balfanman

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Sep 2, 2010 -> 06:10 AM) Eh, I wouldn't say Ozzie is keeping the Sox in the race. It's the players, especially Konerko, Rios, Jackson, Sale, and even Pierre now. And the lack of a bullpen has been a recent development. Remember that the bullpen was quite good for a while. I think the wear on the guys is finally showing. This is where I disagree with how the bullpen was handled earlier in the season. I understand that you want to win every game possible, and that a win in April, May, or June is just as impotant as a win in August or September. It just seemed to me that Thornton, Putz, and Jenks were either in the game or warmed up on a nightly basis earlier in the season and now we're suffering the effects of that. I realize that no team has a pen where everyone is reliable. but sometimes you have to trust your lower tier pitchers more often than Ozzie does, or at least sacrifice a few games here or there and not warm people up under any circumstances. This is also why I disdain the righty - lefty matchups so much. Either a pitcher can get a batter out or he can't. I absolutely hate it when a pitcher comes in and faces one or two batters, then the next one comes in and faces one or two batters. To me, that sounds like a good recipe for blowing through a bullpen.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 25, 2010 -> 11:47 AM) 8/17 was his last appearance. So as of right now he would only be out another week right? D. L. him!

"In this case, I sent multiple texts saying, 'Hey is there something we need to do here (with the bullpen)?' And Ozzie and Coop each said, 'No let's ride it out,''' Williams said. Bringing up a pitcher to ease the bullpen burden in the second game would have forced a roster move nobody wanted to make. Putting a player such as sore-armed reliever Matt Thornton on the disabled list would have meant losing him for 15 days when his valuable left arm is expected to be ready this week. "So if we had done that, Thornton's sitting around ready to go for 10 days and then I'm a dumb (bleep) for overreacting,'' Williams said. Additionally, any player the Sox might have sent down to clear a spot would have had to spend 10 days in the minors -- past the Aug. 31 deadline for playoff rosters to be set. When you consider the only options at Triple A -- Lucas Harrell and Carlos Torres -- weren't available to pitch, it was an easy decision. "If we didn't have an off day Monday, we'd have been forced to make a move,'' Williams said. A source said Guillen was frustrated particularly after Sunday's loss about the limitations created by a tired bullpen. Williams said he sent Guillen and Cooper a text message after the team's second extra-inning defeat in 18 hours asking again if they wanted him to add a pitcher. Williams held up his BlackBerry as he shared their response. "They wrote back, '(Bleep) no,''' Williams said. "Remember, we have 12 pitchers and ideally I only want 11.'' I know that you would be a little short handed, and this would require that Jenks, Threets, Linebrink, etc. be at least servicable for a couple of weeks; but I wouldn't mind seeing Thornton & Putz placed on the DL. I would rather see their issues get resolved and have them come back strong for the stretch run than have them "putz" around and not be right for the rest of the season.

According to the Tribune it looks like Mr. Hendry did not realize that a player has to wait 10 days to be recalled from the minors after being sent down. If that doesn't testify to how stupid that organization is, I don't know what would. The sad part is it seems that they let Micah Hoffpauer get all the way to the airport before they realized their mistake.

QUOTE (pktmotion @ Aug 6, 2010 -> 01:19 PM) It's not a question on if we could afford the rotation, it's more a question of how the money could get used more effectively. Your 4-5 starters don't need to be lights out, since they see significantly less games. They just need to be serviceable and that doesn't cost $8M+. There'll be cheaper alternatives in FA and if they're comfortable they could fill out the rotation internally. We could use the money saved to add another bat and we'd get a good return on the starter we end up trading. I wouldn't call the difference of 1 or 2 starts significant.

