CaliSoxFanViaSWside

Opening Day muthaf***a's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I recall correctly didn't the Sox have like four 8 game winning streaks in 2005 ? It's really hard to say I come into every season with no expectations but I do come in with hope. First and foremost I enjoy watching Sox games. I like winning a lot more than losing but I try not to get caught up placing blame on why we lost. It just is what it is. We have 1 World series win in almost 100 years. I relish games won and put the losses out of my mind as quickly as possible and look forward to the next game. When you can't win everything 98% of the time each individual win , each game winning hit, each masterful pitching performance takes on more significance. I don't expect to win everything . Percentages alone tell me that is folly. Hope and small victories keep me coming back year after year, after year , after year.....

No Hossa and Sharp again against Detroit. Hawks up 5-0 after 2 .Saad 2 G 1 assist. Stalberg playing despite the 60 stitches in the mouth he got from being puck smacked.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 31, 2013 -> 06:38 AM) When's the last time a RH pitcher with an average fastball in the 86-88 MPH range got anything great back in return? If we couldn't get anything for the likes of Ely, Harrell or Humber, we're not going to get much for Axelrod either. If you have two great pitchers at the top of the rotation and a very solid 3, you can afford to have Axelrod as your 5th. You're missing the point. If Axe somehow goes 10-3 with a 3.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.3 then we have something. Odds of it happening aren't good but he did very well in the last 2 levels of the minors and we need as many valuable pieces as we can get if this is also a make or break year for the Sox. We got nothing for Harell because he had no major league track record. Axelrod's ERA in AAA ( 2 stops ,less than 2 full years ) was 2.28 . I doubt Harrell did that well and even if he did he still had no major league track record.

Sit back. relax and strap it down.

And the winner is.... Gillaspie, according to RV.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 08:03 PM) The surprising thing is that Santiago isn't taking the spot right away, but maybe the Sox are trying to make him "earn" it. With Axelrod you know what you are going to get, and it's not a lot, but he's composed on the mound and doesn't shrink when the game gets tough. The Sox can save options on other players by going with Axelrod over another righty and I think that's probably a factor in the decision too. Also there is the potential of a trade/injury insurance, where if one of the veteran relievers gets hurt or is traded by the time Danks gets back then Axe becomes the long man and Santiago takes the rotation spot permanently. By going with Axelrod Robin may be going with someone he sees as being on the team for most if not all of the season. Maybe it's the opposite with Axe, the Sox are trying to figure out just what they have in him. I think they are fully aware of Santiago potential and figure they can always use him in the bullpen and if Axe fails and Danks doesn't come back, they can always fall back on Santiago. Might suck to sacrifice some games to find out what exactly they have in Axe but overall it's best for the organization. If Axe pitches well then he becomes a valuable asset . That makes him more tradeable, makes Floyd more tradeable, makes the Sox long term plans better. He's at the age where they need to know if he can be a big league starter or just another AAAA player. Here is a Sox blog you might not be aware of that makes a case for Axelrod. http://www.grabsomebench.com/2013/march/an...se-why-not.html .I like that Axe pitched in the Frontier League as a member of thE Windy City Flyers. He's made the most of his talent so far and hope he does well.

Dunn finishes spring training with a .254 BA.

Brewers going with a pitcher an inning also.

Floyd out after just 1 inning. Quintana in.

So nice seeing Dunn get hits .

Carlos Gomez proving my point about how difficult it is to get accurate defensive metrics on outfielders. 2 deep drives , certainly covered a lot of ground using his speed to get to one but not hang onto it. The other one ,by Dunn, had to be curving away from him so, though Gomez is fast, might have got a decent jump but might not have anticipated or prepared for Dunn hitting it to left of center . So his route looked bad. No errors given but there's no way to know how many outfielders would have caught none , one or both of those balls.

