caulfield12

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 4, 2013 -> 05:44 PM) When Axelrod isn't pinpoint, he's meat. That's why it's doubtful he can realistically be penciled in any kind of long-term plan. And the Tigers are winning again...starting to build some confidence with two victories in the 14th inning and the late comeback against Veras last night. If we don't stay within 5-6 games back, the casual Sox fans are going to start losing whatever interest they had on Opening Day.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 4, 2013 -> 05:39 PM) This Royals team is better than the Sox in nearly every aspect, even if Hosmer and Moustakas are struggling. Luckily they don't have power ratings for "most boring" team in baseball or we'd be consistently in the Top 5. Along with the Astros, Marlins (they would be ahead just based on Stanton and Fernandez alone), maybe the Padres, Twins, Mariners (they have Felix at least)....

Our current rotation has two 30th round draft picks and a kid who took six years to get out of A ball. Pretty unusual.

QUOTE (Jake @ May 4, 2013 -> 05:31 PM) Not sure if I'm buying this, especially if it is time to start assuming Hosmer/Moustakas just aren't going to the be the players KC hoped they would be. Perez hasn't taken the offensive step forward they hoped for either. Still way too early to make those assessments. Look how long it took Alex Gordon to come around. They almost gave up on him.

Ramirez 3/31 career against Guthrie but no choice but to play him. We need a utility infielder who can play SS. Alexei hasn't missed a single inning this season (yes, I realize this is what Angel Sanchez was supposed to do, but can we afford to carry another defender who can't hit with our offense?)

Looks like Konerko will pass Nellie Fox for most games played for the Sox but fall just short of Frank Thomas' home run totals.

Well, that's not encouraging given our history against Guthrie.

Guthrie has a pretty amazing streak going. The Royals have won 16 consecutive games that he's started. BTW, Royals' announcers had a good point. That he's the smallest and softest throwing RHP in a starting rotation in the AL. Is that true? Obviously, those two factors have always been counted against him, but he's had only one ugly start, against the Nationals when they were hitting everyone.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 4, 2013 -> 02:30 PM) I thing Avengers was MUCH better than iron Man 3, but Iron Man 3 was excellent. I am now in love with Rebecca Hall. She has that kind of quiet beauty that doesn't leap out at you right away...but that just takes hold of you over time. She's not the sort to pose in FHM or Maxim or "try" to be sexy....it's just her natural state of being, a lot like Eva Green (although Ms. Green is almost too naturally voluptuous for her own good).

Note to Buddy Bell/Laumann: Please do not take the "best available player" in June if he's an outfielder. I don't have confidence he will emerge unscathed from our system. The best plan for the time being is to keep developing pitching depth and dealing them for young hitters from other organizations. The end.

Cubs doing a great job of playing even worse than the White Sox. Marmol with another blow-up, yet Rondon with the Blown Save.

Yeah, I was thumbing through the Barons' website and noticed Snodgress had a 4.66 ERA. He's not exactly setting the world on fire, either. But it's not like we don't have any depth at LH starter. He's going to be slated for the bullpen or trade with the depth we have (crosses fingers) at the major league level. Plus, Thornton's deal will PROBABLY be over after this season.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=2...p;tcid=tw_share Very informative story. Seems that at least the organization has a philosophy of getting "contact outs" or early contact outs and not going just 5 innings because of extended at-bats and trying to strike out too many. It's hard to get young pitchers not to focus on the radar guns and K/9 ratios, because those are two key barometers that everyone looks at, but it seems he realizes that he needs to become more refined as a pitcher and not just a thrower to make it at the next level.

We should also be quite thankful Gavin was willing to sign the quite "team friendly" contract that Mr. Danks passed on (rightly). It was the first time in his big league career a team was willing to stand behind him and give him a boost of confidence to stop looking over his shoulder. That, and Don Cooper's influence. He finally found a place where he belonged.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ May 4, 2013 -> 06:17 AM) It's definitely OK for a cop to yell back at a person in certain situations, and not just where violence is implied. There are a million different personalities in the world. Believe it or not, some people NEED to be yelled at to reach them. Of course you want to keep it low as often as possible, but that's not always an option. It's a little more complex than how you originally put it, is all I'm getting at. If you have seen the video from the recent Reese Witherspoon arrest, it's amazing the cop kept his patience and cool the entire time.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 3, 2013 -> 10:16 PM) Iron Man 3 was excellent. Great character development and that is all in will say. This is definitely where the Transformers series (besides the hiring of Michael Bay) and Iron Man 2 went astray a little bit... No matter what the special effects or CGI, if you don't really care about the fate of the characters at all (of course, there are exceptions like E.T., where it's an alien and not a human....but the point remains), then it can't really be a great movie that you become emotionally invested in or want to see more than once or twice in your lifetime.

