caulfield12

Meanwhile, the Twins are about to be five games over .500, sigh. Wonder if the Indians somehow being worse is the only thing besides JR saving Ventura's job?

The funny thing is Abreu has better dwar than LaRoche...not sure about drs.

What else is new? Poor attempts at bunting, no clutch hitting, inability to turn DPs, Micah Johnson....Tyler Flowers, etc. Hahn's going to have to provide a vote of confidence after every single game for Ventura.

Tmrw's game likely to be wiped out...

They just dug themselves a bigger hole dignifying Levine's initial "be more hands on" with further clarification.

"Mostly, we just want to give the other teams chances," a smiling Williams told MLB.com before Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Tigers. "We figure, let them out of the gate and we'll make a dramatic comeback from a slow start. It's by design.... I said early on that it's a team that's built for the long haul, and that I wouldn't get too concerned with a slow start because of that fact," Williams said. "Where you can get concerned at a slow start such as this and the way that we've gone about it is if you don't have the talent to overcome it. "So, the encouraging things are that the bullpen through it all has shown itself to be one that will be formidable throughout the course of the season and once we get the other things on track. I'll throw in a little bit of smart baseball to go with it. We've got to stop trying to force the issue on some things. I think we'll be fine." http://m.mlb.com/news/article/122960958/ke...t-for-long-haul

Indians called out by SI....jinx threatened http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-221421940.html

All you have to do is subscribe to milb.tv Very cheap...most AAA and AA games, quite a few A level.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ May 8, 2015 -> 08:07 PM) Depending on the outcome of KC-DET, Cleveland could be 8.5 games out of first and 8 games below .500 and is the low mark in the overall AL standings. Royals probably win if they had Herrera instead of Frasor/Madson. Madson is back in mid 90s, and Hochevar just came back. Both teams are short in their starting rotations. If either Verlander or Medlen can come back, thatbteam has the slight edge. KC is also waiting on Rios (end of May/early June).

I think they let too much out to Levine (cbs chicago/tv talk show personality and beat reporter)...then had to explain or clarify the remarks...so, in the end, it comes off as no change at all. And then obviously they weren't willing tto explain any substantive changes, hiding behind executive priviledge and the theory it would assist the opposition even more than the poor defense, baserunning and fundamentals. See...they even try to walk back the "hands on" comment. “I don’t think anything has changed dramatically, as far as the amount of communication that occurs around here,” Hahn said Thursday. “More recently, the issues have been more consistent and run a little bit deeper. Therefore our conversations have run longer. This is more about making sure we are covering everything that is going on. I would not say we are more hands on. We are having open conversation about all of our issues, which at this point at least last week were pretty numerous.”

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 8, 2015 -> 09:23 PM) Robin should quit. I don't like him as a manager but the minute the front office starts meddling it's time to quit. He can't need the money. I would think after being a big league manager he'll be able to be an analyst the rest of his life on ESPN or local TV. Show some pride and quit, Robin. f*** the front office. They should look in the mirror in regards to all the stiffs they've brought to the Sox and guys who won't take a pitch and work a count. It's not Robin's fault all these bums have been acquired. And don't get the idea I like Robin. I think he sucks as a manager. But he should quit if he has pride. He made around $67 million as a player. Not counting 2012-2016 as a big league manager, and the mlb pension/benefits program....and any marketing deals, shoe/glove/bat contracts, etc.

“I wanted to have a guy — similar to a player, for instance, where the ceiling was high, and where, by the time you have a finished product, you have what could be one of the best in the game,” Williams said. “That’s where my sights were. So with all due respect to the candidates out there, I didn’t know them as well. I know this man.” “He could settle a shaky situation,” Bobby Valentine said. “He had the ability to come in and dominate when needed. He was quiet but not private. He was always inclusive. That’s a leadership quality.” “Right from the beginning, you could tell that Robin had a presence about him,” Torborg said. “Sometimes young players are a little flighty or they don’t concentrate, but he never changed. He’s no different now than he was.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/sports/b...a-180.html?_r=0

