PorkChopExpress

So I see that the Blue Jays lost Maicer Izturis for 4-6 months due a torn LCL in his left knee that will require surgery to repair. I think there were rumors of a Beckham to Tornto trade during the offseason. You guys think that might come to fruition soon? Or potentially sending them Keppinger? Or even Leury Garcia or Semien? With Carlos Sanchez (albeit not as touted as he once was) and Micah Johnson in the minors, it appears that the Sox actually have depth at 2B, and not just with fillers. Based on Toronto's need, we should be a perfect fit for a trade.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 20, 2014 -> 11:22 AM) Doug Padilla ‏@ESPNChiSox 11m Konerko took Eaton under his wing this winter. They both hit in Konerko's private batting cage. I hope slowness can't be taught or learned.

Wow. That's a great little feel-good story there. I wish him all the luck in the world, and I would love to see him back on the mound for the Sox, assuming he belongs there. I can't think of a better closer the Sox have had since Thigpen. QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 04:52 PM) I never defended Guillens mouth but I will when it comes to Jenks. Bobby owed a lot to Ozzie and the Sox for saving his career. QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 05:02 PM) He owes a lot to Kenny Williams for claiming him on waivers and calling him up to the Major League roster. Ozzie used his 25-man roster just like any manager. In fact, if anything Ozzie owes Bobby for helping lock down that bullpen after Shingo's failure and Hermanson's injury. If not for Bobby coming in getting the job done you would have had Neal Cotts or Cliff Politte taken out of setup roles where they were best suited. And Cotts specifically as closer would have made Damaso Marte the lefty setup man, while with Politte as closer you'd have been looking at Vizcaino as the setup guy from the right side and garbage most likely filling out the LR role. QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 14, 2014 -> 05:06 PM) Yeah let's just ignore that whole alcohol abuse thing that management had to keep in check here to ensure he was a quality MLB player. Unreal. Nobody owes anyone anything, and everyone should have kept their mouths shut, but they're all human and make mistakes. Why the hell are we even focusing on it. KW claimed him and called him up--because he was was damn good and could help the team. KW gave him the shot and Jenks made KW look like a genius. Everyone got their due, no debts owed. Ozzie put him in the closer role, made some amusing gestures/comments about his size on national television and made him a known name around the league. Jenks took the ball when asked and dominated and made Ozzie's late game decisions easy and helped him look like a good manager, while making himself a feared closer around the league. Everyone got their due, no debts owed. And that whole alcohol abuse thing? What thing? You know the details, or only what you read from biased sources? You know that unless you were there, you will never know what really happened because neither side's version of the story will ever be the true story. Let's not be too quick to judge when we really don't know the truth. Jenks was one of the best closers for the Sox in a long time, was part of a historical year, and was an interesting, if not great story. Again, I would love to see him back in a Sox uniform if he can still pitch.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 15, 2014 -> 07:55 AM) Is there going to be room at Charlotte? By my count you are probably going to have Stewart and Axe, plus the loser between Surkamp and Rienzo. Once Paulino is healthy, that pushes the other one down in all probability. You also still have Charlie Leesman and Simon Castro in the mix. That also doesn't leave any room for someone like Snodgress (26 starts in 13 at AA)who should also be ahead of Bassitt (8 starts at AA in 13). Maybe the brass doesn't expect them all to be there to start the season. Surkamp, Rienzo, Leesman, Castro, Bassitt and/or Snodgress would all make nice pieces in a trade.

