caulfield12

So far, it's between Cuddyer, Youkilis and forcing Stephen Drew (if he's healthy) to play out of position.

In one scene in the article, Guillen uses a fungo bat to play golf behind the backstop during batting practice, openly joking about the fact that he's supposed to look busy while Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is in town. "This is the best job," says Guillen. "Do Nothing." Guillen also does little to dispel the notion that he isn't the most prepared manager in Major League Baseball ("I drink a lot, bro."), even going so far as to marginalize the role of the manager in the big leagues entirely. In another scene, he refers journalists asking questions about the day's starting pitcher to pitching coach Randy St. Claire, whose office was next door. "That's why you got f---ing guys there as the coaches," shrugs Guillen. The best bits of the article, however, come secondhand from Guillen's 26-year-old son, Oney Guillen. He recounts one story in which he asked his father how he planned to celebrate his 48th birthday. "I'm going to f--- your mom very well tonight," replied the elder Guillen. In another scene in the article, Guillen cannot be found while the team runs an infield drill. As it turns out, Guillen is likely inside playing games on his iPad while his assistant coach runs the drill. His son kind of sells him out. "See, my dad went inside and Joey's [Cora, the Marlins' bench coach] running all this," says Oney Guillen. "Right now, he doesn't have a TV in his office, so he's probably just sitting there. He likes to eat popcorn. He got an iPad -- he just likes playing dominoes on it." One can only imagine how little Guillen would get done if he did have a TV in his office. But as disheveled and unprepared as Guillen comes off in the article, there is a kind of genius to his approach. While the modern view of the major league manager is of someone who spends hours pouring over scouting reports and advanced metrics, the reality is that a manager's strategy has very little to do with the outcome of baseball games. In the days of SABR and advanced mathemetical analysis of baseball, the prevailing view has become that the moves a manager makes during the course of nine innings matter very little when compared to individual player performances. The math has confirmed the general opinion that, in baseball, the manager's job is much more about managing 25 personalities than it is filling out lineup cards, figuring bullpen matchups or deciding when to pinch hit. This is why Guillen is a genius -- even if it's only incidental. "This is not instructional league," says Guillen in The New Yorker article. "We not teaching here." http://www.nesn.com/2012/06/ozzie-guillen-...ll-thought.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,7148979.column Phil Rogers' All-City Team, thought this was as good a place to put it as any. Slight surprises, Soriano over Viciedo and Barney over Beckham, but both Sox players losing the OPS wars in those two match-ups. You could probably argue either way. Robin Ventura for 3B, Rogers trying to be clever. Castro, Konerko, DeAza, Dunn, Rios, AJ the other pieces, with AJ catching...Peavy, Sale, Reed, Thornton, Nathan Jones also picked (Crain missed too much time)

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 02:54 PM) How's Cuddyer at 3B? Bad too? Bad, but not as bad as Hudson. But then you're taking on something like $25 million in salary through 2014, for a player who could easily be declining in his early to mid 30's. We wouldn't have to give up much in talent, so that's one big reason it's worth a thought at least. Then, to do that, you have to be pretty sure there's no way Morel can ever come back. Cuddyer can play 1B, LF and RF as well, but it's not like he would be solving a problem at any of those other positions, as well as DH.

QUOTE (MAX @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 01:57 PM) If he were there is no guarantee he would be an average player for the white sox. Hudson has been an above average hitter his career and look at him. Look at his age, the decline that usually happens for speedy players in their mid 30's, his declining offense numbers over the last 5 seasons, his conversion back to the AL from the NL, position change (when the last time he'd played 3B was in the minor leagues over a decade ago), all of this was pretty clear in the beginning that it was a desperation/band-aid move that probably wouldn't work.

White Sox currently leading the AL with 10 blown saves. Let's NOT make it 11.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 12:06 PM) I wonder if that was a blown sign by Hudson That's what Farmer thought.

7 retired in a row by Sox pitching. Santiago, considering he has a so-so curveball and is learning his screwball/change at the big league level, hasn't been too bad since being removed from the closer's role.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:50 AM) The jury is very much still out on whether Williams should be retained next year. The Danks contract and Molina pitching like a middle-reliever many thought he was is enough justification to go in another direction if this team falls out of the race. Williams won't be fired because of Molina. It's possible they had some indication something was wrong with Santos (or was coming soon) and wanted to dump him as quickly as possible after signing that extension. Or they just didn't think that he would hold up long-term as the closer. If Danks does have major shoulder problems, it will be just one more reason why JR will never give a pitcher a contract of longer than 3 years and they'll try to survive with the Phil Humbers and Quintanas off the retread pile. But signing Danks instead of Buehrle wasn't a mistake in and of itself.

