BearSox

QUOTE (hawksox13 @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 09:26 AM) That's awesome that you can just remember that stuff and find the links and quotes so quickly. You're good! If you read right below what you bolded it says that he wants to be in a place where he can win. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out with him. Hopefully he'll do what's right and accept a trade if it's to a contender, even if it's after his 10/5 rights have kicked in. What do you expect? He is a doctor!

We should lock Beckham in a closet and in that closet have a tv showing Michael Young batting. Keep Becks in there for a day or two, and when he comes out, hopefully he will have learned a few things. (Michael Young should be the player Beckham tries to emulate.)

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 3, 2010 -> 10:13 AM) It is a combination of no steroids, no HGH, and more importantly no amphetamines. Players aren't able to get "up" like they used to, especially on extended road trips, etc. In addition to that we are entering an era with some really really good pitchers. And I don't think perfect games are going to become a common occurrence. Hitters today are more patient than ever before and while they might strike out a lot, they also tend to walk more. According to the averages of every year, the walk rate has remained pretty consistent since around the 1920's till now. I was actually surprised by that. In fact, MLB saw the highest averages in walks in 1949 and 1950. It was actually surprising. Another couple of notes: SO's steadily increased by decade. In the 40's the average was about 7-8 K's per 9 innings (for both sides). In the 70's it was around 10-11. And now its 14-15 per game. Also, not surprisingly, in 1994 we saw the highest increase in the HR rate. Actually, by looking at a lot of the numbers the only categories that changed a lot with time are: K, SLG, and HR. HR can be attributed to steroids, smaller ball parks, and people wanting the big pay check. And naturally the more HR's, the higher the SLG%. But over time, what once was considered a "disgrace" the strikeout became no big deal. People wanted to hit more HR's, the K rates went up. People, managers, and front offices didn't care as long as you were hitting home runs. And I think the argument a SO is no different than any other out is BS. But we'll save that for another day.

I'm not gonna lie, between the white sox blowing chunks and the fact the Buehrle's perfect game is losing some of what made it so special lead to me over exaggerating and speaking out of anger. Not all hitters are stupid, but there are a decent amount of just dumb players. Would steroids/peds play into effect? Yeah, that makes sense. But you can't ignore that fact that it seems like at least 90% (I don't know, I'm pulling that number out of my ass, but it's likely well more than half) of the hitters in the league are focused on only hitting the home run. Just watch hitters. They all have open stances, which helps you "pull" the ball and they all swing from the heels no matter what. What is the most frustrating is when you got a guy like Mark Kotsay who is overmatched by a fastball, so what does he do? He doesn't choke up and still tries to hit the s*** out of the ball, even though he is clearly overmatched. And Kotsay isn't the only culprit. Alexei is the poster child for trying to pull everything over the fence. I can't remember the last time I saw Ramirez hit a solid hit ball to RF. Its sad too because what made me like him in the first place when he first came here was the fact he used LF so well. That's just my observation. Also, it's not something exclusive to 2010, but rather something that has been going on for a while, and slowly progressed.

QUOTE (girlslikebaseballtoo#26 @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 01:49 PM) You may call me Bren! lol I think I'm going to take that as a compliment!! Take it as a compliment. At least 1 poster on this board seems to be happy, even if it isn't necessarily for the White Sox but rather a no name prospect.

