ptatc

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 08:04 AM) If the Sox are interested in bringing back AJ, I doubt they would pay him less than they paid him last season. $6 million a year can be construed as both a bargain and fair. Wasn't that contract backloaded though? Wasn't it 2 mil for year one and 6 for year with a total value of 2 years for 8 mil? You're right though. I don't see them giving him much of a pay cut if any.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 07:12 PM) Imo, velocity is very similar to power in boxing. You can achieve slight gains by gaining strength and refining mechanics, but ultimately, it's something you're born with. I'm always skeptical of scouting reports that say a kid has the frame to add velocity. Sure, it happens, but it's rare. Again, I think the main catalyst in the offensive spike was the ball. It was physically very different than the old balls and even the balls used in Japan. That's part of what makes Pedros achievements so remarkable. He was able to get extreme movement on a seamless ball on a variety of pitches. He also had a physical advantage. He had extremely long fingers relative to his hand. He could also bend his fingers back to his wrist. It enabled him to hold the ball longer and achieve greater spin. Edit. I didn't mean to quote your post ptatc. The guy who had the longest fingers relative to his size that I ever met was Jack McDowell. This was why he had that great splitter. He was just an anatomic freak. I've seen other pitchers have surgery to cut the web space between their fingers to have more "split" but no one matched his.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 06:20 PM) Did you read this story when it came out? How do you feel about it? http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/maga...oids/index.html That is a common story for people who abuse the PEDs. If you take too much these are the things that cn happen. If you figure out what dosage will help your performance but not really change your personality too much (it will change some) these things don't always happen. This guy had an addictive personality to begin with shown by the alcohol abuse, so it's not surprising he abused the PEDs. He probably liked the way they made him feel more than the performance enhancement. This can be why some people use them who are not competitive athletes. They like the way it makes them look and feel.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 05:46 PM) Gagne is the best example I can give of a guy who was incredible on the juice and seemingly flamed out right afterwards. If that's just improvement in his workouts, that's fine, whatever the mechanism is, that's a guy who came out of no where, threw 100, then flamed out. Clemens is an interesting case and if we had the same data now as then I bet it would actually show up if you plotted his average velocity...because if he's recovering better, getting better workouts in-between outings, and in the offseason, it might not have made him throw hard on a single pitch, but it could have given him a higher average velocity by allowing him to endure better. Imagine Verlander except it doesn't tire him out to throw 100 all the time so he doesn't need to save anything. The being able to have the velocity and endurance longer is definitely true. Some of the increased velocity could be linked to overall body strength as I said earlier. since there are so many variables involved it may just be to difficult to prove. However, some of it may be due to the "rage" effect as well ,especially for a reliever who only needs to do it for a short period of time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 04:15 PM) If the juice didn't impact someone's velocity, then I struggle to explain a lot of things like the Gagne run. Part of the reason behind this is there is no correlation between shoulder muscle strength and your velocity. The strength needed for a pitcher is to have the shoulder remain stable through the pitching motion. This is the job of the rotator cuff and biceps tendon. It may be that the overall strength of the body makes your velocity increase as most of the power from a pitch really comes from the legs and back. However there are so many muscles and thus variables that it would be difficult to show a correlation. Pitchers generally don't lift weights like a hitter to put on mass. This will decrease the flexibility no matter how much you stretch. They strengthen for endurance (lower weights higher reps) or with therabands. This allows them to keep the flexibility necessary to keep the large range needed to perform the pitching motion. This does not produce the massive increase in strength from PEDs but more endurance and recovery. The primary purpose of PEDs really is to allow the body to work out harder and more often. If you took PEDs but didn't workout it wouldn't be nearly as effective. In the 80's powerlifters at the Olympic level would lift a body segment 3x/wk. Today most of them are clean and only lift hard 1x/wk for a body segment.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 10:22 PM) Insane KC overpay Two major league proven pitchers for a few suspects? I think the Royals got a better deal unless their are 3-4 pitchers going to TB. Edit: nevermind I just saw the pitchers that went over. The royals still strengthening their current team.

