caulfield12

How has Micah Johnson looked at 2nd defensively this year? Has anyone been watching him closely?

I wouldn't be surprised if we see them give Mitchell some playing time at the major league level...or Thompson, just to see what they have the last two months if they're out of the race. Some are going to argue that Danks should be playing (everyday) instead, but it would be pretty surprising if the Sox went that route. You can also give them DH at-bats after/when/if you trade Dunn.

SIGH. C'mon Petricka. More gork shots. 105 foot iron into the bunker.

Veal and Cleto warming. Would have thought about bringing in Cleto to start the inning after the way Petricka escaped last inning, but you can understand Ventura seeing if he can get the game to the 8th.

28. TB, 18,538 29. CLE, 17,498 30. CHW, 16,765 Averaging 11,601 in our non-opening day games. Well...hopefully the offense can keep being entertaining. Didn't realize how devastating last season would end up being. Brantley has taken away two XB hits away from Abreu tonight. 68 runs scored, averaging over 6 per game (6.2). Feels a bit like the 2000 season...

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:23 PM) Don't think that run is unearned hawk. Maybe I'm wrong You can't assume a double play. That run should be earned. 13,605. Can't believe they're not drawing at least 20,000 tonight.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:18 PM) It'll be a miracle if were tied going to bottom 6 That's the same exact thing I said when Cleto came in against the heart of the Rockies' line-up. So that's two times the bullpen has exceeded our expectations, especially when you consider we gave the Indians two additional opportunities (and three outs that could have been recorded, DP ball on Conor and DeAza overrunning the ball in LF when he got worried about the fence coming up).

Gave away 3 outs this inning already. THANKFULLY, Petricka's pitched out of it. Last year, they definitely would be down and Sale's victory disappearing into thin air. Well, 0-4 against the Indians, I don't think he was even in this position once to get a victory over there in the first place.

Big pitch there. But DON'T let up and let Nick Swisher get you. Sale deserves this win. Can't let this one get away... Petricka can be nasty....when/if he can get his secondary pitches over. DeAza overruns a ball he probably should have caught. SIGH.

The runner wasn't even going... Should have had a double play, bases clear and a 5-4 lead. SIGH. 11 errors in 11 games. DeAza getting picked off again. Repeating some of the patterns...errors on routine plays.

QUOTE (sammy esposito @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:12 PM) Is the check swing reviewable ? Or is the 3rd base ump as far as it goes? Don't think so.

Well, here we go again. Dreaded leadoff walk and a gork shot on 0-2 that would have looked more elegant from an iron at Augusta.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:08 PM) How many check swings are we going to have called the wrong way, this season? C'mon man, that wasn't close. Watch the BAT, not the HANDS...sheesh. Semien might gotten a break on one, though.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 08:06 PM) Better than last night at least? http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance There's a good chance that we fall into last place in MLB attendance (ironically to CLE) unless we can beat 17,500. Averaging 56 more per game than the Indians. Farmer and DJ were saying how beautiful the day was there in Chicago and how they had to run their air conditioning in the car, so weather's not a valid excuse for this one.

Wow...never expected that after Viciedo was down 0-2. Mr. Spelling Bee only gave up two runs all of last season, although that wasn't his run yet.

Bringing in the lefty with the name nobody can spell, haha. Can't expect Abreu to come through every time...getting down in the count early hurt him there.

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Apr 11, 2014 -> 07:51 PM) Not at all On the plus side, Webb and Lindstrom pitched well together. Bullpens, like good offense, tends to be a momentum type of thing. Maybe Cleto can build on his last outing in Colorado where he was really nasty. The problem is that you're going to have to string 2-4 guys together, and that hasn't happened much this year. Conor with another clutch hit. Kipnis got handcuffed a bit...a rocket, but he definitely would agree watching it again he should have played it better.

Maybe got a break on that walk call for Marcus. We'll take it. Very close, could have gone either way.

Sale just lost it like that...at least he recovered and kept it a tie game, almost down 5-3. Bullpen game. Which probably doesn't bode well. He was 0-4 with an 8+ ERA last year against CLE, lots of insinuations from Farmer they were reading signs or the hitters knew what was coming somehow.

Anderson with 3 K's, craziness. At least Hawkins has a hit and a walk. Anderson with a double, Hawkins with his 2nd K.

Wonder if Boras was calling the pitching coach, haha..."what the hell are you doing with my client?"

