caulfield12

http://www.royalsreview.com/2016/6/10/1189...all-immediately Yordano Ventura has the LEAST effective fastball in the major leagues this season. Forward to Todd Steverson, por favor. Last time against him they did just fine, until one out in the 9th inning. Worth noting that the two most "infamous" bunts of this White Sox season have been when Jose Quintana was on the mound (the other was against the Mets). So at least we don't have to worry about that contributing negatively today.

50? That's a huge jump from 20. Wonder how they could be so far off...? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/speci...t-us-shootings/ That would be the biggest mass shooting in American history, by 18. Blacksburg/VA Tech was 32. Paris was 128. I think the largest before that was the Madrid train bombing.

http://heavy.com/news/2016/06/omar-mateen-...tive-terrorism/ Mateen, 29, is a U.S. citizen of Afghani descent from Port St. Lucie, Florida, according to CBS News. He has ties to radical Islamic ideology, CBS reports. Port St. Lucie is about 125 miles away from Orlando. Trump campaign is going to have something to distract the media again this week...Florida going through two incidents in one week, the other one the shooting of Christina Grimmie by a stranger.

How many bunt hits has Cabrera successfully pulled off in the last five years? Just curious.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/10/donald-trum...&yptr=yahoo Why Trump pretty much has to choose Kasich as his VP http://finance.yahoo.com/news/slowing-econ...-000000915.html Sagging economy/GDP will work in Trump's favor...

There's another way of reading it. Melky has struggled for quite some time against LHP...remember last year, where he went for something like 6 weeks without a hit in those situations? He probably didn't feel 100% comfortable against Duffy. http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/6347/melky-cabrera The problem is that this year he's been really raking against LHP...well over a 900 OPS. Frazier and Lawrie, on the other hand, have been struggling mightily in recent weeks. Is it really unselfish to put two players who are clearly just having a hard time making contact on the hook for getting the runners in when you're the 3 hole hitter??? http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_...7/melky-cabrera Against Duffy, just 4/22 with 2 doubles, a homer and a low 600's OPS At any rate, I'm not 100% sure we can call this unselfish...in the way we would if Austin Jackson/Saladino/Anderson/Rollins did the same thing to advance the runners for the big boppers coming up behind them. Of course, you also have to consider Duffy has the lowest ERA of any opposing pitcher in the history of USCF, and that scoring an early run or two to give Q the lead there would have been huge. And he also was probably concerned about hitting into a DP. The problem is if you're really thinking this way, you probably don't deserve to be the 3rd hitter in the line-up, because most guys in that situation would feel it's their responsibility to drive a double into the gap.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jun 12, 2016 -> 03:53 AM) The Sox are near the bottom of the League, in almost every offensive category. It's hard to argue with those who assert that there are just too many holes to fill. However, the front office is obviously determined to try. You have to admire Quintana's ability to just go out and do his job, in spite of the unbelievably poor offensive support that he has received, over the last 3 seasons. When you consider how underpaid he is, at least by MLB standards, he could justifiably have plenty to complain about. Sometimes I almost wish that the front office would fix this pathetic offense, just for him. He certainly deserves much better. There hasn't been much clamor, or speculation, regarding a new hitting coach. What has Steverson done for this group? There needs to be some accountability somewhere. We all love to complain about Ventura, but what the hell is he supposed to do with the offensive production, with which he has had to work? Is there anyone, any where, who might help these hapless hitters? "Where have you gone" Walt Hriniak? I just learned that he is still alive, and just turned 73. Maybe they should give him a call. Seriously, is there anyone who could help? Start hitting more to the opposite field, move around in the batter's box, choke up, swing at more first pitch strikes. Do something different, because whatever they are all doing, is not working. It's getting really hard to watch this team. When you consider that the North Siders have the best record in baseball, it's remarkable that the Sox have any fans left, at all. Well, I feel much better, now that I got that "off my chest". 14:$0.85M, 15:$1M, 16:$3.8M, 17:$6M, 18:$8.35M, 19:$10.5M club option ($1M buyout), 20:$10.5M club option ($1M buyout) if eligible for arbitration as a Super 2 after 2014 (met 11/14), salaries increase to $3.4M in 2015, $5.4M in 2016, $7M in 2017, $8.85M in 2018 2020 option increases to $14M with Cy Young award in 2014-19 or $13M with second- or third-place finish in Cy Young vote in 2014-19 Realistically, Eaton/Sale/Q are all woefully underpaid, considering production. But, for someone growing up in Colombia (and not a narcotraficante), that's an unprecedented amount of money. He doesn't seem like the type to blow it, either. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=m...itting/2016/ALL The simple answer is he has been a 627 OPS hitter over his entire MLB career. And he's 34-35 now. Sure, it's POSSIBLE he has discovered something, but those numbers were mostly put up in his "prime years" athletically, and now he's much closer in terms of wear and tear on his body to Jimmy Rollins. For whatever it's worth, they seemingly feel that Shuck or Coats can give them more. You can definitely argue it. Leury Garcia as well, although we're much more familiar with his inability to hit. That's why Charlotte statistics can be so misleading.

