caulfield12

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 02:07 AM) I really wish that Marvel could repurchase the rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Daredevil. Imagine a Civil War movie. THAT would be great. Except please, no connection to JOHN CARTER. That $200 million writeoff forced Ross, the Disney studio head, to lose his job.

Hope this plays out better than the Sirotka/David Wells deal and Santos isn't out for a significant period of time. At least he actually reported to the Blue Jays in shape (unlike Pineda) and pitched for the first 2-3 weeks, and demonstrated the same velocity and stuff he had last season with the Sox.

Maybe it's the idea of team/teammates, not throwing people under the bus, no drama...without all the outside distractions, there's more of an ability to focus on the game and less time for theatrics and off-field drama. We're only making headlines this year for baseball-related reasons, and that's nice to see.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 02:56 AM) Robin is doing a nice job, but he is mismanaging de Aza and Lillibridge. He has only given Brent 10 at bats, and 7 of those have been against RHP. Lillibridge demonstrated his ability to hit LHP last season, and he should be given all of de Aza's playing time against lefties. I love de Aza, but he looks lost when facing lefties. This situation just screams for a platoon. Let them share CF and leadoff. I keep saying it, but it's frustrating to watch this situation develop. It's so obvious, that it's a "no-brainer." Coming into yesterday's game, DeAza was 29th in the AL in OPS.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 01:59 AM) I think he profiles a lot like Huddy. Time will tell. If you take away 4-5 MPH from his fastball, sure.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 01:33 AM) I enjoy not being part of Knight's compilation up there. Enjoyed the comp to DJ Carrasco and J4L's hyperbole the most. Oops, now we have Marquez and Lance Broadway. Kyle McCulloch can't be far behind, or Royce Ring/Aaron Poreda.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/danny-kn...s-to-hope-it-is Ken Rosenthal, foxsports.com To fully understand the disintegration of the Sox’s pitching staff, go back to the latter stages of the Epstein era, when the Sox awarded long-term deals to Matsuzaka and fellow right-handers John Lackey and Josh Beckett. More than $250 million worth of pitchers, including Matsuzaka’s posting fee, boiled down to two Tommy John surgeries and one bucket of Popeye's Fried Chicken to go. Matsuzaka’s contract ends after this season; the Beckett and Lackey deals run through 2014. Those signings, plus the $142 million addition of Crawford, left the Sox with little financial flexibility last offseason. Their payroll is the third-highest in the majors. And now the dominos are starting to fall. The Sox shouldn’t be faulted for failing to match the Phillies’ excessive $50 million offer for closer Jonathan Papelbon. But they can be faulted for failing to find adequate replacements for both Papelbon and Bard, knowing they intended to make Bard a starter. Cherington gambled in trading for Bailey, who frequently is injured, and right-hander Mark Melancon, who had achieved success only in the NL. By contrast, the Rangers shifted Neftali Feliz into their rotation after making three moves in 2011 — trading for Mike Adams, shifting Alexi Ogando to a setup role, signing free-agent closer Joe Nathan — to ensure that their bullpen would be sufficiently covered. Teams prefer to use young, affordable pitchers as starters to maximize their long-term value. But the Red Sox, like the Rangers a year ago, might need to address short-term needs first. The Rangers wanted to make Feliz a starter last season, but kept him as their closer when they lacked better options. Take a look at baseball's most epic pennant race swoons and surges. At the moment, the Sox need two of Bard and two of Doubront. And while the team’s owners are quite smart, they have yet to invent cloning. Call it a crisis. Call it, as Valentine did, “a psychological situation.” Just understand that it’s not a new condition for an organization that, after last September’s collapse, suffered a nervous breakdown.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7840488 Humber's game, analysis from Sutcliffe and Aaron Boone http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7841218/...erfect-surprise Jim Caple, ESPN commentary “I'm not Justin Verlander,” Humber said last year, and by then it was obvious that he had changed some things on the field to give himself a more realistic chance to be successful. “Stop trying to throw high fastballs right by major-league hitters in obvious spots in the count. Your 93-94 isn't good enough. Nail down your command, avoiding baserunners whenever possible. Develop and count on the secondary and tertiary pitches. Hit the corners of the zone, but make sure they're strikes. Trust your fielders and don't think you have to blow every one away.” from Matt Spiegel story at DailyHerald.com http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2012042...orts/704219738/ Rozner Wow. When the White Sox wrapped up their season-opening seven-game homestand Thursday, the big story was the wayward kid that ran into the outfield. Two days later, you've got Adam Dunn slugging like he once did ... and Philip Humber. He might be the Sox' No. 5 starter, but Humber pitched like an ace in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Mariners at Safeco Field. Humber pitched a perfect game for the White Sox - the 21st in major-league history. It was a dominant effort, obviously, and the Mariners never really came close to getting a hit. Humber sealed the perfecto when pinch-hitter Brendan Ryan offered at a 3-2 pitch and was called out on strikes. The pitch skipped past catcher A.J. Pierzynski, but he recovered the ball and threw Ryan out at first base. "I knew as long as A.J. didn't trip over himself, he just needed to play catch with Paulie (first baseman Paul Konerko)," the soft-spoken Humber told reporters. Humber pitched the third perfect game in White Sox history. Mark Buehrle pitched one against Tampa Bay on July 23, 2009, and Charles Robertson was perfect against Detroit on April 30, 1922. Scot Gregor/dailyherald.com Scott Miller, cbssportsline.com http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/1874310...all-immortality

