Pants Rowland

QUOTE (WinningUgly85 @ Apr 23, 2009 -> 04:52 PM) I hope not! I like what we have. Perhaps maybe new away uniforms couldn't hurt. Couldn't agree more. The road uniforms are fine but if they changed them a little here or there, it would not bother me. If they messed with the home uniforms, however, someone would have some answering to do. They had so many stinkers for a long stretch and got it just right when the new park opened up.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 23, 2009 -> 09:50 AM) Good pitchers make hitters make poor contact? QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 23, 2009 -> 10:03 AM) I mean that when people cite BABIP they do it to show there's a fluke or what have you, like if their BABIP is really low then they must be lucky. But there is no significant gap between Danks's BABIP and his actual BAA so he must just be inducing those outs on his own, and it's not a fluke. I think BABIP is kind of a borderline useless stat most of the time because people cite it when they shouldn't. I have seen this stat cited quite a bit lately on this board. I believe Gavin Floyd got hit with it a lot last year and now I see it referenced to Danks. However, BABIP should be a derivative of BAA, correct? I mean, wouldn't the only difference between the two stats be strikeouts? Then of course, BAA would always be lower than BABIP, or am I mistaken? Anyway, as far as I am concerned, certain pitchers make it difficult for hitters to square up their pitches and may have a BABIP much lower than the league average. I have not looked at Danks' career figure for this, but he clearly makes life difficult on the hitters. When they do get wood on the ball, it has not been spectacular from what I have seen. Further, it is not as if the White Sox defense is so outstanding to make him that much better a pitcher. Finally, with the exception of the HR, and the catch Dye made on Markakis' ball, the O's were not getting the best lumber on Danks either last night. If he avoids the Verducci Effect this year, I see no reason for him to regress.

QUOTE (NIUSox @ Apr 16, 2009 -> 12:38 PM) I laughed when I saw the Craig Grebeck Blue Jays jersey. Sad how many people don't know "The Little Hurt." Supposedly one of the grouchiest SOBs ever to play the game, too.

People always forget that certain players that stink in one system can thrive in another. It is the reason many think BA may be better off elsewhere than here in Chicago. Swisher is a decent player and may go on to be a HOF player (doubtful) but it wasn't going to happen here in Chicago. He just did not seem to excel here and I doubt his recent performance was just clearing his head in the offseason.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 15, 2009 -> 09:24 AM) I think Mauer may be on and off this season, which is a huge blow to that team. And Liriano is just not himself anymore. I think this may finally be the Twins team that falls into the basement, or close to it. I am not prepared to agree or disagree with this statement, but I do cringe when people doubt the Twins this early in the season. It is a very dangerous game to play. I am not superstitious but it just seems they find a way to address their weaknesses early and make do with what they have the rest of the way.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 11:04 AM) well he obviously won't keep up this crazy pace, but if he puts up his career numbers he will be an above average hitter. He was not a good fit here so don't think he would be performing in a similar fashion if he were still on the Sox. I would not lament the loss of Swisher. It is too bad we gave up Sweeney for him, but who knows how he would be performing here as well. Organization can make all the difference for some players.

QUOTE (DaveBrown85 @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 04:10 PM) Yes the Owens jersey is hanging right next to my Mike Caruso jersey. What, no Fred Manrique or Jerry Dybzynski jersey as well?

QUOTE (daa84 @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 03:07 PM) dweezy hadnt had a walk this yaer or in spring training...i feel bad for a guy who was a career minor leaguer and finally got his shot, but i think this is gonna be for the better Would be nice to see BA finally seize the opportunity and perform on an everyday basis (v. lefty and righty) and Wise get healthy enough to come back within a few weeks and be a valuable guy off the bench, like he is meant to be. Dare to dream.

QUOTE (beautox @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 01:41 PM) come on little bridge Cute. Insert him in the 9 hole to perfect the nickname.

Pitcher: Steve Howe or Lamar Hoyt Non-pitching position player: Keith Hernandez

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 02:35 PM) Wise K #3. That's bad for a leadoff man, right?

