caulfield12

He booted a tailor-made DP ball up the middle and let in two runs to give the Twins an early lead...10 errors.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 09:29 PM) Hey--guess what, kids? If the A's win, the Sox will have the worst record in the AL on June 19. Oak did have a 7-2 lead over the Angels but close to blowing it...looks like the White Sox will have to wait. Pujols GS (20), Angels score seven runs and only one out recorded (Zobrist made an error as well) in the top of the seventh. Another error in the inning, three on the game. Now three errors in one inning, four for the game. Eight runs and counting. White Sox and A's are mirror images of each other.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 09:13 PM) Chris Sale's contract is such that the risk of shoulder injury is mostly negated by how team friendly the contract is. Right, which is what forces another GM to give up a king's ransom, compared to the short-term rental rate of a Price or Cueto.

Yeah, if they're forced to "Nick Swisher" Eaton, that's yet one MORE open position to fill...leaving only Abreu and probably but not 100% certainly Avi Garcia. Two DH's out of position, unfortunately.

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 09:22 PM) The Shark trade was not bad, the Sox got a legit #2 for a few fringe prospects. Actually it was a very good trade. I have said this before and I'll say it again, there is a serious lack of impact Cs across MLB. Teams with good depth at catcher are not going to trade whatever able bodies they have at the position. There are 25 GMs who are not satisfied with their catching situation. If you're going into the season expecting to contend, why trade Alexi? LaRoche was a smart move, one of the few guys on the team doing what he's supposed to do. Robertson has been great too. Hahn had a great offseason, this season rest on the players, that's who I blame. Four blown saves before the All-Star break doesn't scream great. He was great but lost his sharp cutter somewhere along the way. Not sure if it was overuse...but he needs to go to more knuckle curves. The problem is we don't have the catchers to block them.

Robertson is nearing bad contract if he can't rediscover his sharp cutter. Cabrera is 2011 Dunn bad if you look beyond average. In his three seasons prior to the ped's breakout, he was a 20% below average hitter and fielder and now he's even older and doesn't have the motivation of a new contract to play for. Bonifacio was a total waste of money. Same with Keppinger and Downs. Samardzija will turn out, at best, as a slight net loss. The catching and 2b situations are laughably bad...and more examples of terrible development decisions. Eaton and Avi had to be as good or better than 2014...same with Abreu. Didn't happen. The Danks contract continues to plague the back end of the rotation. Held on to Alexei Ramirez too long and will end up with scraps/salary relief at best. The minor league system is a joke at the AAA level...we don't have a single prospect (not even Anderson or Montas) we can count on 100%. When there was a chance to still save the season, Hahn did absolutely nothing...except the embarassing Sanchez for Micah flip-flop.

The problem is any GM who gives up that much young talent and then Sale pitches for only a year or two before going down with an elbow or shoulder injury is risking his career...ending up like the Vikings' GM who gave up the future by dealing for Herschel Walker. They won't get Bryant, so it would have to start Russell/Schwarber and go from there...Soler and Baez would be risky third pieces for Hahn. But, based on how Castro has looked this year, you can't do it if you're Epstein. You go after Cueto and maybe Price if the Tigers fall back even more.

Well, to be fair, Lewis did just put up 24 consecutive scoreless innings on them until the Flowers homer. Tip your caps. Six starts in a row against the Sox, six victories for Colby.

Two weeks too late now. Season is over...

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 11:44 AM) I have said it too many times now on contracts. And I was referring to end of 2011 (since I said 3 or 4 years ago and happened to pick that team) and the team heading into 2012. That roster had Dunn and Rios and Danks now signed long-term (2012). Oh and for the record, salary inflation is a real thing in baseball. Avg player salary is up 6.56/yr in MLB since 2011 (or 33% over the total period...3.2M in 11 to 4.5M in 15). So if I take the 2011 payroll (end of 2011), which was 129.2M and increase it by the 33%, in today's payroll dollars, the equivalent payroll would be 171.83M. The current 2015 payroll is $110M. So our payroll is $61M less then the MLB inflation adjusted 2011 payroll and we have one of the 5 best pitchers in baseball (Sale), one of the best hitters in baseball (Abreu) and another one of the best pitchers in baseball (Quintana). We also have the top pitching prospect in baseball (or one of them) in Rodon and the farm system ranks significantly higher then it did in 2011 (in terms of all publications). New marketing slogans. "Our overall record since 2013 doesn't reflect more effective allocation of resources!!!" "If Rick Hahn had been allowed to spend another $61 million..we might be in 3rd or 4th place instead."

QUOTE (daggins @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 08:40 PM) Yeah, fire Robin, fire Steverson, fire Hahn and buy out JR. Let Kenny walk to Toronto, and put Buddy Bell on a boat to China. You might see some changes, or you might not. Hey, we don't want him here in China, either. The game will never develop properly if he's in charge of it.

He had a high change-up to drive there. Sigh. And the long wandering in the desert continues.

Cabrera better hit a walk off...or he's going to leave the field to a cascade of boos.

Was Ozzie booed like that at home near the end of the 2011 season? Sad state of affairs. Feel bad for Sale and Ventura.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 08:21 PM) There was no reason to pull Sale tonight. Blow this team up including the coaching staff. 111 pitches....he could have gone another inning, but then you don't have one of the highest paid closers in baseball for nothing. Robertson's cutter is very flat now, no depth...and he doesn't trust the knuckle curve as much for his strikeout pitch. 4 blown saves now...on a pace for 9-10. Don't think we'll be trading him, either.

Who predicted a 2-1 loss at the beginning of this thread?

Alberto, Odor, Profar....the Rangers can really develop infielders.

There's a surprise. Can't put the Rangers away...setting up some drama.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 07:40 PM) Pitchers in MLB history who have struck out 12 batters or more in 5 straight games: Pedro Martinez Randy Johnson As of right now that is all. Chris is 1 strikeout away. What about 10+ for six? Who has done that? Sanchez up to .147.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 07:38 PM) 5 runs for Papa Johns that promo will not be used ever. Haha, for the Rangers half off the next day if they score SEVEN.

Gallo taken to school tonight....so far.

That was fast...offense not helping much to give Chris a much-deserved rest.

Nice day for Flowers' Followers. Started a foundation with with his wife (Flow's Buds), donated $20,000 and will donate $1,000 for each Sox win. It's for a group home for kids...

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jun 19, 2015 -> 07:16 PM) Then you lose your draft picks and farm system gets worse. Plus, they will overpay for whomever they get. Start with the farm. They'll be getting top draft choices for the next few years. Get some Cubans. Get some guys who can run and play defense. Get lucky. Cespedes, Upton, Heyward, Chris Davis, Zobrist and Alex Gordon. Zobrist will be 35 next season. Davis could be like Quentin in 2008 or garbage. Will Lillian be satisfied with him? Probably not. You've got lots of expensive players there...that would require making Avi a DH because his positives are negated defensively but he might not hit enough to hold down DH (which obviously means dumping LaRoche as well). They might be better off seeing how much money the Red Sox would include with Hanley Ramirez and put him back at 3b. Once again, that makes you older and adds more payroll and so-so (at best) defense. No easy solutions.

If it wasn't for bad luck, the Sox would have no luck at all. And how is Adam Rosales 7/16 against Sale with 3 homers? Thats like Brian Anderson vs. Felix Hernandez. White Sox defense an ever-present threat to Sale..more than the Rangers.