The Ben Davis/Curt Schilling incident always gets raised in this conversation.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 09:47 PM) Also never been one from Brazil... Hint Rienzo! Because Orlando and Anderson Faster than Bo Jackson to 1B But Couldn't Actually Hit the Ball Gomes worked so well, lol.

Not sure where Ozzie Guillen gets any credit here...the Humber signing and development seems to be 95% about Hahn and Don Cooper.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/pro...P=jose-quintana To my knowledge, there's never been a major leaguer born in Chile.

It all happened pretty quickly, and it's all kind of confusing right now," Valentine said. Teixeira added more breathing room for the Yankees in the eighth, rapping a two-run ground-rule double down the right-field line. Russell Martin also belted a two-run double as part of the Yankees' outburst. "A team like that, you can't leave pitches over the middle," Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "You can't make any mistakes, really." mlb.com Not only that, Fenway, but you have the VERY uncomfortable situation of Francona broadcasting the Sunday Night game with a national audience...after he got more cheers than anyone Friday afternoon for the anniversary ceremony.

QUOTE (mumbles3k @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 08:25 PM) Thanks guys. I've edited the first post to include the new entries. Keep 'em coming! I've also added one of my own, THE PRiNCESS BRIDE, which features Sox memorabilia in Fred Savage's room. As far as Sox movies that never got made, the most notable one that I'm aware of is VEECK AS IN WRECK, starring Bill Murray. The film was written by a TV guy named Ted Mann, who worked on DEADWOOD, NYPD BLUE and MILLENNIUM. It was set to be directed by John McNaughton, a really good Chicago director who helmed, amongst other things, HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, NORMAL LIFE, and WILD THINGS. Alas, it was determined that foreign markets don't care about Bill Veeck. And so, it remains unproduced. We had to read that book in my graudate sports administration program's marketing class. Got to meet his son Mike at the Minor League baseball winter meetings in El Paso in the mid 90's, he was running the Ft. Myers Miracle I think but was about to move to the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/cowley/1205...perfection.html The full story actually has some decent quotes I haven't seen anywhere else, yet. No baseball team has been kicked around in the last year for how not to run an organization than the South Siders. So the fact that in the mess of contracts gone bad and “rebuilding’’ by not really “rebuilding,’’ there’s a story like Humber’s. (Mostly by you, Joe!) Humble, hungry and handed a fist full of keeping things in perspective because of the early obstacles thrown in his path. “I worked hard at my craft and I wanted that work to pay off so I would be validated,’’ Humber said. “That was my identity as a baseball player. And I evaluated myself by my stat line. If it wasn’t good, I didn’t feel so good. It took me a long time to figure out that it’s not about me or us. Whatever we’re doing, we should do it to glorify God.’’ Yeah, he played the religion card, but when you throw perfection, it’s allowed. So where do the Sox go from here? Well, in the wake of both the no-hitter and the perfect game Buehrle threw, the team seemed to sink after each. Today’s headlines and excitement doesn’t guarantee anything tomorrow. What the Sox do take from this is a starting staff that has some serious swagger, not only because of what Humber did, but how Peavy and Chris Sale are pitching. Will that lead to another on-field celebration this season? One that’s closer to October? Unlikely. Then again, that’s already one more “dog pile’’ than anyone would have expected.

