witesoxfan

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 02:58 AM) Baseball is the one sport that I feel comments like this are never safe. I agree to some extent, because there is a lot that can go wrong with either team. At the very least, both teams should be fighting for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 10:19 PM) Was he out of options or something or just bad? Surprised the Padres would have just released him. He had some potential, let's hope we can fix him. Nice find team! Just bad. New regime getting prospects they don't particularly care for out of the system. I like the move too. It's possible that the Sox are simply better at harnessing control from these prospects than the Padres, because Poreda has been very wild with San Diego too. You can't expect much, but judging by his K rate last year, it doesn't look like he's lost much stuff. Hopefully he pitches well.

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 10:19 PM) Was he out of options or something or just bad? Surprised the Padres would have just released him. He had some potential, let's hope we can fix him. Nice find team! Just bad. New regime getting prospects they don't particularly care for out of the system. I like the move too. It's possible that the Sox are simply better at harnessing control from these prospects than the Padres, because Poreda has been very wild with San Diego too. You can't expect much, but judging by his K rate last year, it doesn't look like he's lost much stuff. Hopefully he pitches well.

Regardless, unless there is a total meltdown or some other team breaks out big time, I think it's safe to say that both teams should be in the playoffs.

Just want to say that, due to the fact that Milledge is signed to a MLC and Lillibridge is out of options, it really wouldn't surprise me if the White Sox took Lillibridge north with them and then tried to sneak him through waivers after a couple games. I think they do like Lillibridge and want him to hang around, but I don't think even KW, who does his best to get value out of trades even when he should have given up hope long ago, realizes that Milledge is a better option than Lillibridge is at the moment.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 11:21 PM) Hummmm.... Thanks for pointing that out. My info is odbviously as bad as my spelling I remember reading that during on stretch that the sox where like 45 and 29 ... Something like that... and during that stretch - they had the second best winning percentage. I think the stat came from our feature on 30 clubs in 30 days It would not surprise me if they had the second best record in the league from June 1st to July 31st, as a 36-17 record over a 2 month span is incredibly impressive. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the best record over that stretch of games. They were playing some pretty incredible baseball over that time frame.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 08:18 PM) The sox had the second best winning percentage in the majors last year after the trade deadline. Even putting aside Dunn's added WAR over last years crap fest... If we ply like that all year - we're greatly improved. If Edwin Jackson pitches like he can and Carlos hits like he can... Look out!! The White Sox did not have the second best winning percentage after the trade deadline last year. I don't know who did, but the White Sox post-trade deadline record was 30-29. It's mathematically impossible for that to be the second best record in the league. QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 08:31 PM) Personally, I think Edwin and Quentin are the keys to the team. Yes, I understand that Peavy is the bigger name with better history of dominance, but it's hard for me to ever expect him to make 25+ starts anymore. I think if Edwin and Quentin can play as well as they have shown they can, this team will win, no matter how many starts Peavy gives us. Quentin I won't argue with. He does a lot of good things when he is going right, and he can be a tremendous blackhole in the lineup when he is not right. Jackson I will. He was pretty phenomenal with the Sox after he was acquired last year, and, as mentioned, the Sox went 30-29. To me, the biggest factors to success will be the second tier hitters on the Sox - basically anyone other than Dunn or Konerko - as well as the middle innings relievers. If a few players within the lineup show improvement - Beckham, Quentin, and perhaps Alexei from April through May and Rios from July through September - it should be able to overcome some regression from Konerko while still putting up good numbers. With regards to the bullpen, I think Thornton will be dynamite, Sale will be good, Crain will be solid but not as good as Putz, Santos should be solid, but the main thing is having an additional dependable reliever. The Sox got crushed in the bullpen last year because they had to rely so heavily upon Thornton and Putz that Ozzie eventually ran those two into the ground. If guys can have set roles in the pen and can perform well within those roles, they'll be just fine, so hopefully Pena and Ohman can be somewhat dependable...it would make the pen that much stronger.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 08:21 PM) Yeah I know. That was just my initial reaction. And even if it were true, you know me, try him in LF and bench you know who. Alex Rios? Cuz you know Juan Pierre ain't coming out of that lineup! WHO IS GONNA LEADOFF THEN HUH?

