caulfield12

That season was cursed as soon as Thomas went down anyway...started out 14-29 and battled back to get to .500. Featured a lot of young pitchers and Jose Canseco. The best thing Wells did for us was get us $4+ million in insurance compensation.

https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/USMO0460:1:US Situation looks a LOT more positive than it did 4-5 hours ago. Especially around gametime. Looks like the kind of weather they could play through, not much red anymore.

He's obviously referring to the Shark and Frazier trades. Semien's average is quite low, but he's been a very valuable player for the A's, compared to his contract...if he could just hit .250 or .260, and part of that's a function of the huge park he plays in. The other one obviously is Trayce Thompson. If we were wrong on BOTH those guys, it will hurt, especially Thompson, because it means we lost an athletic, cost-controlled CF. Essentially, we "fixed" 3rd base for 2 years only to "unfix" CF for the upcoming future...IF IF IF Thompson's the real deal and can sustain his MLB success at a rate far beyond the numbers he put up the last 2-3 years in our system. Having Anderson, Semien wasn't QUITE such a big deal...but there's not much hope that Jacob May's going to be similarly productive (compared to Thompson). Let's just say the odds are not in favor of it happening, at the moment.

GreenSox, the Twins and Astros are not in the greatest of shape. The Royals and Pirates are getting near that point where their windows are closing more than opening. With the Mets, collecting that many young arms seems to be a little bit of an anomaly or "luck" rather than a systematic approach. And they're still a NY team with NY resources (despite the Wilpons), so not sure we can exactly credit them with "doing things the right way."

I'd say 20% of the blame falls on Ventura, 40% on Hahn and 40% on Reinsdorf for not authorizing signing Desmond for one year. He shouldn't be overplaying him against RHP, and certainly not hitting him 2nd where he's getting an extra AB every game nearly. Unfortunately, if they end up pushing Anderson to the big leagues in June and he ends up like Byron Buxton, the narrative until the end of time will be that he was rushed and it adversely affected his development, like Semien, Micah Johnson and Beckham. (Not to mention that Desmond almost has a 2 WAR playing LF already and later on could have been moved to Cabrera's position with Anderson coming up to add even more energy and athleticism to the line-up). Eaton Anderson Abreu Frazier Cabrera Desmond Lawrie Navarro Jackson Other than Jackson's hitting issues, that's a line-up that definitely can at least hang in there with DET and CLE. Right now, we're 2 players short. 1-7, those hitters can give you 15-18 homers, and obviously Abreu, Frazier, Desmond and maybe Lawrie even more.

Yeah, someone mentioned that Sale has pitched much better on an extra day of rest...he had that hellacious 40+ pitch inning with those extended at-bats with Ramirez and Uribe, they must be a BIT concerned about the aftereffects. However, putting him in the spotlight in a game where everyone will be watching to see what Matt Harvey does...he's either going to dial it back down and throw lower 90's and only occasionally throw 96-97 or he's going to end up repeating his CLE game by overthrowing and trying to duel with Harvey on the radar gun. Hopefully he's matured beyond doing that and is more concerned with just getting out of there with another win.

Calling Rollins a disaster is pushing it. LaRoche last season was a disaster. Keppinger and Bonifacio. Paulino. Dunn in 2011. Kelly Downs. ETC. Garcia in the OF. I believe he's played a significant role in changing the chemistry and seriousness of that clubhouse, although there's no way to prove it. I'm perfectly fine platooning him as the LH side (and part-time SS in the sense Beckham was last year) part of a DH combo with Garcia until they can find a better solution on the trade market. Saladino can back up every position on the infield, PR (gives our bench more speed with Rollins and Saladino, one of the complaints and reasons for SOME asking for Leury Garcia of all possibilities)...and perhaps he can also learn how to play some outfield, at least in an emergency. Playing LF hasn't seemed to hurt Desmond's OPS numbers, for example...he's adjusted well so far. At some point, you think about releasing or DFAing Rollins, but that's only as a last measure...let's say things go terribly awry and the team is 5-7 games out of the WC race like most of last summer, with a ton of teams to pass. Also would be pretty shocked to see Hayes or Coats taking AB's from Avi or Rollins. Maybe in September, but unlikely.

https://weather.com/weather/5day/l/USMO0460:1:US Right now, it's looking like 50/50 odds to get the Friday game in...probably after 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday look much more promising. They'd have to schedule a DHer, probably Saturday, if Friday's game also gets bagged. White Sox have an early game Monday (Memorial Day) against Harvey in NYC, so no desire to play two games on getaway day, especially going to New York. Royals also have a game at home against TB.

