caulfield12

Dammit. Rios and Konerko (especially) just missing homers. Can we actually get a hit with a RISP? Huge AB for Viciedo here.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 06:32 PM) If they keep playing like this, it will be interesting to see how awful the attendance is when they return from Toronto. http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance Starting to actually feel sorry for Billy Beane's predicament there in OAK. What more does that team have to do to create excitement? He made the right move signing Cespedes, which at the time looked like a huge risk. We are ahead of KC, too, haha. That means we trail the likes of Houston, SEA, TB, Pittsburgh, etc.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 06:32 PM) If they keep playing like this, it will be interesting to see how awful the attendance is when they return from Toronto. God, you have to dread going up to TOR with their history up there....in this type of offensive malaise, poor fundamentals, brain cramps, spotty bullpen performances (there have been a few exceptions), missing a key defensive player when you need every little advantage to win close games. Are they lined up to face Buehrle? At least in 2011 and early 2012, they were excruciating, late game losses by the SOX, usually by Thornton and then Santiago last April. These losses...we've just been BLAHHHHH. It's more like going back to 2009 or 2007.

With this weather, it's hard to tell how good Quintana actually has been...but, at least he's not getting torched. Quintana making 4th appearance against Indians. Career against CLE, only 2 earned runs closing in on 18 innings of work.

Is Gimenez actually the kind of hitter that you can rely on a hit and run situation? Ventura's continuing his 2nd half nosedive from a managerial standpoint. Would really love to see some signs of progress from a tactical/strategic standpoint. Not seeing it, YET. It can't be all Don Cooper's absence, can it? Masterson 19 IP, 8 hits, 1 ER. Not looking promising. Just have to hope and pray for a solo homer. Not so easy to pull off against the sinker/slider combination.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 06:24 PM) I love it when Alexei singles on that grounder up the middle. That's when he's keeping everything on line. That's bad. Low slugging percentage.

Not going to win many games with #2, #4, #5 and #6 hitters all below .200. At least the offensive "explosion" last night raised our overall team batting average into the .250 range. Ramirez gunned down at 2B on the steal attempt. Another wasted baserunner to lead off an inning. Looking like Ozzie Ball again, haha. EDIT: Guess it was a hit and run, the Indians' announcers didn't pick it up right away. They were raving about their catcher's arm too much.

Feast or famine. Welcome to the White Sox Family of all-or-nothing hitters (Thome, Dunn, Viciedo, etc.)

Correct that, two baserunners. Fell asleep, this game is so boring. Viciedo with a solid defensive play in LF against Brantley.

Only one baserunner through 5 innings for the White Sox, Rios' near double. One thing Quintana is doing better this game is mixing his pitches and not just staying inside against RH'ers with the cutter. Like Buehrle, when he mixes his pitches and can locate the fastball as well as hitting the backdoor with the curveball or change, that's when he's most effective. Still, Masterson has only given up one ER all season in 2 1/2 games. Not an encouraging showing for the White Sox offense.

I think with White Sox prospects, it's better never to get excited unless they accomplish something in BIRM.

Rios with a blast high off the wall...ends up getting thrown out by Brantley trying to stretch it to a double. That's just the way things are going right now. Has a hitting streak dating back to last year, though. Pretty amazing when you think about...Quintana spent 6 years in A ball, one month in AA and zero appearances in AAA. Struck out the side in the bottom of the 1st. Didn't see that coming. Cabrera and Kipnis are both struggling out of the gate. Masterson 4-5 lifetime against the Sox but with an ERA in the mid 2's.

Starting on August 25th of last season, Quintana's had 8 starts, and only one of them has qualified as a QS. He did have starts where he went 5 2/3 giving up 3 runs, and another start against LAA with 5 IP and 1 ER (4 total runs allowed due to errors). His lone really good effort was SEPT 10th against the Tigers, where he stemmed the bleeding for the moment. He's due.

Courney Hawkins K's 12/18 AB's at W-S 56/229 AB's overall for all his 2012 stops Hopefully by mid-May he can at least cut it down to 1/3.5 AB. All about making adjustments. Hopefully pushing him a level above where almost every 2012 HS graduate is playing (or two levels) will turn out in the end to have been the right move.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 03:59 PM) Think of the trade market for left handed starting pitching. Even if he emerges as a #5 type arm, he has big value for being under control for six years. You've just made another argument on behalf of Hector Santiago starting. So if that has "big value," why does such a dynamic arm get consigned to the least important role on the pitching staff? They're definitely not maximizing his value in any way, shape or form. IF IF IF Quintana could put up Gavin Floyd's numbers going forward (minus the K's, which will never match up), sure. Are you willing to bet on Quintana doing so? Any team in contention that needs a filler in the back of their rotation will go with the veteran Floyd over Quintana. And teams that aren't in contention aren't going to be desperate to trade for him.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 03:55 PM) In this day and age, that contract is a steal. Of course, some said the same thing about Danks' deal, too. If he continues to pitch like he did against DET last year, in "big" games or down the stretch over the final 6 weeks, I wouldn't consider us to be stealing money from him exactly.

