson in LF, Swisher in CF, it's Ozzie not using his resources correctly, plain and simple. This is all a moot point of Quentin is the LF opening day. This might be the only time I'll say this all year, but Ozzie isn't stupid. This means Quentin is going to start opening day in LF. The only other possibility is we'll start Uribe or Ramirez at 2nd base on opening day, and Ozuna in LF.

How hard is it to go with an outfield of Swisher in LF, Anderson in CF, and Dye in RF (with Quentin getting some starts in LF/RF/DH)? Swisher is TERRIBLE in CF. He's no different than Mackowiak was out there.

The good news is that seeing how bad Floyd is makes me realize that Danks could become a good starter in a few years.

I like the post above speaking about our outfield depth, as well as the versatility Ramirez brings. Good job shack

Trades rarely happen during the first few months of the season.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 11:36 PM) Crede should of won a gold glove in '05. If chicago didn't have crede's glove, they don't win a Championship. plus crede always seems to come up with a clutch hit or homerun. I would argue that Fields was far and away our best clutch hitter last season.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 11:21 PM) think of the defense...crede, cabrera, uribe, konerko...that's gold glove caliber at every infield position. Ha, Konerko as GG is comical. He's good for his physical limitations, but he's still nowhere near the level of guys like Carlos Pena, etc.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 11:19 PM) Its really too bad the Sox don't have the prospects to get McFail to bite on a Brian Roberts deal. He would be a perfect fit for this team. According to Farmio, KW tried to get Roberts within the last month, but didn't have the prospects needed.

I hope Owens is ok.....but takes his time to return.

Is there a way that we can come up with a nickname for Owens that takes into account Podsednik?

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 10:37 PM) For fathom, power hitting is even lower than the need for 3b defense. If you don't think this is important for the White Sox, there's something terribly wrong with you. Again, if the Sox had strikeout pitchers, then you could make a case for defense not being as important, but we have a bunch of groundball/flyball pitchers who don't strike anyone out. Even Jenks has said, he rather get a hitter to ground out (which is why he chooses not to throw 100, but more in 94-96mph range) than a strikeout. It's the team's philosophy along with stupid speedy leadoff hitters. Josh is being developed as a 3B because he eventually will replace Crede at that position, next year being the latest. If we do somehow keep Crede beyond, Fields has way more value as a 3B than a LF. Never have I said power is the reason I want Fields at 3rd base. Basically, it all has to deal with how much the rest of the team sucks vs LHP, and the fact that Fields and Swisher are the future of this offensive club, and it's ridiculous that he's not on the big league club.

QUOTE(SoxWS05 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 10:11 PM) Uhhmm...probably because he's the best third baseman on our team. I'll love how everyone just drags Crede's name through the mud a year after he hit 30HR and 90RBI's. Trade Josh Fields. Joe Crede has no intention on re-signing with the White Sox. KW has said so much.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 10:09 PM) everyone should take a deep breath. Crede's going to show the league he can still play, the Dodgers or Giants will be playing games that count and with a greater sense of urgency they'll re-visit a deal for Crede. This could work out very well for the Sox. Josh Fields is our 3B in the very near future and for years to come. The Giants aren't going to be very good this year. 2 months into the season, they'll likely be sellers and not buyers.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 10:05 PM) boy Toby Hall sucks So that's how he convinced the brass to keep him on the roster.

QUOTE(lostfan @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 10:05 PM) I don't like seeing Fields going to AAA and not developing at the MLB level any more than the next guy but if this team is losing games it won't be because they don't have enough power hitters. Hate to sound like a broken record, but not having enough quality hitters against LHP could be a reason we lose.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:58 PM) Well, than having less than ideal fielding conditions should do nothing but help him focus and not take a "routine" play for granted. or he goes down there, and people get even more down on his defense cause he makes more errors than he might on a good field. With all the holes on this team, 3rd base defense isn't even in the top 15.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:54 PM) I may be mistaken, but wouldn't it help Fields defensive ability a bit to have to do so under less than optimal fielding conditions? Isn't this why quarterbacks practice throwing into small targets? Why hitters will often write numbers on tennis balls and put them in a pitching machine to improve their vision? Why golfers will try to putt the ball through a very narrow corridor? What good is fielding in optimal conditions going to do to help Fields improve his fielding? Fields is fine on tough plays...it's the routine plays that he struggles with. This is more of a lack of focus with him. This isn't like Ryan Braun where they wanted him to get repetitions in regards to throwing from 3rd to 1st without hitting someone behind the 1b dugout. I honestly don't worry about Fields defense, it's not nearly as bad as some Crede fans make it out to be. I'm more concerned that he won't get a lot of practice against 93 mph fastballs and up in the minors.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:42 PM) CL Bobby Jenks SU Scott Linebrink SU Octavio Dotel RP Matt Thornton RP Mike MacDougal RP Boone Logan RP Nick Masset DL Danny Richar DL Jerry Owens So, it looks like thats your Opening Day roster. No Wasserman? It looks like the two rookies who performed the best at the MLB level for the Sox last year have been demoted.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:34 PM) Nice to see Fields is the next legendary HOF according to this board, following former greats, Jeremy Reed, Royce Ring, and Brandon McCarthy. Honestly, it's only a year and Josh doesn't need to concentrate on his swing, he needs to concentrate on his defense which is something he doesn't need to be in the majors to learn. He could gain experience in AAA for that. I'm so sick of the whining. We sure did a great job of developing McCarthy. Defense in the minors is nothing compared to the majors with regards to the condition of the field, lights, etc.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:13 PM) well, rumors are now that Owens will start the season on the DL. So, that would make Ramirez the likely starter. It would be a joke if Ramirez started in CF over Anderson.

Legit question....how many positions are the Sox better at than the Tigers? DH and LF?

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:09 PM) so, the opening day lineup is pretty much official, isn't it? 1. Ozuna, 2B 2. Cabrera, SS 3. Swisher, LF 4. Konerko, 1B 5. Thome, DH 6. Dye, RF 7. Pierzynski, C 8. Crede, 3B 9. Owens, LF wow. Owens won't start opening day. I think we'll see Ramirez in CF. Ozzie has to be careful how he uses Ramirez. He's going to struggle with sharp offspeed pitches.

QUOTE(iamshack @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:05 PM) Honestly, for someone who has SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE of baseball, I have an incredible time understanding how you honestly think that our entire season, let alone the first month of the season, is going to be decided by who starts for us at third base in April. It's pretty damn apparent to me that the fortunes of this team are going to be decided by our starting pitching- and therefore the defense behind that pitching- along with the guys at the top of our order, and not whether Josh are Joe are in there to begin the season. This is not Game 1 of the World Series, and this is not sitting down Jim Thome and Paul Konerko for Brad Eldred and Paul Phillips for the month of April. Now you know I absolutely hate the fact that Owens is going to get the starting nod over Brian Anderson to start the season, but in all likelihood, these moves are not going to be the ones that determine whether we are winning and losing. I think having Fields in our lineup against LHP significantly improves our fortunes. We were the worst team in the AL against LHP last season. Considering we have to suffer with Toby Hall again, I almost wish we kept Fields on the bench (if he wasn't going to start), and platoon him with Thome.

QUOTE(Princess Dye @ Mar 25, 2008 -> 09:00 PM) RE: Fields.... Crede's a great fielder. If there's no trade, he's gonna play. Fields would have had to KO him this spring and didnt. Fault them for their overall logic of winning now, fine. But this is in line with it. I'm pretty sure Fields was better in every category.