caulfield12

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 23, 2014 -> 08:27 PM) It's a very tough call this year with regards to resurrecting Tank Commander Axelrod and TRTR. I really want to see Abreu, Eaton, Sale and Quintana perform well. I also don't want to think of the attendance being even worse next season with another horrific season this year. With that said, everyone besides the 4 players I just mentioned should be on the trade market. I don't see the Sox being able to string together another 25-5 record like in 2010, as they just don't have the starting pitching depth. It's going to be interesting to see what happens with Alexei and Dayan. They're both in terrible slumps over the course of the last 70-100 at-bats. They will surely go on hot streaks again, where they will show tantalizing promise (Dayan) but will that be enough to keep Rick Hahn from pulling the trigger? Changing the attitude in the clubhouse is another big issue...with Dunn, Konerko and DeAza on the way out, who will emerge? Abreu is a quiet, "by example" type of guy like Konerko. Sale's a pitcher. So it has to be Eaton and maybe Beckham if he survives this season in Chicago. It would be dumb to release/DFA Alejandro right now, but if we can't get ANYTHING in July or August for him, I'd hope that Hahn would send a message like they did with Keppinger and free up playing time for ANYONE else.

Who are the Top 3-5 prospects for next year's draft? Any college bats who are reminiscent of Kris Bryant, minus the elevated K rate?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 23, 2014 -> 08:20 PM) Guerra the new closer? They can keep going with Belisario. They might as well just go with Petricka and prep him for next year. Maybe Nate Jones will be back, although we can't count on that. The idea of "selling high" on Belisario is also going out the window (too bad he couldn't have stayed in his 8th inning role, where he was doing so well) and, as predicted, Putnam's starting to come back down to earth as well. Or they can give the job to Webb and convert Petricka back to starting. Except we now know Webb isn't close to ready for that responsibility. And nearly anything would be better than Belisario closing and Noesi/Carroll in the 5th spot.

And you have to give a lot of credit to Showalter for PHing Davis there. The guy was hitting about .160 for the last month, and the guy he replaced (Delmon Young) was 3 for 4 on the night.

Well, that's 8 consecutive road losses. We have no closer (and Petricka's next in line, why not?), no catcher, no better options in LF and RF, no LH power in the minors to replace Dunn and we MIGHT be able to replace Alexei Ramirez with Carlos Sanchez, but it will still be a huge downgrade. If it wasn't for Abreu and Eaton (glimpses), this season would be unbearable.

Wow, Marquez was the one that scored it. Layun has been sort of disappointing so far this World Cup, right? (Game here in China is Brazil/Cameroon, so can't see it). By the way, was anyone else impressed with how dynamic Deandre Yedlen looked coming off the bench and blowing by all those tired defenders...?

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Jun 23, 2014 -> 03:07 PM) I like the Drabek idea a lot. I'm tired of reclamation projects but Drabek's stuff combined with Cooper's eye is intriguing. Drabek does have sick movement. Plus, his father pitched for the White Sox.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 23, 2014 -> 09:05 AM) IIRC, wasn't Richard pretty bad out of the pen when he was with us? In 2008, he was much more effective as a reliever, but not very many innings in that role. http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/...clayton-richard

The Raid 2 (A-)....awesome movie, the last 30 minutes (and it's a 2:30+ hour movie) has one of the best knife fights you'll ever see. Gareth Evans directed. The first movie was grittier and more memorable, this one is flashier, higher budget and comes at you with probably 1 hour and 15 minutes of almost non-stop fighting sequences and Tarantino-esque and beyond violence. The Fault in our Stars...B (more of a fan of the novel, but the film was pretty faithful to the source material...definitely a tear-jerker for the last 1/4th of the movie) Neighbors...B+

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jun 23, 2014 -> 12:50 AM) We'd selected Trout over Mitchell in 2009 like myself and many others where hoping. Your turn. What would your FutureSox wish be if you could have one wish granted? There are no limits. Let the comedy ensue. Indirectly related, we had the prospects (equivalent of Maybin and Miller) at the time to rope in Cabrera. Or that we held onto Gio Gonzalez the second time around (in other words, never traded for Swisher). And/or the chance to go back and sign Puig or Cespedes.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 08:10 PM) Towers really got screwed at the end. The owner was in the middle of a divorce and was forced to sell the team because of it. Towers was forced to work with absurdly low payrolls Moores, right?

