caulfield12

5 over CLE, 6 1/2 over KC, 7 1/2 over DETROIT High water mark for Sox was 6/7/8 after Monday. Cleveland's got a three game series in Minnesota, and we have Tanaka Sunday...so wouldn't be shocked to see the Indians pick up at least one game. Then again, the Twins have to beat SOMEONE this year. Yankees have won 5 of their last 7.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/colum...512-column.html Kind of a fluff piece from Haugh, but worth reading if you're interested in what Sale does to prevent himself from getting injured and strengthen his frame.

Not completely the end of the Spurs' run...but getting close/r. Kudos to OKC for winning the series, especially on the road (twice). Billy Donovan seems to be doing just fine, but obviously that team is all about Durant and Westbrook feeding off each others' strengths. What happened, btw? J4L must have guaranteed the Spurs would win, right? For the sake of the NBA, it would be great to see OKC beat the Warriors and then the Cavaliers and then you'd have the offseason drama about where KD would end up...also willing to bet that the networks were pretty upset not to get a weekend Game 7 in this series, but so it goes. The unpredictability of sports.

This might be nearing the official end of the Tigers' ERA in the ALCD... Had a 5-0 lead at Balt with Pelfrey pitching his first decent game of the year and the bullpen's copied the White Sox fiasco in TX (granted, they're actually using their "best" relievers and still getting rocked). 7-5 Orioles going to the top of the 8th.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 12, 2016 -> 12:08 PM) trump's long-time personal butler seems insane, going so far as to call for the US military to assassinate Obama. Seems? Or just being intentionally inflammatory/race-baiting?

I doubt Ranaudo's being linked to the Lincecum signing (or not). If anything, they need another reliable arm or two in the bullpen. I guess we'll find out, depending on whether he's pushed into the Charlotte rotation. Right now they have Johnson, Turner, Volstad and Marin. Beck in AA might be bumped up again.

Calhoun will not come that cheaply... They will start by asking for, let's say, Adams and Hawkins (if they think they have a fix).

Lincecum TOPPED out at 92. He was consistently at 89-91, lowest fastball was 88.

Well, yeah...cursing out David Robertson for the "double blown" save when it was 95% caused by Jerry Sands was a bit much. The previous blown save, you had Navarro making an errant throw leading to that tying run. (Of course, you still have to pitch over them and I can't begin to count how many 2 out runs have scored against the Sox in the past couple of weeks). At any rate, there will always be some skepticism about the Sox ("mentally soft," "mental midgets") until they make the playoffs again. The word "choke" was thrown around a lot in 2012. Others would just argue the more talented team finally showed up when it counted and that the White Sox and their 11 rookie pitchers were gassed. But yeah, the cursing/expletives thing (look at me, I'm seeking attention just like the comments thread for a yahoo or TMZ article) has to go. At least try to provide SOME level of analysis or active reasoning/engagement.

I have to agree with Dick Allen (unfortunately) on this one. Look at the recent stories with Peyton Manning, Maria Sharapova and the same gambling/cheating allegations with Phil Mickelson (money laundering, etc.) The Tiger story was about bringing down and destroying a brand because that image was so carefully cultivated by Nike, by his agent/s with IMG, by his caddie (who conveniently now regrets protecting him, lol)....he was going to break Nicklaus' record, etc. Part of it has to do with the interracial nature of these situations, the fact that his wife was/is a model and the majority of the 100+ girls he was cheating with were white. The whole randomness of it, like the Perkins girl and Rachel Uchitel...a whole media industry was born from that original scandal and blossomed. And, as noted, that it ran completely contrary to his image (until that point) as a golfing robot who was always on message and frustratingly boring and focused. Of course, he never has won a major since that time and is unlikely now to ever be the same physically because of all the torque that swing put on his knees and back (and partially from bulking up with the weight lifting there for awhile). Jordan is bulletproof because 1) he always came across as more likable/popular than Tiger (or Kobe), 2) he was more media savvy, like Tiger, never one to offend any of his customers or utter anything remotely shocking or that could be construed as political advocacy (shared that with Tiger, whose dad made the famous comment he would make more of an impact off the course than Gandhi, which he did in a way with his sordid stories), 3) Dennis Rodman was successful at deflecting some of that media attention away by his utter craziness.

If you want more speed, Leury Garcia and Shuck are the best options. The problem is Garcia gives you the same positional versatility as Saladino/Sanchez (maybe can play OF more), but his bat doesn't play and he doesn't have the "automatic" basestealing ability of a Gore to just will himself into scoring position every time in the 8th or 9th inning as a PR. Plus, replacing outfielders in the late going defensively is not as much of a critical need this year, which is part of the reason why Shuck is probably in Charlotte instead of CHI. If your one tool is speed, it better to be ELITE speed, where it can be used as a weapon. Like if we had Billy Hamilton in that role coming off the bench, for example.

