Jake

I guess we don't have any RH CF options, so I wonder which one of these guys will get the bulk of the PT in center.

Splitters gon' split...

I hated D-Wise when Ozzie thought that he was Alejandro de Aza. Now that we treat Wise like he's DeWayne Wise, I don't mind having him around.

The magic that is DeWayne Wise as a White Sox continues.

Wouldn't mental dwarves be worse as time goes on?

I think he's hurt. It wouldn't always be the first inning if he just sucked in general. He just isn't getting loose at all, as if he's hurt.

Alexei Ramirez with RISP: .350 AVG, .846 OPS 2 outs, RISP: .318/.788 WAR: 1.1 bWAR, .7 fWAR The thing that sticks out to me in Alexei's numbers is that his walk rate is way down. I don't have a good explanation for this other than perhaps the lack of power has pitchers unafraid to go right at him. I would say it could be related to his somewhat diminished role given the breaking out of Dunn, Rios, AJP, Youk, ADA...but it isn't like Alexei was ever a truly featured hitter. It could easily be the opposite of what I think, that a poor eye is preventing the power from coming out rather than vice versa.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 20, 2012 -> 10:37 AM) The saying goes, don't believe anything you see in spring training, and don't believe anything you see in meaningless games in September. See Fields, Josh and Morel, Brent. The real question is whether teams like the Cubs have played a single "meaningful" game. Any reps extra young guys can get benefit the franchise to some extent. Even if their numbers don't create a large enough or significant enough sample, MLB innings and at bats are still MLB innings and at bats.

I think OPS sucks as the key evaluator of offense (especially from a middle infielder) but there can't be any stats that make Gordon look good right now. People get paid big bucks to see things that the stats don't show, but many more lose their jobs for thinking they see things that the stats don't show. I'm sure the fate of Gordon Beckham is a hot topic in our front office. I have a feeling Kenny Williams sees a lot of himself in Gordon, which is likely not the most comforting feeling.

I'd like Derrick to have whatever Adrian Peterson is having

Manto's comments in that Q and A with FanGraphs made it seem like he thought Gordon shouldn't be in the MLB. First Manto says that if you have legitimately made it in the MLB, you shouldn't have any real mechanical issues, perhaps just a tweak here and there. It's all about approach, etc. He then goes on to discuss Gordon and some "major" mechanical issues that he had and has going on that they have been working on consistently...as if to say he should be at a level where it is appropriate to work on mechanical problems. He said that his problems made it impossible for him to stay consistent over the course of a season, hence the short bursts of glory that make us believe in Gordon again before hitting a tailspin. The Sox's hands are tied though, I understand.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 20, 2012 -> 02:31 PM) As long as you are simply talking about in life and in general while getting paid an MLB salary to be a career backup/utility infielder, then yeah, he'll be fine? He is, however, a top ten draft pick bust. Hey, at least he made the MLB and has been largely a (ever so slightly) positive value player. We hoped for more, but he's still pretty young anyway. That entire draft is littered with "busts." I'd say make him a utility guy, but he might be too expensive to make it worth that. Anyways, this thread should really be entitled "Beckham having a rough career"

It's for parity. Struggling teams can get a look at young players without sacrificing current MLB talent to waivers or burning up options. It has a very small benefit for teams like the White Sox, but can be hugely useful for a team like the Cubs that may want to work in 30+ players a week to see what they've got.

For Love of the Game The Natural Field of Dreams Eight Men Out League of Their Own I also don't put that film ahead of the other ones LittleHurt listed

Taj would have to want to get to free agency to see if he can convince somebody to give him a huge, near-max deal

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 18, 2012 -> 11:40 AM) I have very little confidence in this getting done. Can't be in Taj's best interest unless we overpay or he is very fearful of an injury

It should be pretty well accepted that generally speaking the more lengths you go to to make contact, the less your power will be.

At some point we have to start exercising caution with the roster moves. You don't want a huge portion of the team being fluid. Lots of pieces have shuffled around this year, from the bench to some very big contributors. Weird dugout vibes can be a product of all of this type of thing.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 13, 2012 -> 09:28 PM) You mean putting him in games. He can't throw strikes. Didn't you champion Zach earlier in the year using the same argument. If you can't throw strikes or when you throw strikes they land over the fence you don't belong up in the majors. No, he needs to be put in games. He needs to pitch as often or have appearances as long as we used Zach Stewart. If the guy only throws to a bullpen pitcher except for once every week or two, he'll get WORSE. I want him to pitch in games so we know what we have. The guy is in the role he is going to be in, but we've just been pretending we don't have that last reliever. He has to pitch in games just like everyone else. If you don't want him to pitch in the 11th, you need him to pitch in some of these other games and/or innings.

The handling of Leyson has doomed him

Leyson will never succeed if we protect him like we do. He's been on the roster far too long to only have 9 innings. Use him. If he walks someone because he never gets to pitch in games, leave him in there. For Christ's sake

You guys are underrating this pitcher big time. He may not always look this way, but there won't be a lot of hitting or contact against him if he throws like he has so far today.

Soxtalk, meet T-Flow

Ri-hos

This guy has unbelievable stuff.