chitownsportsfan

I was at the Mariners and Tigers afternoon game yesterday. It was a 4-0 Mariners win that took over 2:40 minutes. There was literally no action from the Tigers other than a scattered hit or two and a walk. Luckily Elias likes to work fast, but Scherzer and Coke were ridiculous. I would like to see a rule much like the PGA Tour does where if you take too long eventually you get a warning and they put you on a clock. If you still take to long after the warning it's a balk. I don't think asking the pitcher to take less than 15 seconds between receiving the ball and throwing / pickoff is too much to ask.

not watching the game just following the box but good god seems like hitting with RISP has been horse s*** for 2 weeks now.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ May 31, 2014 -> 09:51 AM) I played against him in regionals. I played for Aurora University. Jirchele went 0-3 against us. But they beat us 3-2. Nice, one thing about us DIII guys, we still make great softball ringers.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 30, 2014 -> 10:10 PM) Who? I have never heard of him I just googled him, ha, he's a left handed hitting outfielder that played DIII baseball, just like yours truely, but unlike me he was a superstar on a really good team that won the DIII title his senior year and then got signed to a minor league deal after going undrafted. Has good bloodlines as his father and brother also played pro ball, albeit without making MLB. He's hitting over .500 for the Dash in an extremely small sample size. Is also already 24, so would be a minor miracle if he ever panned out into anything other than org filler. Still, good story and always nice to see DIII guys in pro ball. Guy I played against in the GLIAC Jim Dieters was drafted in the 30th round by the Indians but never made it above A ball after suffering an injury.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 30, 2014 -> 02:44 PM) I think it depends on how far away we really are and if you can eventually turn Quintana into 2 or more valuable pieces. Sale is a bit different in that true aces are so hard to find, yet his health will always be a concern. If you can swing a Ricky Williams type deal for him, you have to take it. And that "true ace" can still only pitch at most twice in a 7 game series. You need front line starters to win in the post season, with Quintana the Sox already have 2. If they can get one more, they'd be set. Hey the draft is next week...

No, because nobody is going to give you equal value. If someone wants to offer a Wil Myers type deal up then yea do it, but Dayton Moore probably isn't walking through that door.

hey beautox me and you we start a newsletter...

