ScottyDo

Here's my take: CQ is healthy, he isn't raking yet but he will. Beckham was originally declared a starter in AA. He's been tearing the cover off the ball, though, so KW and Ozzie have each stated that they're giving him a long look. It's anybody's guess as to whether they'll actually follow through and put him on the team, but so far he looks like a gamer. It's still early. The answer is, Beckham has an outside chance of making the team at this point, but Ozzie has explicitly stated that he will only make the team if he's starting because he's got too much talent for the bench. Fields is doing fairly well defensively at 3b, but more noticeably he's tearing the cover off the ball like Beckham is. Lexi still has some convincing to do before he gains consensus around Soxtalk that SS is his best position. Could be, but we won't know for a few weeks yet. He's hitting alright as well. As for our vets, Konerko's destroying the ball, although he's also living up to his nick-acronym of GIDPK. That'll never change. You just have to hope that on top of his 2 GIDP/game, he's also giving you a few power shots. As of right now, looks like he's got his feel going. Dye is also performing fairly strongly, though my eyes aren't popping yet. I personally have no concerns about Dye before the season. Thome recently mentioned he's been having back trouble. I'm not saying "uh oh," but I'm certainly thinking it loudly. The current Big Questions all revolve around the Midfield (SS, 2B, CF) Triangle. Getz is doing pretty damn well and is the lead horse to win the job, but since Ozzie and KW don't want him leading off to begin the season (and, frankly, I concur) that means whoever plays CF will, necessarily, lead off. This means Dwayne Wise, who is ALSO destroying the baseball at the moment--his horrible day today notwithstanding--is the leader for the CF starting role and Sox leadoff. This displeases many around Soxtalk, who would prefer that Anderson start because he clearly has the best defensive tools of the CF candidates, and, as the argument goes, "nobody can hit so why not start the best defender?". Owens has pretty much dropped out of contention by playing like sh*t day in, day out. The general feeling is, good riddance. Some Soxtalkers have requested that, because of the dearth of talent at CF, Ozzie start Alexei there, play Beckham at SS because of his demonstrable talent (he does appear to be pretty strong defensively there as well), and put Getz at 2b. Implicit in this request is an assumption that either Beckham or Getz will lead off, which I don't think KW or Ozzie want in the slightest as they don't want to rush either player. Alexei has yet to start in CF so at this point it appears that this is a pipe dream, though it may leave the most talented group on the field. Anderson started crushing yesterday and continued today, but that's still only 2 days out of the 40 or so in spring training. The next few weeks will be interesting for the Triangle, that's for sure. It's pretty much the only sore subject on Soxtalk right now. And, for the record, Viciedo looks very promising but, as it stands, Fields is absolutely winning the job. Viciedo will be up soon, and by all accounts will look good. And that's what I did over my spring break! The End.

I'm not gonna say I don't like it...but he's SOOO FREAKING OLD! I was playing Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball on N64 the other day and I used him for the Home Run Derby.

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 14, 2009 -> 12:48 PM) /waits for comments and complaints on why the Sox were chosen as the last team. our information will be the most relevant as we are the closest to the regular season

Depends on how much he costs. If it's under $6/2, okay.

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 14, 2009 -> 12:47 PM) On TV! On during the Illini game :(:( WHAT DO I DO!?!?!?

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 11:55 AM) ok but wise hasnt ever been good. hes never had one good stretch in which hes played good. just a few games. so i dont get what it is the sox see. My guess is they haven't seen a whole lot in anybody's past. So at that point they'll go with what they see at the moment. Point is, none of the three of them are ML caliber. I happen to think Wise is a better choice than Owens, despite people's faith that Owens can actually put up the OBP he did in 2007. BA may still be the best choice but really, are any of us going to be satisfied with one player over another? If BA wins are we going to sit back and heave a sigh of relief? My guess is Getz wins the job sometime after the season starts and I'll be a much happier camper, but in the meantime...leading off on opening day is an awful lot of pressure for a rookie.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 11:08 AM) i dunno. all im trying to say is that wise is what he is. he is nothing more than a aa/aaa player(i guess a back up). and he showed last year that he cant play every day. he is not the answer. like you said, for the most part, ST numbers mean nothing. and no one deserves to win a job bcuz of 20-40 good ST ab's. I don't think anyone's accusing Wise of being The Answer. Hopefully, nobody's accusing BA of that either. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 11:13 AM) I think the ironic thing is Ozzie said in 2007 "don't believe what you see in September when you are out of contention and spring training", yet it seems the White Sox are moving more towards spring training competition to earn jobs. I suppose you almost have to with younger guys, but to base things almost entirely on spring training results doesn't seem like a good plan. I really doubt that's what they're doing. Their track record, in fact, pretty much proves that they're not. They go based on what they see and what they've seen. Numbers don't factor in that much and neither do streaks. Doesn't mean they won't use one player's success to spur on another, so the rhetoric may lead you to believe they'll pick whoever has the best ST numbers.

