caulfield12

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 03:20 PM) 3 to 4 years unless he quits. If this season is like the last 6 weeks of the 2012 season....then Ventura won't stay around if he's not enjoying it at all.

The bigger question is how long they stick with Flowers...unfortunately, we don't have a lot of good options. Theoretically, it would go to Phegley or Anderson (internally). Thank god for Mark Reynolds playing 1B or it might be 3-0 now. 11 consecutive retired. Keppinger breaks the string finally. Keppinger almost back to .200 now, at .190.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 03:16 PM) Serious question, how long of a leash do you think Ventura has? The entire season. Unless he resigns first for the "good of the organization" or "because his heart's not in it enough and he's not fully committed."

Bourne looking for the curve, got a FB.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 03:10 PM) If the Angels lose a few more, I have a feeling this place is going to become sciosciatalk.com Dave Martinez talk is more fun. Plus, you can always throw in the Ryne Sandberg angle to annoy Cubs' fans. "There's a reason Bourne is hitting first. Because he can." Great analysis, Farmio.

Nice defensive reaction by Gillaspie.

That's 8 in a row for CY MacAllister. 9 in a row. But hey, Adam Dunn ALMOST hit a homer his first time up. That counts for something. Not sure what, at that salary.

Everyone in the entire organization except for maybe Rios can be blamed for something, and Reed. From Ventura on down... Even if we wanted to trade Viciedo now, we couldn't get anything back for him. Not even another minor league version of Tyler Flowers. Benching Viciedo and playing Wise gets us what exactly?

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 03:00 PM) This is unacceptable. Plus I do not like Steve Swisher's son very much It actually hit the wall first, then bounced down off his glove. A play that probably should have been made though, but it happens on the road when you're inexperienced and everything's going wrong that can go wrong, seemingly.

Ugh. Viciedo should have gotten back to the wall faster....found it, and then went up for the wall instead of drifting. Sale is just lacking in stuff today. That's the second "fastbal" that Swisher has hit hard. And still not getting the key outs from a pitching standpoint... Mark Reynolds with a stolen base? OUCH.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 02:45 PM) He has Dylan Axelrod type junk today...unbelievable, 11 games into the season. Like that scary Rangers' game last year when the velocity drop was so noticeable. DJ and Farmer not saying anything at all about it. His top FB's been 92 today? Is that right? 77 on the curveball.

I just caught the last second of the call...but either Rios or Dunn is 0/7 with RISP. I guess 0/8 now with the error?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 02:32 PM) That bunt was an inch away from being a hit. I can live with that one. That was a rough AB for De Aza, nearly perfect bunt, raked a ball foul, then fooled completely on that last pitch. The point is, DeAza came into that at-bat as our best hitter with RISP. When you bunt and pass the buck to the next hitter, it doesn't send a good message to the rest of the line-up...even if it does happen to work, it puts pressure on Keppinger when he's been struggling out of the gate.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 02:29 PM) Here's a question...if Flowers totally flops this year, how do the Sox acquire a catcher for next season? It would seem trading for someone would have to be the way to go. Trading Ramirez, Thornton, Crain, Floyd...although not sure any of those options get it done. Maybe add in a bullpen arm and one of our surplus minor league outfielders.

Might as well have had Flowers bunt there, lol. What the heck is DeAza doing? NO MORE BUNTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's the only one hitting decently (3/7) with RISP, along with Paulie. The team is at .145 as a whole.

Thanks Tyler.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 01:30 PM) Of course he isn't. What bonehead franchise in any collegiate or professional sport would put some one in charge with no previous experience? The World Champion Cardinals? As long as they're not looking for him to manage their real estate investments... Don "The Bear" Haskins at Texas Western?

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/team/rost...ve.jsp?c_id=cle WHERE IS ANYONE NAMED KEVIN on the roster? Can't believe Ryan Raburn is hitting 3rd...Brennan Boesch and Raburn both with different teams this season.

Last time I checked, Zach MacAllister. Unless he changed his name.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 12:46 PM) #202 in last night's game thread. YOU SHOULD READ WHAT YOU POST CAREFULLY. YOU called Scoscia the greatest strategist in the game. You're right, I should have added PARENTHETICALLY, who most experts/pundits/broadcasters give credit to as being the best...in a way, I was being sarcastic. Because I believe Scioscia gets WAY too much credit for that aspect of the game, just like LaRussa. When he had the personnel to play an aggressive style of baseball, and every player on the team was capable of running, playing small ball, fundamentals....that team was must more difficult to beat, all the players were versatile and seemingly interchangeable parts, because of their attacking style of play, putting the pressure on their opponents. But managers have to adjust to their personnel, not expecting the 25 man roster to adjust to the manager, and that's Scioscia's biggest Achilles' heel, his ego and hubris, (see OZZIE GUILLEN post 2005). With a bunch of stars and huge payroll, what have they done? Underachieved. And he hasn't had the starting pitching and bullpen they had a decade ago. For the record, I continue to support the idea/s of hiring Dave Martinez or Terry Pendleton. Either one.

