caulfield12

I'm coming around to the fact that Carlos Sanchez will end up starting, disappointing everyone who expected him to continue his AAA hitting form (disregarding his 700ish minor league OPS history and 100+ AB's for the Sox at the tail end of 2014) and that Micah Johnson instead ends up being Billy Hamilton-Lite for the A's, lol. And emerges as Marcus Semien's DP partner for the next half decade. Well, because it's the White Sox.

What's amazing to me is how much better Billy Beane has gotten at this rebuilding on the fly thing with his everyday line-up. I still think trading Josh Donaldson was insane, and statistics would continue to back that up....but probably they just had a personality conflict and BB wasn't going to be the one leaving, hard to say what actually happened out there. If you look at how players like Vogt and Reddick have stepped up, it just seems like every year they have all these guys (Canha would be another) like Sam Fuld or CoCo Crisp that overachieve and outperform expectations when they put on that A's uniform. AJ Preller deserves a lot of credit, too, in SD, for really going almost crazy with all the acquisitions...but they have worked out well because he has a good coaching staff IMO. We kept wondering how all those pieces would fit together, but they have....trading Maybin and Seth Smith, Quentin retiring, everything has seemingly fallen into place. And Shields was a bargain in the end as we all had a feeling in the NL West he was going to outpitch his 2014 peripherals and especially his woeful playoff performance.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 4, 2015 -> 01:09 PM) If this was KW's team, he would have brought in a veteran to start at 2nd base as opposed to handing it over to Johnson/Sanchez. Like you said, I don't get the KW bashing at all, as it seems like a coping mechanism for people to not lose faith in Hahn. Or traded for over the hill versions of Utley and perhaps Cole Hamels to make a typical "bold" move with little long-term payoff (see Manny Ramirez addition). Or, more likely, Utley for 2B and Ryan Howard for 1B/DH (subsidized heavily, like Thome)....or Josh Hamilton to make another big splash PR-wise.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 4, 2015 -> 01:00 PM) Nobody picked us to win anything, including most fans. This team isn't good on paper or the field. I thought some of the movesHahn made this off-season were head scratchers and said as much. He hasn't committed one way or the other. We aren't winning or rebuilding. We're just treading water. It was a strange off-season IMO. Looking back, Melky Cabrera statistically LOOKED good (albeit erratic/inconsistent), but most of us had a number of concerns going forward. It's not that he was blocking anyone in particular in the minors...and it's easy to say we should have pursued Nelson Cruz (another famous PED's case) if we were REALLY interested in putting together a "win now" type of team. Colby Rasmus was another option. Aoki. Yasmani Tomas. Rios. Nick Markakis. Obviously we weren't going to spend on Hanley Ramirez for 3B/LF/DH, but that would have been a bolder move (adding just Ramirez/Samardzija and Robertson) than what they ended up doing, which was trying to stretch their budget over too many players without really getting a true impact guy (too expensive). In hindsight, they also could have gone after someone like Jake Marisnick who would have brought them affordability, enthusiasm and premium defense to offset all the damage Avisail Garcia was going to do defensively to your outfield. In the end, Viciedo/DeAza clearly wasn't working, but I'm sure two or three years now we'll probably all feel Cabrera was an over-reach and misallocation of resources unless he just puts on a shocking power display when the weather heats up again.

If you look at the Cardinals hiring Matheny or the Tigers hiring Ausmus, two guys without experience being expected to IMPROVE playoff-contending teams (or even expecting to make or win the World Series instantly), those are BOLD moves. For the White Sox, Ventura was 90% not being Ozzie. It might as well have been Jim Thome or Paul Konerko as player manager for all the difference it would have made. Someone who wouldn't bring undue attention to himself, fight for control with KW...basically create daily PR nightmares/drama for the organization on a weekly basis. If they wanted to be REALLY bold, it would have been guys like Aaron Rowand or Carl Everett, who we STILL keep hearing over and over again were the critical leadership elements of that 2005 World Series team, and have been thrown out there as reasons why the post-2005 run teams underachieved their talent or skill level. Or the Astros taking Larry Dierker out of the broadcasting booth, etc. Don Cooper would be a bold choice, for example. Not sure it would be a good one because of his pricky/surly personality, but we'd definitely see a different product IMO. (Some would argue he's simply gotten too comfortable in his 27 years with one organization and the modern game has passed him by, but guys like Ned Yost and Clint Hurdle have adjusted, Showalter, etc.) I'm surprised we haven't seen Bobby Valentine or Davey Johnson (is he still alive) mentioned, lol. Whitey Herzog, haha.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2015 -> 12:24 PM) Attendance is everything to this organization. Eventually it will either be a personnel move, or selling players, if attendance doesn't keep up with their projections. See also 2013. It's got to be a major factor for the Brewers for one, keeping their fanbase satisfied and creating the perception (at least) they're trying to do everything in their power to remain competitive this season (especially with Wainright on the shelf). Still, the Cardinals Nation machine just keeps humming, as happened before when their starting pitchers have gone down to major injuries like Carpenter and Wainright in the past, Jaime Garcia/Wacha more recently, etc.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2015 -> 10:40 AM) 2011 - the Ozzie Guillen quits year 2013 - the $120 million disaster 2014 - ok, legitmately "seems like we're trying to rebuild" 2015 - shaping up to be a $115 million disaster. They're pretty disturbingly close to that already. and 2007/2009 were pretty terrible as well. If not for those momentary blips in 2008/10/12, you'd have a decade of suck, and we're certainly nearing a decade without even the playoffs as the only major market team in the division, which is pretty incredible when you think of some of the advantages we SHOULD have been are unable to exploit (part of this offset by the crazy spending of Illitch, but also the fact that they either developed or traded for superstar players and we haven't, other than Sale/Abreu).

