LoFiStew

Freddy pitched decently tonight, although I think he got away with a lot of mistakes. But still, a solid, quality start. Does anyone else think his body language has been weird this year? To me, he always seems to be disgusted about something, even when things are going his way. I wonder if he's dealing with some pain somewhere that he's keeping to himself. Can't really put my finger on it, but he just seems off somehow.

Ha! Did everyone just see one of Ozzie's sons flip somebody off? They showed a closeup of Ozzie in the dugout pointing to someone or something and his son flipped the bird while they both started laughing. I wonder who it was meant for. This team is really fun to watch right now.

That's got to be the cheapest, fluky-est hit I've ever seen to break up a no-hitter. It's a pity too, because Vazquez had a real chance for a no-no against this joke of a line-up.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 03:32 PM) Quick question--did Thorton throw anything besides a fastball this afternoon? In past appearances thus far it's been a consistent diet of fastballs and one outside, weak slider per outing. Mostly fastballs. But he got the final out on a nifty curve for a called strike three.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 10:54 AM) But what's with this team and closers? Howry, Foulke, Osuna, Shingo...They're all one-year wonders for us, in that role, and then fall-off or are gone. It's not just the Sox, it's the nature of the business. I've been reading the Baseball Prospectus book, and in the Yankees' team essay they did a study on the consistency of relief pitchers. They found that the year-to-year turnover of successful relievers is extremely high. In a typical season, there's an average of a 60 percent turnover among the top 50 relievers from the previous year, and it gets even worse over a multi-year span. That's why I'm glad the Sox have avoided throwing money at their relief staff -- it's just not worth it. Solid relievers may be the cheapest and most available resource in baseball. Just don't fall in love with them. And that's why I snicker at the Cubs' repeatedly making this mistake over and over (Hawkins, Remlinger, Eyre, Howry, etc.). That helps to explain why they're the Cubs.

Man, I would hate to see Buerhle leave. The guy is as reliable as the sunrise, is still in his prime and is a great teammate and person to boot. The first thing I thought when I heard about Contreras' 3-year extension was: That could mean there's less money in future budgets for Buerhle. I understand what Kenny Williams was thinking -- namely, that the market for good starting pitchers is tight, so lock 'em up. But I'm generally wary about giving pitchers in their mid-30s (Contreras is 34, at least) what amounts to a 4-year contract. Especially when you've got a much younger and much cheaper Brandon McCarthy all ready to go. In my opinion, the 2008 Sox rotation should be anchored by Buerhle (who'll still be only 29 then), McCarthy and probably Garland. The key is deciding who to let go out of the group of Garcia, Contreras and Vazquez, all of whom are at least two years older than Buerhle. The last thing I want to hear from the Sox management in the winter of 2007 is this: "We'd love to sign Mark, but we just can't afford him with our financial commitments to our other starting pitchers." Now, obviously, I'm looking way into the future here. But winning a World Series has suddenly made planning for long-term success more realistic. Ain't it grand?

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 4, 2006 -> 10:18 AM) Thanks to you all for posting these videos. I've been sitting here with tears streaming down my face while watching them. Awesome. Totally awesome. Same here. No matter how many times I see tributes likes this, I still get goosebumps. It's been more than five months, but I still don't think the Sox championship has entirely sunk in yet for me. We better win another one just to make sure.

Open letter to Comcast: You blew it last night, but you can make up for it by showing the championship video montage during Tuesday's pre-game show. Please?

Ha! C.C. can't take it! He pulls a Clemens! I'm sure I'll regret saying this, but this seems like a good omen for the Sox. C'mon, thumpers, let's add on here.

Sabathia is dealing... looks like we could have another 1-0 game.

Man, Comcast really botched that banner unveiling ceremony. I wish we could have seen the video they were showing in the stadium. It sure sounded impressive.

Let's hope 2006 holds good fortune for the Sox and all Sox fans everywhere. It's good to be back and I hope we're still doing game threads in late October again. Let's go White Sox!!

