scenario

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 10, 2008 -> 05:30 PM) Sorinao broken finger, Pie twisted testicle, coincidence? LOL. Doctor Soriano getting a little carried away with an annual checkup?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 12, 2008 -> 07:07 AM) Keith Law had some tidbits on 3 White Sox. I'm not a fan of Law but he was employed for several years by the Blue Jays as an assistant GM. He thinks Ramirez can hit for a decent average with 20 homer potential, but feels his OBP will be extremely low and compared him to BJ Upton now an OFer I believe, defensively at 2B. He says he's a lot like Soriano, but lacks Soriano's explosiveness and has even less plate discipline than him. He said Gavin Floyd's stuff has gone backwards, that his curveball, once deemed as one of the best is now just "solid" average. His fastball is 91-93, with little command, and says his change isn't anything special. He likes Josh Fields but says his pitch recognition is still lacking which will keep his walk rate down and well keeping his strikeouts up, and says he doesn't have the defensive capabilities to fall back on. All in all, pretty harsh. I still don't know how you judge anybody at this stage, and obviously Law didn't talk to the 29 teams KW mentioned who would love to have Floyd, and that most people in the industry, according to him, view him as a top of the rotation starter. I'd like to know where he got his intel to make those judgements. Does anyone think he has actually developed these opinions based on what he has SEEN? I doubt it since Floyd has only pitched twice this spring; and Alexei has played so little at 2B. Opinions without observations = hearsay. But it's stated as if it had authority. That's why I hate so much of the stupid 'expert' blogger crap... and am so skeptical of it.

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Mar 9, 2008 -> 12:10 PM) The teams that are in contention constantly are the teams that realize when it's time to move on and either trade aging players or let them go via free agency. Unless you're the Yankees, who have a $200M payroll. I think the two oldest teams in baseball (again) this year are Detroit and Boston. I guess they didn't get the 'gotta trade your old guys' memo.

Just when I say something bad about Pablo he makes a very nice play up the middle. Looked like an actual shortstop.

Well.... now I understand why Pablo doesn't play much shortstop.

Not that it really matters... but I believe Andy Sisco is out of options. (He was first put on a 40-man roster in 2005 with KC.)

Dye just jacked a homerun against Garland to tie up the Angels game 1-1.

Hang on to him til the end of spring training at least. Injuries are piling up on plenty of teams (including ours). As the season gets closer, demand will go up. It's not out of the realm of possibility that one of our key guys gets hurt either. (ex. Thome... Jim hasn't hit squat yet this spring. Makes me wonder a little about health issues.) As thin as our minors are, it sure would be handy to have Crede around in case that happened. (Crede at 3rd and Fields DH in that situation. And I really like the idea above of having Fields DH against lefties.) Why trade Crede now for a bucket of balls just to move him? Makes no sense when he may turn out to be useful... or even necessary.

From whitesox.com... Thursday morning's "B" game at Hi Corbett allowed White Sox pitching prospects Aaron Poreda and Kyle McCulloch the chance to work against Colorado's front-line Major Leaguers such as Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, Marcus Giles and Clint Barmes. Aaron Poreda Although many of those Colorado veterans were out of the game by the time Poreda took the mound, the White top pick from the 2007 First-Year Player Draft still earned solid reviews. He gave up one hit in one inning, striking out two. "Poreda threw very well," said White Sox pitching Don Cooper of the big left-hander, who possesses a fastball that has been known to max out in the high 90s. "He has arm strength and threw good sliders and changeups. "He's going to have enough physical stuff to pitch in the Majors, that's for sure. And I'll tell you what, the slider spins right and the changeup does what it's supposed to do. It's just a matter of continuing to develop and being consistent." Kyle McCulloch McCulloch, the White Sox top pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, was touched up for two earned runs in one inning, fanning one. Cole Armstrong Further results: Cole Armstrong, who has impressed the White Sox brass through the early stages of camp, homered during "B" game action off of Rockies closer Manny Corpas. Matt Anderson Matt Anderson, the one-time hard-throwing closer for the Tigers who agreed to a Minor League deal with the White Sox this spring, gave up one hit over one scoreless inning. "I don't know what his velocity was, but he had enough velocity," said Cooper of the right-hander, who last pitched for Colorado during the 2005 season. "He was a bit erratic at times. "When he throws a dynamite pitch over the plate, it's a quality Major League pitch -- whether it be a fastball or a slider. So now, the work is to be more consistent with his physical stuff." Also... Alexei Ramirez got two more hits. Andy Sisco threw two solid innings and didn't give up any runs.

