witesoxfan

For the record, Jake Westbrook has yet to allow a run in 2008....in the regular season or spring training. He's kind of in the zone right now.

#6 prospect in the Indians system going into the 2005 season #4 prospect in the Indians system going into the 2006 season

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 10:41 AM) In all seriousness, if Thome went down with a season-ending injury, would Kenny pick up Bonds? I hope so.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 11:37 AM) I only compared their RBI totals. I think Uribe, while frustrating at times, is a lot better than most think. I don't know how a .625 OPS can ever be considered "better than people think." That's all in all quite terrible. He has his uses, but it involves either catching a lot of balls in the hole at SS in a lineup that absolutely mashes - ala 2006 - or on the bench as a super sub/home run threat off the bench. It's not as a starting 2Bman, because any value he has to a club is ruined there.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 10:25 AM) Uribe bats ninth. For a guy who is so bad, he drove in 10 less runs than the almighty run machine, Nick Swisher last year, while batting ninth on a team with perhaps the worst offense in the league. He also scored 29 fewer runs than Swisher too with Piazza, Chavez and Cust hitting behind him (of whom only Cust had a good year); taking out the 2 homer difference, that's 37 more runs that Swisher created either by scoring or driving someone in than Uribe. I also can't believe you seriously compared Juan Uribe to Nick Swisher.

QUOTE(ChiSox35 @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 09:05 AM) Which is why I brought up the '06 Cards. Eckstein at short? An oft-injured Rolen at third? An outfield that I would be hard pressed to name? Don't worry, you can still win with Uribe at second and Crede coming back from an injury. I'll agree with you that the key lies in starting pitching/bullpen, but defensively those two guys give us the best shot, and what team wouldnt take a 20 HR/70 RBI 9 hitter regardless of what his OBPS/SNIUF/DUFEDF/POOP/whatever other ridiculous asanine stat you can come up with says? The Cardinals won a terribly weak division and got hot in the playoffs, and they won with (surprise) superb pitching throughout that postseason. Comparing the 2005 White Sox and 2006 Cardinals is an insult to the Sox and all good World Series winning teams everywhere. To go along with defense for a moment here, if what people have reported are true, Crede is not that good defensively right now. Again, you are comparing 2005 and 2006 Joe Crede with a moderately healthy back to Joe Crede coming off back surgery. So, he's got a mediocre stick and he's mediocre defensively. That sounds like a pretty mediocre player. Josh Fields offers upside, something Crede really doesn't offer much of anymore, and the potential to improve defensively. And if you feel that OBP is an asinine stat, I'll simply say that you are wrong. OBP is arguably the most important stat in the game (though it's not far superior to slugging, which some people seem to think it is...slugging is quite important too). And Juan Uribe hits .230-.240 to go along with not ever walking. That means he's never on base which in turn means he's never in a position to be driven in and more or less just drives himself in, and even that's sporadically. Juan Uribe is not a good player, and was among the worst hitters in the league last year. The fact that he is now starting at a position that hurts his one major quality - defense - hurts the team even more. You also seem to be ruling out the possibility that Anderson himself could put up 20 homers and 70 RBI as well, or that Quentin could put up 20 and 70, while also getting on base quite a bit more frequently. Or Alexei could do it while also getting acclimated to major league pitching. Juan Uribe and Joe Crede are not good players, and, as I said, I don't think the Sox can contend with them starting. Nor Jerry Owens for that matter, but he atleast offers a bit of upside (though I'd prefer Anderson or Quentin starting over him).

