caulfield12

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 22, 2014 -> 07:37 AM) You should use the advanced metrics, but if that's all you use, you will be in trouble. xFIP says Gavin Floyd was a better pitcher for the White Sox than Mark Buehrle. Is there really anyone who would rather have had Gavin on the mound in a must win game than Buehrle? Only in 2008, especially the first half. Those are the same numbers that would suggest Javy V. was always a better pitcher than his sub .500 record constantly indicated. One case where wins and losses for a starting pitcher do actually mean something. Just like you don't need to shine the light of sabremetrics to see how good Tanaka has been so far out of the gate, or Cueto, or Scherzer (all, until their most recent starts).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 22, 2014 -> 07:17 AM) For NL teams, it makes a bit more sense because pitchers are terrible at hitting. For the Rangers, their manager is Ron Washington, who is a f***ing moron but gets the most out of his guys. Martin accounts for 5 of those and Andrus 3. That's their game...just like for Adam "Lenny Dykstra Jr Minus the Financial Fraud & Mismanagement" Eaton. With Arencibia being so terrible, Nelson Cruz gone, Beltre and Profar injured, they've had to scuffle more for runs than at any point in recent memory...not to mention all their pitching injuries, every run counts. And the Rangers aren't playing as many games on the fastest diamond in the big leagues because the summer weather hasn't quite hit Texas yet. Playing in colder/spring weather, when the ball's not jumping like it does in Arlington or USCF, causes managers to have to adjust tactics a bit.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 22, 2014 -> 07:23 AM) I just checked and only 8 of the Mets' 18 Sac Bunts were from pitchers, as opposed to 19 of Miami's 25 Sac Bunts coming from pitchers. Eric Young is a very good bunter, and Tejada's (SS) not far behind. That's 5 right there. Then you have 2 from Recker, a catcher who bats down in the order and isn't very potent offensively but can at least get a bunt down and move runners a base at a time.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 22, 2014 -> 07:19 AM) Every trade depends on what is being offered, but Gillaspie is the kind of guy who is more valuable to the Sox than potential suitors, so there aren't likely any offers to be made that are going to make sense for the Sox. I will repeat what I first said: there just aren't many times when it makes sense for a rebuilding team to trade a pre-arb player. Even trading a relief pitcher, or, more specifically, a closer?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 22, 2014 -> 07:13 AM) The difference here is that the substantive argument that is being made in the article is for FANTASY PURPOSES. Look, you want to present articles that have little to do with the content matter, go ahead nobody is stopping you. But dont act all surprised when people call it out and blame lack of a catch all. Make your poll. have fun So back to substance. Who do you think will be the starting 3B for the Chicago White Sox on Opening Day in 2015, Conor or Matt Davidson? Which one would you trade? If you don't want to trade either one: Would you move one of them to 1B and make Abreu a full-time DH to prevent more wear and tear on Jose's ankles from standing for an extra 2 hours 150+ times per year?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 22, 2014 -> 07:07 AM) Gillaspie is pre-arb. He costs virtually nothing to keep and is under team control for 4+ more years. Dunn has an expiring contract. There is nothing similar with their situations. Maybe Gillaspie doesn't work out. Maybe Davidson doesn't work out. If they both work out, then maybe one of them plays 1B or maybe then you trade one of them, but you don't trade Gillaspie now while Davidson is still a huge question mark. Obviously, it depends on what is being offered. Conor Gillaspie 2014 OPS=842 Conor Gillaspie career major league OPS (parts of five seasons, 557 AB's)=712 Conor Gillaspie career minor league OPS=776 Now he did trend upwards from A- ball to High A, to AA to AAA (674 to 750 to 754 to 812)

