witesoxfan

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 29, 2011 -> 09:18 AM) I guess what I meant was it read like "All we need is this long list of unlikely things to occur for us to get back on top". Which of those is unrealistic? Call up Viciedo and see an instant offensive upgrade in LF without much of a defensive downgrade? Find a stopgap solution at 2B and send Beckham to AAA? Maybe Dunn and/or Rios gets their s*** together? Continue to rotate Lillibridge? Split time between Morel and Vizquel? There really are quite a few things working with this team right now, but there are about 4 huge blackholes in the lineup that are the biggest factors to the offensive inconsistency. My thoughts are that 2 of those are solved with the above (and there have been some hints dropped by the organization that one of those will end at a certain date) and that other is certainly plausible. If Dunn and/or Rios do ever start hitting, then this team gets very dangerous. I mean, I could make a long list of requirements for me to get up right now and walk to the bathroom, but odds are all of those can be accomplished. It's possible that something goes awry along the way and I trip and fall down the stairs. (and yes, I believe I'm suggesting that the White Sox can't get up to go to the bathroom right now) QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 29, 2011 -> 01:43 PM) Their starting pitching situation is considerably worse than before and Montero is arguably not even their best catching prospect anymore. Danks also isnt a half year rental like Greinke was. It's not that ridiculous. To be fair, no player that ever goes to New York or Boston is a 1 year rental unless said player completely blows. They have a bit of money. Part of the problem with Greinke is that he has had psychological problems and there was a lot of fear that he wouldn't be able to handle the pressure in New York. I think we've all seen first hand that pressure has never really gotten the best of Danks.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 29, 2011 -> 09:06 AM) You make it seem as if all of this is guaranteed to happen. No I don't.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jun 29, 2011 -> 01:14 AM) This team ain't winning s*** this year. Sadly. I don't feel good about this team right now either, but it's way, way too early to say that. You get Viciedo into LF for Pierre, find a cheap, stopgap solution at 2B and let Beckham hit in AAA for a couple of months, maybe Rios and Dunn finally start hitting, continue to rotate Lillibridge, split time between Morel and Vizquel, and this team could still win quite a few ballgames. I'd even say that would be a good offensive ballclub. They're 4.5 out and they haven't played this poorly since 2007. I'm going to take my chances with Adam Dunn, Dayan Viciedo, and Brent Morel over Darin Erstad, Luis Terrero, and Andy Gonzalez everyday.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 27, 2011 -> 05:25 PM) Famously, Joe Mauer once put a bunt down (can't remember the specific game) last season with the bases loaded or RISP and their entire fanbase went apeshi- over it that he wasn't swinging away and was shirking his responsibility off to a lesser batter who was following him in the line-up. If you were to ask Joe Mauer right now what kind of play that was, I would hope that he . . They WANT you to try something stupid like bunting. C'mon, Joe. . Jul 21, 2010 . Bunting. In that situation? Believe me, I get what Joe Mauer was thinking, and he is a very good bunter. No question about that. Joe Mauer bunting with the game on the line (and no Justin Morneau batting behind him for protection?) I remember Joe Mauer putting down a bunt against a particular pitcher during a particularly important game. That one ended up as an out too.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 24, 2011 -> 09:46 PM) James Shields is an absolute beast. He should be in the Cy Young conversation. Back to back CGs for him. His ERA is now down to 2.4. And he will face some regression to the mean this year, just as he was supposed to face some last year. FGs did an article on Pujols during his terrible start, and this is something they absolutely failed to recognize, even after commenters made a point of it several times. Regression to the mean works both ways and it is certainly possible, and at times likely, that players will get hot for an extended period of time - above the mean - when they were below the mean normally. It's not regressing to the mean - which is expected - but to suggest that it is unexpected is also wrong. This works with and against Shields, and works with and against Adam Dunn. It's expected that Adam Dunn puts up his standard .250/.380/.520 in the second half. It's also entirely possible that he puts up .280/.420/.580 and then his final numbers will still end far below his career average. What part of that was expected and what part was unexpected?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 02:13 PM) Not the right day to be saying that, just for emotional reasons. I'd almost put that play out of my mind. I missed play in question. I assume it was Alexei making an error in the 14th inning of a game against the Nationals where the White Sox had 15 hits and 21 baserunners and scored 5 runs. If you in any manner even coincide Alexei with that loss, you may as well blame the catastrophic floods in the Missouri River region on the surplus rainfalls in eastern Montana in May, when everyone knows it was the snows from October through March that actually did it. QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 10:12 PM) KC is scary. I'd try to trade Soria and get another good young player, if I were them. Moustakas, Crow, Hosmer, Montgomery, Escobar, Meyers, etc is just a ridiculous young core. With as many prospects as they have, trading him for one more good young player doesn't do a goddamn thing. You trade him for a "sure thing" who is struggling. You get another good prospect and give up a player to replace said struggling player in return. Thank God for Santos, because the concept of Beckham and Viciedo for Soria and Aviles just crossed my mind.

QUOTE (Bighurt52235 @ Jun 26, 2011 -> 03:20 AM) Update: A few days ago, I took a foot long ball pien to a Little League complex. Wish I could tell you that I sprayed the ball around the park, but that would be a lie. I saw about 30 pitches, foul tipped two, and didn't put a single one in play. When you're used to swinging a 32 inch bat, its so emasculating to swing through a bunch of hangers with your hammer. Lol. Sweet spot gets a bit bigger with a baseball bat, eh?

