caulfield12

QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:25 PM) Why bring in Thornton, why! Spoke too soon giving credit to Ventura with the Crain move to end the 8th. What now? Reed to go 2 innings? Thornton's WHIP is at 1.36 and rising...

I don't care if Matt Thornton's ERA is close to 2.00 (well, it's actually 3.29). That has to be the most deceptive stat in baseball.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:20 PM) who's taking the 8th? Saltalamacchia, Ellsbury and Gomes. I hope it's not Thornton again.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:14 PM) Simon Castro a future reliever? That's where I stuck him on my list, simply because I think our depth is strong enough we don't need him. He's more like the second coming of Felix Diaz (who at least beat the Cubs). Right now, he's insurance behind Axelrod, Jason Berken and Erik Johnson. Phegley still in the 1000's for OPS, Jordan in the 900's...even Morel in the mid 700's. Brandon Short has disappeared completely from prospect status. Weird to see Ricky Romero pitching in AAA. His career went downhill in a hurry.

That's a great job of managing there by Ventura. Maybe it's obvious to all of us that you don't save Crain until the 8th when there might not even be an 8th if you put Lindstrom or Jones in there...but at least he's showing he realizes that those 2 batters just might be the two most important of the entire game. No second-guessing here, even if the lead gets away in the 8th or 9th. It was the best possible move under the circumstances. Crain might be the 2nd most valuable player on this team right now...the only one holding the pen together to get the ball to Reed for the save eventually.

http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?s...mp;ymd=20130521 Simon Castro ripped to shreds. Bassit with another very good start. Brent Morel the 1B of the future, haha? And Angel Sanchez hitting well so far for the Knights.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2013 -> 08:05 PM) Someone want to wake up Ventura? As soon as Dunn's ball didn't go out...Harrelson's "just missed it by a eighth of an inch."

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