caulfield12

1) Dan Jennings is already in real trouble after 3 games... 2) Why is it not a surprise we can't hit Marcum? 3) Are the Twins and Royals going to start losing again? 4) What is the tv share for the Indians in CLE tonight? Is anyone not watching LeBron and the Cavs there?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 20, 2015 -> 06:53 PM) Marcum is throwing 84-85 mph Chen-like. That's downright nitrous for Bruce.

Surely 15 BB's in 17.3 IP can't continue for long, can it?

QUOTE (Joshua Strong @ May 20, 2015 -> 12:29 PM) Jesse Hahn would be nice to have as a number #5. Plus he's a ground ball pitcher and that profiles well in the cell. The book the Astros had on him was that he had difficult throwing inside fastballs consistently. I'm to the point of always being leery about pitchers who come from the NL or AL West, translating that success in the tougher divisions. Scott Kazmir would probably turn into John Danks/Barry Zito pitching half his games in Chicago. But the main reason is guys like Harrell, Stults and Clayton Richard survived...even did well over there for stretches.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 20, 2015 -> 05:31 PM) For what it's worth, I think you, Lillian, are one of the best posters on this forum. Your posts are always well thought out and civil. You come across as intelligent, well informed and courteous. I don't always agree with you but you are never petty, crude or childish. I appreciate your contributions to this forum and I hope you continue to share your opinions despite some of the ridicule you get from some here. Seconded. It's a baseball forum. 90% of the ideas we come up with in our heads are probably going to be unrealistic. Just for fun. Or at least it should be.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 20, 2015 -> 05:52 PM) It could very well be progress and let's hope so. But for God's sake, give the kid a couple months at AA before moving him up again, please? Especially when another of his worries is "fundamental defense at his position" like the guy we just sent down after racing to the big leagues insanely fast. Or Semien. Note pattern. Of course, the guys who actually can play solid to great defense, like Sanchez/Leury/Rondon might not ever hit enough.

The rule of "we don't usually fare well against the Blue Jays or former Jays" will rear its ugly head here, lol. Watch, the next thing we do is pick up Ricky Romero! Actually, this start is probably doomed from the beginning because of Rabbit's attendance AND since it WAS actually going to be Bruce Chen's turn. By the associative theorem, that means whoever starts in his place will pitch like Bruce Chen, no matter how much he hasn't pitched in the last two years. And look out DET, Minnesota's gaining on you...amazing as it is (and it can't last, can it?) That new manager effect.

One wonders who was working with Semien defensively all these years in the Sox system....surely it wasn't former Gold Glover Buddy Bell. And did his defense deteriorate because they kept moving him all over the infield....or did his not ever being allowed to master one position lead to this problem? Classic chicken and the egg. Which came first? BARTOLO COLON WALKED SOMEONE after a streak of nearly 50 innings. Never would have thought he'd last this long after his last time out with the White Sox.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 20, 2015 -> 02:34 PM) By "hard to believe" I meant I find it amazing or impossible to believe Republicans are against affordable health care for people. I mean it's not their fricking money. Do something for people, Mr. Brownback. It's easier for them to scare everyone that there will be government "death panels" deciding whether you live to die...whether to approve or deny some type of service...than to actually come up with a better solution. The irony, of course, is that Romney's Massachusetts plan (which he tried to disavow later) was even more liberal than the one that we eventually ended up with. All alone, the basic premise was to make people believe that millions of poor and homeless people would be descending on their local doctor's office or clinic, making it nearly impossible for them to get an appointment...that medical insurance would double or triple in price, etc. I'll give Ryan some credit there, at least he presented some ideas....albeit bad ones. For most Republicans, their only tome is lower taxes, free markets, supply-side economics, just oppose Obama/Clinton etc. on every single issue. That's an electoral strategy, but it's far from a successful governing one.

Any criticism about walking Morales was based on how he hit in 2013-14 and not being adjusted for his significant improvement with a normal spring training and timing back, injuries largely overcome, etc.

Reports out of San Francisco that the A's are considering bringing in Ron Washington as a special consultant to work specifically with Marcus Semien on his defense. On a pace for 61 errors, which would break the modern record of Robin Yount's 44 and Jose Valentin, lol. A's are 1-12 in day games, 2-13 in one and two run games. 1-8 in games started against LHPers. Team curfew, Mr. Beane?