QUOTE (G&T @ Dec 7, 2012 -> 09:19 PM) I know that people outside WI only think of New Glarus but Central Waters is also a solid brewery (among many others). Right now I'm drinking a CW Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout and it is fantastic. The vanilla and hint of cherry rounds the roasted coffee really well. Just a nice touch of malted milk. Careful at 9.5%. i like Sprecher as well. I was there when they opened in 1985. They treated the college kids really well knowing we would grow up and continue to drink the product. I'm not familiar with Central Waters but i'm willing to learn. I don't usually make it that far north but everything from the website looks good.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 03:39 PM) I will make it quick because this is probably a SLaM discussion, but I learned a lot of "Last a while" meals when I was in college because take-out was just too expensive Eating in college mostly consisted of 8 for $1.00 Ramen noodle. It's no wonder I have high blood pressure now.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 08:12 AM) Greinke is married to a former Cowboys cheerleader. Maybe she is pushing for Texas. I agree. Don't discount the effect of the wife, especially when the money is fairly even.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 09:17 AM) Angels had just picked him up. Maybe insurance if we can't find a FA utility man. Yeah, looks like he would be a decent UT guy for the infield. He looks like he has a good arm. Maybe he is a candidate for a santos and they will turn him into a reliever.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 08:46 AM) Any indication I've ever read or heard about Brett Tomko is that he's a bigger dick than AJ I would use a term more like "Weasel" or "fake". But I don't have much respect for what he did either way.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 08:33 AM) You mean Tomko? I'm pretty sure that was never officially publicized, but it's long been assumed. That was the whole "$100 to anyone who hits a homer off him" deal. Yes, it was. And most of the stuff that came out of his mouth was wrong. He exaggerated alot of stuff about AJ because he didn't like him. Opinions about AJ should not be based on anything he said. He was making comments about his work ethic and such which is totally false.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 08:25 AM) BS. Who has AJ ever targeted publicly? He was the target with a coward in SF who wouldn't use his name. Even when Barrett punched him, he didn't fight back. He's too smart to get into that publically where there could be reprecussions. The pitcher who made those comments in SF was a weenie but the situation in that clubhouse had gotten so bad that it was not going to end well no matter what.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 08:23 AM) Putz was with AZ when he said it, so I don't understand why he would say anything if he just hated the guy. David Ortiz loves him and has known him since the minor leagues. I've seen him out with Paulie and Jermaine Dye, they played with him for years. Maybe you or someone you know had a bad experience with him. It doesn't mean everyone hates him. He plays in a matter that agitates the opponent. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. I've never met him and maybe I would hate him if I knew him, but there are plenty of people who do apparently like him and liked having him as a teammate. My experience with him is how he is in the clubhouse and how he deals with people in the clubhouse. This is just my opinion and my experience. Players may want him on the team because he is a really good player and is a tireless worker. One of the hardest workers in the game. Hate is a really strong word and I don't think it really applies to many people. However, believe me the people who actually like him are few and far between.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 08:02 AM) The AJ hatred is overblown. I've seen AJ out on the town with teammates several times. In the same SI article I am posting Adam Dunn said he is no more a d--- than anyone else. Here's what JJ Putz had to say: Playing against him for so long, he was probably one of my least liked guys," said Diamondbacks closer J.J. Putz, of his mindset prior to signing with the White Sox for the 2010 season. "Then my locker was right next to his, and after that he became one of my favorite teammates ever. He's not a baby, but just a guy who is so passionate that he doesn't hold anything back. Until you play with him, you have a misperception of what he is." You notice these are comments from players who have limited time with him. There are always a few guys who get along with everyone for a night out. The fact that players need to go out of their way to defend him says alot. He's a really good player and they want him on their side.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 07:52 AM) PTATC; as others here have expressed I really appreciated your knowledge of injuries, rehab, etc. You seem to have some inside knowledge of players as well and I'm just wondering if you actually treat Sox players in your practice, or do you have friends within the Sox organization who share with you some of the personalities involved. I don't currently work in MLB but have in the past. I still have many friends who do. The comments on AJ are from personal past experience.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 07:32 PM) The worst thing about losing AJP if the Sox do indeed lose him, will be the games the Sox play against him. As we all know, he's an amazingly likeable player when he is on your team. His antics in the 2005 postseason were legendary as he did everything possible to help us win games. But I'm going to hate people on this board turning on AJ, especially if he signs in our division and we play 18 games against him. You know he's going to want to beat the Sox so badly and he's going to do crazy s*** that infuriates our fan base. I pray he goes to the Dodgers or somewhere in the NL where we only see him a couple games. I can't believe at this point of his career AJ doesn't want to give the Sox a discount and play here 2-3 more years, then hang up his glove and remain in Chicago as a broadcaster/media guy. You know he'd be perfect at that. He should be one of those guys like Buehrle that retires as a Sox. Don't you agree it's going to be so annoying on here seeing our fans burying AJP if we play him 18 times??? It's going to be dreadful. He is tolerated on his team not likable in any stretch of the imagination. The only reason he will give the sox a discount is because he knows he will be tolerated here. I think he is gone unless he cannot get interest from another team or he gives the Sox a deep discount.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 09:27 PM) Happy Repeal Day everybody! Having a nice Edam cheese and a Paulaner HefeWeizen to celibrate.

