caulfield12

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 2, 2012 -> 12:37 AM) Danks will be fine, Sale's elbow is a non-issue, bullpen getting better and better. The Tigers win 3 of 4 next week and you'll write all hell is breaking loose and that there's no way the Sox can stave them off. Nope. Although you'll probably want KW fired if that happens, lol.

Phil Rogers dedicated his column today to the undeserving All-Stars, as well as those who should be in, and argues against including one player from every team in the majors. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,7024785.column Also, for those interested, another puff piece hyping Soler as the second coming in the Tribune, if you can stomach it.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 2, 2012 -> 12:08 AM) Funny that you bring up changing focus because you change stances more than anyone. I'm going to state right now that you have an agenda. To answer your question about predicting this year's team to be 5 under and 8 out at this point, no. I said this team would contend (not to pat myself on the back, but I was the first to write it on this board), others said they'd lose 90 games. As far as next year goes, Konerko, Dunn, Rios all a year older. Sale's tender elbow, Danks, tender shoulder. Replacing Youkilis, Peavy, and A.J. This team's window is now. Hahaha. What is my agenda exactly, to defend KW from your bromides? If you were predicting the White Sox to contend, why in the name of Allah would it possibly make sense that their GM would be fired after lowering payroll by $25 million yet still retaining a first place team?? Because of lowered attendance/profitability? You didn't mention Alexei Ramirez would be a year older, lol. We'll have $15-25 million to replace those last three guys, and arguably more with a playoff appearance or deep run. Sale had a tender elbow for one week. It's not like it has been a consistent problem all season long. He's learned how to ease off with the fastball except when he really needs to bring it in key high leverage situations. Danks will be fine, in fact, adding him will be like trading for another pitcher. You argument about Sale doesn't hold water because he should be able to throw 180-210 innings next year, compared to 150-160 this year. Same with Quintana. Rios is still in very good physical condition. Dunn's been in the best shape of his career. The bullpen will only get better and better, with more experience. And Molina might actually turn out to be a decent prospect if they resolve his health problems. Not to mention they've got Simon Castro and perhaps Beck on track as starters in the pipeline, Rienzo, etc.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 1, 2012 -> 11:42 PM) Carlos Lee should retire. That is all. When he's making THAT kind of salary? No way.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 1, 2012 -> 10:29 PM) Yeah, I mean, forbid one of his goals is actually to win something... He has a horse ranch in Houston?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jul 1, 2012 -> 10:13 PM) Continue to believe this is an up and coming team with 9 rookies contributing if you want, but the reality of this team is it's window to win is now. When the Sox are 5 games under, 8 out at this time next year you'll be happy KW went for it this year. Wouldn't you have predicted that would be exactly our position THIS YEAR? Now you've changed your focus from KW must be fired to we have to be "all in" again in 2012. Sure, we lose Jake Peavy, but that $13 or 14 million salary will be used for another pitcher (yes, I realize the $4 million buyout is a sunk cost), or maybe two pitchers. Probably one pitcher and 3B, with Morel's status so up in the air, they have to address at least the gaping hole for next season. With Sale, Danks, Quintana and FA, we can still compete realistically. And that's not even with Gavin Floyd back or expecting something out of Humber again. If we were losing Konerko, Dunn or Rios, then you'd have a better argument. AJ can be brought back into the fold as well. So other than Jake Peavy, what's your argument? That we won't replace that salary and will continue to pare down the roster to 2005 numbers?

Why would he not make the All-Star team as the back-up this year? The only questions will be Peavy and Konerko. Sale will definitely be named.

You'd think of all our younger pitchers, Gio Gonzalez would be the one who would be most likely to suffer an injury. Hudson's wasn't as predictable as Brandon McCarthy's.

I doubt we lead the league. Surely, Seattle and Oakland have been much worse. Minnesota the last couple of seasons. Strange comment with our offense coming into yesterday's game ahead of the Yankees in runs scored with a roster half as expensive...and 4th overall in the American League.

I fly from Shanghai to LA to Chicago and still this argument is going on? Hmmmph. What next, we should package Quintana, Mitchell, Nathan Jones and Viciedo for Greinke and Richie Weeks, and move Beckham back to 3rd for 2013? And give Greinke $125 million? Sure, why not? And we can play Adam Dunn in LF, that will help our outfield defense...and while we're at it, since we have Dunn in LF, we might as well get someone like Miguel Tejada or Nomar to play SS since Alexei's defense doesn't matter much to this team. Or why not just continue to contend with the likes of Escobar, Lillibridge or Ozzie Martinez? I can just see the next Marty complaint....White Sox shouldn't be trading talent from the major league roster in order to improve for the future when this is their best chance to compete for the division before 2015. Fire KW!