Why is it NOT a surprise this announcement comes from a Southern state? And to think, NC is supposed to be more progressive than the Deep South, what with all the transplants living in relatively cosmopolitan Charlotte.

That thing with May is a hard one to figure. Sure, he might be most comfortable down in the order, but it seems pointless in a 142 game schedule to give up an extra 75-100 plate appearances for him. Maybe they think it's best for his development, I don't know. Probably were he to ever start with the White Sox, he'd be exactly in that spot (the Austin Jackson one currently, when he's not hitting 2nd).

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ May 12, 2016 -> 02:11 PM) Don't get why the Cubs have to come up every other post here. Who cares? Because there's nothing inherently terrible/bad/negative with wanting to get better? What team is completely satisfied with where they're at...? I hate that argument, that we should just be contented and that looking for ways to improve and make the team even more competitive is a bad thing? Or even worse, that we're not supporting Sands/Carrol/Sanchez/Erik Johnson/Saladino if we're talking about trading or replacing them? It's kind of like that old axiom about "supporting the troops" but not in general being for war. Just because you're thinking of ways to get better doesn't mean you're a "bad" fan or whatever. Just like those folks who don't want to see war after war bristle when they're called "unpatriotic." There are always two sides to every coin.

QUOTE (Deadpool @ May 12, 2016 -> 12:03 PM) The Sox win and people want to get rid of players The Cubs are on track for a historical season and STILL talking about adding guys like Braun or Trout...or trading Soler to improve the team. That's not a bad thing to have high standards and want to improve a team or make it even stronger to get through the inevitable rough patches and stretch out a divisional lead. How many times have we heard "Well, our leaders Thome/Dye/Konerko got together with KW/Hahn and convinced him we have enough horses in the stable to win this thing..."? Of course, part of that's PR spin to convince the fans to buy in when money hasn't been spent in an attempt to improve the team. And you do have to give them credit, they did everything they could in 2012 with Liriano (flop), Myers (flop), Hudson (won a couple of games in the late innings but in general was toast) and Youkilis (great three weeks and then just couldn't hold it together health-wise)...2010, with Manny Ramirez, that was almost kind of insulting.

Pretty sure that's his way of also pointing out the ridiculousness of a 75 year old man in declining health being forced to report on the Frazier situation (wouldn't happen in Cubsland!) With all the money involved in professional baseball and broadcasting, they really can't afford one? I can understand the cutting back of beat reporters (especially on the road) because print media is dying out slowly but surely, but not having a CSN sideline reporter available during games is BS. If you look at the Red Sox, they have a "team" of reporters and their typical "sports babe/host." We don't need a three ring circus, but CSN should at least pretend like the White Sox matter as much as the Cubs, even if they don't (to the station).

Yes, but you're not taking into account the collapse of the 2006 team and then an abysmal 2007 team. That's why 2008 was down. They make the playoffs two years in a row, and at least win one series to get to the ALCS, then you don't see the combined effect of that huge dropoff. Unfortunately, the Tigers and Twins just blew right past us and we were gassed. Typically, teams see a five year window of benefit from a World Series title, and that's EXACTLY what happened with the White Sox. They had very strong but decreasing ticket sales because of the disappointment just mentioned and the up and down nature of the 2007 and 2009 seasons (remember the Rios flop that year, and replacing the popular Dye? Peavy was more hype/talk than reality, etc.) Sure, the 2008 season had a terrific/exciting finish, but it was marked by a declining team (injuries to key parts like Linebrink and especially Quentin and even then you had guys like Swisher and Cabrera scuffling/fighting with Ozzie) in the second half of that season just barely hanging on and literally surviving by the thinnest of margins...as compared to, let's say, the 2003, which clearly was more talented, or even 2004. It's not like the White Sox were playing "great" baseball for much of the latter half of those summer months. They were hanging in there, and Quentin was carrying the team offensively until he got hurt. And obviously they fell off from 2011 because the 2010 had a very strong 26-5 stretch in May/June before once again succumbing to the Twins in the end AND you had the excitement of Adam Dunn's signing, which obviously didn't last very long into 2011. What happens if the White Sox make the playoffs in 2006 or don't completely wet the bed in 2007? Then you sustain your season ticket base for a longer period of time and can much more easily ride out 2007 because your fans have experienced consecutive playoff seasons and it's easier to overlook. If they made the playoffs in 2010 instead of getting Twinned? (I know your argument will be that they supposedly got past that one with the Blackout Game, but...not really 100%) If they hadn't made the worst free agent signing in history and instead opted for Victor Martinez? If Carlos Quentin hadn't self-sabotaged the 2008 season, taking quite a bit of the excitement out of the playoffs, where it just felt inevitable we'd get rolled on the turf in Tampa? It's back to the same argument...there aren't very many teams out there that can successfully survive 7+ years of non-playoff baseball (with the last three being borderline terrible/unwatchable except for the presence of Sale/Eaton/Abreu) and still sustain their previous level of fan support. The ones that do are the exception to the rule.

