caulfield12

Verlander matched a career high with eight earned runs allowed. In his previous 240 starts, he had never had such a short outing in which he allowed so many runs. Verlander acknowledged that his slightly lower velocity in recent starts told him something was off. He got that fixed Thursday night: He was getting his fastball up to his vintage 97, 98 and 99 m.p.h. in the seven-run third. “I guess too much tinkering,” he said. “Back to the basics. I have to take away positives from tonight. It (the velocity) is there. Find consistency.” Verlander is 4-4 with a 3.17 ERA. His next start is due Wednesday in Cleveland. Monday’s open date will give him an extra day of rest, and he said he likely will throw two bullpen sessions between starts instead of the usual one. www.freep.com/sports Good god, Cabrera (.370) was hitting .490 with RISP coming into that last AB and got ANOTHER hit. Leonys Martin threw out the runner at home to preserve the 0-0 tie.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 17, 2013 -> 05:53 PM) For Johnson, I like young Chone Figgins. An able defender that could play 2B or 3B but won't do either spectacularly well. High average, but more strikeouts than you'd expect from a leadoff type hitter. A little pop, but not much. Fast. Decent, not great, ability take walks. Switch hitters. I'm not coming up with a great comparison for Semien. He has commonalities with Jeter, but without such a high ceiling. Good batting average, a little power (maybe a 20 HR ceiling), takes walks well. Not super fast, won't steal a lot of bases. Can handle SS it seems but some scouts think his range could make him 2B. Strikes out a tick more than Jeter, but I like them both as 2 hitters. Does he have the type of frame and bat speed to project putting up those type of numbers? Because just looking at him from afar, he seems more like one of those 8-10-12 HR guys that doesn't do any one thing especially great...but, overall, he's a positive contributor to a team. Maybe a starter on a bottom 5-10 team, utility/fringe player on a playoff team. Maybe in the Keppinger/Sean Rodriguez/Eliott Johnson utility role rather than a full time starter. For example, up until last season, Saladino was a very trendy "sleeper" pick. Which one would you think at this point ends up having more of an impact at the MLB level?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 17, 2013 -> 01:31 PM) This is Nolan Ryan's son espnmlb ‏@espnmlb 45m Reid Ryan takes over as president of Astros: Reid Ryan has been introduced as the new president of the Houston... http://es.pn/16rt2yj http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...asp?P=Reid-Ryan Saw him pitch in 1995 in the Sally League. He didn't last very long.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 17, 2013 -> 12:47 PM) Reading this paragraph, and then the ones that follow, I believe he is referring to the price to trade for Peavy, ie; the players that would go the Sox in this scenario, and NOT Peavy's contract. If that's the case, it's not very clear. I was expecting to see some names mentioned, as he mentions nearly the entire Dodgers' minor league pitching corps. A little weird in this day and age he didn't go ahead and propose some hypothetical trades just to add some more speculative "ooomph."

QUOTE (fathom @ May 17, 2013 -> 12:44 PM) 3 of the first 4 Cubs hitters have hits off of Matt Harvey, ouch How much confidence do you have in Edwin Jackson holding that lead? Actually...can't believe it, but Edwin Jackson's still "only" 29. It seems like he has been around forever...well...because he has.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 17, 2013 -> 12:41 PM) Honestly, I'd bet the Dodgers ownership group is about damn tired of bringing in expensive players and getting a s***ty return...I'm not expecting them to take on a whole lot more salary unless they really make a big move in the standings soon... It's an interesting question. When do they start becoming "risk-averse" financially? With so many new season ticket packages sold, they risk losing 25% of their "new" season ticket base if the team finishes with 70-75 wins. They do have a slew of young pitching prospects, but how patient can they (and their fans) be waiting for them to develop and become consistent winners at the big league level? As the writer pointed out, Capuano is just short-term. And they're really going to have to watch Ryu's weight at his age...but he's been pretty effective so far.