Current (personal) List Carlos Beltran Michael Saunders Justin Bour (Marlins) CarGo Jacoby Ellsbury Kevin Kiermaier Coco Crisp Logan Forsythe Marcell Ozuna The other names are likely unrealistic for a number of different reasons.

One wonders what, if any, say that Chris Sale had in this one...I can see how part of him would be attracted to the idea of pitching in the spotlight in NY, compared to a Sunday afternoon in KC. That said, he knows better than anyone that the road to October goes through divisional opponents, particularly teams you've struggled to match up well with in the past. Not to mention the fact that KC starting nine is comprised of three good to great hitters (Cain/Hosmer/Perez)...one really struggling but with a past history (K. Morales) and then FIVE "pesky/Pirahna" players in the rest of the line-up who've combined for TWO homers roughly 1/3rd of the way into the season (Merrifield/Cuthbert/Infante/Dyson/Orlando/Escobar/Eibner/Colon). As I recall, Buehrle aggressively campaigned to take that start in Yankee Stadium, and it was one of the key defining moments of the 2nd half of 2003. Cotts got bombed into oblivion/life as a reliever. I remember vividly for awhile that Harrelson was saying the Sox might be the best team in the American League that August.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=2...lb&sid=milb Anderson having a May to remember. Lots of good quotes. Lefty Killer Line-Up Eaton Anderson Abreu Frazier Rollins Cabrera Lawrie Navarro Jackson Pretty obvious they need one LH batter (preferably can play CF) who can crush righties. He's hitting .387 against lefties and .288 so far this season against RHP (971 vs. 665 OPS). So I think you'd probably see him or Rollins hitting second against lefties and down at the bottom of the order against RHP. Another encouraging stat is .386 on the road and "just" .263 at home. .387 in all May games. He's been incredibly consistent with his hitting stats against RH and LH pitching the last 2 1/2 years. 2013 stands out as something of an anomaly. 2015 vs. LHP .339 BA/839 OPS 2015 vs. RHP .303 BA/759 OPS -36 points, -80 points 2014 vs. LHP .329 BA/840 OPS 2014 vs. RHP .286 BA/780 OPS -43 points, -60 points 2013 vs. LHP .234 BA/557 OPS 2013 vs. RHP .291 BA/759 OPS He's also consistently been hitting at a 759-780 OPS clip for three years against RHP. This year in AAA has been the only season (so far) down in the 600's for OPS, but his huge numbers against LHP are cancelling that out.

This thread just went off the rails. Greg, who do you consider "unbiased" sources, because Limbaugh and McCain are definitely not that. However, in fairness, the McCains as a family are seemingly much more progressive than 90-95% of Republicans. She's not in that right-wing inflammatory category with the likes of Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter.

Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Thigpen all came from Mississippi State, right? Red Sox draft 12th. Definitely could see the A's or Tigers going after him. Not sure about the Padres or Marlins.

You really want Saladino in LF over Cabrera? The main advantage he provides is infield defense and speed...if we were going to do that, we should have just signed Desmond or Fowler, moved Melky to DH and traded Avi/Sanchez/Johnson as a package.

NOPE. Gonzalez/Duffy tmrw...Royals pushing back Ian Kennedy to next week, Ventura Sat and Volquez Sun. Sale vs. Mets next week in NYC.

Make it what you want. Just thought it was better to put here unless the Game Thread stays open...which I guess it theoretically should since the same exact pitching match-up's still intact? Last time the two teams met, I know Lip wanted to push Sale back and move Q to the Thursday game against HOU, but they obviously didn't do that. (Probably would have been too amped up like he was for CLE, overthrowing). Guess they have more confidence in Miguel Gonzalez than most of the fans do. They’ve done it before this season, and White Sox players are confident they can find it once again. Once off to a 23-10 start, the White Sox have been brought back to Earth by a stretch during which they’ve lost 11 of 15. Still, they don’t feel like they’re far off the mark, and eight losses since May 10 by two or fewer runs would suggest they aren’t. But the White Sox know they have to get back to what worked before, and that hasn’t occurred in a stretch where they’ve lost five consecutive series. “It just hasn’t been as tight as it was when we were winning, making the plays, coming up with clutch hits, throwing the ball where you want to throw it and getting the result,” veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-white-so...&yptr=yahoo

Game will not be made up this weekend (that could theoretically change if they also lost Friday or Saturday afternoon's game). Right now, most likely to be August 9th-11th. Royals will push back Ian Kennedy to next week. Pitching match-ups (for now) are Gonzalez/Duffy, Rodon/Ventura and Latos/Volquez. White Sox pushing their entire rotation back, so Sale will start next week against the Mets in NYC. Guarantees the White Sox will spend at least one more day in 1st place. Have held that position for all but six days (tied or leading) since the beginning of the season. Friday, April 8th, we were 1 game behind KC (biggest margin).

