infohawk

I really don't think that the Sox spring record is at all reflective of the talent on the team. That said, I can see a scenario where the Sox struggle a bit in the early going. It's a pretty tough schedule out of the gate. I'm not at all worried about the offense. It should be at the top of the league once again. Everything will hinge on the pitching, particularly the bullpen. It might take the 'pen a little time to establish a rythm, but if they do they will be fairly dominant. Once they fall into their established roles they should really start to perform well. The best thing we can hope for is for the flame throwers in the 'pen to build off of each others success. I hope each member develops an "I'm not going to be the weak link" mindset.

I'll go on record predicting 96 wins and the Central Division. I can see the Sox starting out a little rough, with the tough early schedule and all, but hitting their stride in late May or early June and roaring into the playoffs. A lot is going to depend on how consistent those flame throwers in the bullpen can be.

QUOTE(quade36 @ Mar 27, 2007 -> 11:47 PM) So I checked out the CBS SportsLine rankings. I am not going to argue with them, except for the reason they put the Sox where they are. http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10091830 "We saw what a difference a year makes with their veteran rotation in 2006. With the age of their staff, you have to expect them to be closer to their form of a year ago than 2005." Now the age of their staff? I know Contreras is old, but Vasquez will be 30. Garland is 27. Buerhle is 28. And Danks is 23. That doesn't seem like an old pitching staff to me. At least they could have mentioned trades or something. This is a weak arguement. What's really funny is the schizophrenic nature of what passes as baseball analysis. Some segments of the national media are decrying the "advanced ages" of the staff, while the local media is raking KW over the coals for not throwing out long-term extensions to these same pitchers. Weird!

I hope those of you going have a blast! Just keep the reports flowing for the unfortunate among us who for whatever reason couldn't go this year.

QUOTE(S720 @ Dec 29, 2006 -> 08:29 AM) It was Bruce Levine who reported that if the White Sox want Rocco, they would have to give up Anderson along with two pitching prospects. Brian Anderson AND TWO pitching prospects? If true, the D-Rays must be insane! Rocco Baldelli is a nice player, but he's been injured and, besides, what's he done in this game to date to merit three players in return? I suppose it also depends on which pitching prospects the D-Rays would take. If the D-Rays will take single and double A guys, maybe, but no way they get two from a group that includes Floyd, Danks, Masset, Haeger, etc. In my opinion, good young pitching is FAR more valuable than a young position player. Personally, I would like to see Anderson get another year to see if he improves. I wouldn't be in a hurry to lose some of the pitching prospects KW acquired to pick up a replacement for Anderson. He had a good second half. The guy just needs some playing time. We got all over Crede and Rowand at one point too before they started to click.

At this point I'd be hesitant to give up any pitching unless you got some major-league ready pitching back in return. I must admit that I like the direction KW is laying out for the Sox by bringing in some pitching depth. Going into the offseason, the only real moves I thought were absolutely necessary were getting some young pitching and rebuilding the bullpen. So far, I'm pretty happy with this offseason. The way I see it, the Sox won 90 games in a tough division while both the starting and relief pitching performed below par. I think fixing the bullpen alone takes this team beyond 90 wins. I'm concerned that if KW starts trading any starters for position players, it will ultimately come back to hurt the team. Sure, I'd love to have a Rios, Crawford or Baldelli, but I'd rather have pitching now and going forward. Anderson deserves at least another half a season to see if his second half improvement was real. I happen to like our club right now. I'd like perhaps one more bullpen arm.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 01:26 PM) Fixed. Yes, well done! We probably shouldn't forget Sandy Alomar, Jr., either.

Years from now Kenny's going to be trying to land Andruw Jones for his canasta team in the retirement home.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Nov 16, 2006 -> 09:19 PM) Does Alex spin himself into the ground and try to jack every single pitch for a homer. If the answer is no, then this is an upgrade. That just made me laugh out loud!

I wondered the same thing. It would certainly make sense. The real question is what to do about it. Would a not-stretched-out McCarthy be a better option? Perhaps. They would either need to call someone up for the 'pen or use Contreras in that role. Maybe he would be better off pitching shorter intervals out of the 'pen? I read recently that Hermanson may be coming up but could only pitch one inning per appearance so he might be of help if Brandon joined the rotation. Either way, we couldn't short the 'pen by removing Brandon and having an ineffective Cotts. This is all just speculation on my part. My guess is that the Sox won't really do anything different.

QUOTE(SoxnGiants @ Aug 24, 2006 -> 08:27 AM) He'll have to get a changeup in his repertoire - and a good one - to be an effective starter. A slider would be a plus as well. I'm not against the idea really. Stretch him out over the offseason and have him work on adding pitches and give him a shot next spring. If he fails then so be it, he's back in the pen. I think this is spot-on. What can it hurt to let him compete for a starting job in the spring? If he makes it he deserves it. If he doesn't, there was a better option and he contributes from the 'pen. I see it as a "win-win" situation.

Oh, thank God! YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!

Those of you watching the game. Did Bobby really get hosed on that "strike three" call?

Thome would have scored there too.

Did Farmer just say 1 and 2 the count. Belt-high fastball right down the middle and the count is 2 and 2?

Teahan has taken up the Mike Sweeney mantle.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Aug 17, 2006 -> 03:03 PM) EDIT: Nevermind...gameday is wrong. I didn't know that Jay Marriotti had another job?

QUOTE(CYGarland @ Aug 17, 2006 -> 03:00 PM) 42nd sellout of the year today. VERY impressive indeed Just keep pumping that money back into the club and we should be golden for quite awhile.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Aug 17, 2006 -> 02:40 PM) Byrd back out to finish the game. That's good. I'd rather see Wedge pitch the ninth than Carmona.

Perez must wear a sundial instead of a watch.

If there's ever been a game where we need to open up a somewhat sizeable lead, this is it.

Alright Mark, you're bacon's been saved again. Start shutting these guys down!

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Aug 17, 2006 -> 02:03 PM) We have 5 above average pitchers all having below average year at the same time. You've got it.

It's like an alien has inhabited Mark Buerhle's body. I really feel sorry for him because he is such a stand-up guy and has been so consistently excellent. He's just having a bad year. I guarantee you that the most frustrated and disappointed person is Mark Buerhle.

QUOTE(SnB @ Aug 17, 2006 -> 01:31 PM) i wish crede would hit me in the face with a bat You might want to rethink that one!