So probably not Puig, unless the Dodgers get really desperate, but Pederson would be a good possibility. 3. Corey Seager, ss http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?s...&pid=608369 4. Joc Pederson, of http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?s...&pid=592626 Those are the only logical players the Sox would target, if they're to trade Peavy EVENTUALLY. Fathom has mentioned in the minor league reports about Pederson before. With Seager just having a decent but not dominant season in the Midwest League, it would be a tough call, but going with Pederson (who's much closer to the big leagues) would make a lot more sense, from the point of view of eventually having to replace Rios and the possibility of Viciedo moving to 1B/DH. Not sure about his fielding...if he could play CF, he would 5X more valuable to the Sox. Hopefully Trayce Thompson keeps maturing to the point where he becomes a legitimate option for that position and the White Sox have some leverage of their own to use against opposing teams looking to deal us an outfielder.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/los-angeles-d...-135400381.html It's interesting they say that Peavy is too expensive, and that gives the Dodgers some sort of leverage... At one point this week, it looked like we were going to be 7 GB. Now it's only 4. The article has moved into the pointless category for the moment. However, one would imagine if the AL Central leader (probably DET) pushed the Sox to 8-9-10 games behind first place, the rumors would really start to fly then. For now, that's going to be the magical barometer. 8 games would be iffy. 9 would be the tipping point, especially if there are still three other teams between 1st place and the position of the Sox.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 17, 2013 -> 07:28 AM) Look at David Price this year. It isn't even just the draft. Maybe golf is the only other sport where someone can just "lose" it like that. Rick Ankiel, would be one example. Dontrelle Willis, etc. Ricky Romero. Chuck Knoblauch, or Mackey Sasser....just making routine throws as part of their position. Adam Dunn, etc.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 17, 2013 -> 07:14 AM) You're right, I just get upset when people talk about the offense as a reason that team won. It was pitching, defense, and timely hitting. They couldn't lose a close game that year. Oh, and that 52-22 record against the Central helped too...maybe they should try that again sometime soon. It was the one year where every time you got to the 7th with a lead, you felt it was going to be automatically locked down. Not sure that everything will come together again like that in my lifetime, with the weirdest part of all being three closers in the span of an entire season. The only time it was close to that (the bullpen as a whole) was when Linebrink was pitching so well in the first half of 2008.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 17, 2013 -> 07:01 AM) They got off to a great start and won the division because of pitching. They were great with RISP and getting clutch hits, but that offense was absolutely terrible. Not terrible, just below average...terrible would be this year's offense the first 6 weeks of the season. Missing Thomas for most of the year made a huge difference.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 17, 2013 -> 06:51 AM) It does? Really? Because a pitcher had a bad inning? He has a 2.80 ERA on the year... I doubt it. He's hot right now. His bat was never in question. He's finally healthy and has been for a significant amount of time now. He's probably not as good as he's been lately but there's no reason to not believe in his bat. His bat was his strength when we drafted him and he's always had projectable power Not really that....just the fact a guy predicted to be a sure-fire top 10-15 draft pick and top of the rotation major leaguer one year can quite easily go to questionable the next. There's no sport like that, not the NFL, not the NBA...the line between success and failure is so delicate. Baseball, unlike the other two sports, it still take 2-3 years for most collegiate pitchers to make it to the big leagues.