QUOTE (soxfan3530 @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 02:26 PM) wow fields.... crede who?????? Joe couldn't have made that play.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 09:17 AM) So was Pablo Ozuna! Awesome news!!!!! Pick those two guys up and all we need to do is pry Mr. Fabulous away from his high paying gig at the Chez Paul.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 24, 2009 -> 02:35 PM) When you're there, its hard to believe its a major US city. It was about 15% in 2005 with 33% of residents living below the poverty line. The poverty line is 19k for a family of 4, 9k for a single. Are these metro numbers or city proper? I know not many people still live within city limits compared to many major metropolitan regions. Still is a telling stat, though.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 12:34 PM) It's because he had a couple big hits last year and nothing more. The guy is a career .259/.309/.422 hitter throughout his minor league career, which spans 12 seasons, 935 games, and 3,555 AB. To put it in perspective, Joe Borchard was a .275/.351/.481 hitter over 8 minor league seasons covering 664 games and 2,482 AB. Joe Borchard has hit .205/.284/.352 over the course of his MLB career, which is very similar to Wise's .214/.254/.385 MLB career line. In fact, a good debate - if anyone cared enough - would be who would be the better full-time Major League hitter over a full season, Joe Borchard or Dewayne Wise? To put it in perspective, Warren Newson was a career .301/.425/.482 hitter over 13 minor league seasons covering 902 games and 2,912 AB. Warren Newsom's .250/.374/.401 MLB line blows Wise's .214/.254/.385 MLB career line out of the water, and it is even better than Wise's minor league career line. To put it in perspective, Dewayne Wise is 5 seasons away from equaling Ernie Young's minor league career in terms of length (17 seasons, 1712 games, 5,999 AB), and Ernie Young was a better hitter: .279 AVG, .502 SLG (OBP missing from Baseball Cube's site, but from a quick glance he would appear to average out into the .360+ range). Wise is a veteran that brings some things like speed and a little bit of pop to the table when we're talking about well-managed, VERY LIMITED playing time. There is a mountain of evidence that shows he shouldn't even be leading off for the Charlotte Knights, let alone the Chicago White Sox. Off the bench as a pinch hitter and a pinch runner I'm fine with it. Are there better options out there? Yes, but I'd rather see extra money go to the draft and international free agency, not the bench, so I'm happy. That should pretty much end the conversation though. Anderson is not in any way a great hitter, or even a good hitter, but he does play some great defense. While Brian will hurt you at the plate, if he's batting 9th then he'll get the fewest number of AB on any given night. Brian's defense combined with a .220 average will help this team a lot more than even a .300+ hitting s***ty outfielder would, and aside from the "s***ty outfielder" part, that is nothing that either Wise or Owens can accomplish. The only team in baseball that would consider guys like Owens and Wise starting CFers is this one. The only managers in baseball that would consider guys like Owens and Wise starting CFers are Ozzie and Dusty Baker. Anderson should be the everyday guy until he either shows he can hit enough to stick there longterm or someone better is brought in to replace him. He should NEVER lead off however. That's just ridiculously f***ing stupid. Ah luuuuuvvvv it when you analyze.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 18, 2009 -> 05:02 PM) Kevin Youkilis is done for the WBC with an ankle injury. It's supposedly a mild sprain with some inflammation in the Achilles. This is getting f***ing ridiculous, Terry Francona is going to strangle Bud Selig to death. He didn't want any of his players participating in this sham in the first place now his 2 MVP candidates from last year are banged up. This is what he had to say even before the Youkilis injury and remember, employees of Major League Baseball are not allowed to speak ill of the WBC so he had to do a little tip toeing around the subject: I wonder how Frank Wren felt watching Brian McCann, his star catcher who's never played a single professional inning anywhere but catcher, play left field the other night. I'm sure he was overwhelmed with pride for his country. It's funny how everyone agrees it's a great idea but at the same time they also agree that there's no good time for it to be held. Well then, since they are holding it at the beginning of March which is an awful time for this thing, it would have to be constituted as a BAD IDEA. I would love to see MLB mix it up a little and have the WBC replace the All-Star Game every four years. Start the season (and spring training) a week earlier and have the All-Star break feature a tournament similar to the WBC over the course of a week to 10 days. In fact, if necessary, they could even shorten the season to 154 games those years with some type of revenue sharing for the tournament to make up for the loss. This should also still allow for the playoffs and WS to take place as usual.

QUOTE (Sully Baseball @ Mar 18, 2009 -> 12:50 PM) Now if you think that I should omit Burns or omit Salome Barojas from the bullpen and stick Joe Horlen onto the roster... that would be fair. Fantastic read. You seem like a PhD of the game. I did not see Horlen pitch but my old man always sung his praises. Barojas was impressive for a short period but I sort of recall him getting figured out soon enough and then traded. I think Barojas does not deserve to be on this list. You are right, BTW, Burns was nails in Game 4 and deserves accolades for that performance alone. Too bad his hip broke down and ended his career short.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 11:39 AM) Are their any current or former Sox players who were fans of the team growing up? I'm pretty sure Gload and Rowand were/are pretty big Sox guys regardless of where they're playing now. "The Pope", Don Pall and, believe it or not, Josh Paul, the goat of the 2005 ALCS both stick out as south siders with a penchant for the team.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 10:48 AM) For Z's money, I'd even stop posting here. So, who should I make the check out to? ;-)

