caulfield12

Here comes the predictable offensive assault following the first hit of the game...

QUOTE (Jake @ May 21, 2013 -> 07:55 PM) I hate that I know it isn't worth getting nervous yet, but I still get nervous JINX. You can't break the rule of even "intimating" a no-hitter, lol. Just kidding...it's about as silly as when I was a little kid, thinking if more people were praying for a certain team (like Notre Dame), that team, therefore, should win if God was "fair."

QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2013 -> 07:49 PM) He was trying to guide it to right again. Rarely does he turn it loose anymore. He's swinging like someone who's struggling with a back/hip injury. You don't go from the best FB hitting player on the team (and for a decade) to the worst just because of age. There has to be a physical issue that he's trying to compensate for...we've heard back, knees, then there were always rumors about the degenerative hip condition. He just doesn't have a strong "base" or foundation right now and he's only swinging with his hands/arms/upper body. Paulie knows you can't guide or feel your way into hits...and be successful consistently with that approach.

) -- John Danks believes he's just about ready to return to the Chicago White Sox's rotation. The 28-year-old left-hander said after a bullpen session on Tuesday that he's ''getting excited about getting back out there'' after being sidelined for a year by a shoulder injury and hopes to make his first start this week. ''It's been a long process,'' Danks said. ''Hopefully it ends this weekend. I knew it was going to be a long process. We're still not there.'' Manager Robin Ventura wasn't quite ready to pronounce him ready, saying the White Sox were looking to see how he feels the next day and will probably announce a decision after Wednesday's game against Boston. ''So far, it looked good,'' Ventura said. Either way, Danks appears close to a return after being limited to just nine starts last season. He hasn't pitched since May 19 of last year and had surgery in August to repair a capsule tear and remove debris in his rotator cuff and biceps. He was hoping to be ready for the start of the season, but the White Sox placed him on the 15-day disabled list on March 26. ''I feel like I'm close to getting where my stuff was before I got hurt so, stuff-wise there won't be too much of a drop-off,'' he said. ''My biggest thing is throwing the ball where I want to and making it do what I want it to do. So the stuff is going to be fine.'' www.yahoo.com/sports

Well....we're back to the 1985-1989 White Sox offense in Old Comiskey Park again.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 21, 2013 -> 07:04 PM) Yes. He only lasted 3.1 innings last time out though. 80 pitches. I wouldn't say it's a really "smart" move, but it's probably best to get him right back out on the mound as soon as possible. There aren't many other options, and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to pitching against the ace or ace2 of the Red Sox. (I reserve the right to use the "overextended/tired" excuse if Santiago gets lit up, since he didn't get in enough innings in ST or the first couple of weeks of the season, haha).

Jesus of Nazareth. Cabrera's on pace for 45 homers and 184 RBI's.

Wait a second....that would mean Santiago's pitching on just three day's rest?

Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale was scratched from Wednesday night's start against Boston because of tendinitis in his left pitching shoulder. The Sox made the announcement in the top of the second inning of Tuesday's game, adding that the decision was made as a precautionary measure. Fellow left-hander Hector Santiago will start in Sale's spot. The Sox added that Sale is expected to make his next start May 28 against the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. Sale (5-2) has a streak of 23 consecutive scoreless innings. This is the first time he's had an ailment of any form this season. He had a brief bout of tendinitis last May in his first full season as a major league starter and was given extra rest on three occasions to ensure his health. Sale is seventh in the American League with a 2.53 ERA and has thrown 64 innings. He has limited opponents to a .192 batting average, third lowest in the AL. www.chicagotribune.com/sports/whitesox

QUOTE (Jake @ May 21, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) I know the reasoning, but we're trying to develop an everyday player here. Felix Doubront is nothing special. Tyler Greene is REALLY nothing special. Win now, develop later mode...constant conflict in our organization at the major league level. I'm assuming we're still rooting for the Indians and against the Tigers, even though CLE is poised to be 10 games over .500 and 3 1/2 games ahead if they win tonight (leading 1-0 in the 4th)??

Well, reliever (unless it's a closer) is one of the areas of need that are least focused upon from a minor-league development perspective... We have made some curious drafting decisions in the past with Josh Fogg (making him into a starter from a closer at Florida), Royce Ring, Aaron Poreda (everyone thought he would end up in the pen) and then Reed in the relatively high rounds (3rd). In all fairness, we set a record for rookies used last year, and almost all of them were pitchers. And, for the list here, Septimo (long-term future in serious doubt), Heath, Jhan Marinez (Marlins for Ozzie) and Omogrosso weren't counted, either. Although when you hear Bell saying "we're set/covered" at catcher because of Phegley, Blanke and Kevan Smith...not sure how much I trust that we don't need an elite catching prospect...

