Jake

My column today for Yahoo! Sports is on Danks: What to Expect when John Danks Returns I think he's going to be okay. He definitely won't be the same and I think his numbers will reflect it, too. I don't think he'll get hit back onto the DL, though. I advocate going to a six man when he returns, to get him extra rest and give Axe/Hector more time to prove themselves. If Danks does blow up big time, you won't be screwing with whichever guy goes to the pen if he has to come back to start.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 8, 2013 -> 10:04 PM) Is it sad that I can tell he is saying "f*** you motherf***er"? Also, what prompted it? There were several bad calls that affected him in a row right as the game got out of reach. He and Joakim got tossed in the span of about one minute.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 8, 2013 -> 08:46 PM) How would that impact their defense though? They would have missed the entire drill-work/fundamentals part of ST

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ May 8, 2013 -> 08:45 PM) Does Rip even suit up? If he does, then why? There is 0 point to him being in uniform if he isnt gonna get into this game. He has been in uniform.

I wonder if WBC is part of the issue with Rios, De Aza

QUOTE (fathom @ May 8, 2013 -> 08:39 PM) So could Rose be suspended for leaving the bench? Don't see it making much of a difference

what the f*** happened that play?

How old is LaTroy Hawkins right now?

QUOTE (SexiAlexei @ May 8, 2013 -> 08:23 PM) I wouldn't be surprised if it was related to the fact that when he was hurt this season, he just completely disappeared. From what I remember, no one knew where he was, he wasn't reporting in, or traveling with the team. Makes sense. That really hurts. Sure would help if Derrick was willing to suit up.

On less polarizing matters, why is Rip Hamilton not playing? Has anyone heard anything? If Rip can't play, it really exposes our lack of depth. Daequan Cook can't keep getting important minutes and Marco shouldn't have to be on the floor for garbage time.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ May 8, 2013 -> 08:17 PM) I love how the Bulls b**** and whine about calls and get technicals in a 40 point blowout. The Heat complain a lot to the refs but guess what, so do the Bulls. That's the same bulls*** argument people use in politics. If both sides do it, it doesn't matter if one does it far more than the other.

I love how Wade starts b****ing about a foul called on him in a 40 point blowout

I don't blame them for getting tossed. The Bulls were losing either way, but the refs have done them NO favors

QUOTE (Knuckles @ May 8, 2013 -> 08:08 PM) Honestly how many of you think Bulls can win this series? I wouldn't bet on it by any means

The refs are f***ing Taj Gibson

LeBron is easily the dirtiest star player I've ever seen. And he b****es non stop about contact. Anyway, you can't have Daequan Cook in the game, at all. It is absolutely ridiculous that Rip Hamilton isn't playing. He must have said something to Thibodeau to piss him off because he is in a different from world from Cook. The problems run far deeper than that, but I'm sick of Cook getting exploited at both ends of the floor. Tonight the refs just indiscriminately called a bunch of fouls but didn't actually stop the game from getting out of hand. LeBron James fouls on almost every single possession. You will have to actually call a foul on him if you want him to play it fairly. That said, make a shot. Quit turning the ball over. Shouldn't be beaten this badly. Let's turn things around at home...hopefully by then we might get some injured guys back in the lineup.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 8, 2013 -> 10:49 AM) He blew out his ACL the same day Derrick did... "Iman Shumpert is a shadow of his rookie self" - Michael Wilbon

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 8, 2013 -> 10:04 AM) @FisolaNYDN Spoelstra vs Thibodeau is really Riley vs Van Gundy all over again. Just hope Tom doesn't find himself clutching LeBron's leg for dear life wow, really? If Erik Spoelstra was coaching this team, we would have lost about by 20 on Monday. If Thibs was coaching the Heat, they would have beaten us by 30. Thibs is not a perfect coach and there have been times I've thought he's blown it--but he's grown, too. He's always added a ton of wins and generally maximized our team's potential, but the way he's managed our team late in games has been exceptional. It seemed like his main weakness in the past was managing our late game situations, which was probably due to an over-reliance on Rose. We've closed games very well so far in the playoffs without anyone on the team.

Morales makes the most sense and at the moment I don't think he's going to get a huge payday. He may even try for a short term deal so he can get back into free agency, which would be okay with us. McCann might get overpaid for a soon to be 30 year old catcher. Utley is a big risk too, but his age might drive down his price.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 7, 2013 -> 06:44 PM) Yeah, none of these minor leaguers are going to be Konerko's replacement. And while I still have faith in Viciedo, I think you keep him in LF until someone forces him out of the spot or until he shows he can't handle the position defensively. That means free agency or the trade market. One name that would be somewhat intriguing on the cheap would be Kendrys Morales. He'll be 30 to start the 2014 season, he can hit RHP, and playing at Safeco this year could suppress his power numbers. If you can get him at a reasonable price, he might be a nice replacement for Konerko. Kendrys Morales would probably be a perfect pickup for us. Shouldn't command a mega-contract but will give us an important middle of the order bat. QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 7, 2013 -> 07:04 PM) One issue with Dunn is that he always seem to "set up" and lock into a position to catch the ball...then, for whatever reason, he's having a very difficult time adjusting. Part of it is simply his size and frame. This is what I was trying to say. I haven't noticed it in particular.

We've had bottom 5 in AL bullpen by ERA twice in the recent past (2006, 2007) and top 5 twice (2005, 2010). The other years from 1999 till now have been from 6-9 in the AL. I don't know that ERA is the best way to measure bullpens, but that's one way to chew on it. Doesn't seem like a major problem. There are always good teams with bad bullpens and bad teams with good bullpens.

I'll be happy to get Gordon and Dayan back in the lineup. It's not totally true, but hitting can be contagious. Just need to get things rolling again.

Losing to the early favorite to win the Cy Young with no DH and your starting LF on the DL isn't really the thing that should motivate you to start moving around the lineup.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 7, 2013 -> 08:51 PM) Hasn't the pen been very good for years? Yes.

What would we do to the lineup tomorrow to make it better?