20 years since the last time the Twins swept the White Sox in a four game series. 1994. Amazingly, it never happened from 2001-2004, 2006, 2009-10. Burton warming up for Minnesota. Suzuki with 8 hits this series.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 02:43 PM) Josh Byrnes was fired as GM in San Diego today. Rumor has it that they'd like to bring Kevin Towers back to SD. Fleecing him for Grandal shouldn't be too hard. Why would a GM in that position be easier to take advantage of...? If anything, he's going to swing for the fences and be more willing to sit on all of the players on his roster, since he doesn't have the pressure a GM fighting to keep his job would have to deal with.

Glen Perkins has never gone four consecutive games. Jared Burton or Fien would probably be their closing options.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 02:07 PM) Padres fired GM Josh Byrnes Interesting. They must be planning to trade Quentin (if any takers), Street (for sure), Headley, Seth Smith, Gyorko, etc.

Odds of a .467 team losing 12 consecutive Saturdays? About 1.5 times in 10,000. Would probably increase to 2 times in 10,000 if you readjust for a lower winning percentage assuming we lose again today.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 02:31 PM) We are just having a bad game/stretch folks. There is a lot of baseball yet to be played this season The odds of a .467 team losing 12 Saturdays in a row...approximately 1.5 times in 10,000. On the verge of losing 7 consecutive road games and 8 consecutive games in the AL Central. I'd say it's a pretty bad stretch. If that's the best available marketing tagline or motto/slogan for the 2nd half, they're going to be lucky to end up with 1.6 million for attendance.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 02:04 PM) Maybe the Sox can trade Micah Johnson for a good outfielder. When the likes of Seth Smith, Willingham and Carlos Quentin are some of the top "sluggers" available, you know offense is down down down. Matt Kemp remains the most interesting and risky name for both the Dodgers and the acquiring team...depending on how much cash LA is willing to give up and prospects surrendered.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 01:59 PM) Eventually you have to quit blaming coaches, and blame the players where due. De Aza is just a terrible OF. He is a baseball-stupid player in general. He gets into bad positions, he makes bad decisions on the basepaths, etc. So what does it say about our lack of depth/ability to develop outfielders that we had no choice (in Hahn's mind) but to bring someone with so many clear flaws and clearly on the wrong side of 30 back for that salary?

Back to the mid-May to late June offense again. At least we had those first 6 weeks or so of the season to dream. Defense/fundamentals are basically the same or worse than last year, other than having Eaton in CF now...and even he's made a lot of questionable throws this season.

ESPN just had a heading on their front page for the Algeria score...something like "sly like a desert fox," wonder if they retracted that one with the possibility someone might make Erwin Rommel/World War II/Nazi references?

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jun 22, 2014 -> 01:48 PM) Have the Sox even had an outfielder's coach the past ten years? Considering they've had guys like Gary Pettis, Raines, Boston and Baines around the team...you'd think ONE of them would have worked with the outfielders, especially with all the specialists they have now. Cora, but he primarily worked with infielders?

We're to the point they can just blow up this whole roster besides Abreu, Sale, Quintana, Eaton and Gillaspie...and even considering Conor part of that core is pushing it. Then Garcia coming back next year, and you probably hold onto Petricka and Webb as well. So about 8 players. And we won't be able to trade Danks, so we're stuck with him, thus making it 9.

Well...so much for the idea that Danks had turned any kind of corner. Stupid throw by Eaton there enables Mauer to get 2nd and ends the opportunity to escape with a tie on a DP ball. WHAT THE HELL WAS DEAZA DOING OUT THERE JUST NOW??? Did he forget there was just one out? Afraid Mauer was going to 3rd? 13th in defense. Sigh. This whole season is close to falling apart again (like 2013). Make the plays you're supposed to make. Ramirez, Eaton and DeAza all hurting Danks this inning.

Ramirez should have had Danks out of this inning....home cooking on that scorer's call.