Kalapse

It was a great month for Sox hitters, so good in fact, Carlos Quentin didn't even get a nomination. Meanwhile we saw more of the same from the pitching. The player who receives the largest % of votes gets a banner made in his honor. G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Jim Thome 23 68 19 20 7 0 6 15 12 18 0 0 .294 .402 .662 1.064 Jermaine Dye 27 104 22 34 8 0 9 27 7 16 3 1 .327 .372 .663 1.035 Nick Swisher 27 92 23 29 8 0 7 23 13 17 0 0 .315 .402 .630 1.032 Alexei Ramirez 25 93 11 33 7 0 3 17 4 9 1 1 .355 .381 .527 .908 Orlando Cabrera 27 116 17 39 7 0 3 18 8 12 3 1 .336 .373 .474 .847 G W L SV/SVO CG SHO IP ERA WHIP H R ER HR BB SO HBP IR IS HLD Mark Buehrle 6 4 0 0/0 0 0 45 1.60 1.00 37 9 8 3 8 25 0 0 0 0 John Danks 5 1 0 0/0 0 0 29.2 2.12 1.28 28 8 7 2 10 19 0 0 0 0 Boone Logan 10 0 0 0/0 0 0 9.1 1.93 0.64 6 2 2 2 0 11 0 4 0 0 Scott Linebrink 10 0 1 0/0 0 0 9 1.00 0.50 4 1 1 1 1 11 0 0 0 6 Matt Thornton 13 3 1 1/0 0 0 12 0.75 0.58 6 1 1 1 1 15 1 6 1 3 PREVIOUS WINNERS Position Players APRIL: Carlos Quentin (91.95%) MAY: Carlos Quentin (80.39%) Pitchers APRIL: John Danks (50.57%) MAY: Jose Contreras (68.63%)

The storm has now passed it seems. We really only got a sprinkle, nothing heavy.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 04:52 PM) Good to hear...did you hear that Sonic is coming to Bartlett? I can't wait for their desserts. Where in Bartlett? It'll be nice to not have to drive through central Illinois just to get some decent fast food. (since we don't have Sonic, Jack in the Box or Big Boy in northern Illinois.)

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 04:49 PM) It's pouring here. It's completely dry in north Bartlett.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 04:46 PM) It looks like the end of the world is coming out here in Hoffman Estates. And yet, not much rain in the area. We've gotten almost no rain at all in Streamwood despite the ominous clouds we've had over head for the last 45 minutes or so.

QUOTE (feistyboy @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 02:54 PM) I keep up with other teams. 3rd base is one of the worst positions this year in the AL. Um, no. ARod: .316/.399/.591/.990 Lowell: .299/.359/.518/.877 Longoria: .268/.343/.521/.864 Crede: .268/.344/.498/.842 Blake: .287/.358/.453/.811 Miggy: .280/.349/.457/.806 SS on the other hand . . . M. Young: .287/.339/.417/.756 Peralta: .253/.301/.447/.748 Jeter: .280/.340/.388/.728 Lugo: .269/.359/.338/.697 Cabrera: .273/.324/.372/.697 3B is the second strongest offensive position in the AL this year behind the blanket position of Outfield.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 01:51 PM) Longoria and Crede have near IDENTICAL stats. .268 avg/15 hr/47 rbi/42 r/5 sb/.343 obp/.521 slg - Longoria .268 avg/15 hr/47 rbi/35 r/0 sb/.344 obp/.498 slg - Crede Yeah it's pretty crazy how similar they've been, it's a 22 point difference in OPS and 11 point difference in OPS+ but I'd have to imagine Longoria's defense has been superior to Crede's this season based one what I've seen and read. Looking at RZR (revised zone rating): Longoria .719 and Crede .716 with Crede making 34 OOZ (plays made out of zone) and Longoria 30. So at least according to Revised Zone Rating they've been about equal. And for anyone who still gives a s*** about FLD%; Crede's .931 is by far the worst in the AL. At least he's been consistent with 8 throwing and 8 fielding errors.