For anyone with the baseball package on directV its on Ch 669

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 12:59 PM) If I had to guess, the larger TVs are about 50 inches. As far as which games are on the larger monitors, I think it's all chosen at random. The "cave monster" where I assume we'll spend a bunch of our time will have a number of games on. I think the only thing we have to decide is what audio we'll listen to for games. Maybe you can suggest to your fellow cave dwellers that you alternate which games are on the larger screens based on the fandom. Since there are 9 of you those 9 favorite teams should be on the big screens most. Changes should be allowed based on things like no hitters and perfect games being in the late innings. I have no idea what goes into being the winner but actively suggesting changes to make the experience better can't hurt. Also wireless headphones would be a good idea so whoever is watching can listen to their own individual audio.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 12:43 PM) Be skeptical of defensive stats. Viciedo was a good defensive LF'er last year. There's just so much that can't be measured when talking about an outfielder. It's not like we know outfielders 40 yard dash speeds to measure range. And range is predicated on good reads and routes. Even if you have good speed your route can be bad or your reads can be bad or both can be bad. How the heck do you measure routes and reads ? A slower outfielder with good reads and routes can be a more valuable outfielder than a speedy one with poor reads and routes. Preparation is also a key to an outfielder reads and routes since the ball slices differently off the bat from LH and RH hitters and a heady outfielder has to keep that in mind every pitch. Even outfielders with good speed ,routes and reads can be fooled by big swings and the sound of the ball off the bat. Breaking back one step or even a slight hesitation can be the difference between a hit and an out.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 10:28 PM) Serious question: As we enter this season are we a team/organization on the upswing or downturn or what exactly? A couple friends who root for the Royals asked me today what my feelings about the Sox were. They know I am a crazed Sox fan and not some sort of fly by night Sox fan. I said I enter the season with zero expectations (last year at this time I still had huge expectations). I said I like some of our veteran players and I like our starting pitching and we always seem to have a very good closer and that's why we usually finish over .500. But I said I hate our set up guys in the bullpen and think we have a lot of average bodies at many positions: 3B, CF, LF, 2B, C to name five key positions. I told them my expectations were pretty darn low for the first time in forever. Do you think I am a clown for thinking this way and thinking our future is not exactly brimming with hope? Where exactly is this franchise headed following this spring training heading into the opener? Perk up the optimism Greg. It's your duty as a "crazed" Sox fan to be hopeful in spring. So, in the spirit of looking on the bright side I will venture to try and give you hope for the positions you feel are average. 3B: Keppinger hit .325 last year and his OBP was .367. Most think it was probably a career year and certainly he didn't get a huge contract for those numbers but he is a huge improvement over what the Sox had last year. He will be 33 soon so maybe he was a late bloomer, but if he puts up the same type of numbers as last year Sox fans will love him. He hit nearly .500 in spring training so include that with how he did last year and you have to be optimistic. CF. De Aza did very well in his 1st full season facing ML pitching so since it's spring lets just say he avoids the sophomore jinx and becomes an even better player. He does a lot of things well just nothing spectacular. I would gladly take a repeat performance from him. LF : Viciedo's upside is really high. The highest of any player on the 25 man roster. Imagine if you will he hits 5-10 more HR's than last year , raises his batting average 25 points ,raises his RBI totals by 20 doubles the amount of walks he gets. The key to his improvement is how he does against RH pitchers and maintains what he did against LH's. This spring he hit very well against RH's , granted it may mean nothing but its better than sucking in spring. 2B: Plenty of room to improve here. Beckham's another low OBP player (Viciedo, Ramirez). Very good fielder and decent pop. This is most likely his make or break year. Reports are he added more muscle and looks quicker with the bat. He works so hard on getting better. I hope he does. He also had a good spring. C: Sox fans loved AJ so that means Tyler will probably take the most heat from fans if he doesn't produce. You shouldn't be worried about him being better defensively than AJ because he will be and by a long shot. He's got a boat load of power so the only thing he has to do is make consistent contact and keep taking walks to be equal or better than equal to AJ. I hope after reading this you feel more optimistic. No matter if the season turns out good or bad. Spring is the time for renewed hope and I see no reason for that not to be so with the Sox. Feel free to talk Sox baseball with me any time Greg weather here or via PM.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 11:50 AM) They also got .600 out of 3B, but that doesn't take away from Youkilis's all around production. He wasn't a savior by any means, but he was absolutely worth everything the Sox gave up in prospects. Your point about Youk being worth what the Sox gave up for him is valid. Your point about having a good 1-2 last year is not. No matter how you slice it a less than .300 OBP from your 2 hole is no where near acceptable even if he was not responsible for the total production he was responsible for a lot of it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 11:44 AM) His fielding was only slightly below average for that position, but the real rub for him is that those 25 HR only translated to a .744 OPS. The average LF across baseball put up a .756 OPS, so Viciedo was slightly below average with both the bat and the glove. Given his age, "Slightly below average" is certainly promising, but that's why he only put up a slightly above replacement level WAR. So does being a "slightly below average" LF mean he would be rated as much lower than an average LF if you take away, let's say, 10 of those assists ? WAR takes into account defensive metrics so how many assists would a replacement level LF have? I'm just trying to establish what an assist is worth from an outfielder. Personally I think its a very important stat though I realize the more you establish yourself as a guy with a strong accurate arm the less likely you are to be run on so assists totals will go down. But still when you establish that arm in the mind of base runners , you also prevent runners from taking the extra base because of your rep. I would think something like that is very difficult, if not impossible, to work into defensive metrics.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 11:29 AM) And his defense was surprisingly decent. This year is the really big year in determining what kind of player he eventually becomes. Just a good/average one (due to impatience, swinging at bad pitches, struggles with inside fastballs and breaking balls out of the zone, lower OBP) or a very good/great hitter. A lot of that was also based on the hype from 2010 when he tore up the minors and was a pretty key piece down the stretch, when Ozzie used him against mostly LHP. We ( me and you) think his D was decent because he wasn't a liability and because of his arm. His assist total was the highest for a Sox left fielder in a long time. However his WAR was like a .5 which I found shockingly low and I'm guessing that's mostly due to his D (lack of range?) and/or lack of walks. Now I admit I am more old school and so maybe someone can tell me why he was deemed to be barely above replacement level. Just seems to me having a hand in throwing out 16 base runners is more valuable.