Ivan Rodriguez has only been implicated on steroid use by Jose Canseco when Canseco was in Texas. Other players in Texas during his time there were Dean Palmer, Juan Gonzalez, and Rafael Palmeiro.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 26, 2011 -> 12:05 AM) It's an epic bust and just wishing/hoping/praying for a turnaround isn't going to make it happen. Walker says it's a very simple fix, that he's basically getting started too late in his swing. If so, why isn't Dunn changing that? I'm pretty much prepared to write-off this season and hope that his playing time will be decreased even further. Re-set next spring. Calling a 4 year free agent deal a bust after half a season is a bust.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 02:16 PM) Helps explain the reach that is Walker! Yeah, reach, in a baseball draft. OK.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 09:38 PM) And doing really well at SS. Yes, very debatable. He's never had good range defensively and doesn't have a great arm but has always had pretty good hands. He's an average to above average defensive 2B, below average to average defensive SS. Both Andrus and Ramirez blow him clean out of the water on defense. And, as a matter of opinion, I believe that Alexei Ramirez is the best defensive shortstop in the entire Major Leagues.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 24, 2011 -> 02:17 PM) I'm assuming he's referencing Ortiz, and to my knowledge there's been nothing but rumor associated with him. I was thinking Ortiz was in the Mitchell Report, but didn't see him listed. I know there was something he was mentioned in a few years back that really got him fired up for the Boston media.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 11:08 AM) Listen, you have two warriors, two men who battle. It's going to happen. These men are men. Here, you also have two warriors, two bears who battle. It's going to happen. However, these bears are NOT men.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 06:06 AM) Pena over Jeff Gray? Haha. I'm guessing you're referring to the ongoing "replace Pierre with Viciedo" movement? Giving Guillen a contract extension through 2012? I think it's quite obvious that it's the way Viciedo has been handled. Just have to hope that he does come up when the Sox gain an extra year of control because he is murdering the ball and could be a huge boon to this team down the stretch.

Thanks Milk. It's messed up. Oh, and here's Minot's hydrology outlook. Expected to raise 4 feet in a weeks' period. That is messed up.

Bismarck lost its first house today. Hopefully it's the last, but I have my doubts. Oh, and due to the most recent rains in eastern Montana, river levels have spiked in Minot, ND and there is immediate evacuation for several homes in the area.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 06:16 PM) That list of needs matches ours. Fans like to believe there's some naive GMs out there. It's not everyone of them trades Nick Swisher for nothing and aquires a Mark Teahan. Yeah, some of them trade for Freddy Garcia and then get nothing back. I don't see you talking s*** about Pat Gillick. Pat Gillick has been quite a bit more successful in his ventures than Ken Williams has. My point does nothing but accentuate the fact that general managers, no matter the caliber, make dumb trades. Gillick gave up Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia. I'm sure that deal still pisses him off. He was able to recover. I honestly can't think of a move right now in the past 10 1/2 months that Williams has made that has really pissed me off and made me say "Why?" Can you? There is only one move that he has not made that still leaves me scratching my head, but otherwise, it's on the players, coaches, and manager at this point.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 04:41 PM) Quentin - Milledge - Viciedo Ah, one can dream.... May not be pretty defensively, but an offensive upgrade for sure... That might be the worst defensive outfield in the history of the game.

QUOTE (skidoochic @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 11:02 PM) I agree! (Although I don't think AJ is a prick.) Even AJ thinks AJ is a prick. You are clearly wearing rose colored glasses, likely given to you by AJ Pierzynski. Seems like a non-issue that may be made into an issue at some point in the very near future. I'm not worried about it at all.

Maybe the Sox will trade him for Marquez, Betemit, and Nunez! I'm still not worried.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 08:35 AM) So I'll take 10-15 Mitchells or Youngs over 50 Kennyn Walkers and play those odds in Vegas that I end up with a couple of All-Stars and one once-in-a-generation superstar. The f***? What is the difference between Jared Mitchell, Chris Young, and Keenyn Walker?

Sooo, uhhhhhh.....where is Jerry Owens? Atleast he brings...athleticism? The fact that Viciedo is not on the major league team shows a direct correspondence to the incompetency of the manager in managing a team, which shows a direct correspondence to the incompetency of the GM in not either firing the manager or having his orders be followed, and/or a correspondence to the managing partner having a total incompetency as to what the f*** is going on with his GM and manager. I think there's a bit of all 3 going on. I think "bit" is the wrong term. I think there's A LOT of all 3 going on here. You can add, at this point, probably 2 wins by DFAing Juan Pierre and adding Viciedo. If he's Carlos Lee in left field, then that's an improvement. Something needs to be done, and until it is, this team is going to continue to mire in mediocrity. Having the worst hitter in the entire major leagues continue to get the most plate appearances of anybody on your roster is like trying to build a car out of banana peels and plastic,

I have no problem admitting that I cried watching 500 Days of Summer simply because it's eerily similar to my situation. As far as I'm concerned, that's one of the best movies I've ever watched. The only thing I don't understand is Everything about the movie was genuinely awesome. It moves quickly, so it doesn't exactly mimic real life, and her I do understand the length restrictions of a movie, and it was absolutely phenomenal otherwise and obviously hit me on a very personal level because I've gone a very similar experience. I think it hit a little too close to home and made me realize that I'm still chasing my Summer Finn. I think that's the sign of a good movie. I think might think too much too. (didn't dare bother to read the whole thread, didn't care how outdated the post was, but didn't want to ruin it)

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 20, 2011 -> 10:03 PM) What about A.Cabrera? He's a second baseman playing shortstop.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 20, 2011 -> 01:40 PM) Props to you for doing some research. Seems like Albert is in there pretty much every day to me. Even though he's constantly hurt. I seem to recall that he has needed like Tommy John surgery or something like that but played through it because the pain didn't bother him that badly. The dude is a monster. If there is somebody who can play through pain, it's him.