QUOTE (Felix @ Mar 13, 2009 -> 12:59 AM) BA, Owens, and Wise are all below average offensive players and there is no significant difference between them. So why wouldn't we start the one that has by far the best defense? It's mind boggling. If BA can't hit scrubs with his career on the line, I don't want him up to bat when real games matter. Wise at least has some sort of drive to him. If BA was hitting even passably right now, I'd agree with you but he's not. Still 3 weeks to go so I will reserve final judgement till then, but at least Wise has shown he likes winning. I know, really mushy argument but whatever. We're talking about three sh**ty players so who needs good arguments?

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 12, 2009 -> 11:13 PM) I'd say Owens would also get on base more frequently and aside from Wise's 9 for 9 in SB last season the two of them have had similar success on the basepaths during their careers with Owens being a much higher volume stealer. I dunno, Wise seems to have better technique to me. Picks his battles better. Maybe I'm wrong, I'm certainly not the best judge of talent on this board. Regardless, he has more pop than Owens. He can bunt, unlike Owens. He has a better throwing arm than Owens. Owens...ummm...might at some point maybe have a better OBP possibly? He has 2007 under his belt, I guess. I never really bought into the 2007 Owens though. As has been mentioned on many occasions before, it's a case of the tallest midget for sure. But as far as I'm concerned, Wise is a better option than Owens in pretty much any dimension you care to judge them by. Someday we'll get a real CF...someday...

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 12, 2009 -> 10:56 PM) I'd rather have Owens leading off and playing CF than Wise. There, I said it. Still though, neither should be in the discussion. Why? What does he bring that Wise doesn't? Wise runs better, and as far as I know that's the only thing Owens could potentially do right (although doubts have been cast on that, too)

Hanley. I'd just like to point out, by the way, that my 3 keepers in my baseball league are Hanley, Lincecum and TCQ. And I'm losing like the last two round's picks for them (except Hanley, I'm losing a 3rd rounder for him). Good times.

QUOTE (whitesox32 @ Mar 11, 2009 -> 01:06 AM) WE NEED BECKHAM IN OUR LINEUP!!!!! Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but I think he is a beast. I don't see why he isn't getting more consideration right now for at least 2b, if not shortstop by moving lexi to center. but we do need speed in our lineup. Getz? otherwise its owens or d-weezy I have no reason whatsoever to be certain about this, but I'd wager Beckham is getting a serious look from Ozzie/KW. Serious, serious look. They can't come out and say it, of course, because of all the other MI talent and because Becks is SOOO green. But with the undeniable raw talent he's demonstrated...well, let's just say neither Ozzie nor KW are idiots. You have to look at him.

LOL ross gload would have been the best hitter on the team if he'd played every day, huh? i guess that makes ozzie guillen the worst manager in history

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 06:33 PM) He has more sink, but he def needs some time in the minors. He only has one pitch. yah, definitely send him back down

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 06:29 PM) AJ is just a bad catcher. No, hes a bad throwing catcher.

beautiful 3rd inning for gavin floyd. he's got it goin and its only march 8th.

fields with the ugly swing on the sick curveball. hard to make anything of that. not pretty though.

