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It seems the major criticism about KW is the farm system. The farm system only exists to make the major league club better. Whether that's by calling up players or trading them to acquire talent. We have young players for the near future at most positions with Swisher, Fields, Ramierez, Richar Quentin and the picthers. What do we need a stocked farm system for if we have young MLB talent. Players will sit in the minors. They are there for trade bait. As long as the MLB club has the talent the minors becomes an after thought. This comes from someone who watches the prospects as much as the MLB team.

Had breakfast at a table next to Harold Baines at a place in New Lenox last week.

I like the major league comparison of Smoak. A switch-hitting Paul Konerko [insert your own joke here]

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 05:16 PM) i sure hope the guy in your av is union. Yes, I work for a public university. EVERYBODY is union.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 04:03 PM) if right now Walk is unlocking a lot of things Alexei has never seen before, firing him tomorrow and bringing someone in with a whole new set of principles could derail that work. And Alexei's growth could be stunted. This is what not doing anything (on that front) could accomplish. People are missing the entire basis of my argument, which is that Walker is doing some good to really good things. Alexei, Quentin. The fault lies in the vets who are already set in their ways. It doesnt sound all that well thought out to say, "Just do SOMETHING." It's as if you're admitting that exasperation is taking over reason. Wrong don't you realize it's the coach's fault. Players have no responsibility and fans always know more than coaches. Coaches never realize that players have problems and never under any circumstances give them good advice. This town more than any other really seems to blame the coaches/management. Maybe it's because Chicago is such a union dominated city. The players need to be held more accountable.

QUOTE (RME JICO @ May 29, 2008 -> 02:39 PM) It is utterly amazing how many White Sox pitchers end up flaming out, have surgery, or get hurt after leaving the organization. It is like a kiss of death. What can this be attributed to? Conditioning? Workload? The elbow issue usually comes down to mechanics. It is a ligament that becomes stretched to the point of being useless and needs to be tightened up and reinforced. The ulnar nerve which sits under the ligament also becomes stretched which causes the "funny bone" pain or tingling going down the forearm. It's not a muscle that can become fatigued. Although too much workload can fatigue the forearm flexors and pronators which will put excessive stress on the ligament. Fortunately with the advent of more efficient and effective surgical procedures most of the pitchers who get this come back healthy. The problem normally lies in can the pitcher be effective with different mechanics and that is a crapshoot.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ May 27, 2008 -> 01:58 PM) Outside of the mainstream ( drugs and surgery) there's another method to actually heal musculoskeletal injuries called prolotherapy. It's not a bad option. It might even be able to help with his chronic hip problem. It won't help the hip problem as hyaline cartilage doesn't regenerate. you never know with the tenosynovitis but that type of thing requires alot of rest and would probably be better suited to the off season.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 27, 2008 -> 01:53 PM) I don't think it's that at all. I've personally observed this, as have many others, and I think this is a mental and/or vision problem. It's become a regular thing that he will swing at a pitch 18 inches off the plate in the dirt and the very next pitch watch sail over the dead center...that's not hip issues, it's vision or mental issues as far as I'm concerned. Probably, just another thing to watch with him. Some of the poor swings are due to the wrist/thumb. If he begins a swing, it will really hurt to check it. I'm sure he just let's the swing go due to the pain. This may account for many awful looking swings.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ May 27, 2008 -> 01:44 PM) Yea, I think PK just needs a rest and to heal up...there is no way he's actually this bad all of a sudden... one thing to consider is his chronic hip problem. This was discussed when he signed a long term deal. Watch for his hip rotation. Is it decreasing? Is he using more upper extremity and causing wrist and maybe other problems? Hip rotation is a key to hitting and his will decrease with his hip problem. it's just a matter of when it begins to decrease.