Everyone benefits if the Cubs stay the course. The Cubs need to evaluate which of these players are going to stick in their current roles for the long haul and you cannot do this at this point in the season. They need to protect their assets - and that includes both veteran players and prospects. You need to know which assets to keep and which can bring you long term value via trade. Benching Marlon Byrd or Geo Soto after 2 weeks of substandard play would be a mistake. How many extra wins will you get from Reed Johnson, or Joe Mather or Tony Campana, or Steve Clevenger? Realistically, over the course of the season, the answer is none -- and you'll probably lose some. Moreover, none of those players are projected to be starters, so why completely destroy the value of two players just to play future backups? It's a plan that is unlikely to help either in the short term or the long term. Yes, I'm as frustrated as all of you are, but we all know what we signed up for. The majority of fans, at least on this site, were in favor of rebuilding. from chicagonow.com Probably the main reason the White Sox weren't going to bench Rios/Dunn and it's now equally applicable to Viciedo/Beckham/Morel.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,5003038.column The legend of Don Cooper continues to grow around baseball...Phil Rogers article.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 08:47 PM) Can he stick at 3B? Fielding stats look a little rough, but that doesn't tell the whole story in the low minors of course. from baseballinstinct.com 7. Rangel Ravelo, 3B 04/24/1992 H: 6’2” W: 210 - (Nathaniel’s take) Rangel Ravelo is another product of the White Sox’s strong 2010 draft, as he was their sixth-round selection. Ravelo utilizes a short, compact swing that allowed him to hit for average in both the Rookie-level Appalachian League (.384) and the Low-A South Atlantic League (.317), figures made even more impressive when considering he was just 19 years old. He’s also more polished defensively than most young third basemen, fielding a combined .942 in 2011. He did not hit a homer in 63 games, but his size and the leverage in his swing indicate that more power should come. Ravelo remains under the radar, but he’s a very polished hitter for his age. He shows an impressive knack for contact; the big question is whether he’ll develop close to average power once he settles into pro ball. He’s an intriguing sleeper prospect, which is one thing this system does not lack. Our Instinct: Ravelo may have been over looked if it wasn’t for the fact that scouts flocked to Hialeah High School in Florida to see team-mate and fellow 2010 draft pick Manny Machado, who went #3 over all. I’m curious about the lack of power. His .063 ISoP suggests he’s more of a singles hitter. I’m also curious about him filling out his frame like I keep hearing about. He’s still 6’2″ and has put all of 3 pounds on in the past 18 months. Still, he’s a polished hitter and will find a place to play if he keeps hitting. Here’s the catch though; if the power doesn’t develop he’s a good bet to stay at 3B, which isn’t what you want to hear. If his power does develop, he will most likely have to shift to 1B due to diminished range. So he better hit for a high average or start crankin’ um out of the park.

