ptatc

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 7, 2005 -> 02:25 PM) I believe he had to change his delivery due to arm trouble, am I wrong? I don't know his history well enough to know if it's compensating for an injury. I hope the coaches can smooth it out a little.

Has anyone seen Tracey pitch before. Are his mecjanics always like this? I really dislike the mechanics. He never swings his arm below his shoulders and keeps his arm high throughout the motion. This causes him to sling the ball and always lean back. This makes his delivery very difficult to repeat. I can see why he has trouble with command. He needs to work on this or I doubt he will have an impact at the major league level.

QUOTE(CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Mar 5, 2005 -> 10:25 AM) Scenario: I'm a kid trying to decide wether to use steroids. Maybe I know Bonds , Caminiti, Canseco and Giambi have all won MVP'S. Maybe I know Lyle Alzado and other have died or been disfigured because of overabuse of steroids. "Oh wait" I say to myself, "Frank Thomas has won 2 MVP's and would have had a 3rd if not for Giambi. Maybe I can do it without steroids. Hmmm what does Frank Thomas and all these other guys have that I don't have? A huge muscular body. I'll get caught if i use steroids. Hello, HGH is still usable and not included in the drug policy. HGH is the way to go now if i want a big body. " Frank Thomas' influence re: "right way to do things" means nothing if you don't have his kind of physique, which is why guys use the stuff in the first place. I believe HGH is in the drug policy. The problem is HGH can only be detected with a blood test and the MLB only uses urine samples.

QUOTE(easyw @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 09:39 PM) What some of you know. What the youngsters may not. Read all about it: http://southsideadventures.blogspot.com/ That's so true about McCuddy's, Sox games haven't been the same. I was only old enough to go there for one summer after games but it is something I'll remember forever.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 09:12 PM) i agree that pauly would be a plus offensive catcher, but there is no way to tell what his offensive numbers would be if he still caught. the whole thing with catchers is that it is taxing on the body and you wear down easily. in addition, catchers focus on defense first, and dont spend as much time in the cage. i dont doubt pauly woudl be a very good offensive catcher, but he would probably not put up the same numbers that he does now Probably the best not on steriods.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 08:01 PM) The usual protocol starts pool exercises. There are devices which allow you to run weightless in the water. Then you do low impact things such as stairmaster and inclined leg presses. Eventually as long as the bone is fully healed they'll add an arch support with enough cushioning to decrease the impact forces. If all this is OK, the jogging and running start on even sufacrs progressing to uneven surfaces. I'm not sure where he is at but that is the typical progression for his type of injury. After reading the artcile, my guess is that he is at the lowimpact stage of the rehab process. With his size and hitting style, my guess for return to full speed playing would be about 6 weeks maybe 8 depending on how his body/foot reacts to the impact and what type of orthotic they put in his shoe.

QUOTE(TLAK @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 07:52 PM) What do you do with a guy like that? Resistance machines? Stretching? Running? He's going to want to hit the first day, do you let him? I know you haven't seen him but what would be the usual protocol? The usual protocol starts with pool exercises. There are devices which allow you to run weightless in the water. Then you do low impact things such as stairmaster and inclined leg presses. Eventually as long as the bone is fully healed they'll add an arch support with enough cushioning to decrease the impact forces. If all this is OK, the jogging and running start on even sufacrs progressing to uneven surfaces. I'm not sure where he is at but that is the typical progression for his type of injury.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 11:36 AM) My problem witht hepayroll thing is a bit different. I feel that it is smart to leave yourself some room. If Buehrle tears a rotator cuff (god forbid) then you'd want to have an out. I agree with the Beane theory as far as part of the season is finding out who you are and what you need. But, my issue is with the trades. I feel that we overpay in terms of prospects to avoid actually paying the players contracts. I hope that the payroll room means that we won't trade one of the big three prospects in order to avoid paying another milion or two. That is because that is very shortsighted. You don't invest 2 million in signing bonus money and time developing to skimp out on the same money later. As far as the interview, pretty much company line stuff and nothing new. This is a morbid way of looking at it but if MB went down with a cuff problem for the year, insurance and worker's comp would cover most if not all of the contract and the Sox could use that money to get a different player.

