caulfield12

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 04:38 PM) I like this post. I like The Kite Runner.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 04:31 PM) Yeah, I've heard this -- the mysterious loss of velocity, inability to recover in between outings, non-response to rest reminds me of just about every torn labrum case I've heard of. This is actually why I was so afraid of the Danks business at first. The rub here is that many throwers have torn labrums and have no problems, so it isn't cut and dry if you see some fraying on an arthrogram. In my personal case, the radiologist said I had a torn RC and perfect labrum and the orthopedist saw something completely different (labrum tear). Sometimes some rehab type work alleviates the symptoms of a labrum tear and you'll never tarnish a pitcher's value with that label until you know rehab won't work. I suspect a similar story with Sergio Santos who has been DL'd with shoulder inflammation for 3 months and has a setback after every time he throws. It is a bit ironic that Sirotka went down, then David Wells in 2011. Santos went down, Molina not too much later...what's the latest prognosis on Nestor? On the bright side, Zach Stewart lost 3-4 mph but turned into an essentially "free" player for us in Youkilis who already had 5 GW RBI's in his short time with the Sox. Mark Teahen should watch out for any sharp objects and avoid watching Final Destination. •White Sox GM Kenny Williams always thinks big and it would not be surprising to see him get in on pitcher such as Zack Greinke. The problem is that his farm system doesn't have much to offer and they don't want to give up pieces off the big league roster while contending. Ken Rosenthal, Foxsports.com

Don't worry, LIllian already jinxed Conor Jackson and Lillibridge this year, to name a few.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 03:34 PM) I'm going to agree with Marty here, insomuch as we're comparing two guys whose raw talent has never been questioned, but whose results have not always matched. And EJax hasn't exactly had a squeaky clean rep, with rumors of "smokiness", and the endless teamhopping that might have something to do with that. (Not that I would ever hold that against the man) And, well, I'll probably start a thread soon, but hasn't Coop proven to be worth every penny this year, and then some? Who else could steer this ship of toddlers so well? Answer: Rudy Jaramillo. Dave Duncan? Leo Mazzone (I know, someone will mention that he failed in BAL, although the Orioles years later are still having trouble with their Big 4 young pitchers in Tillman, Arrieta, Britton and Matusz). The White Sox should sign any available pitcher in the world with the last name of CHEN with how Bruce befuddles us and how Taiwan's Chen has been shutting down the TIGGERS.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 07:51 AM) They're all filling holes that exist, which is the whole point of a farm system, soooo...pretty good? There are probably one or two of them that could start if needed (Marinez, Santiago) but that's not where the vacancies were. Marinez has started a grand total of two games in his whole minor league career, including the Dominican. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...?P=Jhan-Marinez

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:59 PM) People often mention that one bad outing completely screws over a reliever's ERA. If you take out Reed's one disastrous outing, his ERA would be 2.53 and he would be getting ROY talk. He is giving up homers at an insanely low rate, striking guys out and has a bad BABIP at the moment. I'm not sure what people who doubt his offspeed stuff are watching because his change and slider can be devastating from my eyes, and are perfectly matched with a 95mph fastball with good late tailing action. Seriously, what do you want from the guy? He's aggressive, keeps the ball in the park and is unflappable as a rookie. His stuff is extremely good, he's just not polished yet. There are 139572 other things to complain about on this team that are more legitimate than Reed. Shortest.Post.Ever.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 03:16 PM) He needs to be able to bury that slider in the dirt on occasion. Everything seems to be on the same plane right now. Like that sequence to Perez. The problem is he can't sustain it consistently. Not only that, but his command with the FB has been very spotty, at best. The other problem with Jones and Reed throwing more sliders is that AJ has been pretty darned atrocious blocking pitches this year. That's always a factor with runners on base in pressure situations, especially on 3rd.

Indians made that game a lot closer than comfort. Jays had to use their closer for the 2nd day in row, Janssen, so he's out for tmrw. In fact, he had to enter the game in the 8th to stop the bleeding.

