CaliSoxFanViaSWside

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 04:59 PM) and it is kind of assine to think that vince did all of his stealing b/c someone taught him and not b/c he was a natural. no matter how good of a coach vince is, he will not be able to teach someone like paulie k. who is slow of foot. i would be more comfortable if he was around for 2 yrs and sharing his wealth of knowledge, but at the same time in the first season, not let the pupils so to speak be ultra aggressive. i guess it is the aggressiveness on the base path i am thinking about. No one is a natural . Sure the faster you are the better your chances. I'm sure Coleman learned a lot of things along the way that helped him . You don't reach the pinnacle of the highest levels of any sport without gaining a lot of knowledge along the way and putting that knowledge to good use. If things can't be taught why hire the guy ? He knows he has a lot to offer otherwise he might just say " Either you got it or you don't, end of coaching lesson. " Thank you Captain Obvious for stating he won't be teaching the slowest of the slow runners . The guys he's instructing all have speed, Eaton, Michah Johnson, Carlos Sanchez, Tim Anderson , Avi Garcia but his most important lessons are baserunning not steals , going 1st to 3rd on a single or 2nd to home. He constantly speaks about imparting the knowledge so it becomes second nature which, with practice, turns it into an instinctual thing. In other words you can LEARN to be a natural.

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 12:45 PM) i am really excited of this part of sox baseball improving. but my concerns is, if the leadoff hitter is really not a base stealer, wouldn't he do more harm by trying to steal and getting caught. i mean the #2,3,4 hitter that the sox will field, wouldn't it be better to have him on base than getting caught? i mean, anyone who played ball know it is an inherent, natural talent that one has, and not learned. thoughts??? Kind of silly to say anyone who has played ball knows it's an inherent natural talent and not learned. There wouldn't be guys like Vince Coleman hired to teach if it was a natural talent and just speed. A guy like Eaton who stole maybe 16 but was caught 9 times has plenty of speed but needs to learn the finer points, reading pitchers, running on counts where you might think an offspeed pitch is coming, extending your lead , knowing pitchers moves ( who might use a slide step to quicken their delivery), knowing catchers with fast releases and strong arms, There are even ways to increase your acceleration like head position, stride length, arm action and lead leg action. Also you can work out to increase acceleration also strengthening your gluts and hamstrings. http://blog.athletesbrand.com/chalk-talk-g...n-acceleration/

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 03:08 PM) Are we talking about baseball players or GQ models? What next, a ban on tattoos? Chew? Alcohol? Wives? Its just facial hair. Actually California wants to ban chewing tobacco in ball parks which would include players . The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids announced Tuesday that it will sponsor legislation to ban all tobacco products at baseball venues, including Major League Baseball and organized league games. MLB says it supports banning smokeless tobacco and the spirit of the proposal. Using chewing tobacco, known as dipping, is already prohibited in minor leagues. The issue was highlighted by the death last June of former San Diego Padres all-star Tony Gwynn, who believed his oral cancer was linked to longtime chewing tobacco use. http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/califor...ll-parks-022415

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 09:28 PM) My prediction is that Sale and Abreu are the only 2 left for the Sox. Highly doubtful if anyone at MLB Network realizes that Q>Samardzija. I think Alexei has a chance considering they said that they consider defense in their rankings. Sale - 7, Abreu - 18. Top 10 prediction: Trout, Kershaw, Cutch, Felix, Stanton, Miggy, Sale, Posey, Bumgarner (Because MLB Network is obsessed with him), Price. MLB Network seems to be sabremetrically inclined at times since Brian Kenney is a huge advocate, Since Shark is at 82 Quintana should be in there since he has done it for 3 seasons and last year continued the trend of getting better every year. Quintana’s FIP was 2.81, comparable to Jon Lester’s 2.80 and good for 10th best in baseball among qualified pitchers. His strikeout rate has increased ever year he has been in the bigs – from 14.3 percent to 19.7 percent to 21.5 percent. At the same time, and his walk rate has dipped from 7.4 percent to 6.7 percent to 6.3 percent. (courtesy of SSS) I also believe his HR rate was very low.

QUOTE (Douglas Rome @ Feb 26, 2015 -> 03:52 AM) it was talked about a little on the TV yesterday, but what is America's fixation with facial hair? I watched American Idol last nite and all three Ryan Secrest, Keith Urban and Harry Connick look like they hadn't seen a barber or a razor blade in months. The Sox lineup looks like the players are auditioning for Smith Bros cough drops. Can the manager impose appearance codes or is that a thing of the past? thanks, douglas I think the Yankees still have facial hair standards and fairly recently Reinsdorf has asked that players look well groomed. Not sure if that will still be the case.

If the Sox do end up much improved and Eaton/Johnson have 30-40 steals each it will be a good season with a new version of the Go-Go White Sox.

