caulfield12

QUOTE (Cali @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 12:35 PM) They were just shut out 13-0 by some guy named Garrett Richards. I wouldn't say they're clicking just yet. Better, certainly, but that game result makes me think they're playing just as inconsistent as they've been playing all year. This weekend will be the tipping point of the division in my mind. HUGE pitching match-ups for 2 of the 3 games. Sox need to be ON. A win today will help with the momentum this weekend. The same pitcher who threw a 97 MPH fastball his first pitch and shut a good Tigers' line-up out all night long. He's no joke.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 12:49 PM) Viciedo is a lefty masher. His numbers against righties suggest the Sox can improve if he has a platoon partner the last 2 months of the season. Get me a guy who gets on base v. righties. I THOUGHT IT WAS ALREADY DECIDED THIS DEBATE WAS OVER... NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE IT AGAIN WITH ANOTHER PLAYER NOT NAMED PIERRE? WHAT'S THE POINT?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 10:56 AM) I was looking for last 18 or 23. Nobody seems to have that Seriously? Please go ahead and roll off three random obscure White Sox names. Go ahead. If it will make you feel better, by all means, go ahead.

10-2 There's a 12 game count. But apparently that STILL doesn't qualify as hot. As far as Victor Martinez does, didn't he rip Crain to shreds last year? Or was that Cabrera who torched him? Or both? Yes, I realize he's STILL out and PROBABLY won't play this season, thanks for your concern, and likewise, thanks in advance for your time and consideration. I'm starting to think a certain poster (with a Puckett-esque 34 in his name) has a brother or cousin. Because I'm getting attacked or accused for being correct, but it's good debate style I guess.

Hey, I'm with Fighting Bob LaFollette and not the bad (non Gene, non Yankee manager) McCarthy, lol. Funny, just read a novel called 1Q84...since we're bringing up the 1950's and "Big Brother".

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 11:32 AM) Tigers up 3-0 in the 2nd already. Sucks they didn't have to face Weaver, as Jerome Williams has been terrible of late. That Tigers offense seems to be clicking. Weaver didn't even pitch all that well Sunday agains the Yankees, at least by his standards.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 12:40 PM) cough 2nd wild card cough I honestly believe it will be a battle between the White Sox and Red Sox One would guess the Angels would add a pitcher or two and finish with around 90-92 wins. Oakland is going to push the Angels and Rangers unless they trade away more of their roster by the deadline. j4l's AA for Executive of the Year campaign is working as well as greg's for Ozzie. Just kidding.

That would be 10 out of 12 now, and very nearly 11/12 if not for that miraculous rally the O's put on against Valverde and Benoit over the weekend. Scherzer's leading the AL in K/9 as well. Luckily, we get Turner on Sunday. Out of those last 12 games (including today), the only really bad start was Turner's this week. And there's always a possibility they trade for a pitcher before Sunday, although I think they want to give Smyly one more chance before they trade away someone like Castellanos.

[deleted] is a hard one to read. He's made enough comments about "mocking" posters or making "straw man" arguments but at least he's a pretty intelligent poster, when he chooses not to get bogged down in one specific strain of thought or make facetious arguments just to get everyone riled up. Still, overall he's a positive presence because he brings a different viewpoint and it forces you to at least think about, argue and defend your positions.

Rick Ankiel is theoretically available...was designed for assignment.

•Agent Scott Boras said Stephen Strasburg the pitcher is worth $30MM per season “in free agent value.” Ostensibly, Boras was commenting on the Nationals’ decision to cap the right-hander’s innings, but it’s interesting to see how Boras values Strasburg. In case you’re wondering, the Nationals control his rights through 2016.

I think it was asking a lot for a kid to go all the way from A ball, to AA, starting.... Then he's a long reliever, then he's all of a sudden the closer. From everything you read and hear, Don Cooper is the one who really loved Santiago and wanted to use him more frequently in the 2nd half last season but Ozzie resisted. It doesn't seem like having him pitch only mop-up or in blowouts at the major league level will help as much as stretching him out again for the last month of the minor league season and see if they can get him going again for late August and September. At any rate, of all the players on the roster, this situation has been the biggest enigma.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 11:33 AM) Jeremy Guthrie is no upgrade. This is funny. Guthrie's ERA home and away in 2009-10-11 COMBINED was 4.36 and 4.42. The picture of consistency. He also averaged over 200 IP those three seasons. And he's a perfect "buy low" candidate if there ever was one. And yet everyone knows Cooper can't help him and that he'll be forever horrible because he's pitched 4 months in Colorado. But I guess some prefer watching Hernandez, Santiago, Castro, Molina and Leesman getting their brains beaten in.

