BearSox

Shoeless Joe should be in the hall, and it is stupid he isn't. He wasnt found guilty, and he played a great world series. Such a shame he isn't in, as he was one of the best hitters ever. Some say the Babe first modeled his swing after Shoeless Joe.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 09:38 AM) Absolutely. I don't know where anyone gets the idea that Jim Thome is better than Hafner. 7-10 years ago, Thome would probably be better. But Hafner vs. Thome right now, it isn't even close. Hafner is also younger, which also makes him better.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) hmmmm... Sox "projected" to attempt 202 steals a year after they were only successful 93 times. Crede projected to attempt 5 steals, Pierzynski 6, and Uribe 18. Did they get lobotomies on the flight north? In 2005 the White Sox attempted 204 stolen bases. Last year only 135. If we are really back to the grind, around 200 stolen bases should be expected, IMO. But, I will admit, some of my numbers are inflated for the stolen bases. Also, the main reason I only added SB was for Scott Podsednik. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) Gustavo Molina displaying more power than AJ. and projected to hit above his weight. Gustavo Molina would just barely be hitting over his weight, and has shown a little pop in his bat, when he does make solid contact. I also think A.J. is going to hit less home runs and drive in more runs this year. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) Iguchi projected to slug around .500. 6 HRs over his career high in about 100 fewers AB's. With Iguchi moving down in the order for likely the majority of his at bats, I think his power numbers are going to way up. He was once a top slugger in Japan averaging something like 30 homers in only 400-500 at bats. Also, he would have about 50-70 less at bats, fyi. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) The pitching staff. One of them might make your "projection," but I'd take the over on all of them. I particularly love the Danks K number. From what I have seen from Contreras this spring, he might even put up better numbers then I predicted. He seemed to be in very good shape to me, and had good stuff on his pitches. Garland is Garland. Generally he doesnt have that good of spring trainings. I think the ERA might be a little low, but if Garland does work hitters inside and pitches like he has some balls for the whole year (not just one half), I think he can have a real big year. Buehrle seems to be in fantastic shape, and after watching the game Friday night, he reminded be of the Buehrle we all know and love. He was hitting most of his spots, and he was throwing at about 88-89 mph generally, which is usually what he tops out at. Watching that outing of his gave me a ton of confidence, and I think we could actually see him have one of his best years. Vazquez is due for a great year. He will finally be with the same team two years in a row, and seems to really like Chicago. The whole organization thinks he will have a fantastic year, as do I. He has by far the best stuff on this staff, and on saturday he showed great movement on his pitches and I think he pitched great. Danks, I am going off of what I have seen of him, and from minor league numbers. In 426.1 innings pitched in the minor league level, he has K'd 439 batters which is a bit better than 1 K per inning. This spring he only K'd 16 in 21.1 innings, but he did get off to a slow start. I actually think Danks could contend for ROY, but it is likely his stats will start to decline in the second half of the season. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) Masset's is the next best. Oh and zero blown holds for the season by the back-end of the bullpen. Better increase the win total to the low 120's. Masset was difficult to come up with a K number because he has never been a fulltime reliever in the minors, but in 2006, he spent most of his time as a reliever in AAA, and had nearly a K per inning. Also, where do you see anything about holds? I predicted saves, but not holds. There will probably be a couple guys like Masset or Aardsma get a save oppurtunity, but I don't think I really needed to add them. Plus, relievers are the toughest to project, IMO. QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) My real question is why the positive projection for 24 guys and leave Uribe out of the mix? He's got a career Isolated Power of about .180 and you've got him projected in the .130-.140 range. Um, for most of the projections, they are around the players career averages. Also, I should have mentioned this earlier, but I think Iguchi and Uribe will get less at bats so Ozuna and Cintron and Mackowiak could get some more AB's. I also think the White Sox will focus on Uribe being more of a second leadoff type also and have him try and get on base more often, plus with less AB's, less homers.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 11:19 PM) I'm just wondering if you've ever played centerfield at a level higher than Little League because from my experience centerfield is a whole lot harder than you make it up to be. There isn't a harder ball to read than one hit directly at you in centerfield. It's probably the hardest position I've ever had to play outside of catcher, reading the ball off the bat is especially tough considering the amount of ground you have to cover and the incredibly small window you have to make your read. I personally want no part of Ozuna in CF, EVER. I watched Podsednik play out there for 2 seasons in Milwaukee and I'd much rather not see that relived through Pablo on the South Side. well, that is where we differ... I always though CF was easier then the corner outfield spots. But I was really good at reading balls right off the bat, and some don't have that skill.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 08:57 PM) To good for the Predictions thread are we? well, this will not only be predictions but my thoughts on the players (comming together). So, I guess one can say it is too good for the predictions thread Also, these are PROJECTIONS, not PREDICTIONS...

