witesoxfan

It's not out of the realm of possibility that Rivera could pass Hoffman this year.

Since this is only talking about commentators, I agree with Jaworski, but when it comes to being an actual football analyst, he is probably one of my favorites because I am actually going to learn something from seeing him analyze.

Played it over at the bro-in-laws house, and it is really fun and I could see it being addicting, but you would really have to want to get family/friends involved for it to be worth it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 06:48 PM) I'd rather have them go for Thome...he fits in their lineup worse. But Thome is actually a powerful hitter at this point in his career. I don't have the numbers and am being extremely lazy, but I'm like positive that Vlad not only was terrible on the road last year, but that he broke down as the season wore on and so he was a bit of a burden in the lineup in the second half. If the Twins are going to sign an older DH type to a 1 year deal, I hope and pray that they sign Vlad. He's a good guy to put up against LHP, but you really can't trust him for much more than that.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 10:26 PM) Lol, Sa;e in the bullpen may only be worth 1 or 2 wins this season, we should be able to find a replacement for that which wont kill our chances at all. On the other hand, if you do ruin his progress towards being a 200 inning pitcher youre talking about losing 4-5 wins the next 5 years. Hell, Will Ohman could be worth 1-2 wins this season if he gets 85% of the lefties he faces out (and that is a possibility, even if not likely). The more important issue regarding Sale is that, because he can get both good lefties and good righties out, he is going to be pitching late in games, which is going to help the White Sox win games as opposed to getting the Sox into a position to win games. There is a difference, and his WPA will increase dramatically as a result.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 04:37 PM) You know the exact motive he had just by reading a few news clippings? Fine, I'll retract that. Loughner is a nut case. Are you going to question that? (my guess, if you will, is mainly from watching his videos, hard as they are to watch. It appears as though he generally does not believe that government truly exists, and thus officials should be eliminated. This is obviously not exactly what he wants or means, but I think it is pretty close, and blaming the right or the left is ridiculous)

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 04:05 PM) OK, you two are just being ridiculous now. Basically, Balta is saying that Palin's stuff was in poor taste, and SS2K5 is saying its not related. You are both right. Seriously. I want to come into this thread trying to get updates on Giffords' condition, and all it really consists of at this point is finger pointing and defensive stances on both sides. "THIS IS WHY THE RIGHT IS AT FAULT." "NO, THE LEFT IS AT FAULT INSTEAD." Loughner was and still is nutty, and if he is paranoid about government brain-washing, he is not going to be concerned about the party affiliation of a government official but simply the fact that they are a government official.

QUOTE (WHITESOXRANDY @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 11:56 PM) Exactly. And, that's for a guy that can't play a position and has to DH. How in the world is that worth $ 56 mil. over 4 years? This is the list of things that he does well - 40 hrs. and lots of walks. The list of what this guy can't do on a baseball field is a long long list. I think he'll be a pretty good DH but the Sox way overpaid for ths guy. Find me the players that have averaged 35 homers a year for the past 10 years. That will answer your question.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 03:22 PM) His splits in 2010 are pretty similar, except June, July and August is when he shined, although June he sported a nice ERA but his WHIP was horrid. A lot of walks but they easily could be intentional. July and August, he made himself millions. Obviously, going month to month with relievers isn't an exact science as its only about 11 or 12 innings a month. I was in Minneapolis in July and can tell you Twins fans held Crain in the exact same regard Linebrink was held around here. They expected bad things to happen when he entered the game. Maybe he's turned it around, or maybe he put together a pretty sweet salary drive. I had heard just the opposite, that Crain was the stopper and Guerrier was their Linebrink. The problem you face when talking with casual fans is that you get wildly varying opinions, so I don't think you can put much stock into either group, but instead based on the statistics we have in front of us.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Jan 10, 2011 -> 10:19 AM) Remember, this whole discussion started on a purely hypothetical situation that Sale turns into exactly Matt Thornton. Not more, not less. Thornton is an incredibly valuable reliever. In the past three years for MLB relievers, he trails only Mariano Rivera in WAR. Consistently good closers/relievers are not a dime a dozen. Otherwise they wouldn't be getting deals more than $10M on a year-by-year basis, or even multi-year deals eclipsing $40M. Why do so many relievers not live up to their contracts as Kalapse has pointed out before? Because the demand for them is so high, teams are forced to pay more than they are worth in order to obtain them. Of course we all want Sale to become a starter eventually. Near 200 innings of a successful Sale is better than just 70 out of the pen. But say the White Sox, for whatever reason, choose to keep Sale in the pen and delivers each year like we saw in his short stint last season (that's pretty similar to Thornton). While under team control, he would obviously be helping us win games by being an elite reliever while also providing tens of millions of dollars in surplus value over that time period. And that surplus value helps us not have to chance spending money on the back end of the pen, but on other areas of the team which can be upgraded more efficiently through free agency. In this silly hypothetical situation, the result is good for the White Sox in every way, and the draft pick was a huge benefit/success. There is no debating this. You have been distinctly on the money regarding this situation.