And let's NOT worry about...well, the fans are still going to be apathetic (Atlanta for 14 years) if we win TOO much because they always find something to complain about. As Thad Bosley always says (not the 35 years quote), it would be nice if we could finally get to the playoffs just TWO years in a row. Fwiw, this is really looking like a pretty solid opportunity to win the division two consecutive years. Detroit looks like toast, the Royals are really scuffling and have a HUGE decision on their hands whether to try to hold onto their core for the next two seasons OR jumpstart the rebuild by dealing most of their assets...and then, the Indians have that rotation but Kluber's stuff isn't what it used to be, they have had some injuries (Brantley, Carrasco), combined with non-performance (Gomes) and the fact that they can't go out and spend, spend, spend to fix problems. While they do have a much better farm system, they're still limited to mostly "value" signings like Rajai Davis, Uribe and Napoli (who has been pretty darned good for them). The team I was most concerned about (at the end of last year) rising up and becoming a major player is in complete disarray, the Minnesota Twins. Buxton, despite the scouts being in love with him, might struggle to be the next Cameron Maybin at this point, their pitching situation is a complete mess (the dangers of overspending on veteran FA's), they're stuck with Mauer (good this year again, but not elite) and putting Sano in the outfield to keep Plouffe has turned out to be a fiasco.

Well, you can't argue we manipulated the Tigers into overpaying for Upton, because we were never a bidder. If it helped to force Gordon's price up, great (but pretty sure that it wasn't the media manipulation at play there as much as a counteroffer). That said, we'll find out soon enough which teams in the ALCD have the additional resources to make changes/improvements in the next 2 1/2 months.

Greg, do you by any chance watch the tv show SHAMELESS? What's your opinion on the Gallaghers, compared to the people you grew up with? I think being too immersed in conservative Kansas/Johnson County-ism is getting to you...also, have you ever gone to a meeting of THE MAINSTREAM COALITION in KC?

Germany, although the immigration situation is vexing, they are at least willing to TRY to help... Norway/Finland/Sweden/Denmark Netherlands Slovenia Tunisia (after dictator was thrown out) Singapore Canada Vietnam/Indonesia Taiwan/HK/Macau India has a chance if they can get that democracy idea perfected and control corruption more effectively Austria Australia/New Zealand

QUOTE (miracleon35th @ May 11, 2016 -> 10:40 PM) No, trying to protect the runner from what actually happened - a strike out/throw out in case it was called a strike . I think he would have had a better look at the pitch if nothing was called and Abreu wasn't in motion. In any event I thought Sanchez should have been up there to sacrifice bunt to get the tying run to second with one out. That's usually the strategy in that situation. The time-tested play for the win on the road was mitigated by two factors: 1) Frazier's injury and Sanchez's lack of game condition hitting in recent days 2) The fact that much of the Rangers' bullpen was wiped out and we were better set up for a third night of "battle of the bullpens The only thing I can think of was that they didn't notice Abreu was noticeably hurting...because they left him out there in two situations in the late innings where he could have exacerbated the injury. DJ was specifically worried that Abreu would be forced to go for home on a single (from second base) and would struggle to do so. Maybe Robin thought putting him in motion would give him a better opportunity to get into 3B, but it was a strange decision at best to let Sanchez hit away and not use Rollins as a PR.

Erik Johnson and Carlos Sanchez packaged together can get ____________ back in return. Fill in the blank. And no, Gordon Beckham or a bag of balls aren't acceptable answers.

With the way balls and strikes have been called this series, he probably had in the back of his mind that it was better to swing at anything close rather than get a strike called and Abreu easily being gunned down...

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/176919454/pi...l-star-starters Adam Eaton leader of the quarter-post AL All-Star team and best MVP candidate at this juncture. Interesting that no other White Sox were named, indicative of how the Sox are getting contributions from many different places. Frazier has the homers and RBI's, but nobody's playing better than Machado (and Arenado in the NL). Abreu has only "decent" numbers for him but is getting outproduced by Big Papi and Victor Martinez. Melky Cabrera's also hitting quite well but still not really close to an All-Star. Then you have Lawrie and Avi Garcia outproducing what was expected but they will need to do it consistently for a year plus to get on the national baseball radar. Kudos to the Orioles for getting Mark Trumbo back on track, also. At 3B, with Beltre, Donaldson, Frazier, Castellanos and Moustakas, you've got an absolutely loaded position when hot corner talent had been trending down 2-3 years ago. Also, a shout-out to Marcus Semien, GreenSox will approve. And, since I'm covering a number of players, didn't realize than Daniel Hudson had a new life as an 8th inning lockdown artist in AZ and is the closer in waiting behind Ziegler at the moment. Thought he was out of baseball. And Trayce's new "shaved dome" look helped him blast a walk-off homer to beat the Mets in a key series. Something for the farm system to be take pride in, even if it's for another team (all good trades require both teams benefit.)