caulfield12

Margin Call wasn't terrible. I used a few selected pieces of it with my ECON class here in China. HBO also did a similar movie on the 2008 crisis, can't remember the name of it off the top of my head though.

QUOTE (Cerbaho-WG @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 09:49 AM) Jesus Christ, Wilkins. 5-5 with 4 XBH and 5 RBIs. I think Wilkins raised his BA like 25 points tonight. Maybe he felt the heat from Keon Barnam below him?

The only problem with your sentence Greg, is the addition of "unfairly attacked." That's a VERY subjective standard that you will never agree with another poster here, whether the owner of the site or a newbie making his first post. Whereas you think everything was on the players, and it MOSTLY is, last year, because they're all professionals....seeing the way the White Sox are playing with an arguably lesser team on paper this year, seeing the way the Marlins are playing with a better team talent-wise this year, there has to be SOMETHING to managing that is affecting these results and performances from the likes of Dunn and especially Rios. Is it all just random or anomalies, or is there a pattern developing with his management results (and their diminishing returns over time)...

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 06:56 AM) I couldn't disagree more. He's become much, much more dangerous now that he is trying to turn on the inside pitch. The first month and a half or two of the season, he hit 1 home run because he was trying to just go the opposite way with everything. The pitchers adjusted and started busting him inside. It took him a few weeks to adjust back, but in June, he's been turning on inside pitches and going with pitches out over the plate. He's got 10 or 11 home runs now that he is willing to turn and burn the inside pitches, and his average hasn't suffered. Which is exactly the same thing we always wanted to see out of Quentin, Beckham, Viciedo, etc.

Maybe because one of those prospects is a fringy 5th starter/LOOGY candidate...and the 2nd one they signed, we have another version in Hawkins that we spent 1/10th or 1/15th the amount of money, so I'd say we're going to get the much better ROI there. Reports on Puig, 21, have been modest, and other than a few light workouts this weekend, teams are working off limited information. He was suspended this past season in Cuba—some sources believe it was due to his attempts to leave the country, though some teams have conflicting information—so scouts haven't been able to see Puig in game condition since June 2011 for the Cuban national B team at the World Port Tournament in Rotterdam. The Rangers are the only team that Baseball America's sources have linked to Puig. "How can we evaluate someone like that?" asked one Latin American director. baseballamerica.com

Whoever makes KW look most like a semi-genius... Which means Pedro Hernandez or Castro.

What's gotten into Rienzo. Mitchell at .254. Would love to see him finish in the .270-.280 vicinity, anything above .280 would be great. Don't think they'll push him up to Charlotte just yet...there's no big rush anyway. Maybe AFL again, too. Need to see if they can get Trayce Thompson to be at least a .240ish hitter.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 04:14 AM) Back then the pitching was incredible, and pen was lights out. One name, Brad Radke, enough said. And Santana. The name would strike fear into the hearts of Sox fans around the world when they saw the pitching match-up.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 04:12 AM) I'm even thinking about the '02-'04 Twins before you had M & M playing full seasons. They found ways to win with really mediocre teams. They had amazing infield defense, though. Great back of the bullpen, first Hawkins/Romero/Guardado, later Rincon/Reyes/Nathan, etc. Hunter was a VERY VERY good player, if not a superstar. But having both Mauer and Morneau crumble from MVP form has killed that team. The Hardy/Hoey trade was awful, and they haven't fixed SS since then. Having to let Kubel and Cuddyer go in order to keep the M&M boys has hurt as well. Revere and Span are good complementary players, but not players to build around. Just not enough power. They're lucky they made a great pick-up in Willingham or they'd be in even more trouble as an organization. Casilla and Niskioka were disasters in the middle infield. Blackburn regressed, Baker levelled off and Slowey self-immolated.

Soriano SURVIVES, barely. Back to a 2 1/2 game lead, tied for the biggest lead of the season. Still 3 games back of the 8 games over .500 mark, but in good position still and with momentum again after surviving Minnesota and picking up Youk.

