caulfield12

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:28 PM) AL most RBI by a rookie this year #1 Abreu 31. #2? Semien with 14. Besides the 3 game-winning (should have been except for the pen) blasts, he had another huge hit with the bases loaded.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:27 PM) Damn 10 and 31. And he has slider speed bat speed.... What did Law say when we signed Abreu again?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:16 PM) Ravelo is a f***ing beast. Had a slash line of .309/.466/.509/.975 coming into today's game. So far today he's 2-3 with two doubles. He just turned 22 years old which means more and more of those doubles will turn into HRs as his body matures. I'll wait a few more months before I get too excited, but damn has been good this year. And, can he stay healthy...so 2 question marks. Too bad he's not left-handed.

31 RBI's now. Machine. Haven't had this kind of an offensive force since Konerko in 2011 (early) and Quentin in 2008. Plus we have a new offensive version of Viciedo with Abreu's arrival.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) They play again on Monday. And you don't play that way typically behind a Cy Young award winner and unquestioned franchise cornerstone when you're facing a 29 year old rookie who tops out at 91 in his major league debut.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) Terrific baserunning by Beckham leads to a run. Really? Beckham, err Jeter, should be getting a long-term contract extension sometime next week.

Viciedo and Semien have hit line drives now harder than Abreu's ball that would have been up on the concourse in July or August. When's the last time you heard that sound off the bat of Gordon? Sounded like a gun shot.

Tyler 3 for 3 on K's today. Price has been low 90's all game today, consistently 90-91, not much faster than Carroll. Doesn't have that electric stuff so far this season...he has given up a lot of hits, more than IP, very unusual for him. Eaton the softest 3/4 in the history of MLB. Back up to .286.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) Parmelee hit a walk off courtesy of Donnie Veal. Davidson 0-5, 2 k Even Charlotte managing to blow saves, in the form of Purcey and Veal. YIKES.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) Beckham threw some leather ranging in both directons Just months away from his first Gold Glove.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:03 PM) are you watching this game? Spring Training must have been one giant kegger for them. Might have something to do with the gale-force winds...although Viciedo and DeAza don't have excuses for their plays this inning.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) Or with Peavey and Rios. Or with Peavy, Rios and Santos/Reed.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:06 PM) Just got home. Dear lord Abreu. How's Carroll looked? Nothing amazing, he's gotten by with an 88-91 MPH fastball for most of the day, but he's made some big pitches (particularly against Longoria) to rack up DP balls in key situations. Gutsy performance though...hasn't gotten fazed out there, especially after the Viciedo error allowed the TB run to score. Misread by DeAza now. Shoddy outfield play again on the corners today.

Abreu would have 11 and 30 if not for the wind blowing against him at 22 MPH. DeAza probably would have had another. All-time rookie record in both categories for Jose Daniel with games still to go, albeit against some tough pitching. Don't think those 4 errors will stand up, as one against Myers was a brain cramp and not a physical one...allowing Eaton to score from 3rd. Rays had 3 errors in one, now 4 until it changes (guess Myers bobbled it before throwing to the cutoff man), just 7 on the entire season and leading the majors before that inning in the least amount of errors. Something like 3-4 very generous infield hits for the White Sox in this game. Price has to be going crazy, but part of the damage was self-inflicted with the throw down the line.

Leesman pitching much better against the Twins' AAA team (featuring Arcia and Parmelee). Finally got touched up for a run in the 5th.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 12:17 PM) GMAB, they don't make roster decisions based on how long the flight to Charlotte is. Come on. It has nothing to do with the flight to Charlotte. The organization....95% of MLB organizations...prefer to reward their players by letting them play long enough to get selected for their league's respective All-Star teams. And that's always a good "benchmark" time of the season to make the decision on a promotion. Not to mention all the organizational movement with players filtering in after the June draft.