Ventura also dece looking manager according to this http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/...-tied-for-third

QUOTE (thegringokid @ Feb 24, 2015 -> 08:46 AM) As the article states, most fulltime players averaged 150 games a year so there is that. And cutting the number of starts from an average of 32-33 to 30-31 might reduce the load on SP's? Dunno, just thinking of obvious benefits. But if the cut in games means a cut in regular season revenue then I see that as a non-starter, unless they expand playoffs by one round?? Think that make even less sense doesn't it? Umm no the article said fewer 9 percent of position players played in 150 games. I'm good with a 154 game schedule . The only thing to do with the playiffs would be no 5 game series . Make everything 7 games except the 1 game playoff which you can increase to 3 or 5. Playoff teams then benefit from extra revenue from playoffs with full stadiums , thus more incentive to make the playoffs.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Feb 24, 2015 -> 11:55 AM) 2014 preseason there was talk of Nate being our closer. all those hopes were dashed early I hope he can return to his former pitching form. He would be a great asset later in the season to the '15 sox. As long as he doesn't do any more TV commercials I'm happy.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 24, 2015 -> 02:46 PM) lol a 1-2 WAR player that was acquired for diddly squat and is pre-arb. Great guy to say "sucks". He's a decent starter and a great guy to have on the roster at his salary. I'm hoping for at least a 2.5 this year from Conor.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Feb 23, 2015 -> 01:41 PM) I agree here and there's also the Dodgers and Padres with too many outfielders. Perhaps other teams. I tend to think the Sox will wait it out and make a deal during spring training to pick up an outfielder who is squeezed out elsewhere that will be better than our internal options Shuck and Michael Taylor. This is exactly what I've thought all along.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 23, 2015 -> 01:11 PM) What is interesting to me is the Red Sox have so many options in the OF. Hanley is LF, Betts/Castillo in CF/RF, Jackie Bradley Jr., Allen Craig, Daniel Nava and Shane Victorino. Boston has writers saying Victorino is going to start but I don't buy that. At least a couple of these guys are going to be on the way out two months from now and if the Red Sox were pushed to DFAing or trading Victorino+cash I would be interested. Great makeup, great baserunner, RH bat to give LaRoche a break against lefties, etc. Obviously he has injury issues but he was awesome as recent as '13. If the Red Sox go with one of their younger guys and can't move him/DFA him the Sox would be the fourth team to get a crack at him. Don't forget Brock Holt though he's listed as an infielder he played a lot of OF last year and did very well.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 21, 2015 -> 10:37 AM) Something that's been interesting in reviewing MLB stats from last year is that Gillaspie was top 30 in OPS in the AL. To me, 2nd base is way more of a concern than 3rd is, especially since there are platoon options now for Gillaspie. Sometime I get the questions about Gillaspie and sometimes I don't. It's like everyone forgot the first 4 months of the season when he was spraying line drives all over the field batting as high as .326. That is not so easy to do in this day and age with all the shifting that's going on. It sucks he couldn't finish strong but that pace he was on just wasn't sustainable . Would ve been nice if the last 2 months weren't so bad but .282 isn't bad and as you mentioned his OPS was good despite not hitting many HR's. I really think half of it is his blah personality makes people just feel blah about him.

CSN really seems like the best place for the latest Sox video. Also video with Rodon talking , Avisails new diet, Jim Callis talking to Dan Hayes about Spencer Adams.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Feb 20, 2015 -> 06:24 PM) Even if we are in contention at the trade deadline, Shark could be traded for some quality prospects. That's not all that strange of an idea though at first it seems like it because of "white flag" . Let's say the Sox coddle/limit Rodon's innings early on then in mid/late June put him in the rotation and he does well. Then your big 3 for the playoffs ( if they are made without Shark and with Rodon ) is still strong. Maybe they get another pitching prospect or even some young help to the ML team for the playoff push and beyond. Don't think it could be just prospects because it would be considered another white flag and if attendance is up this year the fans will feel betrayed.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 20, 2015 -> 09:00 AM) Its not like they "gave up' all that talent, they couldnt afford to keep everyone. I realize that . It's just life with the cap but it gets compounded when you're giving away your young talent and guys like Smith anf Kruger are not scoring points while the clock ticks on guys like Sharp and Hossa . I know Coach Q really covets 2 way players but the forwards he keeps still need to get some points. Watching the Hawks has been painful lately. So many turnovers . Lots of problems at the blue line and no cap space tp make any moves unless they rid themselves of a guy like Sharp or Bickell. It just seems like they're holding on to some guys a little too long and have a revolving door of young guys they won't allow to have growing pains. The talent level just isn't what is used to be . The 2 Cups were beautiful and they've done a great job making hockey relevent in Chicago again but they are in danger of staying the course too long.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 20, 2015 -> 11:02 AM) Varlamov has won like 5 or 6 straight starts against the Hawks, including that 54-save shutout at the UC last month. It would be nice to finally light him up. Not happening Colorado just got 2 goals on a 2 minute 2 man advantage. Then Crawford gave up what had to be the worst goal of the year. Trying to pass a dump in that was on net he completely whiffed and puck goes in.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Feb 18, 2015 -> 02:03 PM) Sure it is. He's played one season. I'm optimistic, but regression is totally possible. I'd be shocked if he regressed. The guy is one serious SOB about getting better. He's been in camp since Feb 4th. and he is prepared physically now for the longer season and preparing for an even longer season because of the playoffs. He had many doubters here for 2014. Don't make the same mistake for 2015.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Feb 18, 2015 -> 11:09 PM) Richar days until P&C report! About 30 guys in camp already including Jose Abreu, Carlos Rodon, Jesse Crain, Micah Johnson, Tyler Saladino, Courtney Hawkins, Jared Mitchell, Keenyn Walker, Tyler Flowers, Rob Brantly, Avisail Garcia, Carlos Sanchez, Brian Anderson and Hector Noesi .