Are we sure the White Sox would trade Dunn for Upton now...? Things don't seem as easily optimistic for B.J., however. He's hitting .151/.250/.254 while little brother drives in all the runs, and in the same way the shift of parks was supposed to hurt Justin but hasn't, B.J.'s move to a relatively easier environment has had the opposite effect to this point. Of course, he's not hitting on the road, either, so looking at those kinds of splits aren't going to tell you much now besides the fact that 2013 is not going well for this Upton. The thing is, we are talking about 35 games and 145 plate appearances for a hitter who has been in a cold streak or two in his day. He's also been in more than a few hot streaks, and it tends to even things out for him. The latest came last season, when he entered August sporting a .244/.305/.372 line. When the season finished, Upton was up to .246/.298/.454 -- don't let the on-base percentage fool you, as Tropicana is not an easy place to hit. Despite the OBP, this was an above-average offensive campaign. We can't just wish him into a good run at the plate, though, and assume things will be fine. Someday what we think is just a cold run at the plate could just be his skills failing him, but it's too early to say that now about the 28-year-old. There are reasons to be concerned over the way he's approaching things now, but that's only going to be problematic if he doesn't adjust, as his younger brother already has. Back to the above 2012 splits. Entering August 1, B.J. Upton had struck out out 101 times in 386 plate appearances, or 26 percent of the time. That's not great, but it's not terrible, not even particularly notable given his career punch out rate of 25 percent. In the season's last two months, though, that jumped to 28 percent, with 68 in his last 247, and while it was hard to argue with the 19 homers he hit in that two-month stretch, the fact he struck out more than five times as often as he walked seemed a bit concerning. Now, in 2013, Upton's strikeout rates have jumped to over 32 percent, and while he's managed to bring his walks back to a respectable level, there's something amiss here. He's swinging less often in the zone and outside the zone according to PITCHf/x, and he's seeing a higher percentage of first-pitch strikes. He's seeing more pitches overall as well, but unlike Justin, he isn't achieving much more because of it. An extra walk here and there is being squeezed out, but he's been an absolute mess whenever the pitcher is in control. With two strikes, he's about 60 percent worse than the league -- down nearly 25 percentage points from last year's already poor performance -- and he's about 70 percent worse than average in general when the pitcher is ahead in the count. The difference between this year and last year, besides the extremeness of his shortcomings in those situations, is that he can't seem to make up for it when ahead in the count this time around, exactly when a batter is supposed to. The ability is there. We've seen it before, even if he's never quite blossomed into the player many thought he was going to be when he finally broke out back in 2007. He was an athletic, above-average hitter with high-quality defensive skills during his peak, and as he's all of 28, he should still be, at the least, in the tail-end years of that stretch now. Instead, we're left wondering if he's ever going to be useful again. The reality of the situation is that this is 145 poor plate appearances, so it's too early for those kinds of doomsday questions. Yes, he's striking out too much, he's potentially more passive than he is patient, and his batting average on balls in play is so low it has assured him of a poor line regardless of whether he walks or hits for any power. Those are all problems, but they are correctable ones, much like Justin's own issues from 2012. It might turn out that the extra pitches he's seeing are a bad thing, and that unlike little brother, he needs to be a tad more aggressive at the plate in order to produce the best line possible with his skills. A touch of aggressiveness at the plate certainly couldn't hurt at this point, and with pitchers ramming first-pitch strikes down his throat, there will be plenty for him to get his bat on until they realize they need to respect him at the plate once more. Both of these hitters will likely finish the year in a different place statistically than where they are now. Justin seems to be on the upswing, finally realizing the potential we've been waiting for him to, but as his recent homer drought reminded us, expecting him to slug well over .600 all year long is maybe asking too much. For B.J., the extreme nature of his season is in the other direction, but if he can adjust just enough, he might be able to salvage what has been a rough first 35 games for the Braves. That would certainly work for the Braves, who are in first place despite B.J.'s struggles -- there is time yet to get the player they expected, and the results they expected, before any real damage is done to their season. They can thank their other Upton for much of that. www.sportsonearth.com

