scenario

Great... I turn on the game and the first pitch I see gets knocked out of the park by Fielder. Figures.

QUOTE (WCSox @ Apr 2, 2009 -> 11:42 AM) 1. The fact that KW chose a gaping hole in the #5 spot over Vazquez pretty much says it all - he wanted to shed payroll. Hell, look at what he got in return for Vazquez and Swisher. He was obviously dumping salary. 2. Think about it: If Kenny had such great confidence in these two turds, why did he give up substantial minor-league talent for both Swisher AND Griffey last year? Kenny tried solidifying CF last year by spending on veterans. It didn't work out, so why not go cheap at this position when the economy is forcing you to lower payroll anyway? A few things... The return for Vazquez is proof of dumping payroll?? I think it's more likely that KW figured there was no sense spending $11M this year on a guy whose had an ERA in the high 4's two of the last three years.... that we have young kids who could deliver at that level for much less. And he got good prospects in return without eating any of Javy's salary? Attaboy Kenny! And if you think Swisher was a salary dump... ask yourself what the Yankees could get for him right now if they moved him. He's basically been reduced to a 4th-5th outfielder until he gets the opportunity somewhere to redeem himself. I hate what we gave up for him originally, but I'm impressed by what we got after his implosion in 2008. And you think the Sox give up 'substantial minor-league talent' for Griffey, eh? You obviously must have liked Masset and Richar more than the Sox did. Besides... Griffey was not picked up to play CF. He was picked up for the pop in his bat... as a backup plan because of Paulie's struggles at the plate last year. He was only forced into CF because Swisher hit under .200 after the all-star break and played his way out of the lineup. Bottom line... he got rid of players whose production did not justify their salaries. That's not dumping.

Scott Baker on the 15-day DL as of this morning with shoulder stiffness.

Frankly, I think their staff is the weakest in the division. And there is no way in **** that I would take theirs over ours. Not a chance.

FWIW, Willy Taveras' spring stats were almost the exact same as Jerry Owens'... Taveras: .233 BA; .340 OBP; .256 SLG; 3 SB; 2 CS; 1 extra-base hit of any kind all spring (a double) Owens: .230 BA; .342 OBP; .262 SLG; 3 SB; 3 CS; 2 extra-base hits (both doubles)

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 04:49 PM) Jordan Danks is very string-beany...thought he would be more muscular. When you see him in person, he does not look string-beany. He's thin, but built like an NBA small foward. Very athletic. Beckham calls him a 'freak' athlete.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 03:23 PM) Bender with the information that Dye has the most homers of any MLB outfielder over the last four years. That can't be right, can it? I think he meant RFers, or AL RFers....Manny Ramirez would have to have more HRers than JD? 137 during that time. Maybe that's right? Manny has 135 in the last 4 years. Dye... 137

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 02:51 PM) what did he do to deserve that? one good start against ny and in the playoffs he did well in relief? jeez. just like wise. have a few decent games and u get a job. I think it's been a foregone conclusion for some time now that Richard was going to make the roster. The only question was whether he was going to be the 5th starter or in the bullpen.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Apr 1, 2009 -> 12:50 PM) Absolutely. Being a low OBP high SLG guy though, he probably doesn't appeal to the Sox however. We already have enough of those type of hitters, and KW and co. are trying to get away from that. At the Cell, playing everyday he'd be capable of putting up a +.800OPS if healthy however. His low OBP in the majors is based on a pretty small sample... and he was dealing with injuries during those stints too. (A year ago we could have made the same argument against Carlos Quentin, who actually had a lower MLB batting average and similar OBP in roughly the same number of at-bats.) Then look at McPherson's minor league career numbers. 296/.384/.586/.970. Pretty stellar on the OBP side. And with a higher OPS than Quentin's excellent minor league accomplishments (.955). Pretty impressive actually. Worth a shot IMO.

I'd try to sign McPherson for Charlotte in a heartbeat if I was KW. But I wouldn't be surprised if someone offers him a spot on a major league roster.

For those worried that BA will be buried on the depth chart... Here we are one-day after 'the announcement'... And Brian is starting in CF and leading off. Today's Lineup (Tuesday vs. Colorado) BA 8, Getz 4, Q 7, Thome DH, Dye 9, PK 3, AJ 2, Ramirez 6, Fields 5. MB pitching.

