caulfield12

I would hope the lowest moment of a fan would actually have something to do with the team's performance and nothing to do with off-the-field drama. That's like getting more excited about the National Enquirer or Globe than the movies and t.v. shows the stars appear in in the first place... In all seriousness, Robin hasn't been as great as we're making him out to be, Ozzie wasn't the worst manager in baseball...it just feels that was because these arguments have become some polarized, back and forth, back and forth. If someone or anyone says something approaching reasonableness, nobody pays attention.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 09:19 PM) Hopefully he gets traded soon and misses the start vs the Sox next Monday. I know Ryan would never trade him to the White Sox and then turn around and have him face the Twins immediately after the trade...that would be crazy. Unless he really dislikes the Tigers/Illitch and would prefer the White Sox win the Central.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 08:08 PM) I think it's more important to keep turning that lineup over, getting guys on base for the middle of the order, than it is to sacrifice that for the occasional HR. A benefit of that is you have Viciedo on the bench to pinch hit late in the game against a lefty. PH for Beckham, De Aza, or (for instance) Pierre. Voodoo baseball. Been there, done that. Won't work no matter how many ways you try repackaging it to make it somehow more palatable.

QUOTE (Springfield SoxFan @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 08:38 PM) Agreed, but it has been a while since we spent seven figures total on international signings. Good start. As you say, if the Sox were the only team on this guy it would be disconcerting. Or good scouting. We were the only ones really in on Alexei, Quintana and Iguchi, for example. It's not unheard of to "hide" prospects down there, although it is pretty rare with the size of that island and how fast word of mouth travels. And the buscones want to line their pockets by having player exhibitions and starting bidding wars.

I need to meet my good Thai friend and her daughter somewhere downtown/Loop area for lunch before the Sox game next WED. Any recommendations? Don't want to go too far to the North...since we will probably meet between and 11 and 1130.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 08:58 PM) Boesch and Fister performing well is not what we want to see. Both have contributed a lot of late. About the only positive is it keeps Berry out of the line-up...

Pierre Pierre Pierre Let's see. 1. Cabrera 2. Trout 3. Tie Votto/Hamilton 1. Strasburg 2. Verlander 3. Sale

Quin, that was too long to be a Greg post. 4-5 lines would suffice. Greg, here's one. Alex Rios is MUCH MUCH richer than Ozzie Guillen!!!

Max Scherzer is first in the AL in K/9. Liriano, 3rd, at 9.56, he has been dealing. And normally, when he gets on a run, it will last for 2-3 months.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 03:19 PM) Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi Zack Greinke due to return from his hiatus next Tuesday vs #Phillies. That gives him probably just one, and possibly two, starts before the trading deadline.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 03:05 PM) Yes, I think every single pitcher the Sox have that is throwing well is 100% guaranteed to have a debilitating injury any day now. We should stop using all of our good pitchers immediately. The point is, you can never have enough starting pitching depth. True or false? Nothing is guaranteed to go wrong, that's true. But if you keep pushing pitchers like Ventura has been, you just can't go on and on indefinitely without repercussions. Floyd, Humber and Danks have all been hurt this year, not to mention Crain twice. There's a sound reason that Washington and the White Sox are considering limiting Sale and Strasburg, even in the midst of a pennant race.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 30, 2012 -> 12:04 AM) Maybe we should trade all these pitchers for Anthony Rizzo???? Where would he play??

It would be very simple to give something back with your parking stub. Like you could use use it for a free Coke and hot dog and/or a discounted beer and hot dog. Something to make you feel you're getting something back of value, like a cover charge with free drink/s attached. Then you don't feel like you're getting ripped off as much psychologically. And you feel better about supporting your team.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 01:40 PM) Guthrie isn't an upgrade over any of these. Maybe in Balt, where he had zero pressure to win, but not in a pennant race. You're seriously going to argue that someone with a consistent 3 year big league track record of similar results for 200+ innings per season isn't an upgrade over: 1) Axelrod 2) Quintana 3) Humber If that was the case, then we should be able to put 2 of those 3 together and acquire Greinke or Hamels, or at least Garza or Dempster. But that's clearly NOT the case. This is like the Marty argument in a way. If those guys are so good, why can't we get anything even better back for them? Would even be willing to throw Doyle and Pedro Hernandez in, if we still had Terry on our roster. But even those 4 pitchers wouldn't get you Greinke (two of Humber/Axelrod/Quintana) + Doyle + Hernandez.