That's if Peavy's arm bounces back from 2012. Time will tell. Washington has a great team, so we won't know enough to go on until May or June with Peavy. He pitched well his first time out. Yeah, Quintana would be under team control...assuming you have the Quintana of May-June-July 2012 and not the "bad" version of him...of course that has value, but if you were an opposing GM, what would you actually give up of value to acquire him at this point?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 03:15 PM) Greinke has been a head hunter for years, especially against the Sox. I wasnt surprised he stood there and tried to take a hit. He thinks he's more badass than he really is. And Konerko did an entire interview today backing up Quentin in the situation. I wonder if that will change the minds of the people who think Greinke is a saint here. Honestly, do you really feel that a former teammate and also a fellow hitter is going to defend a pitcher (who happened to be on a rival team for a number of years)? C'mon. It's like when Iowa would lose to MSU every time and Izzo would say what a great coach Todd Lickliter was....he's going to defend another B10 coach, he's not going to rip into him. Heck, you might even argue that he wants aforementioned sucky coach to stay in place as long as possible so your team can keep beating on him, lol. Really...Konerko defending Quentin isn't news, any more than Mattingly, a fellow hitter, ripping on Quentin and favoring his own player.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 12, 2013 -> 03:34 PM) We have at least 7 major league ready starting pitchers, and that is without any prospects taking the next step. We aren't trading for any SPs. We'd be more likely to trade one away, than to add any. The problem is that none of them have any value on the trade market, unless there's a huge market for Jake Peavy nobody knows about. I think everyone in baseball is waiting to see if he'll rebound from the 2nd half of 2012 and look like the same guy he was in the first half. Quintana, Axelrod and Danks, no way. Floyd...marginal prospect. That leaves Sale, who's not going anywhere, and Santiago, who probably will end up realizing his potential with another organization should they actually go ahead and trade him.

Okay, just for argument, compare Courtney Hawkins to all the white players he's SO similar to... Remember, they also should be able to do back-flips or the comp is not valid. Probably the reason those names were mentioned is because they ended up as utility guys or non-starters at the big league level or just never made it, as was the case with Shelby, who a lot of minor league followers liked because of his perceived versatility. If you compare African-American players to all white players, everyone will say you're being ridiculous or too PC. I thought we already had this same exact argument last year, did we not? How many times do Hispanic middle infielders get compared to white players? How many times do white NBA basketball players get compared to Larry Bird, John Stockton, Steve Nash, etc.?

Historically, the Giants' biggest problem has been offense. I guess they simply gambled that Soptic had the ability to be a potential closer/replacement for Wilson/Romo in the pipeline...and that Gillaspie had limited power/potential, at least not enough to play corner IF everyday. Time will tell. Other teams have underestimated players like Quintana, Jenks and Santos before. It's nothing new with the White Sox. Maybe it's simply the fact that 3B has seemingly been jinxed for the Sox ever since Crede and Uribe left. Teahen, Viciedo couldn't stick there, Vizquel wasn't meant to be an everyday player, Morel's 2012, Hudson, Youk, etc. Now it looks like Keppinger won't even end up playing that position...depending on what happens with Beckham and Gillaspie/Morel.

Are the Giants really so good and deep (especially considering Sandoval's history) that they can afford to trade someone with the ability to be an everyday player at 3B for someone who, at best, is 2-3 years away and profiles only as a reliever in Soptic?

Mattingly had the same idea, that Quentin should be out for as long as Greinke is... Of course, that will never fly. But he specifically pointed out the situation in the game, and how Quentin is nearly always diving out over the plate, which is 90% of why he gets hit so often in the first place. Greinke's a punk, but Quentin should know by now that there are consequences to his batting approach.

It wasn't the trade for Ritchie itself. There's no doubt that Kip Wells wouldn't have enjoyed the same success for 2-3 years in Chicago he did originally with the Pirates, pitching in a non-stressful environment and looking almost like an ace at times. It was seriously undervaluing Fogg and never being able to find a place for him (was he a starter, reliever or closer) and also dealing away more depth in Lowe, who wasn't getting along well with the coaching staff at the time. That put us into a three or four year period (2001-2004, along with David Wells getting injured/non-performing/fighting with Frank) where we just didn't have a reliable 5th starter at all...to the point it was such a black hole that it largely cost us the division in 2003 (Kenny Rogers vs. our fifth starters, look up the stats).

You're under the assumption BOTH Keppinger and Gillaspie will be 750-800 OPS hitters for 2 months against all pitching in everyday play. I'll believe that when I see it.