The Tigers should go for Quentin and/or that everyday 2B like Infante. Boesch's days are numbered, because Young is hitting well and Berry is also pushing for playing time. And anything that gets Raburn out of the line-up is good for them in 2012. Jacob Turner will be taking Smyly's spot and starting on the 17th (Tuesday). It's still all talk for right now. But one Sports Illustrated columnist thinks the Tigers have what it takes to make a big run in the second half of the season. Tom Verducci released his team-by-team previews for the second half of baseball and had encouraging things to say about a Tigers team that continues to trail the AL Central. "The offense has been good, but it hasn't really caught fire the way we all thought," Verducci said. "Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera, they've been doing their thing. Austin Jackson has had a great season when he's been healthy. "But, as Jim Leyland said, the key for this team is really getting guys on base in front of Cabrera and Fielder and I think the depth of the lineup has actually been a question as well." The Tigers entered the second half at 44-42 and 3.5 games behind the White Sox in the division (and a half-game behind the Indians). They're now 45-42 after beating the Orioles on Friday. Verducci points out that the Tigers, despite their pitching struggles (they rank 19th in WHIP, 22nd in opposing batting average and 15th in ERA), have the right pieces in Doug Fister, Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer to compliment ace Justin Verlander. "Why you like Detroit when the season started hasn't really changed," Verducci said. "That's why I think the team to watch, that I think will have the best second half in terms of getting on a real serious run is the Detroit Tigers." freep.com/sports • Buster Olney of espn.com sized up every American League team's trade prospects heading into the deadline at the end of the month. Here's what he wrote about the Tigers: "It's easy to suggest that the Tigers could use an upgrade at second base. But who would it be? Would Marco Scutaro -- who has a .609 OPS outside of Coors Field -- represent worthwhile improvement? Kelly Johnson? Mike Fontenot? Placido Polanco? Chris Getz? The Tigers' problems are not easily fixed. They could use bullpen depth, though -- someone like the Padres' Huston Street or Balfour." • Joel Sherman of the New York Post named Tigers ace Justin Verlander as his first-half AL Cy Young Award winner. He wrote: "It does not feel as dominant as last year, but once again no one has outpitched the defending AL Cy winner." • Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire added to Verlander's heap of praise after Wednesday night's game: "To me, watching that kid is like watching Jack Morris — once he gets going, he's going to finish you off, just like Jack used to do. Believe me, when I compare someone to Jack Morris, that's a compliment. He's the best pitcher I've been around, and he should be in the Hall of Fame, and Verlander is on the same path." • Tweet from Danny Knobler, cbssports.com: "Prospect to watch: 21-year-old OF Avisail Garcia, just promoted by Tigers to AA Erie. One scout: 'Looks like a young Miguel Cabrera.'"

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:09 PM) Everyone in majors talking Hamels, what's up with Holladay, we know Kenny tried for him once (before he went to Phillies), what's his contract like? Halladay...no. Not happening, for a number of reasons. Most importantly, because he's missed so much time with that muscle strain. I'd think we learned our lesson with Peavy. Roy has been out for basically 2 months.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 01:49 PM) When the Sox traded for Jackson his ERA was 5.16. Volquez is a similar style pitcher in that he has a good fastball, but has control problems. It would be nice if he was a workhorse, but at the time the Sox traded for Jackson they didn't have Peavy. At this moment, the Sox need quality innings more than just innings. Volquez is the best option aside from Hamels or Greinke. I don't know how you can definitively say he'd be better than say, Garza or Dempster. Look at what happened to Latos when he went to Great American Ballpark. Volquez throws hard, but the ball leaves the park 1.5X that speed at USCF in July/Aug/September. Once again, there were no character issues with Edwin like there are with Edinson.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:30 PM) I had no baseball gear on. Good thing I didn't wear a Sox hat. I volunteered to the guy that myself and my friend were at the Royals game. He said, "I heard it went 14 innings." I pretended I wanted KC to win and said, 'Yeah, tough loss." I think the cop was looking for drunk drivers. I'm still surprised he didn't ticket me for monetary reasons. Cop told me he saved me 160 bucks for 12 over. It always surprises me when people get out of tickets with warnings. True it was 1:45 a.m. and I didn't drink at the game at all, but he had that money out of me and let me go. You sound like Peter in the Bible. Don't deny the Sox two more times or you'll be in trouble.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:11 PM) Danks hasn't had much opportunity in the field first of all, and that ball Francour hit looked gone off the bat. It almost was gone. Danks laid out for that ball and made one hell of an effort. Yes, he made a bad play in LA, but you know that defensive positioning is done from the bench anyway, especially at that point in the game. He was where they told him to be, not that it matters anyway since Francour went down and belted one. I just think "disaster" is a stretch, but I do agree he's looked much better at the plate than I expected. Wouldn't mind seeing him get some more AB's, especially if De Aza's struggles continue. That doubles or prevent defense really didn't help DeAza. The ball that dropped in front of him, he must have misread it, because it looked like a sure out off the bat. Still, he's been a lot better recently than in the first 4-6 weeks.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 02:20 PM) You've had some great posts on this game. How do you remember so many plays from last night's marathon? I've forgotten many of them already, like Pena's liner, until you brought it up. That was a rocket. Yes, a lot of rookie relievers showed some balls last night. It's a lot easier when you can watch on t.v. But I find that I actually pay more attention to the description on radio when I'm in China...feels like you get lazy when you can watch all the action instead of imagining it in your mind.