Generally speaking, looking at a team's record before Memorial Day is dumb. It will inevitably happen, and people will be upset that the Sox 5 games under or are at .500 come mid-May, but really, there's still more than 100 games left from that point forward. Now, if they're 11-40 at the end of May, well then they're out of the race and looking at their record isn't quite as dumb. Nor is it if they're like 40-11. But 99% of the time, it's pointless.

Generally speaking, looking at a team's record before Memorial Day is dumb. It will inevitably happen, and people will be upset that the Sox 5 games under or are at .500 come mid-May, but really, there's still more than 100 games left from that point forward. Now, if they're 11-40 at the end of May, well then they're out of the race and looking at their record isn't quite as dumb. Nor is it if they're like 40-11. But 99% of the time, it's pointless.

For me, it has always been the lime that has made the drink. The little bit of sugar and citric acid that come out of it really enhance the flavors instead of leaving you with the overly bitter flavors of the gin. The first drink always tastes like you're standing under a waterfall. My ex loved drinking Blueberry Sodas too, which was just blueberry vodka, soda water, and a lime. Those weren't bad but they didn't have enough flavor for me, like the gin and tonics bring. I've also tried vodka tonics too, and again, there just isn't enough there. And, considering I'm not a huge whiskey guy (with the exception of scotch), nor have I had really any good rums, gin and tonics have just always been my go to drink.

QUOTE (IChaseBlackWood @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 07:09 PM) Jordan Cheatham was released and they picked up a guy from the padres named Dexter Carter. NICE

