Dick Allen

Thome is the first White Sox to homer twice on opening day since Sammy Sosa in 1991.

This is starting to look like last year's opening day. Masset getting loose.

QUOTE(SoxWS05 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:16 PM) No he's not, these balls are getting hit hard off him. Hasn't he historically struggled against Cleveland? I do know he threw a gem opening day of 2005.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 02:01 PM) I know, but still. You think for all the good he did in cleveland. White Sox fans booed Frank Thomas while he still played for the White Sox. Right or wrong, they thought Thome left them for the money and didn't like it.

That's why you suck it up with Thome occassionally against guys he struggles against. If he makes contact, its runs.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Mar 31, 2008 -> 08:32 AM) MLB is so retarded. An entire series gets snowed out in Cleveland to start the year in 2007, now its supposed to poor rain all day there as well. You'd think they'd stick the first few weeks worth of games in warmer climate/domed areas. It's highly doubtful either Chicago team will get a game in today. I read an article with the Indians' groundskeeper last week. There were portions of the field still frozen last week. They needed a lot of sun to get the field playable. A lot of rain could wipe out the entire series. BTW, Miller Park is not being used today. Stupid.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Mar 30, 2008 -> 06:57 PM) Sigh... Baseball Tonight has become so pathetic. Steve Phillips just said that the Tigers will score 1000 runs and be the best offense in the history of baseball. Making things worse, tonights "analysts" are Eric Young and John Kruk. The former can't put a sentence together while the latter once admitted on radio that ESPN gives them controversial things to say on the air. Oh yeah, and he sucks too. How far has that show fallen. Ravich is terrible now, too, as he -- for some reason -- feels the need to interject his opinion. He's equally clueless and was much better when he was asked to 'drive' the discussions between Gammons and Reynolds. I agree. BTN has become horrible. Eric Young cannot speak, yet ESPN pays him hundreds of thousands a year to do just that. You used to get some information from that show. Not anymore.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 30, 2008 -> 04:14 PM) Thats not my job, it's Williams and Guillen job, something they clearly screwed up on. Now wait a minute. You are hypocritical. You lambast anyone who says Floyd sucks even though they are the same age, with approximately the same career ERAs, the same spring training results, and Floyd has 4 times the innings. Lets put things into perspective here. They both suck, and suck really bad. At least Masset's innings will be garbage innings, pitching in games whether he gives up 0 runs or 10 the Sox will probably lose, because except for injury he's going in when the starter gets bombed. Floyd pitches every 5th day, and his numbers are the same. That's beyond scary.

QUOTE(Al Lopez's Ghost @ Mar 30, 2008 -> 11:59 AM) The Sox website says there are 3 new food items this year: a foot-long hotdog, being called the Super Comiskey; a cart for hot roasted peanuts; and a stand for barbeque pulled pork sandwiches, and beef brisket sandwiches. Personally, I would have named the foot-long hotdog the Harry Chappas, but that's just me. Rockstar Dogs named their footlong the Tommy Lee. I don't think many guys would order it.

For a team whose manager said winning spring training games was going to be emphasized this spring last September, the White Sox didn't fair too well. The worst spring training record for an AL team, and second worst to the woeful Giants in the Cactus league.

Thome needs to be rested at times during the season. Ideally they could rest him vs. certain left handers and his back would hold up the rest of the time. How realistic that is is a different matter. One thing Thome has that a lot don't is he might be horrible against a guy, ie Sabathia, but one swing is runs. I would probably start him opening day, but bat him down in the order a little bit.

Shocking how many people thought Masset, despite how brutal he was last year, was worth keeping. Many thought he could be a viable starting pitcher, of course it was based on one game in 45 degree weather with the wind howling in. I too, believe there's a decent chance Masset could clear waivers but I really don't think that's the issue. The White Sox need a lamb. Wasserman can't go 3 innings or 4 innings in 3 days. They tried to stretch Thornton recently, but saw that probably wouldn't be a good idea. Wasserman didn't lose a competition with Masset. His being sent down has a lot more to do with Danks and Floyd not being relied on to give you consistent innings and the fact that the bullpen is loaded with 1 inning guys. Maybe they send Wasserman down and have him work on getting stretched out, or leave him as is and if there is an injury or poor performance he can come up. This has everything to do with Masset being able to give you multiple innings, maybe not quality innings, probably not quality innings, but they need someone who could save a couple of guys some days, and Masset was that guy by default.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 29, 2008 -> 05:32 PM) I at least am consistent on my views and have not wavered. You however, it just really depends on if the player is on your good side. You take small amounts of success and use it for hope, and just ignore years of mediocrity for your guy. But when posters on here post something positive about their guy, you come in as the poster of reason to crap on them doing the same thing. And the best thing is you use the opposite reasoning for their player. X player on played good against Y teams, but has been bad forever. Forever overrules the recent success. Yet if the player is Uribe, its I have a good feeling about him and he is talented. Sure whatever. Name 1 player I have ever wavered on? Just one.