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?s...mp;ymd=20140411 Axelrod Snodgress Bucciferro Two strikeouts in W-S. Hawkins 9/29, Anderson 12/31 in K's/AB. Bubba Starling continuing to argue against drafting high school bats.

That's like saying if Courtney Hawkins plays like the MVP of the Carolina League, we shouldn't draft a bat even if he was the BPA and our team ERA wasn't 14th/15th.

If we have $40 million to spend in additional payroll next year, we have plenty of ability to add another starter, a veteran catcher (if Flowers/Phegley disappoint again, there's not an elite one who will be available like McCann this next FA class) and a big bat for DH. Or, a couple of veterans arms for the bullpen. They at least have OPTIONS everywhere....Davidson/Gillaspie at 3rd, Semien/Sanchez/L.Garcia at SS, Semien/Garcia/M. Johnson at 2B, then the possibility of DeAza and Viciedo BOTH returning in 2015, giving you those four outfielders to rotate at DH, along with another veteran hitter off the bench. They could also move Davidson/Gillaspie to 1B, and DH Abreu. In addition, they could decide they're better off holding onto Ramirez...as they control his rights through 2016. Cooper's going to be the best one to make the choice between the two higher schoolers and the two collegiate pitchers. Seems Beede is falling off the map in terms of going 3rd. Ultimately, they'll have two choices of those four, unless something changes dramatically in the next 6-7 weeks.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb Actually not half bad Phil Rogers article on Abreu/new Sox offense, Garcia injury, etc. Lots of quotes from Flowers on the difference that Steverson has made with him. Flowers: "For one, it starts with some new faces in here. Two, the energy level, the camaraderie, we started building that in Spring Training. I can tell you it's been a whole lot more fun. Our record's not where we want it to be at this point. But even the games we're losing, we're having fun, we're competing. We're having quality at-bats, putting 'em together." During their freefall in 2013, the White Sox averaged an AL-low 3.7 runs per game with a .302 on-base percentage, also last in the league. The smart guys will tell you it's too early to draw any conclusions, but Ventura is justified in being very encouraged about his new lineup. A 15-3 win in Colorado on Tuesday -- a game that featured two-homer games for Abreu and Garcia -- helped the White Sox be No. 1 in the AL at 6.0 runs per game through Wednesday, as well as third in the AL with a .347 on-base percentage. No one's happier than first-year hitting coach Todd Steverson, although he wants you to know he's not satisfied. "The approach, to this point, I've been pretty pleased," Steverson said. "I'm not a very complacent type person. There's always room for improvement." No one is making a bigger difference for the White Sox than Abreu, whom Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said is "as advertised." He's a disciplined hitter with power to all fields and hit the ball so hard on Opening Day that Gardenhire intentionally walked him twice in the second game, once to get to Dunn, who had already hit a home run in the game. Francona saw for himself as Abreu hit a 411-foot bomb to left-center off Salazar and a crushed liner over the left-field wall off reliever Josh Outman. He also scored Eaton from third base with a soft roller to second baseman Jason Kipnis, showing an ability to hit to the situation. Ventura also loves what he's seeing from some of his veterans, especially Flowers and shortstop Alexei Ramirez (.421, two home runs, nine RBIs in 10 games). The latter had a solo homer and double off Salazar, while Flowers got a night off. Flowers credits Steverson for helping him find a comfortable stance and a clear head. "[He] has been great with me personally," the catcher said. "Did he come in and reinvent the wheel for me, or anybody for that matter? No. He just seems to take what you have, what you do naturally, promote that and maybe tweak a little something here, tweak little something there. It's all about you being comfortable. I think that's something I've kind of missed in the past." Ventura had been platooning Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo in left field, with Garcia in right. The injury means that they'll both become everyday guys, with Jordan Danks promoted from Triple-A to become the fourth outfielder. It's a chance for him to prove himself, too. Unlike in recent years, the White Sox look to have a supply of reinforcements in their farm system. But Hahn says they won't rush power-hitting third baseman Matt Davidson (acquired from Arizona for Addison Reed) or speedster Micah Johnson to the Major Leagues to compensate for the loss of Garcia or anyone else. "One thing that's extremely important is not rushing anyone's development, not altering anyone's long-term viability, simply for a short-term, knee-jerk reaction of trying to fix something in Chicago," Hahn said. "What happens with Avi Garcia has nothing to do with what happens with Matt Davidson, Micah Johnson or anyone else. The guys who are going to be here will arrive here when they force the time frame, not the other way."