89-91 MPH. Well, that's better than Axelrod. Tadahito Iguchi sighting in the ballpark today. Six fastballs in a row so far. Records the K on a 77 MPH slider. Nice differential on that pitch. 10+. Joyce looks like either an All-Star or terrible year to year...originally acquired for Edwin Jackson from the Tigers.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 11:43 AM) Except Drew is still a free agent, hasn't played at all this year, and would need how long to be in game shape? Every day that goes by means he is a another day further away from being a ready to go baseball player. And the closer they get to draft day in June, the more difficult it gets for teams not to just be patient and wait until the beginning of June simply to remove the draft pick compensation attached...which means he wouldn't be ready to play until around June 15th-20th at the earliest. OTOH, an acquiring team might assume he would fall off into mediocrity again being away from the influence of the other Cubans....Abreu, Viciedo and Nieto.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 08:52 AM) I know Keenyn had been struggling this year, but I looked at his stats this morning and was just terrified at what I saw. .132 AVG., .179 OBP, .170 SLG, .348 OPS, 1 extra-base hit and a 3/26 BB-to-K ratio. It really sucks that it's the beginning of 2014 and we can pretty much write off our first-round (supplementary) selection from 2011. In the beginning of his career, you thought that maybe he could be a decent lead-off hitter with his solid on-base skills. But even the good walk rate is gone for this guy. OUCH. Thank gosh for Chris Sale. Otherwise, we had have nothing to show from any of our first-round selections since 1998 (not including Gio since he did not make an impact with us). Just an athletic lottery ticket, not unlike Mitchell, Thompson, Jacobs (briefly), Jacob May and Hawkins raw talent...limited baseball experience...usually it doesn't work out for those types of guys, but when you hit on one....

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Apr 26, 2014 -> 11:41 PM) IIRC Felix Diaz had the straightest fastball in the history of mankind. Billy Koch?

QUOTE (oldsox @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 07:12 AM) I always liked Reed, too. I always thought they could have gotten a lot more for him. What we'll never know is if Hahn actually shopped Reed to the rest of MLB to see what he could have gotten for him, or if Hahn actually thought Davidson was the answer as soon as Ariz offered him up for Reed. Way too early to give up on the likes of Davidson or Hawkins, etc. And 90% of Davidson not making the team out of ST was the Super 2...arbitration status, blah blah blah. Giving Gillaspie more time to prove himself and build trade value, etc.. Rock Raines said Conor was one of the most popular/universally-admired guys on the team, so this whole idea of giving more time hasn't hurt Conor or Viciedo at all, for example. Conor's looked a LOT better until the recent injury than he did for most of 2013. As far as trade return, there were a lot of rumors out there we could have gotten Reddick from the Red Sox or a similar player in return for Santos, instead of Nestor Molina. That one's still a head-scratcher, like the Zach Stewart deal. They might even add Conor as a DH/1B possibility in 2014 if he can continue to progress. Doesn't mean Davidson's not going to be a big part of the future here.