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2013-03-28/...-isn-t-madness/ http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2012-saberm...-saber-players/ Highly Analytical Organizations Oakland Athletics Houston Astros Toronto Blue Jays Chicago Cubs Arizona Diamondbacks (trending back to "old school" now) Cleveland Indians Seattle Mariners New York Mets San Diego Padres Pittsburgh Pirates* Texas Rangers* Tampa Bay Rays Boston Red Sox New York Yankees In Between Organizations Milwaukee Brewers St. Louis Cardinals* Toronto Blue Jays Philadelphia Phillies Cincinnati Reds Chicago White Sox Old School Los Angeles Angels Atlanta Braves* Los Angeles Dodgers Baltimore Orioles San Francisco Giants Miami Marlins Washington Nationals Colorado Rockies Kansas City Royals Detroit Tigers Minnesota Twins *I’m especially unsure about these teams.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 22, 2014 -> 06:40 AM) Gillaspie is pre-arb and the Sox are a rebuilding team. Rebuilding teams don't generally trade pre-arb players. I can buy Bekcham and Belisario being shopped. Then why did we acquire Davidson? To make him the DH? If that's the logic, we would be better off keeping Dunn.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 22, 2014 -> 06:52 AM) I dont see why you have to find an article that merely mentions their names in order to make that argument. If I am to make an argument that Brandon Marshall is going to surpass Chris Carter in catches and yards, I am not going to post an article that says "Brandon Marshall signs new contract on the View" in order to support my argument, because it doesnt have much to do with it. Catch-all doesnt have much to do with it either Yes, because if I'm writing an article about roto league players, it's standard practice to just throw out names without any substantive argument and anyone will easily buy into it without supporting it quantitatively. If that's what you prefer, then I can just argue back and forth in brief/pithy, one sentence statements that just go around and around in circles. Besides, I'm not trying to make any kind of argument. Why does it have to be an argument? Isn't it possible to just present information? Should we have a poll right now asking posters if they want to trade or keep Beckham and/or Gillaspie?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 22, 2014 -> 05:07 AM) Why are you posting a fantasy baseball article in a thread about which Sox players will be traded before the deadline? Maybe because there's no Catch-All thread and the fact that some people are buying into Gillaspie, Beckham and Belisario as fantasy candidates (since there are actually statistical analyses going on there) means they MIGHT make good trade candidates in the real world as well. Of course, their recent "outperformance" also means an increasing number will want to hold onto them, especially Gordon. The article gives a cogent argument, that players in that 26-27 age group are just hitting their primes. Sigh. I guess I have to spell out "I AM INCLUDING THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE THE THREE SPECIFIC PLAYERS MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE, ALONG WITH ALEXEI RAMIREZ and ADAM DUNN, COMPRISE OUR MOST VALUABLE TRADE PIECES AT THE MOMENT."

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 21, 2014 -> 11:56 PM) I don't have a bookie but I sure would have made that bet if I was in Vegas. The Guthrie thing is automatic against the Sox. That's the key to the bet. I figured Q would have a good game as well cause the Royals suck and he's pretty good, and we'd lose 5-1 ish. That's a lock for the under. I don't mind gambling when it's logical. And I think this was close to a lock. That first game I predicted was a lock to be over. I just got the winner wrong as Sox overcame a 5-0 deficit and picked Dyson off second to win it. I think the percentage of people who can make money consistently gambling on baseball is the same who are succeeding with penny stocks. from Jayson Stark/espn.com One last history lesson Finally, we know what you're thinking. You're undoubtedly asking yourself (or maybe the person sitting next to you on that bar stool): What do the standings mean at this point? Well, glad you asked. Since this is Year 3 of the two-wild-card era, I took a look back at the standings after 40 games in the first two years of this system and found: Of the 20 teams that made the playoffs, 13 (or 65 percent) were in playoff position after 40 games. Six of the other seven were no more than three games out of a playoff spot. And the final team -- the 2013 Dodgers -- made all that math moot by going 53-13 between late June and early September. But those 53-13 streaks don't come along every year. Or every decade. Or even every century. So if a team you root for is more than three games out right now, ummmm, might be time to rent a beach house. That'll make the summer fly by. Right? The White Sox were 19-21 and 2 GB in the WC race at that time. Now we're 3 GB. The Red Sox, Rays, Pirates and Reds better pick it up.

