Kalapse

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 02:35 PM) I still want to know why Geoff Blum doesn't get a lifetime pass. His homer is what basically turned a potentially longer series into a sweep. Has this been answered? Because I'd love to hear an explanation.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 02:34 PM) I agree it'd be nice to get Gordon back on track somehow, but we don't have the luxury to wait for Gordon to get back on track anymore. We're in the thick of the race, it'll be July as of tomorrow, and we need our best lineup out there. Right now, that lineup doesn't include him. Hey, Gordon's hitting .333/.353/.800/1.153 over his last 5 games!

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 02:18 PM) Oh in case you want to rip Pods some more. Read No. 4 on this list. Look at the pure emotion in the picture. Wow. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_leagu...?urn=mlb,203435 What a stupid list. Podsednik's HR wasn't even the biggest HR in that game. Konerko's granny is the biggest hit in Sox history IMO. A walkoff in a tie game isn't THAT big.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 30, 2010 -> 02:18 PM) Yep, definitely a bit. I appreciate your help in solving the mystery! This is the same reason we have 50 year old men walking around who would proudly blow Mike Singletary if he dropped his pants and pointed to his dong.

Heh, I've never said that Randy Williams is the worst reliever in Sox history, just that he's one of the worst I've ever seen, is among the leaders in baserunners allowed all time given the number of innings he's thrown and the worst reliever in baseball with at least 24+ IP (though Chad Qualls may have passed him given that he's a f***ing closer with equally outrageous numbers). Oh and I haven't evoked the name of Cliff Politte in years, I really have no idea which was worse, I haven't thought about it at all.

Here's the big problem: Dunn is feeling a lot like Dye right now, he does not want to DH full time. Unfortunately that's the only position where he won't hurt you and is our only "open" position. So you have ridiculous demands from the Nationals and then a potentially disgruntled player on top of it. I'm REALLY leaning toward Adam LaRoche right now.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 11:02 PM) didnt have roster space for a back up DH who cant play any position. Except they did. The guy who they signed to platoon with Kotsay plays all the same positions.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:58 PM) I'm the biggest J. Gomes fan around. I specifically remember talking about this platoon in that jimh thread. QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 12, 2010 -> 03:36 PM) Sorry, that's exactly what I meant before, but you stated it a lot better than I did. It's the cast of characters we're looking to play at the DH, and not the actual rotating DH idea. If we were using Branyan and Gomes as our rotation DH, I would be extremely happy with that. You're welcome.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:59 PM) Its not Kotsay vs Thome. They are not even similar arguments. The decision on Thome was entirely independent of the decision on Kotsay. They didnt think Thome had anything left, I honestly agreed with them. Maybe we were wrong, or maybe Thome has just been remarkably hot in limited at bats and will cool down. Who knows. But Kotsay was kept as back up 1b/of etc. Thome cant back up any position. If we kept Kotsay, the Sox would have no 1b back up. Theyd have had to get a guy who could play 1b, unless you want to start getting creative and putting new guys out there. Ive never even heard of a back up DH. Andruw Jones and Mark Teahen play 1B

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:56 PM) Its my opinion that the Sox were some what in a money bind last season after getting Rios/Peavy and completely flopping on the field. Worried about bad attendance to start this season (which happened), the White Sox were going on the cheap with free agents, feeling that they added Rios/Peavy. Id love if the Sox had unlimited resources, but I just think they were at the top of what they could spend. The real mistake was adding Pierre and his salary even if it is only 3mil/5mil the next 2 seasons. Its obvious that they wanted to change the dynamic of the team from a slow plodding one dimensional offense, to something else. Whether or not that something else is good, who knows. But I was honestly tired of seeing slow guys stepping up to the plate and swinging for the fences every at bat. Then why did they offer Damon $6M in February?