But does anyone really believe that Danks is going to give us a better chance to win than the stats that Santiago has put up as a starter? I bet most wouldn't be surprised at all if his overall statline was worse than what Axelrod has produced so far. If we're really trying to shore up our bullpen, and we're in "win now" mode, shouldn't the organization be trying to find an external replacement for Veal (or trying Purcey)... Put another way, at this point of the season, if the organization is still trying to sell fans on the idea they're legitimately competing still...and isn't worried how many games the lead is for the Indians (as opposed to the Tiggers, and they start a series tonight by the way)...isn't John Danks the least likely to win a game as a starter of all 3 options? But, due to his long-term contract status and all the money invested in him, we pretty much have no choice but to go with him when HE feels he's ready to contribute? In a sense, we don't have any leverage over him, we can't threaten to trade him or banish him to the bullpen, because that would make absolutely no sense to hurt our ROI from a long-term perspective.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:52 AM) Here's where I see things differently. Humber in AAA - 104 G (93 GS), 527 IP, 4.70 ERA, 403 K, 164 BB, 1.37 WHIP Axelrod in AAA - 31 G (31 GS), 188.1 IP, 2.58 ERA, 167 K, 52 BB, 1.10 WHIP You can compare their other minor league numbers too and Axelrod is far superior. There might be some John Ely to Axelrod's game, and the second or third go around the league may start to destroy him, but I absolutely think he's a 4th starter in the majors. I wouldn't be surprised if he faded off into the distance - righties with 89 MPH fastballs don't often make it in the majors - just that I think he absolutely deserves a shot. Except in MLB, 90% of your destiny is your draft position. It took many years and chances for teams to give up on Humber because of his high first round draft status. It didn't take long for SD to give up on Axelrod, because 30th round draft picks are viewed as expendable.

What's the major rap against Taylor Thompson? Simply that he doesn't throw 95-100? There has to be SOME reason why they sent him to the AFL.

http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-...iii-1200482799/ There goes any and all desire to watch Hangover III right out the window...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-leag...-152619317.html

to have a major league impact. Just to get started...(note, for our purposes, pitchers with previous experience in Heath, Omogrosso, Veal and Marinez won't be included). Long man=Simon Castro Ryan Kussmaul, Kevin Vance or Myles Jaye Salvador Sanchez Daniel Webb Santos Rodriguez (long-term), Purcey (short-term) Closer=Taylor Thompson Others for consideration: Cose, Braulio Ortiz, Kyle Hansen Note: I deliberately made Thompson (who has limited potential but has put up good stats and even received the AFL invite last year) the closer in order to get a debate going. There are probably a lot of arms in our system with better stuff, but hard to argue with the results, overall. And since I'm not so familiar with the Kanny roster, I thought those who pay more attention to the two A teams might have some better insights...although odds are the bullpen arms of the future down there are actually starters right now.

The two young pitchers the White Sox have received both offer some limited upside. Webb was an 18th round pick of the Jays in 2009 and signed for an over-slot $450,000 bonus. Working primarily as a starter thus far in his career Webb has struggled to build on the promise he showed as a prep prospect in Kentucky. His fastball still works in the 89-92 mph range and will touch higher than that in short bursts, but it lacks significant movement and is squared up far more often than it should be. He also struggles to command his fastball. Webb’s slurvy breaking ball still doesn’t rate better than fringe-average most days and will only flash better than that sparingly. His change-up is well below-average and not really a viable pitch for him. Most scouts believe he will end up in the bullpen where he may benefit from being able to air it out more and possibly throw his breaking ball a little harder in shorter stints. baseballprospectnation.com (this was from early 2012) Webb pulled down $450,000 at the 2009 draft signing deadline as the top pitching prospect from Florida junior college ranks. He neglected to sign with the Diamondbacks as a 12th-round pick out of high school in 2008, a year in which just two prep righties went in the draft's first round—Ethan Martin and Gerrit Cole. Webb ranked as No. 48 overall draft prospect that year. He has a good pitcher's frame and a live arm that produces a plus fastball, but most scouts think he'll eventually move to the bullpen because of his slingy arm action and lack of command. He shows feel for a changeup, but his curveball still needs work. baseballamerica.com write-up at the time of the trade