QUOTE(CubKilla @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 11:17 AM) Do it next time then. The treatment of Fisk has been a long time bone of contention with me and shaped my overall impression w/JR, his Organization, and how it is run. Look back at the history of that decision and tell me if you honestly think the White Sox looked good to the fans and, more importantly, MLB players in regards to their unceremonious dumping of Fisk in Cleveland. Don't like what I post, don't read. I think JR spoke the truth. Fisk was washed up nobody wanted him, nobody likes him and JR showed some class by letting Fisk break the record. After the Sox cut him, I didn't see anyone else even giving him a shot. His knees were bad, his back was a wreck. He burned bridges with everyone he met. Look how long it took for Boston to bend over and talk to him and that was after a change of ownership and they needed good PR. All in all he should be grateful JR allowed him to break a record while sacrificing team performance. Don't get me wrong I loved watching hime play and he is one of the greatest catchers of all time. His anger (and he's got alot of it) is misplaced in this situation.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 06:54 PM) Paul a catcher? thats freakin hilarious! Was that what he was drafted as? He was drafted as a catcher but a chronic hip problem forced him to move positions. He was at third for a little but (go figure) he wasn't quick enough so he wound up at first.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Mar 3, 2005 -> 04:00 PM) http://whitesox.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/ar...t=.jsp&c_id=cws The important part of the article is that since Frank fractured the navicular (the keystone of the arch of the foot) he has not been able to stregthen his legs. I'm sure he was non-weight bearing for quite awhile. With his hitting mechanics and any mechanics for that matter it all starts with the legs. That will be the determining factor. But if anyone can get him back quickly its Hermie.

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Feb 21, 2005 -> 01:55 PM) Wasn't it his tricep? Yes, it was his triceps.

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Feb 21, 2005 -> 10:50 AM) Meh, Rauch just sucked. Had nothing to do with being rushed to the majors, IMO. Some highly touted prospects are just that - highly touted prospects. When 95% of them fail miserably, people like to try to find excuses or pass the blame off on something. Most of the time, though, they just don't have what it takes to be a big league ball player. And I'd wager that a great majority of the time, it has to do with mental make-up. Dan Wright didn't have it. Jon Rauch didn't have it. So far, Jon Garland hasn't had it. And countless other prospects on different teams didn't have it. Anyone know if McCarthy is metally tough? Or is he a mental midget? Mental make up has something to do with it but so does injuries. Rauch had a fairly severe shoulder injury in the minors and was never the same after. Of course maybe it was mental also. Some players don't have the mental make up to fully recover from the injury.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 20, 2005 -> 07:30 PM) The main reason I bring up arm injuries and surgeries over others is simply due to the fact that arm injuries almost always lead to a pitcher's pure stuff becoming worse. Knee and leg injuries may reduce velocity to some degree because the pitcher is not able to push off the mound with as much power and force as usual, but that will not effect velocity on pitches nearly as much as an arm injury will. Case in point, when El Duque came into the league, he was around the 89-92 MPH range, or maybe more...I can't recall exactly. Now he is around the 85-88 range...some of it is due to his age(48 year olds tend to throw it a little softer then 32 year olds), and some is due to some surgery he has had. When RJ and Clemens and Schilling came into the league, they were around the 97-100 range, and still are...a lot of that is due to their great physical condition, a lot is due to advanced medical science, a lot is due to good pitching motions, and a lot is due to flat out luck. However, to compare any of our pitchers to any of the top 10 in the majors is silly. The only two with the stuff to do so are Freddy and Contreras, and I don't invision that happening any time soon. Your point is basically true for the older pitchers but not necessarily for younger ones. Many young pitchers throw harder after surgeries. This is due to the fact that growing up many of themhad never really worked hard to stregthen thier throwing arm. After the rehab process, the arm is actually stronger than before. Roger Clemens is a good example of this.

QUOTE(SuperSteve @ Feb 20, 2005 -> 06:27 PM) What about Schillings ankle? That is a big deal. I think he will be healthy, yet there's always a lil chance. The ankle surgery is really no big deal. The tendons around the outside of his ankle came loose from their tunnel and the surgeon needed to tie them down. It was a big deal during the WS because there was insufficient time for the incision to heal that's where the blood came from.

QUOTE(winodj @ Feb 20, 2005 -> 09:27 AM) Does the position of the starter really matter? If he's a quality starter and he's in a rotation - who cares if he's 3rd or 5th or 1st? More of a general baseball question I guess. the only real difference is the #5 is the one teams normally will skip a turn if there is an off day or a rain/snow out.

QUOTE(Chisoxmatt @ Feb 18, 2005 -> 03:48 PM) We've discussed this topic too many times. This is the way it is always going to be. Deal with it. I'm happy to see you're going to roll over. I for one will fight for Sox to convince people otherwise.