Practically 3 perfect games (not to mention 1 no-no) into the season already, and the season isn't even close to being half over. It is ridiculous. No doubt a Perfect Game is still a great feat, but it seems to be losing what made it so special. Why are these perfect games happening more often than ever (lets face it, 3 perfect games in less than a month. That's a joke)? It's because these players who call themselves major league hitters are stupid or greedy or both. Hitters more than ever focus on trying to hit the home run. Why? Because that is where the money is at. They think that they are all big home run hitters, practically everyone does, and they think if they can hit 20+ home runs a year, they will get a fat pay check. And that is the sad truth. Chicks dig the long ball, and it is bringing down the quality of offense and productive hitters in baseball. Just look at the White Sox for instance. Everyone tries to pull the ball 400 feet for a home run every single at bat. 2 strikes with a pitcher who throws 99 mph, what do all of them do? Swing from the heels and try and hit the ball 500 feet. Choking up on the bat and trying to just meet the ball is for p*****s right? I guess you can mark Ted Williams down as a p****. It is sad and very frustrating to see. Look at the best hitters in the game. What do they have in common? They aren't dead pull hitters. Frank Thomas was the most dominant hitter in baseball when he would hit everything to RF. When did Frank Thomas start to decline as a hitter? When he saw Mark McGuire hit all these home runs and figured he could do that to if he tried to pull everything. Perfect example of what a good hitter looks like is what we saw tonight for the Rangers, Michael Young. You can tell right away he is focused on driving the ball to RF. He'll naturally pull the ball when they pitch it in, but otherwise, he is just trying to drive the ball the other way. Is Pujols trying to pull everything? Hell no. It just amazes me how everyone tries to pull the ball. Pierzynski became practically a .300 hitter throughout his career by using left, left center. However, when he tries to pull the ball, he's god awful as we see so far this year. It is so frustrating. I'm not enough of a stat geek to be able to find this out, but if its at all possible, can someone find out the number of regulars who batted below .250 in the past year and compare that to 10-20 years ago, or even better yet to the 1940's and 50's? I guarantee you the number of players batting under .250 today blows the other years out of the water. /end rant

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 01:27 PM) Even if the Sox went to firesale mode, there aren't enough players to trade that would make the Sox worse than Houston, Cleveland, and Kansas City...and probably a few more. If the Sox have the 7th or 8th pick in the draft in 2011, that would be fine with me, if the draft is as deep as people are saying it will be. DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!!!! KEEP THE FAITH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I said it before, and I'll say it again, I have no problem if we go into fire sale mode this instant and go on to win only 30 more games. Being the worst team in baseball is worth it with Anthony Rendon being the top prospect next year. I said I'd take Rendon over Harper, and I'd probably take him over Strasburg. Rendon has a very similar approach to Braun and Longoria at bat, except he already has a much better feel for the strike zone at this stage and if you look at their college numbers, Rendon blows them out of the water.

I think girlslikebaseball brings the most enthusiasm to the board more than anyone else. Last time we saw anyone have this much excitement about anything with our minor leagues was back in 08/09 with Beckham.

As I stated earlier though, we picked a good year to be bad because the 2011 draft could be even more loaded than the 08 and 09 drafts.

No one is saying they have to hit bloops to RF. However, it's probably best to focus on driving the ball, preferably to RF. Focus on the ball longer and drive it. Hit the pitch where it's thrown. Trying to pull everything is the worst thing a hitter can do.

QUOTE (daggins @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 01:30 AM) I'd certainly consider Ramirez but i'd think the Sox would need to get something useful in return for him since he is cheap and fairly good. His range is a biiig plus and he gets to a lot of balls most guys can only dream on. Agreed, it would have to be a really good package. I wouldn't trade him for peanuts, but a team in need of a SS could be willing to give us quite the package for him. Also, I'd be willing to try Beckham out at SS if he shows decent enough range and can make all the routine plays. Having a guy who can cover a ton of ground is great, but you win ball games by making the routine plays and thats something we need more out of our defense.

The more I look at this draft, the weaker it looks. Outside of Bryce Harper, there doesn't seem to be much seperation between the top 100 players or so. I would not be surprised if there are a lot of "who?" picks in the first round. However, the 2011 class is loaded and thats one plus about sucking. I would be content with losing every game from here on out if it meant us getting the no. 1 pick. Anthony Rendon is a stud, I'd take him over Bryce Harper any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Speaking of the Rice Owls, that reminds of another guy who I liked last year but came back. Diego Seastrunk is a Switch Hitting Catcher with great plate discipline. Might not be able to stick at C, but he's worth a shot somewhere within the top 10, IMO.