Slogan: Back to Basics Commercials: (1) (Think Bull Durham-maybe even use the clip from the movie) This is a very simple game. You throw the ball (followed by clips of our pitchers pitching and maybe Viciedo throwing someone out at home), you catch the ball (followed by some web gem-type clips), you hit the ball (followed by a bunch of homerun swing clips). White Sox baseball--back to basics. (2) Garcia and/or Eaton with Beckham and/or Ramirez and then Davidson/Gillaspie and maybe a few others at a bar/restaurant celebrating a win, the waitress brings over some drinks and starts to hand one to Davidson/Gillaspie when Garcia/Eaton intercept it and pass it to Beckham/Ramirez who then pass it to Davidson/Gillaspie. The waitress walks back to the bar looking slightly puzzled and asks the bartender what that was all about, to which he responds "Got to hit the cut-off man." White Sox baseball-back to basics. (3) Black Screen, all you hear is the sound of a ball on bat, and then "Again." Another sound of ball on bat, "Again." A few more times, and the screen fades in to a video of Robin or another coach standing watching one of the players practicing bunts. White Sox baseball--back to basics. (4) All the outfielders sitting together listening to Robin give scenarios, like "Man on first, single to left," or "men on first and third, flyball to deep center" and the group of them responding in unison with the appropriate base to throw to in each situation. White Sox baseball--back to basics.

QUOTE (Jillian Michaels' Abs @ Dec 12, 2013 -> 01:00 PM) Maybe it's a "work from home" position. Harold watching video of all of Adam Dunn's Ks So apparently I'm an assistant hitting coach with the sox then.

Chupacabra

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@DanHayesCSN 32m #WhiteSox lineup for 9/4: De Aza 7, Beckham 4, Ramirez 6, Konerko DH, A. Garcia 9, Keppinger 3, Phegley 2, Semien 5. Johnson 1. We're missing someone, aren't we? Who's in CF?

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Aug 8, 2013 -> 01:42 PM) But they could move Swisher to 1st and have Rios play RF where Swisher is currently... I thought Swisher was playing 1B and Drew Stubbs was in RF.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 6, 2013 -> 10:31 PM) Yeah it's weird. The people who want him traded want to get a package around two top prospects. You will literally have no problem getting that 5 seasons from now for that. Assuming Sale is the same or better five years from now, and not injured or exposed as not an ace. I like Sale, but I still have this issue with calling him an ace. An ace is someone like Verlander from the last few years (not necessarily this year). Someone who is capable of shutting down any offense. Sale doesn't give me that confidence yet. Again, he's a number 1-type pitcher, but is he an "ace"?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 2, 2013 -> 09:00 PM) And both Quintana and Santiago are pitching like solid number 2 starters. Makes me think of an old classic comedy, Murder by Death. Lionel Twain: “I'm the greatest, I'm number one!” Sam Diamond: “To me, you look like number two, know what I mean?” Or Rodney Dangerfield's famous quote: “Look out for number one and try not to step in number two.”

