Balta1701

QUOTE (WCSox @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 05:26 PM) Something tells me that D1 gets moved before he hits FA. I'm trying to think about what Kenny's M.O. is in this, but I feel like he's done basically all options. Garland and Garcia got moved before they could reach F.A. Buehrle and Vazquez were resigned. I can't think of a starting pitcher he's allowed to leave as an FA and offered arb, but he hasn't had a long list (contreras). Altogether, yeah, it seems like he tends to not let guys walk as FA for draft picks.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 05:30 PM) Damn! You beat me to it. It was a real eye-opener, "Sugar." That said, not sure what Ozzie means by comparing Japanese to them. Um, maybe because there's so many Spanish-speaking players around you don't need to hire a translator? That was my first thought. That was Tim Kurkjian's argument in response...that they didn't need them since there were so many coaches and players who already spoke it. Some of the ESPN guys though are saying even with that, ozzie's still somewhat right...especially on the PED thing.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 04:39 PM) 432 players with at least 60 PA this season: Swing% 61.4% Francoeur 60.5% Jake Fox 60.0% Vlad 59.6% Delmon 58.4% Ivan 58.2% Chris Johnson 58.0% Dayan 57.7% Mike Sweeney 57.5% John Buck 57.2% Boesch 57.1% Stavinoha He has the 30th highest "out of zone swing%" out of those 432 this season (AJ's 10th) One thing worth noting...there's some decent players on that list. Can we find if there's any correlation between any of those stats and OPS?

I consider that to be high praise indeed. Thanks!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 04:02 PM) From the sounds of the fairweatheredness of the fans out there, it could make a big difference. Enough to pay for an additional $3 million hole? I'm not sure I buy that. Maybe Frank is just figuring "I can always say I thought it would increase revenue if we got back into the race closer" and the court will buy it, and if it doesn't work, that's $3 million less she can grab.

Link

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 03:42 PM) People keep talking about his lack of plate discipline. Is it really the case though or do people just like throwing around the term because nothing is more fun than finding something criticize and/or nitpick at? The guy isn't a strikeout machine and makes contact; often solid contact. I haven't seen him chase too many pitches or look foolish too often yet up there. Just because he likes to swing at often one of the first good pitches he gets, that doesn't necessarily mean he lacks plate discipline. He's the kind of hitter we want swinging, trying to drive in runs. We don't need him up there trying to get on base ala a lead off hitter or waiting up there to give the guys in front of him a chance to swipe a bag. He doesn't walk, but he hasn't exactly looked like a guy who doesn't know where the strike zone is either. That's why I think he's our next Vlad. Anyway, the real test of his plate discipline is going to come probably next year as film gets out on him and pitchers adapt. The scouting report by next year is going to say "every pitch you throw to him should be progressively further outside the strike zone." They're going to basically start giving him free walks in an effort to get him to swing at pitches that are impossible to hit. If he takes the walks when you give them to him, and doesn't fall behind in the count when pitchers are deliberately not giving him anything close, then he'll have it.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) You sure he was that high? Yes, I checked. His total ERA was only 5.40 and he logged a lot of innings in one of the best hitting parks in baseball.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 03:37 PM) Can you give me a run down of the ERA+ statistic It's a pitcher's ERA normalized by the cumulative set of ballparks he's pitching in and the performance of the rest of the league. ERA+ of 100 = average pitcher. ERA+ of 120 = very good pitcher. ERA+ of 82 = Randy Williams.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 03:02 PM) It's because they're Boston. They're still 0.5 games ahead of the White sox in record/in the wild card. They're +68 in run differential, we're +53.

Corey Hart signs a 3 year extension through 2013.

