whitesoxfan101

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 20, 2007 -> 10:01 PM) Maybe if Danks and Masset are the stars you apparently feel they already are. Danks has been good, but you mentioned McCarthy and flyballs. You do realize Danks has a higher homerun rate than McCarthy even with McCarthy's bloated ERA? You mentioned McCarthy's bb/k ratio. You do realize its much better than Masset's even after Nick's fine performance today? Danks and Masset both have decent potential as does McCarthy. Someone may get hurt. Someone may become bad. Someone may have a Matt Clement and get hit in the head and not be any good anymore. It will be fun to see how it turns out after a year, 2 years etc. Masset does a lot better with ground balls than Brandom, and Danks strikeout ratio is a lot better than Brandon. I'm not saying either guy we got is a star yet, but they'll both be at minimum similar to McCarthy, so to get 2 for 1, with one of ours a lefty, for Brandon, is a steal at minimum. But I'm glad to see Brandon McCarthy reads the boards

I will always wonder how far back the back problems REALLY go, and if they have had any affect on how much he has struggled at the dish for the majority of his career.

QUOTE(diegotony06 @ May 20, 2007 -> 09:56 PM) I have had 3 lower back surgeries. 2 of them were fusions. I have had nothing but problems since having surgery. My advice would be do everything you can to avoid it. Once you have surgery on your back you are never the same. Some people have good results, but even they will tell you, your back is never the same once they cut you. As for complications, my last surgery has left me with no feeling in my right leg, and no strength whatsoever, and I suffer from chronic pain in both legs and also in my back still. My case is more extreme than many others, so don't take my problems that I have had, and assume someone else would have the same results. I'm just letting you know the problems you can have. Hope I helped. Sorry to hear that, but none of it surprises me. Back surgery seems about as serious as it gets in terms of non cancerous or neck surgeries.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 20, 2007 -> 09:48 PM) \ Missing several days, getting cortisone shots and hiting .200 also will hurt the big payday chances. I was asking more on the line of why he just wouldn't do it. Maybe there is danger involved. I am not a doctor, but I'd assume it's pretty dangerous to have surgery on a herniated disc on your back. I would guess he figured he could play through it like last year, but it hasn't worked that way. And I REALLY hope we just DL Crede and call up Fields to play if this is significant. Despite his great play today, Pablo at 3rd is not cool and Cintron has been atrocious this year.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 20, 2007 -> 09:33 PM) Still way too early to judge. I wouldn't write off McCarthy. He struggled mightily, but has come around, even if his bb/k ratio isn't the greatest right now. His past history suggests that should improve and the guy is now 4-4 for a team 10 games under .500. I really don't think thats a bad thing. His ERA is still near 6. Even if McCarthy is good, it's going to work out to be a very bad trade for them considering what they gave up. When your best case senario is the trade only turns out very bad, it's a bit of an issue for the GM.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ May 20, 2007 -> 09:40 PM) It might be wisest to trade him last winter, while you could still get something for him. Oh wait a minute... Nevermind. It could be looked back upon as Kenny's biggest mistake with us. I can't even imagine how much we would have got for him. QUOTE(Dick Allen @ May 20, 2007 -> 09:42 PM) what kind of complications go along with that surgery that would make him elect not to have it? The potential of losing out on his big payday if things don't go according to plan.

Of Masset's first 12 outs, only three were in the air, with three via the k and 6 on the ground. As he tired a bit, he gave up 3 flyouts out of his last 5 outs as the ball stayed up a bit more, but early on when he was fresh, he was a ground ball machine. And also, after the 1st, he didn't have a single walk until the not so stupid move to walk Aramis in the 6th to get to Daryle Ward in the 6th (not his fault our manager took him out, begging the Cubs to PH Lee for Ward in a huge spot AGAIN).

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ May 20, 2007 -> 09:32 PM) Only person who doesn't belong is Logan IMO. What did he do wrong? That slam was a wind aided shot on a pretty good pitch to a guy that Logan should not face, ever. Sisco is simply abominable, at least Logan can get good lefties out, and unless Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Grady Sizemore, Curtis Granderson, and Mark Teahen are getting traded, we need somebody like that in our division. And at least Boone can throw a strike. Sisco is the only guy in the pen I'm for sure needs to go away right now. Unlike David and Boone, he has a lot of MLB history and none of it says anything other than he's a 5.05 ERA reliever with no control. I'll take my chances with Boone.