There are other options, which aren't suitable to a father who wants to spend more time with his children and watch them grow up first-hand. Japan or Korea, for example. The independent leagues. Let's not pretend those millions of kids around the world dreaming of NBA careers have it any easier. What's the salary in the NBDL or was the salary before in the CBA for the average player? Basketball players, by and large, can make more money overseas than baseball players, but that's comparing apples and oranges again because there are literally half as many job openings. How many college football players can have an 8-10 year paid career after graduating (without going down to injury)?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:53 AM) I would call that an apples to oranges comparison, but it's really more of an apples to hippopotamuses comparison. 53% of NBA teams make the playoffs. Until two years ago, 27% of MLB teams made the playoffs. Even if we doubled it from 9 to 18 (your 2:1 ratio above), then that still wouldn't come anywhere close to what the Bulls have done since 1985, or the Blackhawks in terms of level of success over the last decade. No matter how many ways we spin it (the record between 1990-2013 was the 4th or 5th in MLB, trailing only the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and Cardinals, etc.), there's still the predominant perception that we're a "losing" rather than winning franchise, and that's going to take a LOT more than 2nd and 3rd place finishes to change.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:27 AM) 4-0 is "getting their brains beaten in"? Have you looked at the Kanny game? Yes and no on Danish. Velocity is one thing, but every scout who's watched him refers to the movement on all his pitches as some form of filthy. What that does mean though is, I'd bet he's a guy who has a few really good games, then one really bad one if his stuff flattens out. There won't be any in-between. I think 7-0 in the first 3-4 innings qualifies.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) MLB Daily Dish ‏@mlbdailydish 1h1 hour ago Rays rumors: Decimated by injuries, Rays could deal from strength http://sbnation.com/e/8393240?utm_campaign..._source=twitter … Unless you're convinced McGee is set to be the next "in his prime" Matt Thorton or Andrew Miller, there's no way in hell you're going to trade a "good" starter for him...especially at that salary level.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) He hasnt been a coach since high school. How the hell does he have a gut feeling. He is one step up from the fans having gut feelings at this point. Coaches are allowed to trust their gut based on the bevy of their experience. This experiment will end in a comedic way. Yeah, that's going to be laughed out of the water by the rest of the league. No matter how true or cliched, he's going to be expected to bring a different level of analysis or insight as to why he goes with a certain move...not something that 85% of the SoxTalk posters would question before it even happened in a gamethread. To win that way, you better have Joe Maddon level of success in your counter-intuitiveness.

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:39 AM) Ok. For all of you Smart Alecks, I would be satisfied if Adam La Roche could hit .260, with an OBP of close to .375. If he hits 20 homers and 25 doubles, and doesn't strike out 35% of the time, which is what he is doing now, I'll stop complaining. Oh, and Robin has to find a way to be sure that he doesn't start against any lefties. Does anyone disagree that the Sox would have been better off with K. Morales, Adam Lind or Andre Ethier? Well, we definitely would have been better off with Nelson Cruz (at his salary) versus Melky (and both are PEDs guys, so no moral high ground with Melky either)...because what's our biggest issue offensively, at least right now? Not stolen base percentages or team speed or even defense, it's a lack of consistent power in a stadium that cries out for 3 run homers. Clearly, since around July of last year, opposing teams have learned to limit the damage Abreu can do, pitching him much more carefully.

In all fairness, some of our greatest leaders have been older. Truman. Eisenhower (well, that was a pretty pedestrian presidency after the Korean War round down). Reagan, love him or hate him...Thatcher, on the side of the pond, was no spring chicken. The irony is that the Clintons/Gores and Blairs represented a "youth movement" and new generation of leadership when they defeated the older Bush back in 1992. As a Democrat, I see a lot of Obama in the Rubio ascendancy. Really, we need someone with leadership ABILITY and decisiveness, not someone who is inspirational/aspirational. Of course, ideally, someone would possess all the characteristics, but that seems to be asking too much these days out of politicians. If you go back to the Kennedy ascendancy in the 60's, the model of "youth/brightest of their generation"...or even Teddy Roosevelt back in his day, they were HATED by much of the country. Jefferson would be another one. More experienced leaders like Lincoln, Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Adams, Reagan, Truman...have been among the best presidents because of all that they learned from previous life failures. And the GOP hasn't done a great job of turning the reigns over to the youngsters....guys like Bush, Romney, Dole and McCain came across as terribly out of touch, just plain old, they're the very symbols of everything that is turning against the GOP demographically....too white, too old, MALE, WASPy, outdated or outmoded in their thinking on immigration when the Hispanic voting block is the one growing at the fastest rate in the US at present. For example, is there any way Scott Walker's going to last for very long as frontrunner before he destroys himself or is destroyed? I would rather have a Clinton than someone whose main claim to fame is tearing down public unions...without having any solutions for all of the problems other than further privatization (which works out ALL so well with prisons, health care, investing advice, road systems, bridges, tunnels, etc.)