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Feb 13, 2015 -> 12:24 PM) Any bets on when Teuvo gets traded? That seems to be the usual SOP. How good would Jimmy Hayes look now instead of Bickell ? Brad Richards not impressing.Sharp stats are down, Hossa was bad offensively until his recent torrid streak. H Its amazing when you look around the league how much talent the Hawks have given up, Byfuglien , Ladd, Hayes, Vrbata ,Troy Brouwer ,Nick Leddy , even Frolik is having a decent year for Winnipeg.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 12, 2015 -> 11:13 AM) Yeah I just re-read my post and see that it reads like I was punching walls while writing it. I have a problem with coming off way angrier than I want to. I really am trying to work on that even though I'm failing. Sorry. To be clear: any rage that did exist in my last post is directed toward Charles Barkley, lol. The only thing directed toward you or greg is some mild exasperation I actually think what you said about thread pinning makes sense -- I can see a good argument hat all acquisitions should be up there until at least the start of the season. I never take offense at your replies to me because I know what I write is USUALLY well thought out and I know the subjects that I am less informed about I cannot have very strong convictions about them .

QUOTE (Reddy @ Feb 12, 2015 -> 11:09 AM) It ends up becoming an argument of: Would you rather be the most popular, or the best? Support for advanced stats puts us in the latter category (although we probably also happen to be in the first as well, among White Sox fan sites) Your opinion is just as valid as mine . Maybe I am wrong in assuming players and contending interests fans more than advanced stats. Advanced stats do not appeal to everyone whereas I'm pretty sure all that come here like to read and talk about the players and our chances of winning. I don't know a damn thing about running a website but I think people coming back again and again matters more if Jason gets any revenue from this venture. But it's his website and if he thinks advanced stats bring more than just diehards here then so be it.

Eminor I hope you understand my rant was half truthful and more comedically intented in nature. Writing is more my thing than math so once in a while I write things just to get it off my chest with some humor and hopefully it's understood I meant no slights to anyone. But I still don't understand why it takes precedent over offseason acquisitions in the pinned area. I assume Soxtalk wants to grow as a community so even the casual fan can find things that appeal to them by dropping in here and lurking before eventually feeling comfortable enough to make posts. I realize threads "run their course " and the discussions of acquistions is old news at this point but the players and a chance at a successful season and the excitement it has generated are usually the primary interest of fans in general . I understand what is pinned is not my decision to make . It's just my feeling that having the best Sox topics pinned or on the front page is the best way to keep people who show up here interested in coming back rather then having them look at page after page of what's been discussed over the past few months rather than the first thing they see being FAQ about advanced stats.

Heard Barkley's rant last night . Wondered if there would be something on here but I fail to see how it stays in PHT . Are all sabremetric discussions now required reading ? I mean, I try ,I really do, to understand some of the more frequently used new terms to stay abreast of things. Can't say I enjoy reading sooooooooo much about it though. I enjoy my sports which mostly consists of watching and drawing my own conclusions on players. Around here or any forum where younger people gather I'm thankful for the broadening of my horizons. However, I can definitely say it hasn't enhanced my enjoyment level of sports , probably has even lowered it a little bit to be honest. My math education stopped at Algebra 2 so everytime someone starts in with coeffeicients and variables yada yada yada, I get bored to tears. Is this math class or the place to discuss White Sox baseball. I see people ask what is FIP or something else. I'm like are you kidding me ? You're on a computer ! You have the world at your fingertips ! Stick it in a search engine and you can find all the stuff on it your little heart ever desired. You get rants like Hawk and Barkley and now me I guess because you guys never give it a rest . We have a permanently pinned section on it for whatever reason .All the offseason acquisitions should be pinned till at least opening day because thats what interests Sox fans who might wander into this place infrequently. What do they see pinned? FAQ's about advanced physics. We rant because we sucked at math and we feel dumb again, but even sucking it was still simple to understand ERA and fielding percentage and batting average. Now I need a degree from MIT.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 11, 2015 -> 03:30 AM) Did Avi say he was 14 years old when he was playing in rookie ball? At around 15 minutes...shouldn't he have been 16 at least? ...or he was just trying to be funny 14 in rookie ball .