caulfield12

Balta, are you OKAY?

Okay, I have been completely out of the loop for the last 2-3 weeks starting new job in Indonesia/travelling... WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED with Walker, Mitchell, Jacobs, Thompson and Hawkins???? Could there be a more disastrous set of statistics for any organization's top outfield prospects? (To top it all off, Iowa lost to NIU at home). OMG. At least Viciedo and Avisail Garcia seem to be playing well...anything else of note the last month?

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/dodger...uig-keeps-going Yasiel Puig and the Los Angeles Dodgers It's complicated. After a $42-million windfall and 63 minor-league games, Puig arrived with the bat of a thunderclap, the arm of a lightning bolt and the propriety of a noogie. He hit, he ran, he dispensed with cut-off men, he brawled, he was tardy, he was benched. Then he hit some more. And the Dodgers won a lot of ballgames for it. By the looks of the NL West, the Dodgers can coast into their first postseason in four years. Along the way, Don Mattingly will hope for a happy medium between reckless Puig and indifferent Puig, and also get Matt Kemp back from the disabled list, and then choose three outfielders every night from four – Puig, Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford. Puig is a lot of things – fourth outfielder is not one of them.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 23, 2013 -> 06:10 PM) Like how the White Sox bumped up their opening day payroll this year over last? Danks contract....that's the main reason. Adding Keppinger/Flowers and subtracting AJ...whatever Balta.

http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-or-sox...ostseason-first Discuss/debate. Not really a long article, but perhaps a more interesting discussion if it was flushed out in about 5-6 areas (minor leagues, major leagues, NL vs. AL, payrolls/expected payrolls, Wrigley Expansion/Renovation, Ricketts vs. Reinsdorf, possible ownership/succession plans for Sox, etc.)

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...n#axzz2cdndtqyO Very well-written article about the dilemma the Dodgers are facing with Puig

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 21, 2013 -> 07:08 AM) hey, that's going to be the logo for my new company here in Indonesia, lol....good one! MIAMI — Maybe the Dodgers should bench Yasiel Puig more often. Held out of the starting lineup to improve his focus and fined by Manager Don Mattingly to improve his punctuality, Puig came off the bench Tuesday and hit the first pitch he saw for a tiebreaking eighth-inning home run, leading the Dodgers to 6-4 victory over the Miami Marlins. "He definitely has a flair for the dramatic," teammate Jerry Hairston Jr. said. "There aren't too many guys like that." Said infielder Nick Punto: "I wasn't surprised. He's really talented with a bat in his hand." The Dodgers are also more talented with Puig holding a bat in his hand at the plate rather than sitting empty-handed on the bench. Yet, that's where he started Tuesday night, partly because he was fighting the worst slump of his short career, one that had left him hitless in his last 11 at-bats and two for 17 on the Dodgers' trip. But he has also made a number of fundamental errors, both in the field and on the bases, something else that played a role in Mattingly's decision to hold him out of the lineup. It was a decision Puig was the last to learn of since he showed up at the ballpark at 4:50 p.m., 35 minutes late, earning an undisclosed fine. "All the things that we see are part of the maturity of a guy that's coming from a different country and … all of sudden and having huge success. And part of our job is to help them mature and handle all that," Mattingly said. "I don't know if we can do that overnight." Tuesday was supposed to be the start of that transformation, with Mattingly forcing his petulant star to sit and watch the other kids play. But with the Dodgers hitting into three double plays and going three for 12 with runners in scoring position through the first six innings of a 4-4 tie, Mattingly called Puig out of the doghouse and sent him into the game as part of a double switch. Two innings later, Puig golfed the first pitch of the eighth inning off the padding atop the left-center-field wall, bouncing it onto a concrete stairway beyond the fence. A run-scoring single by Tim Federowicz drove in an insurance run an inning later, then Kenley Jansen closed it out with a perfect ninth inning, ending the Dodgers' losing streak at two games. Asked whether he felt pressure in that situation, Puig shook his head "The minute you start feeling pressure, you're going to have difficulty with a lot of pitches," Puig said. That confidence left Hairston hoping five innings on the bench was punishment enough for Puig. "You have to remember he's 22-years-old. And a lot has been thrown in his way," Hairston said. "Hopefully, he'll learn from it and grow from it and become a better player." But third baseman Juan Uribe, whose two hits Tuesday gave him five in two games with the Marlins, encouraged Puig not to change. "Tomorrow," Uribe shouted at Puig as he left "get here at 5:40." www.latimes.com/sports

