caulfield12

Well, the Royals are in the process of almost blowing an 8-2 ninth inning lead against the Brewers, when Holland and Davis had been practically unhittable the entire season. Baseball's such a weird sport. Same thing with the Mets rallying in extra innings with two outs to beat the Blue Jays (who were leading 3-2 and scored in the top of the inning), and who had just won 11 straight games. Holland just gave up 4 hits, a walk....already three earned runs without recording an out and his ERA ballooned all the way to 3.52. Wade Davis and his 0.32 ERA saved the day, but it got dicey. Nevertheless, whatever they do...the White Sox are basically in a position where they almost have to keep David Robertson if they have any pretension of competing for playoff spots the next 3 seasons.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bud-black-pay...-223152731.html Article on the Black firing. Lots of parallels with the SD and White Sox offseasons. The main difference being Preller wants to bring in his own manager and that JR is loyal to a fault. But similar expectations and disappointments...the Padres are in much better position (standings-wise) than the White Sox as of today's date (1 game under .500).

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 06:26 PM) I agree, sixth inning when you realize a loss is inevitable it becomes an issue of entertainment and why not have the same pitcher no-hit us again? I feel it also brings all issues concerning our offense to the forefront again, which isn't exactly new but just a reinforcement of this team's mediocrity. Nothing will change as a result, but its fun-bad and atleast worth a chuckle. Nolan Ryan might have it...but wonder who has the record for most no-hitters against the same team pitching for different teams? More defensive ineptitude. No reason to let that runner get into scoring position. Just bad defense and lack of execution. Abreu just dropped the ball. Had him (Marte) dead to rights. Harrelson still upset or has he gone into his quiet steaming phase already? Rodon tagged for seven earned runs. ERA now for the season almost up to 4 (3.86). And the perfect example of a RH Melky Cabrera hit....only his sixth of the season, up to .094. Seeing eye single.

Updated as of tonight. 27. White Sox, -59 28. Red Sox, -63 29. Brewers, -65 30. Phillies, -91 At least our attendance is perfectly lined up with our performance in terms of runs scored/runs allowed. Almost exactly a margin of one run per game. Not easy to do in modern day baseball with all the parity.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 04:56 PM) I would guess someone created some automated program. If they were smart, they would also be voting for all Phillies. Yeah, you can vote up to 35 times from each different e-mail account. Easy to spoof that with a relatively simple programming trick.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 01:26 PM) Padres have had some bad injuries this year (Myers, Alonso, Morrow) as well as some of the same black holes that the Sox have (2B/SS) And Kemp has completely gone into the toilet in the last month or so...that guy is REALLY streaky.

Ramirez just appealed to first base and got himself called out. LOL. Quintessential White Sox this season. Wasn't called a strike originally, his own appeal got him called out. Points for honesty. Struck out the side. Breaking news, nothing doing for the White Sox offensively through 4.

At least Gordon hasn't given up. That's two great plays defensively. The only sign of life, that and Rodon not completely imploding and fighting his way through the 1st. More signs of the decline of Alexei Ramirez...just doesn't have the same range he did a couple of seasons ago.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:54 PM) or just give Johnson and Davidson as many at bats as possible if the Sox sell off the veterans. Guys like Saladino and Garcia are highly unlikely to play big roles next year. Yeah, I agree...unless they're deliberately tanking for draft pick position. The biggest question is what they will end up doing with Alexei Ramirez. Somehow, you have a feeling they end up making no decision while desperately hoping for him to return to form for one final hurrah in 2016.

We might as well try Leury, Saladino, Davidson, Micah and Sanchez in different combinations from 3B to 2B until we've eliminated nearly all of them from being legitimate 2016 options. Hopefully Micah Johnson (eventually) emerges as a legit candidate for 2B, though....that's one less position we'd need to trade for or overpay on the free agent market. Conor's fine as a bench option, but not an everyday player because of his defensive and LHP/split limitations. Rodon ERA up to 3.59 but it could be much worse the way that game started...at least he's settled down now. He should learn something valuable from this, rather than being pulled in the first inning and succumbing to frustration.

As bad as Tyler is, that one was swiped off Rodon.