I'm sure no one did anything here to make a political statement. (By the way, violence and intimidation to achieve a political end...that's pretty much the classic definition of terrorism).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 02:24 PM) How about not creating no-shows by waving the white flag? I really doubt that would make a big difference downwards, since so many sales are going to have been locked in by season ticket purchases, especially coming off of a couple of playoff years.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 02:26 PM) Is he really in that elite category? with a 1.29 career WHIP? I love me some Danks, but I don't think he's quite top-tier yet... Captain Cheeseburger's career ERA+ when the Yankees signed him at age 27 was 120, his career WHIP was 1.24. D1: the Pitching Danks's career ERA+ is 117. His Career WHIP is 1.29. And most importantly...his best years should still be ahead of him. His WHIP this season, for example, is 1.14.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 02:17 PM) Selling a few more tickets? Unless they can push themselves back up into a race with the Giants and Padres, I don't see how the guys they've picked up will do that. Being 5 games out isn't going to create a walkup crowd; being 1 game out would. Ted Lilly isn't going to sell tickets. They're down about 2000/game compared to last year, but last year they were in first place the whole year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 02:16 PM) As healthy as he has been, and the numbers he has put up as a lefty, that would be the starting point for a deal. As I said, "Well over". I don't think he'll touch Captain Cheeseburger dollars...but he could always snap a sub-3 ERA season out in the next 2 years and put himself at that level.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 02:15 PM) It depends on what the flaw they are changing is. I know DickAllen referenced Silva at some point. The change Rothschild made in him was as simple as moving to the other side of the rubber to maximize hiding the rotation of his pitch a fraction of a second longer. It could be something of hand positioning on the ball, or an arm slot change, or the finish on a pitch. The arm slot change would be probably the hardest to adjust to, but it depends on how quickly Jackson's musclememory would pick it up. If it is simple, it could pay immediate dividends. Whatever the change we made was on Thornton, we picked him up at the end of ST, KW said "Here stop asking for him", and by day 1 of the season he was the Matt we've come to know and love.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 24, 2010 -> 07:05 PM) So for rest of year Balta, who puts up better numbers: Rolen or Aramis? Since Fathom made this post, Rolen has come back, played in 5 games, and is 10/22 with 4 2b, 2BB, and a Homer. Aramis Ramirez has played in 7 games and is 5/29 with an RBI and a run scored. 0 walks, 0 extra base hits.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 02:01 PM) They need to be working on that there deal then right there and right now If D1 was interested in a long-term deal at a reasonable value for the team, I have a ton of confidence that it'd be done already. I think he's pitching his arbitration years and wants to hit FA. If nothing goes wrong with his arm, he could easily be looking at a deal well over $100 million.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 01:13 PM) Huh? We're going to deal him despite controlling him for 3 more years? We only control him through the end of the 2012 season.

The highest amount ever for a first year arbitration player was $10 million for Ryan Howard. Unless D1 finishes the season by breaking Herschiser's scoreless innings record, he's not likely to beat that. The Sox are very likely to sign a contract of some sort with D1 before the actual arbitration hearing, because that's how they always do it, and there were only 3 arbitration hearings in all of MLB last year. Here's a list of last year's Arbitration numbers, what each side submitted, and the final signed contract. For a first year guy, I think a plausible comparison might be Papelbon, who got upwards of $6 million in his first arbitration year. Joe Saunders was a first year arbitration starting LHP last year, and he wound up at $3.7 million, and he's no where near D1's caliber right now. I could see anywhere in the range from $5-$8 million being plausible and I think they'll wind up somewhere around $7.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 11:22 AM) Regardless of who's favored lets hope for a Rays sweep. I can live with that.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 11:17 AM) He's a free agent at this point. Anything can happen now, but I have to imagine it wouldn't be easy because teams already have their #1 guys. I take it that there is now zero circumstance under which he could return to the Hawks?

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 11:11 AM) He's still a prospect that hasn't proven anything at the major league level. Sure he might dominate tonight but it's a stretch to think that he is favored to win. Besides, the Twins offense has been clicking. The Rays have won 8 of their last 9, and in the process beat up on Cleveland (Who was playing good ball), the Tigers (Who weren't playing good ball), and the Yankees.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 11:12 AM) Ill have to see if their schools have such a program. I know that they dont live on their campus so i dont know how that would affect them (they live in an apartment in Chicago, and all 3 that live there go to different schools. Two of them are ones who have admitted to being depressed, one of the them suicidal). Look up their health centers. I'm sure they have a web page on the university's main site, and I'm sure they have an email address for contact listed somewhere. If you can find a specific mental health link then use that, if not, then try a general email address. Unless the universities they're at flat out suck at mental health care, they'll bend over backwards to accommodate you and to try to find the people who need their help. Edi: Oh, and Russ, one more thing...I'd make 100% sure I kept records of every communication I had in this regard. If I send people an email, I either save the email or note the time, content, and who it was sent to, and I'd save every email I received. If someone from them called me, I'd consider asking for permission to record the call. If I didn't have the ability to record the call, I'd note somewhere the time and date of the call, the full name and contact information of the person I spoke to, and while it was fresh in my mind I'd write a summary of everything in the call.