WCSox

QUOTE (jphat007 @ May 28, 2008 -> 12:21 PM) Agreed. Though I will say Cleveland will likely be there at the end. Their starting pitching is incredible, and if their offense gets hot, which I imagine it will, They will be tough to beat during that stretch. They have 6 legit starters. They have an impressive rotation, but Sabathia and Carmona are the only ones that scare me. Byrd is average, Westbrook is a little better than average, and Lee will be average again when he comes back down to Earth. Their bullpen will be their Achilles Heel down the stretch.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ May 28, 2008 -> 11:16 AM) who would've thought on may 28th we'd be 6-3 against cleveland on the year Certainly not all of the people who were absolutely convinced back in March that Detroit and Cleveland were going to rule the Central.

Way for the offense to pick up Floyd today.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ May 28, 2008 -> 11:01 AM) well not that. him and the type of person he is. Cabrera's a crybaby. Renteria's a scumbag.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ May 28, 2008 -> 11:56 AM) meaning when i read that story how edgar doesnt like him and said the type of person he is, i thought badly of edgar. im seeing hes actually right.. Edgar's "right" to have Cabrera unlawfully detained at the airport? Agreed that Cabrera has some serious growing-up to do, but let's keep things in perspective.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 28, 2008 -> 04:37 AM) Keep writing in CQ on your ballots. Force the AL to either pick him, or put him on the final ballot. I'm not going to even bother. The system is completely f'ed up if I'm allowed to vote 25 times (or whatever the number is) and then have to create fake e-mail addresses and vote several hundred more times to compete with fans of other teams. MLB needs to fix this bullcrap.

QUOTE (jenks45monster @ May 27, 2008 -> 01:41 PM) Anybody else think the methods on voting needs to be changed? The AGS voting system needs to be changed if the game is to be anything more than a meaningless exhibition. If I were a contender in the AL, I'd be pretty pissed if Quentin wasn't at least on my bench.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 26, 2008 -> 08:09 PM) I love BA Barrackus as much as anyone, but you've got to keep running Swish out there. Ozzie's using BA about as well as he can right now...I would DL Paulie, to be honest, and hope he can heal that thing up altogether instead of continuing to try and fight through it this early in the season. I agree. Swish to 1B and BA to CF. Even BA is putting PK to shame at the dish right now.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ May 27, 2008 -> 12:39 PM) I'd give him about two weeks to see how the time off/cortisone shot works for him, but if he continues to struggle, he HAS to go on the DL. We're better off with him getting healthy and not being in for a while, then coming back later hopefully back to full strength than we are with him hitting .220 due to an injury. Let's just hope the time off and shot help his thumb feel better, but we'll see. +1

QUOTE (quickman @ May 27, 2008 -> 10:09 AM) sounds like paulie could use 8 weeks off. Put him down now and see him after the all star break. Go get freel, stick him in the leadoff spot, hit cabera second likes he wants and move AJ down to hit for more power to compensate for konerko. Andersen will man center field and bat ninth. I wouldn't be opposed to that, but it looks like he'll be OK if he's allowed to rest his thumb for a couple of weeks and if he's limited afterwards. I just don't see the point in playing him every day when he's not hitting and moving Swisher to 1B gives us much better defense in CF (Anderson). As long as Thome is slumping, why not platoon Paulie and JT at DH for a while, and see how Paulie's thumb responds? I don't think that they need Freel. The rest of the lineup is hitting reasonably well and will get even better when Thome and Swisher get back on track. Their offense is in good shape, even without PK.

QUOTE (ptatc @ May 27, 2008 -> 08:39 AM) The problem he has is called DeQuervain's Syndrome. It's a tenosynovitis near the base of his thumb by the wrist. There is a synovial sheath which surrounds a couple of tendons and the function is to move your wrist toward the thumb side and grip with your thumb. This is why it hurts to grip the bat and swing. the tendons become inflammed andpush on the membrane which in turn produces more fluid and causes swelling in the area. this problem will not heal unless you rest it for around 8 weeks. the little rest and injections will improve the function and pain but it will be around for the rest of the season to some degree. He cannot have more than 3 injections to the area otherwise the tissues will start to degenerate. The question will be how much improvement is there with short period of rest. Bracing will not allow sufficient motion to hit properly. Thanks for the info. Sounds like Paulie could use a couple of weeks off. He's almost an automatic out at the plate, and playing him at 1B isn't helping his thumb heal. Maybe a stint on the 15-day DL (with Swisher at 1B and BA in CF), and working him back into the lineup slowly (to keep the swelling down) would be the best course of action.

