caulfield12

That will be an awkward moment. Pat Murphy (new Padres' manager) is Pedro Alvarez's father-in-law, dating back to the Arizona State connection. Will he intentionally walk him to appease his daughter? Wonder if that's ever happened before in MLB?

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 05:42 PM) All started with Alexei because he was actually trying to pull the ball the whole at bat and hits a little nubber in front of home. Or you can say it all started with putting Alexei in the critical 2nd spot in the order where he can't bunt to advance runners or manage how to think a bit about the specific offensive situation and adjust his approach.

QUOTE (Chris Sale @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 05:37 PM) Well, we could definitely use Kodos the Executioner for this season, that's for sure. As a matter of fact, they could undoubtedly run that Star Trek episode again and it would be getting better ratings than this.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 05:33 PM) I wanted Kodos. Is that the Greek isle where they filmed Clash of the Titans, lol? A new breath mint patterned after Mentos?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 05:23 PM) Cleanup hitter on 6-16 has one homer Meanwhile, a South Korean "defense first" infielder is making Cabrera look like he belongs in American Legion play. RHB'ers hitting over .300 against Quintana on the season. That's not so good. Second Don Cooper visit to the mound in the first inning this series. That's also, not so good.

53-19 in the first inning now. 53 the most surrendered in the majors, 19 the lowest number of runs scored, unsurprisingly.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 05:24 PM) Wtf has Eaton done? Got thrown out at 3B when he overslid the bag and tried to get back...although he might have been out anyway.

LaRoche vs. Charlie Morton, 5 for 7, 1 homer, 6 RBI's. Has a 982 career OPS against pitchers on the Pirates' active roster with 5 homers and 18 RBI's. 9 for 19, 2 doubles, 2 homers and 9 RBI's at PNC Park from 2012-2014. Ventura getting scolded big-time by Pirates' announcers for having Melky Cabrera with his 6/56 against lefties batting clean-up. I'll repeat it again just because it's so incredible....when we look back later on this game's result.

Balta "music jinx" is in on Eaton's baserunning unless Gordon jacks a homer. Overslid the bag...tried to reach around the base because he knew he was probably going to be out, couldn't get back. White Sox Baseball: How Not To Start a Game LaRoche vs. Charlie Morton, 5 for 7, 1 homer, 6 RBI's. Has a 982 career OPS against pitchers on the Pirates' active roster with 5 homers and 18 RBI's. 9 for 19, 2 doubles, 2 homers and 9 RBI's at PNC Park from 2012-2014. Ventura getting scolded big-time by Pirates' announcers for having Melky Cabrera with his 6/56 against lefties batting clean-up.

QUOTE (harkness @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 05:03 PM) Lax attitude doesn't have to be about "yelling".... There are about 100 other verbal and non verbal signals involved. Except that it still happens nearly every week in baseball, most recently with Giles in Philly jawing with McClure (pitching coach) and Ryne Sandberg in the dugout. It's unfortunate that we think in the simplest terms, though. Easy going and well-liked player's coach or "R. Lee Ermey strict militaristic disciplinarian" who is always shouting and yelling and intimidating everyone. I guess that comes from the idea that as a leader, you often have to choose between being loved and feared. It's extremely difficult to fall into both categories.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 04:39 PM) oh man, this is going to open a can of worms and i wouldn't be surprise if there would be something in the new CBA. the mlb has a limited recourse. 2 mil and i really can't see anything else. again i am not a lawyer or anything. the things is, if it is not listed in the books, mlb exec can not add it and expect to punish then. there will be some jail time coming, this is a Class B felony and the federal law enforcement agency are involve, if they suspect someone, then the feds are going to apply pressure. btw, if convicted, up to 20 yrs in jail for those who were part of or had knowledge of the crime. if it is based on the Terrorist act, this is mandatory time, no prorole. when this starts, there is no stopping or turning back. you can probably expect life banned. then there will be a slew of civil actions on many fronts. people will be fighting to get some sort of plea bargin. it is going to get real messy. How could it be connected to Terrorism or the Patriot Act? I think that's a bit of a stretch, expecting front office execs to be sent to Gitmo. It might be scaring some of the higher ups though, that the particular individuals involved will argue that DeWitt, LaRussa/Matheny and Mozeliak all knew about this.

