witesoxfan

I do not know this Ozzie Guillen you speak of.

Flowers is a bit of a breath of fresh air from AJ, but he still has a lot to refine in his game next year. He will be best served being the backup next year because he will learn the small things like that on the major league team, and there should be plenty of playing time.

And that is why you hit the cutoff man.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 10:08 PM) Ozzie wasn't too shabby either Who?

Well if that's the case, then the Sox will win the claim. This is the same thing as Manny last year. Several teams interested, but the Sox are the worst of the group that could be in on claiming him. Now it's a matter of whether the Twins will let him go, and I imagine they'll ask Thome, so really, it's up to him.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 10:37 PM) I have no idea what's happened to him, but I just looked up Konerko's awful season, and it makes PK look like Tony Gwynn compared to 2011 Adam Dunn. Funny to think, but Adam Dunn has the second worst contract in this game.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 10:31 PM) You can't say this anymore. He led the league in average distance for home runs the past few years, and now this year, he's probably only hit 3 or 4 "long" homers. 1 of every 3 or 4 homers being a monstrous blast is still a pretty good ratio

How about they don't allow a run this inning?

Looked like Kendrick left a split second early. It's probably worth checking.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 10:04 PM) But you hope maybe Rios finds something that works for him he can take into next year. At the end of last year, he had terrible mechanics at the plate and it led to this season's debacle. As for Dunn, you have to hope he just goes 0 for rest of season and decides to retire. It's shocking to me how little power he has left. Dunn still has power, he's just in-between on everything. Can't catch up to high heat, can't hit low breaking balls, obviously can't hit a change. About the only thing he can hit right now is a knee high fastball. Maybe he should look into using a shorter bat, because his bat speed could be better too.

QUOTE (T R U @ Jul 26, 2011 -> 11:50 AM) NEVER That's what my brother in law said. Said he was still going to play everyday. Well then he couldn't play on Wednesdays. Then he couldn't play on Wednesdays and Sundays. He wanted the weekend, so then he couldn't play on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Then it became during the week. Needless to say, 7 1/2 months into his child's life, he no longer plays XBox. Atleast you have another year and a half though.

How have I not posted in this? Until Alexei came along, Jose was the best White Sox shortstop since like Aparicio. He was so damn good.

You know, if Hunter sets himself properly on that throw, he probably gets Beckham. He was lucky as hell he didn't throw it away as is.

That was not a good decision to throw Beckham a fastball.

I am excited. This is the first time I have gotten to watch an entire Sox game in like a month or more. So yes, I got a 40 of Miller Lite. I also got a 40 of King Cobra. I also got another 40 of King Cobra. This is gonna get awesome.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 01:44 PM) I just have no idea how people can still believe in this team but hell, more power to you. I don't believe, but I do. Right now, I see a team that is 11-5 in their last 16. I also see a team that is 11-11 in their last 22. I see a team that was once 11 games under .500 climb their way back to .500 on several occasions. I also see a team that was their furthest over .500 on April 12th when they were 3 games over .500. I think of the 2007 Rockies who were 64-63 on August 23rd, only to get hotter than hell and win 26 of their next 36 on their way to a World Series appearance. I also think of the 2007 Brewers, who were 65-63 on August 24th, 1.5 games behind the Cubs, only to see them stay right around .500 for the rest of the year and finish 2 games back of the Cubs in a weak division. I could lament on this all night. What I do know is that there are still 6 games left against Detroit. That is enough head to head matchups that something could happen. I don't think it will, but it could. They have me just interested enough right now to care.