Jimenez is proving to be a major disaster for the Indians. Not only because of the contract they're inheriting, but also because of the pitching talent they gave up. 8-2 Blue Jays. Rocked to about the same extent the White Sox got to him. So we'll enter tonight's game with a 3 1/2 game lead on them...and either 3 or 4 on DET. Scherzer's pitching for the Tigers against CHEN (not Bruce's cousin).

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 12:54 PM) Cooper is the rockstar of pitching coaches good with the bad. Jackson was in roughly the same boat as Volquez is now when they traded for him and that worked out pretty well. How? Jackson's a major workhorse. Volquez has been injury-prone and hasn't made 30+ starts too often in his career. And very few have ever questioned Edwin's character, work ethic or as a teammate. Can't say the same about Volquez.

keep sunofgold away from this thread... These Kids Can Pitch, Appreciate That

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 10:20 AM) Yet are tied for the 4th best record in baseball. Pretty impressive. And still have one of the better road records in baseball at 8 games over... Finally starting to win some extra inning and one run games with more frequency.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 11:18 AM) So he's at least 16, or 15 with a permit. Isn't it 14 with a permit? Maybe you can get permit to go from home to work, home to school or home to Kauffman Stadium?

Who would have thought coming into the season that one of the most important pieces COULD have been the "good" Jason Frasor? Hard to fault KW, he sucked with us last year and another high salary wasn't in the payroll plans. But we could use that type of veteran pitcher now, definitely.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/p...nded/order/true White Sox now first in the American League with 14 blown saves (overall) and tied for 2nd in all of MLB. That statistic is unlikely to change with such an inexperienced pen in the heat of a pennant race.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 10:42 AM) I did not like Robin putting Hudson in to pinch run for Dunn instead of Danks or Escobar. Why pinch run your slowest bench player there? And Danks should have caught that ball before he hit the wall. Either his defense is way overrated or he just hasn't played LF much because he sure hasn't impressed me as "the best defensive OFer in the organization" as Hawk calls him. I wouldn't say there's a huge difference between any of those guys. Danks might have the slight advantage, but Escobar's far from a burner. When AJ hit that ground rule double, Hudson was flying around the bases. Have no idea why he got such a bad jump on the AJ grounder that he got thrown out at home by Francouer on...it was a fairly slow grounder and he would have been out by miles with a decent and typical Frenchie throw. We'll probably bring up Mitchell in September just for his speed and pinch-running ability. We miss Lillibridge here the most.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 10:43 AM) Where did Jordan Danks' defensive prowess go? That was a really really tough ball he dropped out there....seemed he had it in his glove and then dropped it when he made contact with the ball. And he's not a natural LFer, so he's playing out of his normal position where he has the most experience.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 09:21 AM) If the Sox get a right-handed starter it has to be someone with good stuff who you'd be ok with starting a postseason game against the Yankees, Rangers, or Red Sox. That's a short short list that maybe a guy like Volquez is on the fringes of. If the Sox could get his walk rate down maybe he'd give us 1/2 year like Jackson did in 2010. Which would require Don Cooper miracle working/raising Lazarus from the dead. Didn't realize you were a fan of his.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 14, 2012 -> 08:21 AM) Have to say that I've been disappointed with Reed's velocity really since he came up last September, but certainly for most of this year. Was he really hitting 97 regularly in the minors? His stuff just looks flat more often than not, to the point where I think he should be considered as trade material under the right circumstance. Do you still want to trade Alexei Ramirez and Viciedo? Thought not.