fathom

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 02:39 PM) I have seen catchers dive for things like popped up bunts, and foul pop ups. Yes, but during those rare times that a catcher might have to dive, it's usually straight ahead on their belly due to the equipment they have on. Obviously, if you're in the infield, you're going to have to dive a heck of a lot more towards your right or left. Unfortunately, it was on a dive to his right/left that Hall got hurt.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 03:18 AM) ....and Thome, BA/grinderstad like you originally listed. I'd say five ninth's of the lineup isn't "some." Don't hold your breath on that waiting for all 5 of these guys to turn it around against LHP. Have you ever seen him play first? What's your win prediction this year?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 03:14 AM) Yah, like I said above, more than anything, we need to have some of the regulars start hitting well against lefties again(?). Iguchi, Uribe, Pods. I mean, Uribe kilt lefties in 05. Yeah, it's one of the main reasons I was so concerned about the news regarding Hall. I thought he was really going to give us a lift vs LHP.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 03:06 AM) Well, we need Uribe to hit like he did in 04 and 05 against lefties. That was a huge dropoff. And Iguchi really stunk vs LHP last year. Like I've repeated many times, if we can't beat Santana, Sabathia, and Rogers more than once a piece this year, we have no prayer to make the playoffs. QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 03:08 AM) I'm not sure they would have put him in left, but that's impossible to know. It would have been interesting (I guess thats the word), to see how Thome would have reacted to having his ABs cut so drastically. The plan was to give Thome a little more rest this year. Where does Molina rank on the all-time worst players to make the Sox out of Spring Training?

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 03:04 AM) It would have been interesting to see how we would have worked Perez into the lineup. I don't think THome would have been happy with being platooned. And thats the only way we would have gotten him ABs for the most part. He's good against righties, but not better than Paulie so you wouldn't have wanted him in his spot. He could have been a back-up first baseman. Oh wait, that's right.....we were grooming Toby Hall to be that. Thome was 0-8 with 6 K vs Sabathia last year, 1-14 vs Cliff Lee, and 1-12 vs Kenny Rogers last year. Perez hasn't faced C.C. much in his career, but he's 4-10 with a homer in his career against C. Lee, 6-24 with a homer vs Kenny Rogers, and he's 3-11 with 2 career homers vs Johan.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 02:57 AM) Really freaking ridiculous that Perez doesn't make the roster. Then again, that's what happens when you choose to keep two (relatively useless) sub-750 OPS OFers, one of which is limited to a corner OF spot. As things stand right now, we're worse off against LHP than we were last year.

Ugh

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:57 PM) As long as he can still make his throws reasonably well, that's awesome. Good to hear he's willing to gut it out. In this case, I definitely feel good about using the term "grinder". If he can't throw, then just let him catch for Buehrle or Contreras. Rarely does a catcher matter with Buehrle, as he'll either pick the guy off, the runner will get a massive jump....or the ball will go over the fence. With Contreras on the mound, you could have the catcher be 50 feet from 2nd base, and it wouldn't matter. This is good news though.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:57 PM) I still hardly believe the differences between the two packages are justified. This is completely ignoring the history of both players, and the success Garcia had as recent as October 2005. I'm not singling anyone out, but some of the same people stating how Garcia had no value now are the same people who had the Sox getting massive prospects in return for Freddy prior to the trade.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:53 PM) i agree. Everyone has the right to be pessimistic of the team's performance due to the awful spring. But the hatred and viciousness targeted at indivduals KW, OG, GF ( hey, that's the opposite of Freddy Garcia maybe that's why KW traded for him to be the anti FG) is just out of control. It's not a site for white sox fans it's a site to hate the individuals that comprise the team. The enjoyment of the board is pretty much gone. Just as how it's almost impossible to have a legit conversation/debate on here because everything ends up being either A) Pro-Ozzie B) Anti-Ozzie. Reminds me a lot of Illini fans with Weber. Now....I wonder how Ozzie would be as a recruiter?

Good to hear....he just earned massive grinder points.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:43 PM) Its as if almost the entire bullpen has had a Billy Koch loss of velocity. We kept hearing how his would pop back until they dealt him to Florida. Using the reasoning many people stated for Garcia last year, does that mean our entire team is a bunch of pot heads?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:38 PM) The White Sox have pretty much sucked in spring training the past several years, but the amount of hits they are giving up now is alarming. I hope the cold air wakes them up on Monday. They're not fooling anyone, which is scary (besides Boone). It's hard to argue about our strength/conditioning coach due to the lack of injuries we've had the past few years, but you have to wonder what these guys have been doing over the past two offseasons. I've never seen a team just have their velocity drop almost across the board like ours last year, and the stories so far this offseason are scary.