QUOTE (High Mileage @ May 3, 2013 -> 11:55 PM) I haven't heard anything about Shields teaching his new teammates his cutter, nor anything about issues with Joe Maddon, but it's certainly possible. As far as Santana, I'm not sure I follow what you're saying. This season, his K/9 is way up, K/BB and BB/9 are way down. In 2008 he had the best season of his career, and in the 4 seasons after his K/9, K/BB, and BB/9 were actually really consistent. I have heard his velocity was down last year, as there have been rumors that he's been pitching for a while now with a partial tear, in his elbow I believe. Our TV guys have said his velocity is back up this year, whatever that's worth. Last year his biggest issue was the long ball, he lead the league. Enough of these damn postponements already, I WANT TO WATCH BASEBALL!!! Okay, well, he definitely wasn't the same pitcher that I remember from the 2005 World Series, that's for sure. Last year, I remember almost feeling sorry for him on the mound. Wonder how a partial tear or injury like that could bother him for four years and then magically go away? Well, I'd have to let our resident physical therapy/medical expert PTAC answer that question. Guthrie's been on a great run, especially against the Sox. Heard it has been something like 16 consecutive starts for him without a loss. Not a bad little acquisition after the Indians, Orioles and Rockies all gave up on him. He always had first round talent and just never put it together. And happy not to have to face Bruce Chen in the rotation, no matter what his ERA is in any given season.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 4, 2013 -> 12:55 AM) I didn't wanna write his full name. Too long. Salvador Perez is too long?

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 3, 2013 -> 10:46 PM) Why not skip over Axelrod after the rainout? I personally think the Royals' lefties will light him up. And Sal likes slow tossers, too. You're only allowed to call White Sox players by their pet nicknames!

Damn you, Avila. Veras gave up a two run homer to blow the save and probably the game. Will wait to see what Papa Grande does. Astros, if they go on to lose, will still not have won a single game all season when their opponent scored first. Fister had an implosion in this one...gave up five baserunners (3 runs) in a row in the 7th and had to be relieved.

http://www.journalnow.com/sports/dash_base...1a4bcf6878.html Love the last line, even in a puff piece. Nice to feel good about ANYONE's future in this organization for the moment. Courtney Hawkins on the 7 Day DL (undisclosed injury). Brent Tanner to Kanny even though he was 10/25 and 4 for 5 on WED. Ravelo up to Winston-Salem.

Erik Johnson with another very good start, but rain-delayed and probably won't come back out again. 3 1/3, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K's. ERA down to 1.30, and roughly .160 BAA. Too bad the rain came right when he was facing Puig again.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 3, 2013 -> 07:45 PM) Quietly, Phegley's having a heck of a season The problem is how likely is it that he'll put up a 700+ OPS at the major league level? And he might be a solid defensive catcher, but he's not Miguel Olivo arm-wise, either. What are his splits against RHPers? He's one of those guys who's "interesting" but because of his injuries and health problems (and was drafted pretty high), he's not even a consensus Top 10 prospect in our relatively weak system.

As for the players meeting, it was called by Mark DeRosa in an attempt to get some confidence, some swagger back into the clubhouse. “I think obviously it’s necessary for us,” he said before Tuesday’s game. “You can’t leave it up to Gibby and the coaching staff every time. It was a situation where we needed to come together as a group, air our differences if there were any, kind of open up the floor.” DeRosa said the Jays had kind of lost their way. “I felt like when I showed up in spring training there was such a buzz about this team,” he said. “The guys kind of fed off of it. I felt like even though we never had our true team out on the field, we kind of had a little pep in our step playing throughout spring training and playing well. I just wanted to get that feel back again.” He added that what the Jays have gone through is a new feeling for him as well. “To be honest with you, I’ve never been in this situation,” he said. “I’m not used to putting on my uniform and expecting things to go wrong. I expect them to go right. There’s no way, with this team, that that should happen.” Remarkably, Gibbons hasn’t lost his sense of humour. The besieged manager has retained the ability to poke fun at himself even with many if not the majority of fans calling for his scalp in wake of his team’s dreadful April. Prior to the game he was asked if when he brings the lineup card to the plate along with his Boston counterpart John Farrell, who the fans will be booing? “Probably me,” he said with a laugh. “I was walking around town yesterday (Monday) and was kind of ducking if that’s what you mean (regarding the fans’ frustration). “There’s got to be frustration and I can totally understand it. Like I said the other day, nobody’s more frustrated than we are. But something would be wrong if they (fans) weren’t frustrated. That’s fair, more than fair.” As the pre-game scrum was breaking up, he was asked what he did on the off day. He said he watched a movie and added with a grin: “I was going to buy a Leafs jersey and wear it around but I didn’t want to curse them.” Toronto Sun

over the last two seasons. He played on a team with World Series aspirations with a brand-new, state of the art facility that turned into a complete disaster and eventual fire sale in Miami. Then, he had all the issues with his pit bulls and being separated from his family. Now he's playing on another team that had playoff aspirations which looks to be in a state of complete collapse....soon to be 10-20. And he's gotten off to one of the worst starts in his career with a negative WAR (-0.4) Pitching against the Yankees, Orioles and Red Sox isn't going to be a recipe for success. He would probably be much better off in the NL.