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 20, 2015 -> 10:50 AM) the outcry was much lower when Jamie basically raped Cersei next to their dead son, i thought that was much worse than Sansa. Perception. Because there's no behavior out of bounds for the Lannister, and Tyrion, for example....at least most of the time. Of course, that's evolving for Jamie and his brother. (For example, we understand and even sympathize with him when he kills his whore and father because it follows the plot logically...) On the other hand, you have the beloved Stark family characters, anytime something horrible befalls them...especially when it's not following the direction of the book, and after Tyrion was a "gentleman" with her, it's going to ruffle feathers. Obviously, the Bolton clan (along with the Freys) is off the charts in the "hate index" and nothing they do should be considered surprising, but to see it happen on screen is more jarring, perhaps. To be forced to visualize something that's only an imaginary thing for a book reader. When characters suffer over and over again and there seems to be no redemption for them, people become frustrated, perhaps. It's hard to explain.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:19 AM) at least 50%. The main reason isn't our minor league SS, it's the relief pitchers for the Tigers and the Cubs.

Birmingham getting their brains beaten in. Anyone starting to become at least mildly concerned that Danish isn't going to get away with 89-93 MPH stuff in AA, compared to A ball?

QUOTE (Tex @ May 20, 2015 -> 10:22 AM) ^^ I've been criticized in the past for my point of view, but at some point to be a fan of any team, you have to enjoy the games, win or lose. By this I mean if you only have fun watching the game when your team wins, you will be really unhappy for a lot of time. You'll be watching 70-90 games a year that you will hate, will make you really unhappy, mad, etc. Why? Like above, it's a young team that will struggle, will have a few streaks, and maybe win something. The process may get frustrating, maddening, but over all patience and a love for the process, really helps make the summer. Already for the 2000s the Sox have lost 1200+ games. Do you really want to be throwing s*** at your TV mad for thousands of games in your life time? Are Bulls fans "happy"? Look how many times they've qualified for the the playoffs recently, to the point where this season is considered a great underachievement? I'm sure if you go back to the beginning of the Jordan years in the mid 80's, they've qualified for the playoffs around 20-22 times, right? The White Sox have been around as a franchise since the turn of the century and have only made it NINE (9) times. When you are only looking to be entertained and have given up the idea that your team can realistically make the playoffs more than once a decade, it's a pretty bleak situation for fans. To earn the trust and respect of fans, you have to win sometimes. That's why the Blackhawks are so successful as a franchise. In summary, it would be much easier to enjoy the games if they didn't consistently sabotage themselves somehow defensively, on the basepaths, with the lack of fundamental execution (most players can't even be bothered to be called upon to sacrifice bunt...at least, in that situation, you should know OTHER ways to adjust and get the job done), etc. We can enjoy Abreu, Robertson and Sale...watching Eaton and Avi grow/develop/mature, but it has hardly been a "fun" season so far for most fans and that's notwithstanding all of our come from behind wins so far (which won't hold up, being a statistical anomaly/small sample size, etc.)

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 20, 2015 -> 06:43 AM) Yeah, they've really botched the Dorne storyline IMO. Too little character development and world building. Honestly, most of the storylines feel a bit rushed this season. I was all for condensing books 4 & 5, but I really think they've gone too far. Also, I find the Sansa storyline completely ridiculous and counter-productive for the character. I've never particularly enjoyed Arya's "apprenticeship" thing either...when I was reading the books, those were the sections I would always want to skip over the most. Although, granted, anything with Peter Baelish (when he's not involved in the King's Landing intrigue/brothel business) and the Eyrie and Robin was boring as hell, too. Never really bought them as a formidable entity, although the books make them out to be a historic stronghold.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:52 AM) That is up to Rick Hahn and company. You're really not any fun today. thanks, douglas

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:49 AM) I see his name listed on the Houston top prospects, but his minor league numbers look like a powerless 3B ala Connor Gillaspie. What is the big attraction to him, as I know nothing about him. He was a former (relatively) high draft pick, so there's the pedigree...but you could say the same thing for Conor, too.