Vance Law

QUOTE(hi8is @ Feb 17, 2007 -> 06:29 PM) odd... he looks younger... maybe those cubans get younger with age.... the antithesis of time. I thought the same thing when I saw this. He looks skinnier- his face anyway

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 11:13 PM) Hit lefties and play CF. A platoon of Mack and Clark in LF would be far more productive than Podsednik alone. I don't doubt that. I admit I don't know much about Clark other than looking at his numbers, but I gotta say I prefer the upside of Erstad as backup CF (especially at the price of $750,000- KW exploits the inefficient market), and Ozuna with his bat, speed, and agressiveness as a platooner in left.

QUOTE(shoota @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 05:20 PM) Incorrect, perhaps your confusion is born from thinking the All-Star game evenly divides the halves of a season. Through the first 80 games of the season, Mark Buehrle had an ERA of 3.22. It wasn't until the 81st game of the season against the Cubs that Buehrle's season began to fall apart. Which yes, is the last day of the first half, but would be obtuse to ignore his 3.22 ERA entering the last game of the first half. So I'll say it again: Mark Buehrle had a spectacular first half of 2006. Yes, I agree with you on that. I was following the convention of splitting the season into pre and post all-star game, though I do realize more games are played before the break. I bet you might agree with me that MB was not spectacular overall before the break. And hopefully everyone can agree that Phil Rodgers is a douche.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 05:39 PM) The Brewers seem to have a lot of outfielders and Ned Yost confirmed that Billy Hall will play center field and Core Hart will play right field. That means Geoff Jenkins, Kevin Mench, Gabe Gross, Brady Clark, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Laynce Nix are all fighting for playing time and one outfield spot. Could we possibly work out a trade for Brady Clark? I can't believe he would cost that much and he could be an upgrade over Pods and could possibly help out in CF and give BA a day off every now and then. Any thoughts on this situation? Does this seem like a possibility? What does Brady Clark do that he doesn't do worse than Mackowiak?

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 09:56 PM) Shoota's exactly right on this one, Buehrle was All-Star caliber in the first half. He was somewhat inconsistent, but you are pointing out his ERA without making note of his Cubs start where he had an ERA of 18.00. Should one start be counted against a pitcher simply because it reflects greatly upon his overall numbers? I don't feel as though that should be the case, but perhaps I'm just in the minority (though I completely doubt I am). Going into his game against the Cubs, his ERA was 3.22. All Star worthy or no? I agree, he was great up to that point 2 weeks before the All-Star break, so I suppose it all depends on when Ozzie picked his players. He lost his next 6 decisions (2 before the break) and at the break, there were 11 pitchers with as many wins as Buehrle and a better ERA.

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Feb 13, 2007 -> 10:46 PM) For as much as KW complained about the FA market he was in the catbird's seat when it came to the starters he traded and certainly should have gotten more for Freddy and IMO sold himself short. Given if Floyd comes out and does well it will more than likely be a moot point anyway. For giving up only one year of Sweaty Garcia, coming off a 4.53 ERA, and taking $10 million off the payroll I think we got a good deal.

QUOTE(shoota @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 05:28 PM) False, Buehrle was spectacular in the first half of the '06 season. He had an All-Star first half and was recognized for it. False, 9 - 6 with a 4.02 ERA is not spectacular. And it very likely would not have gotten him on the All-Star team if his coach wasn't picking the players. and I consider Rodgers to be a gigantic moron or just a big Cubs fan (same thing) QUOTE(mmmmmbeeer @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 05:48 PM) This is precisely why I was going to give KW a D+ for this postseason in that "if we're set" thread. I can't think of a single team outside of Oakland and Minnesota that has successfully competed every year while always building for the future. Atlanta Yankees (but they don't really count as a team)

QUOTE(danman31 @ Feb 5, 2007 -> 02:34 AM) Weird that they thought striking out more has anything to do with your OBP (from the Fields part). They made it sound as if K'ing is worse than a regular out in terms of OBP. K'ing is worse than a regular out in terms of OBP, but not in a direct way. They mean that a high propensity for striking out is bad for your OBP. If you make contact more, swing more conservatively particularly with 2 strikes, and at least put the ball in play, necessarily some of those will become hits and you'll get on base more. Mike Schmidt was just ripping on Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell for this in an interview. He accused himself of the same thing, though his strikeout rate improved in his later years (ie focusing more on making contact more to make up for his declining bat speed).