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 09:36 PM) I would love a scouting breakdown or analysis on what you see in Morel that I'm (and almost everyone for that matter) not. Excellent with the glove. Was showing signs of a decent hitter prior to a back injury. I think he will surprise everyone if healthy.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 01:19 PM) Some people buy into the Verducci effect, some don't. I would have to imagine Peavy, Sale, and Quintana are at the top of that list for 2013. Even besides the Verducci effect of young pitchers, there is some stuff out there. It mostly involves pitchers who pitch alot in the playoffs and World Series (when most veterans really add innings). Pitchers who go deep into the playoffs sometimes tend to have down years the next year. Some speculate this is why it is difficult to repeat as Champions. Again anecdotal stuff but it is a guideline than a rule.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 02:37 PM) His metrics at 3B were also pretty bad until last year. I'm sure the Sox will take average. I think the Sox are hoping that Morel makes it all the way back (pun intended) and Keppinger is the superutility for a couple of years.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 01:22 PM) He fell and broke his fibula. It's not a major break he should be ready for ST. It probably priced him down a few million. With the year he had last year and the 3B market the way it is, he could have gotten 3 and $18 million. That's a nothing injury as long as the ankle wasn't dislocated, which it wasn't. You really don't even need the fibula. It's often used for bone grafts. There is no worry about this injury.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 12:18 PM) I would think, as long as there aren't any mechanical issues, there is a good chance that guys like Sale and Q will actually do better in 2012, rather than worse - now that they are stretched out innings-wise. Is that not typically the case? Not always. There is some anecdotal research out there that shows that an increase in the amount innings pitched above a certain levels decreases the pitcher's performance the following year.

QUOTE (Jose Paniagua @ Dec 5, 2012 -> 11:55 AM) I'll be interested to see what return would be for Floyd. For me to say 'dont trade Gavin' seems to be becoming a more and more outsider opinion. I don't totally see why. Between Sale, Peavy and Danks..injury is (as is the case with everyone) a concern. And at the end of the rotation, there's suckage potential. Again though, want to see what the return will be. I suppose this will be reminiscent of how we traded Jon Garland for an infielder who played a key role for a bit. The reason is that if Danks comes back strong (there is no reason to expect otherwise) you have a surplus of starting pitchers with a weak offense. If you deal from strength he is the most likely trade candidate. The Sox just need to hope that Sale and Q have no adverse effects of the huge increase in workload last year.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Dec 4, 2012 -> 10:29 AM) Must be nice to actually be able to get NG stuff. Sucks for anyone outside of Wisconsin that actually wants to try it, though. Same deal with Hill Farmstead in Vermont. Plenty of stuff both make, that will never see the light of day outside of their states, and DEFINITELY not down in South Carolina. I pick it up at Mars Cheese Castle on my way up 94. I go back to Marquette occasionally and go golfing and to the Osh Kosh air show every year.