Category juice is a major part of what we seek in this fake-baseball numbers racket, so it's a touch odd to suggest a player who currently has zero homers and zero stolen bases. Be that as it may, let's talk about Conor Gillaspie, anonymous Chicago hitter. All sorts of fun stats are on display with the Gillaspie page. That .389 average sure is pretty, though it's fueled by a crazy .402 BABIP. But it's also a case of Gillaspie making his own luck: he's lacing a line drive 33.7 percent of the time. He cranked nine doubles and one triple over 101 at-bats (he missed some time with a hand injury). If you prorate Gillaspie's run-production stats to a full season, you get 84 runs and 90 RBIs. Okay, that plays. The surrounding lineup, one of the best in the majors, also helps the cause. It's a scoring-friendly park, as you know. Gillaspie cranked 13 homers in 408 at-bats last year (albeit with a puny .245 average), so the home-run bagel is something of a fluke. Eventually some of those doubles will sail over the fence. And Robin Ventura seems to like the cornerman, using Gillaspie in the No. 3 spot in 15 of 27 games. Nope, it's not a sexy pickup, but it's one most of you can make: Gillaspie is free to add in 96 percent of Yahoo leagues. He's eligible at both corner spots and he's in the sweet spot for player growth, two months shy of his 27th birthday. Offense isn't that easy to find in deeper mixers, is it? Who's with me? The context adds up here. Before we finish our pizza and bolt Chicago, there's also the case of post-hype kid Gordon Beckham (another Age-27 siren). Full disclosure, I talk myself into Beckham once a year. He's on a .277-15-3-10-1 run for his 25 games, useful as a middle infielder. He's only owned in eight percent of Yahoo. He's not posh and he's not spicy, but that ownership tag looks low to me. This is a fun offense to run with, kids, especially when Jose Abreu comes back. • The Chicago bullpen, you ask? Andy Behrens runs that beat, and he has you covered here. Ronald Belisario took the Behrens endorsement to heart, securing Chicago's win at Kansas City on Tuesday. It wasn't a perfect shutdown (2 H, 1 R), but it had a happy ending. Hey hey hey, goodbye. Belisario's 4.15 ERA might scare some off, but he's been terrific in May – and around the strike zone all year (five walks, 19 whiffs over 26 innings). Compared to some of the other wild chuckers here, Belisario is downright relaxing. He's ready to go in 89 percent of the Y. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto...5--fantasy.html

Let's not forget, Anderson has only 2 walks and 36 K's on the season. He's the definition of raw/toolsy/tons of potential but completely unrefined at the moment.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 21, 2014 -> 10:59 PM) He stunk soooo bad. Now it's time to DFA DeAza or trade him for any lousy prospect. Or at least send him down to learn how to hit again. They're not going to send him down to Charlotte. At some point, they might just give up and DFA him or give Sierra everyday playing time against righties as well as lefties, but sending him to AAA really isn't a logical option. In order for him to have any value to another team in June/July/August, he's got to prove he can hit again at the big league level.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 21, 2014 -> 09:52 PM) People keep saying this, but I'd argue that switching organizations and leaving behind everyone he knew is more likley to have impacted his game. Everyone is individual. It certainly didn't impact Quentin in 2008, or Eaton coming out of the gate this season with the Sox. Gillaspie has proven he belongs at the big league level too...it's not like Brandon McCarthy "deserved" to be the odd man out in 2006, but that's also what happened.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 21, 2014 -> 08:59 PM) He should have been told when he got to the ballpark that he was first in relief. Instead of pitching Danel Webb's well rested arm, we get Petricka in his third straight game. Petricka couldn't locate because he doesn't throw on three days straight. Can anyone come up with a rationale for using Petricka over Webb? To learn if he had the resiliency and command/control to throw three consecutive games? He had good velocity even tonight, that wasn't the problem. We needed a pitcher who could force Butler to hit the ball on the ground, and that was probably Putnam...who Robin probably doesn't feel should be used up in tie game at this point.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 21, 2014 -> 09:03 PM) Francisco will be DFA tomorrow, per Dan Hayes. Carroll to the pen. That's reassuring, NOT. His family's really holding out hope for that MLB pension money, though. It's a cool side note, at least.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 21, 2014 -> 09:00 PM) I have a policy of not bragging but you guys keep bringing up my gambling only when I lose. I would have won you A LOT of money tonight betting the under and the Royals in a parlay. But you didn't make that bet, did you? After the way the Royals have lost these games....Moutaskas in free fall....the momentum was definitely against KC, except for Guthrie's track record since 2012 against the White Sox, and especially at Kauffman. Then you have would have been mad at Guthrie since he's something like 8-3 against the White Sox during that time frame (had the White Sox won).

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 21, 2014 -> 08:52 PM) Can't believe we had 3 hits off of Guthrie.. Yost took him out at the right time. Robin did not take out Q at the right time Well, a bunt with a 1-2 count ... what are you going to do? How many times have you ever seen the White Sox pull that off successfully? Japanese players know how to play the game properly better than anyone in the world, at least in terms of fundamentals. With a runner on 1st on a flukey play and one out, it's not like Quintana was getting ripped all around the park.