Personally, I'd trade Ramirez. He's only cheap for 1 more year I believe, and he's just too eratic, IMO. His offense is good and when gets hot, he's a damn good hitter. But he tries to be the cuban babe ruth and pull everything and that gets awfully frustrating when you just need him to poke that outside pitch over the first basemans head when the tying run is on 2nd or 3rd. Also, his D is awful when he isn't rushed. On pure reaction, he's damn good. However, when he's got time, he short arms throws, misplays routine grounders, etc. Its one thing to make the great play like Alexei can, but first and foremost you got to make the routine play. I like Alexei, but if he goes on a tear and we got teams interested, and we get a really good offer, I would take it.

I would say lets try and get Yonder Alonso, but odds are the Reds are gonna save him for a starting pitcher and I'm not sold on him as we wouldn't want a Matt Laporta situation on our hands. Alonso does look like he could be good, but his minor league numbers thus far scream Casey Kotchman to me.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 2, 2010 -> 12:34 AM) Speaking of underrated 3B, I've got to give massive props to Walt Jocketty for the Scott Rolen acquisition last year. I thought he was sniffin' glue. That move has turned out to be outstanding, as Rolen has been one of the best two-way players in baseball this season. I was all over the Scott Rolen bandwagon last year. I wanted him bad and he would look dead sexy at 3B. IIRC, the Reds didn't give up much for him and he is fairly cheap. Speaking of the Reds though, I love their lineup. I'd probably put Votto in my top 5 list of best hitters in baseball. And even though he does have ego issues and tries to be the greatest home run hitter ever, I love me some Brandon Phillips.

One guy who I wouldn't mind drafting, not in the first, is Cameron Bedrosian. Not really sure where he is projected to go, haven't payed close attention to the draft this year as I did in other years, but I would not mind him at all in the 2nd if he is there. Good pedigree, doesn't have electric stuff but it is solid none-the-less, and looks like someone who could be a fast riser. Not necessarily a safe pick, but someone who just looks like a good ball player.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 01:19 PM) I love Allie, especially with the improved command. I will be tracking his progress no matter who takes him. It's a shame that he's not remotely an option for the Sox. Agreed. Odds are the Twins will take him after us and he will dominate us when he makes it to the bigs. Thats just the way it seems to go. Just once I'd love to see this team get a power pitcher in this rotation, someone in the mold of Matt Garza.

Marquez is still a part of this organization? Can we please just get rid of all players that involved Swisher so I don't have to think about either of those trades anymore?

I posted this in the gamethread, but it seems more appropiate here since this thread is on the subject... Really, is the only reason why Randy is on this team is because he is a lefty? That's the biggest f***ing BS I've ever seen. I understand you would prefer to have a lefty, but more importantly you would rather have someone who is good. And if we don't have a single f***ing pitcher in AAA outside of Hudson who is better than Randy Williams, our whole f***ing scouting department and Kenny should be fired this instant.

Speaking of Alex Gordon though... I know I'm not the only one who would be freaking excited to see us trade for him.

It would have been nice if Ozzie didn't decide to use Randy Williams and Scott Linebrink in a close game... Really, is the only reason why Randy is on this team is because he is a lefty? That's the biggest f***ing BS I've ever seen. I understand you would prefer to have a lefty, but more importantly you would rather have someone who is good. And if we don't have a single f***ing pitcher in AAA outside of Hudson who is better than Randy Williams, our whole f***ing scouting department and Kenny should be fired this instant.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 02:50 PM) Screw that, starting this week, they should try to pull everything with authority. Getting cheap hits to right isn't going to teach them to stay closed at the plate (they're both flying open big time). Wait, what? Is that you Greg Walker? The goal should be to drive the ball, preferably to RF. Hit the ball where it's pitched. On another note, can anyone tell me the last time Quentin hit a ball hard that wasn't low and out over the plate?

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 11:30 PM) How sad is it that the BEST player we can bring up is Andy Gonzalez ummmmm I mean Brent Lilibridge?!?!??!?!?!? Truly a sad time to be a Sox fan... It really is 07 all over again. Brent Lillibridge is this years Andy Gonzalez. Hopefully he won't get 200 AB's like Gonzalez did.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 1, 2010 -> 07:43 PM) Meh, he was really coming on when he got injured. Even bad players go through hot streaks. And to be honest, I don't mind Teahen, but I wouldn't want him on my team as anything other than an insurance option in AAA.