Assuming Sale is moved to the rotation - he absolutely needs to be given a shot - the Sox currently have a couple of left handed pitchers in the minors who would make interesting 3rd lefties out of the pen. Whisler is apparently coming from a submarine arm slot now which could make him a very dangerous weapon against good lefties. And Santiago, from the couple of times I saw him pitch, looks like he could make it out of the pen too. Trading Thornton also leaves a mess afterwards. If traded, you need to have two of Sale, Buehrle, and Danks in the rotation (and yes, I'm aware that Buehrle would need to be resigned). If you keep Buehrle and Danks, you are actually spending anywhere between $12-17 million MORE than with Thornton on the roster AND lose out on the prospects that would be acquired for Danks, so that does not seem likely. If you keep Danks and Sale, you only spend about $3-5 million more, but you still lose out on the prospects acquired for Danks as well as needing to find a replacement in the pen for Sale. If you keep Buehrle and Sale, you are spending about the same as Danks, perhaps slightly more, do get the prospects for Danks, but still need to find a replacement for Thornton. Quite frankly, trading Thornton is not only a bad baseball decision, it's a bad financial decision. The only way they should even consider it is if they want to blow the whole thing up, and with as many pieces as there are coming back, they may as well give a half-assed effort to give this group of players one more shot under different management.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 07:45 PM) You're overvaluing Thornton's 60 innings pitched. You are letting 1 month of bad performance affect your view of him. That is 1 month in the past 22 months of baseball. Matt Thornton is good. He is worth $6 million to this team and to several other teams.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 12:40 PM) What I'm saying is that, yes, it would make their team better. But it doesn't matter because it's already over. For the Orioles, it is in stone that it is already over. For the Sox, it's over in all but the mathematical sense. The Tigers need to play one game over .500 just to get to 87 wins. The Sox need to win 2/3 of their games to get to that same number. It's just not going to happen. It'll take a minor sports miracle for the Sox to win the division, I will agree with you there. However, looking at this race in a large generality like that is often deceiving. If the Sox go 4-2 against the Tigers in their final 6, that would mean the Tigers would have to play 3 games over .500 to win the division and the Sox would probably only have to play .600 ball...just guessing here. If the Sox take 5 of 6, then the Tigers have to play 5 games over .500 in the rest of their matchups to get to that elusive 87 win mark, and leaves the Sox probably having to win anywhere between 55-57.5% of their games. If somehow the Sox were to win all 6, then the Sox just have to play 1 game better than Detroit because they'd be in first place. Beyond any of that, if the Sox were to put a claim in on Thome and the Twins were to allow him to go freely, it would take a bat away from a divisional opponent that the Sox still have to face 6 more times this year. We are all aware, for several reasons, that Thome can change the outcome of a game with one swing of the bat. That likely makes Minnesota an easier opponent from this point forward as well (of course, this also affects Cleveland and Detroit too). So, yeah, you can look at the ridiculous records the teams would have to go, but at the end of the day, it's going to be head to head matchups that are going to determine the winner of the division. The two teams will probably split, leaving the Sox in a huge hole that they won't be able to climb out of, but, even as badly as I want to, I simply can't write this team off until they have finished up those divisional games.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 12:18 PM) What was Branch Rickey's saying? Trade a player a year too early than a year too late. The return he brings more than likely isn't going to be substantial given the year he's had, his age, and his contract. Or you just hang on to him because you'll be able to get the same value out of him in the offseason as you will right now (which may not be much, or it may be a pretty legitimate prospect). There are only 3 things that will change his value - getting hurt, blowing up, or pitching lights out. I personally think one of those is much more likely than the other and that would be the final outcome. since May 1st - 37 IP, 2.19 ERA, 3.5 K/BB, just under 9 K/9, .245/.292/.308/.600 since June 1st - 27.2 IP, 1.95 ERA, 5 K/BB, just under 9 K/9, .234/.265/.290/.555 There is no real point to trade for anybody, nor any real point to trade anybody away. They can do whatever they want with Thome, but they may as well ride this team out. If they come back and win it, hurrah. If they don't, then some heads need to roll.

Hopefully the Orioles claim him and they can continue to be one of the stupidest franchises in baseball.

Hendry genuinely seems like a pretty talented baseball guy and, for the most part, identifies valuable pieces during the season and understands the value it would take to acquire said pieces. Within pretty much an 18 month stretch, he'd traded for Eric Karros, Mark Grudzielanek, Kenny Lofton, Aramis Ramirez, Randall Simon, Derrek Lee, and Nomar Garciaparra and he gave up Todd Hundley's monstrosity of a contract, several overhyped prospects, and junk to acquire them. If the Sox do ultimately make a front office change following the season - I think they should do both that and a managing change - I think Hendry would make a phenomenal assistant GM. His biggest weakness is apparently contract negotiation - that's Hahn's biggest strength. Hahn's biggest weakness is talent evaluation - that seems to Hendry's biggest strength - and so long as the White Sox kept Williams in the organization (perhaps simply in an advisory role), they would seem to constantly have people in place to bring in extremely talented players while perhaps giving up less to acquire said players in the long haul. I would have no problem with that, personally.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 01:29 AM) Well, as expected, Detroit now is hot and grasping the division. So our season of hanging around .500 hoping we "get hot" is a big rotten fail. Yes I want to sign a guy like Cuddyer to change things up. As much as people hate "grinders" on this board, We could use a Reed Johnson/Cuddyer and I want Cuddyer. So what if overpaid Rios is my sub outfielder. I'd like to simply release him but I realize we can't do that even though by keeping him it poisons our team. This is why you are greg775, Faceless Internet Poster instead of greg775, GM of the White Sox.

QUOTE (mcgrad70 @ Aug 23, 2011 -> 12:18 AM) Agree completely - but Reinsdorf won't allow it - he wouldn't be able to stomach the truth about the real present state of his baseball franchise. this is you, no?

Honestly, I don't worry about Cleveland. Thome would help out there, but Cleveland has already been falling off for months and I think they'll ultimately finish slightly below .500. It would honestly make sense, though, for the Sox to claim him. They have room for him on the 40-man and for 6-8 days, they'd have to go without a mopup reliever. That is not the end of the world. And Thome would bring an upgrade for Dunn, would provide a left handed bat off the bench (in either the form of Thome or Dunn), and could possibly even provide a little insight to Dunn to help him correct himself. There is absolutely room in the budget for him thanks to the Jackson trade, and if he doesn't accept the move, then there is nothing lost. Maybe they get lucky, he gets hot, and gives the Sox an additional win and perhaps that is what pushes the Sox over the Tigers. I would say to go for it.