witesoxfan

needs a new nickname cuz Brian Sweeney's already taken

QUOTE(RME JICO @ May 5, 2007 -> 08:46 PM) What does Erstad have to do to please you guys? hit 8th/start hitting for more power/wear a different uniform

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ May 5, 2007 -> 06:23 PM) /mouths something about intangibles, hustle /mouths something about Erstad's numbers being skewed by the bad early start /mouths something about leaving this discussion /does /mouths something about how the bad early start still counts for the year in the long run

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ May 5, 2007 -> 06:03 PM) If by "it really is incredible what a lack of a leadoff hitter will do" you mean, "It's incredible what an old team that swings for the fences all of the time will do," I agree. Srlsly. Pods was bad in both halves last year; his sucktitude wasn't the difference. And Erstad is doing damn good this season. A true leadoff hitter would change a lot, instead of one that gets on at a .343 clip. And what is damn good about a .343 OBP anyways? Erstad's been respectable, but damn good is stretching it by a mile.

It really is incredible what a lack of a leadoff hitter will do

it's been a while

QUOTE(BearSox @ May 5, 2007 -> 02:49 PM) Also, I used to think this was a good bench, but I stand corrected. I have come to realize that Mackowiak is just not a good player. That is why he wasn't drafted until the 53rd round. I am shocked he made it thus far. He has a bad stance and approach to the plate. But, he fits the definition of a "grinder" perfectly. Below average tools, but his hustle and work ethic, with the way he can play every position makes him more valuable. He should have been traded instead of Gload. Cintron is just a decent player, could go either way. He is just about as streaky as they come (next to Uribe). But he is a switch hitter, but he's a pretty weak defender. Could be upgraded, which might be wise. Ozuna is fine. Very good speed, and a fairly decent hitter. Decent in the middle infield defensively. Stavo belongs back in the minors. Buehrle fell to the 38th round, does he suck? How about Mike Piazza, that talentless bum got drafted in the 62nd round? Using draft position as an indicator of a player's talent or ability when they are in the majors is pretty much the dumbest argument you can ever use. Beyond that, he actually is a pretty solid hitter; maybe you just missed seeing him play last year. Cintron's a perfectly capable 2B/SS, I have no problem with him at all, and I don't see a multitude of better options available to the team right now. Ozuna hits lefties well, and even that is solely singles. The guy has 2 career homers. Stavo is the emergency catcher slotted as the backup because Ozzie put Hall at 1B, which is not bright in any aspect. and Luis Terrero sucks. I agree the bench needs improvement, but all I think it really needs is a power hitter. The offense is struggling, yet the White Sox have 12 pitchers at the major league level, which makes about as much sense as a pig f***ing a monkey. The major league team has been handled like s*** all year long, and that's what needs major improvement. If that happens, the bench improves at the exact same time.

god I love you

so apparently if I didn't call you at around 3 in the morning last night, I didn't have your number or you're lucky.

QUOTE(BearSox @ May 5, 2007 -> 12:11 AM) It seems to me that Fields has lost motivation from not making the show, and has been quite lazy... so how was he going to make the Sox out of Spring Training? Not every single Sox minor leaguer can use the BA excuse.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 4, 2007 -> 09:32 PM) We should have either traded him or Crede last offseason. Is Fields the next Russell Branyan? If he is, there's value there, but not as a future 3Bman; stopgap 3Bman at best.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ May 4, 2007 -> 10:42 PM) He'd look pretty good in CF on the South Side right about now, huh? anything would look better than Erstad or Anderson

CHAT PREASE

QUOTE(BearSox @ May 4, 2007 -> 07:05 PM) why vote for someone who cheated his away and took away awards from two of the greatest hitters to ever play. Because Pujols and Beltran could just as easily be juicing

Going to Minnesota sometime in September for sure

Of course, that's why I added Beltran. I was initially just going to leave it as Pujols and Bonds, but I recall some people clamoring for Beltran as MVP last year, and he may have deserved it. I'm not sure he can hit .300 with 40 homers, because very time he's hit for a ton of power he's hit in the .270 range, but that doesn't matter a whole hell of a lot. Regardless, the defense factor along with the media spotlight was the reason I also included him.