Define "in the tank." Streaks of 3 games or greater this season: Losing: 6 games (April 29th - May 5th) 3 games (May 11th - May 13th) 3 games (May 30th - June 1st) 3 games (June 10th - June 12th) 3 games (June 20th - June 22nd) Winning: 5 games (April 3rd - April 7th) 3 games (May 8th - May 10th) 8 games (May 14th - May 22nd) 7 games (June 3rd - June 9th) 3 games (June 17th - June 19th) 6 games (June 26th - current) The major losing stretches are often bookended by substantial winning streaks. Between May 23rd and June 1st the Sox went 4-6 this stretch came after an 8 game win streak and before a 7 game win streak. So that's a 19-6 stretch. Between June 10th and June 25th the Sox went 6-9. This stretch of games came after a 7 game win streak and before the current 6+ game win streak. You have to go back to that awful stretch at the beginning of May to find any substantial stretch of bad baseball from the Sox. So since the Beginning of May the Sox have stuck to a pattern of rallying off a big win streak then played .400 ball for about 2 weeks, go on another big win streak, play .400 ball for 2 weeks then go on another big win streak. Sounds like the Sort of thing a good team does to me. The Sox are 34-19 (.642) since that 0-6 road trip at the beginning of May.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 01:43 PM) The final ballot could probably consist of nothing but White Sox. The way I see it, CQ is probably our only lock. Dye most definitely deserves to be there, but there a ton of OF's having big seasons in the AL. AJ might get in because after Mauer, the catchers are relatively weak. Linebrink most definitely deserves to be in, but won't because he's a SU man. Jenks is a longshot with KRod, Mariano, Nathan, and Pap having big years. Danks and Floyd deserve to be in as well, but because neither has a gaudy record, they might miss out. Danks has a far better shot than Floyd. Crede has pissed me off too much to be an All Star. Take away 1 weekend, and his numbers don't look quite as good. Add the fact that he has been bad defensively and can't hit lefties? He doesn't deserve it. A-Rod, Lowell and Longoria all probably deserve it more than Crede anyway.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 2, 2008 -> 12:29 PM) I realize this, but Sabathia is pitching better than anyone in baseball. Contreras has not been pitching that well his last 4 starts, an 8.60 ERA in those last four. Sabathia has a 1.13 ERA his last four starts, so the pitching matchup is slanted much toward Cleveland. I realize Danks is a different case because he is actually pitching well, but Contreras has been garbage his last few times out while Sabathia has been dominant. He's been terrible in 2 of his last 4. The other 2 outings were decent.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 1, 2008 -> 08:59 PM) It doesn't matter much to me, but it's a shame he is recognized more in the baseball community. One of the best young starters in the league, by far. Over his last 4 outings: 26 IP, 2 ER and 24 baserunners (that's a 0.69 ERA and 0.92 WHIP)

John Danks is something special. ERA down to 2.50.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 1, 2008 -> 03:29 PM) I know Swisher has had some bad luck at the plate, but I am curious as to why he gets a B-. Is it because of his defensive versatility? Yes. That and he was pretty solid in the leadoff spot (no power but plenty of OBP and saw a ton of pitches) for the first month of the season, he was god awful at the plate in May and managed a 1.030 OPS for the month of June. He didn't let his poor play at the plate affect his defense at a position he's relatively new to which counts for a lot in my book. He was either going to get a C+ or a B-, I gave him the benefit of the doubt since he's spent much of the season out of position (both defensively and in the lineup.)

Pierzynski B+ Konerko D Ramirez A Cabrera B- Crede C+ Quentin A+ Swisher B- Dye A Thome C Uribe C+ Ozuna C+ Anderson C+ Hall B Vazquez B- Buehrle B Danks A Contreras B+ Floyd A- Masset B- Logan A- Dotel A Thornton A Linebrink A+ Jenks A

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 30, 2008 -> 10:03 PM) Swish finishes June with 18 RBIs, 5 HRs .307 average and a borderline .400 OBP. Not bad, not bad at all. .315/.402/.630/1.032 - Nick Swisher .281/.397/.609/1.006 - Jim Thome

And THAT is why you don't give up on a 27 year old player with a strong history of major league success after a whole 2 months of sub-par offensive production.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 11:10 PM) Is 1000 K's really that big of a milestone? Honestly curious, because it was something I just brushed under the rug. 100 wins, hell even 150 wins, is far more rewarding than 1000 K's. You could hypothetically be a god awful pitcher but with good stuff, stick around 12 or so years, and strike out 1000 guys. just not a big deal to me. It's about as big of a deal as a player's 150th homerun. He's the 421st player in major league history to reach this milestone.

QUOTE (gosox41 @ Jun 25, 2008 -> 08:36 PM) I think this was in the Trib the other day, but haven't seen it mentioned here. The Sox are 6-26 in games when they score 3 runs or less. There's a few interesting ways to look at this number. First, we've scored 3 runs or less in 32 of 76 games. Not sure other teams have done, specially contending teams but this seems like a high percent. 42% of the games the Sox have played, they have scored 3 runs or less. Second, the Sox have the best ERA in baseball. Is it safe for me to assume that other teams that have worse ERA's have a worse won/loss percentage when they score 3 runs or less. Winning 6 o 32 amounts to a .188 winning percetange. Third, What is the Sox record when they give up 3 runs or less? Is it pretty close to being flip flopped? I doubt it. I think these numbers are more telling then talking about how many runs per game we average. I believe that it is 4.98 for the record, but someone may want to check it. But to show how bad the offense is, if we assume the Sox scored exactly 3 runs in each of those 32 games (and we know that's not the case at all) then that means the Sox are averaging 6.4 runs in the other 44 games in which they scored more then 3 runs. So aside from idol speculation and a whole mess of guessin' what exactly I'm I reading here? Instead of making assumptions why not do a little research and tell us what the other contending teams are doing in similar situations? What's Boston's record this season when they score 3 runs or less? How many times have the Angels scored under 4 runs? These questions are easily answered. What you're telling me is you're passionate enough about the topic to start a thread but don't particularly care enough to do the work. Speculation is worthless.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 25, 2008 -> 02:39 PM) Getting your 1000th K is kind of like hitting your 200th HR. Its kinda a big deal to the player, but in terms of baseball it's meh. Actually, it's more like hitting your 150th career homerun. Mark Buehrle is the 421st player in baseball history to K at least 1000 batters, 284 players have homered at least 200 times while 419 players have hit at least 150. For comparison's sake; Javy should reach 2000 career K's sometime before the season is through which will tie him with Andy Benes for 61st all time, sandwiched between Billy Pierce (1999) and Catfish Hunter (2012.)

