witesoxfan

QUOTE (mataipaepae @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 11:55 AM) This is probably difficult too, just like the game of baseball itself. 119 posts, and I'm guessing about 60 of these are directed at me because I once said the game of baseball can be complicated at times even in its simplicity.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 11:45 AM) Dunn had some good ABs though. I was in 125 and a guy 2 rows in front of me doesn't let Adam Dunn have one swing and a miss without letting him have it. It really was annoying. This is really too bad. There are very few people who want Dunn on the White Sox, but given the extenuating circumstances, keeping him on the roster makes sense. I mean, it's opening day for crying out loud, be happy and cheer the guys.

This is kind of like me saying I can't wait to see how Frank Summers or JJ Unga looks.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 11:23 AM) And he said we could beat .500 if things break right. That's the most optimistic prognostication I've ever read from Law. Because Keith Law does not hate the White Sox, much to the chagrin of Sox fans everywhere.

QUOTE (mataipaepae @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 11:23 AM) somebody sarcasm meter is off today. I didn't think everyone would get so twisted off a sarcastic joke Due to numerous reasons, I think your ability to portray sarcasm on message boards is off.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 10:04 AM) Matt Spiegel just said that he has a type of cancer that weakens his bones, he didnt come out and call it bone cancer but said that it pretty much caused this. Which makes me wonder, wtf are the angels doing sending him out there to do that He may have asked or Vlad may have asked, or you assume Vlad is going to throw a strike because Vlad used to be a baseball player. Not sure.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 10:19 AM) Got a first good look at our bullpen yesterday. Damn, we got some chunkers. Cleto, Veal and Belly (if that nickname hasn't been hung on Belisario yet, let me be the first) should get an Old Country Buffet endorsement. Then you've got Paulino in the rotation, and EJohnson might be dangerous with the MLB meal per diem. Even Lindy looks to be porking out. Discuss. And thus, he is Belly

QUOTE (mataipaepae @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 09:47 AM) Well you did say he CAN'T get leftys out. I was just pointing out that the last batter was lefty. So maybe he can get some out? Really? Comparatively speaking, he gets hit pretty hard against lefties compared to most relievers. Of course he can get lefties out, but if I face enough of them, I can get lefties out too.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 09:57 AM) Depends on the team. It would be dumb for team that draws 3 mil to do it. For a team like the White Sox, it could be a good marketing move with 5 months of notice. And again, they did it last year, so there is a precedent. Did they do it last year out of desire or necessity? Frankly, you have to figure you are going to get 60% per game compared to the usual game. If you draw a full capacity crowd? Sure it's OK. How many people actually buy tickets to go to a double header and want to stay at (or near) the park for 10 hours? I think I'd put that number at 10-15K at the very most, and I think that's stretching it. If you draw 20K, you lose. If you're at 30K, you are starting to push it. You really need to draw 35-40K to make running a scheduled double header worth it.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 09:55 AM) Watching Thomas hit in person, I now understand why there was a disconnect in the reports between supposedly questionable bat speed, and yet loud contact and power. If you watch him swing, it LOOKS slow. Not long, just slow. But somehow, when he makes contact, there is immense power behind it. It must be his hands or something. But I totally get how some scouts may have seen what they perceived as slow bat speed. I don't think it's slow - I think he's got a fast top hand with a very short stroke of it, a relatively short swing, and a lot of body and bat size, which together give that false impression. I think the guy is going to be a monster. Funny how you can change one words - the name - yet everything remains the same. It'd be real nice if it held true. (to be fair, Thomas did have a really long swing, so it's not completely true, but whatever)

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 08:31 AM) Well yeah, if they got rained out in September. Probably would be a risk worth taking. Remember last year, they made one of their doubleheaders a 2 for 1. They could do that for September 12, and they probably would get some good advanced sales. 2 for 1s are bad for business.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 1, 2014 -> 08:53 AM) Cool, lets cut avisail now. Players get better, but Garcia has a tendency to hit the ball into the ground. Right now, he's less Miguel Cabrera or Magglio Ordonez and more Melky Cabrera. That's not a bad indictment, but for a guy with his power and strength, I would like that swing path to be better. He reminds me of Pierzynski at the plate, which, yeah, AJ was a good hitting catcher, but that's a good hitting catcher a poor hitting right fielder.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 11:35 PM) He is 22 correct?? He will change once he gets time and understands the game more.. I would say not looking good and still being 2 for 4 is encouraging. Shows how much potential he has We believed this about Viciedo. He has been bad.

It is incredibly disheartening, after the precedent that new Hall of Famer Frank Thomas set, to see a Sox star like Chris Sale using something like dihydrogen monoxide. The value is clearly at it's lowest right now, but indications point to players completely falling off after getting of the the stuff. In today's age, most teams feel that you can enough output from the player after usage has stopped that they'll give up a decent price, so what do you think about sending him to the Cubs for Samardzija (plus others, obviously)? He's a righty, which is nice, plus he throws a lot of groundballs plus I really think he is a guy that Coop can really coach him up.