Temporarily back to 2013 White Sox offense, except Beckham (for the time being) and Gillaspie are better. (And Dunn/Ramirez/Viciedo/Flowers). Oh, and Abreu.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ May 21, 2014 -> 08:38 AM) 1. Hawkins - Still has more upside than anyone in the system and is now playing like he belongs in pro ball 2. Anderson - A lot of upside, still very raw 3. Micah Johnson - We'll see how he adjusts to AAA, but has done a solid job at every level thus far, probably not All-Star level upside though 4. Davidson - Big power but the big holes in his swing keep him dropping down the list 5. Danish - Great GB rate, needs to miss more bats to be more than a mid-rotation guy 6. Carlos Sanchez - Still really young for AAA, rebounded well in the winter and a guy that could be a solid #2 hitter for a long time 7. Rondon - Best glove in the system and developing offensive talent to give him a chance 8. Michalczewski - Great job going overslot to grab him, settling in as the first home grown 3B prospect since Crede 9. May - A rough start to the season, but there is talent there 10. Beck - Once predicted as a top 10 pick, needs to develop his slider to reach his potential Well, except Josh Fields.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ May 21, 2014 -> 07:49 PM) I was at spring training in 2013. Keppinger was a grade a dick to the sox fans then, especially the kids. There's got to be something missing in this story. Seems with as well-respected as Joe Maddon is around the game, he SHOULD/WOULD have had problems/issues with Keppinger as well. Surely, Hahn's going to do his due dilgence with a three year contract. Ironic, in that the last three year contract went to someone even more universally-loved in the clubhouse than even Gillaspie (Mark Teahen) who couldn't really play baseball well. Maybe he was going through some personal problems, like Alexei last year with his father-in-law.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 21, 2014 -> 07:45 PM) It is simply pathetic we can't hit Guthrie, and of course they don't hit when I can watch the game It's not like we haven't seen him enough. This is his 12th start in roughly two years (2.8 something ERA). Maybe they're too familiar with him and out-thinking themselves at the plate.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 21, 2014 -> 11:31 AM) Jerry Crasnick ‏@jcrasnick 2h Another name to put on list of future #dbacks manager candidates: Joe McEwing. Goes back a long way with La Russa. La Russa, who joins former St. Louis colleagues Dave Duncan and Dave McKay in Arizona, apparently has no plans to disassemble the Gateway Arch piece by piece and transport it by U-Haul to Phoenix. Then again, it’s only his fourth day on the job.Right now the buzz is swirling around LaRocque (current Cardinals' Director of Scouting) and (Mike) Aldrete. Next week it might be Walt Jocketty, Jose Oquendo (Cards), Mike Gallego (A's) or Jim Riggleman. What the Diamondbacks lack in talent, they’ll more than make up for in rumors and innuendo this summer. from Crasnick piece at espn.com http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...p-d-backs-brass This is the big question. A lot of people asked why La Russa would leave a cushy job with the commissioner’s office and jump back into the fray with a team. The answer was readily apparent to anyone who entered his office at 3:30 p.m. and saw him immersed in his lineup card and the injury reports on game days. La Russa missed the competition and the heat of the battle in a way that fielding media inquiries about replay and the “transfer rule” simply couldn’t fill. But the demands of this new CBO role will test his judgment and his patience. La Russa needs to view the proceedings from 35,000 feet, delegate authority to the people below him and develop a vision. That’s not necessarily going to be easy for a guy whose mood varied solely according to what happened between 7 and 10 p.m. for 33 years. In the final analysis, La Russa isn’t going to make his mark as CBO by hiring the most St. Louis Cardinals' employees or proving that gut instincts and scouting judgments trump statistical analysis. The final chapter of his illustrious baseball career will be judged on whether he can bring a winner to Arizona. I imagine Tony La Russa, of all people, wouldn’t want it any other way.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 21, 2014 -> 07:34 PM) Sierra has been hitting better then De Aza Sierra and Viciedo have been comparable the last 2-3 weeks. We all know about DeAza and Eaton since he has been back. Of course, Adams's going to get all the rope he needs. Not sure about DeAza, Francisco and Downs. And thank God, no Salvador Perez this series.