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 20, 2008 -> 09:49 AM) Kasper said during the game last night that this weekend will have a World Series like environment....How would they know what that is like? QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 20, 2008 -> 10:50 AM) They wouldn't. Len Kasper barely knows what the playoffs are like. BTW, what did Kasper do before becoming the Cubs' announcer? Act as a teenager in movies? Before being hired by the Cubs in '05 he did play by play for the Marlins ('02-'04). So yeah, perhaps he knows a thing or two about a World Series atmosphere.

The same Nick Swisher that sports a 1.244 OPS in 15 career ABs vs Ted Lilly?

Cabrera 5-16, 2B, BB, K .313/.450/.375/.825 Pierzynski 1-3 .333/.333/.333/.666 Quentin 0-0 Dye 2-10, HR, RBI, 2 BB, 4 K .200/.333/.500/.833 Swisher 5-15, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, K .333/.444/.800/1.244 Crede 4-15, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 5 K .267/.313/.333/.646 Anderson 0-2, BB, K .000/.333/.000/.333 Ramirez 0-0 Thome 2-7, 2B, 1 BB, 3 K .286/.375/.429/.804 Hall 9-22, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, K .409/.480/.591/1.071 Ozuna 0-4 Wise 0-0 Uribe 3-12, 2 HR, 5 RBI, K .250/.231/.750/.981 Total: .284/.368/.495/.863 Yeah, they seem to hold their own against Lilly. Now does Ozzie play the percentages and start Toby?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 18, 2008 -> 10:43 PM) Kalapse, this is why I love you I like Holliday, but am in complete agreement. Some of his s***ty road splits have to do with playing 30 games a year in San Fran, LA, and San Diego, but he's definitely a product of Coors. I'll give you SF and SD, those are two ballparks that greatly favor pitchers. LA played as a pitcher friendly ballpark in '04 and '05 but was neutral in '06 and has played as a hitter friendly park the last 2 seasons so I'm going to include it. Career numbers: In AL ballparks: .267/.330/.429/.759 In NL East BPs: .302/.365/.483/.847 In NL Cent BPs: .291/.358/.493/.850 In All BPs minus COL, SD & SF: .284/.349/.455/.803

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 18, 2008 -> 09:37 PM) The Rockies may very well be unloading here pretty soon, especially on Holliday. But they're going to want a king's ransom for him. So if you're not giving up Floyd, Danks, or Quentin, there's nothing to talk about. No one wants Kaz Matsui's deal. Jose Lopez doesn't make us better. The major problem with dealing for Holliday is the Rockies will be seeking a package of players equal in value to a 28 year old 1.000+ OPS LF when in reality Holliday is probably an .850 OPS LF in disguise. 2004 splits: Home: .338/.406/.603/1.009 Away: .240/.287/.367/.654 2005 splits: Home: .357/.409/.593/1.002 Away: .256/.313/.416/.729 2006 splits: Home: .373/.440/.692/1.132 Away: .280/.333/.485/.819 2007 splits: Home: .376/.435/.722/1.157 Away: .301/.374/.485/.860 2008 splits: Home: .359./432/.650/1.081 Away: .284/.376/.402/.778 Career splits: Home: .363/.426/.660/1.086 Away: .274/.337/.444/.780 I know they love to talk about that humidor but I'm calling shenanigans on Matt Holliday. There's definitely some Dante Bichette mojo at work here. Matt Holliday might be a pretty decent hitter but I'd say he's closer to a Raul Ibanez than a Manny Ramirez. And he's a Boras client to boot.

I'd say people were more frustrated with Toby's shoulder and Ozzie's judgment in ST than they were angry with Toby himself. Pretty much everyone loved the signing when it happened and he is definitely a better player than his production let on last season, he just couldn't function with that torn labrum. It's nice to see him have a bounce back season after being the worst player in baseball last year.