By Breakdown ERA W L SV SVO GP GS CG IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG Home 4.42 16 22 0 0 50 49 0 311.2 322 162 153 42 77 191 .265 Away 4.36 14 26 0 0 49 48 3 305.2 308 164 148 44 99 168 .263 GUTHRIE has been virtually the identical same pitcher, home and away, in 2009/10/11. Eerily consistent. He's fine as a 5th starter. And then we have Cooper. Wouldn't we be happy to get those numbers out of Floyd or Humber or Quintana or Axelrod for the remainder of the season? Or even Danks? And he's not going to cost an arm and a leg. And he's a workhorse, averaging 200+ IP over three seasons.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 01:25 PM) Why do you make stuff up? I.E. "You probably think ..." So please bless and grace us with your opinion on where the might Juan Pierre would hit in the line-up. And you're not taking into consideration Viciedo is probably even or better with him defensively and has a MUCH better arm to prevent every single baserunner in the majors from challenging him. Are you factoring in all the extra bases and runs scored because of Pierre's arm in LF? Heck, he cost us 2-3 wins in April/May 2011 alone with his atrocious defense. You can't just look at one single dimension.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 01:15 PM) Why do you make stuff up? True or false. You want to trade for Juan Pierre and play him in LF against RHP? What position do you actually want him to hit in the order? 9th? That kind of defeats your whole argument...if he's such a great hitter against RHP, shouldn't he hit 1st or 2nd? DEAR MAGNIFICENT MARTY Name the last 3 outfielders who have come to the AL from the NL and hit significantly better or the same as they were hitting in the NL? Your whole argument is based on 1) the NL=AL, and 2) Pierre actually sustaining his success rate. Juan Pierre OPS totals in 2009 April .905 May .940 June .628 July .603 Aug .852 Sept .560 Juan Pierre can be hot for a month or two, in the NL, and keep in mind, this was 3 years ago, when he actually had speed. But there's no way he can sustain it over a longer time period. He will wear down in August and September, it's inevitable.

Here's an idea. Why don't we trade for someone who WON'T cost us Viciedo but will still give us a huge boost, like Liriano or Guthrie? John Paul Morosi Updated Jul 18, 2012 11:47 AM ET Tuesday night, it became apparent that the three American League Central contenders have the same trade-deadline need. WHAT'S THE DEAL? Follow the latest trade deadline moves with our transaction tracker. A starting pitcher. In Detroit, Jacob Turner — the Tigers’ top pitching prospect — surrendered seven earned runs over two innings in a disastrous outing against the Los Angeles Angels. While the Angels were battering Turner, the Tampa Bay Rays — with one of the meeker lineups in the AL — scored three first-inning runs against Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin. He surrendered four runs in all and failed to complete the sixth inning in a 4-2 loss. Earlier in the day, the first-place Chicago White Sox placed Gavin Floyd on the disabled list with right-elbow tendinitis. While Floyd could return as early as next week, the current rotation includes two All-Stars (Chris Sale and Jake Peavy), two rookies (Dylan Axelrod and Jose Quintana), and Phil Humber, who has a 7.02 ERA since throwing a perfect game in April — even after his win over Boston on Tuesday night. Can the acquisition of one starting pitcher help to swing a division race? Absolutely. It happened in the AL Central last year. The Tigers led the Indians by only three games before Doug Fister’s first start with the club Aug. 3. The Tigers had the best record in the AL from that point forward, including 9-2 in Fister’s starts. Detroit won the division by 15 games. This year, the White Sox, Tigers and Indians are likely scouting many of the same trade candidates. One starter who would fit nicely for all three teams — Minnesota’s Francisco Liriano — pitches for a division rival. Liriano returned to the Twins’ rotation May 30 after a brief spell in the bullpen; his 2.83 ERA since then is among the top 15 for major-league starters during that span, according to STATS LLC. Liriano, 28, would have particular appeal to the Tigers and Indians, who lack a left-handed starter in their rotations. (The White Sox have two, Sale and Quintana.) As for the complication of trading within the division: The Twins dealt Delmon Young to the Tigers last year, and Liriano will be eligible for free agency after the season, anyway. The White Sox have had the division’s best rotation this year, but they stand to gain the most by acquiring an established starter. As brilliantly as Sale and Peavy are pitching this year, they have surpassed the number of innings they threw in the majors last season. That raises concerns about their durability in the second half. Frankly, manager Robin Ventura can’t be too sure about what his other starters have left to offer, either. Quintana has a 5.68 ERA over his last three outings; Axelrod has only two quality starts this season; John Danks hasn’t pitched since May because of a left-shoulder injury, and there’s no guarantee he will return this year. The White Sox farm system is among the most barren in baseball, but that hasn’t stopped general manager Kenny Williams from making big deals before. Williams is known for taking chances on talented players at the low ebbs of their careers (A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Quentin, Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez and most recently Kevin Youkilis.) Among available pitchers, Colorado’s Jeremy Guthrie best fits that description. He’s having a horrible season at high altitude, but his July ERA is a respectable 4.32. While Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field is hardly a pitcher’s haven, Guthrie may be more comfortable there than at Coors Field.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 01:05 PM) That actually makes sense for both teams and all of the players. It makes sense if John Henry's writing a check for $25-35 million to go along with it.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 12:03 PM) A respectable player is going to cost a respectable return. Pierre might come cheaply which was the whole point of the idea. A cheap insurance policy. Now he's an insurance policy? You keep advocating he get 65-70% of the at-bats in LF and come up to the plate more than anyone but DeAza. Heck, you probably think he's a better leadoff hitter than Alejandro because of DeAza's 15/23 stolen base success rate, which is quite similar to Juan's in 2010 and 2011.