wite's an uncle

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 8, 2011 -> 07:59 AM) The guy knows what leadership is on winning teams. They brought him in to lead the young players. I know you disagree but there is something to be said about veteran leadership with a young team. It is going to be kind of funny if Renteria helps the Reds to a World Series birth or title when Orlando Cabrera couldn't do it. Those two hate each other. QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 8, 2011 -> 06:21 PM) The problem with the move is Dusty Baker. He loves to play his veterans day in and day out, as we saw on the North Side. Having a vet like Renteria on the bench as a backup is solid, but I guarantee Dusty plays him way too much. I'm sure he will, but he already stated that Janish and Renteria are going to pretty much split time. One of them could get hurt too.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 9, 2011 -> 03:18 PM) How does a guy with a 1.80 era in 60 innings in AAA play so poorly in the majors? Damn. He's 31. Because the difference between AAA and MLB is very big.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 04:37 PM) It's probably because Alexei is a wretched curveball hitter, and throwing a bunch of fastballs to him when he's shown he can'th it a curve for s*** is just dumber than f***. I was thinking I remembered Alexei hitting breaking balls better this year, and he did. He was actually a good hitter against every pitch except changeups and split-finger fastballs this past year. He has struggled against curveballs in the past, but that is definitely something that can be improved upon and was this year. Hopefully he continues to do so and puts up another 50 extra base hits.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 08:19 PM) Ugh Will Ohman is ok I guess, he owns a career 40% GB%, which is the most important stat for pitchers in our park. The GB% is used to anticipate Fielder Independent Pitching in the Saber community. He Ohman posts that 40% number than his xFIP suggest a 4.24 ERA. Eh OK not great, fine, whatever. Ohman has had 3 season in which he had a Gb% over his career norm, and 3 seasons where he had a Gb% under his career norm. So he is the definition of hit or miss. My question is this. Knowing all this about Ohman, why not just bring back Erik Threets, they are virtually the same pitcher. I know its a small sample size but Threets pitched really well for the sox last year, 55.6 GB %, FIP of 2.84, and xFIP of 3.83. You can have Threets for the league minimum, you probably have to pay Ohman $2M for his services. I dont get it. Actually, GB% isn't the biggest deal in the world. I would guess that 12 of every 100 flyballs hit at USCF leaves the park, compared to 10 of every 100 throughout the rest of the majors which, if Ohman pitches to his career norms, means he'd probably give up 1-2 more home runs than he normally would. The end result is minimal. What the White Sox need is a good pitcher and Ohman is (sort of) that. Oh, and Ohman had 3 seasons above his career GB%, and 3 seasons below? If, in his first season, he put up a 50% GB rate, he'd have 0 and 0. If in his next season, he had a 55% GB rate, his career GB rate would be 52.5%, which leaves 1 season above and 1 season below his career norm. I think you see where I am going with this. The fact that he has 3 seasons above his career norm and 3 seasons below his career norm simply proves that variability in mathematics and pitching performance is true. You can't really read anything into that.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 12:18 PM) GOD DAMN IT! What is this stat now? bWAR is baseball-reference WAR, which uses traditional statistics in determining pitcher value. fWAR is fan-graphs WAR, using peripherals and that which a pitcher has under his own control to determine their value

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 07:38 AM) I agree with your point, but I still think the Yankees are on such a different level financially, that the move wouldn't be irresponsible. Yeah its a panic move, but with their rotation and must-win mentality, it's what they might need to do. Having the best 8th & 9th inning combo in baseball isn't a bad thing. Paying $10 million for a set up man is irresponsible. It takes 2 really bad and 6 other bad appearances all year to take an ERA from 1.73 to 3.73, and the WHIP can be just as bad too. And, considering that Soriano has had arm problems in the past as well, it's just simply not wise to spend $10 million on him unless you plan on having him close.