Preller said Murphy will bring "a different voice," and he seemed to imply Murphy would have a sharper edge than Black did. "When you look at a manager, you're looking for a guy who's able to connect with young guys, somebody who's not afraid to challenge somebody," Preller said. "Guys that can hopefully get some veteran players to play as well as they've played in the past." Preller is confident Murphy can flip the Padres. "I think he's shown, at least in short time I've been able to know him, but definitely in the time he's been here in the organization, that he's going to talk to players," Preller said. "He's going to be pretty upfront and honest with guys." http://m.mlb.com/news/article/130970688/pa...interim-manager Murphy's the guy (mostly a university baseball coach in terms of history) who AJ Preller blocked from going to join Craig Counsell's staff when he took the Brewers job.

Claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-real-thre...-191525747.html Jeff Passan on the situation... http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/06/16/astros-ca...-ground-control Better take with more background information. But here’s what is so fascinating and new about someone breaking into the data base of the Astros: The motivation seems based more on causing public embarrassment to Houston general manager and former Cardinals executive Jeff Luhnow than on gaining any competitive leverage. It’s one thing to steal information. It’s quite another to leak that information and share it with the world, as was done last year, rather than use it surreptitiously. “The motivation, especially having the information published, seems to have been to embarrass him,” said a source familiar with the investigation. Said one baseball source not familiar with the investigation, “There are people with the Cardinals who think Luhnow took credit for a lot of the things St. Louis has been doing for years. It wouldn’t be surprising that any chance they would have to embarrass him, they would take it.” http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/06/16/cardinals-astros-hacking

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:50 AM) Just to point out again...this massive of a failure does not happen randomly over an entire MLB season. If that's the case (and I'm not sure it is), then there is a systematic problem with something other than the talent on the field. That could be leadership, that could be preparation, that could be something else...but that does not happen to an entire roster by chance. It's the curse of any team with a "process" going against the White Sox. The Royals, the Cubs, the Astros...and the Twins with Terry Ryan once again are putting together one of the most impressive collections of young talent in the game. When the Tigers can outspend you by 25-30%, the Twins have you beat on the development front, the Royals with their bullpen/speed/defense combination...you better damn well find a competitive niche somewhere. Heck, the Indians even have their thing, which is their starting rotation depth. For the White Sox, it has been Cubans, Don Cooper, our training/conditioning staff limiting DL time and our propensity to find pots of gold under the rainbows of Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon and now Fulmer (pitchers with questionable mechanics).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:50 AM) Many do exactly that. Why do you think a guy like Grady Sizemore is still hanging around baseball. 98%, because of Lillian, I believe.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:48 AM) excellent point. but i bet they are not counting on them to perform and to be used right away, as if it was foregone conclusion that it was going to work. Other than the Dodgers....oops, you have guys like Callaspo, Grandal, Justin Turner, Brett Anderson....basically, every team in baseball has 3-5 guys (or more) who fit into this category.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:39 AM) He's at negative fWAR now with the Sox and if you prefer ERA+ he's at 72. They haven't found any success with him. Cooper's pixie dust is long gone, what was their last successful reclamation project, like seriously successful not just a halfway decent start now and there... I figured out of Noesi, Rodon and Danks they might squeeze out 500 innings around an ERA+ of 90. The turned out to be wildly optimistic. This team isn't firing on a single cylinder. Time to clean house. Phil Humber. Jose Quintana. Zach Putnam. Sergio Santos. Hector Santiago (if you consider where he was originally drafted)