STARTING ROTATION: NAME GS | IP | SO-BB | ERA | W-L | Jose Contreras - 31 | 200.2 | 167-50 | 3.90 | 16-7 | Jon Garland - 33 | 215.0 | 118-44 | 3.98 | 18-8 | Mark Buehrle - 33 | 235.2 | 152-40 | 4.07 | 14-10 | Javier Vazquez - 33 | 220.1 | 200-55 | 3.54 | 17-9 | John Danks - 27 | 163.0 | 170-61 | 4.55 | 11-10 | OVERALL - xx | xxxxx | xxxxxx | 4.01 | 76-44 | BULLPEN: NAME - IP | SO-BB | SV | SVO | ERA | W-L | Bobby Jenks - 70 | 76-20 | 37 | 42 | 3.78 | 2-4 | Mike MacDougal - 64 | 57-12 | 4 | 5 | 2.14 | 3-1 | Matt Thornton - 61 | 57-17 | 3 | 4 | 2.73 | 6-3 | Nick Masset - 52 | 50-19 | 0 | 0 | 3.85 | 3-5 | Andrew Sisco - 49 | 45-23 | 0 | 0 | 4.30 | 2-6 | David Aardsma - 51 | 47-18 | 0 | 0 | 4.21 | 3-4 | OVERALL - xx | xxxxx | 44 | 51 | 3.50 | 19-23 | CATCHERS: NAME - G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | SB-CS | A.J. Pierzynski - 142 | 517 | 13 | 70 | .289 | 2-4 | Gustavo Molina - 20 | 87 | 3 | 10 | .234 | 1-0 | INFIELDERS: NAME - G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | SB-CS | Paul Konerko - 156 | 570 | 40 | 119 | .319 | 1-0 | Jim Thome - 136 | 479 | 36 | 101 | .285 | 0-0 | Tadahito Iguchi - 125 | 480 | 24 | 73 | .279 | 17-5 | Joe Crede - 140 | 520 | 27 | 91 | .271 | 1-4 | Juan Uribe - 120 | 450 | 14 | 64 | .247 | 8-10 | Alex Cintron - 87 | 237 | 6 | 38 | .280 | 13-4 | Pablo Ozuna - 94 | 290 | 1 | 21 | .319 | 12-6 | Rob Mackowiak - 93 | 240 | 7 | 28 | .276 | 6-2 | OUTFIELDERS: NAME - G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | SB-CS | Scott Podsednik - 125 | 500 | 2 | 30 | .289 | 53-16 | Darin Erstad - 115 | 412 | 6 | 47 | .281 | 14-4 | Jermaine Dye - 152 | 560 | 43 | 117 | .314 | 6-2 | Brian Anderson - 113 | 325 | 6 | 35 | .264 | 7-4 | TEAM STATS PITCHING: W-L 95-67 | ERA 3.76 OFFENSE: HR 228 | AVG .282 I just spent a bit over an hour working on this, and got lazy, so I will write out my explanations later. ERA numbers seem too low, also.

