caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 3, 2013 -> 12:55 AM) I'm telling you, Crain is not going to bring much at all. He's in his last year of a contract and yes, he does get hurt, and he's aging. What is everybody realistically expecting? I'd say one average prospect and cash. Kudos to Dunn for that month just completed. He does deserve credit. But any team trading for him also is getting Mr. Whiff. Dunn suddenly is not going to be great.A team should not risk much for him. He's not aging, he's just getting overused because he's the most reliable bullpen arm. Look at how well Dotel pitched with other teams after he left Chicago, or how well Joaquin Benoit's doing in the 2nd half of his career as a reliever, after starting out in the rotation in Texas. Tons of relievers do better in their 30's. Look at Neal Cotts making a comeback with the Rangers, or Jason Grilli with the Pirates.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?g...&mode=video That homer he hit to center field was a good 440-450 feet. The running catch highlight also shows how much speed he has when he gets it going full speed....at his size, it takes some time to accelerate, but when he kicks it into gear he can really fly. Puig again was the catalyst in the 14-hit Dodgers' attack. He has a team-high eight three-hit games. He’s played in 27 games. On this little night of his baseball showcase, Puig had a single, a double off the right-field wall and then absolutely blasted a solo home run over the center-field wall of Coors Field, maybe a good 450 feet -- just to let everyone in Colorado know what all the excitement was all about. It was the second consecutive game Puig had a shot at hitting for the cycle. Needing a triple Tuesday, he struck out in his last at-bat in the eighth inning. www.latimes.com/sports http://espn.go.com/mlb/allstar13/story/_/i...-star-team-joke Papelbon not impressed

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 11:52 PM) Weird. I know they supposedly made Birmingham a little more hitter-friendly, but I don't think it's enough to explain that. He must have a horrible prep routine or something. Approaching the size of sample and drastic-ness of difference that means something has to be up. Probably just pissed he didn't make the All-Star team, lol.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-003433422.html 3rd generation MLB umpire Brian Runge fired for substance abuse violation....

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 08:49 PM) It amazes me how similar China is to 80's Japan. Part of the Japanese problem was the reliance on the work unit...basically, lifetime employment contracts with companies that were no longer needed or manufacturing high quality products. When I was first in grad school in 92-93, we closely studied the J. Edwards Deming/Total Quality Management style that at the time was working so well with the car companies and electronics companies. As a comparison to the point about lifetime tenure/demotivation Not unlike the productivity decrease you sometimes see with teachers in public schools after they've gotten through their first five years and can kind of coast from that point on. (granted, it's not everyone, but I saw it a LOT in Kansas City...part of it was when you get to be 50 years old or so, you can't easily replace that salary and quite a few teachers just don't have the technology and social networking skillls to adapt and advance in other industries)

