YASNY

One of our minor league centerfielders plays so well that they just can't keep on the farm, then maintains it at the big league level.

Andre Eithier is 31 years old. His prime is behind him. His contract is in front of him. This does not compute.

Here's the link. Watching the Sox approach the September fold, I could see that the pitching staff was self destructing. I could see Robin using the young guys after the Sept. call ups because Sale, Quintana were worn out and Liriano was just bad. I could also see the hitters pressing because they were seeing the staff run of of gas, too.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 06:32 PM) Boyer didn't lie, he gave the vaguest of numbers. What difference does it make?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 09:06 AM) If somebody just wants to give him a thumbs up for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 23, 2013 -> 01:59 PM) When I read 25-homer potential, I generally consider it to mean an average of 25, meaning he is probably a 30-35 homer hitter during his prime years. I read it as top possible production.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 11:10 AM) I guess I just disagree that a platoon partner for Viciedo was their biggest need. Third base, IMO, was way more important, and I'm fine with KW shoring up the bu,llpen and adding a starter, which he did. Platoon partner for Viciedo would have helped last year, but it had to be 4th or 5th on the list. We had Wise and/or Danks as lefty swinging outfielders on the bench that could have platooned with Viciedo.

Bottom line, they can't keep playing at Wrigley without major renovations. If Emanuel doesn't allow the restrictions to be removed, I'd just build in the burbs.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 20, 2013 -> 10:56 PM) I completely forgot we had Fukudome until just now. Fukudome's stay on the south side was extremely forgettable.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jan 20, 2013 -> 02:05 PM) Never heard a bad thing about him. Apparently he and his wife were married for 71 years! All I've ever heard about Mr. Musial is that he was the ultimate gentleman. He will be be missed.

Thank you all for your interesting points of view.

I haven't visited the buster in years. I'm not planning on clicking on any other threads. However, I did want to post this here and see what the reacton(s) might be. I just posted this on Facebook, so some of you have or will see it there as well. Gun control leads to gun confiscation which leads to a gun free population. Liberals love that thought! But, there is one more part in this equation: A gun free population is a helpless, controlled population. It's the proverbial slippery slope. America used to be a nation that would take so much, but only so much before it collectively said "Hell No! This will not stand!" I don't know if that America still exists. We've been indoctrinated since youth by public education, morally corrupted by various forms of entertainment, spiritually supressed by the elimination of God from our public lives, and brainwashed by a complicit newsmedia. My generation has witnessed the slow and steady progression toward "The Wussification of America". Just this week, two little 6 year old boys were suspended from school for playing cops and robbers by simulating guns with their hands and yelling "Pow!". What happened to letting little boys actually be little boys? These kids are growing up without a gender identity, or a confused one at best. Boys are growing up not knowing who they are supposed to be. The messages they are receiving are suppressing their potential manhood. If a boy shows signs of not following the program, they pump them full of Ritalin or some other mind-messing drug and stick a label on them of 'troubled'. Women, you've been victimized by this grand scheme also. You are now in the work force because it takes two incomes to make any progress, but they are also collecting taxes from twice as many workers as they were just two generations ago. While you bring home the bacon, you send your kids to their indoctrination camps knows as school, come home from work tired and not quite as on top of things as you should be when it comes to what they are teaching your kids. Now, I know it's dad's responsibility too but we used to have at least one parent with their fingers on the pulse of their kids' lives at all times. We need to wake up before it's too damn late.