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 5, 2013 -> 08:37 AM) The Yankees are the only team with the need and the money to claim Alex, and having the money is somewhat dependent on how the ARod situation pans out. There's a very high chance that he clears waivers, but I think if some other team was really interested in him, he'd have gotten moved already. This is the interesting part of waivers, though. You never know which teams might take a chance on him if all they have to do is pick up salary and not give up prospects. And there's the whole "blocking" side of waivers that makes it more interesting. For instance, if Nelson Cruz gets suspended, the Rangers are going to need to fill that spot with someone other than Craig Gentry if they want to contend. They could really use Rios. But the A's could use him too. Reddick sucks this year. Assuming Rios could clear waivers, the A's could run up the price on Rios to try to keep him from going to the Rangers. But the Rangers could claim him and prevent the A's from ever getting the opportunity. Also, I'm not sure how much intradivision trading talk went on, but everyone gets the chance to put in a waiver claim. And Rios is an upgrade over Drew Stubbs for the Indians, and Andy Dirks for the Tigers. That's a tight race, and with the new wild card format, teams really want to win the division instead of risking the one game playoff for the wild card spot. I could see either of those teams putting in a claim. It remains to be seen whether the Sox would let him go to a division rival, especially since he'll be there next year as well, but I'm just spitballing here. Then there's the National League. Everyone knows the Pirates are interested to some degree, but right now, the Cards and the Reds are behind them. They could put in a claim to prevent the Pirates from doing so and risk getting stuck with Rios' salary. But the Reds could sure use him, and he's likely an improvement over Jay for the Cards, although he would have to go back to CF. And the Dimondbacks could use him. Ross is OK, but Rios is probably better, and Kubel sucks. But the Dodgers might want to interfere with that and they could absorb the contract. He's better than Ethier. Anyway, like I said, this is all pure specualtion, but as time gets shorter to the end of the season, and races get tighter, interesting things develop, and teams are looking for any edge. You never know. Some people still think we wound up with Rios in the first place because Kenny tried to block the Tigers from getting him. I don't remember hearing a lot of rumors about getting him via trade that July.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 19, 2013 -> 02:48 PM) And then go 50-16 the final 66 games like 1983. Sad thing is, even if they did that, they still might miss the playoffs. That's how bad they've been to this point. But I'd love to see it.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jul 17, 2013 -> 01:07 AM) He threw two scoreless innings. Everyone else threw one scoreless inning each. It's not like some huge snub or anything -- two really nice plays by Miguel Cabrera of all people as well saved a couple hits. This. I don't get why everyone is drooling over Sale's performance. It was good, just like the rest of the AL staff. But Harper crushed that pitch from him - right to Cabrera. It's not like he was untouchable out there or anything. He just got one extra inning over the other pitchers. Hell, Cecil and Delabar stuck out every batter they faced. Nathan struck out half the batters he faced and successfully closed the game against an All-Star lineup. And that's not even looking at the offensive side of the game. Cabrera gets a double and a run scored while making some good plays in the field. Kipnis and Fielder batted 1.000, Kipnis with an RBI double, and Fielder with a triple. It was a game where 19 position players played, and 10 pitchers pitched, and no one had a truly standout performance. How can you say Sale's contribution was the most valuable? There simply was no MVP in this game, so it goes to Mo by default. I've got no problem with that. Plus it's the All-Star game. It's an exhibition for the fans (albeit with some real value to the winning side), a show, and the send-off for Mo makes a good show.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jul 16, 2013 -> 01:25 PM) Wrong Los Angeles team but is there anyway the Sox can acquire CJ Cron from the Angels? He is going to be blocked for quite some time. They will need pitching. Just a thought. Angels are probably sellers come this trade deadline, though. They're 11 games behind Oakland and 9 games out of wild card contention with every team in the East as well as Texas and Cleveland in front of them. If Peavy isn't dealt this July or August, maybe there could be something with the Angels in the off season, but for now, I don't see them looking to buy pitching any time soon.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jul 16, 2013 -> 08:46 AM) I could see a package of Reed and Ramirez for Pederson, Dee Gordon, and Onelki Garcia. Lets the Dodgers move Hanley to 3B and put Uribe in a UT role, and gets them the upgrade to Brandon League that they really need. Gordon can plug in to SS for the rest of the season and let him try to get things figured out. I just don't see Ramirez as a fit there. Uribe is more productive than Alexei this year, they already have a utility guy in Punto, and possibly Hairston, and why mess with Hanley. Wasn't there an issue with him being asked to move to 3B to make room for Reyes a year or two ago? Now, they might bite on Reed and Beckham.

Probably deciding what to get Gillaspie for a new baby/christening gift. RH: I just never know what to get for these things. Do you get the kid clothes? Is the gift for the parents? What do you think, Robby? RV: Cash is king, Ricker.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 10, 2013 -> 07:59 AM) It will be even a bigger miracle if Axelrod wins tonight. I'm not so sure. This is typical Sox baseball. Look like crap almost all year, only to show up against the 1st place Tigers like they couldn't do last year, but they're already out of contention, so it doesn't really matter except to the Tigers who may wind up losing the division because they can't beat the last place White Sox this year. I say Axelrod goes 7 innings, gives up 2 runs on 8 hits (two solo HR's to Cabrera and Hunter), with 8 K's.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 6, 2013 -> 11:52 AM) Mayo's last mock has White Sox taking HS 1B Dominic Smith and Keith Law has them taking Jacksonville RHP Chris Anderson. Not that I know anything about this stuff, but just looking through the "Top 100" on mlb.com, this is the guy that I was hoping they'd get.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 7, 2013 -> 10:03 PM) 0/6, 2 K's in the DH today. So he's ready to come back then?