QUOTE (zenryan @ Aug 20, 2013 -> 08:49 PM) beat everyone to it? No one cares really anymore. I'm the second person other than you to post in this thread in a week. well, if he was sitting around now with a 700-750 OPS, I do think the thread would be a BIT more active....don't u?

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/...partner=ya5nbcs Beat everyone to it....Puig fined for being late to park Tuesday, comparisons with Courtney Hawkins' twittering abound

Except for a projected .270's/.280's average (compared to .320's), Viciedo was expected to be the same kind of impact bat and questionable plate discipline/walks/OBP....that Dayan contract was ONLY $10 million and it was the biggest and most unique of its kind back at that time (post 2008).

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/los...ensation-605237 The single comment in the comments section is priceless.

Sox a pitiful 3-9 against the middling Twins this year. Yikes. Close to 3-10. Draft positioning.

God....what a mess with our catching/defense all season long. Just no way you go into 2014 with him as ur starter...you can't.

Why is Troncoso still in this organization? This result is almost foreordained from the get-go.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 07:41 PM) At some point you have to take some risks. We're not going to fill all of our needs from within and free agency isn't what it once was. understood....but that's not one you touch with a ten foot pole unless it's a situation like Jermaine Dye where his career's in doubt/danger and the risk/downside is minimized

Bad when NOBODY claims you on a $500K deal... HE's been with what, 5 teams in the past 4 seasons? Of course, he'll end up with the rebuilding bullpen next year, another version of Riske or Frasor but less expensive.

Can they assign Cooper to work in the minors for the rest of August and return to big league club in September, lol?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 04:33 PM) As long as our scouts are 100% sold on Abreu, I think we have to go all out for him. The 2015 free agent list is horrific on the offensive side, with 3B being the exception. We desperately need to add a couple of young middle of the order bats to build around. I think Garcia can eventually be one of those guys, but outside of possibly Viciedo I don't see anything in the system helping us anytime soon. Signing Abreu for 1B this offseason and one of Headley, Sandoval, & Ramirez for 3B the following offseason would go a long ways toward fixing this offense. with sandoval's weight/health concerns? no way

QUOTE (KG#1 @ Aug 14, 2013 -> 12:31 PM) No caulfield starting this one? No score, bottom 1. SORRY!!!! I was worried it was a day game...4:22 a.m. on Thursday morning here in Indonesia. just got back from club.

So now I have big responsibility for next game thread....lol. What is that, 4 of last 5 against DET? Why couldn't we managed that LAST year??? Playing with ZERO pressure seems to help.

DAMMIT RAMIREZ please, just go away....!!! 19 errors Martinez didn't slide....just came in standing up. Alexei is so weak...

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 07:51 PM) Which just goes to show how horrible our player development has been. On the plus side, Rangel Ravelo is in the top 5 in the Carolina League is AVG, OBP, SLG, & OPS. But not sexy or exciting....

4 walks, 36 K's, 11 homers in 77 AB's...in last month or so, Torii Hunter's just on fire, .570 SLG .480 BA when putting first pitch in play (Puig-like)

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 13, 2013 -> 06:44 PM) Viciedo is hurt, no? Apparently...thumb, so says everyone. Royals' 17-3 stretch for 20 games best since 1980 (Pine Tar Year)...fyi for Greg.

And fringey....8th-11th, rotation candidates.