By Mike DiGiovanna (www.latimes.com/sports/angels) May 16, 2013, 11:06 p.m. It's early, but it's not that early. The Angels began the second quarter of the season with another ugly loss Thursday night, committing two errors plus a crucial mental mistake, throwing a wild pitch that scored a run and issuing a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk to a .185 hitter who had not drawn a free pass all season. (sounds familiar!!!) The 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox dropped the Angels to 15-26, their worst 41-game start since 1976, and 12 games behind Texas in the American League West. There is still time for the Angels to make up ground, but the task ahead is daunting. They'd have to go 75-46 over the final 121 games to reach 90 wins, which would put them in the playoff hunt. BOX SCORE: Chicago White Sox 5, Angels 4 Considering the injuries, inconsistent pitching, shaky defense and shoddy baserunning that have marred the first seven weeks, that goal seems unattainable. “You've got to start a streak somewhere, because we're going to need to do something pretty special to get back into the race,” slugger Mark Trumbo said. “You let enough of them slide, you're not going to be able to do that. It's not make or break, but it's getting close to the time we need to start making a push.” Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and the Angels took 4-2 lead in the sixth on Howie Kendrick's two-run double, which put Jerome Williams, who gave up two runs and five hits in six crisp innings, in line for a win. Reliever Dane De La Rosa preserved the lead by striking out Tyler Flowers with runners on second and third to end the seventh, but the Angels crumbled in the eighth. Alejandro De Aza led off with a single, and Alexei Ramirez singled to right-center. De Aza easily took third on Ramirez's hit, but Angels center fielder Mike Trout, who had no play, airmailed a throw over the cutoff man that allowed Ramirez, the tying run, to take second. “He knows he was too aggressive there,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of Trout. De La Rosa struck out Alex Rios with a breaking ball that bounced to the backstop, allowing De Aza to score. Adam Dunn's run-scoring single to center made it 4-4. Scioscia replaced De La Rosa with Michael Kohn, who got Paul Konerko to ground out. But Kohn walked the next three batters, including Jeff Keppinger on four pitches to force in the winning run. It was Keppinger's first walk in 141 plate appearances this season. “We're not going to bury our heads in the sand — we know the challenge in front of us,” Scioscia said. “It's going to be rough if we're not able to hold leads.” Williams gave up Rios' solo homer in the fourth and a run in the fifth when Conor Gillaspie doubled, took third on a groundout and scored on shortstop Erick Aybar's error. Williams, making his third start after moving from the bullpen, was pulled after Paul Konerko's leadoff single in the seventh, his pitch count at 74. The right-hander threw more than 90 pitches in his previous two starts and said he felt “strong, like I could compete.” But Scioscia said Williams “isn't as stretched out as he eventually will be — he's definitely gotten tired as his pitch count has risen.” mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/n...e-at-71-2013165 Dick Trickle write-up.

Good stuff. Let's hope we see him at the end of this season with some opportunities to start a couple of games...OTOH, maybe we should prefer NOT to see him in that role, because it might mean we've already been eliminated. You can definitely see him taking Axelrod's spot, at some point in the next 12 months.

By Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune reporter 10:10 p.m. CDT, May 16, 2013 ANAHEIM, Calif. — Possessing the 17th overall pick in the June 6 amateur draft may influence the White Sox to select the best player available instead of addressing a specific need, such as a middle infielder. "At that point, you have to go for the best guy," Doug Laumann, the Sox's director of scouting, said Thursday morning before traveling to see pitcher Alex Gonzalez of Oral Roberts. Executive vice president Ken Williams has taken a greater role in evaluations this year and is expected to spend this weekend looking at potential high picks in Southern California, and Laumann has kept general manager Rick Hahn abreast of all the evaluations. "You never say you want to address a need at 17,'' Laumann said. The Sox, who have selected outfielders with their first pick in three of the past four drafts — Jared Mitchell, Keenyn Walker and Courtney Hawkins — could tilt toward a college pitcher unless a highly desirable infielder is available. The big question for the Sox could be whether there is a college pitcher they perceive with as much talent as Erik Johnson and Chris Beck, their past two second picks who have emerged as top prospects. "Either this year's crop is weaker, or these guys (Johnson and Beck) are more advanced,'' Laumann said. There is plenty of intrigue after the first three overall picks that could have a trickle-down effect for the Sox. The consensus is that pitchers Mark Appel of Stanford and Jonathan Gray of Oklahoma, along with San Diego slugger Kris Bryant, will be the first three picks (in no particular order). The Twins own the fourth pick and are believed to be considering Houston high school pitcher Kohl Stewart, who has signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for Texas A&M. Stewart would play at least one year behind 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel if he honored his commitment, but his leverage as a two-sport player could command him well in excess of the recommended $4.5444 million signing bonus for the fourth pick. The other wild card is Indiana State left-hander Sean Manaea, who has coped with a hip injury. Agent Scott Boras is advising him and the Sox have shied away from his high-profile clients in past drafts. The dilemma for the Sox, however, is they don't perceive much separation in talent between picks 7-15 and 16-25. "There's nothing clear-cut," Laumann said. Laumann said as many as three high school catchers could be selected in the first round, but the Sox are in good shape with the emergence of Josh Phegley and Michael Blanke as, well as Kevan Smith. "We're good there," Laumann said. The Sox have a bonus pool of $5.3 million for their picks in the first 10 rounds, including an assigned value of about $2.2 million for their first pick and $1 million for their second-round pick (55th overall).