My thoughts on today's developments: When Emery was hired, I was impressed with what I read about him and after one season I have no reason to change my original impression. He was forced to retain Smith as HC for one year, so he still is in benefit of the doubt status as far as I'm concerned. Due to Dave Toub's performance the past nine years, that man has earned my respect and it was only fair to Toub for Emery to let him out of the last year of his contract, due to the fact he would have been working for a coach he had competed against for the position. That said, Toub's remarks about the interview process with Emery just reinforced my opinion of Emery at that this point. In a nutshell, I have to trust that Emery effectively did his due diligence before naming Trestman HC, and the subsequent assistant coaching hires. I hope he retains Marinelli as DC.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 16, 2013 -> 01:25 PM) IIRC when the Dbacks claimed him at the previous deadline, the Sox asked for Paul Goldschmidt, which ended teh discussions. Which I'd guess was the expected response.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 16, 2013 -> 11:30 AM) Not resigning Konerko would make a youth movement more palpable. You don't trade a player who has been with the team for close to 15 years unless it is per his request. There's no harm in trying to luck into a division title this year. That's honestly what it will take, and I'd put the Sox chance of doing it at about 25%. Not based on anything solid but a hunch because of things I've read over the years, I'd doubt that PK would accept only a trade to the DBacks.

If you were building a team and you had your choice of a young Frank Thomas or a young Paul Konerko, knowing whoever you chose would be your 1B for the next 8 years ... Frank, hands down.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jan 13, 2013 -> 03:08 PM) Oh yea, I think Frank is a first ballot HOF'er. But I heard some idiot on ESPN hinting that he thinks Thomas was on steroids and he should not get in the HOF. So you never know, a lot of dumbasses have a HOF vote. An idiot on ESPN ... imagine that.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 12, 2013 -> 10:41 PM) That's all fine and good, but overpaying for the likes of Nick Swisher and Edwin Jackson has gotten us where? In a pretty difficult bind. Same thing with adding Dunn coming into 2011 when that seemed like a pretty logical move to take us over the top. Like most of the past decade, you'd have to guess the front office to see where they are with the roster at midseason...if Verlander and Scherzer both pitch like Cy Young winners, they suffer no major injuries and the back end of the Detroit bullpen can stand up, a huge/risky trade alone won't be enough. Like it or not, we're just with "wait and see" until some of the younger position players develop. In 1983 we won the division, then added Tom Seaver. In 2005 we won the World Series, then added Jim Thome. Great plans, but nothing is guaranteed.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jan 12, 2013 -> 11:19 AM) As someone who never played the game at a level high enough to know the difference, I am far from an expert on the matter. But the explanation I've heard from other people is that most batters are right-handed, and a ball hit to right field by a right hander will have spin on it that causes the ball to slice pretty hard, making it hard to read. A right-hander pulling the ball to left field will cause no such sideways spin so it's easier to play. Good point.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 11, 2013 -> 07:16 PM) Damn, 13 years? That's the max, from what I understand without really giving a rat's ass one way or the other.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 11, 2013 -> 01:44 PM) Doing this from mobile so sorry if some of these are incomplete C- Most unique position. Durability coveted. Sitting behind plate for 120 games takes its toll. Need a strong arm to throw out base stealers as well. Often the most intelligent players because, as they are seeing everything and may be calling what pitches are coming. That's why they make for the best managers later. 1B- Probably least important position. Need fast reactions for line drives. Lots of teams try to hide a defender here or use a player that fails at playing another position. 2B/SS- Need to be right handed. Need to be very quick as they are covering a lot of ground on fast groundballs. Throwing arm for 2B isn't important. It is for SS since they are making a much longer throw to 1B. SS gets a lot more plays than 2B because there are more Right handed hitters. 3B- Does not need to be as athletic as 2B/SS as they aren't covering nearly as much ground playing near the foul line, but they are getting more plays than 1Bmen. Arm is important since you're throwing across the infield. Do need the ability to quickly charge down the line and cover bunts. Look at Miguel Cabrera for someone who has no such ability, and teams do try and take advantage of this. RF- Arm is the most important thing here. Need to prevent a runner coming from first from taking an extra base to third. CF- Usually very athletic and fast. They cover the most ground of anyone in the field. LF- Arm isn't as important since no way are you throwing out anyone at 1B. If you watch baseball, you'll often hear about defense up the middle. This refers to 2B/SS/CF as they are considered the hardest to play and most important. As for your second question, yes, offensive performance expectations are often formed based on defensive positions. Look at it this way, a team is not very likely to have a SS or 2B who can hit a lot of home runs. They are usually smaller, quicker players. But the make up of a good offense still needs the power to come from somewhere. That's why if you play at the corner positions, you are expected to hit for power. Good job! But let me expand on it a bit. C - Field General. At a glance can make sure position players positioned correctly and alert. If not, he can ask for time and chat with the pitcher. Also usually relays defensive play signals to the fielders. 1B - Ability to scoop bad throws out of the dirt is important. Also, a tall, left handed player is preferable. Height make for a bigger target and longer stretch. Lefties apply tags a hair quicker on pickoff attempts. 2B/SS - Well said. 3B - Reflexes are crucial here, defensively. A quick reacting 3B can save several doubles down the line per season. To make my point, I give Brooks Robinson. He made the HOF basically because of his glove. No slouch with bat but was a GREAT 3B. LF - Generally a place to hide your lumbering ox with a good bat, along with 1B. Most good defensive corner OF's seem to end up in RF for some reason, and it goes beyond arm strength. To make the point, Rios is better defensively in RF than Viciedo, but does not have the better arm. CF - Calls for any ball he can get to. He's the general of the outfield. Usually the best all around defensive outfielder of the three starters. RF - See my comments on LF.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 11, 2013 -> 12:30 PM) Thanks for the update. Next time we'll ask. As crappy as your arguments and waffling has been in this thread, I have kept my opinions to myself because you seem to think the mods/admins are picking on you for some reason other than your irrational, knee-jerk responses. But you sir, have reached a new low as this retort is one of the most condescending, rude remarks that I have seen on Soxtalk in recent memory.