QUOTE (SCCWS @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:38 PM) Actually Phegley is having a good year so far both offensively and throwing out runners. Let's just put it this way, his 1 WAR as a part-timer is putting Flowers and Soto to shame, and he's actually improved defensively from what we saw in Chicago.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:42 PM) This lineup vs Liriano has definite no-hit capability. Just not a lineup you can expect to compete. We could have said the same thing about the Rays' line-up this weekend once you got past Longoria, except they manage to win with pitching, speed, defense and solid fundamentals.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:43 PM) Samardzija and Boni gone right after break, shut Carlos down early They do need to get him to at least 150 innings pitched first, if not 160ish. 140 is probably the bare minimum, but I imagine they would be more comfortable with 145-165. Webb now back to warming up instead of Noesi. That's a bit weird. Webb warmed up last inning, then Noesi. Now Webb again.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/.../gordon-beckham Hope Robin Ventura notices that Gordon Beckham is only 6 for 36 against LHP this season and has been in a terrible slump. Make that 6 for 37. Conor has only batted against lefties five times this year, 2 for 5.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:35 PM) Of his first 28 pitches, only 4 were sliders. What the hell is with that game plan? Because he always gets ahead with the fastball and goes for the K with the slider. He's not used to pitching backwards, and Tyler is afraid to call them early in the count. They needed to make an adjustment more quickly than they did, that's for sure.

August 11th against Justin Verlander was the last time the Pirates scored five or more runs in an inning. Five runs on five consecutive hits. Now we have to sit here and watch one of the many reasons we didn't win in 2012 dominate our line-up, lol.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:32 PM) All 5 hits off of the fastball...nice pitch selection But Tyler Flowers frames pitches well, lmao.

Essentially one of those 40-54 games that is lost before it has even started.... Why the heck was Garcia playing so shallow? Took the wrong angle cutting it off as well. 5-0, nobody out. Is this the bottom? Probably not. One more base hit from being done. Flowers needs to talk to Rodon and calm him down. Noesi now warming up, Webb down. Sigh. Second triple in five seasons for Cervelli (thanks, Avi). Avi plays too shallow and Eaton won't play shallow, if it's not one thing, it's another with this team.

There goes the 11 inning scoreless streak for Rodon. The Pirates have been one of best teams in baseball the past 2-3 weeks (they've even managed to win four straight games while scoring just 8 runs, due to great starting pitching). This doesn't bode well...for the entire series. Not unexpected, of course. We've been wrong before about the team bottoming out, but -6 would be the worst record of the season (happened just once). Frustrating. Daniel Webb already up in the bullpen.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:16 PM) I'm willing to bet the defense would instantly improve if they flipped Melky to RF and Avi to LF. From there, I expect we'll see a new 3rd baseman here next year that will be better defensively than Conor. A problem that's lurking for Hahn is the team desperately needs to find better offensive players, yet they need defensive upgrades as well. Guys that are good at both are usually very expensive. See Heyward and Alex Gordon. So you're left with Upton, Cespedes and Zobrist. Limited options. As far as changing positions in the middle of the season...I'll believe it when I see it with our organization. They did make that decision with Alex Rios, but if I recall, it was Alex who initiated it after becoming frustrated and sulking (bad body language, etc.).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 05:05 PM) Dan Hayes ‏@CSNHayes 13m13 minutes ago #WhiteSox are minus-43 in Defensive Runs Saved, which is 29th. Philly is last at -45. The Yankees, 28th, are -22. KC is +42. @fangraphs That's why the Royals are still holding onto first place despite being terrible offensively the last 2-3 weeks and losing 5 games (+14 to +9) record-wise. Their bullpen (Herrera has slumped but Davis/Holland/Madson/Hochevar are compensating)...and, to a lesser extent, their comparative depth in starting pitchers. Joe Blanton has done very well for them, as has Chris Young until his last couple of starts. Guthrie and Vargas have been so-so and Ventura and Duffy have regressed and/or are injured. Kris Medlen is the wild card in terms of them making a midseason pitching move.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 04:56 PM) Probably not. I was just listing the legitimate positive additions on the FA market. And I believe Alex Gordon has another option next year. I don't really expect they will end up trading LaRoche. If the team nosedives, Shark is the only thing that will go and bring a return. Bonifacio on a salary dump. Alexei won't traded and he'll be brought back next year. I'm 99.9% Gordon will be a free agent next season. (source: Cot's Baseball Contracts) 4 years/$37.5M (2012-15), plus 2016 player option signed extension with Kansas City 3/30/12, replacing 1 year/$4.775M deal signed 2/9/12, avoiding arbitration, $5.45M-$4.15M 12:$6M, 13:$9M, 14:$10M, 15:$12.5M, 16:$12.5M player option award bonuses, including $50,000 for All-Star selection salaries may increase based on awards, performance: 2011-12 Gold Gloves, 2013 All Star increase 2014 salary to $10.75M, 2015 salary to $13.25M, 2016 option to $13.25M 2013 Gold Glove, 2014 All Star increase 2015 salary and 2016 player option to $14M each So Gordon has the same choice Jeff Samardzija does (with a QO), basically, PLAYER but not a club option. He could, conceivably take less money to stay in KC for one year (if he completely nosedives from here on out), but time and time again a player will go for that big contract when they're in their early 30's. Shares the same agent (Close) with Derek Jeter, fwiw. As far as Alexei Ramirez, it does look like the long-predicted decline that was being predicted two seasons ago is finally setting in...

