caulfield12

At least the vendors should be happy with longer game times by 30-45 minutes against BOS. Or unhappy because they want to go home at a reasonable hour. How many starts does Johnson get before they pull the plug? 3? That's about what Daniel Hudson got. Guess Turner will be next, they're not going to pick Carroll over him. Guess it depends on if Gonzalez has been particularly good against a string of future opponents.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 5, 2016 -> 01:51 PM) Other than your posts, do you have any links as to where this is becoming a huge topic? People have been fully aware for years the Cubs outdraw the White Sox even on their worst days vs. the White Sox best. Lol. Follow the social media feature during an ESPN.com gamecast. Mentioned by both Chicago and Boston writers/reporters numerous times. However, there's pretty much zero incentive to "prove" anything since the game threads are now supposed to filled with positivity according to what Rabbit wrote last night. I know you saw that. And, if I proved it, you would just turn around and use it as justification to complain more about my posting it. Or you would argue that nothing constitutes proof, everything is subjective or based in our perceptions of glass half filled or half emptyness. So what's the point???

I'm also not sure if I was a Pirates' fan that I would be too excited by the time the final game in the series (during the day, no less) rolled around to watch my favorite team get rolled over yet again. It's got to be terribly frustrating to achieve that level of success and yet be completely overshadowed by the Cardinals and now the Cubs...and then be mostly limited to wild card game appearances (along with feeling "when will it be our turn"?). It's a little bit reminiscent of the early 90's teams with Bonds and Bonilla and Drabek that were so good but just couldn't manage to put it all together in the postseason. Yes, more excuses. Like Braves' fans for most of the second half of their playoff run of 14 consecutive years or whatever that incredible streak was...

QUOTE (shakes @ May 5, 2016 -> 10:16 AM) ?????? You know every team has national games, right? You know these games were scheduled well in advance? I know you know this stuff, so this is one of the strangest arguments I've seen. And why would fans attending the game care what network the game is on? I think the above argument just proves the attendance debate is officially exhausted, because this has just jumped from silly to nonsensical. The Pirates had 18,000 at their game against the Cubs on Monday, and I assure you there wasn't nearly that many in the park. A divisional rival with a traveling fanbase, and a team who is consistently making the playoffs. Maybe, you can find a message board and go make fun of their fans. I didn't realize making this thread constituted making fun of the fans...is that what it really is? There's also a difference for Pirates' fans because they know they have two better opportunities to see the Cubs later in the season since they are divisional rivals. At any rate, the Orioles' attendance is also way down and they actually spent quite a bit of money in the offseason, have been to the playoffs much more recently, and got off to a similar start record-wiseto the White Sox. Like it or not, with the media focusing so much on the Cubs and their revenue machine now, it's going to be even more of a topic of comparison because it's the one profound and obvious difference between the two organizations at the current time...and a hot topic on social media as well and presumably sports talk radio in Chicago.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 5, 2016 -> 08:08 AM) I feel like almost all of the AL will be "in it". If the Astros are just eating it this year, Rasmus would be a nice player to look at. For pitching, going to be tough. Most likely need to look at NL crap teams. Not to mention the fact that the Phillies have mostly young, high impact starters who they're going to be unwilling to trade in Nola, Velasquez, Eickhoff, etc.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 5, 2016 -> 08:05 AM) The great thing about the Sox need for a hitter is it could be someone who plays any position since the opening is at DH. Depending on who is acquired, you can do a rotation of sorts giving guys a break. It's a heck of a lot better position to be in than having to find a specific position. And they don't need an ace or a #2 or a #3 pitcher. So if their internals don't pan out, there should be some guys to choose from at the deadline for a reasonable price. As long as no one major doesn't get hurt, they are in really good shape to add to the team without sacrificing their top prospects. Double negative. But they're limited seemingly in Hahn leaning in the direction of a left-handed bat, and even more specifically if he's looking for power moreso than OBP. For this to be a playoff team, Rodon's going to have to step it up because Latos is due for a regression...or the offense needs one more impact hitter to put it over the top.

Betances or Miller would be sweet, although probably costing an arm and a leg. Betances is seemingly one of their untouchables...although Gardner, Beltran and A-Rod could all potentially find new homes. Maybe Teixeira, depending on how much money they're willing to send along with him. Giles with the Astros would be someone Don Cooper should be monitoring to see if there's a quick mechanical fix or "tell." "Superpen" here we come.

There should be a run on "over" bets how many times per day you will attempt to play board policeman and "complain about complaining, which still amounts to a complaint in another form." Current LV line, 3.42 "unique confrontations" per day. 2.29 posts from antiquity dragged back up for some purpose or another.

And, with the current trend the White Sox are on....you'd think they are more likely to revert to the old KW way of thinking...that money needs to be spent NOW to address needs at the major league level rather than spending millions on lottery tickets that have about a 1/50 or 2 in 75 chance of returning you a future superstar.

