witesoxfan

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 24, 2008 -> 07:27 PM) I'm such a fan of his. Great player, one of the best college SS I've ever seen. I don't mind the fact that he'll be under the Sox control for the greater portion of the next decade.

this game is absolutely ridiculous right now...Fresno looked overmatched in the first 2 and a half innings or so, then they just dominated, and now Georgia's trying to make it a game again 15-10 going to the bottom of the 7th

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 24, 2008 -> 06:12 PM) Thome is currently hitting .229, has already struck out 70 times (with only 41 walks), and can't do anything but DH. He's clearly lost bat speed and is in decline as a hitter. If it's not bad enough that we're paying him $14 million this year to do this, we'll automatically owe him another $13 million next year. While I don't necessarily advocate asking to him revoke his no-trade clause or DFAing him, as he's one of my favorite players, it's understandable that some people would rather not watch him get blown away by 89 mph fastballs next season and would like to see JD or Paulie moved to DH. I'm not talking about next season, I'm talking about this season. If his option vests, it vests and then it becomes a concern. Right now, it hasn't vested and he's produced better than most people want to give him credit for. Sure he's hit .229, but he's getting on at a .353 clip and has an .824 OPS. He's performing fine. QUOTE (Wanne @ Jun 24, 2008 -> 06:50 PM) Please let me know next time Thome has a clutch hit in a crucial situation. Those are few and VERY far between for him. He's good in tie games, with RISP, 1st and 2nd, 1st and 3rd, and a runner on 3rd with less than two outs. He's been bad in most others. Clutch hits are overrated though...that homer in the first or the fourth generally means just the same as the homer in the 9th. The point remains that he's been as good or better then most of the hitters on the Sox and because he's "unclutch" in some situations he's a terrible ball player.

If I were Jim Thome, I'd blow up Soxtalk for getting on my case when I've been the 4th best hitter for the White Sox. DO YOU PEOPLE NOT WATCH GAMES OR LOOK AT NUMBERS? no, Jim Thome just strikes out a lot and he's kinda ugly and he's old so therefore he must suck

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 24, 2008 -> 01:04 AM) Yes but Robin is not in chicago right now, he's managing in Peoria or somewhere. I think he wanted me to admit the Cubs third baseman was better than my Crede and I just rattled off some third basemen currently in Chicago. Uh, k

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 11:58 PM) He's 26...that's old? He can play all three spots and play them well. He is a five tool guy. For a prospect it's old, but a player who rose as fast as David Cook is a legitimate prospect in my book. Now I want to see him play.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 11:26 PM) Honestly? The best is Ron Santo. Second best is Bill Melton. Third best is that guy on the current Cub team. Fourth is Joe Crede. Fifth is me. I played third base in Mt. Greenwood Little League and my manager can attest no balls got by me. Robin Ventura was a far superior player to Aramis Ramirez. Bill Melton too. You shame one of the greatest 3Bmans in Chicago history.

I really didn't like trading Aardsma away.

Chuck Norris has nothing on David Cook.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 06:28 AM) I still wouldn't care, I'd just want to play professional ball. You basically are playing professional baseball by playing at a school while also still being able to be a kid and go out and party. The only thing that keeps it from being pro baseball is that you don't get paid, but instead get free schooling. Yeah, real tough life.

I thought about bringing up Buehrle. Then I actually looked at the numbers. 10 of his 15 starts are quality starts. His walk rate is just above his career norm. His K rate is right at his career norm. His H rate is just above his career norm (and thus, his WHIP is above his career norm). His HR rate, however, is actually better than his career norm. And, oh yeah, the fact that his ERA of 4.28 is .04 points worse than Javy Vazquez's. The entire rotation has pitched well and saying any of them is the best or worst is a bit hard at this point. I was a bit out of line in saying what I did earlier, but I do personally feel that Vazquez is the best starter the Sox have, so I went right ahead and said it. A bit more consistency from the offense would be nice though. Getting Jim back in the lineup will help, but that won't be for a couple of days still.