I was just thinking about Juan Pierres' stolen base attempts and it seems to me that many of his successful steals this year were when the ball beat him to the base and Juan put some kind of move on the fielders tag attempt to be safe. I can't say that I remember all of his attempts and admittedly I don't actually see very many games, but I listen to almost every inning on radio. D.J. & Farmer seem to be saying often how Juan is avoiding the tag. It just seems that Juan doesn't beat the ball to the bag very often. I didn't watch Juan much in his earlier days. so does anyone think that Juan Piere may have lost a step or two?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 04:02 PM) This I can agree with for the most part, though as of this moment, it would be a coin flip for me between Jackson and Garcia. Jackson is a much more talented pitcher, and has some experience in the postseason, but Garcia has been better this year and has a more impressive postseason track record, even if he was a completely different pitcher during that time frame. Garcia has adjusted to his new style of pitching quite well, and I honestly don't have huge anxiety throwing him into the postseason rotation. Maybe I'm crazy, but I almost think his style of pitching would work well in the postseason. I don't necessarily disagree on the bolded part Witesoxfan, especially if you mean pure physical ability at this stage of Garcias' career. I happen to think a big part of a players, particularly a pitchers, "talent"is between the ears. Over the years Garcia has shown as much smarts & mental toughness (cajones if you well) than anyone else that I can think of. Taking that into consideration, I personally believe that Garcia has as much "talent" as anyone on the team. Does Jackson? I don't know. I hope so, but we'll have to see.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 01:44 PM) He lost that game in the first two innings (and that's when he couldn't throw a strike to save his life). Sure, he settled down when it was already too late. What's this? How can you possibly have a thread without a mention of how much Mark Kotsay sucks? It would not of been too late if we actually had a D.H. who could produce some offense!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 03:49 PM) Then pay him to be a coach. I would totally agree with this Balta if this is the reason why, but I don't know. I'm just speculating, trying to figure out a reason for this insanity.

One minor point that may just be semantics, but Rongey, I believe said that Kotsay is a good "clubhouse" guy. That to me signifies that he is good at encouraging others and maybe giving advice to younger players, things of that sort. I don't know that Thome was like that. Jim was always considered a gentleman, and was well liked because he was such a nice guy. Jim might not of been the best "player coach" so to speak. For all we know Mark Kotsay could be sort of a jerk at times, but knows how to help others. Again, could just be a matter of semantics and I personally have never met either of them, it's a "maybe that's why".

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 10:09 AM) I thought he pitched on Friday. I honestly don't remember. I was thinking that it was Sunday. After checking, you're right, Harrell started on Friday. That still would have only been 3 days rest though.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 10:27 PM) Too bad Harrell had to get sent down after that win. After winning the opener today, it would have been interesting to see him go out there and try to win his second game in as many starts. He should have had no pressure after the Game One win and his nice win the other day. Instead we got an ineffective and maybe nervous Torres. Rout. Wouldn't Harrell have been starting on 2 days rest?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 02:01 AM) Well, hard to judge without Morneau in there. With Morneaus' injury I would think that you really can't count on him being there any longer. Not saying he's done, but he could come and go at any time it sounds like.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 02:50 PM) FutureSox prospects of the month Andre Rienzo is starting to remind me of DLS a bit. He's older than DLS was when he dominated in Kannapolis, but the numbers and background are similar. It will be wonderful to have another future Hall of Famer in our minor league system!

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 12:33 AM) Average defense, not bad, not great. LF or RF only. A bench next season of Gartrell & Lillibridge might work.

I posted this in another topic, but since we are discussing (running out of town) Kotsay here too I thought that I would repeat it. Sorry about the duplication. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but do you think that with the players themselves burning Kotsays' bats the other day in an effort to get him going, that his fellow teamates are getting a little fed up with trying to carry his much less than solid bat in the lineup almost evey game. I'm thinking that with K.W. trying pretty desparately to add another bat that Ozzie too sees the writing on the wall at this point. Could it be that the reason Kotsay started both games of the twin bill was a last ditch effort by Ozzie to get Kotsays' bat going because he knows that time is short, and if Kotsay doesn't justify himself soon that Ozzie will have no other choice but to DFA him in favor of Teahen. Ozzie can be extremely stubborn at times, but he isn't stupid.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 12:44 AM) Yeah, you would think KW would overrule Oz on this one. Kotsay just doesn't get enough hits or walks to warrant playing time. But I was just saying with him playing both ends of a DH today, no way he's gonna get released upon Teahen's return. That wouldn't make sense for him to fall that far in the skipper's eyes in just a week or so. I find it difficult to believe KW and Oz haven't been driven crazy by his ground outs to second and pop outs, but I guess they haven't been driven to insanity yet for some reason. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but do you think that with the players themselves burning Kotsays' bats the other day in an effort to get him going, that his fellow teamates are getting a little fed up with trying to carry his much less than solid bat in the lineup almost evey game. I'm thinking that with K.W. trying pretty desparately to add another bat that Ozzie too sees the writing on the wall at this point. Could it be that the reason Kotsay started both games of the twin bill was a last ditch effort by Ozzie to get Kotsays' bat going because he knows that time is short, and if Kotsay doesn't justify himself soon that Ozzie will have no other choice but to DFA him in favor of Teahen. Ozzie can be extremely stubborn at times, but he isn't stupid.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 12:20 AM) I will say in Ranger's defense that he has to deal with some serious dummies on the postgame show. So if he comes across as condescending, stubborn, and arrogant there, I can see how it happens. I don't even blame him for towing the company line, because at the end of the day, he wants to keep his job I'm sure. But the posters here are a lot smarter than the callers he gets, and I think he needs to understand that. Ranger is not smarter about the White Sox than everybody or anybody here just because he hosts the postgame show, so if he wants to come here and defend the White Sox, he's going to have to bring stronger arguments than what I typically see if he wants to be taken seriously. Or in other words, he's held to the exact same standard of any other poster (at least in my eyes). I agree with this, however; Chris does have access to some inside information that none of us do. I don't believe that I "stroke" Chris anymore than any other poster as I like to get the views of eveyone here. I can disagree with someone without resorting to nastiness and name calling. In this case I disagree vehemently with Ranger on the Kotsay issue, but I would love to encourage Chris to keep coming back and posting his opinions as well as any other information that he can give us.

