Jake

so close to a shorty

Thanks, Toews. Doesn't look good for the BHawks

Crawford is ballin'

What? Somebody is getting shots on goal during a power play?

That's total crap

Another awful, awful PP in progress

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 23, 2013 -> 07:43 PM) Howard is a black hole. Can't even get a damn rebound

no SOG on the PP wow

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 23, 2013 -> 04:35 PM) Thank you. I've been saying that for years. AJ's durability is a big asset and many here did not appreciate that. I predicted Flowers' defense would suffer once he got banged up a little by playing everyday but even I didn't expect it to happen as soon as it did. Flowers' defensive prowess was overrated by many here, possibly because of the point you made about him being Peavy's personal catcher. I always thought AJ's defense was unfairly underrated by some because of the fact that he played banged up day in and day out. At any rate, Flowers has been no defensive upgrade over AJ. AJ had been fine defensively (not throwing) until last year. He began throwing better last season but his receiving was as bad as Flowers has been this year.

I still prefer him to Tyler Greene. I'm guessing this means we're keeping Casper and making Kep/Gillaspie our one infield reserve.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 23, 2013 -> 01:31 PM) Pitcher handling isn't dumb, it is a real concern... but the key is, no one here knows how well Phegley does that. Defensively, Phegley is probably a below average receiver. But right now at least, Flowers is already that. Phegley has a plus arm though, and Flowers' isn't bad but isn't that good either. So you might actually gain a bit there with Phegley. But I don't blame Hahn et al for giving Flowers a solid half-season chance at least, before giving up on the guy. Another month or so is what I'd say he has, leash-wise, if he doesn't start hitting. This is not really true, and also misses the point. --In his draft year, Phegley skipped rookie ball to play at Kanny, and struggled with AVG, but did hit for some power, made decent contact, and he was heavily challenged skipping rookie ball like that. --In 2010 (his first star towards a full year) he went two levels (A+, AA) and posted 290's AVG numbers, but then his health issues hit. --2011 was his first almost-full year in the minors, and played AA and AAA - how many minor leaguers complete their first nearly full season at that high a level? Meanwhile he hit for a little power, and kep the contact rate solid. Despite a hand injury he was recovering from. --2012 was his first true full season, healthy, in his minor league career. And he was at AAA doing it, less than 3 years from being drafted, and having just 800 career AB's (equivalent to about 1.5 minor league seasons). He struggled, predictably. But his contact rate was actually improving. --Now in 2013, finally with a full healthy season under his belt and having AB's that are a little closer to normal for someone going to AAA... and he's finally living up to the bat potential (and then some) that made him a high pick. You have to look at the whole story. I'm not saying that he should have had better numbers or hasn't improved, but a guy with a career .718 minor league OPS has a lot to prove. This year is encouraging, but in no way guarantees MLB production. There is a pretty good chance that he, too, would "struggle, predictably" if we push him up another level right just as he begins to figure out AAA pitching.

The guy has never posted good numbers at any level. You might want to give him a chance to solve AAA pitching decisively, not just over 34 games.

FWIW, I said that Flowers had said that BEFORE the season. He anticipated an adjustment to full-time catching, he isn't saying anything about it now.

I like Caldwell-Pope, I hope he falls to the Bulls.

I think rest is a huge part of the reason his defense has disappointed us. He makes these mistakes because he's winded. A backup is never winded. He talked about this on the radio in the preseason, that he was going to have a hard time with conditioning since it had been a while since he caught full time.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ May 23, 2013 -> 10:16 AM) Elaborate. You can't just state something so vague. That comes across as super dismissive. It isn't Flowers vs Gimenez, it is Flowers vs Phegley

This is the wrong comparison. With that said, who knows? Hopefully Tyler comes out of the off day rested and figures something out.

lol Paulie

I've always thought that Flowers will be given until sometime in June, at the least, to prove himself. I assume the same is still true. I'm sure they won't let Phegley rake and Flowers struggle for too long, but they will want to be sure that both players are being themselves in the way they are playing

This should decisively end Veal's run as a White Sox

This should be a good trial run for Veal.

The thing that always puzzled me about Nate is why he never throws his curveball. Scouts had raved about how good his curveball was, but he ditched it for a slider when he came up to the Sox. He has a great changeup too, but has abandoned that because he struggles locating it.

Add another hard hit ball to the list of those that didn't fall tonight

This hasn't exactly been the perfect game, but let's not let slide the fact that we have been beaten by a damn good pitcher to this point.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 22, 2013 -> 09:50 PM) It should be all year, as you don't go into this season with this stupid plan they had if you're not willing to live with his struggles. Have to be encouraged that Phegley has done well, though. Good organizations can have guys that struggle when there is a hot minor leaguer right behind him