No, no. She's very well travelled. It's because I haven't had Thai food in ages (my city in China just has one so-so Thai place) and my friend's father hasn't tried it before. She's been here for 3 months, and has been to Chicago many times, so she's used to "American food," whatever that means. And her daughter hates fast food places like KFC, which is odd for a Thai teenager. But you're right...she might not want it, she was never the type to cook, so I'm sure she is always eating out since she's been in Chicago.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 10:30 AM) so ubaldo loads up the bases with two outs and who comes to bat? 38 yr old hideki matsui and his .165 avg. of course he strikes out,just as useless as fukudome was *sigh* Japanese media already writing obituaries on his career. Can't catch up to the fastball anymore. Sad. But it happens to every player. Damon's not too far behind him. Sucks that Matt Joyce is ouchy he would have been up in that situation. Much more dangerous hitter. But Jimenez will inevitably put more runners on base, that's what he does.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 11:26 AM) You're advocating Jeremy Guthrie, correct? Over trading Viciedo, yes. Did you happen to catch the game last night? Guys like Hernandez and Castro and Molina just aren't ready, and we're doing them no favors getting them crushed out there in hostile environments.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 11:17 AM) So you want to see a legit 300+ hitter consistently, but who also has power and/or speed, and walks a lot? Very few such hitters exist throughout the minors. Or if they do, its guys like Brady Shoemaker who are old-for-level and not highly considered tools-wise. If you look at other organizations, some don't have anyone like that, others may have 1-2 of them at most at any time. I get that. But you'd like to think we could do it more than once a decade. Even Beckham at his best wasn't close to a .300 hitter. And his K/BB rate is pretty bad. And yeah, I know Mike Trout is the exception and he's all everyone in baseball seems to be talking about...poor Bryce lost the spotlight, and Albert, as well.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 11:13 AM) I think I argued the reason why Pierre likely would be an upgrade over Viciedo over the last 2 months successfully despite it being ignored or dismissed out of hand. Not at all. It's based on one ridiculous stat which is taken out of the full context of the last 3-4 years and is irrelevant because it's from a different league.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 09:57 AM) Hmmm, Detroit is 4-2 out of the break, Sox are 3-3 Last 10, Sox are 6-4, Detroit is 7-3. So, how exactly is Detroit on fire? 9-2 I think that's pretty close to being "on fire" They won 6 in a row before that amazing extra inning game against BALT. You can argue Minnesota and KC suck, sure, but the Angels don't. 82 82 Wednesday, Jul 4 boxscore DET MIN W 5 1 40-42 3 4.5 Verlander Duensing 2:33 N 41,023 + 83 83 Thursday, Jul 5 boxscore DET MIN W 7 3 41-42 3 4.5 Dotel Burnett 2:59 D 33,350 ++ 84 84 Friday, Jul 6 boxscore DET KCR W 4 2 42-42 3 4.5 Smyly Sanchez Valverde 2:56 N 39,144 +++ 85 85 Saturday, Jul 7 boxscore DET KCR W 8 7 43-42 3 4.5 Fister Chen 3:00 D 39,392 ++++ 86 86 Sunday, Jul 8 boxscore DET KCR W 7 1 44-42 3 3.5 Scherzer Teaford 2:41 D 36,693 +++++ 87 87 Friday, Jul 13 boxscore DET @ BAL W 7 2 45-42 3 3.5 Fister Hammel 3:00 N 35,566 ++++++ 88 88 Saturday, Jul 14 boxscore DET @ BAL L 6 8 13 45-43 3 3.5 Gregg Benoit 4:43 D 43,215 - 89 89 Sunday, Jul 15 boxscore DET @ BAL W 4 0 46-43 2 3.5 Verlander Gonzalez 3:00 D 30,439 + 90 90 Monday, Jul 16 boxscore DET LAA W 8 6 47-43 2 2.5 Dotel Hawkins Valverde 3:08 N 36,806 ++ 91 91 Tuesday, Jul 17 boxscore DET LAA L 0 13 47-44 2 3.5 Richards Turner 3:09 N 33,950 - 92 92 Wednesday, Jul 18 boxscore DET LAA W 7 2 48-44 2 2.5 Fister Wilson 2:28 N 37,915 +

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 10:23 AM) I'm glad that Crain is coming back on sat.. As long as he doesn't face Cabrera, Fielder or Victor Martinez.