QUOTE (29andPoplar @ May 27, 2008 -> 10:43 AM) Great stuff. So it's fair to expect this whole year to be a struggle for him, quite possibly very subpar numbers wise. Yes, it depends how it responds to interventions such as ultrasound and iontophoresis which are more conservative interventions to decrease inflammation. He may do well if these modalities keep the inflammation down with an occasional injections. However, the is the best case scenario.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 27, 2008 -> 10:45 AM) Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's on his left thumb? Wouldn't it also bother him when catching throws at first base? Also, is this injury different than the gamekeeper's thumb that some catchers get? Gamekeeper's thumb is a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb. It's like any torn ligament the joint is unstable until surgery. You could brace it and play because it involves only the thumb. The problem with the one paulie has is that it involves the wrist as well because the tendons cross both joints. it doesn't really matter which thumb it is for hitting as it hurts to grip with either. He could brace it for the field but hitting is where it will bother him the most.

The problem he has is called DeQuervain's Syndrome. It's a tenosynovitis near the base of his thumb by the wrist. There is a synovial sheath which surrounds a couple of tendons and the function is to move your wrist toward the thumb side and grip with your thumb. This is why it hurts to grip the bat and swing. the tendons become inflammed andpush on the membrane which in turn produces more fluid and causes swelling in the area. this problem will not heal unless you rest it for around 8 weeks. the little rest and injections will improve the function and pain but it will be around for the rest of the season to some degree. He cannot have more than 3 injections to the area otherwise the tissues will start to degenerate. The question will be how much improvement is there with short period of rest. Bracing will not allow sufficient motion to hit properly.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 23, 2008 -> 11:13 AM) Good read on the future of steroid testing. If I was a MLB Player, I might seriously consider asking my agent if I could take part in this type of program. End all doubt. Longitudinal testing has long been thought to be the only way to catch the cheaters. The downside is that it is very time consuming, very labor intensive and assumes the athletes are clean when the baseline is taken. But most agree it's probably the best option right now.

The NFL surveys the players on a yearly basis about this very topic. Usually it has other conditions as well such as: would you use the PEDs if you knew they would take 10 years off your life. The response is overwhelmingly that they would use the PEDs. The most common reason is: where else can I make this type of money for my family. I have not worked in that area for awhile but I'm sure they still do it but the questions are different.

QUOTE (jackie hayes @ May 16, 2008 -> 01:44 PM) Eh...I'm sceptical. Not that the research is good, just that it is as finely tuned as it would need to be to make the comparison. Measuring the individual parts is one thing, gauging from those the 'overall effect' is orders of magnitude more difficult. That is true of highly abstract, simplified, mathematical models -- it has to be much more difficult when dealing with the body. I know I'm not an expert, but I'm still doubtful from analogues. If we could measure overall effects so perfectly, it would seem possible to design the One Perfect Pitching Motion, proven mathematically to be better than all others. Which is something I at least never saw. (Mark Prior excepted, of course.) And by "controlled experiments", I meant something a little more grisly than that research. Actually there was a proposed pitching mechanics model that would be the abolute best to avoid injuries. There were a couple of problems with it however. 1. No ones lever arms (bones) are exctly the same length 2. It is difficult to repeat the perfect delevery all the time even if you can meet it in the first place. Remeber there are practical approaches coming from pitcher coasches in the field and there are biomechanical research models. The troubles is finding where they meet. For this case it is pruely biomechanics as we can run tests on the prothsis as nauseium. We know evy little thing about them and the materials. This is how we know how much of an advantage it is.

QUOTE (jackie hayes @ May 16, 2008 -> 12:39 PM) I think the argument is that a prosthetic should be allowed if it restores the ability that the sprinter would have had, given normal development. Not that it should be allowed up to the point where he is equal to the best in the field. As for it being a gray area, that would be my argument against it. The body seems too intricate too allow anyone to calculate the net effect with any acceptable degree of confidence. What we really need is some sprinters to volunteer for a good, rigorous controlled experiment... There has been a great deal of research on runners motions, torques, velocity of each individual body segment, mostly on the lumbar spine and lower extremities. Through our motion analysis systems coupled to EMG units, we know when muscle activate and to what degree in the average runner and olympic caliber runners. Through Respiratory research (you may have seen these on the news where they run with the masks on) we know the amount of oxygen that is used and it's efficiency in the body and for individual muscles. The research is fairly reliable and valid. From the studies I've read and from experience with patients this is a subject that will not go away and needs to be addressed now because it will come around again.

