Texsox

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 1:53 PM) Buy her a Mac. Took care of the post for ya Jim

My daughter's Dell just arrived and she wants me to set it up for her. So Update Windows Update Anti-virus Add Anti-Spyware Install Office Suite Install iTunes Add photos of dad Anything I'm forgetting?

I think Ryan hit some people just to keep everyone else off balance. I read once, somewhere that something like 80% of his hbp were with no one on base and 2 outs. Maybe he just got a little wild then.

QUOTE (soxfan3530 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 12:19 PM) I say we let fields hit in the minors for this season. Then sign crede long term, trade dye and bring in the crede 3b and fields and quentin corner outfielders era. Is that for Field's betterment, or the teams? It would be an interesting discussion on Fields as a OF, (if it doesn't mention Crede).

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 12:07 PM) You can't completely discount K's. They shouldn't be the first discriminator, but should be considered. Exactly what I was thinking when I said over rated.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:09 AM) This story brings up an interesting but little known fact about beer bottles in general. That row of little pimple bumps down by the bottom of most bottles serves exactly this purpose – they are a code indicating which production line a particular bottle comes from. If defects are found in bottles they use those codes to trace the potential problem back to the point of origin. Does that also explain all those bumps on yo head?

QUOTE (The Beast @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 09:42 PM) Junior year with my lovely girlfriend of whom I am dating for almost 3 years. After that pic, you're lucky to have had another three minutes

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:41 AM) I dunno, I'd say it depends on your team. And the ballpark you're playing in. Etc. Think about this example...which team is a strikeout more valuable to. The Rockies or the Tigers? The Rockies have a ridiculously good defense. The Tigers defense looks like a disaster area. If I'm pitching for the Rockies, I want to pitch to contact. If I'm pitching for the Tigers, I don't want Miguel Cabrera or Magglio Ordonez having to make a great play, because they wont' be able to do it. For another counterpoint, I think Bill James's followers would argue that the strikeout does correlate pretty strongly with pitching performance also, because if you accept that BABIP is not going to go through huge variations in-between people, and that if people put the ball in play a finite number of those will turn in to hits, if you strike out 10 guys per game, yes it drives up your pitch count, but that takes you from 27 balls your guys have to field to 17. If each guy gets a hit 1/3 of the time they put the ball in play, that takes them from getting 9 hits down to 6. Also, here's the final point. Do we think pitch counts are as important as they are treated today in MLB? Pitchers seem to get hurt just as often, there are still just a scant few who never have injury problems, and the numbers don't seem to have changed that much since I started watching baseball, despite the pitch count limit having gone down seemingly every year. All excellent points. I retract my earlier statement.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:39 AM) They do really come in handy when there's a guy on 3rd (or bases loaded) and less than 2 outs though. /end re-hijack And exciting. Who, besides then opposing team and fans, doesn't enjoy watching (Texans) Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens strike out 18?

But once in a lifetime, a strikeout, swinging, can lead to a World Series championship As mentioned above, OBP and BA first, then look at outs. If the OBP is satisfactory, then I don't worry as much about the outs. In play is better, but meh, an out is an out.

Anyone hear from Steff? How is she and the baby? Amazing how priorities change and posting on a message board takes a back seat after having a baby.

/hijack Strikeouts are also, IMHO overrated for pitchers. I'd rather a guy have a 1-2-3 inning with all ground outs and 7 pitches than 1-2-3 with strikeouts and 18 pitches. /back

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:51 AM) I've given students failing grades on papers a few years ago for inaccurate information with wikipedia as sources. I now tell them if it's referenced as a source they will fail. The best source of information is primary research anyway not research cited in another report. I agree, but I see a future where that will change. I've read a couple of studies that wiki was as accurate as most other encyclopedias. Basically the difference is in having many volunteers versus paying someone to write and article. The bigger the subject, the more accurate it becomes. But today, not credible enough.