QUOTE(joeynach @ May 4, 2007 -> 02:37 PM) In our ballpark our big pitcher needs to be a non-contact hitter, our ballpark is tiny and our corner outfielders are slow or not good. Buehrle's had USCF/Comiskey his entire career, and the dimensions have been the exact same his entire career. I don't get that you can argue he won't be successful if he stays here, because he's been a great #2-3 his entire career in Chicago aside from the second half of last season. If Buehrle can keep producing a GO/AO of around 1.30-1.40, along with having good control, he'll be fine. If his GO/AO creeps into the 1.15-1.20 area, he's going to get hit around quite a bit. then there is this the very next sentence please make up your mind. You don't think the ballpark he pitches in kept his ERA around 4.00 last year, instead of the 4.50 it probably should have been? I mean, it's not like he's pitching in the best pitcher's park in the majors. Regardless of that, yes I'd love Jake Peavy. So would 28 other teams that don't have him and 1 team that does. Keep pipe dream separate from reality, because that too would cost the White Sox top 5 prospects value-wise or something in the whereabouts to get. how about I modify that a little bit "My point is all about the value of (insert initials of pitcher), you make him sound like if he is signed we are just blindly going to be OK for the next 3 years. Hell no, espeically if its gonna cost (insert figure) per year for that. Im telling you I like (insert pitcher's last name), I really do, but he is worth the same contract Vazquez got, Contreras got, Garland got, and not much more." There's no more risk with Buehrle than there is with Jake Peavy, Johan Santana, Roy Oswalt, Ben Sheets, or Felix Hernandez. In fact, I'd argue that there's less risk involved with Buehrle than any of those pitchers. So there's always the buyer beware, but I think Buehrle is the most likely of any of the upcoming free agents to remain healthy, and he's going to be consistent over the entire course of his contract. If you want to compete, you'll need to resign Buehrle. The Sox aren't going to sign any upcoming free agents on the market because they won't go over 3 years for any of them (and maybe not for even Buehrle), and they'll all get atleast 5 years. So I imagine it's Buehrle or bust.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ May 4, 2007 -> 02:03 PM) You have no grasp on the value of consistent starting pitching in this current state of major league baseball. You said in 19 words what I tried to explain in 464.

The 2006 Minnesota Twins hit 143 team homers and scored 801 runs. A team .287/.347/.425/.772 will help with that. I also don't understand Perry's argument. .286 instead of .270 really is not a huge difference. What is a huge difference is the OBP in those situations; the Dodgers had a .336 OBP with no one on base, a .362 OBP with runners on, and a .379 OBP with RISP. That number, to me, indicates that they were capable of rally scoring, or basically just getting one runner on, and then getting several batters on after that. It appears that Coletti put together a team that can collectively beat the s*** out of pitchers that pitch from the stretch, but can't hit him for s*** when he pitches from the windup. If they get one runner on, they'll able to move him over along with getting the initial runner on base as well. The one number I do not see Perry mention is the Dodgers' slugging percentage from last year. Forgetting everything I've stated above, the Dodgers WERE a power hitting team last year, finishing tied for 6th in slugging percentage. What Dayn Perry apparently doesn't grasp is that doubles and triples count for power too, they just aren't as powerful as home runs. They are not an elite offensive team, but they are good, and they'll score 750-800 runs again this year, and that I don't doubt in the least.

Just curious, of course. We'll throw these out as hypotheticals Bonds - .325 45 120 .500/.750/1.250, Giants win Wild Card Pujols - .330 45 140 .420/.630/1.050, Cardinals finish in 3rd place Beltran - .300 40 120 20 SBs .400/.600/1.000, Mets win the division with no one else worthy of being mentioned in the same breath statistically...do you vote for Bonds?

Yeah I definitely picked up Shields in one of my fantasy leagues last night (and yes, that's how shallow my pitching staff is). I've kinda gotten lucky like that, as I picked up Ramon Ortiz and got a couple wins out of him, I still have Gil Meche, and James Shields now too. I'll take it any way I can get it.

1) Thome has to stay healthy 2) The Sox need to find a bat that kills lefties 3) Thome has to stay healthy 4) The pitching needs to remain where it is 5) Thome If one of those 5 does not come true, the Sox have no shot at winning the division. If they all do, there's a chance, and perhaps a good chance.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ May 4, 2007 -> 01:06 AM) The first three I can agree with, but Sheets makes me a bit nervous. He missed about 30 starts over the last two years, and the last start he had against the Cubs his fastball was floating between 88-90. Yeah, Sheets is pretty much just a name now. His shoulder has been a concern in the past as I recall, and his back is just a killer. He and Harden are the two pitchers I want nothing to do with right now.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ May 4, 2007 -> 12:49 AM) Did you mean Zambrano? He's a free agent after this season, Johan is not. Santana, Sabathia, Peavy, and Sheets are free agents after 2008. I can handle one s***ty season and losing Buehrle if it means landing one of those guys, honestly, truthfully, 100% positive for sure I can. I'll b**** and moan while Darin Erstad is still the Sox CF next year, but I'll take it. The problem is you can't predict what kind of market there will be for those guys and you can't predict what type of money you'll be able to spend. The White Sox could easily cut payroll to around $65-70 mill for next year by trading away a s*** load of parts and not resigning anybody while just getting compensatory picks for them while going into a rebuilding mode, but that money won't be there because attendance will be back around 1.5 mill a year. I don't think anybody within the front office wants to risk that, and with good reason. As it is, you can resign Buehrle, have a rotation of Buehrle, Garland, Vazquez, Danks, and Floyd/Gio/Russell/Haeger/Broadway/your grandma that will still suck, but it will have a future to it as well, as both Danks and the #5 starter could be in the majors for a while. That would obviously involve trading Contreras, but I see nothing wrong with that at all.

TYPO TYPO TYPO TYPO TYPO no actually I just knew it was something like that, so 67 pretty much makes it worse. absolutely f***ing throttled