Does anyone else have XM radio? I love the new 24/7 MLB station. However today Rob Dibble and Kevin Kennedy were interviewing Mark Mulder. They asked him that since he was a Cardinal now "was he a Cubs or Sox fan." Mulder responded "I was a Sox fan". Dibble said "you are just playing up to the Cardinal fans there are no White Sox fans, I know because I played for the Sox, there are no White Sox fans." It's this perception by the national media of "Chicago is all Cubs" that drives me crazy.

QUOTE(Leonard Zelig @ Feb 18, 2005 -> 01:39 PM) The screwball is the toughest on the elbow, I believe. Is there even anybody in MLB who throws one now? Jim Mecir throws one. The crewball is not that hard on the arm. It is just very difficult to throw with any command.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Feb 14, 2005 -> 04:51 PM) I'm not sure which type. I imagine they were metabolic. Does Canseco make the distinction in his book? Can a player inject himself with metabolic steroids under a physicians approval? Are there any cases of physicians using anabolic steroids for cancer patients? Predinsone and such are not injected. Canseco is referring to anabolic steroids. I javen't got the book yet to see if he names the steroid but the only type that would benefit performance are the anabolics. I don't know about steroids for oncology patients not my field but I would think they would too hard on the system of that type of patient.

QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 14, 2005 -> 04:28 PM) For the price morneau>konerko. In as little as year or two money aside it will be morneau>konerko. I am sure not many will agree with me. I agree that morneau>konerko, although PK will still be a good player. However Mauer>>AJ.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Feb 14, 2005 -> 12:47 PM) My knee felt fine after about 9 to 10 months. I had ACL and MCL worked on. My doctor had to move part of my hamstring muscle to the side of my knee to keep it from bowing outward. ACL was blown and MCL was severely stretched. This was about 7 years ago also. I would think Boone will be strong and ready to roll by the start of this season but I am not sure how is trust factor in his knee will be. Time will tell on that I guess. Physically he should be ready to go. I don't remember which knee was injured but he may have some difficulty with planting and pivoting on that leg. The rehab may be different due to the type of ACL graft used also. Some physicians use a section of the semitendonosis hamsrting tendon, some use part of the patella tendon. Both have adavantages and disadvantages dealing with baseball specific activities.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Feb 14, 2005 -> 09:51 AM) Yeah I know an ACL injury is normally a 2 year recovery time. One to fully heal the 2nd to over come it mentally. It is possible he could impact though. I have had the injury and the surgery so I am familiar with the recovery time...mentally it is a lot harder to come back from than the physical part. I doubt Aaron will have a big effect early but down the stretch he could. Most porfessional athletes will tell you it takes about 18 months for the physical recovery and the mental trust in the knee to return. Physically you're fine in about 9-12 months, it takes awhile for the knee to feel "normal."

After reading my previous post, I apologize for the rant. I'm listening to the radio and all of the people who are deying all of the things about steroids is frustrating. The topic is finally out in the open and eveyone is denying everything. Even when anyone who has ever spent anytime in a MLB locker room knows that most of this is probably true. With the quality of people and opinions on this site, it seems like a good place to vent.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Feb 14, 2005 -> 10:08 AM) I don't care about legal or illegal. Laws change ever day, if today they were legalized, would it then be OK? I heard somewhere that the book doesn't accuse certain players that everyone seems to think are juiced, like Sammy. Canseco won't directly accuse anyone whom he didn't actually SEE using steroids. I found that very inetersting. Does that give his stories any more credibilty? Some laws may change. The fact is these types of steroids are illegal and banned by all sporting bodies (now that baseball has finally caught up) because of what they due to the body in the long run. All of the substances currently in use (that we know of) tear apart the body from the inside out. They improve current ability and sacrifice logevity. Most of the NFL players apporve of them. The surveys they do each year ask "would you do steroids if I told you it will take 10 years off your life." Most of the players say "Yes, because where else can I make this kind of money." The sports need to police it because the players won't. Hopefully, this is just the beginning. If the drug policy can catch the offenders the game can get back to being credible. The abuse is such a joke in the locker rooms because everyone knows who is doing it and who isn't. Borderline players use it to get the big payday. The real problem will come when they begin "genetic doping." With the advances in genes and genome reasearch there is talk of altering the genetic structure of a person when they are young. The theory is to do it with genetic diseases such as Downes Syndrome, but you know people will evetually corrupt it when money is involved.