Another piece from the advertising campaign...

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 09:23 PM) As far as your dislike for Brian Anderson, tell me, why is offense in CF more valuable than defense in CF? I'm not the person you were asking... And I happen to like Brian... But regarding your question about offense in CF vs. defense in CF... Statistically speaking, offense has about 2X as much impact as defense. That's not a random swag number... that's the result of research professionals have done on the subject. Obviously you don't want to play someone who is a hack in the field, but offense trumps defense 2:1

Jeff Cox in mid-season form I can see. (For those who can't see it, he sent Thome home on a play where he was dead to rights.)

For the love of God, I wish someone would tell these stupid Angels announcers that Bartolo and Contreras are NOT battling it out for the 5th spot in the rotation. They've been talking about it ad nauseum for the last few innings, and proving without doubt that they have no clue what they're talking about.

The Angels have scored 101 runs in their last 9 games.

Hunter absolutely robbed Getz.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 04:24 PM) And yet the only information we have on this is from Cowley and Gonzalez. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ FWIW, here's Scott Merkin's version of the story... Owens likely out; Wise, Anderson in Center-field candidate says he was put on waivers; duo to split time TEMPE, Ariz. -- The White Sox roster has been all but set as of Monday, following six moves announced by the team. It's the one move that was not announced, though, which carries the greatest weight. Jerry Owens, one of the three candidates for the team's center-field job at the start of Spring Training, told reporters he was put on waivers, meaning he has 48 hours to be picked up by another team or be outrighted to Triple-A Charlotte. That move also means Dewayne Wise and Brian Anderson will share center-field duties, with Wise being told by manager Ozzie Guillen that he will lead off and play center on Opening Day against the Royals.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 03:00 PM) Except Dewayne Wise has officially been name the starting CF, there is no platoon. According to Mark Gonzalez... which means nothing. When Ozzie has been talking about this possibility in the last couple of weeks, he's been talking about starting Anderson against lefties.

I'm not a big fan of having Wise lead off, but I'm warming up to the idea of a Wise/Anderson platoon in CF. Wise's career stats suck, but his splits against right-handed pitchers suck significantly less than his overall average. (Career minor league numbers against RHP: .278/.337/.485... .822 OPS) And I believe this paves the way for Anderson to become the full-time CF sometime this year (if he hits respectably enough to earn it... which I think he will given enough at-bats).

LOL. Lefty is a classic. I like all three.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Mar 29, 2009 -> 07:16 PM) Suppose Cuban league is about AA. Viciedo was a regular there. It is a fact, many Cuban defectors from this decade have produced at the lower level A, AA and AAA. I am just concerned about sending him to about the same level of baseball he came from. I don't know... Keep in mind he wasn't really dominating in Cuba. (An average of 11 homeruns and 41 RBIs per year over 3 seasons (233 games) doesn't suggest he's ready to start in MLB right now, does it?) So what's the rush?? At Birmingham, he's going to face very good pitching talent. (We're in the same division with the Braves, Rays, DBacks, and Marlins AA-teams.) And Viciedo, at 20 years old, will be one of the youngest players in the entire league... if not THE youngest. Most prospects in that league will be 3 years older than him. If he succeeds there, promote him. If he does it in a big way... promote him quickly. A much better strategy IMO than throwing him to the wolves and screwing up him confidence by starting him at a level he's not ready for.

A swarm of bees causes a delay of game. "Bees!!!! Save yourself. Your fire-arms are useless against them."

Lillibridge with his 3rd hit of the day... a ground-rule double driving in a run.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Mar 29, 2009 -> 03:33 PM) If we judge Viciedo 231 average as not being ready, then we should do the same with any player in disregard of any position. I understand the reasoning about giving a player (Viciedo) a chance to play everyday in the minors as oppose as sitting in the bench. I preferred him to back up at 3B, RF and DH in the majors 3 times a week as oppose as being in the minors. I am sure I am in the minority with this view. IMO, he's too valuable to park on the bench. By going to Birmingham, he's going to have a chance to develop along with the group of players who are the future of the team. Makes alot of sense to me.