Welcome to the AL Ricky.

Personally, I think this is an indication that the organization feels good about Jones, Belisario, and Webb in the middle innings. Fabian mentioned it in the conference call, but the Sox talk and know how closers usually will come into games clean in the 9th and the tougher outs a lot of times are in the mid to late innings - 6th, 7th, and 8th. Lindstrom, even with big velocity numbers, has never been a big strikeout guy, but he does throw a lot of worm burners and, more importantly, does not allow a lot of home runs (5.4% HR/FB). If the Sox go into the 9th with a 2 run lead, the opposition is almost certainly going to have to string together 3 hits at some point.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 03:29 PM) JOSE ABREU DOUBLE!!!!! ‪#‎MPV2014‬ Most Perverted Voyeur

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 03:00 PM) Oh hi, Oberon. I love you. Go Sox! If it didn't look like mid-February Chicago out in Bismarck right now, I'd be right with you. But it still feels like winter, so no Oberon for me yet. Next week.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 01:13 PM) Quality jinx /pats self on back

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 12:45 PM) 1. So what happens to the guy we're actually trying to develop? He sits on the bench too, doesn't stay sharp, and then we wind up cutting him loose next year when his arb cost goes up? 2. All sorts of problems with that. Why's he even there if he's not going to play in games like this? Why's he making lineup decisions? 3. And that line is supposed to impress? It's tolerable as a back of the lineup/platoon guy, but that slash line would be among the bottom of the league in slash lines out of the 3 spot. The MLB average in 2013 out of the 3 slot was a .799 OPS. 4. Then they should have put a roster together to act like it. Instead they're carrying a guy as a tribute and another guy who shouldn't be above AA ball, and they have so little confidence in the rest of their lineup that they have a platoon 3b who put up a .734 OPS against righties last year batting 3rd. 1) Viciedo is going to play. He's also going to sit. This kind of thing is going to happen. Complaining about him not being in one game is more than overreacting. 2) Konerko wants to establish the idea that he's a part time player, and Ventura deferred to Konerko's judgment. That's out of respect for a veteran's belief. 3) I never suggested it was impressive nor good, but Ventura wanted to break up the lineup and wants contact out of the 3 hole. I would prefer Dunn, but I don't mind this at all. 4) They did. They have a platoon set for the DH position and one of those guys just so happens to be one of the most lauded players in franchise history. Gillaspie happens to be the best 3B on the roster against right handed pitching and expecting him to improve isn't all that far fetched. It's also apparent that the Sox have a lot of faith in Nieto's ability behind the plate. Relax and enjoy opening day. Sheesh.

Verlander looks pretty sharp early on.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 12:20 PM) Just to make this connection...this lineup is a really good example of why I disliked this roster construction so much. 1) We're playing the "win now" guy in LF and benching the guy we need to develop because of RH/LH matchups. 2) We're spending a roster spot on a guy to give him his last hurrah and he's not playing on opening day. 3) We're playing 2 "win now", lefty-righty matchup guys to try to win the game, and then throwing out a completely inadequate #3 hitter who has his replacement already procured. 4) We constructed a roster full of starters who need time to develop and a long-time tribute guy, then threw in a couple "win this game today" platoon guys and suddenly we're playing the win-now guys because gotta win the game. Just a great example of why I complained so much about the roster construction. 1) You also want to show case and play him so you can get fair value. If you don't play him, he won't stay sharp. 2) Ventura wanted to start Konerko. Konerko asked to be held out of the lineup. 3) Conor Gillaspie put up a .261/.324/.414/.738 line last year against righites, and Ventura obviously feels that a guy who makes better contact is suited for that spot. 4) The Sox are 0-0. They are trying to win the game every day. Until it's readily apparent in real life that they are out of the race, they are in the race.

QUOTE (jhonnydanks @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 10:43 AM) don't stop get it get it My absolute favorite post of every year.

QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 30, 2014 -> 09:39 PM) Is Jose Valentin the padres 1b coach? Yes God I love that man.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 30, 2014 -> 03:43 PM) So we have to change the thread, Boggs released but back on minor league deal...he gets hot, my thread title is still POSSIBLE, but Boggs is now behind Jones/Lindstrom/Webb/Belisario and probably Cleto as well. That said, a LOT of things can change in the span of 2+ months. Just like we're seeing with the first round draft pick decision. This would be like had I said that Jordan Danks is going to be the cleanup hitter at some point. The fact that he's in the organization gives it a chance, but unless about 5 or 6 injuries happen, there's no chance of it happening other than in the technicality world.