I'm about as excited for this acquisition as I was when the Sox added Humber, or when they traded Kyle McCulloch.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 03:19 PM) I wouldn't say it's insane not to pick up a $15M option on a 37-year-old pitcher with history of injuries. Especially if it's in exchange for a 33-year-old pitcher who will cost millions less, and has been the most durable pitcher in baseball since his career started, AND grew up as a big fan and has publicly stated his desire to play there. It's far from a sure thing. He would literally have to be hurt for them not to pick it up. I've also yet to see any real indication that Buehrle actually wants to pitch in St. Louis (like recently). He's really only indicated that he's a Cardinals fan. It's too far into the future to speculate. At this point in time, I would give Buehrle a 1% chance of pitching in St. Louis next year, a 94% chance of pitching in Chicago, and a 5% chance of retiring.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 02:50 PM) Cardinals do hold a $15M club option for Carpenter, and a $9M club option on Wainwright, and could trade Lohse or Westbrook, so it could happen. They'll pick up the options for Carpenter and Wainwright - they'd be insane not to. They aren't going to be able to trade Lohse, and they aren't going to trade Westbrook to bring in a pitcher who may not be an upgrade at a more expensive price. In other words, I could hook up with whatever hot celebrity you can name, but it's not going to happen.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 12:49 PM) An ESPN headline: Two super-competitive grinders, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, fire up Boston. I hate ESPN. There is nothing grindy about either Youkilis or Pedroia at all. So what if Youkilis chews tobacco or Pedroia is short? They are far too good to be considered grinders. What a completely inaccurate and illogical statement.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 01:49 AM) I'm hoping that he can actually be serviceable and just give us quality starts ala 4.5era That's his minor league ERA. If he can keep his ERA below 6, it's a win for the Sox.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 02:27 PM) And if they fail to resign Pujols, then they are going to have a lot of extra money to spend, some of which could be spent on Buehrle. No it won't. They have Carpenter, Wainwright, Garcia, Westbrook, and Lohse all under team control next year, and only Garcia is cheap. My guess is that Buehrle either resigns with Chicago or retires. I think he'll end up resigning with the Sox regardless of how they finish this year at around $10-12 mill a year on a 2-3 year deal.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 10:01 PM) Sounds good - bring it. 5 starts - 3 and 2 record in those starts... Peavy back on May 2nd... let's go! Better hope the Sox score a lot of runs.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 08:49 PM) I need the cash ha. And ya, Jimmer gets crazy at times because he usually makes a lot of these shots to take over games and win them for his team. Not his best showing today but he'll be just fine as a pro, he can shoot, has a good handle, and he can pass, not to mention he's strong as hell and finishes EVERYTHING around the rim. Anyways, I feel real bad for this BYU team, if Davies is healthy, that team really had a legit shot to go to not only the final four but the final game. Oh well. EDIT: For some reason I always say "if Davies was healthy," you guys know what I mean. They showed some video from BYU's game against Florida last year, and it looked Jimmer was twice as big this year. I've never seen a guy who is a shooter like he is have shoulders that big. It's amazing. He looks like he could play football at that size.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 08:41 PM) IIRC, Eduardo was on fire that spring but still was released. Spring stats mean nothing, good or bad. If there is any concern with Dunn, it would have to be perhaps an adjustment period to the AL and his not so stellar second half last season. No worries about his March stats IMO. I seem to remember Randy Johnson putting up an ERA of 9+ in the spring about 8 years ago and he ended up winning the Cy Young. It's just a period of time where you get your body ready and get yourself in the mindset that you are going to be playing baseball pretty much everyday for the next 6 months.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 10:30 AM) A utility player covers multiple positions. DeAza and Danks can cover LF, RF, CF. Teahen can cover LF, RF, 1B. All three have only 3 positions they can cover, so none of these guys are really all that special when it comes to a utility role, and none are prototypical utility players. Teahen's best quality, and where he has the advantage, is with the bat. The other two have the advantages of covering a difficult position in CF. Teahen can cover 4-5 positions the way Ty Wigginton can play SS or Rob Mackowiak could play CF. His time in CF, 2B, 3B doesn't count. If we're still going to be penciling Teahen in at 3B then we might as well consider Omar a CF and Lilli a 1B. Might as well use Castro in LF. Lillibridge is better than Teahen in that he can play multiple skill positions which Teahen cannot. He's also a better pinch runner option. Deciding who the better player is between the two comes down to the needs of the team. Personally I'd rather have Lillibridge over Teahen and have that defensive versatility, but whatever. A bench of Castro, Omar, Lilli, and Milledge would be just fine with me if it's 4 men. If we have to take Teahen then I'd take 5 bench guys and leave off the extra pitcher since we're not going to be bringing a legitimate major league pitcher up as that extra bullpen guy. Give me the extra bench guy over the extra gas can please. The thought is that Teahen plays, at most, 40 games at 3B. The Sox are going to go with Morel at 3B as the starter, and if he struggles to the point that it appears he can't hang, I have to imagine the Sox will go with Vizquel for a while again, just as they did last year while sending Morel down and bringing up an infielder - be it Escobar or Robbie Hudson or Brent Lillibridge or Luis Aparicio. If Teahen is playing that little at 3B, he is not going to have a drastic effect on the overall outcome. The other side of that is that Teahen actually offers some offensive production off the bench. If Brent Lillibridge put up a .650 OPS, it would be a minor miracle. He does absolutely nothing offensively. I happen to like Lillibridge too, but he's simply not cut out to play for the Sox right now. So what if he can play a bunch of different positions - several other people too. I don't see people beating down Denny Hocking's door. Not nearly as many can put up a .765 OPS against RHP, and that would be perfectly acceptable off the bench.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 08:27 PM) He gets out of control at times which is why I don't know if he'll be that great of a pro player. He is by far the best player on an otherwise OK team. In the NBA, he will have a very specific role to play and if he doesn't stay within that role, he won't see the floor. I think he's going to be just fine as a swing guard off the bench.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 06:27 PM) Bah? His name is Tony Perez and he's a hall of famer (fun fact: his son was involved in another one of my mediocre predictions). Oliva and Minoso were pretty awesome too. If you want native Cubans who went to school in the US and were drafted you can go Palmeiro and Canseco but they don't really play into this. Many of us loved the Eduardo Perez signing. An .835 OPS against LHP the year before and career .861 OPS against southpaws gave a lot of reason for hope that the White Sox would be able to rest Thome a bit more while getting quite a bit of production still. Like many of the moves from that terrible 2007, it didn't pan out and he retired.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 11:05 AM) #4 I would have a query on. Scott Brooks is a defense first type of coach similar to Thibodeau really. You'd think Westbrook would have even better numbers if he played under a coach such as D'Antoni or Alvin Gentry for example. You can debate one of the five. I think the point has been made.