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 06:54 PM) Thank you, LOL. I thought it meant "Quit F***ing Talking." Thus my suprise... You damn internet people with your newfangled abbreviations. Ya know when I was your age cars couldn't go up hills! No, I wasn't insulting you... haha. I just learned it a couple months ago, and I learned it the same way you did...

Konerko vs. Blake Iguchi vs. Barfield Uribe vs. Peralta Crede vs. Marte AJ vs. Martinez Pods vs. Dellucci Erstad vs. Grady Dye vs. Trot Nixon Thome vs. Hafner Contreras vs. CC Garland vs. Westbrook Buerhle vs. Lee - wash Vazquez vs. Byrd Danks vs. Sowers - wash

QUOTE(LVSoxFan @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 06:02 PM) I still cannot believe that day after tomorrow I will be at The Cell. Boo ya! QFT

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 05:35 PM) Podsednik hasn't been a good baseball player in over a year-and-a-half. People have chalked up his 'badness' to injuries. Guess what? He's 31... more likely than not, he's going to be injured sometime during this year. And when he's injured, he goes from being a 4th OFer-bad to not-AAA-acceptable bad. What does Perez lack of a position have to do with anything? He can DH as Thome was bad against lefties last year too, and that's not going to get better -- Thome's OPS vs lefties in his career is .763. And it's not like Podsednik is any good in LF (defensively) anyways... People say things like, "it's just our backup catcher, that's not going to make or break our season. It's just a bench guy." These things add up. Keeping Perez over Podsednik would have made this team better. Maybe not 15 wins better, maybe not even five wins better, but still better. How do you know Podsednik won't go back to an 05-esque form? Supposedly from what I have heard, he is in great shape-like best of his career shape, and the whole Org. is looking for a big year from him. If Podsednik can hit say around .280 with an OBP of around .340 and of a stealing success rae of about 80%, we will be in better shape than we would with Perez playing sometimes vs. lefties and some pinch hits, because I highly doubt Thome would platoon with Perez all the time. And if you suggest Perez in LF, you would have to be out of your mind. Pods' prancing to the ball will still cover more range then Perez chugging for the ball. I'd rather have Mack out in CF then Perez in LF. And Perez would not make a world of difference. One hitter does not automatically win a game for you. It would have to be a collective thing. If no one is getting on base, will Perez hit 5 solo shots in one game to win the game? I highly doubt it. This team needs a hitting coach who can actually give the hitters good advice vs. lefties.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 05:32 PM) The secret is to hit up the middle or the opposite way, but our guys don't do it very often. Well, at least Dye, Konerko, Ozuna, and Iguchi know how...