Phillies about to end their 13 game winning streak in PETCO Park. Cory Luebke has to be an early favorite for NL ROY, or Rookie Pitcher of the Year. That kid can deal. And his stats will always be skewed by playing 1/2 of his games in that mausoleum, same with Clayton Richard when he first went over there and everyone was complaining about how well he was doing. But Luebke's a legitimate top-of-the-line starter. BTW, have NESN, WEEI and the Boston Globe websites been shut down, as well as THE SONS OF SAM HORN?

Dan Johnson homer, Mitchell was 1/3 and exactly at .300 still, Phegley continues to rake, 2/4 with a double and an RBI, at .373 Brady Shoemaker pushing for a promotion, 2/4 with a double and hitting .345 He faced some dude named Sugar Ray Marimon in that game, great nickname. K. Walker 1/3, 2B, RBI K. Smith 1/3, Ravelo 1/4 and just under .400 now

What's Balta's mind on, lol? Humber throws a perfect game and he's thinking about basketball! Well yeah, 79-8=71-91, ON PAPER, without replacing those players But that's different from actually predicting the team to have that record when everything that could go wrong last year pretty much did go wrong and there was a new manager and coaching staff in place, with the exception of Baines and arguably one of the 3 best pitching coaches in the game, if not the best. With Peavy/Dunn/Rios alone performing as well as they are, that mitigates a lot of that loss, not to mention Sale replacing Buehrle. The one deficit is clearly Viciedo versus Quentin's stats in the early season, but Reed/Jones/Santiago have more than adequately replaced Santos from an overall statistical perspective.

Thanks, Jim. Royals about to go to 0-8 at home. Tigers/Rangers game down to the top of the 9th, 3-2 Tiggers. Runners on 1st and 2nd, one out, Valverde struggling to close the deal. Andrus up. Verlander has had horrible luck with games he's held the lead or left with a lead this year. 131 pitches his last start, needed 115 to get through the 6th tonight. N. Feliz pitched a very good game but fell apart in the 4th and gave up the 3 runs (Delmon Young with the key hit to tie, then Santiago blew it open with another to make it 3-1, Rangers just scored in the 8th). Raburn stabs a vicious line drive that was hit right on the button by Andrus that would have scored both runners. Cold/crisp air saves Valverde, but still has to face Josh Hamilton here. Hamilton K's on a 2-2 splitter. Papa Grande also had to get Napoli, the hottest hitter in baseball in that inning to lead off.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 08:05 PM) Headline writers for the two big papers in the city are failing if Appreciate the Perfect Game isn't adorning the front of the sports section. Or the White Sox PR department/Boyer... They better change some of their television commercials and insert a black and white "1950's/60's style" highlights package of Humber with his 9 K's, dogpile, Gatorade shower, in the clubhouse toasting with his teammates, etc.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 08:56 PM) aaaand of COURSE you're the one to rain on the parade. haha I'll take Humber over Niemann any day of the week. I'll take Humber over Feliz for this year (growing pains). I like Harrison, but I still maintain we have a better all around rotation than Texas You'd take Nova over Humber? Freddy Garcia? I'll take Humber over Zambrano The Nationals are the only one I'll give you. Zambrano's been throwing surprisingly well, he was a hard-luck loser earlier this week against WASH, but his days of hitting 94-97 MPH with the fastball are long gone. Nova probably has more potential, arguably. Harrison has been the best pitcher on that Rangers' staff so far this season. Technically, the back end of their rotation is Darvish/Feliz. Some would consider Lewis their 3rd, many different viewpoints on the Rangers' rotation, plus they have Ogando and Feldman so they really can go 7 deep, too.

You knew the home plate ump didn't want to have another Jim Joyce situation there. I'm guessing he didn't actually go far enough or quite break his wrists, but he was coming so far forward in front of the plate with his body, he probably did bring his bat all the way through the strike zone and even beyond it. Would love to see the side angle. Maybe MLB wants it killed if it's going to be a controversy?