caulfield12

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 4, 2013 -> 06:42 AM) No way this team avoids 90 losses. LOL. Where was this prediction at the start of the year or even 10 days ago? It's POSSIBLE they lose 90 games, but it's still not very likely. That said, it's also far from being a playoff-contending team or just a couple of moves away like last June/July.

The offensive woes largely responsible for the losing streak weren't lost on Dunn and Flowers, who recently met with Ventura and staff in separate discussions. "Yeah, we've had our meetings," Dunn said before the game. "But there's only so much that can be said. Everyone in here knows what needs to be done. It's just not getting done." Ventura said the meetings were "necessary" because of the Sox's underwhelming play. "I'm the guy who needs to do that." Ventura said the effort and energy of his players is "still getting there." "We're results-based, so it does get to a point numbers ... will make decisions for somebody." The Sox are 7 1/2 weeks away from the July 31 trade deadline with plenty of quality pitching that playoff contenders seek, along with the need to get younger with Paul Konerko (37), Matt Thornton (36), Dunn (33) and Alex Rios (32) in advanced stages of their careers. Meanwhile, Dunn and catcher Tyler Flowers, who have been involved in meetings as a result of their struggles, agreed there is a quiet sense of urgency in the clubhouse and that personalities can't change just to show effort. "(If you) go out and do it for show ... you're doing it for the wrong reasons," Dunn said. "You're doing it so the media writes about how fiery so-and-so is. I think as players, the family that we are, I think people see right through that. You are what you are. And we'll take the good and bad. That's what we got. "I would think if you need somebody to chew you out to get going, that doesn't say a lot about who you are as a person.'' [email protected] "It has led to individual meetings with certain players held by (manager) Robin (Ventura) and his staff, a couple of which I have been involved in, a couple of which the coaching staff has handled, to send a very clear message about what our expectations are of these individuals, and if we don't see improvement in the near future that some guys who were counting on spending their summers in Chicago very likely won't be," Hahn said. On the record, those have been Hahn's strongest words since he took over the GM job from Kenny Williams shortly after the 2012 season wrapped up. If the White Sox don't pull out of a tailspin that started after they finally clawed their way back to .500 just over a week ago, it will be interesting to see if Hahn follows through on his threat. What will he do with Adam Dunn? The slumping slugger looks a lot like the guy who batted .159 in 2011, his first season with the Sox. Dunn was batting .158 with a .244 on-base percentage heading into Monday night's late game against Seattle. He obviously has little or no trade value, so would the White Sox be willing to pull the plug and absorb the rest of the roughly $25 million left on Dunn's contact that runs through next season? And what about catcher Tyler Flowers, who was batting .200 heading into Monday's game while also struggling on defense? What about Jeff Keppinger? Alejandro De Aza? Would Hahn try to trade Paul Konerko? Hahn says he's going to be as patient as possible, but it's time for the White Sox to start performing or jolting moves are inevitable. Scot Gregor, dailyherald.com/sports

Though the star right-hander (King Felix) allowed four runs in 6 1-3 innings to drop to 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA in his last three starts - all on the road - versus Chicago (24-31), he's 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five against the White Sox at Safeco Field. Hernandez has not faced them there since 2011, but he's yielded two runs and 13 hits and struck out 24 while going 1-0 in the last three home outings. The Mariners ace might be the last person Chicago wants to see on the mound as it tries to avoid the club's first-eight game skid since Sept. 14-21, 2010. After their eight-game winning streak at Seattle (25-33) ended with Monday's 4-2 loss, the White Sox are batting .192 while being outscored 37-11 in the last seven contests. Chicago also will try to avoid its first nine-game road slide since May 30-June 22, 2008. yahoo.com/sports

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 10:48 PM) His swings have actually been better against RHP. It's just so dumb to keep playing him against LHP though. Against LHP...they might eventually have to try Gillaspie at 3B and Keppinger at DH. Or Casper Wells, that's the other option. But Keppinger has been hitting very well the last 2+ weeks, a shame to sit him now that he's finally gaining confidence. With the way this streak is going, Beckham will struggle mightily....then, by the time they go back to Keppinger, he'll have cooled off completely again.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 10:49 PM) Carlos Sanchez's average is starting to slowly creep up. What about his XBH, slugging, OPS?

Correction, that was 4 in a row for the Astros over the Angels, SWEPT in LA. This has to be the end of Scioscia...or he will serve out the season no matter what. Astros 7-3 on the season against LAA, outscoring them 40-30. Reverse that record and the Angels would be 29-29 but still 7 games behind TEX (though WC race is another issue). White Sox are 1/2 game ahead of the Angels and Mariners.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 10:36 PM) He's got crazy power potential. Reminds me a lot of Chris Young actually, I just hope he can hit for better average. Except he dwarfs Chris Young. Not the pure burst of speed, but a lot of athleticism and "ranginess" to his game. He reminds me more of Daryl Strawberry, except with a wider base vs. standing more straight up.

Wow...the Astros just took out the Angels AGAIN, that's two in a row in SoCal. I think it's something like a 5-3 or 6-3 advantage for the Astros on the season head-to-head.