QUOTE (IowanSoxFan @ Apr 3, 2013 -> 08:04 AM) Today seemed like a good day not to go to class. That was just about every day in college for me. Challenge extended? QUOTE (kapzk @ Apr 3, 2013 -> 08:42 AM) It has been noted PV's velocity has been higher this spring compared to his previous yrs, lets hope that translates to an even more dominant year. I'm expecting a big year from him. Jake's a team player, but don't think for a second he isn't a little jealous of Sale's youth and potential. I'm sure his competitive nature still feels the need to "show" that youngster a thing or two.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Mar 16, 2013 -> 08:50 PM) But he gets so many clutch walks. Just going through this thread, and I don't know if it's the color, my monitor or my eyes, but that "cl" looks like a "d". I thought to myself, "what the hell is a dutch walk?" Then I laughed. Now I'm going to be giggling every time I see the Big Donkey taking a dutch walk.

QUOTE (southside_hitman @ Feb 2, 2013 -> 07:16 PM) The original post stipulated to the facts about his current rehabilitation and to his history of injury. The question proffered was that, given the above, would it be worth taking a flyer on Sizemore on a one year Contract? Despite the history of ijnjuries, Sizemore is a proven major league talent unlike many of the low end players that have been signed (Lars Anderson, Bryan Anderson) hoping for a reliable LH bat. You say yourself that he is proven major league talent, so what makes you think he's only worth "a flyer" and that no one else seems to want him? If he's worth a flyer to the Sox, then he's worth a flyer to many other teams, and there are plenty of teams that were looking for OF help that didn't get it this off-season. Assuming he can actually get healthy (proven by a physical), there will be a market for him, even though it may be a small market, which means he can probably get a contract that is more than merely a flyer. That being said, his injuries, if I recall correctly and without actually looking it up, were of an ambiguous nature, i.e., leg fatigue or something like that. Those kinds of injuries give me more pause than a broken bone or torn ligament, for example. And a lot of his value was in his legs. Aside from any injury, he is also 30/31 this year, and age takes a toll on the legs, too. But I'll trust the professionals to determine whether he is healthy or not, and if they say he is, I would still pay more than a flyer to get him. You don't lose talent.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 29, 2013 -> 02:43 PM) I think the Sox have the best pitching staff and defense in the division, and by quite a bit too. That alone is going to keep them in a lot of games. If they score at the clip they did last year, they're going to be in the race until the end. QUOTE (WilburWilhelm @ Jan 29, 2013 -> 04:36 PM) Yeah, sure. The Sox starting pitching is better than Detroit's? And, by a lot? Thanks for playing. To be fair, wsf said "best pitching staff and defense," not "starting pitching." That being said, Detroit's bullpen is suspect, so while they have a great starting five, they can't expect 9 innings out of them every time, except maybe Verlander. The Sox have a good starting rotation and a solid pen, but not sure if it's better overall than the Detroit staff considering their starting five. If you include defense, though, maybe it does put the Sox over the top. With Hunter joining Jackson in the outfield, though, defense improves there, and as bad as everyone insisted Cabrera and Fielder were at the corners, it just didn't feel like they were costing them many games. I haven't looked at defensive stats, though, so maybe I'm wrong. We certainly didn't challenge Cabrera much with our approach, though, and he didn't seem to have problems making the plays against us.

OK, wasn't it just a few years ago, when we acquired Flowers, that everyone was down on his defense? He was a potential 1B/DH candidate? Now he could be a top 10 defensive catcher? Don't get me wrong, I am rooting for the kid, and I hope it's true, but where did the terrible defense stuff come from then? Or has he just worked that hard to improve?