QUOTE (Joxer_Daly @ Jan 11, 2013 -> 01:25 PM) Ok, here's another. Apologies if these questions are irritating for some of you. I'm just wondering about the various positions in the infield and outfield - can anyone point me in the direction of an article that can give me a good understanding of what are the various attributes required for each position? Prior to taking an interest in baseball, I would have just assumed that the skills would be fairly universal across the board; basically catching and throwing. However, particular players are assigned to particular positions and I read discussions about such-and-such a player being suited to such-and-such a position, 3B, 1B, LF, etc. I searched, but most breakdowns that I read were little more than just fairly basic explanations of where each position was. Why would someone be suited to one base over another, etc. This brings me on to the post below from the Youth Movement thread: Why would a players defensive position have a bearing on how they should perform in offense? Why would a 3B be expected to hit more or less homers than someone playing another defensive position? Again, apologies if my line of questioning is of a basic level and annoying for some of you. I can only definitively speak for myself here, but I'd guess there are lot of Soxtalkers that would agree with me. Your questions are in no way an annoyance. While your questions may be basic, they are intelligent questions from someone that is trying to learn the game. We've had the benefit of being baseball fans from some point in our childhood on into adulthood. You have not had that opportunity which so many of us take for granted. As far as I am concerned, ask any question you want to ask. Someone will give you a good answer within a short amount of time, I'm certain. That said, I hope you enjoy learning the game and being a Sox fan more and more as time passes.

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Jan 11, 2013 -> 01:38 PM) Dude, it's Bill James. What are you going on about? Can he hit a curveball?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 10, 2013 -> 08:06 PM) 10-15 years ago, during the steroid age, you could expect an 800+ OPS out of both 3B and SS (especially). Now, 2B has become more of a power position than even 3B, which is a bit strange since you normally think of 3B as bigger/stronger, typically. What you have to be happy with these days at 3B is anything above a 725 OPS. Morel's OPS was just atrocious, it's why the average for the entire season at that position for the year was around only 600, and Hudson didn't help matters, either. Everyone would be elated at this point if Beckham could put up a 725 or even 750. Keppinger's right in the middle of that range, although his defense is suspect (not unlike Youk or Teahen or Viciedo). I still wish we could go back for post 2008 and have figured out a way to keep Juan Uribe from eating himself out of the game....he seemed to be happiest in Chicago, although he lost his motivation a bit after 2005 (just my perception, maybe it's wrong). It's ironic. Most of the time Uribe was with the Sox, it seemed like most of Soxtalk would rather castrate him than have him on the roster.