We managed to lower our average of 2.2 runs scored per game the last 9, lol. Not even the energy to question Danks' future...we're stuck with him.

Dunn with a base hit. Still alive. LOL. Wilhelmsen having all kinds of issues closing down games this year. Viciedo overmatched with heat. Keppinger exactly who we need up...hot/contact hitter. But game over.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:50 PM) Swing the bat! Nothing like seeing Dunn and Konerko looking for a walk with RISP. This is shockingly bad baseball. I can't see how Manto keeps his job for much longer. They know Viciedo's more likely to get a hit, lol?

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:48 PM) Danks contract is going to a albatross for years to come. Wouldn't be the White Sox if there weren't at least 2 players you didn't want to retire. Danks does deserve the benefit of the doubt for now...we knew he would struggle, it was predictable. It's if he is still pitching like this in 2014 that the contract officially falls into albatross territory.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:46 PM) So why was De Aza not running on the 3-2 pitch? Keep waiting around for the home run, Ventura From Ramirez? He might as well be waiting on Esteban Beltre, Mike Caruso, Escobar or Ozzie Guillen to homer.

Too bad we couldn't have the runner stuck at 3B on the ground-rule double. Well, maybe there's SLIGHT hope if Konerko can drive in the runner to get back in this game.

The funny thing is that Saunders and Danks are almost identical mirrors of each other. Both guys are topping out at 89-90 MPH. So much for that single by DeAza. Ryan with an excellent flip....when it rains, it pours. Tuning out for now, this is unbearable.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:39 PM) Trayce Thompson with a nice game. 2/4 with a double, 2 BBs, & 0 Ks. His final May numbers turned out real nice: 292/.423/.417/.839. So his power was way down, but his plate discipline was much better with 20:28 BB:K ratio. With that frame, it's impossible for me to believe he'd hit lower than 15-18 homers playing full-time at the big league level.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:39 PM) It would be nice if Danks can go six. They need to keep Crain and Thornton fresh the next month, if you catch my drift. And Lindstrom. If he can get his FB into the upper 90's, that will make him more marketable. Scouts love radar readings.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:36 PM) 67 innings since last home run. I have a feeling that Flowers and Manto are going to be the scapegoats. And Dunn. Eventually, they'll have no choice but to throw him under the bus. Hahn can put that on KW and move forward when Adam's no longer on the roster, along with Paulie.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:35 PM) Seattle's offense sucks, why would you aim to copy them? Don't want to copy them. Just saying you could see a scenario like that happening...one of the central tenets of the KW philosophy was give the home fans offensive excitement. This is the diametrically opposed opposite. It's like like 80's White Sox baseball in Old Comiskey. Otherwise, they're going to have to trade the likes of Erik Johnson or Santiago to get what they want...especially at the catching position.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:29 PM) It's going to be scary when Danks actually faces the top offenses in the AL. Looking at the Mariners is a lot like looking at the Sox. Aces in Sale/King Felix. White Sox have the advantage in overall pitching depth, and bullpen, but fairly similar teams. They're (White Sox) going to have to add random veterans like Morse, Bay, Ibanez and Morales to have a respectable offense next year. None of their young players are ready, with the POSSIBLE exception of Phegley (and that's probably a 25% chance of working out). The difference is the home stadiums. You can't have an abysmal offense and win at USCF.

Chavez >> DeAza Defensively by far, and offensively this season. More Danks issues. That Bay ball in USCF in June/July/August is way out.... You can't be a fly ball pitcher like Danks and survive with that kind of stuff.

Reddick said that when the count went to 2-1, he knew he was taking against Hector Santiago. He felt as if he'd been seeing the ball well all day and would be comfortable hitting with two strikes, if it came to that, especially knowing Santiago was throwing a lot of fastballs. "I was sitting on something over the plate, and he tried to nibble," Reddick said of the next two pitches. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/A-...p#ixzz2VDLQpv3a

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:19 PM) In an article on chicagosports.com, Santiago said he game planned to throw change-ups to Reddick in that AB that led to the bases loaded walkoff walk, but he ended up throwing outside fastballs. Seems like he was throwing Gimenez under the bus. Reddick said he was sitting on the fastballs, was 100% comfortable in that at-bat...and felt in command.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:14 PM) At this point, you might as well let him stay up here and take his lumps and hopefully learn how to retire MLB hitters with his new stuff. Then they better send Santiago down to Charlotte, because making him the last reliever in the bullpen of an 85-90 loss team is unfathomably bad management of an asset. It's pretty clear we can't expect him to have good enough control coming out of the bullpen either...especially in single inning stints in pressure situations. History shows he needs to settle in over 2-3-4 innings to get his control.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 3, 2013 -> 09:13 PM) Isn't the success rate for pitchers regaining their velocity after shoulder surgery pretty terrible? Johan never came close to gaining his velocity back, IIRC. The better question is what pitcher has ever come back from rotator cuff/labrum/shoulder surgery and been better or even the same as before?