It's happening to alot of teams. Our are relatively minor issues compared to some. For example, the Mets. What a disaster zone. Yesterday they fielded a team with only two of their regulars... not because they wanted to view young players either... it was because of injuries. Think we have problems? Yesterday they had Angel Pagan batting cleanup.

Hall update... Throwing program: Reserve catcher Toby Hall made throws to second Thursday as part of his ongoing work geared toward getting into game action by no later than the last two weeks of the Cactus League season. While Hall admits he wasn't throwing at full speed, he still isn't worried about his shoulder preventing him from breaking camp with the White Sox. "Yeah, it would be a different story if I couldn't hit and swing," said Hall, who hopes to be in at least "B" games by the start of next week. "I'm just getting game ready to go and catch. I might have three weeks of doing this same program, as long as I get up to game speed and continue to follow the program. I just have to be patient. "I can go in and DH right now, but I didn't sign here to DH. We still are shooting for the last two weeks to go play every day somewhere and get the at-bats."

From whitesox.com... Thursday morning's "B" game at Hi Corbett allowed White Sox pitching prospects Aaron Poreda and Kyle McCulloch the chance to work against Colorado's front-line Major Leaguers such as Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, Marcus Giles and Clint Barmes. Aaron Poreda Although many of those Colorado veterans were out of the game by the time Poreda took the mound, the White top pick from the 2007 First-Year Player Draft still earned solid reviews. He gave up one hit in one inning, striking out two. "Poreda threw very well," said White Sox pitching Don Cooper of the big left-hander, who possesses a fastball that has been known to max out in the high 90s. "He has arm strength and threw good sliders and changeups. "He's going to have enough physical stuff to pitch in the Majors, that's for sure. And I'll tell you what, the slider spins right and the changeup does what it's supposed to do. It's just a matter of continuing to develop and being consistent." Kyle McCulloch McCulloch, the White Sox top pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, was touched up for two earned runs in one inning, fanning one. Cole Armstrong Further results: Cole Armstrong, who has impressed the White Sox brass through the early stages of camp, homered during "B" game action off of Rockies closer Manny Corpas. Matt Anderson Matt Anderson, the one-time hard-throwing closer for the Tigers who agreed to a Minor League deal with the White Sox this spring, gave up one hit over one scoreless inning. "I don't know what his velocity was, but he had enough velocity," said Cooper of the right-hander, who last pitched for Colorado during the 2005 season. "He was a bit erratic at times. "When he throws a dynamite pitch over the plate, it's a quality Major League pitch -- whether it be a fastball or a slider. So now, the work is to be more consistent with his physical stuff."

I dug a little deeper and it appears that the Rangers did add Masset to their 40 man roster in late 2004. Therefore he has used up his three option years (2005-2007) and can't be sent to the minors this year without first clearing waivers. So we have to bring him north, trade him, or waive him.

I found the answer to my first question. Yes, the team burns an option by assigning a player to the minors even if they are not on the 25-man. But... I found this article by Rob Neyer that makes me wonder about Masset's option status: Options When a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the 25-man Major League roster, he is on "optional assignment." One common misconception about the rules is that a player may only be "optioned out" three times. Actually, each player has three option years, and he can be sent up and down as many times as the club chooses within those three seasons. When you hear that a player is "out of options," that means he's been on the 40-man roster during three different seasons, beginning with his fourth as a pro, and to be sent down again he'll have to clear waivers. Checking Masset's history on thebaseballcube.com... Nick first was promoted to the majors by Texas in 2006. That's one year. Last year with the Sox was two. This year is number three - not four. Are we working off the assumption that he is out of options, when he may not be? Anybody have verification of this?