Wow...I padded my post count accidentally because the VPN/proxy here in CHINA. Start an investigation!!! Communist conspiracy!!! Have all my extra posts deleted so I don't get credited with two extra/accidental posts!!!

Ummm...let's just say that if you're playing well enough that ESPN or FOX or whoever makes you the national game of the week, you're doing something well. Team doing well, good buzz...positive vibes, more people want to go out and attend the game, at least that's how it works in most sports. The point is that it used to be a "cool" thing or an honor to be selected to be on ESPN, that meant your team was playing great and worthy of fans' attention...not just locally/regionally, but nationally. Team shaming? What the heck are you talking about? Because I don't think Rick Hahn walks on water and can raise Jon Snow from the dead? One thing's for sure. Dick Allen will keep fighting the "good fight" to complain about complaining. Really, you should get yourself a job with Donald Trump's campaign, where everyone would be buying what you were selling. Last time I checked, the White Sox were 1-1 the last couple of nights. I guess the sky is falling because I posted in a game thread...OMG!

In all honesty, they don't have much to trade for a bat either...unless they're willing to trade one of the top 3. It means we're going to be more in 2012 mode of finding the right veteran where we're assuming financial obligations without parting with so much talent. There's just no way we could afford to wipe out our entire farm system for Gray. Luckily, there's still a lot more potentially available bats on the market...with supply exceeding current demand, that should work in Hahn's favor if he makes a move in June or early July instead of waiting. Of course, that also means paying out more money by a factor of 1/5th or 1/6th contractually.

Now I'm not quite sure if that's "fan shaming" or "fan embarrassing" and what's the positive and encouraging way in the minds of Ewokpelts, etc., to elicit a DIFFERENT reaction from the fan base.

No. He's just a counterpoint to the "everything is sunshine, unicorns and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow" perspective. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. Because of financial limitations on payroll, we can't sign very many heroes. Luckily for the Sox, the majority of those hero contracts are bad ones for the clubs to engage in, so it actually works to the advantage of the organization, except perhaps in terms of the perception of the team by fans when none of the big names sign with us. That causes Sox fans to be a bit skeptical about how long or how well this streak of great play will continue...(see 2012.) If that great play had a foundation of Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Heyward or Miguel Cabrera instead of Brett Lawrie, Austin Jackson and Mat Latos, then it would presumably be easier for fans to embrace whole-heartedly because of the prevailing perception once again that stars or heroes get you to the postseason and win games there (see Yoenis Cespedes). And then every time the Sox trade for these so-called heroes (long list of trades and signings), most of them have gone against us since that 2007/08 class of Danks/Ramirez/Quentin/Floyd.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 5, 2016 -> 02:08 AM) Excellent post again as u are on a roll, except I take great exception to the Cueto comment. He had several ace like starts during the regular season last year, too, mostly all home games though. I don't think anybody will "fear" KC this year unless Hosmer just goes nuts this summer, which he could. Cueto's numbers for KC last year look quite similar to John Danks for the White Sox. 20 more hits than innings pitched (anything more than 1 HIT/IP is pretty lousy for an "ace" in that pitching friendly environment)...a pedestrian, Mark Buehrle-esque strikeout percentage of 6.19/9 IP, 4.76 ERA and 1.45 WHIP and a negligible WAR of +0.2 for 13 total starts when Adam Eaton's already at 2+ WAR for not even 1/5th of the season. One complete game...barely averaging 6 1/3 IP per start as well (granted, the Royals had the pen to get 8 outs per game quite easily). Six quality starts out of 13 and one close to it (5 IP/1 ER).

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 5, 2016 -> 02:08 AM) Excellent post again as u are on a roll, except I take great exception to the Cueto comment. He had several ace like starts during the regular season last year, too, mostly all home games though. I don't think anybody will "fear" KC this year unless Hosmer just goes nuts this summer, which he could. Cueto's numbers for KC last year look quite similar to John Danks for the White Sox. 20 more hits than innings pitched (anything more than 1 HIT/IP is pretty lousy for an "ace" in that pitching friendly environment)...a pedestrian, Mark Buehrle-esque strikeout percentage of 6.19/9 IP, 4.76 ERA and 1.45 WHIP and a negligible WAR of +0.2 for 13 total starts when Adam Eaton's already at 2+ WAR for not even 1/5th of the season. One complete game...barely average 6 1/3 IP per start as well (granted, the Royals had the pen to get 8 outs per game quite easily).