9. Patrick Corbin has personified that this year. Always second fiddle to Tyler Skaggs as return from the Dan Haren trade, Corbin has a power sinker with improved velocity, secondary pitches that have gone from questions to weapons and greater pitchability, as evidenced by throwing first-pitch strikes to 12 percent more batters. Scouts love what they see as a new-and-improved Corbin. "I thought he was a [No.] 4 or 5," an NL East scout said. "I've seen him twice now, and I think he's at worst a 3 and very easily could be a 2. He's got command, that sinker is a kamikaze and he's fearless." The numbers, on the other hand, speak of a different Corbin. They say his .259 BABIP is too low, especially for a groundball pitcher. (True.) And they say his strand rate – the percentage of players left on base at the end of innings – is absurd at 89.2 percent. (Yup. Only Jeremy Guthrie and Matt Moore's are higher.) And they worry his home runs-per-flyball rate is unsustainably low. In essence, while a 1.52 ERA and 6-0 record say Corbin is a much better pitcher than last season, the peripherals say otherwise. This is where the doobs meter gets tricky. In the majority of cases, stats and scouts agree on a player. With Corbin, they don't. Having seen Corbin, having heard effusive praise and knowing the rarity of an increase in velocity, I'll bet on his home run rate staying down and the strand rate dip and BABIP jump not derailing him. Verdict:1/5 passan/yahoosports.com

QUOTE (bbilek1 @ May 20, 2013 -> 10:12 PM) I was surprised by the choice but the Rookie ST Party is Wednesday. Anyone else going? If I could teleport like in Star Trek from China to USCF, I would gladly do it!! I'll try to make it to a game between June 16th and the end of July when I'm back home in Iowa.

Hopefully they get more than 21,000+ the next two nights, especially for the marquee match-up WED.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 20, 2013 -> 08:19 PM) Probably, he doesn't turn 21 until the end of June. Also, the kid has actually improved his BB % this year while cutting his K % slightly. The power is down so maybe he's not hitting the ball as hard as he did last year, but take a look at his BABIP and that will show you he's been the victim of some bad luck this year. Way too early to worry to worry about him IMO. I agree that AAA was likely too aggressive of an assignment, but he's so young that he could spend another two seasons at AAA and still be young for the league. Give him some more time and hopefully he'll get back on track soon enough. The problem is that even at his highest upside, he's more of an Iguchi/complementary player and not an All-Star or electric game changer in the Reyes mold. Think Chris Getz with less speed/burst but a better fielder, more walks/patience, mix in 10-15 steals per year, bunting/sacrificing/hitting to the right side and a good all-around game...but it's dangerous to have too many hitters like that at USCF, especially when the major issue for the franchise right now (and in the future) would appear to be generating offense.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ May 20, 2013 -> 09:37 PM) Grown Ups 2 was my favorite Sandler movie in a LONG time. Maybe since Mr. Deeds. Seems there's really a niche now for those ensemble movies...like The Hot Tub Time Machine or Bridesmaids, "buddy" pictures if you're a guy, chick-bonding/reminiscing flicks if you're a woman. Well, maybe not the Hangover for the geriatic crowd trailer that was in the thread the last couple of pages, lol. Reminded me of "Space Cowboys."

Passan just wrote a long article (giving out "doobs" for dubious) for those players likely to revert back to form. Corbin was 1/5. 5/5 meant you were definitely coming back to earth. Worth reading. Talks about Goldschmidt's hot start, too.

QUOTE (flavum @ May 20, 2013 -> 09:05 PM) Axelrod vs Santiago- I was wrong. Axelrod has earned it for now. Short-term, maybe it's Axelrod. Still, Santiago's ERA for the season is well under 3.00 (obviously, part of that is from his excellent bullpen work, but it also includes the time he came in for Floyd and got hammered by CLE, just like Sale did). Axelrod isn't the type of pitcher who's often going to go out there and throw a shutout or 1-2 run game. But he keeps the team in games and doesn't give in....Mr. Bulldog. Keeps proving the doubters wrong, for now. And Danks hasn't exactly earned a spot based on his rehab results. One thing's for sure, they better not make him the replacement for Thornton/Veal next season. That would be a criminal misuse of him. Right now, after Sale, he's still arguably the 2nd most valuable trade value on the team...along with the "new and improved" Viciedo and finally Quintana.