QUOTE(ChiSox35 @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 08:42 AM) I don't think a team with Uribe, Crede, and Owens in the starting lineup has any chance in hell at contending. Honestly this is getting tired... They friggin won with Uribe and Crede. Hell, the St. Louis Cardinals won two years ago with a low 80 win total! 10 times out of 10 I'll let the games play out on the field and you can take your blessed "best team on paper" with a small fries and a coke... No chance at contending is an ignorant statement- You should probably stop sucking the joy out of a 2 day old baseball season and stick to fantasy baseball... They also won with a dynamite bullpen, an outstanding rotation, and great defense around the entire field...people really seem to forget that it wasn't anyone offensively that helped the Sox win in 2005 but rather the pitching and defense that won them that World Series. Fast-forward 3 years and Uribe's playing 2B, a position where offense is slightly more important than defense, though a combination of the two is better (where Uribe provides little offense at all), Crede is coming off back surgery and hasn't shown he's anywhere near ready for major league action, the defense is mediocre, and the pitching staff has seen a major regression since that time. Add to it that Owens is a worse defender than Anderson is in CF and is almost certainly a worse offensive option as well, and you have the culmination of my post. As I said before, I don't think a team with Uribe, Crede, and Owens in the starting lineup has any chance in hell at contending. There's a little more to it than merely looking at the best team on paper. I'm looking at players that I think would be upgrades to the team. Is there really a problem with that?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 08:03 AM) It would have been great to take 2 of 3 from CLE on the road. But at this point, 1 of 3, considering Game 1 was won by the umpires, would not be so bad against a very good Indians team. and Buehrle giving up 7 didn't help much either

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 05:47 AM) Can someone give a scouting report on Nick Blackburn, whether from yesterday's game or a website? Nothing special from his minor league statistics. I'll f***ing lose it if he pitches well in the majors. I've heard he's got pretty mediocre stuff and that he shouldn't be much more than a 4th or 5th starter. I'll try and catch the condensed game at 2 tomorrow, but I may not get much of it as it's only 30 minutes and I have a quiz at that time. Actually, I completely lied and was looking at the wrong day. There is no condensed game on today. So I can't help you this time around.

QUOTE(The Beast @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 02:35 PM) I don't get what all the fuss is about over getting drunk. It's a buzz created by alcohol. Woo hoo. I could get a buzz off of my daily 3 mile run or having Mountain Dew and Lemonheads while gaming with friends. I guess my question is, why should I need to know what it is like? Who has ever suggested that you need to know what it's like? I really don't think anyone has; it's all a matter of personal choice, and you have made the choice not to. Congratulations. Just going to end that right there.

I have wanted Merkin in many a sim league, and have never gotten him. random factoid of the day

so much to say about you two and too little time

I'm just going to go ahead and say that the AL Central is far and away the best division in baseball, and that the last place team could quite possibly finish in 2nd place in every other division except the AL East. Just a hunch right now. The only team that might not is the Twins, but with that much young talent, it's hard to gauge how good they really are right now. I could honestly see the Sox finishing in last place with 75-77 wins, and I would be perfectly content with a season like that. And, to get back on topic, I don't think the Tigers offense is as good as it was advertised. It's good, and it will almost assuredly be a top 5 offense in all of baseball, but I look for declines of any amount in Maggs, Granderson, Polanco, Renteria, and Sheffield. People may not realize it, but Sheffield put up .203/.324/.299/.624 in the second half of last season, and that involved a .172/.304/.232/.536 line from July 22nd until the end of the year. I said in the preseason that the Tigers are boom or bust, and I'm not about to back away from that right now. Either that team is going to explode and put up absolutely monstrous numbers and take the division on the back of their offense, or they'll be mediocre and finish in 3rd-ish place with about 84-85 wins.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 10:59 PM) I'm thinking Getz is going to be the full time 2B with Rouse (who I actually liked this spring) being the starting SS. With Anderson up and Owens injured, Bourgeois is probably going to play mainly CF, with probably a little LF, 2B, 3B and perhaps SS thrown in. So then it becomes what do you do in May when Anderson/Quentin goes down to Charlotte and Richar is healthy? And I doubt Bourgeois will play a ton of 3B in Charlotte until/if (and I can't believe I'm typing 'if') Crede is moved.