“It is nearly impossible to top Jim’s baseball resume with 22 seasons in the game and over 600 home runs,” said Hahn in a release. “When we talked recently about how he could move on to the next stage of his baseball career, an obvious fit was to join this organization, where Jim knows so many people and is immediately comfortable. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this role, and we’re excited to see the impact he will have on both our major leaguers and minor leaguers.” The 42 year old Thome becomes the 11th former White Sox player currently serving as a manager or coach in the organization. He last played in 2012 splitting time with the Phillies and Orioles. “Taking on this new role with the White Sox just seemed like a natural next step for me and my family,” Thome said. “I am excited about the opportunity to make an impact on a major league organization and to work with people I know and respect, like Jerry Reinsdorf, Ken Williams, Rick, Buddy and Robin Ventura. I don’t think I could ask for a better situation than being in Chicago and with the White Sox. ... "I think Jim Thome someday will manage a Major League team," Reinsdorf said. "I think he has that ability. He can be a batting coach, he'd be a great batting coach, but someday he'll be a manager. That's what he'll be. Right now, he's going to be helping us out, evaluating the farm system, evaluating the younger players, he'll be here and be a presence in our clubhouse, come to Spring Training and be a presence. I think it'll be a real plus. And someday he'll manage a Major League team." Thome lives with his family in Chicago, which he said played a significant part in the decision, which came to fruition in the the last 2 1/2 weeks or so. "The No. 1 thing in this whole thing is I get to kind of be at home," Thome said. "Being at home, and getting that opportunity to be around my kid, I coach my son in T-ball, and my daughter, she's 10 years old, going to be 11, it's going very quick. So getting this opportunity to stay at home was really, really good, no doubt." Thome ranks among baseball's all-time leaders in home run ratio (4th, 13.76), home runs (7th, 612), walks (7th, 1,747), OPS (20th, .956) and RBI (24th, 1,699). He appeared in in 529 games over four seasons with Chicago, batting .265 with 134 home runs and 369 RBIs. Some of his memorable moments in a White Sox uniform include his 500th career home run on Sept. 16, 2007, against the Angels, and his game-winning solo homer off Nick Blackburn on Sept. 30, 2008, which gave the White Sox a 1-0 victory over the Twins in a one-game playoff at U.S. Cellular Field. "It's given me everything," Thome said of his career in baseball. "It's given me people that I've met, it's given me friendships, it's given me great cities I've played in, relationships. And ultimately, if you treat people well and vice versa and you have those relationships, you sit here in situations like this and get opportunities. This is my home, this is where we live. This means a lot, to be able to come back and be a part of a great organization that has won and wants to win. I think to be a part of it is great." Thome never "officially" retired after finishing his season last year with the Orioles. But he figures to spend time in the front office alongside Bell and Hahn, as well as in the clubhouse alongside veterans like Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko, as well as helping players all the way down to the Minor Leagues. "The thing about Jim is he has put in a career being respected by his peers and being an honest and up-front guy," Konerko said. "When you talk to Jim, you're talking the truth. Jim is one of a kind. There are a lot of guys like Jim in baseball who are good people but can't match the career he's had, what he's done on the field to go with the person he is. To have one of those in the organization, that's very rare." Thome says he does still occasionally pick up a bat, but this opportunity with the White Sox may give him a renewed opportunity to be close to the competition that still calls to him. "If you can give a kid a piece of advice or be around here and somebody asks you a question about hitting or about the game in general and you see them have success, ultimately, that's the biggest accomplishment of all, is giving back to the game and giving back to young players that want that input and want that advice," Thome said. http://www.mlb.com

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 08:37 PM) I'm convinced China has been gaming the system and it's catching up to them. The term house of cards couldn't be more fitting. China isn't just a worry, but a big worry. I don't trust much of anything they've done with their dubious currency and shadow markets over these years of extreme growth. Yep, they're trying to tighten up the lending from Beijing to the rest of the provinces, and simultaneously tamp down the housing market at the same time...a lot of Chinese I know feel it's going to end up like a Ponzi scheme or game of musical chairs. And they're also loosening restrictions (slowly) over time to allow Chinese to move their money out of the country, so all those people who were forced to keep their money on deposit and accessible for banks to loan out will have some options, such as HK residency or getting Australian citizenship if they bring X amount of money with them to invest, for example.

Hall of Famers who played less than five seasons with the Sox Johnny Evers 1946 1922 Clark Griffith 1946 1901-02 Al Simmons 1953 1933-35 Chief Bender 1953 1925 Eddie Roush 1962 1913 Charles "Red" Ruffing 1967 1947 John "Jocko" Conlan 1974 1934-35 George Kell 1983 1954-56 Tom Seaver 1992 1984-86 Steve Carlton 1994 1986 Larry Doby 1998 1956-57,'59 Roberto Alomar 2011 2003-04

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 07:20 PM) Two straight years now where Theo and company did a great job of signing someone with the sole purpose of hoping they performed well so they could trade them. Maholm last year, and now Feldman. Mitigated somewhat by screwing up the Dempster deal, getting nothing for Marmol and really looking to be in trouble with the Edwin Jackson contract.

Damn you, Hal Bodley. We all thought we had Bailey for Dye back in the day. 2nd career no-hitter, joins a pretty exclusive group of repeaters.

Steve Carlton at the end of his career... Canseco was fun in 2001, and Bo Jackson, of course. Sandy Alomar, Jr., was it 2 or 3 times? Charles Johnson in 2000. Of the last 20+ years, we'll have had all 3 sure-fire HOF'ers in Thome, Griffey, Jr., and Frank Thomas.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 06:47 PM) How about fred lynn as a comp? ROY and MVP in his first full year. There's a lot of competition that has a two month head start, but obviously if he keeps it up... Gyorko and Everth Cabrera with SD, Ryu on his own team, AJ Pollock, Tony Cingrani...and then the two favorites in Evan Gattis and Shelby Miller. If the Dodgers come back to make the playoffs, anything's possible.

