Jake

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) Really, De Aza is probably already set in as one of our backup OF's for next year, and if he'd ever stay healthy he's talented enough to be a lower-level starter. This. De Aza is a better/cheaper/more intelligent option. If someone goes down, I can't watch Andruw Jones trying to go yard every swing for an extended period. I like De Aza as a defensive replacement/pinch runner/injury depth.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 25, 2010 -> 11:28 PM) Don't stop posting. I've been buried and lambasted before. They were just jokin with you. Post away. Just say no to lurking. I was just joking really. I don't post much due to tremendous college homework load.

Wow, back to lurking I go!

The balls from high school to college have definitely had more subdued seams, and I agree from handling balls I've acquired from pro games that those balls have practically no seams. I hate those things. I'm a sinkerballer and the ball moves less when the seams stick out less.

Thanks for doing this. I just moved to Memphis for school, and the last thing I want to do is sift through our TV schedule and coverage areas, etc. I've been dying going through this debacle and not being able to see and evaluate for myself in every game like I used to

QUOTE (mcgrad70 @ Sep 16, 2010 -> 11:51 PM) All of that sounds nice but you forget who the manager is. Guillen personally pissed away 15 games I can think of right off hand with his bumbling of the pitching staff and this inane resting of 20-something year old men. All I can say is that managing is much more difficult when players don't play well. Especially the pitching staff. Ozzie isn't perfect, but he's not responsible for 15 losses. No way, no how.

Rebuilding is a bad idea, IMO. You have a $50+ million rotation, and it is actually good. I believe we'll get what we're paying for, even though everyone likes to have good players that are making league minimum. These aren't bad contracts in the rotation, we're paying good pitchers that are still good. There might be a hole or two in the pen, but regardless what we have going into next year is a playoff caliber (and playoff priced) pitching staff. This means you have to try to win, we have to keep going forward as an all-in situation because the pitching is going to keep us in it. I'm okay with giving a chance to a guy like Dayan, who is loaded with talent and has already shown us he can at the very least compete at this level, if not down the road perhaps dominate it. Some player development could really pay off here. In general though, I don't think we're as far away as many of you would like to think. Getting Paulie back would be the first step in showing that we're trying to win and of course an important step in sustaining an offense. Rios is a fixture and a valuable one despite a slow second half. Hating on Quentin is easy but he still produced quite a few runs in a down year. If Quentin came back to some extent, that already is a huge step in once again having a solid offense to go with this pitching. He's also cheap enough that this is the type of frugal gamble many Soxtalkers should like, if it weren't for the fact many have washed their hands of him. He very well may finish the season with 90-100 RBIs and that's nothing to turn your nose up at, despite some of his noted flaws. Many of you would like to dump Pierre, but I'm not as supportive of the idea. My impression is that he's coming basically free, but feel free to correct me if that's incorrect. He adds that elusive speed and if he gained that 30 points to his average that he's had for a career that's already an upgrade from this year. Everyone likes to hate on the low OPS which has some merit but it is difficult to quantify 50-60 stolen bases. One must admit that this has some redeeming quality for his offense. He's also not a bad defender. I don't think there is any argument over the retention of Alexei. Solid offense with a bit of flair, some pop and some strikeouts, but still more or less a .300 hitter after March/April. One might think that with every year he'll improve upon his slow start syndrome. We all know he's blossomed into an excellent defender and it is hard for me to believe we could upgrade there, we certainly don't have the system for it. Beckham's situation is a bit ambiguous. Did he or didn't he snap out of the slump? Is he a good defender? The talent is there on both counts, and one may think on the defensive side he'll benefit coming back a second year in the same position, much like Alexei. The offense is a little less secure. Maybe he is just a .250 hitter with a little pop. Nonetheless, especially with you guys obsessed with the payroll, he's a cheap option that sells merchandise. He's the type of talent that could make our patience really pay off. With his charisma, a big season from him would really pay off in more ways than just on the field. I'm talking asses in seats here folks. You can try to replace AJ, but I'm not really sure what's out there. It's just generally difficult to pick up a good catcher. When it's all said and done, he may finish the season at .270 which isn't really exciting but that's quite a comeback from earlier this year. He's not a high potential bat, but can be useful and I'm overall satisfied with his defense. We know he doesn't have a strong arm and that can be a bit frustrating, but in this era there are just so many guys that aren't ever going to steal a base anyway. I'm open to upgrading here, but I'm hesitant to say there's going to be a good option here. Keep Flowers waiting in the wings, he no longer excites me with his down year this year and supposedly lackluster (or at best just average) defense. Vizquel seems valuable in that he's cheap, is willing (perhaps prefers) to be a back up but has shown he can be a viable fill in. Obviously any GM will take an upgrade if it presents itself at any of these positions if it comes up, but in most cases as you can see there are solid arguments for staying put in many positions. DH is the big hole. We don't need to see Mark Kotsay or Andruw Jones around anymore. You can throw a young guy there, maybe Viciedo if his defense can't improve, but really this is the place you can probably make a splash and really improve the offense. Needless to say you're seeking a lefty bat here with our lineup. One more thing, Teahen - yes it appears to be a bad contract right now. He's a guy I'm not convinced deserves to have a spot given to him without some kind of fight. However, 5 million dollars is NOT a big deal to a payroll like the White Sox. I know it very well could be a wasted 5 million, but part of being a major market team is that we can absorb this type of relatively minor folly. We're not the Cubs, with 10-15 million dollar bums all around. You can be upset by this deal with justification, but this type of thing is easily overcome. Same with Linebrink. No team has all good contracts and honestly no one expected Linebrink to be unusable in late game spots when we signed him. It's typically not wise to give relievers long term deals but this wasn't originally as bad as it looks now. Once again, those are our two mistakes. We can overcome that and perhaps we can dump one or both on someone. Look up people, we're really not that far from greatness! It's easy to remember every failure when this is the team you watch every day, but it's really not as bad as it seems. The grass isn't always greener. While I like watching young kids play, I don't wanna see a hapless bunch of youngsters that aren't going to win. We have the money to put together a good team and pick our spots for our young guys, much like the other high payroll teams. I see a rejuvenated, not a reconstructed White Sox team in 2011. And I see them winning.