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jul 1, 2012 -> 01:34 PM) Also, very good start for Shirek. 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Dude carries a very nice 4.5 K/BB ratio. Dan Remenowsky continues to be awesome. Now has a 1.70 ERA with 46 K to 12 BB in 42 IP between AA and AAA. Best part is, he has only allowed 24 hits in those 42 innings. Dude just does not get hit. It's going to take a lot for Remenowsky to get back on the prospect radar, though. There's just so many good relief arms in our system, he's going to have to continue to be extraordinary to make up for the last of a 95 MPH fastball.

If Smyly and Fister are really healthy, it's a bit ridiculous to say DET can't pitch. Porcello and Scherzer also have a ton of talent, in the Edwin Jackson-ish way, but it's there. They're not garbage. So, in the end, you give the Tigers the VERY slight edge, but it could definitely go either way. In one month, looking at both rosters after the trade deadline has passed, we'll know a lot more to make a more accurate prediction for the 2nd half, presumably.

Great start to his Sox career for General Maximus. Hurling the ball in the 93-95 MPH range...hopefully better secondary pitch than Thornton, who continues to be worrisome. Santiago can't stop the homer bug, he needs to go down and get things ironed out so he can be relied upon in the 2nd half pennant drive. With Omogrosso, that's something like 15 or 16 homegrown or at least players who passed through our minor league system on the way up to the big leagues this season already.

I want Quintana to whip the Yankees, just because it will subsequently cause 10 national stories to be written about Q and embarassing the Yankees/Mets/Minaya/Cashman.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 29, 2012 -> 02:56 PM) I said 'generally' regarded as an important job. But wouldn't you agree a basketball or football coach is more important to their team's ultimate success or failure than a baseball manager?

Never would have though KWJR would be within 9 points of Mitchell's BA this season.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...=Leyson-Septimo Now our second Dominican player in recent years, to cap off a long dry spell. The last one I remember from our system was Jesus Pena. To go along with DeAza, Santiago (Puerto Rican/NYC), Molina (Venezuela), Simon Castro, Marinez, Martinez, Santos Rodriguez, Rios, Alexei and Dayan.

Both Alomars Daubach Kotsay Andruw Jones Jeff Nelson Mike Jackson

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 29, 2012 -> 01:06 PM) Overrated? After he left, we never adequately replaced him til DeAza. Rios wasn't adequate in 2010? Pods and Pierre, your heroes? De Weezey? I can't believe you're casting aspersions on 3 of your favorite all-time Sox.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 29, 2012 -> 01:08 PM) Ozzie was manager of the team; that's generally regarded as a pretty important job. The Sox didn't want Ozzie anymore. If they did, he'd still be here. Why is it so important if Ozzie admits he really never does anything and delegates all the responsibilities to his coaching staff?

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jun 29, 2012 -> 10:46 AM) Mitchell will be up in 2013. De Aza is pretty damn good. Sale is OK I'd say. Floyd is a 4 or 5, Danks is a 2 or 3 when healthy, Beckham is a great fielder and is starting to hit, Jordan Danks has shown flashes, Flowers has a cannon, and so on. Hopefully Thompson and Hawkins can turn out to be alright. Axelrod showed tonight that he can be decent. After the year, they might be able to get an OK prospect for Alexei if they so choose, and if Rios keeps this up, I can see a team like Pittsburgh taking a chance on him after the season for a good prospect. Why so mad? Dumb. We have two young pitchers with closer stuff in Jones and Reed. DeAza and Viciedo under club control almost indefinitely. Rios and Dunn for two more years, Alexei even longer, if we so chose to keep him or trade (and we have no replacements in the minors, so it's not just an obvious move to deal him). We have Sale, Danks and Quintana together for at least four years. The situation isn't that bleak. We probably will bring back AJ for one or two more years and work Flowers in there, so that position will be at least "average" for next year. We do need to find a solution (permanently) at 3B and 1B, but what are the odds we won't try to retain Konerko for at least 2014? Mitchell could be a factor as early as late this season, but probably 2013. Beck, if we can straighten out his mechanics and get him to shed weight in the off-season, could move QUICKLY. They might even put him in the AFL. Then we have a long line of pitchers like Axelrod, Castro, Hernandez and others that are showing promise...Rienzo, Petricka, we've got some very good pieces, and a ton of depth in terms of bullpen arms. Eventually, Santiago could be a factor as a starter as well. He's not quite getting it done in the bullpen, with tonight being a good example. But the problem is that he's still a better option than Ohman, PROBABLY. We legitimately had about 10 options to choose from to replace Ohman. And that's calling Phil Humber a lost cause at this point, which is far from certain. Or closing off the possibility of Peavy still being on the Sox again in 2013. Neither one of those are slam dunks.