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 02:49 PM) My optimistic view: 1.) Pitching and defense win championships, the Sox seem pretty flush in one of those areas and have some reinforcements on the way. They can continue to trot out Sale-Q-Rodon-?-Danks and have a decent chance of winning most of the time. If they can make some steps forward defensively, I think they can be above .500 with their offense staying at the same level. 2.) I think their offense will improve. Sometimes players just have bad seasons, I really dont expect Melky, Alexei, and Eaton to be this awful next season. I dont even expect Alexei to be here honestly. 3.) Whether it be a comp pick or a nice trade piece, the Sox will get something important for the future with Samardzija. 4.) You can fix next years team in free agency without breaking the bank. Want to immediately upgrade two positions? Sign Alex Avila and Howie Kendrick. Wanna spend big? Swing a trade of LaRoche to the Cards, then bring it Justin Upton to play RF and have Avi move to DH. 5.) Pitching will always be this organizations forte, but they will never be truly elite without identifying that the need to have excellent defense. Identify your weak spots and minimize their defensive impact on the team. There is no way Tyler Flowers, Conor Gillaspie/Gordon Beckham, or Avi should have starting spots in the field next year. I'm pretty sure the last time Avila was really good was 2011...his WAR over the last three seasons (not counting this injury-plagued one) has been 4.9 cumulatively, but I suppose HOPING for 1.6 MIGHT be an upgrade. Of course, that's if he is healthy...and he's at that age where catchers start to break down (AJ to the contrary). From 2011-2015, Kendrick was a VERY solid player, but he's fallen off the map this year with the Dodgers and will be 32 next year... They're not the worst ideas in the world (buy low candidates), but will they move the bar very much to justify the extra spending? Someone else mentioned trading LaRoche to the Cards, and eventually replacing him with Davis of the Orioles. That's also not a bad idea, but you still have a logjam of DH's in the outfield with Avi and Cabrera....and you're using scant resources to chase after the same players like Cespedes, Zobrist, Heyward and Alex Gordon that everyone will be targeting at top-dollar rates if you want to improve the outfield without a trade.

QUOTE (Vance Law @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 02:58 PM) I just hope the team goes one way or the other over the next month. If Melky, Alexei, Eaton, and even Sanchez (hitting worse than several pitchers) regress to the mean that should be enough offense to get back above .500 with the starting rotation doing what it should be doing. If instead you think Melky, Alexei, Sanchez, can be historically bad for an entire season, well, then we'll likely have dug a deep enough hole to be sellers in July. Shark will go and flipping LaRoche would become a potentially decent idea. We'd add player(s), free up money and just need to land one of: Chris Davis Jason Heyward Justin Upton Y. Cespedes Ben Zobrist Plug Davis in at DH or improve the outfield with one of those guys and push Melky to DH/OF. We're then back in basically the same situation as 2015 but now with hopeful improvement from Melky, Micah, additional players from Shark/LaRoche trades hopefully a new C and/or 3B, Beck/ E Johnson or a FA (Shark!) in the rotation with Fulmer knocking on the door. Since nearly every NL player goes bust with the Sox, better to stick with Davis, Cespedes, Zobrist or Alex Gordon. We aren't realistically going to spend Upton money next offseason anyway...not on just one player.