Bases loaded, 5-3. Only one out. Damn you, Marson.

Indians 1-32 when trailing going into the 9th. Soriano very much in jeopardy of blowing the save the way he's going this inning. Has to get Kotchman.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 03:44 AM) I agree with everyone about Viciedo's potential. I stated it in my original post, and reiterated it in a a subsequent post. My point is very simple. As good as he will likely become, he is not that good yet. That is all that I'm arguing. He is simply not ready, at 23, to be a starting left fielder, on a contending team that is OBP challeged, like the Sox. That OBP gap has been fixed by Youkilis and DeAza, to an extent. And Rios playing up to his actual ability level. True, Alexei, Viciedo and AJ won't ever be great in that area, and Beckham's just so-so, but it's not a huge need right now. We're only a few runs behind the Yankees for 4th in the AL. When Dayan gets hot, he can carry a line-up for 2-3 weeks. Conor Jackson or Johnson (maybe) could barely carry the Charlotte line-up.

LOL at O-Dog at .199 for the season. His White Sox BA coming into today was .171, about 40 points lower than the average that got him waived by the Padres. He did at least win that one game for us, though. But Fathom counted 3 defensive losses, so still not a net positive...I guess you can say he held down the fort before reinforcements arrived. Yankees adding an insurance run. 5-3. Greg's idol Wise at 2B as the pinch-runner, had a two run homer as well the other day. Chris Stewart also doing mucho damage in the series. Would be 5 losses in a row for CLE. 1-2 against Astros, just like us. Going on a huge road trip to face the Orioles, who suddenly have the best bullpen in the American League to got with a very solid offense and capable starting pitching. AL East standings have swung 9 1/2 games in the Yankees' favor the last month. AA's defense sucks in TOR. Kind of a key element of putting together a winning ballclub. That and keeping your pitchers healthy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 03:43 AM) We are not in a position to be helping the Yankees out unless we're in a mood to white flag it. Now that they've lost both Pettitte and Captain cheeseburger for a while, they're going to suddenly be catchable both in the East and in the WC. Sabathia out two weeks...maybe no later than right after the All-Star break.

QUOTE (thomas_35 @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 03:42 AM) but really, what would we want from the Yankees? last year everyone was calling for Montero in any trade with the Yanks, and he seems to be a year or two away still... what else do they have to offer us in a trade? Quintana for Cano and Betances? Ha.

Baustista with his 25th homer, Encarnacion with an even more amazing 22. Cubs are getting clubbed to death early. So much for the arrival of Rizzo.

Pettitte out for a minimum of six weeks. Fractured left ankle, will wear a boot, no surgery. Changes the trade market dramatically.

Meanwhile, ever so quietly, Greg's Royals are looming only 5 games out of first still and beating the Rays again. I know most people won't take them seriously until they're at least .500, however.

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 03:26 AM) $5 million, option for another year. Is it really fair to lower (his agent would use the word "cut") his salary after this season?

QUOTE (RZZZA @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 03:24 AM) huh? We're not trading anybody now, not when we're competing for the division title. We'll be buyers if anything. I know that, but it's pretty incredible we could trade all three of those guys to other teams and perhaps not eat ANY salary and NOT want to do it...coming into season, that possibility wasn't even conceivable.

What contract would you offer to AJ for 2013?

Youkilis up to a .708 OPS. When's the last time we had a 3B at over .700? Crede. Seems like more than 4-5 years ago.

How many would ditch Rios TODAY if we could get rid of his entire contract? Man. Interesting decisions for KW this next month. There's just no way they could trade Peavy, Rios or Dunn. Not with Youkilis now on board. And there's not a RF replacement in sight, unless they brought back CQ, haha.

Amazingly, we're only 8 runs scored behind the Yankees this year. Doesn't really seem possible. Garcia helping out his former club. 7 consecutive outs, stranded runners at 2nd and 3rd when he came in originally. Bottom of the 7th. Indians' announcers getting demoralized a bit.