Why would Ramirez willingly choose something he's TERRIBLE at and has ZERO confidence in doing?? He's been a good RBI guy for most of his career...and clutch, do you really think he would willingly give up the chance to win the game in order to leave it up to Hector Gimenez? Hmmmmm...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 06:22 AM) So one one hand the Sox have no talent and the manager is so terrible they are 4-6. On the other hand you point to the Angels who have All Stars up and down their line up and refer to their manager as the best strategist in the game and they are 2-8. I know historically it only takes 1 or 2 losses for you to go all Gulliver with the doom and gloom, but depending on the thread, your posts put together make zero sense other than every other fanbase in the world hasit better than us. And that is prett much BS. The thread starter is right. There is no reason to panic There seems to be a contest every season on Sox message boards around the world as to who can call the patient dead the fastest. And then later, when the Sox usually don't win, there are a lot of dislocated shoulders from all the patting of themselves on the back. READ CAREFULLY Scioscia has lost his team, it has been argued over and over again in the LA media...that he is completely disliked by most of the players and Torii Hunter was the only one holding that clubhouse together from rebelling against him. I PERSONALLY never said Scioscia's the best, I said the POPULAR OPINION is simply that. I also feel 80-90% of White Sox fans if they could change managers to Scioscia over Ventura would choose Robin. I would pick Maddon in a heartbeat over Scioscia, (or Dave Martinez, or Bud Black, or Ron Roenicke, all of them would be okay). All of those guys are from the Scioscia school, but much better with modern day players and not so prickly with the media. I'm not going to rank every single manager 1-30 for in-game decision-making, but I would never have put Scioscia or LaRussa as Top Five. Yes, most fan bases in the world do have it a lot better than us because of the way that the former GM constructed this roster....gambling every season instead of building a team "organically" and just hoping and praying he could throw so many disparate elements together and it would magically equal some sort of elusive chemistry. Lightning only hits in a bottle a couple of times...2005 and 2008...when you work in that fashion. I never said I was right last year. I still watch/ed all the games. Nobody gave up. But last season is a HUGE reason why there's already frustration early in 2013. It's because the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013 are mirrors of each other. There hasn't been a change or trend reversal. Ventura's the same or worse as he was before. Tell me what's better about this year's team than last year's? We got handled by a MUCH more talented team in the Nationals...across every position, we were outgunned...there's no point in even getting upset. There's no point in starting rebuilding or trade threads because the GM backed himself into a corner and now we just have to sit and wait and be patient for things to turn around. There are definitely no quick fixes with our starting 9. Every year in April, when the Sox have a bad beginning....someone, like Greg Hibbard, will point out how everything's not gloom and doom...but most of those fans won't still be around in August and September if the Sox go all 2007 or 2009.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 13, 2013 -> 09:22 AM) 1= Ventura had the pen go deep in the last three games, and didn't want to go to the pen early 2= The Sox hadn't been getting hits off of Masterson, and didn't want to have to string 3 or 4 straight hits together to score a run. 3= Crain is your top right handed reliever. Who else do you trust in a tie game? 4= Decisions like that are usually relievers choice for who they are comfortable pitching against. 2 Sinker/slider/heavy ball pitcher on a tremendously cold day in CLE...the last guy you want to get to produce a SAC FLY is Gimenez. This is the same guy who has only surrendered one ER so far in like 20 innings and beaten the last two CY YOUNG award winners in back-to-back starts, yet career minor leaguer Hector Gimenez is your best bet to drive in the run? THAT'S CRAZY. 3 Crain might be your highest paid RH reliever, but if he was the best, why was Ventura favoring Nathan Jones earlier in the season? Why did we sign Lindstrom, again? I'd argue that ANY of those three guys are/were meant to be "equal" options who would basically be interchangeable this season, based on injuries and who's hot/who's not. 4 Kipnis has been ice cold this season. They have three lefties in the bullpen for a reason. If you can't trust Donnie Veal to come in and get the final out, to the point where you have Crain facing a crafty/wily veteran with something to prove to his new fans and against his hated former team, then I just don't know what to say....the Indians' announcers basically said it over and over, they brought Swisher in to be the centerpiece of marketing for the "new" Indians this year. Why tempt fate when Veal/Kipnis SHOULD be a much better match-up on paper?

MLB OBP 1. Detroit, .362 28. SOX, .280 29. CUBS, .265 MLB BB 1. OAK/ARIZONA, 42 2. SOX, 15 MLB ERRORS 3. SOX, 9 30. Tigers, 1

Just when it looked as if the Angels couldn't sink any lower, they hit rock bottom with a thud Friday in a 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros. These are the same Astros who lost 213 games the last two seasons; the same Astros whose $22-million payroll is less than the free-spending Angels pay the right side of their infield. These are the same Angels who started the season with World Series aspirations, then started Friday's game with five All-Stars in their lineup. BOX SCORE: Houston 5, Angels 0 It should have been a rout — and it was, with the Astros scoring three times in the first inning while the Angels failed to get a runner past first base all night. The loss was the Angels' fifth straight, leaving them winless on their first homestand of the season. At 2-8, they not only have the American League's worst record but they've equaled a 52-year-old mark for the worst start in franchise history. And if all that wasn't embarrassing enough, the game ended with Josh Hamilton forgetting how many outs there were, allowing himself to be doubled off first base on Mark Trumbo's foulout. Afterward Angel Manager Mike Scioscia didn’t have to think long to sum up his team’s problems. "It’s pretty simple. We’re not pitching and we’re getting behind early," Scioscia said. "When you get behind early it really gives the other team a chance to match up, to use their bullpen. Gives their starter some breathing room." And opposing pitchers have been able to breathe easy against the Angels who, 10 games into their six-month season, have a cleanup hitter in Hamilton with more strikeouts (14) than hits and runs batted in combined (11). The entire left side of the infield as well as their top starting pitcher are out with injuries, they’ve grounded into more double plays (10) than they’ve hit home runs (8) and after committing two errors against the Astros, they lead the majors in that department with 11. Then there’s the pitching. No Angel starter has gotten past the sixth inning this season, which has put enormous pressure on a bullpen that remains unsettled. That streak didn’t end Friday. “The heartbeat of your club is your starting pitching. And when your starting pitching is not getting to a certain point in the game, it makes it very, very tough,” Scioscia said. Kevin Baxter/LA Times