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ May 4, 2015 -> 11:52 AM) I'm guessing because the team that's ahead is universally considered to have much less talent than the teams behind. The opposite is true for us against KC/DET. Also it was a article on the White Sox, I'm sure he'll get around to the West. As for the rest of the year: yeah, it's possible. They could come back. But again, it isn't likely, and I don't think it's ridiculous to suggest that the Sox may want to be early sellers. Now, "early sellers" still isn't until mid-June, realistically, so maybe it's pointless to talk about now, sure. In 2001, you had Wells and Thomas go down early and were playing guys like Jose Canseco and pushing all your young pitchers into the rotation for experience, guys like Buehrle, Garland, Danny Wright, Wells...and they did get going in the middle of the summer to fight back to .500 and over (I was in St. Louis for some games that July), but there was never a feeling they were REALLY in it because of that 14-29 start. The Twins were the shocking front-runner (remember, all the rumors about the team being relocated were out there then) and the Indians were the team expected by everyone to win, at least with Thomas/Wells out, and the fact that the Indians had the dominant team for most of the 90's in the AL Central and this was their very final run before dismantling all those great offensive players (their first rebuild of the decade, the second one would come 6-7 years later). Obviously, there could be the same or a similar article on the Indians as well. Kluber has fallen off a cliff, and that fact alone, along with their offensive struggles and shaky bullpen put them in the same situation. It's not like someone's going to shell out anything for Michael Bourn or Nick Swisher, etc.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...p?P=Tim-Beckham To add insult to injury, we probably picked the wrong Beckham as well...

Luhnow also replenished the farm system, and when last season ended, Luhnow believed the time had come to contend. He furiously upgraded his roster, adding Gattis, outfielder Cory Rasmus, shortstop Jed Lowrie and relievers Pat Neshek and Luke Gregerson. Just as important, he hired someone to make it all work. Hinch has won his players over with his consistency and communication and especially with his handling of the lineup and bullpen. Those years of losses were part of a larger blueprint. As painful as they were, Astros owner Jim Crane believed the time had come for a complete franchise reconstruction. His hope was that once the Astros were competitive again, they'd be positioned to contend for years to come. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/122181832/ri...ey-are-for-real Astros Starting to Believe They are for Real

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 3, 2015 -> 10:12 PM) I could see everybody getting dealt except for Sale and Abreu and Avi and Eaton. Think about it, there's no reason to keep ANY of last season's acquisitions and I think if we deal LaRoche and Melky early enough, we'll get something for them that's good. Cmon. An NL team will want Melky's bat. How bout the Mets or Cardinals? Trade Robertson first and ask for a haul of prospects. The guy is amazing. Somebody must need a nails closer. Then trade LaRoche. Try to get 3 minor leaguers for him, one with good potential. Then trade Shark and go for a HAUL. Somebody must need a starter that is a contender. Then trade Duke. Sox will get a ton of players for these guys. Also trade Lexi. Again we should be able to get a lot from a contender that needs a good ss. And trade Boni for anything. Also trade Soto for anything. There's no emotional involvement between the fans and any of these guys, so please Mr. Hahn, start thinking TRADES and rebuild the team this year for Gardy or Leyland. The Cardinals already are set in the outfield, and have Piscotty and Grichuk as well. No sale on that one. The one asset they're going to be most interested in is Jeff Samardzija.

Worst Road Trip Since the Donner Party... Liked that tagline from southsidesox.com

Because it is related....part of the Astros' story was about Gary Pettis, who was a "terrible" coach for the White Sox (for whatever reason) but is now one of the strengths of the Astros' staff. How, and why, did that happen? It's a big mystery. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-09...ms-keith-foulke For a trip down memory lane. Baserunning gaffes by White Sox players from start to finish cost Wallace Johnson and Gary Pettis their coaching jobs Sunday. Wavin' Wallace Johnson, the third-base coach, was fired just before the flight home from Minnesota. Pettis, the first-base coach, was reassigned to another job in the Sox organization. Pettis, a friend of general manager Ken Williams', was a minor-league instructor whom Williams promoted in 2001 to coach first and instruct Sox outfielders and baserunners.