QUOTE(flavum @ Mar 6, 2008 -> 06:37 PM) It means Masset can't be optioned to the minors without being placed on waivers. If a team claims him, they can have 10 days to make a deal. If nobody claims him, then MAsset can asked to be released or go back to Charlotte, which is unlikely. I think he'll be traded. But does he have to be optioned to start the year in Charlotte if he is not currently on the 25-man roster?

Since Masset is out of options... Does that mean he can't start the season with Charlotte (unless he clears waivers)? Or does it mean that he could start the the season in Charlotte, but if called up, he couldn't be returned to AAA without clearing waivers? When does an option get used? It's to move a player from the 25-man to the minor league roster isn't it? And he's not on the 25-man now.

Picking up Uribe's option was the right thing to do at the time. Can't go back and rewrite history.

It's gotta be tough for a knuckleball pitcher to try and earn his way onto a roster pitching in the dry air of Arizona. No easier pitch to smack the crap out of than a knuckleball that doesn't knuckle.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Mar 6, 2008 -> 12:30 PM) i would imagine pablo would look as yttihs at shortstop as he did in the past. although you never know, maybe the broken leg made him a better shortstop. I know he's played a few games there (19 career games), but it's been awhile and I don't remember how he looked. Just thought it was interesting they'd have him start a game at SS, while Uribe has seen no action there this spring.

The Rockies and White Sox are playing a "B" game today at 10 a.m. MT (noon central), pitting Colorado's Jeff Francis against fellow-left-hander Andrew Sisco. The game will feature Pablo Ozuna leading off and playing short, Alexei Ramirez at second, Josh Fields at third and Jason Bourgeois in center. Doesn't appear to be covered anywhere (radio, etc). Today's regular game starting at 2:05 is on MLBtv. I'm sort of interested in how Pablo will look playing shortstop. Evaluating backup options if they trade Uribe?

Funny how rumors about New York teams always involve them giving up crap for other teams best players.

Just because Armstrong got a couple of hits this spring doesn't mean he's ready to step in... or would be better than a proven MLB catcher like Hall (when healthy). Armstrong spent almost all of last year at Winston Salem. I'd like to see how he does in a full season above A-ball before we anoint him the Sox backup. Also, in the TV game the other day he looked pretty poor on three stealing attempts. Bad throws on all of them. One allowing a run to score. Not impressed yet.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 5, 2008 -> 05:29 PM) Anderson with a 2-R HR and an assist. Think he's still a White Sock tomorrow. According to Dave van Dych's article in the Trib today, both Quentin and Owens are hurting. Could it be that Brian ends up coming north with the team as a starter?

Link Owens, Quentin hurting By Dave van Dyck, 2:30 p.m. TUCSON, Ariz. -- The White Sox have shut down outfielders Jerry Owens and Carlos Quentin for at least "a couple of days" because of injuries, according to manager Ozzie Guillen. Owens, who has taken the early lead as leadoff man/center fielder, continues to be bothered by a nagging groin pull that has bothered him for several days. "I don't like the way he was running the bases," Guillen said. "The key for him is his legs and we have to keep those legs fresh. ... There's no reason for him to go out there and hurt himself again. All of a sudden a minor injury could become a big injury. We learned that from having [scott] Podsednk. Pods would go from a little soreness to a big deal." Quentin, acquired in an off-season trade with Arizona, is clearly falling behind this spring as he comes back from left shoulder surgery to repair labrum and rotator cuff tears. The soreness affects his swing more than his defense, though Guillen characterizes the situations as "not a big deal." "This kid is going to be here for good and I think he was creating bad habits with his swing and it led to some soreness, but he'll be fine," Guillen said. "If it was the start of the season, he could play. But rather than have him push it and lose one more week, we are holding him back. I think it's the best for him. "[He's] a workaholic. We have to monitor him real close, because he's different than other kids. But he bounces back real well from injuries. He's not hurt, he's just sore. But in the meanwhile, when you're sore and it's in the back of your mind, you create bad habits. This is to protect him."

QUOTE(knightni @ Mar 4, 2008 -> 04:59 PM) My job here is done. 1. Make everyone upset 2. Buy groceries 3. get a car wash LOL. Well, look at the bright side... you did a good job!