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:50 PM) Some times you hit, some times you miss, but you gotta believe that Ozzie who was with the guy every day, felt he had nothing left in the tank. Then you go out and you find a suitable replacement rather than going into the year with a pinch hitter as your everyday DH. I know they made a run at Damon but that kinda fell into their laps at the end of the offseason, hardly the plan from the beginning and besides they lost out on him in the end. Blah, I can't believe I'm arguing this. I'm just as tired about the living in the past as anyone else.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:48 PM) Don't think it's been brought up but Thome also has the benefit of being in a solid lineup this year, getting pitches to hit. Dunn meanwhile you stay out of the zone on and take your chances with the next guy. Josh Willingham? Good luck with that.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:35 PM) you know, were'nt people more pissed at ozzie in 2006 for playing mack in CF? I probably could misremember a lot of posts from 4 years ago, but it's like hating...i guess vizquel...they were great if you played them as the super utility bench guy, but not when you play them every day, especially mack in his worst position probably, you expose why they are utility guys. SOXTALK OVERLOVED GUYS: SEE ROSS GLOAD All I remember from 2006 is defending Mackowiak tooth and nail. It was bulls*** that Ozzie kept trotting him out there, I felt horrible for Rob.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:37 PM) I had little faith in either Kotsay or Thome as a full time dh. But as a bench player, Kotsay gives you more flexibility in the fact he can at least play the field. At the end of the day the Sox chose flexibility. While you cant get caught up in sample sizes, did you honestly believe that Thome would put up an ops over 900? His bat looked slow, he looked like he was done. Its just really easy right now to second guess the decision. Check out my edit a few posts up. I was mostly in favor of Jim playing largely in a platoon role which is what we were looking at with Kotsay and Jones coming into the season. I thought Thome would be a quality player for us and a much more valuable ballplayer than Kotsay regardless of what limited flexibility Mark brings to the table. I figured a .850 OPS (I still think that's where he'll finish the season) out of Thome in a semi-platoon was a distinct possibility and that trumps flexibility in my mind especially when Kotsay can't even play the outfield competently or hit RHP particularly well.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:31 PM) Of course, but doesn't mean Dunn doesn't think that way. You're 100% right.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:30 PM) When I watched Thome last year (eye test) he looked like he had lost it. Kotsay may not have been the best player in the world, but at the end of the year, Kotsay looked like he was going to be far more solid than Thome. That's why you can't get caught up in that small sample size performance of Kotsay's last season. Even including his excellent numbers with us in '09 Kotsay was a .270/.323/.391/.714 hitter over his last 2000+ PA coming into this season, that's not an everyday DH. Jim Thome wasn't an incredible option but I had significantly more faith in him turning it around in 2010 than I did Kotsay. And then the subject of platoon DH comes up and I posted this in January: QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 02:10 PM) Oh yes, his multi-year splits vs right handed pitching are really quite reassuring: Kotsay's 3 year splits vs RHP: .275/.335/.403/.738, 654 PA, 10 HR Kotsay's 4 year splits vs RHP: .276/.339/.394/.732, 1088 PA, 14 HR Kotsay's 5 year splits vs RHP: .272/.330/.397/.727, 1525 PA, 26 HR Yeah, that's a whole lotta bad right there. Then you look at Jim Thome's AVG/OPS vs RHP in his years with the Sox: 2006: .321/1.203 2007: .315/1.123 2008: .249/.868 2009: .262/.881 I know who I'd rather have as part of a platoon.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:28 PM) Because Dunn doesn't want to be labeled as a DH only player, as that will hurt him when he enters free agency. Yet that's basically what Dye was labeled as this offseason even though he played a full time RF role for us the last 5 years.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:23 PM) Don't forget some awful outfield defense Ah yes, the trifecta.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 04:05 PM) Why would Dunn want to play in the NL? Does he not know he can't field? ChuckGarfien Adam Dunn on trade talk, "I hate this." And he doesn't want to be full-time DH. "One hundred percent. There's no doubt about that."

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 10:17 PM) I believe 6 IP, 4 ER or less is considered a quality start. It's 6 IP and 3 ER or less. I was speaking rhetorically, they both pitched quite poorly the past few days but still managed to hold the opponent to 3 ER while getting through 6 innings. They really had no business pulling that off based on the way they were throwing the ball.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 09:53 PM) I was digging around, looking at 3 triple games, and came across this gem by Lance Johnson http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MI...199509230.shtml 6-6! Robin Ventura had 5 hits too who says the Sox could never win the in Dome http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/qSm2w

Gavin Floyd and Mark Buehrle both picked up quality starts the past 2 nights. Not entirely sure how. Take it to Greinke tomorrow and go into Texas with another series win on our resume.

The Podsednik we all know and love. Picked off yesterday, caught looking to end the game today. Love that guy.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jun 29, 2010 -> 09:13 PM) for 2005 i would have gone with Marte Or Vizcaino. You don't earn a nickname like jizzcaino from a fan base that embraces your presence.

I'm in the chat if anyone's up for it.