Sounds like a combo of Tyler Danish and EJ.

I think it's MUCH more likely that Ventura comes completely unglued and hits someone in the Sox line-up (Lawrie is too obvious, maybe it's Eaton, who has been struggling offensively) and/or there's a huge brawl because the White Sox are frustrated with not getting to (Y)Ventura and/or Rodon pitches poorly coming off a skipped start. I would have a terrible time trying to bet that game (and I never have bet baseball once in my entire life)...anything seems possible. Since the start of the 2012 season, Robin Ventura’s first as manager of the Chicago White Sox, the Royals have had great success against Chicago. The Royals are 52-29 against the White Sox, and that record includes a lopsided advantage in games decided in the late innings. The teams have played 21 games that were tied after the fifth inning, and the Royals have a 19-2 record in those contests. Additionally, the Royals have rallied 11 times for a victory when the White Sox led after five innings. Chicago has won 7 such games. That’s 30 wins when the Royals were tied or trailing after five innings, compared to nine for the White Sox. That’s a .769 winning percentage. Exactly 3 out of 4 if the White Sox win on Sunday in that situation. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy

I think it's MUCH more likely that Ventura comes completely unglued and hits someone in the Sox line-up (Lawrie is too obvious, maybe it's Eaton, who has been struggling offensively) and/or there's a huge brawl because the White Sox are frustrated with not getting to (Y)Ventura and/or Rodon pitches poorly coming off a skipped start. I would have a terrible time trying to bet that game (and I never have bet baseball once in my entire life)...anything seems possible.

Also, like the Harvey game, Poor Jose Quintana was once again on the mound to receive nothing in the way of support. He lost his sixth straight decision despite pitching well. He allowed more homers today (three) than he had all season (two), but they were all solo shots that didn't clear the wall by much. The ball was carrying on a 91-degree day, and Cheslor Cuthbert benefited more than anybody, hitting two out. Otherwise, Quintana struck out 10 while walking nobody over his eight innings. *White Sox run totals in Quintana's losses over the last two seasons: 1-0-1-1-1-0-0-1-1-3-2-1-1-3-0-2-1. www.southsidesox.com (Jim Margalus) Attendance is completely irrelevant if we have the ability to add another $10+ million to payroll this season regardless of whether we're 22nd-26th in that category. Otherwise, it's germane to the issue, because it has been used as justification for front office moves a number of times, specifically for signing off on the Melky Cabrera deal.

Bourgeois is going to be up for Shuck or Coats soon if they can't start to heat up a little bit.

Rodon has to repeat his 2nd half 2015, Abreu a mix of 2014/15...that's like adding another player. Of course, you can't simply assume Eaton continues to be one of the Top 10-15 players in baseball, either.

31,183 in attendance. Not the greatest weekend, +30K performance (seems that's the norm more often than not the last 5 years). Royals and Tigers pass the White Sox again... Verlander looking better and better each time out. CLE (Bauer) vs. Shoemaker (LAA) at 9. 4 1/2 GB is getting to be danger territory. Luckily, all the Central teams will theoretically beat up each other and someone (DET/KC) can hopefully stop the Indians at home. Nice moment for the Thompson family. Klay and father Mychal are watching the Dodgers' game in SF...Trayce just took a bases loaded walk to tie the score at 3-3 going into the bottom of the 7th. About the only negative on the season so far is his .125 BA with RISP.

Lawrie is not the problem as much as Cabrera and Frazier. You're talking about replacing 2 of the 4 best offensive players on the team, assuming Abreu returns to his power-hitting form and Eaton's the other. You're betting an awful lot of money on James Shields and Ryan Braun when you should be doing everything in your power to find players in their 26-30 age range to have an elongated contention window. How confident is anyone in guys like Braun, Cargo or Bruce lighting up the AL Central? If you're going to add someone, it's better to go "buy low" on Puig than pay at maximum possible price...that almost never works out favorably. And, as Balta noted...you're having to spend even more money on the rotation (on top of bad) if Shields is a flop, Gonzalez fades...which is incredibly expensive on the FA market. Burdi looks more like a reliever (although his LOU coach is convinced he has the array of pitches to start) and Hansen could become a diamond in the rough or never make it past AA. That would just leave us with zero depth, because Fulmer and Adams would definitely be going in that trade, there's no way around it.