Anderson to the 2/9 hole. Saladino back to supersub. Rollins/Garcia (for now) platoon at DH, Rollins hitting against all LHP. Sands to AAA/DFA. Probably the future at some point here soon...

It's still not an easy call. DFAing Rollins when the White Sox are still technically in first place? It doesn't make sense to not have Saladino as the back-up because of his positional versatility. Then you have the fact that Rollins hits LHPers extremely well, but the DH situation is another issue altogether. Maybe you have Rollins/Avi DH and designate Sands? I guess that's the likeliest scenario.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/rosen...526-column.html Rosenbloom counsels waiting it out...desperate times don't call for desperate measures, as Sox will severely overpay unless they just take on a contract another team is dumping. Even then, Rios/Peavy show the danger of that.

What would the White Sox numbers be for numbers of RISP with less than 2 outs over that time period? What about total baserunners or runners on 2nd with less than 1 out? The low numbers are partly a function of the diminished OPS/OBP, but it seems the statistical evidence would tell you he's not the most likeliest manager to bunt, let's say, compared to Yost. Then again, it all depends on how you go about manufacturing runs...waiting for a three run homer or station to station, keep the line moving.

Who gets the credit for Ranaudo, haha? Gave up 2 runs now, but ERA still is an impressive 2.84. Anderson just doubled (line drive down the LF line). 2/3. Another multi-hit game. Leading the league with 59 hits as of now. 19 multi-hit games for Tim. 7th double. .319 now, 16 RBI's, 40 hits in May alone, hitting .380 overall for the month of May. OPS still at just 763 due to lack of XB hits and walks.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 26, 2016 -> 05:35 PM) I agree. Really all they need is a Shields/Cueto type of No. 1 guy they can trade for at the break. The bullpen thing they have going is still good as long as they get the good Soria, not the bad one. That potentially will keep them mediocre. Soria can screw up their whole bullpen thing. Yes and no. They still have Hochevar for the 7th (as well), but, over the course of a full season, you can't make it with just three dependable relievers. You need a fourth, and, with Duffy back in the rotation, they're also missing a lefty. Supposedly Tim Collins is coming back soon but at one point that timetable was May and now it's already June. All that said, it's much easier to find a reliever than a 3B. And Soria has been pitching much better recently, has his ERA back to the mid 3's.

Not sure. Guess he meant more in the sense they would have to bring up someone to play 2B everyday for a week. I suppose Hanser Alberto could do that as well, but maybe they want to see how he looks after surgery...originally, he was a SS and the thinking coming into this offseason was that they might need to shift him to CF/LF. Theoretically, Desmond could play there as well, but not sure if they'd want to mess with another position change after he's just gotten acclimated in LF. RangersTalk over. Back to SoxTalk and the disappointment of a rainout.

https://internationalschoolsreviewdiscuss.w...teven-e-hudson/ Thought Greg would enjoy this one, although it's on "entitled" students from all around the world, moreso than Americans. The problem is everywhere, not just the US. I think it's fair to say the default belief from most American parents is that they would like to pay for at least half...and maybe they believe that summer jobs and part-time work (weekends, mostly) will meet that gap, along with student loans to supplement. I'm kind of in the middle of this. Pretty spoiled only child, my two best friends went to Northwestern and I went to Iowa because 1) I was studying English/History/Political Science and 2) I thought I was doing my parents a favor saving them money and didn't feel justified spending the money it took for a school like NU or ND. After my father died and I realized that it wouldn't have been unreasonable financially, I still felt it was the right decision, because I never had any student debts and have been a teacher/non-profit worker for most of my life now, so why burden myself or family with debt that's harder to pay off at a lower salary? I do think that when you don't have to work (except for summertime in university) at all in fast food or retail, you miss out on an important (and humbling experience). Being allowed to travel, to play sports year-round, I just assumed it was that way for all kids...but I was actually very privileged to have all those opportunities in life and appreciate them more now than I did back then. And having the financial ability to help, it seems cruel not to do so...at least 50%. Don't have to worry about it now, though, as son is only 15 months old. (For now, the biggest debate is how long to stay in China and improve his Chinese/math/science skills vs. the allure of free and high-level education back in the US in Iowa).