BearSox

This could possibly be Kershaw's last minor league game of his career. Word is that the Dodgers are planning on calling him up soon... and if he lives up to the hype, there is no reason for him to not be on the major league roster.

I think this year's Matt Laporta will be Wallace.

I don't see why people have been so down on Ramirez... he has so much potential, and he just showed some right there.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 15, 2008 -> 10:39 PM) I forgot it was totally his fault he only had 3 RBI's and not anyone in the f***ing lineup could get on base in front of him. Cough Konerko cough Thome cough Swisher. I don't think anyone is making the point that Konerko, Thome, and Swisher haven't sucked. Pretty much the whole offense sucks outside of 2 people. And no one should get a free pass. Right now, you are defending, quite frankly, s***ty play.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 15, 2008 -> 11:35 PM) He's hitting over .320 in his last 10 games. How is that possibly terrible? Crede, of all the people in our lineup, is who you are complaining about? Give me a f***ing break people. Game threads are f***ing unbearable. ohh, in the past 10 games, he's been hitting .320? wow, that's fantastic! Well, did you know in the past 10 games he has had only 3 rbi's, has scored only 3 runs, and has cost us runs with his defense?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 15, 2008 -> 11:32 PM) His defense cost us a lot of runs on Monday. I forgot about that error he had on Monday. So his D on Monday negated his offense that day.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 15, 2008 -> 11:28 PM) He's like 6 for 10 this series... so freaking what. He had a good game monday. Besides that, he's been pretty worthless.

I'm not going to lie, I woulda had Javy pitch the Anderson... actually I would have put Anderson on, who had been swinging the hot stick today, and faced Hunter with Javy.

besides about the first two weeks or so offensively, Joe has been terrible this season in almost anyway imaginable.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 15, 2008 -> 11:21 PM) Got lucky that wasn't a homer. Swisher played that very well. Time to bring in Thornton to face Anderson, even though Logan should be the loogy for this situation. Yeah, but Thornton is plain and simple better than Logan.

pitch count is sooo freaking overrated.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 15, 2008 -> 10:06 PM) They'd be so much better right now if they let Anderson play CF and Swisher play 1b. I don't want to start anything, but Anderson still has to prove he can actually hit. However, he would add defense and some speed.

what exactly is wrong with OK's hand?

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 15, 2008 -> 08:20 PM) I like this idea at this point, you can put me or you in there and give about the same amount of production Thome is giving us.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 15, 2008 -> 09:11 PM) JD with an infield fly halfway into the OF. If it's catchable by the infielders, it should be an infield fly...

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 15, 2008 -> 08:52 PM) Thats Rickie Weeks' younger brother, correct? yep...

someone mentioned something about Hicks, but to be honest, at 8 overall, I'd rather get more of a true baseball player than an athlete. Hicks is good and all, but is still very raw. Right now, my big board is something like. 1a. Aaron Crow/Brian Matusz, SP -Okay, odds are that both will be gone in the top 3-5, but if something were to happen where one of them is somehow there at 8, you gotta take them. Highly wishful thinking, but oh well. You can throw Alvarez, Posey and Tim Beckham into this category as well, as something extraordinary would have to happen for them to be available here. 1b. Justin Smoak, 1B - South Carolina -Now this is a bit more realistic. As of now, it is between Smoak and Alonso for the top college 1B spot. I am not that big of a fan of Alonso though, and like Smoak better. I actually hope Alonso goes ahead of Smoak to increase the odds of Smoak being available at no. 8. 2. Gordon Beckham, MI - Georgia -If Smoak is gone, but Alonso is still there, I personally would go a different route. Gordon Beckham provides us with a toolsy shortstop with linedrive power, and potentially a 5 tool threat. There are questions as to whether he would play SS or 2B, but I think he can handle SS just fine. 3. Kyle Skipworth, C - California HS -I'd still avoid Alonso here and go with Skipworth. Skipworth has a nice swing from the leftside and power to all fields. He is similar to Joe Mauer as a hitter but probably has more power potential. He might or might not be able to stick at catcher, but due to the fact he has a canon arm, it is reasonable to think he can. 4. Yonder Alonso, 1B - Miami -Now would be the time I'd personally go with Alonso. I like him, but I don't see a ton of upside with him. However, he'd be one of the safer picks, and should be a good player for a long time. He has arguably the best eye in the draft. 5. Eric Hosmer, 1B - Florida HS -He'd be higher on my list if not for the fact he wants a monster signing bonus in the 7 million range. That is going to push him down similar to Porcello, IMO. However, there isn't much to not like about Hosmer. A reach that I wouldn't entirely mind would be Jemile Weeks, 2B/OF, Miami. I really like him as a potential leadoff hitter.