QUOTE(Fourofakind @ Feb 27, 2006 -> 07:32 PM) I just think Juan strikes out alot. Actually, Uribe struck only 77 times last year, while Iguchi struck out 114 times. Those productive out stats for Uribe are encouraging. If he can manage some semblance of the plate discipline he showed last September and October (granted, a big if), then this lineup switch could really be a win-win for the team.

Does anyone know if the trophy tour will extend outside Chicagoland? I know a lot of Sox fans here in Northern Indiana (South Bend area) who'd love to see it.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Dec 16, 2005 -> 03:32 PM) Who got the HIGHEST number? I'm the leader in the clubhouse: I got #14368.

That's the first time I've seen that and it was hilarious. I've always liked Eric Zorn's stuff. Reading that reminds of the Mike Downey's recent flipping and flopping in the Tribune regarding Kyle Orton and the Bears' QB position. I once wrote a sports column for a few years and I always thought the most important thing was to have a true point of view. There's no shame in being wrong, but you really lose the reader's respect when you're just a flippy-floppy windsock like people like Mariotti or Downey. Thanks for the link.

Kenny Williams said in today's Chicago Tribune that Uribe's move to the second spot in the order wasn't written in stone and that they'd make adjustments if necessary. I think it's worth a try. Uribe actually showed some decent bat control and patience in September and the post-season. Maybe batting second will help him maintain his focus at the plate. Plus, I want to see what Iguchi can do when he's not giving himself up one or two times a game.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 1, 2005 -> 07:54 PM) If Jon Garland had hit the open market this season, he would have been looking at a 6 or 7 year deal, with at least $10 million a year, probably more (maybe way more). The guy is a workhorse at the very least. A guy like Loiaza who is older, and puts up worse career numbers just got a 3 year deal at 7 million per season. Loiaza in the last 5 seasons has put up ERAs under 5, only twice. Even if Garland "regressed" to his form of the prior 3 seasons, he has averaged 200 innings and won double digits every year, in a hugely hitters ballpark... that would all add up to AT LEAST what Kris Benson after 04, probably more because teams would look at Jon's 05 season and think that they could bring him back to that. Hell Oakland just did that with Esteban, on much less evidence and potential of his ever returning to his incredible form. Garland is a $10 million pitcher at the VERY least in today's market. If he goes out in 06 and keeps his ERA under 4 again, we could be talking about a $15 million per year pitcher, on a long term contract, to a team like the Yankees, Red Sox, or whatever flavor of the month GM was overspending at the moment. If that's the case, I'd say, "Thanks, Jon, good luck in New York (or Boston or wherever.)" Those numbers are insane. No starting pitcher is worth a 6- or 7-year contract, especially at $10-15 million per year. And that Loiaza contract? Sheesh, I thought Billy Beane was supposed to be so smart. No question Garland is a valuable pitcher. He is entering his prime and has been very durable. But on a good team, he is a No. 3 starter, No. 2 at best. He is not a dominant starter. He needs a good defense behind him because he strikes out so few hitters. I don't think it's any coincidence that he had his best year this year when the Sox finally improved their defense. I don't mean to sound like I'm knocking him, but I just don't think Garland is worth a 5+ year deal at $10+ million per year. If he can get that from someone else, more power to him.