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 14, 2007 -> 12:35 PM) Finally, I too have been a big believer that the Sox rotation will rebound to slightly better numbers in 2007; not 2005 numbers where the Sox have 4 starters with ERAs under 4, but rather something along the lines of 2 guys having ERAs under 4 with 2 others having ERAs in the 4.20-4.60 region. I'm not really naming names, I'm just kinda basing that on probability and career numbers. Perhaps an unwise belief, but I find it reasonable enough. in agreement.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 07:47 PM) Ozuna's only real plus at this point is his speed. He's third (or worse) on the depth chart at every position as of right now -- behind Cintron at 2B and SS, behind Mackowiak and Cintron at 3B, behind Erstad and Mackowiak at all the OF spots. Plus, while their OPS' vs lefties were similar last year, I'd venture to guess that Perez' is more sustainable than Ozuna's. Afterall, Ozuna really wasn't a good player for the Sox past July -- in his final 103 ABs, he put up a .247/.284/.371 line. The depth chart (which is not something that the Sox officially put out or stick to, but just something your various online sports sites ) is less relevant than whether the pitcher is a lefty or righty. See Ozuna basically platooning in left field for a lot of the season. I agree with you that, though their OPS's were almost identical against lefties last year, Perez is more likely to have the higher OPS against lefties. But by how much? 10 points, 20 points, 50 points? Who knows? But any of those options really amount to a very small marginal difference in production when we are talking about only 150 at bats, and that Perez will make an out in 100 of those. So the question remains whether or not the marginal increase in production from Perez in 150 at bats warrants an spot on the 25 man roster. When you factor in that Ozuna could platoon not only for DH, but for our weak-hitting lefty leftfielders, play 2nd, 3rd, ss in a pinch and lf, and is one of the only speed guys on the team, I certainly don't imagine he's moving. I'd be happy to see Pods still recovering on the DL or on a rehab, and Perez on the team on opening day.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Feb 13, 2007 -> 06:58 AM) I can't really blame him. Politte and Cotts would make it hell for any manager in that situation. Looking back on the bullpen last year, 1) It's amazing how we still won 90 games, and 2) How huge the MacDougal trade looks now. I'm happy we got MacDoug, and overall the bullpen was bad, but some of them pitched rather well throughout and at various points of the season. Thorton, Jenks, Riske, MacDoug. Politte was horrid, but pitched very few innings. Those 4 above somewhat balanced out McCarthy and Cotts' bad performance + lots of innings.

It's a nice time to be an old bad major league pitcher.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 05:58 PM) i like the signing but im very confused as to how he fits in if at all.... I like the signing too for a few reasons. #1 being, even before this signing I would have been a little surprised if Pods were to play in April, and a lot surprised if he were to play in the first couple weeks of the year. Once he's cleared to workout, then he can start to get himself in shape, and then he can start "spring training" if it's still going on. Last year, recovering from surgery all offseason, he couldn't much get in shape for spring training, injured himself, and basically had April in the majors as his spring training. They've said they'll be extremely cautious with him. There's no point in putting him in the lineup if he's not in prime running shape. Also, it's a minor league deal. Does anyone know, does this mean that despite his years of MLB service, we can play him in the minors whenever we want? QUOTE(daa84 @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 05:58 PM) If you ask me, i think ozuna may become expendible, but i have no idea. i I love pablo, but perez honestly adds more with his bat than ozuna does with his legs, so i think it makes most sense for pablo to go. For a variety of reasons, I really don't think we're getting rid of Pablo. Including: 2006 Perez vs. LHP 153 AB .834 OPS .333 OBP 2006 Ozuna vs. LHP 143 AB .826 OPS .358 OBP Perez doesn't hardly add more with his bat than Pablo does with his bat. Then, take into account Pablo's speed, ability to play positions in the field that are not first base, and being our only right handed backup outfielder. One of these is a luxury that we can't afford to use a roster spot for: 3 1B/DHs or Pods/Erstad/Mackowiak We will see how it plays out. Pods or Mack could be traded. Pods could come back and play great putting Perez in the minors only to come up to fill in for an injured player.