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 05:24 PM) Ozuna's natural position is short. He is much better than Cintron there as he has an above average arm. He just doesn't get the opportunity as when he is needed he is somehow designated as a left fielder because he has speed. He has gotten some time in center in the spring. If he seems to play there better than left you may see Anderson is left and he in center. There is a debate that center may or may not be harder to judege a ball off the bat because it is hit right at you and doesn't tail as much as in left or right. I heard this discussed by Steve Stone this spring while they were talking about Soriano. This has been discussed previously and I guess it depends on the player. I personally think center is easier then left or right. Usually a team sticks their worst defending OF'er in LF but that isn't because it is easier then CF, but because either their arm isn't good enough or they aren't fast enough, IMO. Ozuna would make a decent fit in CF. The ball is easier to judge (again, IMO), and Ozuna has the speed and arm to be able to play a decent centerfield. I'm not saying he will automatically become a stud OF'er, but he should be better then Mack out there in CF. And you are right about Ozuna at SS. He plays a pretty good overall defense at SS, IMO. He has good range and an arm to make all the neccassary throws. His glovework needs some addidtional help though. He was once a top 10 prospect at SS. If Uribe falters again this season, I will be the first one to call for Ozuna as the fulltime SS.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 03:23 PM) The Sox had the chance to add a player who is known for his ability to crush lefties. He more or less fell into their lap, and the Sox would've had to spend a whole 300K to keep him. Eduardo Perez seemed like way too perfect a fit. Instead, the Sox chose (a couple months earlier) to keep Scott Podsednik for almost ten times as much money. Just gotta have that speed! Kenny is a smart man, and I think you can make a good case for the rest of his moves he made this winter. Keeping Podsednik, though... unexplainable. A chance of having a healthy and producing Scott Podsednik at the top of the order is a better risk to take then a position-less 'lefty slugger', IMO. Also, this was a case of missing Hall more than Perez. The Great Gustavo sucked balls today. QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 04:25 PM) Statistically Dye was better in the #4 and #5 spots last year. Statistically Dye had about 400-500 more AB's in 4 & 5 hole... Simply put, Dye is our best fit for the 3 hole. I think a Dye, Konerko, Thome order will be a whole lot more poductive than any other order. And then you follow that up with Crede, Pierzynski, Iguchi and you have one good 2nd half of the order, and Uribe is decent in the 9 hole. Plus, I do like the Pods-Erstad combo.

Vazquez looked overall very good, IMO. His only real problem was that he was having some control issues. But I'd take 7 innings (or 6 2/3 in this case) and only 4 runs any time, because this offense should be able to put up 5 runs.

sweet... I love having the sports package on my TV. Get all the local sports channels, so I can watch the game on tv today. well, I have other things to do today, so I am gonna tivo the game and watch it later.

Vazquez has looked good so far, but is walking too many... Langerhans just misses a grand slam, sac fly. 1-0 Braves

How come we cant get scouts like Atlanta? They have 3 young studs, all of whom were from Atlanta.

That OF is decent with some good minor leaguers, but none of them have any real MLB potential. Some players that I see making the move up to AA around midseason are Aaron Cunningham, Chris Carter, and possibly McCulloch Also, do we still have Corey Smith, IIRC, wasn't he once the top indians prospect and considerad a very good prospect out of high school? He has always put up some decent power numbers down in the minors. Is he still with the organization, because he isn't on that list.

AA and AAA both look to have really good teams this year... at least there is some good news!

At least the pen did good... but they were facing AA players, and some could argue that is where some of these pen guys belong!

I don't know... I was looking at their webstie and I couldnt find anything... http://www.barons.com/ And there is nothing at whitesox.com about it either... Birmingham up 1-zip so far... anyone know who is pitching? the boxscore hasn't been posted yet, but they do have the score.

Right now even though I want to stay positive and say we win the division and such... I think we will be back to our mediocre ways, with a 85-77 record and a 3rd place finish behind the Tigers and Indians. But when you won the world series 2 years ago and have a payroll in the top 5 of all of baseball, you have got to do better.

QUOTE(caulfield12 @ Mar 28, 2007 -> 11:13 PM) Well, they didn't force Floyd into the starting rotation over Danks at least. We'll see how well they wait to pull the trigger (it won't be like BA last year, you know that much) if Danks gets out of the box slowly and the team is in 3rd or 4th place and 4-8 GB. Last year, the standings allowed BA to stay in play much longer than a team like the Indians would have been able to stick with a struggling player (early on). Then it really gets interesting, if they have to go to Floyd or beyond. Then you have the doomsday situation, trading Thome or Konerko, Crede, Dye, Buehrle, Uribe, Iguchi, Pods, Erstad, Contreras, Vazquez, etc. Let's hope it never comes to that. If Konerko is traded... then I am done.

What will the roster look like come July/August??? Will it be full of guys like Fields, Sweeney, Russell and missing some names such as Dye, Iguchi, Buehrle... or will the White Sox somehow not suck even though right now the org. is putting them in the worst situation to succeed right now...

Sisco and Aardsma.