I really hope that Thome is fighting some nagging injury, because his bat looks incredibly slow right now. If he's healthy and still hitting .220 in August, he's probably done.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 27, 2008 -> 06:24 AM) That's been his problem for a lot of the season. Almost isn't good enough. He looked better last night, but only one of those hits was far enough to clear the fence. I don't think that Paulie's anywhere near 100% right now. He's too close to coming back for a 15-day DL stint, so I'd rather see Ozzie platoon him at DH with Thome for the next week, let Swisher play 1B, and put BA in CF.

To paraphrase an old saying, being skeptical is a good thing but being cynical is not. And while I completely understand Greg's frustration regarding the league and union's handling of the PED problem, I think that his post is more cynical than skeptical.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 24, 2008 -> 05:31 AM) How is it that Swisher gets a pass? The only thing he can do offensively is walk. He's not a very good defender. If the Cubs had traded for him instead of the White Sox, every other post in the Cub thread would be laughing at what would be considered an obvious ex-juicer. I have no proof, but 35 homers in 06 to 22 homers in 07 to 4 closing in on 1/3 of a season in 08 makes one wonder doesn't it? I'm suspicious about Swisher as well. If Swisher really is as good as his previous years suggest, Beane got ripped off in that deal. And he tends to not make mistakes like that. His numbers don't necessarily suggest PEDs (and he came into the league after steroid testing was implemented), but maybe it's something else (e.g., work ethic, drug abuse, etc.). I'm not holding my breath. Dude turns 38 in August and has been having trouble catching up to fastballs this season. Maybe he's simply in a funk, and maybe he's done. His age, pedigree, and salary make a comparison with Fields somewhat silly.

QUOTE (knightni @ May 23, 2008 -> 03:02 PM) Exactly. Bobby's like a sparkler; he burns hot and bright, but may burn out quicker than we want him to. I hope that he has 3 or 4 more closer years in him, but I think he may not. And that's exactly why I want the Sox to pay him reasonable one-year arbitration-level salaries over the next three seasons, rather than give him a big contract.

QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ May 23, 2008 -> 09:41 AM) re: Chipper Jones and Berkman -- nothing would surprise me, but Jones has hit more singles this season than at any point in his career and besides, his late-career evolution is not without precedent in guys like Molitor or Brett. It is a little suspicious that he's having such amazing seasons, but who knows. Berkman I don't know either, but it's possible. I don't want to play that game that oh, he's doing really good... I don't think either of them have yet shattered any records, so we'll have to see the end of the season for statistical analysis. Despite having really hot starts this year, Chipper and Fat Elvis have put up very good numbers and have been relatively free of injuries throughout their careers. I'd never say never, but these two don't exactly fit the profile. My guess is that they're simply starting off very hot.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ May 21, 2008 -> 04:56 PM) That's right. I knew it was a fast leadoff hitter. Rickey was probably a little better than Deion though . Pudge also got close to kicking Deion's ass when he drew a dollar sign next to the batter's box with his bat.

This means that Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones are definitely on the juice.

Very nice. Thanks for sharing that.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 22, 2008 -> 09:11 AM) They would take Fields for Figgins, and I'd be all for that... As would I. If it went down, I'd also be in favor of cutting Uribe, moving Thome, moving JD to DH, moving Swisher in to LF, and playing BA in CF.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 22, 2008 -> 09:58 AM) Crede for Figgens, Figgens plays 2B and leads off, with Fields called up and into 3B. I'd do it. I'd do it as well. Unfortunately, Crede is a FA next year (with Borass as his agent) and Figgins isn't a FA until 2010, so I don't see the Angels doing it. If they're going to deal Figgins, it's probably going to be for young/cheap talent in the off-season.

QUOTE (Felix @ May 22, 2008 -> 08:04 AM) I like Broadway, but I highly doubt that they would do Figgins for Broadway. It wouldn't make sense for their team. They MIGHT deal Figgins for Fields. Outside of that, I don't see any of our minor-leaguers attracting their interest. Hell, the Angels could legitimately ask for Floyd, Danks, or Quentin in the deal.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 21, 2008 -> 11:30 PM) Figgins is also hitting the ball well and finding ways to get on base, hence his .306 average and .421 OBP (3rd in the AL). I really doubt Figgins is going anywhere and this is just space filler. Agreed. Where's the Angels' incentive to trade him during the season, being in first place and all?

Pudge deserves a minute-long standing ovation. Great ballplayer, great guy.