Could the reason that Dayan seems to be swinging at most everything have to do with major league pitching? Pitchers that are in the majors tend to throw more strikes, and even when they miss the plate it usually isn't by much. To Dayan, this may seem like a good buffet restaraunt, he might just be seeing so much that he'd like to hit that he swings at everything. Once pitchers figure out that they can't send up meatballs to him, Dayan just might have the ability to lay off and wait for his pitch.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 09:19 PM) Kotsay isn't going anywhere. I could be wrong, but my guess is Viciedo is back to Charlotte when Teahen is back. Konerko is getting quite a few off days from the field (he's already 3 games away from his single season high of games played at DH), and Kotsay is the only one that backs him up. If they decide to move Viciedo to first base, it won't be done at the ML level this year and they certainly won't want him playing there down the stretch in a playoff race. I understand nobody likes Kotsy and he's everybody's favorite target, but he isn't killing them and he isn't going to cost them the division. If they lose the division, it'll be because the pitching failed. I really do appreciate all of your input Ranger, but why can't Teahen play 1st base.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 09:30 AM) Dayan will go down when Teahen comes back so he can play everyday in AAA. He will be back on Sept. 1 and never see AAA again. On White Sox Weekly they talked about Lillibridge and Walker working all winter in California to get him to become the player Guillen wants. When he showed this in AAA he was called up. Interesting stuff. I can certainly understand the benefit of playing everyday in AAA and this may help him have a hot bat when he returns in September. A counter argument to that would be that even if Viciedo doesn't get 1 at bat in August, his sitting on the bench being available for pinch hit duty would do more to help the team by provoking an opposing manager into a pitching change than having Kotsay around.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 08:27 AM) After January 22nd of this year, where they decided it was a good idea to call Mark Kotsay their DH and then let Jim Thome walk when there was open talk of Jim Thome winding up in Minnesota...I feel much, much more willing to question their baseball decisions. They can know stuff behind the scenes, like Cooper salivating over Jackson or mental problems with someone else they trade...but that one, there really was zero possible excuse for it. It was just outright wrong. I would tend to agree with you on the Thome thing, however, at the time Kotsay was coming off a fairly good last 2 - 3 months of the season and they might have seen something with Jones. I was still thinking that okay, let's give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they know something that I don't. In this case though, Kotsays' numbers flat out suck. almost anyone in the majors, and most anyone on this team (dare I say pitchers included) would be a better choice than Kotsay at DH. Even in my mind, there would be no defending this decision.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 1, 2010 -> 10:10 PM) Seriously, he and Viciedo have shown that they deserve to stay over Kotsay. Andruw Jones too, for his defense. I am one who will generally give K.W. & Ozzie the benefit of the doubt when it comes to baseball decisions, I am quite sure that they know much more than I do. However, I may have to rethink that train of thought if anyone but Kotsay is gone when Teahen comes back.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 30, 2010 -> 07:00 PM) You will see J4L 'unleashed' if the offense isn't legitimately upgraded. I'll have the popcorn ready!

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jul 30, 2010 -> 06:46 PM) Cowley said the "wow" player wasn't one of the most mentioned names, and specifically ruled Berkman out. It's Cowley, and there's a good chance that he's talking out his butt to some degree, but his "wow" guy wasn't Berkman. My guess is this "WOW" guy is Ichiro. I wouldn't necessarily like it because I would like Ichiro to single handedly beat the Twins this weekend. Maybe Ichiro can beat the Twins in tonights game and then join us tomorrow. That'll work.