The Rooney rule is so counterproductive. African American coaches are turning down interviews because they don't believe teams are actually serious about hiring them. It's the same thing in MLB too. You are leaving these coaches discouraged to the possibility of them actually being hired. The best man should be considered and hired for the job as it is. If an African American is worthy, they are worthy, and if not, then they shouldn't be interviewed. Oh, and TRU, I don't think you can know that Brees is doing what he did in his final two years in San Diego and New Orleans in Miami. He'd probably be just fine, but perhaps not.

QUOTE (T R U @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 12:56 AM) Saban was a good coach, where he failed was the GM part of it.. he couldn't handle all of it and ran when he had the chance.. but I think he would have been good had he stayed in the NFL.. I mean s***, we were one bad medical report away from transforming the entire way the franchise is.. wed be where New Orleans is had it not been for that Are you talking about Brees? Because you would have had to have brought Sean Payton with him too.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 01:51 AM) A $10 to $12 million dollar a year set-up man when you already have a closer making $15 million. So that's almost $30 million dedicated to two relievers. That would be fiscally irresponsible even for the Yankees and clearly a panic move to counter what the Red Sox have done. As good as Soriano is, $10 million for 70 innings that won't be pitched in the 9th is ridiculous. You can talk about how much a reliever is worth with regards to WAR all day, but at the end of the day, relievers get paid for WPA, and paying that for a guy to pitch the 8th inning would result in virtually little return on investment. It'd basically be a $10 million insurance policy on Mo.

There were several others around the internet that had Locker as the #1 prospect going into the season too, so I think it's kind of an internet thing for some reason. McShay is a total douche though. I don't want to say he knows nothing, but I think Kiper is far superior to him, and there are a lot of times that I think Kiper is a windbag that doesn't stop talking.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 10:31 PM) No, they haven't. They trade away young talent for broken down, past their prime vets for the most part. Jim Thome being the only real exception. Or if you want to go back to '04 you can say Freddy Garcia. Jake Peavy, Edwin Jackson, Nick Swisher, Javy Vazquez...there are more than that too, but Jim Thome was more of an example of the Sox trading for a past his prime vet, it just so happened that Thome aged well. Some of those guys didn't work out as well as would have been hoped, but there was a legitimate reason for making the move. In 2010, Sergio Santos and Chris Sale could both qualify. In 2009, Gordon Beckham and Jayson Nix could both qualify. In 2008, Alexei Ramirez started in CF on Opening Day, but he was then relegated to the bench for a while until he took Uribe's spot at 2B. Dewayne Wise was also more than respectable in his time up after playing in Charlotte all year. I would also say that DJ Carrasco fits in there too. In 2007, Josh Fields came up and hit 23 homers, Danny Richar came up and had a .700 OPS, Terrero came up and put up .724, Ehren Wasserman came up and put up a sub 3 ERA over 23 innings, and Gavin Floyd came up and had a 5.27 ERA over 70 innings (and that included the 07-06-07 massacre against the Twins). In 2006, the Sox didn't have a ton actually come up from the minor league system - I'm not going to use Brian Anderson as an example - but they used their minor league system to bring in MacDougal, Riske, Cintron, and Thornton, and then had Gload and Ozuna perform really well as well (though they originally came up in 04 and 5 respectively). You will inevitably get your wish, because there is no way they can afford to do this again if they fail.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 01:49 PM) How many of the other QB's will come out? I think Mallett could, but I'm not sure he will. I personally think he's first rounder already but I have to imagine that there will be some teams that disagree and he may ultimately go back to school to prove himself a bit more. I can't imagine Cam Newton staying. He's taken his team to the NC and won the Heisman...I can't see how he can improve his stock. Terrelle Pryor seems to have proved all he can at this point, and he's scheduled to miss the first 5 games next season. I can't see how he would stay, but perhaps he will because he may only be a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Blaine Gabbert already did come out, and he is probably a top 5-10 pick at this point. Can't think of any other underclassmen who might come out, but I think that's enough. Perhaps Locker has something, but I think he is more of a 2nd day pick for a team willing to take a shot on him.

On ESPN. There will be links soon enough. I would also say this gives the Bills their choice of QBs, if they want one. I can't see the Panthers taking any other QB because the point in taking Luck was that he was a damn near once in a generation QB. The Broncos aren't going to take a QB at this point either.

Haha Panthers fans have to deal with Clausen, Luck is returning to school