WCSox

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 6, 2008 -> 05:32 AM) Never underestimate the badness of the Detroit Tigers bullpen. Rodney was far from bad last night.

The shaving cream pie to the face during the post-game interview never gets old.

Nice to see Swish and Paulie have bounce-back games. And, wow, Uribe might catch on as a 3B somewhere. Dude may have put on 30 lbs. over the past two seasons, but he can still throw the leather.

QUOTE (bighurt4life @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 06:29 PM) Exactly, when is the last time you saw AJ lose his cool. It's always other people i.e. Barrett or Mike Soscia (when AJ took first on the ball in the dirt in 05 divisional) who freak out when AJ is around. I'm not saying he doesn't go out of his way to fu** with people but he never loses it. He's probably one of the smarter players in the game, as well. He knows how to get into other players' heads and he's been known to out-smart a home plate ump every now and again.

QUOTE (almagest @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 12:36 PM) We hit over 200 home runs in 2005 and won it all. The makeup of that offense wasn't much different than the past 2.5 years, The makeup of the '05 offense consisted of two productive sluggers (Konerko and Dye), a number of other players with some power and below-average OBP, and a leadoff hitter who stole a ton of bases over the first four months of the season. That's a lot different than the offenses that we've had over the past 2.5 years. There were a whopping TWO players with an OBP of .350 or higher and only TWO players with a BA of .280 or higher in '05. When Pods leads your team in hitting, you know that you've got problems. Thank God their pitching and defense was spectacular. It won't be the offense that gets us to the postseason this year, either. We could trade for Manny right now and it still wouldn't overcome our bad pitching and defense.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 02:50 PM) C'mon. He's not that smart and I hope they're not that fragile. Sorry, but Ozzie's a pretty bright guy. Especially when it comes to handling players.

QUOTE (almagest @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 12:04 PM) Like who? Who are we going to replace the 60+ homers and ~200 RBIs we'd get from, say, Thome and Dye, or the mid-.800 OPS we'd get from a career-average Konerko with? What Terry Tiffees and Nick Puntos do you recommend we get? You're not. But that's the whole point. What the Sox have been trying for the past 2 1/2 years has been met with mixed results. But more importantly, it's garnered them zero playoff appearances. If they fail to make the playoffs again this year, Kenny needs to seriously consider moving one or more of those aging sluggers (if possible) and starting over again. I kind of doubt he'll do that this winter(partially because Paulie and Thome can reject trades). But if they're playing .500 ball next June, it'll be time to hold a firesale and stock up on prospects.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 08:01 AM) I'd be all for trading Fields for a good young starting pitcher in the Danks / Floyd mould who could jump into the rotation from next season. Of course you'd have $10M wasted on Contreras still then (unless you could somehow dump him on somebody). If KW were able to procure Blake (or somebody like him), I'd go ahead and deal Fields for a pitcher. I'd like to keep Fields around to see if he can develop into a better hitter, but I think that we need a reliable (health-wise) 5th starter more than Josh. Next year is the last of Jose's deal and I'm sure that somebody would take him if Kenny ate half of the remaining $10 million or so on it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 06:46 AM) I think its best for the Sox to move on after the season. It looks like he probably will have problems from here on out. +1 And with Fields looking terrible at the plate this year, Kenny should go after a cheap-ish, get-me-by vet like Blake in the off-season.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 09:48 PM) Seattle Inning Summary - K. Johjima grounded out to third - Y. Betancourt singled to left - I. Suzuki walked, Y. Betancourt to second - W. Bloomquist singled to right, Y. Betancourt to third, I. Suzuki to second - R. Ibanez homered to deep right, W. Bloomquist, I. Suzuki and Y. Betancourt scored - B. Bass relieved G. Perkins - A. Beltre doubled to deep left - J. Lopez singled to right, A. Beltre scored - C. Breslow relieved C. Breslow - J. Lopez to second on passed ball - J. Vidro popped out to third - M. Cairo hit for B. LaHair - M. Cairo walked - M. Guerrier relieved C. Breslow - J. Clement hit for K. Johjima - J. Clement singled to right, J. Lopez to third, M. Cairo to second, J. Lopez scored, M. Cairo to third, J. Clement to second on right fielder D. Span's throwing error - Y. Betancourt singled to shortstop, M. Cairo scored, J. Clement scored, Y. Betancourt to second on shortstop B. Harris' throwing error - I. Suzuki intentionally walked - W. Bloomquist walked, Y. Betancourt to third, I. Suzuki to second - R. Ibanez singled to center, I. Suzuki and Y. Betancourt scored, W. Bloomquist out at home - End of Inning (10 Runs, 8 Hits, 2 Errors) Yep, I'm looking forward to that 14-game road trip later this month.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 03:37 PM) Actually...I'd say it's more likely Danks would have been left out if Floyd wasn't traded, because Danks has options left, Floyd does not. They weren't releasing him. That was a tough situation. Danks needed to be in the rotation for the sake of his development... but we all knew that Danks would need September off to save his arm and that we couldn't count on Contreras. I was against the trade at the time and obviously still don't like it with 20/20 hindsight. But if I were in Kenny's shoes back in November, I'm not quite sure what I would've done. Putting Floyd in long-relief with an occasional spot-start may have been an option, although not a very good one.