QUOTE(joesaiditstrue @ Apr 3, 2008 -> 01:16 AM) lol, owens is going to disappoint a lot of unsuspecting sox fans and this team isn't built to contend, if it was, we wouldn't have Owens preparing to be our leadoff guy, we wouldn't have basically 3 unknowns in our rotation, we wouldn't have a guy who's never faced MLB pitching in his whole life, as the starting 2B or CF this team is a joke right now, it's hilarious I'll just go ahead and call bulls*** on that one and say that this team is built to contend; however, it is not structured to contend. AJP, Konerko, Cabrera, Swisher (either LF or CF), Dye, and Thome are fine. Then... 2B - Alexei and Richar when healthy (or that's unnecessary if Alexei can hit MLB pitching, which I doubt at this point) 3B - Fields LF - Swisher/Quentin CF - Anderson/Swisher ...and that team can contend. I don't think a team with Uribe, Crede, and Owens in the starting lineup has any chance in hell at contending. But apparently Williams finds it necessary that he can get value for a mediocre 3Bman and a terrible 2B/SS just because they are making money, while Owens is starting for some unbeknownst reason to me. I hate the way the team is structured right now, especially when I think that better pieces are not waiting in the wings, but rather ignored in the wings. It's very frustrating as a fan.

Why has Alexei Ramirez started 2 games in CF? If you are going to put up with bad/mediocre defense at a somewhat critical position, make it 2B and not CF. Please. I love what I think Alexei will eventually bring to this club, but I don't think he is ready for the majors, nor do I think he is ready to man CF for a team that is supposed to contend. If you are going to do that, atleast make it the right man for the job, whether that be Quentin/Swisher or Swisher/Anderson in LF and CF. Please Ozzie. I know you love Alexei, and I do too, but not in CF. Please. Not when you have Juan Uribe at 2B.

People from Cleveland just wish they could get the hell out of Cleveland, and are jealous Thome did. That's really the only reasoning I have. I don't know how you could boo such a great person and player.

QUOTE(lostfan @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) To be fair, that's only because Jermaine Dye had a MVP-caliber 2006. And Dye atleast has value. Crede nor MacDougal have value whatsoever.

QUOTE(SoxWS05 @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 08:27 PM) I predict 8-6 Sox. Joe Crede's going to hit a 6 run homer with only 2 guys on base

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 05:07 PM) Much different sort of pitcher, though. Anything can happen, of course, I just don't think that comparison is very meaningful. Yes, but when there is a history of having a knot in his shoulder, I'm not about to sign him to a long term deal. I've never heard anything about Buehrle and arm problems at all, which is why his extension was fine. Vazquez's was 3 years and he's never had arm problems. That shoulder of Garland will always provide lingering concern for me.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 08:05 PM) He had a good year last year, but it didn't dispell the theory that he's not a clutch pitcher. Relying on him to be the core of our rotation is no sure thing. after 1 start dude? if he does this for all of April and helps bury the Sox early, I'll lend some credence to it. Not after his first start against a good offense.

Havy is the manz!!1!!!1!1!!! Anderson better start or I'm going to donkeypunch someone.

I have a great desire to circle someone and go smoke a square

QUOTE(The Beast @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 09:56 AM) (Now I'm just being a jackass because I missed that one thread) but, come on now, seriesly, why would you do something like that? cuz they're drunk

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Apr 2, 2008 -> 08:25 AM) I disagree. If Masset is able to do what he did the other day on a semi-regular basis, he could wind up being our 5th starter. I really don't see both Danks and Floyd (especially) making it the whole season in our rotation. I really hope I'm wrong about them because they could be the future of our staff, so if they turn out to be good, that's great for us Sox fans. But the way Nick came in and just absolutely shut down a very good offense like he did, was fantastic. I don't want Masset anywhere near the rotation, because I very strongly doubt he will keep up his success from Monday afternoon.