Mitchell's value has fallen far enough in the last 6 weeks he can no longer be considered a centerpiece of a deal...unless it's for a Millwood type. They're better off holding onto him going into 2013, unless you absolutely have to include him to get someone like Garza, Dempster, Greinke, etc.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 11:16 AM) Pierre has been getting on base against RH'ers in 2012 much better than Viciedo. At the very least, he'd be a cheap insurance policy. And what place are the Phillies in the standings again using Juan Pierre prominently in their line-up?

QUOTE (That funky motion @ Jul 18, 2012 -> 10:28 AM) Yesterday, Josh Norris tweeted that the White Sox have had scouts at Dellin Betances‘ last three starts for Trenton. He then stated that a source told him that Chicago has “zeroed in” on the big hurler. Betances has been one of the Yankees’ top prospects the last few years, but he has always struggled with his consistency. After going 3-5 with a 6.39 ERA and 5.88 FIP in 16 starts with Empire State, the Yankees finally sent Betances back to Trenton, where he is looking a lot more confident. In Triple-A, Betances was averaging 8.32 BB/9 while picking up 8.56 K/9. In his first three games back in Double-A he has cut his walks way down (3.38 BB/9) while continuing to strike out batters (9.64 K/9). Norris had no insight into who the White Sox would be willing to give up for Betances, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Yankees were willing to part with him for the right deal. Could this be the end of another Killer B in Pinstripes? Update (Brien): My general rule on this sort of thing is that anytime a reporter the caliber of Norris is being told that there’s serious interest in a player from a team, there’s at least a decent chance something will happen. That said, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for news of a deal between the Yankees and White Sox this year. Like Tamar, I would think the Yankees would be pretty eager to part with Betances in the right deal these days, but looking at the White Sox roster, there just aren’t any obvious fits for a deal between the two teams. From the Yankees’ perspective, getting Matt Thornton or A.J. Pierzynski would be ideal, but neither of those two names are even going to be on the table with the Chi Sox in the thick of the pennant race. As far as a prospect-for-prospect swap, the White Sox system is pretty bare at the moment, but I suppose it’s possible there are some guys there that the Yankees’ scouts are high on and would be willing to swap Betances for. In a heartbeat, Thornton + prospect for Betances. Turn around and trade for someone like Darren Oliver to replace Matt. Plus, that gives us some payroll flexibility jettisoning Thornton's salary.

Cool name. There's that. Might as well be HamLET, but Hanlet's close to Hanley, so there's hope in that direction. $$$$?????