I just want to know when's the last time we have a legitimate position prospect that had a decent walk rate? I don't mean in rookie ball or AFL...just consistently, in his first or second year of full-season. Just watching Youkilis hit, it makes DeAza (hardly takes a walk), Dunn (won't ever hit the ball to the opposite side and change his approach for the situation), Viciedo and Beckham almost intolerable to watch at times. Alexei too, for the first two months. AJ, at least if he's impatient he usually makes contact, except against good LHP. We haven't had a Jeff Abbott or Jeremy Reed in our system for a long time that was a legit 300-325 hitter, at least in the minors. One or two of them would be nice. I know someone will mention Carlos Sanchez this year, but you have to have something (pop, power, speed, fielding ability) to make you a really legit prospect. Maybe he's the closest, but he and Ravelo are essentially singles' hitters.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 09:48 AM) Except viciedo has scored the same amount of runs out of the 7 spot than Pierre has scored leading off. And their amount of at bats are similar despite Pierre platooning. Really, Pierre isn't happening no matter how much you argue with all of us, and it hasnt been proven why a declining player is so much more valuable than a young power hitter. Just leave it at you want viciedo as a trade chip, the Pierre talk is really not proving anything Then he'll argue that Howard and Utley have been out, so it's not fair. It's ridiculous to compare AL and NL stats anyway, especially when the trendline with Juan Pierre in both leagues and at this point in his career (as far as being an effective basestealer) is pretty obvious.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 09:38 AM) Whatever the reason, many posters on Soxtalk were wrong about Youkilis. RBI's really? By the same token Viciedo will not score the number of runs Pierre will. Pierre's arm is a problem, no doubt, but he can go from 1st to third or score from first on a double easier than Viciedo. Not to mention steal a base. His baserunning advantage over Viciedo makes up for his arm, probably more than makes up really. that'10 times every 100 AB's, yes I think that makes a difference when you are in a tight race. Not only that, but you'd have Viciedo available off the bench late in the game as a lefty masher. And if you pinch run for Dunn or Konerko and their spot in the order comes up again you have Viciedo available as a power threat. One of the things about getting another OBP guy in the lineup is it could allow for Youkillis to move to 3 spot which means you won't have to take your 3 hitter out for a pinch-runner. First of all, it's not going to be a 100 point spread, that was just thrown out there as a hypothetical which you ran with, knowing it was highly unlikely that Pierre was ever going to come close to a 400 OBP. If he's capable of doing that, why didn't he do that in 2010 and 2011 when we needed it and he was younger?? Another reason Viciedo can't score is because Beckham and Ramirez sucked or have sucked for large stretches of the first half. There's a big difference when you have Youkilis, Dunn, Konerko, Rios and AJ behind you to drive a run in. Next, Viciedo doesn't have the type of swing that's conducive to just coming off the bench occasionally. To get his good and bad, the upside of his streakiness can't be expected if you play him sporadically. He'll end up with a swing like Tyler Flowers or Brent Lillibridge. Juan Pierre is NO LONGER AN EFFECTIVE BASERUNNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When you get thrown out 30-40% of the time, that's HURTING your team, not helping it. Anything below a 75-80% steal rate is simply unacceptable. If we were talking about Juan Pierre 5-10 years ago, fine. But we're not. It's like arguing we should bring back Ken Griffey out of retirement because he might be able to hit RHP better than Dayan Viciedo. In the end, he's had these bursts before for a month or two. They don't last...and they've always taken place in the NL, not the AL. If Pierre was so great, why couldn't he perform consistently well for us? Why can he play well for the Dodgers and Phillies but not an AL team?

Maybe it would be easier if there was a way to block the words Ozzie Guillen and Juan Pierre. In all seriousness, I have a ton of posts in the Marlins thread, some are links and quotes, but many of us share in the blame for the whole Ozzie thing with greg. I also have a lot of posts in Cowley threads as well. In a way, those are like the PHT "train wreck" or industrial chemical spill threads at times that you find yourself wanting not to click on but having a hard time withstanding the urge. Part of it's due to the fact that Ozzie is in town this week and many comparisons are being drawn, some fair, some perhaps unfair. Maybe the other reason is because we're all feeling a bit of tension with the Tigers series coming up this weekend and the trade deadline approaching. We want to believe in this team, we've been waiting for 4 years...but there's a piece or two still missing. And you can pretty much guarantee the Tigers will be even better on paper in two weeks' time. And we're also seeing the "bandwagon effect" too, as more new posters or perhaps some old posters are rediscovering the White Sox again. More voices, more conflicts.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 19, 2012 -> 09:35 AM) Daryl Van Schouwen ‏@CST_soxvan Sox-Tigers Fri-Sun: Peavy 7-6, 3.12 vs Verlander 10-5, 2.43, Sale 11-2, 2.11 vs Porcello 6-5, 4.66, Humber 4-4, 5.77 vs Turner 0-1, 10.29 Unlike this Red Sox series, we have a clear advantage (on paper) in two of the match-ups at least. Well, maybe not, who knows what to make of the Sunday game. With a rookie who just got battered, pitching in the rubber game of the biggest series of the year for both teams, I'd give the advantage to the veteran, but I would guess the Las Vegas oddsmakers wouldn't have a clue either other than to look at DET being on fire and the fact that they're at home.