caulfield12

Courtney Hawkins with a (pleasant) walk and CS. Micah Johnson 1/4 with 2 RBI's. Trayce Thompson free-falling right now.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:30 PM) AR single 9-1 And he was robbed by Desmond Jennings, or he'd have another double or triple up on the board on a ball he tattooed.

What next, a Nieto PH homer?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:28 PM) AL most RBI by a rookie this year #1 Abreu 31. #2? Semien with 14. Besides the 3 game-winning (should have been except for the pen) blasts, he had another huge hit with the bases loaded.

QUOTE (JoshPR @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:27 PM) Damn 10 and 31. And he has slider speed bat speed.... What did Law say when we signed Abreu again?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:16 PM) Ravelo is a f***ing beast. Had a slash line of .309/.466/.509/.975 coming into today's game. So far today he's 2-3 with two doubles. He just turned 22 years old which means more and more of those doubles will turn into HRs as his body matures. I'll wait a few more months before I get too excited, but damn has been good this year. And, can he stay healthy...so 2 question marks. Too bad he's not left-handed.

31 RBI's now. Machine. Haven't had this kind of an offensive force since Konerko in 2011 (early) and Quentin in 2008. Plus we have a new offensive version of Viciedo with Abreu's arrival.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:22 PM) They play again on Monday. And you don't play that way typically behind a Cy Young award winner and unquestioned franchise cornerstone when you're facing a 29 year old rookie who tops out at 91 in his major league debut.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) Terrific baserunning by Beckham leads to a run. Really? Beckham, err Jeter, should be getting a long-term contract extension sometime next week.

Viciedo and Semien have hit line drives now harder than Abreu's ball that would have been up on the concourse in July or August. When's the last time you heard that sound off the bat of Gordon? Sounded like a gun shot.

Tyler 3 for 3 on K's today. Price has been low 90's all game today, consistently 90-91, not much faster than Carroll. Doesn't have that electric stuff so far this season...he has given up a lot of hits, more than IP, very unusual for him. Eaton the softest 3/4 in the history of MLB. Back up to .286.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:08 PM) Parmelee hit a walk off courtesy of Donnie Veal. Davidson 0-5, 2 k Even Charlotte managing to blow saves, in the form of Purcey and Veal. YIKES.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:11 PM) Beckham threw some leather ranging in both directons Just months away from his first Gold Glove.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:03 PM) are you watching this game? Spring Training must have been one giant kegger for them. Might have something to do with the gale-force winds...although Viciedo and DeAza don't have excuses for their plays this inning.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) Or with Peavey and Rios. Or with Peavy, Rios and Santos/Reed.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 02:06 PM) Just got home. Dear lord Abreu. How's Carroll looked? Nothing amazing, he's gotten by with an 88-91 MPH fastball for most of the day, but he's made some big pitches (particularly against Longoria) to rack up DP balls in key situations. Gutsy performance though...hasn't gotten fazed out there, especially after the Viciedo error allowed the TB run to score. Misread by DeAza now. Shoddy outfield play again on the corners today.

Abreu would have 11 and 30 if not for the wind blowing against him at 22 MPH. DeAza probably would have had another. All-time rookie record in both categories for Jose Daniel with games still to go, albeit against some tough pitching. Don't think those 4 errors will stand up, as one against Myers was a brain cramp and not a physical one...allowing Eaton to score from 3rd. Rays had 3 errors in one, now 4 until it changes (guess Myers bobbled it before throwing to the cutoff man), just 7 on the entire season and leading the majors before that inning in the least amount of errors. Something like 3-4 very generous infield hits for the White Sox in this game. Price has to be going crazy, but part of the damage was self-inflicted with the throw down the line.

Leesman pitching much better against the Twins' AAA team (featuring Arcia and Parmelee). Finally got touched up for a run in the 5th.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 12:17 PM) GMAB, they don't make roster decisions based on how long the flight to Charlotte is. Come on. It has nothing to do with the flight to Charlotte. The organization....95% of MLB organizations...prefer to reward their players by letting them play long enough to get selected for their league's respective All-Star teams. And that's always a good "benchmark" time of the season to make the decision on a promotion. Not to mention all the organizational movement with players filtering in after the June draft.