QUOTE (LDF @ May 8, 2015 -> 08:17 PM) maybe it is me, but i find this article insulting to the fans to accept and it reaks with contradictions, cmon, who wrote this. was he doing this as a favor for the sox brass. front office needed to work with the manager to draw up a more pragmatic approach. a new manifesto. give me a freaking break. was this suppose to encourage me that the sox was on the right path???? here is a beauty on accountability issue. Hahn and Williams simply used some of their upper-management skills to impress upon Ventura and his staff to take more control of in-game player activity. yup convinces me of the FO doing their due diligence. i am sooo convince this is org is run like a grammar school and the owners are the principals. they should have just left it alone. Its like the student teacher being scolded by the instructional coach. Except the instructional coach (Hahn) knows more about contract negotiation/law/business than how to run a major league coaching staff. It's also basically insulting to Ventura to say he needs help from KW....since Williams has the biggest ego in the world (the anti-Robin) and consistently had issues dealing with the likes of Frank Thomas and Ozzie Guillen. If they want a Gandhian mediator, better turn first to Jerry Manuel. Many times, KW has said Ventura had the IQ and EQ to be a general or admiral...just not seeing any evidence of that. "You will not find a better teammate, leader and friend," White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said about Ventura in a release from the club. "His ability to motivate and lead others will be a terrific attribute as manager. I loved him as a player, from his baseball knowledge, to his professionalism, to how he went about his business in the clubhouse and on the diamond. Robin exudes class in everything he does." http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/...ventura-manager

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/05/07/lev...ds-on-approach/ Heres the FULL article. A lot more info. I suppose reading between the lines too much attention is being given to Micah and not nearly enough to the outfield and catching. The whole thing about the "green light" being removed is it will cause hesitancy and even more mistakes on the basepaths as players start running not to make mistakes instead of being aggressive and making opposing defenses beat them with great plays (by exerting pressure.) It's one part of the reason Eaton, Garcia, Micah, Alexei and Cabrera are having little impact on the basepaths. It's also very difficult to change things up philosophically in the middle of the season. Ozzie and Cora learned that.

I will keep adding the same point. You don't intentionally walk an 0 for 23 JD Martinez (16 of those being k's) to face a hitter with insignificant split differentials against LHP in Castellanos. You don't treat Jennings like a mop-up pitcher in an 11-2 blowout. You don't treat Rodon like he is a carbon copy of Chris Sale and 100% prepared right off the bat for high leverage relief situations. You don't witness 4-6 clear mental mistakes per game on a consistent basis without doing something to shake things up.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 8, 2015 -> 06:01 PM) I think all his shenanigans might have tsken the air out of YVentura's sails. He is getting battered around again. He may need to be an asshole to be good. You jinxed David Price. The only other way to stop him was blizzard-like conditions where he couldnt even feel his hand.

QUOTE (spiderman @ May 8, 2015 -> 05:26 PM) The top 3 (especially Sale and Quintana) haven't gotten it done so far. We knew the top 3 had to pitch like top of the rotation pitchers because the last 2 spots were weak. Add that under performance to the bad defense, base running and offense, and its not hard to see why this team could be headed for 90 wins at the current level of production. Losses?

JD Martinez 0 for last 23 with 16 k's when Ventura walked him to face Castellanos. Probably one element of being more hands on.

DWAR. LaRoche, Eaton, Flowers, Micah, Melky and A. Garcia all near bottom. Micah and Eaton last among qualified at their positions. Flowers next to last. Avisail has only Souza and Torii Hunter below him.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/le...ric/order/false Mostly terrrible defense behind them. Kluber, especially Jose Q., Sale and Samardzija at 3.97. Apparently the poor defense/decision-making should be blamed on Cooper, as well as all the offense (42-43 Q no decisions).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 8, 2015 -> 01:39 PM) Not everyone... http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/le...HIP/order/false Im only disputing the fact that he (Santiago) had value. Top Ten in AL ERA. 14th in k/9.

You might as well start a thread....Abreu goes down with season ending oblique or ACL injury fielding push bunt from player xyz.

We can be assured Jordan Danks would not be our starting CF, any more than Wilkins/Black would be the starting DH. There are always 10-15 alternatives in play. We could even say Bonifacio at 2012-2014 levels would be better than Eaton this year, though.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 8, 2015 -> 07:56 AM) Exactly how would firing the manager fix that? If you order something in a restaurant to go, and you get back home or to your office, and the order is all screwed up, do you blame yourself for not being clear enough? 50/50.

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ May 8, 2015 -> 08:55 AM) I'm not sure why you're being flippant toward Thompson and Sanchez. Both of those guys look to be, at worst, above-average defensively at their respective positions. Too bad we didn't sign Markakis instead of LaRaroche and had Avi DH. Because their offense wont offset their perceived advantages defensively.