It's clear that Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit have the best staffs. What order will they finish in? I don't know. None has a track record of being clearly, year-in-year-out the best. The staffs are close enough, and pitching unpredictable enough that it's anybody's guess. Was there a consensus that Chicago and Cleveland would be that good in 2005? That we'd be that bad and Detroit would be that good in '06? I don't think so, so the February guesses don't seem to mean much to me. I do like how much worse Detroit's staff was in the second half. Bonderman and Verlander had ERA's of 4.87 and 4.54 in the second half. Verlander skipped starts and had a 5.82 ERA in August and September. That plus their post-season workload and Rogers' old bones makes me optomistic Detroit will be notably worse this year.

QUOTE(daa84 @ Feb 7, 2007 -> 11:00 PM) the vazquez stuff is legit...easily had the best peripherals of any of our pitchers last year, and toward the end of the year his ERA and success started to reflect taht more and more....im glad we dumped freddy isntead of him, but i know im in the minority on that one I agree with you.

QUOTE(Damen @ Feb 7, 2007 -> 11:28 AM) Even though I like the way Kenny approached this offseason, any improvement in our teams chances this year will come from players rebounding from substandard years in '06, because we didn't do much to improve the team over the offseason. I think the main improvement was always going to have to come from players rebounding from '06. The pitching players. Most importantly, the starters. Our 4 starters from last year need to have notably better years for us to improve. How else could we improve the starting pitching? The free agent market? What free agent starters could you have said, with a reasonable degree of certainty, would definitely be an upgrade on one of ours? Matsuzaka for $100+ million, which would have required a bid of $52 million just to talk with him. Zito for $126 million? Debatable even that he'd be an upgrade even in the short term when you stick him in our park and that contract is a disaster. We were never going to make those deals. The bullpen, meanwhile, was upgraded in my opinion. I'm pretty psyched about the arms we got. we'll have to see how they pan out. Anyone who says the bullpen is worse, I'll say "hey that's your guesstimate. I prefer my guesstimate." There are question marks. Question marks, calculated risks, often times pan out. We had question marks in '05. We seemingly had fewer question marks in '06 and see what happened. The Tigers certainly had a lot of question marks last year. The Yankees are the one team who seem to buy their way into the fewest question marks and when was the last time they were in the World Series?

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Feb 6, 2007 -> 12:51 PM) It depends on who you're talking about, if you're talking about the type of fans that are on this board then yes Pods was really nailed last year but if you're talking about the type of fans who call into White Sox weekly (the majority of Sox fans) then the guy got a serious pass last season compared to guys like Vazquez and even Thome (who was blaimed for the lack of 'smallball). And yes Buehrle did get a pass last year but I'm talking about next season, if Mark f***s up he's going to get killed in the press. Yes, I suppose it does depend which fans you're talking about. yikes, if I heard someone say this:" Thome...blaimed for the lack of 'smallball" I wouldhave to call it, at best, silly talk. QUOTE(easyw @ Feb 6, 2007 -> 07:10 AM) By mid-August, I predict Scott Podsednik will be working the deep fryer at Arby's in Tinley Park. That's the kind of hard-working player I want on the Sox. A multi-millionaire who doesn't need to work another day in his life, yet he'll go get his hands dirty working at Arby's.