There's another good one. Guys I would love to see manage the Sox: 1) Stone, just to see if he could control his ego for an entire season 2) Harrelson, mostly for entertainment purposes 3) Ozzie again 4) Jack McDowell 5) Carlton Fisk 6) Bill Melton....well, just because we're already a laughingstock 7) Kenny Williams....also to see him bristle at being second-guessed by the media who basically has treated him with kid gloves 8) The best SABES team the internet could put together, working as a committee (like Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, lol) 9) Dick Allen (the player or the poster) 10) Greg775 11) This guy, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/team/exe...mejdal_sig.html (Would be first Indian-American manager) 12) Kim NG (just because it would be interesting to have the first female manager in history)

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 3, 2015 -> 08:50 PM) I remember he was on fire that spring. And, if I'm not mistaken, played well in the Arizona Fall League or at least after being drafted...(see Hawkins, Courtney).

It was a startling turn of events for Roenicke, 58, who had his 2016 option exercised by the team on March 19. "Mark (Attanasio) and I visited on it and felt it was the right thing to do," Melvin said at the time. "Game management, you're going to get second-guessed by everybody on that. He's very passionate about being a Brewer, for one thing. He communicates really well with and has the respect of his coaching staff. He builds relationships with the players. He can be firm when he has to be. He knows our organization well now and works well with everybody in the front office. His aggressive style has always been there." That move came in stark contrast to Roenicke's perceived status with the Brewers at the end of the 2014 season. The team led the National League's Central Division for the first 150 days before floundering over the last six weeks and falling completely out of the playoff chase. The Brewers finished with an 82-80 record – their fifth winning season in their last eight, but still a major disappointment. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/302369651.html http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance Brewers not messing around, despite their struggles, they were 8th in attendance as of today...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/break...0503-story.html After winning a series against the Cubs and going 5-5 over the last 10 games. Might be missing another opportunity if the Brewers already have their guy in mind and are jumping the gun ahead of the White Sox. Note he has a record over .500 for his career and playoff appearances on his resume. Now the pressure is really turned up in Chicago. Nobody expected anything out of the Phillies, even though they're still carrying a huge bloated payroll. The Marlins were off to a terrible start but they have recovered from the tailspin.

Well Carlos has single-handedly added four runs to Noesi's ERA line, so that's a bit of an ironic concept (in the locker room) if they do eventually remove Hector and leave Danks standing. We'll probably get a modified 6 man rotation, knowing the White Sox. Which will end up making NOBODY happy.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ May 3, 2015 -> 07:16 PM) So you haven't watched a fight in a decade but you're going to comment on his place in history? The same way I don't have to watch every LeBron James regular season game to assess where he stands vs. Jordan or Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan. He's a technical counter-puncher who rarely goes for the knockout and dances his way out of trouble...but he has never once had a great fight in his career, a Thrilla in Manila or even one that's particularly memorable. To go down as the greatest, you have to have 2-3 rivals that elevate you to that level, like Palmer and Watson and Player for Jack Nicklaus, etc. Foreman/Liston/Frazier for Ali, etc.

There's no way Eaton is going down unless he's still slumping in late June or July. They're committed to him as the future CFer. Gillaspie's situation is more fluid with Beckham, Bonfacio, Davidson, Sanchez and Saladino. He won't get half the patience that Adam will receive because there are a lot of options for his particular position.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 3, 2015 -> 07:47 PM) "Guys, stop f***ing giving up runs." Defense, please don't make 3-5 mistakes per game. Q's probably thinking "Why do I get a loss or no decision every single time out? WHY ME?" by this time. Actually, two of the four mistakes today were related to Danks...so hard to blame other players other than LaRoche and Micah (unless there was yet another error I missed after giving up on the game around the 6th inning).

http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/white-...rors-loss-twins Pitchers (5 starters, seemingly) have already had a meeting to address their struggles. http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/white-...rors-loss-twins Double-edged sword here. “I really love to play for Robin because he’s a friend, he’s a brother, he’s like a father in some situations,” Abreu said. “He lets you play your game. That’s good. Something that in baseball, if you are a good person, that doesn’t translate that you are going to be successful every time. He’s very good. I love to play for him.” .... “We cannot blame Robin,” Abreu said through an interpreter. “It’s our fault because we are the ones who are playing. We are the people who are in the field. Just for us, we are not doing the things right. “If the people want someone to blame, it’s the players, not Robin. He’s doing what he can do, but the results aren’t there.”

Well, they're definitely not going to fire Hahn or replace 10-12 players in the middle of the season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2015 -> 06:21 PM) To me that shows some leadership is happening in the clubhouse. Abreu knows what this team looks like, and he is trying to take some of that blame off of his managers shoulders. That means they at least like Ventura, even if they don't play well for him. Of course, it's very difficult to come up with many examples in recent baseball history (at least the age of the internet) where players turned openly against a manager and "broke the unwritten code" of baseball media relations. In other words, when's the last time a player said, "We're all doing our absolute best, but collectively we simply don't feel as if we have the right manager to lead us to the next level." What's going to make things even harder this week is going to be yet another crowd of 75% (AND VOCAL about it) Tigers' fans at USCF. That's hard for the broadcasters to ignore as well...or those doing national/local highlights.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ May 3, 2015 -> 06:43 PM) That Kyle Schwarber guy is looking more legit everyday. Watch out, the Cubs Patrol will nab you.