3/5, single, double, homer, #8....6 of them to the right side of the field, 17 RBI's, 2 K's 47/106=.443 Also had an excellent running catch where he must have covered 60 yards to snag it all the way in front of the 1B stands, sprinting in full stride. Second game in a row he's going to have a shot at the cycle in his final AB. Last time, he K'ed, fishing for a FB high and inside out of the zone.

1/1 off Oswalt 45/102=.441

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 06:21 PM) Yep, it was an incredible game, and then Koch killed all the momentum the next game against Carl Crawford. Damned July 4th game...don't remind me.

THE Lone Ranger and Despicable Me 2 getting pummeled by the critics. Maybe will have to check out "Now You See Me" instead, kind of a stealth hit that's lasted quite awhile in the theaters without much buzz. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1587188/ Try as hard as I could not to do so, I actually liked The Internship...in its predictable, formulaic way, it was pretty funny. Not anything close to Wedding Crashers or Old School, which is an impossible bar to jump over, but decent and predictable, like Raisin Bran Crunch or Wonder Bread.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 05:30 PM) I think SoxTalk has reached a new low with this post. Hahn has been our GM for a total of 8 months. That's 1 offseason and 1/2 of a real season. The lack of patience on this board is beyond incredible. Can we at least wait until after the trade deadline before we start with these empty threats? Hahn's style isn't so flashy, he's not leaking stories to the national media or being interviewed everyday with cryptic comments like "the Tigers just put themselves in a better position to contend with the White Sox by trading for Cabrera"...low-key dude, comparatively. Cocky, but in a Mark Zuckerberg-ish way. People sometimes confuse perception with reality, and get caught paying more attention to the sizzle than the steak. So, he gets a pass until the end of 2015. Ventura's really the one who should be under the microscope, and his coaching staff.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 04:13 PM) If all you told me last offseason was that Konerko was going to implode and finally show his age, I'd have admitted the Sox wouldn't be competing for the Central this year. Hahn wasn't going to be able to replace him or trade him and no one was benching a 15 year veteran for a free agent signing. If Hahn had some idea that this level of sloppy, ridiculous, unfocused play was going to happen and did nothing about it then I'd endorse his immediate resignation, but I'm hanging that on the managerial staff. And Viciedo regressing, the Beckham injury hurting the defense, Floyd/Peavy injured and Keppinger falling flat on his face the first couple of months (although that was somewhat predictable, but just the extent of fail)...

BUMP...as part of the general philosophical discussion of the future, management, marketing, rebuild vs. reload, etc.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 03:34 PM) Mark Parent should be the interim manager after the all-star break. Won't happen, but he should. WHY?

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...lb&c_id=mlb

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jun 22, 2013 -> 07:32 AM) I think you already have her invested exactly as you're looking to do here...500 index funds, value funds, etc...unless you go off the wall risky and start buying proshares funds, I don't really see much more you can do with the index/mutual fund market. You could look at individual stocks that pay big dividends, like AT&T, Verizon, First Energy, etc...or perhaps a bit more conservative and buy something like Coke...they pay dividends that equate to 3+% gains...and they're probably pretty safe all things considered. Done, 500 shares of FE at $37.20.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 02:41 PM) Beat ya by 12 minutes in the game thread Irrelevant.

By Steve Adams [July 2 at 2:58pm CST] The White Sox have announced that Jim Thome has joined the team's front office as a special assistant to general manager Rick Hahn. Thome will consult with Hahn and assistant GM Buddy Bell, work with the club's Major League staff and players, and also travel to the team's minor league affiliates to evaluate player performance.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 2, 2013 -> 02:20 PM) Thome needs to be blunt and tell Hahn which players are either hopeless or blah. I think players who must NOT be on this team next year are: Flowers, the backup catcher I forget his name, Morel, Gillaspie (he can return in a Lilly role if he must), Konerko, DeAza, Rios, Dunn. Tank and Beckham and Lexi can stay one more year. Also those who must go: Thornton. What has Morel done this year to warrant being banished, he's actually hit well for Charlotte. Gillaspie is fine if he's hitting against RHP, with Morel against LHP. Why is Alexei exempt from all your anger, when he's made more physical and mentor errors than any player on the entire team with possible exception of DeAza? Thornton will be gone, that's obvious, as will Crain. Lindstrom only makes $500K, so if we get an offer on him, he'll be dealt. They might want to keep him around to add a veteran presence to stabilize the fun, and he also theoretically could be traded and then brought back again if they choose to go that route, too.