Grades are on a curve for roster spot, if at all: A+ Chris Sale -- won't knock him for the injury as he should have never gone that many pitches in April. Is essentially unhittable when healthy with a whip of .689 and a k/bb ratio of 5/1. Every pitch in arsenal is deadly right now: fb, sl, ch. A+ Alexei Ramirez -- has done everything you'd want, is playing at an elite level A Conor Gillaspie -- has a wRC+ of 136 and has played solid defense A- Jose Quintana -- hard luck at times but peripherals and velocity are as good as ever. A- Jose Abreu -- needs to take his walks and realize he's no good when hurt (stay off the feet more before, after in between games) but power is as advertised, also gave lineup a completely different "feel", which was needed A- Tyler Flowers -- stays healthy, a major key for a catcher, and has improved his approach at the plate enough to probably become a steady 270/330/400 hitter. Props to him. A- Ronald Belisario -- has pitched a number of high leverage innings and come through more often than not. Blew a save the other day but it happens. Scary to think were the pen would be without him. B+ Gordon Beckham -- has hit like he was supposed to when drafted and defense has been good as well. Some really key turns. Still in "show me" mode wrt to long term role on team and can he stay healthy? B Adam Dunn -- is getting on base and hitting for power but with DH his best position value is limited B Adrian Nieto -- framing is rough and at times will get the bat knocked out of his hands, but a backup catcher hitting over 300 is pretty damn good SSS be damned B- Andre Rienzo -- needs to harness his control but is striking out enough batters to where if you squint hard enough you can see a solid MLB #4 starter C+ Adam Eaton -- has slumped down to an OPS below 700 and cannot stay healthy. When healthy has shown flashes of being a long term above average starter in CF. Solid defense and baserunning. C+ Dayan Viciedo -- improved his walk rate considerably and is hitting just enough to stay as a regular despite poor defense in the corners C+ Hector Noesi -- has hung tough and shows flashes of being a legit MLB back end starter, much like Rienzo has grooved a few too many pitches but when on has enough stuff to get hitters out consistently C - Bullpen, sans Bellisario. They've combined to be alright, not going to do individual grades for guys that have mostly have pitched 20 innings or less. Belly gets an A-, he's been good and has pitched the most in high leverage. C- Garcia, Semian, Moises -- rest of the bench brigade has been serviceable. Garcia has had his moments as has Semian but overall production is what you'd expect from bench players. C- Scott Caroll -- much like Dylan Axelrod is a journeyman completely devoid of MLB caliber stuff outside of a decent sinker, and like Axelrod has maximized what he does have. Possible upside as a decent long man but not a starter. D+ John Danks -- has lost even more velocity on average and has not been able to spot his pitches well enough to succeed. Is on an upward tick but overall has been poor. D Alejandro De Aza -- looks completely lost at the plate after a hot start. Needs to get back to what made him successful and that is looking up the middle not trying to pull everything. Could easily be given an "F" D Erik Johnson -- lost velocity and at times has appeared mentally unsure of himself by nibbling. Could possibly be injured but regardless not good enough to warrant a spot on the MLB roster D- Paul Konerko -- bat speed of a 38 year old is obvious as he fouls fastball after fastball back to the screen. Has an OPS below 500 and quite frankly could easily be given an F. Over his last 160 games he has an fWAR of -2.5. He's toast. F: Felipe Paulino -- no redeeming qualities, will be DFA shortly most likely. INC: Avisail Garcia Coaches: Ventura: D+ Continues to make a number of head scratching tactical decisions and some very dangerous ones as well -- playing Abreu through pain and letting Sale go over 120 pitches. Team does appear to play hard for him and appears "loose" -- but where was his pixie dust last year? Stevenson: A+ -- has guys buying into his approach. Has made Flowers and Viciedo into more patient, dangerous hitters. Deserves a lot of credit for that IMO, guys are buying what he's selling and coming from Oakland he had a lot of cache -- he's using it well. Cooper: B-- As Robin's point man on the pitching staff has let Robin get too matchup happy at times and also had a role in the Paulino decision which has not worked out at all. Has done his usual good work with Noesi and Rienzo.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 29, 2014 -> 07:15 PM) I'll quote Hawk too. He Gawn! You should be banned but you keep the post count high on the site so on 2nd thought maybe they should pay you CPI style.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 29, 2014 -> 06:33 PM) That's a big deal actually. I'm not sold on him yet but I do think there's a chance at least now that he's a major league starter. We'll see going forward. For sure, you look at a guy like Carroll and its' easy to see he'll never be a decent 4th or 5th starter, he just doesn't have enough stuff to get MLB hitters out, especially the 2nd and 3rd time through. Hector on the other hand actually has a decent FB and a good curve. If he can continue to work on a repeatable consistent delivery that allows him to spot his stuff better he might have a nice little career. Plus he's a dead ringer for Sweaty Freddie with the delivery and olive complexion, so I like that. Always will have a lot of respect for Freddie.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 29, 2014 -> 06:28 PM) What about Jimenez's xFIP though? It's 3.97, he's had bad luck on HR/FB%.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 29, 2014 -> 05:39 PM) Oh you're using the 3 WAR as a defense for him -- I thought you were being sarcastic. I actually think you have a legitimate argument here, and have stated so. The problem isn't Paulino, it's that if you're going to take that kind of gamble, you need more depth so you aren't screwed when it goes wrong. They should have, at least, made it a priority to sign three Paulino-like guys. What I don't agree with is Ubaldo being the answer. It looked risky and costly at the time, and now it looks even worse with his early season performance. If it was so easy, every team would have 5th starter A, B, C and D ready to go for the inevitable injuries, and yet every year most teams will dip into their 6th and 7th starters and those guys will be replacement level. Pitching is scarce and the Sox do as good a job as anyone of finding it, especially given their budget constraints. This isn't a team that can spend on starting pitching in the FA market so they have to do things like scrape the waiver wire. Given that this was always going to be a throwaway season record wise it simply made no sense to spend any many on the pitching above league min.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 29, 2014 -> 05:52 PM) I am impressed with Noesi. He just seems to be getting better each time out. He actually has decent stuff, certainly decent enough to be a 5th starter. As long as he can avoid the gopherball grooved fastballs he should be alright in that role. I changed my opinion on him last night from "nope, AAAA material" to "hmm, might actually be a decent 5th starter". It's not much, but it's something.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 29, 2014 -> 03:28 PM) I can totally see why. He is a really low baseball IQ player. He misses cut off men regularly, and doesn't have any patience at the plate. I wouldn't necessarily say he's a low IQ player just that he's a flawed player in the sense that he's most suited to a bench role. I certainly like him more than Danks and it's good that Chicago was proactive in finding a decent outfielder once Avisail went down.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 28, 2014 -> 08:32 PM) Pride hurt after getting robbed at the fence? Robin plays him against a though righty then sits him against a soft tossing lefty, go figure.

so is kong injured or something?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 28, 2014 -> 07:51 PM) Some horrible swings vs House so far. Still can't get over that PK isn't facing a LHP, yet faced Masterson last night. Robin Ventura continues to confound.