CQ with the walk. looks like he's getting his handle on the strike zone again.

floyd with the sweet curve for the hudson K. lookin nasty early.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Mar 3, 2009 -> 11:24 PM) soxer! fixed

I read the article in SI because I thought it was interesting, I didn't even know Jenks would be in it. He didn't "rip" Jenks at all. In fact, Jenks was one of the more likeable characters in the story (And, yes, they are characters. Embellishment happens in all stories like this, by necessity). They pretty certainly met. He explains it in the article. They met in extended spring training and never spoke again. He says that. No need to disparage the writer for writing innocuous comments and making Jenks seem like an okay guy. If the book is anything like the article, I'll be picking it up.

Oh great, the sky is falling again.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jan 28, 2009 -> 12:44 PM) The Trib has an article on Fields too. Chicago White Sox's Josh Fields to skip SoxFest to concentrate on training Josh Fields won't attend SoxFest—a decision he and the club are at peace with. That's because Fields, the club's leading contender to start at third base, is working on his defense that he said has improved considerably thanks to spending two weekends in Miami this month under the supervision of coach Joey Cora. "I've noticed a big difference," Fields said Tuesday from Bradenton, Fla., where he was in the midst of twice daily workouts. "I'm excited about the progress I've made." Fields, who hit 23 home runs in 100 games in 2007 but was stuck at Triple-A Charlotte nagged by a right knee injury in 2008, has noticed an improvement in his flexibility since undergoing lateral release surgery in October. "I can stay lower—not have to stand up and then move," Fields said. "I've learned a lot from Joey, who can wear you out quickly from hitting grounders. But I've been able to do things over and over. I've been getting positive feedback from a coach who you look to for advice." I think that was his plan as a player, too.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 25, 2009 -> 11:21 AM) Keep in mind that signing players to multi-year contracts requires projecting revenues into the future. I think they are more concerned with that than anything right now. A good way to reduce revenue in the future is to not sign any impact players. Self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone? Anyway, I'm aware that 90% of the clubs aren't signing anyone either so I shouldn't be concerned yet. But still...

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 05:32 AM) Colon's health pending, as it stands now the back end of the rotation is Colon, Richard, or Marquez. Maybe not 20 games, but unless these guys light up the world, and assuming Floyd didn't have a fluke year, I hope our offense relentlessly pours runs in. Cabrera was a big part of the 2008 team. Swisher struggled, but still hit the ball out the park and drew some walks. Vazquez, as frustrating as he may have been, is a better #4 than either of the three afore-mentioned. Dropping that and supplementing it with Betemit, Getz, Richard, Marquez etc. won't help-on paper. Not saying they won't. after all, Floyd did. I thought Ramirez would, but not as soon as he did. Now I'm just worried about their ability to achieve stability in that production. I wish we would have held on to Masset. I can't be the only one to remember how he stiffled the Cubs mighty lineup. We also lose Crede, who is a lamb, but nevertheless tore that s*** up early on in the season, and Uribe, who was a contributor, and a pretty big f***ing "Get out of Jail" spot. Now we have two, possibly three starters, two more unproven, and a guy who helped us win it but won't be able to until July. The infield, while Fields has been at third before, now features three positions filled by different guys than last year. Who the f*** plays CF? The Chevy truck that rolls out in between innings? I hope so cause since Anderson won't, thats probably the ideal alternative. Owens? How about just not fielding a man at all? For fear of being struck down by lightening I won't take the time to question whether CQ can strive to imitate Frank. It was great to witness, but can it happen again...? I would agree that we're worse off right now, but I'm not sure of the extent of it. I don't think we're any worse off in center field now than we were last year. Swisher had a few good games and a good two-week-long streak, anyone should be able to duplicate that type of production. hell, BA 2006 was close. The back end of the rotation is certainly not great but we put up with richard/contreras there last year and came out of it okay. crede was injured most of last year and Uribe can defend but he couldn't ever hit so if Josh Fields is at all productive, he's probably at least a wash. MI is a question mark, to be sure, but I think we have enough talent to fill the 2b spot competently. At least enough to take over for what we lost with o-cab. that is to say, an okay average, decent speed, and slightly above average defense. Yeah, we did have some players perform to an unexpected level last year, but they were also players with unknown ceilings so its very possible they could repeat that this year. overall, I stand by my mid-80's assessment