18, 19 in a month

Back home, I use my dad's company gas card at BP. In Memphis, I believe it is a Chevron station that I've used.

I'm just glad to see someone with so much talent like Alexei finally putting it all together. The MLB is populated with guys who didn't, and it's been fun to watch Alexei develop and become a consistently good ballplayer.

How do I want them to look? I hope they're all wearing rings.

What am I going to do to my poor tv after he makes his announcement... Now we'll all be shocked if he stays with Cleveland

The wording "all indications point to..." is very fishy and reeks of Broussard trying to spread bulls*** but having an out when it blows up in his face

I now want LeBron to come to Chicago for the sole reason of making EVERY media source who chose to speculate and report bulls*** wrong. No one in recent days has wanted to pick the Bulls and that's because the front office has been wonderfully tight lipped. No one can argue that Chicago would be the best basketball decision for LeBron so I can't wait for the tiny chance that he chooses the Bulls and the world goes into shock.

I feel that Ozzie does some great managing in the playoff type situations. He hardly made a false move in 2005, although one could argue that it would have been difficult to make a managerial mistake with that team. However, it does seem that he puts the right lineup out there and tends to use his pitchers more effectively when the season is on the line. Why he doesn't do that on a daily basis is beyond me.

I'm about to start a Division 3 baseball career as the other half of the battery and perhaps the greatest type of baseball achievement I can attain is the current career status of Chase Blackwood. I respect anyone who puts the work in to get there, and keeps working to keep moving up. Chase is apparently lucky enough to have the measurable talent to have competed at a high level in college in the first place so I respect him for that as well, he was already eons ahead of me just by virtue of NCAA division status when he was an incoming college freshman like me. Guys like him deserve to relish every moment they get as a pro, and hopefully guys like Chase get to see their work turn into production and see their production turn into advancement opportunity.

Real baseball talk or not, I'm not passing judgement on any player who has only played 24 professional games.

Give me a Soxtalk iPhone app, then I'll really be impressed and addicted.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0514-p...680,full.column

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Apr 23, 2010 -> 10:27 PM) I had a good feeling even after that slam. Where do I sign up for Mr. Optimism title ? Already have it

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 12, 2010 -> 12:15 PM) f***. That's the Daily Show's slot. I pick Daily Show over Conan.

Jenks' stuff is really there. I'm especially impressed with that two-seamer he threw for a K or swing and miss, I don't remember which. His stuff is diverse enough that I venture to say he has starter stuff.

I think the point trying to be made by the poster upset with the booing is not that people should or should not disagree with the president's politics but rather that at a baseball event our president should not be booed for something that has nothing to do with baseball. Woo he wore a White Sox hat, call Rush Limbaugh if you wanna boo his politics.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 2, 2010 -> 08:59 PM) Ultimate Warrior, I think you have many SoxTalk awards in your future, just saying I guess you were wrong. I gotta know, what did he do?