I'm surprised Viciedo didn't move up more after hitting 25 HR's in his 1st full season. Maybe I should be surprised he was ranked 380 the previous year when he only had a few September call ups in prior to last year which would rank him better than nearly half the major league players without doing much of anything.

I watched the video of the Mancave on the MLB.com and saw it had a lot of TVs so you can watch as many games as possible. I was wondering how big are the monitors ? Are there some larger than others and if so how is it decided which game is on the larger monitors ?

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 01:36 PM) So spring training is over. Anyone impressed/depressed by any developments or lack thereof? I preface this with the full knowledge that spring training can be very misleading, but that said here are my... POSITIVES: I think Viciedo is poised to have a breakout year if he doesn't fall in love with the long ball Lexi looks hungry to be more of an offensive force PK came into camp in great shape and shows no signs of slowing down (yet) Peavy. Fastball. Welcome back. Nate Jones and the rest of the pen. Think they could be a nasty bunch and push KC for the best in the division. Gimenez. This dude may surprise us. He can play and could push TFlo for playing time. Gillaspie. I think he's going to be our starting 3B by June if not sooner. NEGATIVES: Dunn just looks lost to me. Sorry, I know it's only ST, but still. LOST. Beckham. Squat, no squat. Still looks like a popup king to me. Danks/#5 starter. Asking a lot for a guy to go from throwing 88 to 92. Could take a lot longer than we think. I agree with most of your positives. Peavy slider speed is greater also. Combine that with learning how to pitch with lesser stuff last year and Peavy could have another big year. Disagree about Gillaspie . Keppinger just looked very very solid with the bat and very comfortable playing 3rd. Gillaspie will get playing time against lefties and I like his gap power but he'll only replace Kepp if there's an injury. Beckham looked good to me . Showed good pop and hit fairly well. I think if you combine the AB's of every catcher in camp the B.A. was well over .300. Flowers, Gimenez, Anderson, Phegly, Smith . Angel Sanchez came on strong towards the end of camp. Would have liked to see him get more time at 2nd base . He hit 2 really long HR"s the last few games.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 12:03 PM) Boozer pretty much trademarked the "jump towards the basket when you feel the slightest contact from behind and yell really loud" move. There was a push, but I've seen less contact go without a call. Yeah we all have seen less but when it's out in the open like that it's an easy call to make. Under the basket when it's crowded is when its tougher to call. I've played a ton or organized ball in my life and that kind of contact from behind while in the air used to always tick me off . As soon as I heard the whistle I knew it was on Battier for the push off.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 11:24 AM) I was kinda sad he didn't miss that layup so that the refs could fail to call goaltending while he's hanging on the rim. I was yelling for a technical foul on that play. 1st it's basketball interference and the second the shot went up and it was apparent Lebron was hanging on the rim the whistle should've been blown and the basket awarded. Isn't hanging on the rim still supposed to be a technical ? I know it's never called anymore on offense since players hang to protect themselves from being undercut but that wasn't the case with Lebron on D.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 09:48 AM) It was wretched last night. And honestly I thought the worst call of the night went against the Heat. Battier got called for a foul on Boozer during a rebound in the final minute. Replay showed absolutely nothing happened, Battier barely had his hand on Boozer and there was no pushoff at all. You must've been watching a different game then I was. It sucks to be jumping for a rebound and feel a hand in your back and the rebound goes flying over your head. That rebound was probably going over Boozers head regardless but Battier did push him ( just watch where Boozer starts his jump and how much he moves forward in the air after the push). Both players momentum was going towards the basket the long rebound caused Battier to use Boozer as a spring board to change his direction to go after the rebound which was headed to a corner.