QUOTE (jenks45monster @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 03:35 PM) This is my point as well. Why would anyone want to throw a 37 year old slugger who has been injured a few times in the past in the field if it isn't necessary? My point is that it's not Thome's age, but his propensity for hamstring, calf, and ribcage injuries that's keeping him from playing 1B. Age hasn't stopped older players like Griffey and Bonds from playing the more physically-taxing corner OF positions.

QUOTE (jenks45monster @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 02:19 PM) My point is not that range is more important than a good arm. Are you agreeing and saying that Swisher's arm stinks? Compared to other CFs like Damon and Juan Pierre? No. If you think that Swisher's arm isn't strong enough to play CF, you're in need of some perspective. You're missing my point. McGwire wasn't any more athletic than Thome (a former 3B), but was able to play there until he retired. There's no reason why Thome couldn't play there at an acceptable level. Unless, of course, Ozzie doesn't want him straining a muscle, which is my point. BTW, Thome played 1B regularly from '96-'05. I'm pretty sure that he remembers how to scoop a bad throw out of the dirt.

QUOTE (almagest @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 12:43 PM) Because Thome is the third-best first baseman on the team? Explain why Ozzie took the bat out of Thome's hand and played a slumping/injured Konerko at 1B during interleague play. Even considering that Thome is a defensive downgrade from Paulie, he should've been hitting in those situations. And Thome is the better option against RHP, which is what the majority of what they played against. But he didn't because Ozzie is afraid to put a fragile Jim Thome at 1B. And on the other hand, it's a serious defensive pickup. Griffey is slow as hell in CF and Swish is more of a corner OF. Our defense is f'n awful this year and it's costing us. Just look at the past week. BTW, Dye at DH is not a drop-off from Thome. I'll take JD's younger bat from here on out over JT's. Because both Paulie and Dye are on the decline defensively and will be soon relegated to 1B/DH as well. The Sox need to get off of this add-another-aging-slugger-in-his-mid/late-30s kick. They can't keep over-paying for aging veterans who are locked into a few select positions and drag down their defense. So why not shed some of that payroll and use it to pick up another player or two that actually addresses this team's needs? By my count, we're going to need a 3B next season (Fields doesn't look like he's ready) and at least one more middle infielder. Past health doesn't mean a whole lot when a player enters his late 30's. Especially when physical fragility has already forced him to a DH-only role. I agree that Thome is a very productive hitter that a lot of teams would love to have. Unfortunately, the Sox have a number of similar players who are younger (and therefore, better future prospects) and are restricted to similar positions. The problem isn't Thome's lack of productivity, it's that he's just not a good fit anymore. The Sox can't continue on this path. They need to shed payroll, bring in a couple of younger veterans to play 3B and SS/2B, and let guys like Anderson and Alexei develop. Given that Thome most likely has fewer productive years left than Paulie and Dye (I'm assuming that Griffey is released this winter) and can no longer play anywhere in the field, he's the odd man out.

QUOTE (jenks45monster @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 12:19 PM) - Swisher's arm is terrible. Wrong. Johnny Damon's arm was terrible, and he played CF regularly up until two years ago. Because range matters more that arm strength in CF. Please explain how Mark McGwire was an acceptable first baseman towards the end of his career, but Thome supposedly isn't? You need to be more than "athletic" to play CF. You need speed. Griffey doesn't have it anymore. He's been OK, but his range is clearly diminishing. Quentin is the better long-term option.