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:30 AM) I would figure a very hefty fine and the loss of some draft picks (possibly for many years?). Hopefully this means no more supplemental picks for them as well, as they never get any in the first place. They're redefining the idea of "competitive balance" with this one, haha. It was always a joke how teams like the Cardinals or Tigers ended up in this category in the first place.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:40 AM) 4.68 ERA with supposedly the best defense in baseball behind him. Is he living up to his talent level? Where is the leadership? I'm giving up on this thread and going to bed because there's really no point. Back to White Sox leadership issues.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:33 AM) I don't know why he would need to prove he used advanced stats to sign Jose Abreu. He was the one that got him. Put here is a guy that has been with the Sox for 27 years who apparently you have never heard of. http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/white-...ball-operations Gee, I've written of posts referring to both him and Jeremy Haber, but apparently you missed those. ONCE AGAIN, YOU'RE SAYING THAT KW IS PROFICIENT WITH ADVANCED METRICS. Where is this coming from? Because every team in baseball now has 2-3 guys in their front office who concentrate on that area...not to mention all the guys hired from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, fangraphs, etc.? As Balta has pointed out over and over and over again, the pitching isn't the problem over the last decade, it's the hitting. How is KW using advanced metrics to bring better hitters into the organization?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:25 AM) I said performance, it's spelled a little differently and has a different definition but ....And so far Ventura has performed a lot more like John Danks than a talented guy who supposedly has all these terrific leaders doing a great job showing him the way. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/le...ric/order/false 29th out of 56 vs. 47th for John Danks. Okay. WHIP. Ventura 31st, Danks 54th out of 56.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:22 AM) I don't like KW, but you again are writing fiction. You may actually want to do some research. KW has been using advanced stats well before you started using the ESPN.com numbers as gospel. Examples? In the last 7-8 years (after the Quentin/Ramirez/Danks/Floyd acquisitions), there have been just a few excellent players added to the organization. There's Chris Sale, Abreu and Rodon kind of fell into their laps. If you can convince anyone that KW used advanced stats to identify either one of those players...well, I'll believe it when I see it. Earlier, you asked me how much time I've spent playing sports. How much time has Rick Hahn? I'm not the issue to be solved for the White Sox front office, it's talent identification and development that are on trial here.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:11 AM) Explain the Royals' treasure trove of leaders' terrific job with Yordano Ventura. A minute ago you said only talent counted. The only thing that matters is what Ventura does the 30-32 times per season he takes the mound. I could give you the links to numerous articles, but you've already made up your mind so there's no point in even trying because I'm sure you wouldn't read them and would continue to make this about the Royals and not the White Sox...which is yet another distraction from the real issue.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 16, 2015 -> 11:02 AM) This thread is about veteran leadership, and it is ripping the White Sox and praising the Royals. Yet there is Ventura on the Royals, he of the multiple ejections, a suspension, John Danks' stats, why is that good leadership? People got mad at Sale and Samardjiza for their roles in the fight, so damned if you do, damned if you don't. I just think a lot of people are taking liberties with Robin Ventura's personality, and believing they know exactly what goes down in the clubhouse, and with meetings with Hahn and KW. KW is still there, like him or hate him, one thing he isn't and wouldn't tolerate is being "lax". The White Sox are just playing lousy baseball. Sometimes the reason a team sucks is as simple as that. If there's this continuous process of improvement on the part of KW and Rick Hahn...then why hasn't ANYTHING been done about 2B or the catching position? About John Danks? If he wouldn't have wasted all that "small change" money on Keppinger, Downs and Bonifacio, we could just eat that contract and move on. KW once said that he dreamed of going out and winning another World Series...of taking the city away from the Cubs, etc. I'm not sure where you get the idea he's working harder than ever, because some of the complacency (and hubris) that affected Ozzie as manager has got into the bloodstream of Williams as well. He's gotten stale and the game has passed him by, the whole revolution of advanced data and analysis just isn't his thing.