QUOTE (jackie hayes @ May 16, 2008 -> 12:01 PM) Well, I don't think he's denying that there are some advantages. He seems to be saying there is no net advantage. Which seems plausible to me (I don't know, I'm just saying it may be true). Wouldn't there also be some competing disadvantages (like the propulsion provided by your calf muscles)? In sprinters there is minimal propulsion from the calf muscles. They act as shock absorbers and energy return mechanisms because of the velocity of the motion. There are tremendous advantages, it doesn't matter that his legs aren't real. They've been proven to give significant advantages. There are no significant disadvantages. This particular case is somewhat moot due to the fact that he isn't very good and probably won't even make the semi-finals. However, it sets a dangerous precedent for future runners with higher level abilities.

QUOTE (jackie hayes @ May 16, 2008 -> 09:41 AM) Bump (from the waaaaaaayback machine). Pistorius WILL be allowed to compete for a spot: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/sports/o...s/17runner.html It's an interesting precedent -- there must be strong evidence that a prosthetic gives someone an advantage, or he must be allowed to compete. It shifts the burden of proof from the athlete to the sport's governing committee. Still an interesting story, too, to me. There is very strong evidence that it gives him a large competitive advantage. 1. It makes the limbs much lighter thus he uses much less energy then other athletes , so he can run faster longer. 2. The prosthetic legs have a greater return of energy so he can move quicker (picture you runnig in sand and him running on cement) 3. There is no energy spent on lateral and vertical movement at the foot and ankle. Since his is solid all of the energy can be spent on forward motion. watch him run. Runners will have some up and down motion. He stays level saving alot of energy. Whether or not he should be allowed to run is a good discussion but he does have a significant advatage over other runners.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 15, 2008 -> 04:12 PM) The southeast side has a ton of corner stores with Mexican owners and I absolutely love Jarritos. The limon and mandarina ones are my favorite. Oh, and it's STILL pop. I agree. I love that stuff. I got hooked on it when I worked in the Mexican League. There is a place in Joliet where I get 2 liter bottles of it!!!!!!

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 15, 2008 -> 07:08 PM) Why don't people realize that a 5-6 mph difference between a pitcher's fastball and changeup is no good, especially if that pitcher has no out pitch? Location is a big part of Buehrle's game, but if you can't even get the hitters off balance by chaging speeds and such, only having perfect location is going to help you. That's right. It doesn't matter if your fastball is 85 if your change is 75. The greater the difference the more effective the pitches are.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 15, 2008 -> 11:00 AM) For Buerhle, its not about his velocity. The velocity police are too worried about radar gun readings. Its more about location, and working righties in. When Buerhle is on his A game, he drives his cutter in on the hands of righties. When he has problems, he pitches away from contact and goes away all the time. If he keeps the ball down, and pounds the ball in he will be fine. I am not overly worried with Buerhle. In his games, he has been dinked a lot, and has had a lot of bad defense and poor run support. That has skewed his line a bit more than we give it credit for. I think a key to watch will be the shoulder angle. If he's too far down he'll get under the ball and will not get that good tight rotation on the pitches, especially the cutter or in some cases the slider.

I still don't think he is healthy. there's something not quite right. I think he has dropped his arm angle a bit and it's messing with his control. I've looked and tape twice and it seems to vary. I can't pin it to fatigue it might be certain pitches but I can't tell.

I know I'll catch crap for this but I'll be the contrary opinion. Great player, big time jackass. One of the most arrogant people around. The White Sox did him a huge favor by keeping him on and playing him well past when he shouldhave been cut just so he could set the games played record. All that being said they should bring him back because he was ione of the best catchers of all time and was great to watch play.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 13, 2008 -> 02:32 PM) Nite our minors are completely devoid of any position prospects. Our number 1 pick must be a positional prospect. KW has said that good pitching prospects can always be traded for hitting (Swisher, Cabrera). So if it's close between a good pitcher and a good hitter when drafting, he will take the pitcher. I don't know how the Sox have players rated but at #8 I'll bet there is a pitcher he wants.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 7, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) not gonna read too much into that comment... it's an industry term