Ventura had mixed emotions about three miscues that nearly cost the Sox - Alejandro De Aza's base running mistake that cost the Sox a run in the fourth, left fielder Dayan Viciedo's crooked route that resulted in a two-run double by Howie Kendrick in the sixth, and Alex Rios not running to first on a wild pitch on a strike three call in which Rios thought he checked his swing. Ventura didn't think that De Aza's mistake was terrible because Ventura thought that shortstop Erick Aybar could have trapped Alexei Ramirez's line drive if De Aza wasn't running. As for Viciedo, "you want him to make that play, but again, we want to get better at it," Ventura said. "He probably should have had it.'' As for Rios: "I don't know if he saw it at first or where it was," Ventura said. "But we talked to him." www.chicagotribune.com/sports

QUOTE (fathom @ May 16, 2013 -> 11:40 PM) Sox won a bases loaded walk by Keppinger...just think about that sentence. And Viciedo walking was a key part of that too... If for no other reason than to NOT face him and go after Keppinger instead. 10 days ago, would Viciedo AND Keppinger walks be in the same sentence?

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 16, 2013 -> 11:25 PM) Jenks hook was what made him unhittable That and the 89-91 MPH slider/cutter. Remember the key AB against Bagwell in the World Series?

Good win for the team, as they were able to overcome some defensive issues (Viciedo, specifically) to get the W. Finally feels like there is some sort of positive momentum, and Dunn waking up means the world to the offense. Now all the threads can focus on Paulie and what's wrong with him for awhile, with a few for Keppinger (Beckham rehabbing, worst WAR in the game) and Flowers (because of Phegley and RISP avg). Not unexpected, with both teams leading the AL in errors, that defense and the bullpen would both be key factors. Angels' bullpen really suffering with all those pitchers on the DL. They just brought up 2 more guys today.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 16, 2013 -> 11:18 PM) Velocity is nothing for a closer control of two good pitches is the key Tell that to Jenks or Koch, lol. Actually, Tom Gordon would be a perfect example, or Foulke. Neither as closers threw much over 90, but they had the #2 pitch (curve and change) to nullify batters trying to cheat. Even Takatsu, although that frisbee was a one trick pony...he had more velocity than Dylan.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 16, 2013 -> 11:18 PM) Velocity is nothing for a closer control of two good pitches is the key Tell that to Jenks or Koch, lol. Actually, Tom Gordon would be a perfect example, or Foulke. Neither as closers threw much over 90, but they had the #2 pitch (curve and change) to nullify batters trying to cheat. Even Takatsu, although that frisbee was a one trick pony...he had more velocity than Dylan.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 16, 2013 -> 11:16 PM) Addison Reed is the case study for velocity being overrated. Or Jon Garland...when he threw the sinker, it was always more effective at 89-91 rather than 92+. But that's true for lots of pitchers, when the throw with just a bit less velocity, the natural movement will take over...but they're so consumed with putting up three digits on the scoreboards, they can't stop themselves easily.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 16, 2013 -> 11:10 PM) 90-91 range, IMO. A. Simmons of the Braves supposedly clocked in 97-98 mph range. Viciedo and Ramirez could get it there near 90, for sure. Uribe and Valentin...Shawon Dunston, haha.