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Mar 14, 2009 -> 06:24 AM) 1. I agree with that as I can see the Sox sending Beckham down to start the year to get some 2b experience. 4. I disagree with that. Beckham is a much better hitter than Getz and therefor would be a better leadoff hitter. The pressure will be on Getz to maintain his job in the majors. Beckham is already knocking on the door. I'm guessing Getz will have two months to prove himself. If Getz does prove himself and starts the season off strong- better for us. Once Beckham is ready- we could trade Getz for value... were still looking for a CF Kenny! I'll tell you what, if Getz proves himself in the show, Beckham continues to impress at SS down in AA, and the motley crew of CF continues to confound us with misplays and poor ABs, there is a solution many here have suggested. The only concern will be the D of Alexei in CF.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 07:53 PM) Before the tiebreaker, my best experience at the Cell was the Sox comeback off of Mariano with C. Lee tying it and then Valentin with the broken bat winner. I remember that one and was there. Rainy game in midweek if I recall correctly. C. Lee had some big memorable hits in his Sox career. Always stepped up against the Cubs. That extra inning GS vs them was particularly memorable. My top 5... 1. Game 5 ALCS - I know it was not the championship or El Duque's mastery, but something about Konerko stepping on first base and Rooney saying the Sox won the pennant and are going to the WS did it for me. 2. Crede walkoff v. Cleveland. Was there for that one and caught his earlier shot to roughly the same area. 3. Game 2 of the WS. 4. 1983 division clincher. I wasn't there but there was no turning back for me after that season. That pretty much started my years of waiting for a championship. 5. 1993 hot summer Monday night game with friends. It was the night after the Bulls won the title against Phoenix. Pippen and one or two players were in Reinsdorf's suite and the Sox saluted the Bulls on the jumbotron with highlights including Paxon's three pointer (it was never in doubt, my friend). Place was rocking with 40K+ fans (before the stadium contracted), Sox got out to an early lead on a HR by Thomas (Ventura hit a solo shot later) and held off Texas for a 7-6 victory and ended up sweeping the series en route to their first division title in 10 years. Just one of those fun nights with friends that stick out in your memory.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 11:05 PM) *...slowly raises hand* Uh, I've heard of the South Side Hitmen many times, and I've heard of the players' names before, but I just can't remember them for the life of me if I had to name them off the top of my head. Jimmy Piersall? Never heard of him, who's that? I knew about the Harry Carey thing, and I always find it hilarious when I hear people (usually Cubs fans) say that we're stealing the 7th inning stretch from the Cubs, lol. Honestly, I'm just a late-bloomer when it coems to baseball. I went to my first Sox game when I was about 8 or 9 years old and my favorite Sox player at the time was a back-up catcher named Mike LaValier (sp?). I also played little-league baseball, but at the time I didn't really learn how to play baseball at the same pace as my peers because my dad was too busy with opening can after can of beer. I ended up falling out interest with baseball only to end up watching the Sox again in 2002, and really becoming a hardcore Sox fan after Ozzie Guillen was hired in 2003. 2004 was the first season where I actually watched about 100 games, then I've been hooked ever since. So yea, I may not know of the older era, and I'm only 23, but I'm by no means a "bandwagon" fan by any stretch. I bleed black and white! I was looking for the "hug" smiley but I do not think there is one. That is beautiful. I am glad to call you one of my own. Spanky Lavalliere? You definitely have a soft spot for the unsung.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 03:48 PM) Guillen-Manrique? And it doesn't matter how many people showed up for the parade. We all know the Cubs' parade will blow ours away. Yes to Guillen-Manrique (nicely done). You may show up to the next world series parade. It is funny you mention the Cubs parade. I resisted saying the same thing and am surprised it took 11 posts for someone to point out how much bigger that mythical Cubs celebration will be. Someday...

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) It doesn't necessarily make them casual fans, either. I know plenty of people who are die-hard Sox fans that wouldn't be able to name someone from a team that long ago. Some merely do not delve deeply into team history but instead know what is going on in the present. I don't judge a fan being hardcore only if they can name players from a prior era of baseball. Screw that. If you do not know the White Sox double play combo from 1987 you can go the F back to Russia!

To tell you the truth, out of all his trades, only Wells/Fogg for Ritchie made me scratch my head raw. Young for Vazquez is debatable but the decision is very split on that one. In some ways, I like that Williams is not afraid to make a trade like a Lee for Pods. Sometimes he does not let a perceived inequity distract him from executing his overall plan. Maybe he could have gotten another prospect or two there, but he did not waste a lot of time negotiating too much and miss the rest of the market. Second tier after a top five is not bad anyway.