Riding win streak, Yanks welcome White Sox to Bronx By Adam Berry / MLB.com | 6/27/2012 5:52 PM ET Just when the streaking Yankees had their rotation in perfect working order, Wednesday's news threw a wrench into their plans. The Bombers will enter Thursday night's series opener against the White Sox on a five-game winning streak, having won 15 of their past 18 and 25 of their past 32. They've won 11 of 15 at home, own the best record in the Majors and have swept four of their last six series. But with CC Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list until after the All-Star break and Andy Pettitte out for at least six weeks, the rest of the Yankees will have to step up. That begins Thursday with right-hander Ivan Nova, who will square off with White Sox righty Dylan Axelrod, making his third start of the season. "Obviously, tough day for us with two big lefties going down. But nobody's going to feel sorry for us," Alex Rodriguez said. "Everybody's got to carry their own weight around here and play good baseball. That's it. "It's a good test. We've been tested a little bit more than we'd like to be tested around here. [Mariano Rivera] went down, and guys have stepped up. [brett] Gardner went down, other guys stepped up. We'll have to do the same. It's a long season. When you come out of Spring Training and break camp, you don't expect to have 25 guys healthy the whole year. Today is another challenge, and I think we'll do fine." Axelrod, meanwhile, is coming off an outing in which he allowed four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He was tagged with a no-decision against Milwaukee on Saturday, but Chicago went on to win, 8-6. The 26-year-old said he learned during that outing that he'll have to mix his pitches better, especially against a tough lineup like New York's. He is, however, excited to pitch under the lights at Yankee Stadium for the first time. "I'm not building it up. It's just more of a gratifying thing to be able to pitch in that stadium. It doesn't get much better than that," Axelrod said. "It's just excitement. It's one of the biggest stages you can be on. ... But between the lines, it's the same dimensions, same field. So I'm not nervous in any way. I'm just really excited to have the opportunity to pitch there." White Sox: Youkilis facing Yanks with new Sox • Kevin Youkilis has played the Yankees plenty of times in his career, but he'll be doing so Thursday for the first time in his new uniform. The longtime Red Sox third baseman is entering on a hot streak, too, as his 3-for-4 performance Wednesday extended his hitting streak to seven games. He's batting .423 with three doubles in that span, and he's 5-for-12 since joining the White Sox. "I'll take all the yelling at and screaming at for the whole team for four days," Youkilis said with a grin. "They'll probably hound me and get on me pretty good. I know they definitely don't hate me as much as they used to, once I changed teams. But it'll be fun." • Adam Dunn snapped an 0-for-24 skid in the fifth inning Wednesday with a home run, the 389th of his career, tying Johnny Bench for 56th on baseball's all-time home run leaderboard. Yankees: Warren, Igarashi called up • Right-hander Adam Warren will make his Major League debut Friday in place of Sabathia. Warren is 5-5 with a 3.86 ERA at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Ryota Igarashi, who allowed five runs on six hits and four walks in two innings over three games this season, will also join the Yankees. Freddy Garcia, who won Wednesday's game with 2 1/3 perfect innings, will start Monday in place of Pettitte.

1. Theo 2. Castro 3. Mr. ND WR 4. B. Jackson 5. Rizzo 6. LaHair

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 01:58 PM) Good lord Andy Wilkins. Spread that out over a few games, huh? 2 doubles, 2 home runs. Leyer now has 20 K in 10 IP. OH OK DUDE! Also, why did Chris Beck come out of the bullpen? That dude needs to be starting. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...ws&c_id=cws Concern about too many innings, the added 35 pounds of weight/muscle mass, diminished velocity...they want to just see where they're at with him physically and start rebuilding him mechanically, one would guess. Not as concerned with him logging starter's innings.

Probably should change the thread title... "Sox COULD bid for Puig, no idea what price range he will end up at..." “There has not been a player as proven and as young to come to the States from Cuba," Torres told MLB.com. “It’s one thing to come to the United States at 19 or 20 years old with a few at-bats or some experience on a national level but this guy has years of national experience under his belt.” Puig may not have as high of a ceiling as Soler but is considered closer to the big leagues. Torres says his latest client is the same caliber of player as Yoenis Cespedes and Soler. "You have heard the other names because Puig was in Cuba and Soler and Cespedes were out of the country, it’s that simple," Torres said. “Before Soler got to the Dominican Republic, very few people knew who he was outside of his junior experience. Puig played in the Serie Nacional and was projected to be the right fielder for the national team for the upcoming years. Scouts know who Puig is.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,7738476.story Agent hype or reality?