Why don't people realize that a 5-6 mph difference between a pitcher's fastball and changeup is no good, especially if that pitcher has no out pitch? Location is a big part of Buehrle's game, but if you can't even get the hitters off balance by chaging speeds and such, only having perfect location is going to help you.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 15, 2008 -> 06:55 AM) Greg Maddux, Kenny Rogers, Jaime Moyer, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Mike Mussina, John Smoltz(there will be more as I think of them) Heck, look at two other pitchers on our staff, Floyd and Contreras, who have both sacrificed MPH for control and their seasons so far have been pretty damn good And I have yet to see where Buehrle has dropped 3-4 MPH, and why do strikeout totals matter if the results are still great? Oh swami, you know so much, please enlighten us all Greg Maddux now is not the same pitcher he was 4-5 years ago. Moyer has been a different pitcher for the past 5-6 years. Clemens was a different type of pitcher past his prime, as was Curt Schillining. Mussina hasn't been the same, and neither has Rogers. And Smoltz, well he's the exception, not the rule. Of all the pitchers you named, it is players in the late parts of their careers, who have conformed to their arms getting weaker. Roger Clemens is a perfect example of a pitcher adapting as they progress. If you take Clemens and compare him from his rookie season, to his prime, to how he was in the world series 3 years ago, that's 3 different types of pitchers. I have no idea how you can try and tell me that 3-4 mph does not make a difference on a pitcher. Just because a pitcher never had a good fastball doesn't mean it doesn't make a difference. Compare an 88-91 mph fastball to an 80 mph changeup, and thats a good difference. However, now take an 85-87 mph fastball and compare it to a changeup at 80 mph. That's not going to throw many hitters off-balance. This is not to go and say control doesn't matter, because control is probably the most important thing. But when you aren't fulling hitters, it's take perfect control to be good, and no pitcher in the world has perfect control. You bring up Floyd and Contrares, but they are still throwing in the low 90's, and have a big enough difference between their fastball and change. Plus, they both have out pitches, Buehrle really doesn't have one. And if you haven't seen Buehrle drop 3-4 mph in his fastball, you must be blind, cause it is no secret that just 2-3 years ago, Buehrle used to consistently throw in 88-91 range, but now a days, it's a miracle to see him hit 88, but he generally stick in the 86-87 range. And strikeouts are a good indication of what type of a pitcher a pitcher is.

Chris who?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 14, 2008 -> 11:53 PM) He was extremely nasty tonight with that forkball. Well, I didn't see it, but that is good to hear. I was assuming he was throwing the same floating forkball that he has been sporting for most of the season.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ May 15, 2008 -> 05:52 AM) Bobby Jenks and his two 40 save seasons and 41 consecutive outs say hi Oh, he was a much different pitcher in 05 and 06 than he was in 07 and now. In 05, Jenks was a power pitcher, just look at the strikeout totals. In 06, his velocity dropped some, but he was still able to throw it in the high 90's for the majority of the season, and he was still a power pitcher. In 07, his velocity was topping out at 97 on good days, but for the most part he was staying in the mid 90's. In 07, he transformed from a power pitcher to a finese pitcher. To say he was the same Bobby Jenks that he was in 05 is being ubsurd. Jenks velocity drop has made a difference in him... however, he has adapted, and his drop hasn't hurt him (yet at least). So please, try again, and give me a good example of when a 3-4 mph loss in velocity doesn't make a difference in a pitcher.

I don't know how Contreras has been doing it, but he's not been getting rocked. He hasn't really been throwing nasty stuff up there, just getting outs. His increase in velocity does help though.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ May 14, 2008 -> 11:43 PM) 3rd in the MLB in RBI's? 2nd actually. Jumped ahead of Morneau and Brown, and is only behind Hamilton (who has a ridiculous amount of 44 already).

my favorite is ranch... but I've never really got into seeds.