QUOTE(Elgin Slim @ Mar 29, 2008 -> 05:12 PM) Jose's fastball is in the mid 80s, unless the ESPN gun is off. He's going to get killed if that's where his fastball is. I'm surprised he's kept the Mets off the board so far. Maybe he's going through his dead arm period. No wait, Gavin Floyd has that excuse copyrighted.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 29, 2008 -> 05:02 PM) You predict success based on a panic that the checks will stop and he will be motivated like he was in 04. 04 the only year he had success, as a role player. You know that baseball is filled with guys who look like allstars in limited action, yet get exposed over the course of a year. Uribe is one of them. He is a lazy, all or nothing guy who will hit about the same year in and year out. The fact that he had to battle into the last month just to overcome Brian Anderson in 06 for BA is horrible at best. He is Pedro Serrano who happens to play SS. But please keep up with your delusions. I'm delusional, yet a good portion of your posts spout off about Greg Walker "teaching" hitters "lift and pull".

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 29, 2008 -> 04:51 PM) Yet you take 50 to 60 abs in spring training to dictate his performance over the hundreds of ABs over the past few years. I'm basing it on his talent, and the fact that he has been successful in the past. I actually predicted his success well before spring training. I base nothing on this spring, but I do give him kudos for earning the job. 2004 he wasn't too shabby, and for stretches every year he was just as good as anyone at his position. My projecting Uribe for possible success is based on a lot more than what people base future stardom for Josh Fields on or Alexei Ramirez.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 29, 2008 -> 04:25 PM) Uribe starting his annual shedding of any resemblance of a patient hitter. He will start to open up, swing for the fences and then the traditional crappy hitting begins. He actually took a couple of pitches. Ignore a couple of other guys whiffed as well. Use that AB as proof positve Uribe will be crappy.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 28, 2008 -> 05:33 PM) Not true at all. Rain delays, a starter having a bad day, getting hit by a line drive. There are TONS of reasons that you may need a long man. Sometimes you want to burn a game so you can be at full strength next game. When you have relievers with a history of injuries, and your pen is full of specialists, you need someone to flat out eat innings. Is Masset the guy? No, but we need someone to do it. I can't believe I actually agree with Rock Raines.

Navarro and Snyder for Eldred and Valentin was a great trade. I don't think Bonilla for DeLeon was that bad. They got Bonilla for nothing and DeLeon turned into the One Dog.

Crede fouled a ball off his foot today and was supposed to have x-rays. The Sox think its nothing, and actually its his ankle.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 05:55 PM) I like that Fields actually hits the ball to the right side without weakly popping it up to the 2nd basemen.l Yeah, that Fields is quite the handler of the bat.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 05:55 PM) Excuse me, but I rather see an undeserving pick not sign than an undeserving pick take money playing time away from the organization. He probably got no bonus, so the money he received is next to nothing, and I'm sure if there was a player down there they thought was better and had a real shot, Oney would be riding the bench. There was zero chance the other 2 would not be wasted picks. Oney is probably 10,000,000 to 1 but as Lloyd Christmas would say,"you're saying there's a chance"

Nick Swisher is the guy I think the Sox could get the most for right now. Jenks could net a lot, but he has arbitration looming.

As far as Oney goes, yeah he blows but at least he signed. Carrie Schueler wasn't going to be signed and KW's son was drafted but not signed. Wasted picks. There were several players drafted after Carre Schueler who played MLB. In fact, the Sox drafted 3 or 4 of them.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Mar 27, 2008 -> 03:13 PM) haha andy gonzalez just hit a grand slam for the indians I think he has 4 or 5 homers this spring and about 8 hits.