Two 14 inning games in the same day. Pretty rare. NY/Washington, and then Ozzie's team blew a 3-0 lead against TB. Interestingly, Greg's old friend DeWayne Wise saved the game for the Yankees by throwing out the potential winning run in the bottom of the 8th. The Yankees must love former White Sox: Freddy Garcia, Wise, Swisher, Boone Logan, Chris Stewart, Jason Nix, Andruw Jones.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:40 AM) Proving that anyone can play there. Which is a reason Viciedo should be expendable under the right circumstances. Watch the Tigers, you'll find out why it's NOT working. Literally, they thought ANYONE could play ANYWHERE in the field and the offense would compensate for any defensive inefficiencies. Delmon Young is REALLY bad in LF, Boesch in RF is below average, Cabrera and Fielder, Peralta is a 3B/DH playing SS and they've run about 5 players through 2B. Raburn is far from good there...and Santiago can't hit. The only good players they have are Austin Jackson and Avila's not bad, especially compared to Victor Martinez, who also doesn't belong on the field of play except when hitting.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:37 AM) I don't think KW deserves to still be the GM of this team based on the previous 6 years. Expressing concern over the current state of the rotation is altogether different. First place, though, despite how bad our division is, it's pretty hard to make an argument KW has been "fireable" this season because of the contributions by players like DeAza, Nathan Jones, Reed, Viciedo and Quintana. All of his "big three" guys in Peavy/Dunn/Rios are playing like they were originally forecast to when they were acquired. Beckham hasn't been a black hole. While nothing resembling an All-Star, he's been at the very least productive and a solid contributor, especially when defense is taken into consideration.

Those percentages of LH/RH splits against Santiago and Quintana will start reversing themselves. Still pretty early and small sample sizes. PULL HIM VENTURA. Jesus! Before it's too late.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:32 AM) Seriously? After getting out of it with "just" four runs in three innings? Your starting pitcher? If it was 4-0 or 5-0, Humber definitely would be pulled. In some ways, it's counter-intuitive, because you do have a lot better chance to win the game you're tied or within a run or so either way when you bring in a bullpen guy. The problem is that the quality of your last two or three guys in the pen shouldn't be better than your starter, but it is what it is. Yet another hit given up by Humber. Just seems like he can never shut down the opponent after the Sox score, same with Floyd this season.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:28 AM) I do think every manager in baseball would do the same thing, leave Horrible Humber in. Four runs in three innings sucks, but it's not seven, eight runs. YOu have to let your starter go five as long as his pitch count is OK. Seriously, don't you agree? No manager hooks Humber this early "only" giving up four. I do think he sucks, though. When your options are Stewart, Ohman, Santiago or Hudson....and you don't want to completely destroy your bullpen, not knowing how long Quintana can keep pitching so well as a starter, there's just no good option. Personally, I'd have gone with Santiago and pinch hit for Humber there, but it's not like a "sure thing" and Viciedo doesn't match-up very well with Billingsley the way he's been going for most of June. We don't have a strong bench, especially hitting wise.

Guess Humber skipped bunting practice and only concentrated on hitting BP fastballs. Humber as the long man is just a prescription for disaster because the ONLY way he can be successful is when he has his sharp curve. Otherwise, he's going to get tattoed ever worse than Stewart. This is why the Twins and Royals gave up on him, they didn't see him being effective out of the pen or effective in general.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:19 AM) What's going to happen when this rotation faces the Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox in the coming weeks? What do you expect to happen, KW to resign in frustration since our pitching is in shambles? Our situation isn't any worse than what the Red Sox and a number of teams like the Brewers have faced all season long with injuries. Hudson running hard down to 1B and busting it, unlike Mr. Soriano for the Cubs when Middlebrooks bobbled a liner 3 times and finally dropped it and yet Alphonso was gunned down by half a baseline. Booed pretty hard in his final at-bat. Castro 1 for his last 21. So much for the new Mr. Franchise.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:17 AM) Great thing we cost ourselves 2 runs in the top of the inning most likely. Farmer and DJ weren't against it, but Konerko just hasn't been hot and Rios has...you don't want to lose any baserunners, and Beckham just doesn't have the type of speed to steal 3B and be successful more than 25% of the time at best. You'd have scored two with the triple and then had 2 chances to get Rios in from 3rd, not that we've been automatic in that situation since the Lance Lynn/Peavy game.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 11:15 AM) Problem isn't just control, it's that his stuff is fairly mediocre in general. For example, that 2-0 fastball he threw to Billingsley (a pretty good hitting pitcher) was 88 mph and right over the middle, get me over, BP type of stuff. Wherever AJ's putting the glove, the ball's going to the opposite side. All six of the Dodgers' hits have been on fastballs. Kudos to Ventura for trying Santiago as the long man instead of Stewart.

Humber just has no control/location... Seems like a copy of the 6th inning last night. Wish I had a modicum of confidence that Zach Stewart could actually hold the lead or keep it close. We'll see. Dreading what will happen if Uribe comes to the plate with the bases loaded.

En fuego for Rios. 5th triple of the season.

Maybe Humber can play 3B?

Ramirez continues to compile lots of RBI's despite the low 500's OPS. That's one example where OPS doesn't tell the complete story of his value to the team. Btw, what did Alexei do last night to cause us to lose? Didn't catch it. Someone said something about a "brain cramp" but what was it?

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 17, 2012 -> 09:55 AM) Because they're still thinking small and not regionally or nationally like they should. Do the Cubs have a toll-free number? 1-800-THE-CUBS Heard it during their broadcast.

Why have the White Sox never had a 1-800/toll-free number to call for tickets? Just curious. That seems pretty basic marketing, especially when you had to make long distance or out of area code land line calls.