This doesn't really bother me that much. 2005 was Garland's first really good year, even then he still only struck out 115 in 221 innings. He improved his walk rate drastically though and also lowered his HR rate, both of which were big keys to his success. I checked Garland's similarity scores at BaseballReference.com and here are the 10 most similar pitchers through age 25: 1. Brad Radke 2. Jim Bagby 3. Alex Fernandez 4. Gary Bell 5. Jerry Reuss 6. Chuck Stoobs 7. Javier Vasquez 8. Larry Christenson 9. Art Houtteman 10. Billy Hoeft Quite the mixed bag -- a few good pitchers and several "who dats" (Chuck Stoobs? Art Houtteman? Billy Hoeft?). My point is that Garland is not exactly on a career path to greatness. If he can keep improving his K/BB ratio like he did last season, he will be worth keeping. But baseball history is littered with pitchers like Garland who had a good season or two, but couldn't sustain it because of their low strikeout rates. The most similar pitcher to Garland regardless of age is Carl Pavano, who parlayed one good season in 2004 into a huge contract (4 yrs/$40 million) with the Yankees and promptly laid an equally huge egg in 2005, going 4-6 with a 4.77 ERA. So I'm fine with waiting to see if Garland can do it again in 2006. I hope he can.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 1, 2005 -> 09:32 AM) I think we can put this discussion to bed for a while - did everyone read the Trib this morning? I agree with Thome hitting 3rd... but more importantly, so does Ozzie. As quoted today in the Trib, Oz wants Thome-Konerko-Dye in 3-4-5. Thome is the best OBP guy on the team, not to mention a fly-ball hitter (sac flies) and a huge RBI guy all around. Good call, Ozzie. I agree: good call, Ozzie. I frankly don't understand how anyone can seriously advocate batting Dye in the third spot ahead of Thome and Konerko. You have to guarantee that at least one of your two best hitters comes up in the first inning. Dye is a decent hitter, but his career .334 OBP is too low for a #3 hitter and would lead to way too many 1-2-3 first innings.

If it's true that the Sox won't offer arbitration to Frank, that means they can't re-sign him until after May 1. So that means this is likely the end, and that's a pity. Frank, you're by far the greatest hitter in White Sox history. And for close to a decade there, you were one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. You are definitely a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. I look forward to your induction, complete with a White Sox cap, in a few years. I hope you can get healthy and reach your goal of 500 homers, maybe even--dare I dream?--as a White Sox again. Best of luck, Big Hurt, and thanks for all the great memories.

This is great news. I don't think they need to make any more major moves -- this team is good enough to repeat. We don't need Juan Pierre. His offense isn't enough to overcome his defensive flaws, especially considering how much more money he'd cost over Brian Anderson. Re: the batting order -- I think Thome should definitely hit 3rd, with Paulie remaining in the cleanup spot. Thome is an on-base machine (career .408 OBP), thus his productivity would maximized higher in the order. And don't worry about Thome's lack of speed -- he's scored over 100 runs seven times in his career. Remember that Konerko -- despite being the slowest guy on the team -- led the Sox in runs scored (98) in 2005, largely because he led the team in OBP (.375). Speed is useless if you can't get on base consistently. Here's my lineup: 1. Podsednik LF 2. Iguchi 2B 3. Thome DH 4. Konerko 1B 5. Dye RF 6. Pierzynski C 7. Crede 3B 8. Anderson CF 9. Uribe SS Can't wait for the 2006 season!

Aaron, thanks for all your hard work and effort over the years. The Sox wouldn't have won the championship this season without you. If all major leaguers played with your drive and desire, baseball would be a much greater game. And more importantly, you are a great teammate and classy guy all the way. Best of luck in Philly, and maybe some day down the road we'll see you in a Sox uniform again. I will always root for you.

That's an awesome sig picture, SnB. A perfect before and after of a wondrous life-changing moment. The more this sinks in, the more I like it. God, I love this team!

That celebration was incredible. I couldn't believe how emotional I got during parts of it, especially when Konerko gave the game ball to Reinsdorf. A couple of interesting, little things I noticed: When Konerko mentioned winning it all again next year, off to the side it looked like Kenny Williams was saying something like, "I'm going to hold you to that!" After Buerhle promised to get the the Three Stooges up there to sing "Don't Stop Believing," he stepped to the side and you could hear him say, "I've been hearing that damn song in my sleep." Great stuff. What a great day. What a great year. I'm going to smile all winter.