Probably Sonny Gray of the A's. Not sure many teams have the bullets left remaining in their farm system to get it done, KC/CHW/DET don't, and the Indians just haven't made those type of blockbuster trades going the other direction (as opposed to teardowns/rebuilds). Cueto was pretty terrible for KC last year in the regular season, but had a couple of very good post-season performances to somewhat redeem himself... As far as ruling teams out at this point of the season, the only team we can be pretty sure won't be there in the end is the Twins. Other than that, all four AL Central teams can win it or make the wildcard IMO. The Tigers, Royals and Indians are all within one game of each other. As far as offense goes, yes, you're right.....Infante, Perez or Escobar would have to pick up some of the slack from last season, and/or they're going to have to make one last run at it this trade deadline and start trading off pieces into the offseason if Dayton Moore is convinced he doesn't have a path to competing in 2017. It will be an interesting choice to let go, since that means rebuilding again for at least 3 years, if not more. If they go firesale, they can trade Cain, Hosmer, Moustakas, Volquez, Medlen, Duffy, Wade Davis, Soria (maybe, his value's down right now)....and keep Gordon, Perez, Ventura, Herrera and Kennedy as their core going forward, along with the likes of Zimmer, Mondesi Jr and Starling. My hunch is that Moore & Co. won't be making any of those trades until next July at the earliest...unless the wheels just completely fall off the wagon this year (not impossible, but also unlikely with how much parity there is in the AL Central, with all four teams having majors flaws that could be addressed via the trade route).

Medlen got hit around in that first inning, but there were three errors on Moustakas (tough in-between hop he got caught on), Infante (the worst one) and Dyson lost a ball in the corner for an extra base... He's been so-so. His last start, he took the loss after having a no-hitter through five and then giving up a bomb right away in the 6th, think they lost that one 1-0 if I remember correctly. At any rate, the real problems with the Royals are offensively (Cain and Morales), different parts of the bullpen have been getting hit around (except for the one constant in Davis) and then Chris Young has been their version of John Danks, although he's pitched better of late. Kennedy has been better than expected (compared to, say, Leake, around the same price range)...and Medlen a bit flat/disappointing but not terrible or where they're looking at putting Duffy back into the rotation or adding Dillon Gee/Chien Min-Wang to the rotation).

For another counterexample to Greinke/Price, there's Jordan Zimmerman's much more reasonable contract with the Tigers, comparatively. Now whether he's a "hero" or not, he's pretty close. I know a lot of people would have been excited at having the best rotation in the majors were they to have made that signing, although it would have been a total shocker since we were all so focused on that big hitter...and that was with the assumption for MOST OF THE OFFSEASON that Erik Johnson and Danks were going to be "fine/okay" at the back end of the rotation. Obviously, circumstances change.

Because the 5-10% chance that Lincecum can capture anything approximating his former glory for a stretch makes for a much more entertaining and optimistic story...I guess. Did they write the same types of articles about Josh Johnson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Johan Santana, etc.? The Freak is such an iconic baseball figure in the imagination though, kind of like Mark The Bird Fidrych but for a much longer stretch of time...maybe also because of his size and crazy hair, lots of pitchers emulated him and hoped to follow in his path.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I always thought it was cool to go to games that were being live broadcast nationally. When I was in university, I was always super-excited when ESPN or ABC would carry the Iowa games. Of course, nowadays having the game on tv is just an excuse NOT to attend, but back in the 80's/early 90's it was still a bigger event. I even remember one time getting locked out of Carver Hawkeye Arena in 1989 and Dick Vitale was also stuck....so we had a nice conversation for five minutes or so. I think they were playing Michigan, which was a huge game (not sure if that's the year they won it all on the Rumeal Robinson free throws)...and I was "tutoring" Roy Marble, so I always got to sit behind the bench. Dick Vitale WAS college basketball back then. Now, I guess the cable and pay and satellite tv universe is so diluted, having a game on ESPN doesn't matter to anyone but Brooks Boyer and the marketing department...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tim-lincecum-...037349-mlb.html Passan would make a great agent for Lincecum. Actually feel a little bit excited about the possibility of the White Sox signing him, if you read that column from start to finish. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/wednesdays-wi...532448-mlb.html Tim Brown arguing for why the SF Giants should bring Lincecum back...

14,383, down from last night, somewhat surprising for an ESPN National game after they'd won convincingly the night before. Guess it was the cold weather this time. But over 50,000 Red Sox fans in the Chicago region will claim to have attended Big Papi's heroic game...

Rodon is now 1-4. Combined with Danks, you would think we'd have one of the three worst records in the AL instead of the best. Still not seeing enough confidence in the change-up, location's a bit off, fastball velocity a bit down and slider not quite as crisp. Let's just hope it's the typical late April/early May "dead arm" period. He had a "quality start" against one of the best offenses in baseball, then the bullpen gave up two insurance runs. It's not like he didn't give the Sox a chance. That said, when you're picked in the Top 3, you're expected at some point to be an ace. Right now, he's a 3 (and probably closer to a 4 than a 2, but definitely not looking like 2nd half 2015 Rodon yet.)

You must be 100% sure. If everyone gets three fans to promise to come to the ballpark, and they get three fans each (9/27/81/243)...it won't be long before the "pay it forward" multiplier effect results in a string of 30,000 crowds. Fwiw, Merkin just reiterated that Fulmer isn't part of the rotation plan for this season.