QUOTE (jenks45monster @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 11:52 AM) Swisher is "CLEARLY" a better defensive option in CF? This is news to me. How many gold gloves does Griffey have? 10? LOL, talk about living in the past. Range is a lot more important than arm strength in CF. And Swish does not have a "puss arm." If he did, he wouldn't be subbing in RF late in games. Johnny Damon (who truly has a "puss arm") was playing CF regularly up until a couple of years ago. But apparently it's OK for a guy even older than Thome to play CF. Thome isn't that much slower than he was three years ago in Philly. And it's not like immobile first basemen are rare in MLB. Paulie is a mediocre defensive 1B. And he apparently can't hit like he used to, but that didn't stop Ozzie from starting him at 1B against RHP in interleague play. On the basis of hitting alone, Thome should've started those games. Again, please stop living in the past. Dye has a nice arm, but he has less range than Quentin, who also has a pretty nice arm.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 12:37 PM) Good for Ozzie. This rant is exactly why the players love him. He is perfectly willing to take a bullet for the guys who are willing to go the wall for him. You can say that again! And, seriously, that is the worst-kept secret in baseball. Hardly worth a suspension, IMO. Hopefully this will provide the Sox with a spark.

QUOTE (almagest @ Aug 4, 2008 -> 08:00 AM) You keep asserting he's injury-prone, and that the "evidence" supports it, yet you don't back it up in any way... Since you apparently know everything, why don't you explain to the class why Ozzie has Griffey playing CF most days, with Swisher at 1B when Swish is CLEARLY the better defensive option in CF? Why not just move Thome back to 1B and Griffey (or Dye) to DH? Why in the heck would Kenny even trade for Griffey in the first place when he could've taken Paulie out of the lineup by simply moving Thome to 1B? Why has Thome not played 1B all year (especially in interleague play, with Paulie slumping), and a combined four times over the previous two seasons? I'll give you a hint: It has something to do with Thome being injury-prone. That's nice, but it doesn't take into account Thome's lack of production early in the season while he was trying to play through a rib cage injury. Dye, whose defensive skills have eroded over the past couple of years. Quentin would be better off in RF, with Swish moving to LF and Anderson moving to CF. I said that Thome is "injury-prone", not "unproductive while healthy." Yeah, he can still hit, but he has so many problems with nagging injuries that he can't do anything other than DH. The Sox already have an assload of slow sluggers who are limited to DH, 1B, and maybe RF. Thome also has a limited NTC that makes him very difficult to trade if the Sox are out of contention next July. With Dye and Paulie being younger and better options for the future (not to mention capable of putting on a glove), Thome would be the odd man out.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 03:39 PM) How would Jon Garland look right now? No kidding. Even with Floyd pitching well, you can never have too much starting pitching.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 02:30 PM) Giving up on the team and being of the opinion that the team won't win the division are two completely different things. True, but it's awfully difficult to believe that either the Red Sox or Rays (or possibly even the Yankees) won't win the WC. If the Sox don't win the Central, it's unlikely that they'll be in the playoffs.

QUOTE (DABearSoX @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 09:14 PM) thats just beyond belief.... It's also beyond belief that the Twins have one series victory and a grand total of six wins in those four playoff appearances.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 01:51 PM) There was nothing wrong with them tossing Carrasco. Maybe not, but they should've at least given him a warning on that pitch that glanced off of Olivo's bat. Wasn't that the second inside pitch of the at-bat?

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 02:20 PM) Yeah, I suppose I can't blame Kenny too much because I have absolutely no knowledge of any trade discussions. It is just frustrating seeing other teams get help (Cubs, Yanks) without seemingly giving up much value. I just hope KW couldn't drum up enough interest in Fields as opposed to the other way around. It does suck, and it's tough to out-bid other teams that have more young talent to deal. Being in the Central also immediately took us out of the CC sweepstakes. That said, I do think that Kenny may have had a chance at somebody like Maddux or Lowe. That would be a low-impact trade on the surface, but not so much when one considers that our other #5 options consisted of Richard, Carrasco, and Masset. But, like you said, we don't know what the asking price was for those two.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 02:07 PM) Thanks again to Kenny for getting us some pitching. Good thing he spent time working on a Griffey trade. In Kenny's defense, he doesn't have anything to trade for top-line pitching right now. And our supposed "ace" didn't exactly help yesterday, either.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 12:38 PM) But he has shown absolutely nothing in his 3 starts Not exactly. He showed nothing today, but he looked good for several innings in his previous two starts (big innings in each of those hurt him). Richard isn't ready yet, but he's pretty talented and may work out over the long-term. I wouldn't mind seeing him back up here next September.