89-91 MPH. Well, that's better than Axelrod. Tadahito Iguchi sighting in the ballpark today. Six fastballs in a row so far. Records the K on a 77 MPH slider. Nice differential on that pitch. 10+. Joyce looks like either an All-Star or terrible year to year...originally acquired for Edwin Jackson from the Tigers.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 11:43 AM) Except Drew is still a free agent, hasn't played at all this year, and would need how long to be in game shape? Every day that goes by means he is a another day further away from being a ready to go baseball player. And the closer they get to draft day in June, the more difficult it gets for teams not to just be patient and wait until the beginning of June simply to remove the draft pick compensation attached...which means he wouldn't be ready to play until around June 15th-20th at the earliest. OTOH, an acquiring team might assume he would fall off into mediocrity again being away from the influence of the other Cubans....Abreu, Viciedo and Nieto.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 08:52 AM) I know Keenyn had been struggling this year, but I looked at his stats this morning and was just terrified at what I saw. .132 AVG., .179 OBP, .170 SLG, .348 OPS, 1 extra-base hit and a 3/26 BB-to-K ratio. It really sucks that it's the beginning of 2014 and we can pretty much write off our first-round (supplementary) selection from 2011. In the beginning of his career, you thought that maybe he could be a decent lead-off hitter with his solid on-base skills. But even the good walk rate is gone for this guy. OUCH. Thank gosh for Chris Sale. Otherwise, we had have nothing to show from any of our first-round selections since 1998 (not including Gio since he did not make an impact with us). Just an athletic lottery ticket, not unlike Mitchell, Thompson, Jacobs (briefly), Jacob May and Hawkins raw talent...limited baseball experience...usually it doesn't work out for those types of guys, but when you hit on one....

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Apr 26, 2014 -> 11:41 PM) IIRC Felix Diaz had the straightest fastball in the history of mankind. Billy Koch?

QUOTE (oldsox @ Apr 27, 2014 -> 07:12 AM) I always liked Reed, too. I always thought they could have gotten a lot more for him. What we'll never know is if Hahn actually shopped Reed to the rest of MLB to see what he could have gotten for him, or if Hahn actually thought Davidson was the answer as soon as Ariz offered him up for Reed. Way too early to give up on the likes of Davidson or Hawkins, etc. And 90% of Davidson not making the team out of ST was the Super 2...arbitration status, blah blah blah. Giving Gillaspie more time to prove himself and build trade value, etc.. Rock Raines said Conor was one of the most popular/universally-admired guys on the team, so this whole idea of giving more time hasn't hurt Conor or Viciedo at all, for example. Conor's looked a LOT better until the recent injury than he did for most of 2013. As far as trade return, there were a lot of rumors out there we could have gotten Reddick from the Red Sox or a similar player in return for Santos, instead of Nestor Molina. That one's still a head-scratcher, like the Zach Stewart deal. They might even add Conor as a DH/1B possibility in 2014 if he can continue to progress. Doesn't mean Davidson's not going to be a big part of the future here.

Rays forecast stardom for White Sox's Jose Abreu Rookie draws raves from likes of Evan Longoria, David DeJesus and James Loney for patience, power and plate discipline April 26, 2014|By Fred Mitchell, Chicago Tribune reporter Jose Abreu has made highly favorable first impressions around the American League. The rookie White Sox slugger has caught the attention of teammates, managers and opponents with his power, poise and patience at the plate. The 27-year-old Cuban first baseman put on his most auspicious performance Friday night when he blasted a two-out walk-off grand slam to beat the Rays 9-6. It was his second homer of the night and broke the major league rookie record for home runs in April with nine. "He's the best player in the world … ever … right now," Rays slugger Evan Longoria said with a wide grin before the Rays' 4-0 victory Saturday night at U.S. Cellular Field. Longoria, who was the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year and is a three-time All-Star, knows what lofty expectations are ahead for Abreu. "I don't know what it's like to be hitting like him, that's for sure," Longoria said. "But it's good to see him having success. Not against us, but … from a personal standpoint, what those (Cuban) players go through coming here and adjusting to playing not only baseball at the major league level, but just being normal Americans … and trying to fit in and blend in with society. It's tough. It's good to see him having some success." Abreu also tied Albert Pujols' rookie record of 27 RBIs in April. Saturday he came back to earth with an 0-for-4 night. "He has a great approach, man," Longoria said. "He showed, obviously, a tremendous amount of power (Friday) night. But discipline … he's a really selective hitter, and that's going to translate to a lot of success." Count Rays manager Joe Maddon among the impressed. "Really a big, strong fellow with a controlled attitude at the plate," Maddon said after Friday night's game. "He's not just a wild swinger. You have to make good pitches or he is going to hurt you." Rays outfielder David DeJesus had only heard about Abreu's skills before the series opener. "This is the first time ever seeing him live, and I am impressed with his power and how he uses the whole field," DeJesus said. "He's an aggressive hitter too. You hope that he can get himself out. Or you want to catch him when he is slumping a little bit because you can see he has all of the tools." The 12-year veteran thinks Abreu has the mental and physical makeup to be a longtime star in the big leagues. "You have to be mentally prepared each day and understand you are going to have your ups and downs," DeJesus said. "You have to be a calm, level guy. That's how I got here, and I never had the talent he has." From what veteran first baseman James Loney could observe from across the diamond, Abreu has what it takes to succeed. "He just seems to have a kind of quiet confidence about himself," Loney said. "He seems like he fits right in over there. "He is a mature player … a little older for his first year. … I don't think it is anything different for him as far as the bigger stadiums and more people. It's the same game to him."