We should do what I occasionly do on OOTP and that's just start the game with a reliever and hope he can give you 3 good innings and go from there. I'm only half kidding, Noesi is cannon fodder.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2014 -> 05:39 PM) Why on Earth would the White Sox call this a good thing? At the very least Dunn seems like he's a non-terrible trade chip on his own right now. He's hitting adequately and isn't a long term commitment any more. At the very least the White Sox ought to be able to move Dunn's contract on its own this year if that's what they want to do unless he's hurt. You talk about the Yankees eating the rest of Danks's salary if he keeps pitching the way he has in all but his last start and maybe you'd have something. I dunno Dunn has a wRC+ of 137 (good but hardly elite) and a fWAR of .4. Don't get me wrong I'm tickled to death the big donkey is actually producing like he's supposed to but he's essentially a one year rental and won't net much in return even if he is producing. If the Sox are 10 games under .500 in July they have nothing to lose by just getting some salary back.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 28, 2014 -> 05:34 PM) I know he's young for the level but the .723 OPS he's putting up this year at AA doesn't leave me all that excited. Yankees could eat the rest of Dunn's salary in a deal as well. Adding him could make a lot of sense for both clubs as the Yankees could use Dunn as well.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 28, 2014 -> 01:58 PM) You've got to remember, the second you trade Alexei you are telling the average fan you are giving up. Be careful with that. It looks like Semien is not as good as many of us hoped, merely an eventual replacement for Beckham, and L. Garcia is horrific. Any minor leaguers ready to be Lexi Junior? Well, the 17k that come out to the park now will be what, reduced to 15k?

QUOTE (scs787 @ May 28, 2014 -> 02:18 PM) So who are the potential suitors for Lexi? Looking through some of the depth charts of contending teams it looks like most of them have a guy there already. Sure this Lexi would be an upgrade over a lot of them but not big enough to give up a "Huge" package for him I'd say. http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=...0&sort=20,d Yankees, Mariners and Brewers for starters.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 28, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) If Cameron is accurate and teams won't give up much for him, Hahn's decision whether to trade him or keep him is very easy. I don't think Cameron knows the market from his ass. Quite a few teams are desperate for middle infield help. That doesn't necessarily mean a team will pay what the Sox are asking for him, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 28, 2014 -> 01:03 PM) My price tag for Alexei starts with a legitimate #1/#2 starting pitching prospect in the top half of the minors and then adds a few more pieces from there based on the farms system we are raping and pillaging. Yep, looking for an "A-" level pitching prospect (probably that orgs best prospect) and then another couple top 10ish guys from that org as well. Bowl Hahn over, maybe he'll pull the trigger. Otherwise, keep him another year and see where you are at in July '15.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 28, 2014 -> 12:18 PM) It seems peculiar to me that the guy who runs Fangraphs which claims Alexei's performance last year was worth $15.6 million and his performance this season has already been worth $9.8 million, and whose worst performance of his career was worth $8.5 million, doesn't think he has the correct skills to bring back anything major when he is owed $10 million next year with a $10 million option with a $1 million buyout for 2016. Seems he isn't buying what his site is selling. Cameron doesn't "run" fangraphs anymore than Keith Law "runs" ESPN. In general, Cameron is an annoying know it all that likes to make snap judgements for eyeballs/readers instead of using nuance. As for the dollar amounts those are just hard calculations using the cost of a win on the FA market it's a pretty crude measure because the inputs (like defensive WAR) have pretty big error bars. That said, Ramirez is easily worth every penny of his contract even if he falls off to a 270/300/400 hitter as there just aren't many good SS in MLB right now. If some team is offering you a legit top 50 guy and another "B" prospect for Ramirez you gotta look hard at that IMO. It's not that they are shopping him around, just listening to offers -- if a good one comes it might make sense to jump on it.