Jake

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 17, 2012 -> 01:32 PM) Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales RV cool to idea of putting Viciedo at 3b vs. Cubs but said he'll look for other places to play him with Dunn in LF Where else could you play him? Second base?

I also feel like a Youkilis trade would get the town buzzing. It would send a message (maybe not a terribly accurate one) that we're still trying to win and are willing to bring in a big name to do it. Given that Youkilis seems a bit flakey, a change of scenery might result in a production surge as well.

What's the TV status of this game? CSN?

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ May 17, 2012 -> 12:22 PM) If Indy can win tonight, might the Heat start to crack? Let Wade and Bron get theirs and shut the role players down and hope Indy can score more than those 2. Spo gonna play them heavy minutes without Bosh in the lineup...they will be worn down by the end of the game. LeBron was definitely worn down in game 2. I think Thibs had them gameplanned perfectly when they quit double teaming Lebron/Wade

I will be shocked if this team gets broken up. The ONLY way I can see it is via trading for a big piece. The truth is that when you have a decent point guard playing, it's not a bad team. Having 3/5 starters leaves us as still a playoff team. Adding Luol at some point will be a nice boost (if he gets surgery). You act as if you won't get Derrick back, but of course he could put us over the top, or not. It sounds like they may bring CJ Watson back, which I didn't expect. I sure do remember a time when he was pretty good other than jacking up a few too many shots. Can't decide if he was injured, bad, scared, or some of all three in the playoffs. I do think Kirk would be a nice addition and still fits well if we get Derrick or something like Derrick back. Hinrich and Taj are pretty good first reserves, I've gotta say.

Hmm, never would have thought of that.

Looking at some UZR's for our guys and I'm not sure what to make of it. Guys with negative UZR I expected to be positive: Alexei, Gordon, Morel (Morel had a ~0 rating last year, too) Surprising to see that it was positive: ADA, Paulie No surprise: Dayan (negative), Rios (positive) I don't feel like Gordon and Alexei are playing poor defense by any stretch. Is there a sample size issue with UZR, am I overrating the stat, or what?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 17, 2012 -> 12:12 PM) Interleague play is not more advantageous for one or the other league. AL teams have to hit their pitchers, NL teams have to find a DH. There are lots of good arguments against interleague play, but taking one side of an obviously two-sided argument isn't one of them. I personally like IL play, though I am skeptical how it will work out next year doing it every day. I think it gives you a much better read on how good or bad teams are, highlights the different styles of play, brings out more fans, encourages some rivalries, and forces teams in both leagues to be more adaptive and prepared. What? Did I miss something?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 17, 2012 -> 12:02 PM) Couple things: one, you have to subtract Thornton's bloated salary to be mediocre from what Youk makes. Two, what's the market for a 35-year old reliever with one pitch who hasn't been good since Jim Thome told him to "tell me how my ass tastes" in 2010. You're not getting anything back for Thornton prospect wise. I agree. Thornton has very little value right now and this is one deal where the team receiving Thornton doesn't care how much he makes (since Youk makes twice as much)

Alfonso Soriano = 33 UZR/150 so far this year. dafuk?

QUOTE (flavum @ May 17, 2012 -> 11:51 AM) If he still takes ground balls there, sure, why not? Maybe Friday and Saturday, then back to LF on Sunday, and sit Dunn against Maholm. Anything to get Morel out of there is fine by me. Yeah, the key is whether he has been practicing there. When he played 162 innings there, his UZR was -2.3 (-18 per 150 games)

Anyone else interested in Viciedo at 3B?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 17, 2012 -> 10:18 AM) Exactly. That's the problem. This for, the most part, is a ***ty ass division. In the AL east or west, we're 10 games out by now and looking towards selling. But the Tigers have been average at best and nobody believes in the Indians. It's maddening. You know the Sox aren't good enough to win it. But they're not bad enough to be out of it by July. The Sox have the talent to win it. Whether they will win it is another question...but you'd have to accept a playoff berth if it's within grasp. Only makes you more money to build your team with. Just can't trade prospects to improve the roster, really. If we're going to win, it will have to be with this squad or something close to it. I don't know how we could improve the on-field product without bastardizing the rebuild plan.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 17, 2012 -> 12:18 AM) The desperation was forcing him into the equation as the long-term answer at 3B instead of just as an experimental, one-season stopgap. The same thing as if we traded for Callaspo from the Angels to play there for the remainder of THIS season. Because of that idiotic, unwarranted extension, we traded Edwin Jackson for the last reliever on our major league roster (albeit, he's pitching better than expected, but still not a great end result). I have to think we could sign Teahen off the street right now and he'd outproduce Morel EDIT: guess he's tearing it up in AAA for the Nats currently

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ May 16, 2012 -> 11:37 PM) No idea, I assume anyone can play LF QUOTE (fathom @ May 16, 2012 -> 11:40 PM) It is amazing how many young Sox hitters take HUGE steps back in their 2nd season. Maybe it's the curse of Mike Caruso, as we've seen this with Fields and Beckham also. At least we can't blame Greg Walker for this (and yes, that's sincere and not sarcasm). Morel played so badly last year that we thought that a step back would be impossible....he proved us wrong

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ May 16, 2012 -> 11:33 PM) Dan Johnson ? Thought he was doing fine in AAA. Can he play OF? I don't know him well other than that he had a good spring

Brent Morel, man....

QUOTE (fathom @ May 16, 2012 -> 11:31 PM) For this year, Fukudome/Lillibridge? I figured...was trying to search my tired brain for anyone in the minors not named Mitchell pushing for ML time

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ May 16, 2012 -> 11:30 PM) not full time!! only for the Cubs series, interleague. it was suggested in this thread that you don't make that switch if it is only for NL parks

QUOTE (fathom @ May 16, 2012 -> 11:29 PM) Williams was horrific tonight. He was up in the zone with everything the first 6 innings. He got lucky with a handful of rockets hit right at their defenders. It's honestly one of the least impressive 8 inning, 2 run performances you'll see. Haha well then you know which two innings I saw

So if you make DV the full time 3B, who plays LF?

We're gonna have a hard time if our starters can't get through the sixth inning for several starts in a row (like these past 3 games). Trying to decide if we should just tip our cap to this Williams, the part of the game I saw he looked pretty good.

Can someone fill me in on the 6th inning? Are we all mad at RV for leaving Gavin out too long?

I wouldn't mind experimenting with DV at 3B

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 16, 2012 -> 06:46 PM) Zach Stewart I've never seen Zach Stewart b**** slap a charging batter