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:32 PM) Nope. I picked 71, and possibly 72. If we're lucky. Seriously, what's your prediction for this year.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:25 PM) He's also under the impression that we will only have 82 wins. Even big fans of the Royals think that this is their year. Its almost time to pick another team to follow. Once you hate the manager, the GM, most of the players and their tendencies, and the minor league system, you have just made yourself lose the title of a fan, theres nothing left for you to be a "fan" of. I've seen some of the most optimistic fans on this site pick this team to have 84 or 85 wins this year.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:21 PM) What moves did he make? We built a 15 game lead by just beating the hell out of everybody, were fortunate not to completely choke it away, and won in October because our pitching and home run hitters came out to play. It's not like he overcame mass injuries, bad pitching, or a patchwork lineup. You have to give him credit for how he handled our bullpen that season, as he did a great job of putting Cotts/Politte/Hermanson/Jenks in situations where they could excel. The only reliever he handled poorly was Marte. Also, when we were getting good pitching, especially early, Ozzie did a good job of playing smallball early in the game to get us a lead.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:22 PM) what poll? Ok, KW turned down better offers so he could get a lefty that can throw 90 mph, but on accident he signed a righty that everyone knows would suck. happy? FIRE KW!! Can someone please find the poll that had Garcia rated so highly among executives about potential pitchers on the market? That same poll was quoted the entire offseason prior to the trade when people thought we'd get Brandon Wood and Howie Kendrick for Garcia, etc. And yes, KW might have turned down better offers because he was extremely high on Gio and Floyd.

QUOTE(supernuke @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:20 PM) Although I really don't see anything in BA I do agree that he should be starting over Erstad. I have no problem with people questioning Ozzie's decisions, he definatley makes some bad ones. I just don't see how so many people can claim to know the reasoning behind his decisions. Like I said questioning his decision to start Erstad is fine, but saying that BA was never given a chance is nothing but conjecture. Ozzie may have given BA a chance and just didn't see what he wanted to see, I disagree with the decision but I couldn't call him a liar or a hyppocrite because of it. It's pretty simple reasoning. From the beginning of ST, Ozzie said Erstad would be a starter. At the same time, Ozzie was saying that no matter what, a healthy Pods would be his leadoff man this year. Thus, where was Brian going to start? I'm just grateful that Anderson made the roster....and I'm looking forward to a season where the biggest Anderson backers say that every single ball that lands in the outfield equates to "BA would have had that".

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:18 PM) Overall your obviously right, but in terms of basic, everyday in game decisions and deciding who plays in games, your not. Ozzie's managing moves, many of which people on this board could see were stupid, kept us out of the postseason last year. You know I hate Ozzie, but if you're going to say that his moves last year kept us out of the postseason, then you can't not give him credit for what we accomplished in 2005.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 09:56 PM) Flash, you are under the false impression that Garcia had high trade value. the constant b****ing over here is getting old fast. If he didn't have value, then that poll that said he was one of the top 5 pitchers available on the market this offseason was drastically wrong. QUOTE(mr_genius @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:15 PM) Yes, there is that much of a difference. Also, you know what, Colorado made a great trade. KW wanted to get rid of Garcia (good move) and this is the most he could get. You really think he got better offers and turned them down ? That an old pitcher that has lost atleast 8 mph off his fastball that is at the end of his contract, and most likely career, is going to fetch a ton of top prospects from a team. Garcia is gone, get over it. Any time you trade for prospects there is a chance they won't work out. There is also a chance they will. Yes, I think there may have been other offers with better talent. However, KW thought that he could make Floyd into a top prospect again with a little help from Cooper. Also, with Buehrle losing his velocity and Cotts leaving the team, we needed to acquire another lefty who throws 90 mph.

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 10:00 PM) Come on man. That is a bit of a drastic statement. How about we throw a comparison out there for you? 1B - Stands and catches the ball from an infielder occasionally C - Sits and catches the ball from a pitcher every pitch 1B - Occasionally fields grounders C - Also occasionally fields grounders (depends on the pitcher) 1B - Catches line drives C - Also catches line drives, but they come at him on every pitch 1B - Catches pop-ups C - Also catches pop-ups, but with a mask and other equipment in the way. Anything I am missing? You conveniently left out that a first baseman has to dive for a ball, and a catcher doesn't. Diving is definitely a skill that you get better at with experience.

The difference between Prison Break and 24 last night was like the difference between the offense of the Phoenix Suns and the offense of Northwestern. About 45 minutes into 24, I asked my fiance "has anything happened so far"?

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 01:06 PM) I think of the three, BAs upside is higher, but his basement is lower, and he's proven that. This is a safe pick eary versus a gamble on ehich player will show up. The best place for him to play his way into the starting lineup may not be on the 25, but we will see. A lot will depend, as noted earlier, on how often he gets penned into the lineup and if he'll get to take an AB or two. Ninth inning Def sub may not help in that regards. As Pods proved during the 2nd half last year, his basement is about as low as it gets in the majors. At least you always have a dependable defensive player if Anderson is in the game.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 01:37 PM) Carlos is talking his usual arrogant game, discussing what teams he'd play for next year. Sullivan then adds something about a source mentioning Z would want to play for Guillen on the Sox. I know he's a ridiculous talent and all, but I sincerely hope he goes nowhere near the Sox. I just can't stand him. Plus with all the young pitching talent the Sox now have, it seems unlikely they'd want to spend Zambrano-type money on a new starter next year. I wouldn't say we're now loaded with young pitching talent. Rather, our minor league arms are now equal to about the average minor league system. The problem is that we have very few high ceiling minor league pitchers.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 05:03 AM) He actually has a high basketball IQ. He's one of those guys who will be a better pro than college player. I think McRoberts turned into the most underrated, overrated player in the country. His non-shooting stats were phenomenal this season.