Perhaps the "no balls theory" has some legs to it. He was still pretty damn good in August and September of 2006 when the Sox were competing, but the team was no longer in first place and was climbing up hill. I'm also Havy's Jomer, so that has something to do with it too. I'd like to see how the rest of the season plays out. See if he can fix himself or what needs to happen.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 02:57 PM) In what world is Vazquez the White Sox best pitcher? He might be the worst starter on the Sox right now. In my mind, Vazquez is the best starter the Sox have. He's durable, has fantastic stuff, and he's put up results. He's struggled with his command the past few outings, but he'd start game 1 of a playoff series if I were the manager. That, to me, makes him the best pitcher. QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 05:08 PM) With what happened in his past 3 starts, is he still the best pitcher we have? Javy and Jose are on dead-arm periods or something. That's what's hilarious about this site. People are suggesting that pitchers are or aren't the best starter based on 3 starts. Going based on the last year and a half or so, you won't find a better, more durable pitcher than Vazquez on the White Sox staff. He's thrown the most innings and I'd quickly guess has the second best ERA to Buehrle, but it'd be something like a 3.85 ERA for Buehrle and a 3.95 ERA for Vazquez, which is maybe one or two runs.

QUOTE (the People's Champ @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 03:28 PM) Someone like say.................oh I don't know.............BRIAN ANDERSON! There you go, I guess he isn't that bad after all. Brian Anderson was better than Nick Punto. Quite a bit better actually. Almost 100 points in OPS and 15 points in OPS+. He hit for power. Nick Punto didn't. That's a big enough difference.

QUOTE (the People's Champ @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 03:42 PM) Ok, maybe it was a poor choice to use Freddy because while the Sox knew there was something wrong with him, Philly obviously didn't. But in no way can that be twisted into a comparison between the two players. You are way outta line with that one By bringing them up, you were essentially comparing their trade values. That's all I was really getting at. I wasn't getting at you comparing Freddy Garcia, the player, to Brian Anderson, the player...just Freddy Garcia's trade value to Brian Anderson's trade value.

QUOTE (the People's Champ @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 04:00 PM) No the Freddy Garcia that is on the back of a milk carton right now If you seriously think the Sox didn't know that there was something wrong with Freddy when they dealt him, you're ON something But you aren't comparing the Freddy Garcia of 2008 to Brian Anderson of 2008. You are comparing Freddy Garcia of the 06/07 offseason to the Brian Anderson of 2008. There's a monstrous difference between the two. I also was under the belief that Freddy was in decline too, but the Phillies apparently didn't know or care too much. It also doesn't matter, because Garcia's track record and prestige was and still quite frankly is just a bit better than Anderson. That, and the fact that Anderson is damn near valueless at the current moment. QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 04:06 PM) Just to be fair, it was pretty obvious to everybody here back in '06 that Garcia was in rapid decline. He pitched with a ton of heart that year, but he was reduced for getting hitters out with junk. Yeah I was here too, and his "split finger" that he developed in September was amazing. It was obvious he was in a bit of a decline, and I'm hoping he can make it back at some point this season or next, but I'm not holding out much hope for anything either way. It still doesn't change his track record or his reputation as an innings eater, which Anderson has nothing comparable to...I know you aren't arguing that, but someone apparently is.

QUOTE (the People's Champ @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 02:40 PM) Hey, we got some suckers to take Freddy Garcia off our hands, now didn't we? And the word value was never used. I just said something. A bag of balls, a rosin bag, whatever. You mean the Freddy Garcia who won 14 games in 2005 and had a sub 4 ERA? the Freddy Garcia who pitched in the clinching game of the World Series and threw 7 shutout innings? the Freddy Garcia who put up a more than respectable 4.53 ERA in 2006 and was absolutely phenomenal in September, leading some to believe he may have "re-invented himself?" the same Freddy Garcia who had 116 career wins and a career ERA of 4.01 at the time of the deal in over 1600 innings in the majors? that Freddy Garcia? So, just so we are clear, you have compared Freddy Garcia and Brian Anderson, correct? Because if you say no, that's definitely what it appears as though you have done.

QUOTE (ChiSox35 @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 01:34 PM) Javy is part of why this rotation has been doing what it's been doing. Lately, he's seemed a little like the Javy of '06 rather than '07, and in turn our rotation has turned in performances unlike any others they have this year. I'm not looking at any info/stats, but IIRC Floyd hasn't been his '08 self for at least two starts (2 out error or not), same with Contreras, and Danks was fine Friday, but the start before that he wasn't. Buehrle has in turn picked it up. Probably nothing to get worried about yet, but it needs to stop. The lambs we call "offense" require lights out pitching at all times. The reason for his fatigue yesterday? Eric Patterson was a pain in his ass. Eric Patterson will probably drop off the face of the world in about a week, but his game was Podsednik-esque this past weekend. It made me wish we had a legit base-stealer. Eric Patterson is actually Corey Patterson's brother and he's a pretty good prospect for the Cubs. I don't think he's going to drop off the face of the world completely, though from the Cubs 2008 roster is a possibility.

