caulfield12

Well, M, surprised you weren't here to make an announcement that rebuilding was never a reality and that KW's job is hanging in the balance based on making the playoffs this season. As far as the Twins go, they have been playing much better in the last week. Which of course is bad timing for us, as usual. 24-9 is a little bit unlikely, but 22-11's probably doable. By the way, the Sox interleague streak is now something like 52-22 or 53-22, we've been surviving the last three years (especially 2010) largely because of those games, as we've played neither well at home nor particularly well within the division.

No, that won't work because Greg will argue that at some point in the game, there was (or will be) a pitch meant to deliver a message or which MIGHT have had a very high likelihood of hitting a batter...even though it didn't actually make contact physically, the message was delivered loud and clear, etc.

They're not going to bring in Orlando Hudson to sit behind Brent Lillibridge or Eduardo Escobar. KW wouldn't have signed him with the promise to sit him on the bench. 100% he said 3B is yours as long as you produce something at least halfway decent...that Morel will be either on the DL or assigned to Charlotte for an extended period of time and that they're 100% back into "win now" mode for 2012.

It's still going to come down to pitching, as it always does. It is pretty amazing to be within one game of .500 with 3B at around a 400 OPS for 1/4th of a season (Morel, Lillibridge and Escobar), SS at 500 and 2B at 600. We've gone through at least four blown saves and almost zero production from our #2 hitters.

Another random stat.... Brandon League has blown 7 of his last 8 save opportunities against the Cleveland Indians. Talk about having someone's number.

Telander said he also represented something Cubs' fans have always identified with.... Unrealized potential, what if's, the idea of the talent never living up to the hype or ending up with disappointment yet remembering fondly the hope that once sprung... 1969, 1971, 1984, 1989, 2003, etc. Santo not making it into the HOF while he was alive is yet another example.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 19, 2012 -> 08:36 PM) But why are they only showing Tiger players? One of the three best third place teams in baseball, lol.

In all fairness, it's very hard to get any kind of rhythm going offensively when you play only once every 5-10 days. Wonder what we actually could have gotten for Lillibridge on the offseason trade market...reports said he was one of the most inquired about players this offseason on the Sox roster.

Hernandez with another very good start. On quite the roll now. Mitchell was finally moved up to the 5th spot in the Barons line-up, 0/3 with a K.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2012 -> 07:13 PM) Name a better one. Better yet, name someone who won't cost any talent from our side and who will earn the minimum. That narrows the list quite considerably. Brandon Inge was the other guy out there, and he was claimed by the A's or you have to think KW would have taken him. But they certainly weren't willing to pay any of Inge's 2012 salary or trade talent for him before he was released, that's for sure.

Danks has a .345 BAA after 45 pitches this season. No signs of problems YET.

We've heard bulging and herniated disk. Thome had one of the most violent swings in baseball history and managed it with treatment. There have been just as many who couldn't, like Joe Crede. If they start talking about invasive surgery, then you could start wondering about his career...rather than just physical rehabilitation/therapy/strengthening exercises/stretching/massage, etc.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 19, 2012 -> 07:04 PM) Chris Young. He's mourning the 2006 Young for Vazquez trade. Hey, I have an already-registered copyright on that complaint. Or Phil Rogers.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 19, 2012 -> 07:00 PM) It seems to me Young is the type of player you'd hope Rios would be. Young is a stud. Delmon Young or Michael Young? Greg, you're drinking too much of Harrelson's kool-aid from the first time he faced us when he was with Tampa.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 19, 2012 -> 06:58 PM) I hope every home run the Sox hit at Wrigley lands in that damn basket. Dissappointed with A.J.'s Even Viciedo's, lol?

Trade him now, haha. 4 homers in his last 6 games. 11 hits in his last 21 at-bats. All the way up to .254 and a 720 OPS.

Orlando Hudson To Sign With White Sox By Zach Links [May 19 at 4:32pm CST] Free agent Orlando Hudson claims that he is set to sign with the White Sox, according to Peter Gammons of MLB.com (via Twitter). The second baseman was released by the Padres on Thursday afternoon. The veteran was hitting just .211/.260/.317 in 35 games for San Diego this year and wasn't terribly helpful in grooming the club's young talent. Hudson will earn $5.5MM this year as well as the $2MM buyout he is owed for the 2013 season. There's a rebuilding team eating more than $6 million...albeit they were going to lose the $2 million regardless. So that's perfect, KW is signing a veteran player (see AJ as another example, although the threat/rivalry with Flowers has cooled) who may or may not be the most helpful in working with younger players (see Morel/Lillibridge/possibly Saladino) in a rebuilding effort. Win now, baby! Forget about all the rebuilding/development talk. This organization is so bi-polar. Seems like we're doomed to win between 75-83 games every season until we're all in the grave. In the end, it's not a bad move for THIS SEASON if Hudson can re-energize himself and spark some life into the team...if it's not there, easy to part ways with him.

Greg's entertaining today and the game hasn't even started.

Prediction, two weeks from now, it will be back to "Molina sucks! KW must go!" because criticizing Viciedo will 1) get boring, and 2) what's the point whether he's more like Beltre, Vladdy, Carlos Lee, Bobby Bonilla, Juan Uribe, Magglio Ordonez, Rey Ordonez...he's young and under our control, and relatively cheaply, through 2018, all the prime years for a young hitter will be encompassed. Whereas the A's are spending over 4X as much for a player in Cespedes that will be gone to another team for even more money in 4 years when he's at the very top of his game and has figured out how to adjust to MLB pitching, theoretically. At least we set up our contract with Viciedo in a manner in which if he performs as expected, we don't lose him right at the most critical juncture for the rebuilding effort.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/opinion/...tml?_r=1&hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/opinion/...tml?_r=1&hp

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/12583507-41...guillen-is.html Except from new Rick Morrissey book on Ozzie Guillen...

Yeah, thankfully for Rios, Reed held onto the lead. I can't remember what year it was, maybe 2002, that Graffanino made a pretty big error that led to a Cubs' victory, I think at 3B. Or maybe I'm getting confused with the White Sox/Red Sox 2005 error that opened the floodgates. But I could have sworn Tony made a bigger error than Rios' would have been considered had Reed given up a hit to the other Reed (Johnson). Back then, those Cubs/White Sox games were beyond huge. It was like life and death. I suppose Rios should be punished by hitting 1000 fly balls out to him directly in the sun and making sure he catches every one of them. Just a fluke thing, like the wind at Wrigley or especially Candlestick Park.

First Indians one-run loss all season long. They had won their prior 9 one-run games. That has to even out, just like their string of miracle comebacks and home wins did last year in the second half. White Sox are on a current stretch of 51-22 in interleague games, best record in the majors during that timeframe. Marlins are the most successful NL franchise in interleague play. Indians had a walk-up of over 6,100 last night, the 7th highest total in Progressive Field history.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 18, 2012 -> 09:08 PM) My desire to have Kenny Williams replaced is based largely on 1 post-season win in last 6 years. So would you also fire Ron Gardenhire for the reason they've only won one post-season series in a decade despite appearing 6 times and have gotten completely blitzed by the Yankees the last couple of times? And because they're arguably the worst team in baseball right now, playing in a two-year old stadium. (Here's where Marty has an out, he can say he would have fired the GM who made four incredibly bad trades, Bill Smith, which is actually what transpired...and that the field manager has very little to do with the results of the team and that JR should have emulated the Pohlads and axed KW).