Lucroy and Braun in one megatrade. http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/...ing3/ryan-braun 886 OPS this year, 60+ points over his average from 2013-2015. His strength is bashing lefties. The problem is he will be 33 when next season begins...and we all know over the last decade how many sluggers (let alone ones with PED's in their background) have just completely lost it in their mid 30's. You're buying Braun at a price where you're taking on his entire contract, whereas there have been times over the last 3 years where they would have dumped him and paid 25-40% of his salary, arguably. That's on top of the Shields commitment.

http://www.espnfc.com/european-championshi...aw-at-euro-2016 Russian fans getting more of the blame. From personal experience, I have seen some insane behavior out of Russian hockey fans in Moscow, Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg. Wouldn't wish a wave of those hooligans on my worst enemy. Granted, drinking is always involved...some blame has to go around to BOTH sides, but it's like comparing LeBron and Draymond, one is tyipcally the instigator.

The only reason for Melky bunting there is because of his lack of confidence hitting righty against LHP. But if you look at Frazier's contact rates...or Lawrie's, both have been abysmal lately. Of course, if that liner to LF drops in and two runs score, we're not belabouring the point so much about wasting an out, just had some bad luck hitting it right at Merrifield.

Posey's smaller in terms of overall size/build, a better all-around offensive and defensive player. Hard to make comparisons between one of the 2-3 best catchers in baseball over a 5 year period and someone who hasn't swung a wooden bat as a professional yet. Right now, Collins' game is 2/3rd's offense and 1/3rd defense, roughly. However, from everything Hostetler says, they plan on him sticking there as long as possible and won't contemplate a switch to 1B/DH/3B or corner of.

Saving his job, he might, especially with the argument the new pitchers in the fold will compensate from the anticipated losses of Fulmer and Adams in that deal. For the long-term future of the Sox and JR's perspective, no way he okays that deal. I think a lot of determinations on both Ventura and Hahn have to be made this season before they can figure out a plan for 2017 (all-in/rebuild) and beyond. Adding Shields, Braun and Lucroy would force all-in, and I'm not sure JR's ready to commit to that much extra money. Plus, you have the PED's issue with Braun. Lucroy makes sense, in that Collins could be ready in 2018 to replace him. Braun also makes sense, but ONLY if his performance this year is indicative of future performance and not an anomaly. Too risky, IMO.

This is one where the forces of God were against the Sox. Q only getting 1 or 0 run of support for like the sixth time in a row, something that hasn't happened in MLB for like a quarter century. Whatever he is now against KC lifetime, 1-7 or 1-8. Duffy coming in with the lowest ERA of any pitcher ALL-TIME at USCF, 1.55 (second is Cris Carpenter of TOR/STL). The bettors of the world made a ton of money on this one, because the Sox had to be the favorites (home game/KC losing streak and depleted line-up.) How did Anderson look this game? I was trying to listen but fell asleep after he popped the ball up to the OF and then struck out. Defensive chances? Tmrw's game has a lot riding on it. Rodon going against Ventura, two struggling pitchers with lots of hype and not much to show for it this year, at least yet.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 11, 2016 -> 01:34 PM) I thought Duffy was pitching Sunday. Did Royals pitch him today cause they knew he'd end the losing streak? Smart move. Q might have beaten whatever stiff they were going to pitch. It's possible anyway. We're 2-5 a lousy KC team this year Royals had five home runs in last nine games, lol. Yeah, yesterday was the first time in a week they scored more than 1. Chris Young was originally scheduled to pitch, but he was passed over...Ventura tmrw. Quintana had only surrendered two homers all year, two more today. Bad luck, as they should have been outs but they still count.

Duffy has the lowest opponent ERA at USCF, 1.5ish. Cris Carpenter of StL, second. Seems Cabrera was bunting on his own, but you don't want to put the bat in Frazier's hands right now, even though Melky doesn't hit that well as a RHB. Coats still doesn't have a hit. Avi with some bad baserunning. Clock is ticking. Quintana has something like only 0-1 run scored for him in 5 consecutive. That hasn't happened since 1993 in the majors. Two fly ball homers probably would have been outs 90% of the time if not for the weather conditions.

Hahn is 50% crazy just for mentioning May and Engel as possible options. No opposing GM would take that seriously. Not like mentioning them will give him more leverage, since they're not close to ready for the big leagues.

That goalkeeper really got deked...was going totally in the wrong direction, couldn't regain his balance in time. Hard to see behind the wall, guess he anticipated it going to the near post.