I still think last years big 3 in the pen will be fine (Slim, Matt, Bobby), and I like Logan when he's used properly (ie against lefties), but I just have worried about Sisco and Aardsma since March, and Masset seems like an exclusive starter type with how he's pitched, so when almost half of your bullpen is a concern, it's a problem. IF Aardsma would throw the damn bender like he did to Alf more often (or just try to), he'd be a lot better off. But right now, people are treating him like a one pitch pitcher, and for good reason. I just hope we are smart enough to send down Sisco here soon, we have our LOOGY in Boone and our generally good lefty in Matt, we don't need Sisco.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ May 20, 2007 -> 05:43 PM) You're all over the place sometimes. So it's hard to tell. And it's not like you don't have a history of starting knee-jerk reaction threads when things aren't going well. I'm consistent. I'm knee jerk both positive and negative, just when your .500 it is negative a lot more often

Detroit is definitely outplaying the Ducks, but Gugiere is just standing on his head. Not much you can do about it, he's playing like he did a few years ago during their other great playoff run.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ May 20, 2007 -> 05:51 PM) Spurs up 1-0. Don't blame Deron Williams, though. 34 points, 9 dimes. Oh, is it safe to safe that Tim Duncan is the best player of this era? I thought it was Shaq a couple years ago. But if Duncan wins another one, I think he gets the title. Shaq at his best was definitely better than Duncan, but Duncan has been dominant for almost a decade now, so his logetivity of dominance is beginning to win out. If only Shaq had Duncan's overall work ethic....

Well it's went from an all time bad deal to just a horrible trade for Texas with the recent turn of events. Still 2 k's and 2 walks though, his ratio there is not good enough to be consistently good for long stretches between that (25/21 for the year) and all the fly balls he gives up.

Birmingham lost 5-1, but more important is Getz was in the lineup, but somebody walked for him in the top of the 1st. It occured in the top of the 1st, so I assume maybe Getz fouled one off himself funny or something like that to get knocked out of the game. Hope he's alright. Egbert gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs (but only 2 were earned) and had 6 k's, and Hernandez gave up a solo HR and had 2 k's in 2 innings. Offense was silent once again. Charlotte lost 9-3. Floyd could not keep the ball down and looked awful, and his line reflected that (4.1 IP, 6 hits, 3 k's, no walks, 4 runs earned, 80 pitches), and Babula and Pollock were bad in relief. Fields was 2 for 3 with a run and 2 walks, he's really heating up. Owens 1 for 5 with a k, Pedro Lopez had a solo homer for a 1 for 5 night, Anderson 1 for 4 with a k, and Rogowski and Young finally did something, Rogowski 2 for 4 with 2 k's, a double, and run, and Young 2 for 5 with an RBI double.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 20, 2007 -> 05:17 PM) He was being a smart ass--some of that black colored green. You may hate me with a passion, but I credit you for being the only person here that actually understand when I'm being serious and when I'm not. Major kudos, that's not easy to do.

We have now beaten Carlos Zambrano twice (4-2 against us career). Once it was Felix Diaz for his first MLB win, now it's Nick Masset for his 2nd. I guess next time we face Zambrano, we should start a young guy with 2 career wins. Either way, I love that stat.

Also, that last play was awesome to watch, but how did Soriano not beat that easily with his speed? That took a long time to develop.

Bullpen squirts itself for the 3rd day in a row, but the Thome affect makes it not matter. Masset beating Zambrano is always clever to look back on.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ May 20, 2007 -> 05:06 PM) They all know Wrigley is the perfect place to take a s***. Why would they waste perfectly good poop on that joint? SOX WIN!!! What the hell was that? How did they get Soriano? Was he running?

This presents a problem if Pagan reaches, considering what is imminent in that lineup. DO NO THROW AN OFFSPEED PITCH OUTSIDE THE ZONE!!. There ya go Bobby, 2 outs.

That was quite an at bat by Theriot, he was completely overmatched by the stuff and somehow gets a walk. You can't walk him there though.

Why is he arguing? That wasn't even close to being a check, he went easily.

99? I wonder if that's right....I haven't seen him anywhere near that all year. Nice at bat by Floyd right there, wow. And now Floyd is tossed for whining about an obvious swing. Nice.

Romney doing so well doesn't surprise me, but the ambulance chaser ahead of Hilary and Obama shocks me.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ May 20, 2007 -> 04:56 PM) Whatever, you overblow everything. Besides this series even with some of them having not 2 pretty era's the bullpen has been getting the job done. Im not going to let 1 horrid series bother me unless it continues onto the next couple. Although I admit of course part of it is the offense, we do lead the majors in blown saves and those ERA's are still bad. It's a cause for concern right now, other than Jenks and Thornton, who have looked good lately.