QUOTE (the People's Champ @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 12:54 PM) He's never going to amount to anything, they should cut ties now while they could still get something for him. Sure he's great in the field, I'll give him that, but I would almost rather let them DH for him and give our pitchers a chance to hit. Yeah I'm just gonna go ahead and disagree with everything in this entire post except "sure he's great in the field." Because that part is true. I think I do understand the hatred for Anderson though. As of today, 6/23 (2x3=6)/2008 (8-0-0-2 = 6), so essentially on 6/6/6, Brian Anderson's OPS is .666. I can see the force and power of Satan re-incarnated flowing through the veins of Brian Anderson each day he steps onto the field and it's evil; quite honestly, I'm a bit scared. There were thoughts he was a communist...no, he's no communist. He's just Lucifer.

QUOTE (whitesoxbrian @ Jun 23, 2008 -> 12:37 PM) I'd love to see us set the rotation like this: Buehrle Massett Contreras Danks Floyd This way, Javy can get a break. He looked really fatigued yesterday for whatever reason- Danks can pitch against the Cubs again and hopefully pitch similarly to what he did Friday, Floyd can pitch the 2nd game- I put him here because I would really like to see him throw against the Cubs and watch them attempt to hit that nasty breaking ball he's got, and then Buehrle can face the Cubs, which is what he's scheduled to do on Sunday anyways. I just puked in my mouth. Javier Vazquez is the White Sox best pitcher, and you want to give him a break. Do you want to give Carlos Quentin a break from the lineup right now and sit him down for a week or two too just because he's struggled a bit?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 21, 2008 -> 11:28 AM) I'm not dismissing him, he could be a good player, nobody actually knows. My problem with it is they could have waited another 10 rounds (maybe more) and still easily gotten him. I don't think he would have been there in the 16th round; there were a few teams who felt he was a top 10 round talent, and they could have easily picked him. I agree it was a reach, but there are reaches and steals all over the place in the MLB draft and none of that generally matters 5 years down the road as most of these guys never see the majors, and some that do only get a cup of tea and then rarely come back. Besides that, he's got the build to be a 4th-6th outfielder in the majors, and if by the craziest chance, he adds 20-30 pounds on his frame - KW1 isn't a small guy by any stretch of the imagination - and with that added weight comes more power while retaining some or most of that speed, and he can hit for average, you have a pretty damn good prospect. A far fetched scenario, sure, but it's possible. Point being (not just to you, but moreso everyone), look at the draft as a whole, don't expect much out of most of the signings, and don't overanalyze a pick that wasn't made in the top 3 rounds. QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 21, 2008 -> 02:21 PM) Well, if I got drafted out of high school, I'd sign right away. If I was in the same exact shoes as Long is, I'd still sign out of High School. I love playing the game of baseball, but I really dislike school. I remember reading or talking to a person about how college baseball players just don't attend class in the 2nd semester of the year. They have a tutor, but that's about it. So yeah, there's not much school involved.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Jun 22, 2008 -> 09:18 PM) Not its not...think about it. What if there are different conditions. Then what. Weather is random. Are u seriously telling me if they play on a cool April day things go exactly the same. U already saw what happened to tonite with 65 degress wind blowing in at 10 MPH, like 2 bombs...off the wall. Which is one of the reasons why I don't think the Cubs are going to fare so well in the postseason.

QUOTE (Frankensteiner @ Jun 22, 2008 -> 10:10 PM) Just wait 'till our sweet-swinging .691 OPS first baseman gets back in the lineup. Can you say domination? The DH with an .816 OPS will actually help though, especially when he's swinging a hot stick. ----- I'm glad I generally avoided the board this weekend, because I knew this place was going to be a ticking time bomb. It was. Let's call it a season, until the next time they sweep someone and they're 2.5 games in first, and then it's off to the races again.

That's terrible. RIP to a great comedian.

QUOTE (Jim Spencer @ Jun 22, 2008 -> 06:08 PM) Mike Caruso signed with the Joliet JackHammers yesterday. I guess I'll have to go up to to Gary when they are in town Hard to believe it wasn't that long ago when he was 3rd in the Rookie of the Year voting. Didn't/doesn't he have cocaine problems? Anyways, Kalapse should be thrilled by this news.