New bet. New Decision. Provided the other player would want to split the pot, I would weigh my new odds and make a decision accordingly. The object is to make money and if I thought I could make more with the split, I would, I would also reject the split if I felt I had the better position. But I certainly would not reject splitting in all situations.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 11:04 AM) The problem with that many strikeouts, and my whole problem with the "strikeouts really aren't that bad" argument in general, is that when you combine it with a low BA/OBP it means someone just can't hit the ball. They can't put the ball safely in play, they can't connect on big swings more than they already can, they can't even foul pitches off to work the count and wait out a walk - they just can't raise their stats that way. For an example of a player like that who's never going to change, see: Uribe, Juan. For an example of a player who did, see: Granderson, Curtis. Which is why I stated I was more interested in BA and OBP. It starts with BA and OBP. If that is unsatisfactory, then look to the outs and work to get better. Don't look at the outs first. Make sense?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 11:02 AM) That's part of it, but the other part is that although he's healthy now, Joe is still going to turn 30 in three weeks and has a history of back problems, and thus I think his defensive skills are going to start to wane in due time. I have more faith in the surgery. But your prediction certainly is very valid and why, if I was Joe, I'd be looking to make this my meat and potatoes for life contract. Which is why I'm convinced Fields is our starter in 2009. I think Fields has shown his potential to be as good if not better than Crede. But I think a bigger yardstick should be used before annointing him the job for the next 4 or 5 years.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:56 AM) Indeed, and a prime example of that is Crede. He overdoes the making contact with 2 strikes thing and it leads to his legendarily high number of weak pop ups. I'd rather as a whole see Joe swing harder with 2 strikes. He'd strikeout more, but he'd also make more authoritative contact when he did hit the ball. yep, swing hard, you might hit something. He is old school in the contact department with 2 strikes. That's how baseball was played. Protect the plate with two strikes. But that was also when pitchers would be throwing fast balls only with 3 balls. Now anything can be coming at you.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:53 AM) My reason for bias against Joe actually isn't Josh Fields as much as it's I don't like having a 3rd basemen with a .306 career on base and .754 career OPS. I know he's clutch and a great fielder, but you have to overcompensate at other positions offensively to make up for a typical Joe Crede season. Then again, maybe we've done that this year when you look at our lineup, assuming Quentin and Swisher play everyday all year. That certainly is a valid observation. My first thought is a team needs balance, there are dozens of variables, and if they only looked at those, or any two offensive stats, the team more than likely would fail. I think what you are also hinting at, and I would agree, it is easier to buy off on weaker offensive in exchange for defense "up the middle". That's kind of classic baseball thinking. Hide a bad glove, but great "O" in a corner. But I guess we've been so goofy in that regard, with power hitting SSs that I'm just not as worried about it anymore.

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:51 AM) 160? If he plays a full season of games, he would have close to 200 K's. While putting the ball in play may lead to good things, most of the time and out is an out. Certainly you need to look at why he is striking out, poor pitch selection, getting fooled, etc. But I'm more interested in obp and ba.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:30 AM) Guess who led baseball in RBI after the first week of the 2006 season. Chris Shelton. That's why you don't overreact to the first week like everybody here is. And why I don't overreact to one season. Same principle. I think what it answers is how healthy is Joe and how many people got on base ahead of him. You can't have 10 rbi if you always are hitting with no one on base.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:34 AM) It's hard to say. He needs the work on fielding ground balls, but the quality of fields in triple a and the major leagues aren't comparable so that's not a great foreshadower for him, although the works helps anywhere. Being in triple a definitely won't help him at the dish though. His biggest weakness is hitting good pitches (especially fastballs) and he won't be seeing many of those anywhere except at the major league level. Great points. One of the factors that is somewhat frustrating is last season he showed he could play at the mlb level. Patience is so difficult for anyone, players or fans.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:20 AM) Yes we have. Players who make $8 million a year are much too delicate to be asked to play two games in a single day. I always thought that owners need double the gate so they could pay $8 million a year players. BTW, one of my all-time favorite pitchers, Willllbur Wood once started, and lost, both ends of a double header.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:19 AM) I understand your point but I don't agree with it, and not just because party affiliation makes for good scandalmaker fodder. The makeup of the legislature with regard to the R:D ratio largely defines the agenda of the legislature, so for general news stories I think it's good to let the audience know which side of the aisle a guy sits on as they listen to and try to digest whetever it is he's saying. If you live in their District you will know if you want to vote for him or not. If you do vote in their district it wouldn't matter. If Congressman Jim saved a baby's life it doesn't matter if he's a Dem or Rep. If he's gotten 200 parking tickets, again, it doesn't matter. If he's introducing legislation, then it does, because it gives us an idea if it will pass or not, face a veto, etc. The labels just create an opportunity for generalizations. Just because Congressman Alpha is a shmoe, doesn't mean Congressman Beta, from the same party, is too.

QUOTE (almagest @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:20 AM) Just wait until Crede has a slump. We Fields supporters will have our day! Nothing like having something to look forward to, a Sox player having a slump, that's a fan

One of the differences between AAA, AAAA, and MLB is the ability to throw any pitch on the 3-2 count. One of the biggest changes in baseball that I have seen is off speed at any time, in both leagues. Use to be with 3 balls here come the fast balls. Now a guy could be throwing anything. And it doesn't seem like walks are up. So they must be throwing for strikes.