Rays forecast stardom for White Sox's Jose Abreu Rookie draws raves from likes of Evan Longoria, David DeJesus and James Loney for patience, power and plate discipline April 26, 2014|By Fred Mitchell, Chicago Tribune reporter Jose Abreu has made highly favorable first impressions around the American League. The rookie White Sox slugger has caught the attention of teammates, managers and opponents with his power, poise and patience at the plate. The 27-year-old Cuban first baseman put on his most auspicious performance Friday night when he blasted a two-out walk-off grand slam to beat the Rays 9-6. It was his second homer of the night and broke the major league rookie record for home runs in April with nine. "He's the best player in the world … ever … right now," Rays slugger Evan Longoria said with a wide grin before the Rays' 4-0 victory Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field. Longoria, who was the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year and is a three-time All-Star, knows what lofty expectations are ahead for Abreu. "I don't know what it's like to be hitting like him, that's for sure," Longoria said. "But it's good to see him having success. Not against us, but … from a personal standpoint, what those (Cuban) players go through coming here and adjusting to playing not only baseball at the major league level, but just being normal Americans … and trying to fit in and blend in with society. It's tough. It's good to see him having some success." Abreu also tied Albert Pujols' rookie record of 27 RBIs in April. Saturday he came back to earth with an 0-for-4 night. "He has a great approach, man," Longoria said. "He showed, obviously, a tremendous amount of power (Friday) night. But discipline … he's a really selective hitter, and that's going to translate to a lot of success." Count Rays manager Joe Maddon among the impressed. "Really a big, strong fellow with a controlled attitude at the plate," Maddon said after Friday night's game. "He's not just a wild swinger. You have to make good pitches or he is going to hurt you." Rays outfielder David DeJesus had only heard about Abreu's skills before the series opener. "This is the first time ever seeing him live, and I am impressed with his power and how he uses the whole field," DeJesus said. "He's an aggressive hitter too. You hope that he can get himself out. Or you want to catch him when he is slumping a little bit because you can see he has all of the tools." The 12-year veteran thinks Abreu has the mental and physical makeup to be a longtime star in the big leagues. "You have to be mentally prepared each day and understand you are going to have your ups and downs," DeJesus said. "You have to be a calm, level guy. That's how I got here, and I never had the talent he has." From what veteran first baseman James Loney could observe from across the diamond, Abreu has what it takes to succeed. "He just seems to have a kind of quiet confidence about himself," Loney said. "He seems like he fits right in over there. "He is a mature player … a little older for his first year. … I don't think it is anything different for him as far as the bigger stadiums and more people. It's the same game to him."

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 26, 2014 -> 09:16 PM) I got a feeling all three of the Rosenthal guys will be dealt. You got to wonder what you can get for Beckham, though. I mean two average prospects max? No offense to Gordo, but this is a minor transaction about now considering his career stats. The old saying: Second basemen are a dime a dozen. It could be a yawner of a trade. Lexi might bring something decent if he keeps hitting well. Maybe even if he drops off. He'd help a contender. Dunn? Heaven help the GM that acquires him if Dunn goes into a Dunn-like 1-for-20 with 14 strikeouts right after the team acquires him. I guess somebody could pick him up, but I don't see why a contender would want him. Should be very interesting to see what we get for these guys. Did anyone get on KW when Youkilis was terrible for the remainder of the season after his original hot streak of 2-3 weeks? Or when Myers wasn't an effective reliever? Or Liriano was booted out of the rotation? EVERYONE in baseball knows what they are getting out of Dunn...so that kind of cold streak comes with the territory, especially if he changes leagues and has to relearn some of the pitchers. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Dunn put up MVP numbers in the NL for two months either (of course, odds of him going to the NL without the DH where he'd have to play 1st or LF, not super high). Depends on injuries and non-performance of 1B/DH/LFers across the majors in June/July/August.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 26, 2014 -> 06:38 PM) 3-3 for Johnson...wonder if they'll promote him to AAA sooner rather than later. After Johnson's appearance in the Southern League All-Star team in the middle of June and the collegiate draft additions and an assortment of players start getting pushed up or released. It's going to be in Chattanooga on June 17th, so he should be in Charlotte around the last two weeks of the month.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 26, 2014 -> 08:34 PM) I don't see it as a huge deal. The pitching staff is all kinds of messed up right now. They need bodies, and Johnson just hasn't been good. This might just be two starts in Charlotte, and he'll be back. Couple weeks from now Sale-Hanson-Quintana-Johnson-Danks. Or Noesi can start spot starting and going as the long man in order to build up his pitch counts. Like Paulino, Noesi was up at 95-97 when he was facing us with the Rangers, maybe they're getting him to throttle back on the velocity and go more for movement or two-seamers/sinkers, as he was 91-93 MPH today. Otherwise, Petricka's the only other option, but I think the Sox are more or less convinced his future lies in the bullpen, rather than a return to starting. And then there's Rienzo, too, who's also more of a long man based on the lack of dominating stuff and an out pitch.