QUOTE(ScottyDo @ Feb 6, 2007 -> 12:35 AM) I think Gooch would probably be the best at it, but it's an awful waste of his varied talents. It'd be great to see him lower in the order but it's sort of crowded down there, which is nice. Having Soriano as a leadoff hitter is an awful waste. Having Sizemore as a leadoff hitter is an awful waste. Iguchi? Maybe a little waste but not too much.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Feb 5, 2007 -> 04:38 PM) Seeing as how Pods has gotten a near pass from a lot of fans for last season I really don't see him being any more closely scrutinized than say Mark Buehrle, Jim Thome or Javier Vazquez. If by "a near pass" you mean "he's the most complained about and scrutinized player on the team," I agree with you. If by "a near pass" you mean "a near pass" I would say that applies only to Mark Buehrle despite his being, if you had to rank them, the number one reason the Sox didn't make the playoffs. Their great starting pitching got them the World Series in '05. Mediocre starting pitching would have gotten them in the playoffs in '06. Their bad starting pitching kept them out of the playoffs. Buehrle was the worst of the starting pitchers.

It should be Mack, Ozuna, and/or Iguchi. If Erstad is in there, it is presumably because he's healthy and hitting reasonably well. He should hit 2nd or 8th/9th.

QUOTE(Beltin @ Feb 1, 2007 -> 09:50 AM) I would hope to have a little more production out of my backup than one heroic pinch hit moment. I think we all fell in love with Mack when he beat Hawkins and the Cubs in a double header two years ago. That and the fact that he is a local guy with a passion for the Sox gave him a free pass last year. Overall, he was pretty disappointing both offensively and defensively. This is one of the more bizarre comments that I've seen. You must be joking, lying, willfully ignoring the facts, and or basing your comment on one game that you saw. Mackowiak was a better hitter than the majority of our regulars. He hit .295 with a .365 OBP. Those numbers are better than Iguchi, Crede, Pierzynski, Pods, Anderson, and Uribe.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jan 31, 2007 -> 04:23 PM) Actually, a right handed hitting outfielder who can play LF is very important. Important is a relative term. How important is a backup right handed outfielder to a team's success. Where does it rank on a list of, say, the 50 most important things for a baseball team.? If it ranks 50th, is it really "important"? The Sox do have a backup right-handed left fielder in Ozuna. If your claim is that the sum of his abilities, offensive and defensive, is somehow inferior to the typical backup right-handed outfielder, how much? I would claim that the difference between the league average backup right handed outfielder and Ozuna (that is their net effects on the baseball games over the course of the season) is insanely insignificant. Important stuff list - #49 Mai Tai guy's booze hose working properly #50 getting a better backup right-handed outfielder than Ozuna

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 31, 2007 -> 11:08 AM) Brian Anderson could be one of those guys and Pablo will probably be the other. Pablo will obviously play LF for Pods. I realize its not the power bat off the bench that some people wanted Who are these people and who said they could talk? How in the universe could these people logically think that the top home run hitting team in baseball needs to add more power to it's outfield bench. I agree, though, that it would have put us in the playoffs if this hypothetical backup outfielder could also be an above average major league starting pitcher for 4 out of every 5 games.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 03:57 PM) Why not sign him anyway to a zero-cost, no risk (minor league) Junior Spivey-type deal? We already inquired about him, and his asking price was too high- one of those-type deals is not available. QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 03:57 PM) He'll undoubtedly get more playing time elsewhere, so long as he can prove he's healthy. Yes, I agree with you, wsf, I was answering my own question in the second line. He won't sign for peanuts with us cause he'll get a better offer somewhere.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jan 30, 2007 -> 12:46 PM) Stewart is a right handed outfielder and if he doesn't get a contract from anyone else I don't see where the harm is in giving him a minimum deal right-handed, you are correct. my bad. Assumng Pods is out at the beginning of the season which leaves open a potential spot, I still would rather see Ozuna and probably Fields as right-handed lf options. Why not sign him anyway to a zero-cost, no risk (minor league) Junior Spivey-type deal? We already inquired about him, and his asking price was too high- one of those-type deals is not available.