caulfield12

cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open @BradT313 Nestor Molina 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in Class AA so far ... thanks for playing. Take a pot shot at KW even though Sergio Santos has two blown saves, Santiago's 2/2 and Molina has one start under his belt 14h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open I wonder what Robin will say about Cuba this afternoon ... ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... it's human valium. Blame Ventura for being really boring, not exciting like Ozzie and Joe-Hineybird's Co(u)wsin 14h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open ... but the fact you people can't quit Ozzie Guillen. Embrace it Chicago, you miss the circus! No, you miss the circus, that's the only reason you still have a job, trying to create one. 14h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open You know what's amazing? The first week of Chicago baseball, the most talked about thing is not the Sox bullpen, not the Cubs rotation... 16h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open Bill Maher's comments about 9-11 were 100 times worse, and ol' Bill recovered just fine. Make irrelevant comparisons with political commentators outside the world of sports (no Rush Limbaugh?) that attempt to make Ozzie look "not so bad" in comparison 16h DKnobler ‏ @DKnobler Reply Retweet Favorite · Open I tend to agree more with @cst_Cowley, who points out that speaking out stupidly is supposed to be a problem in Castro's Cuba, not here. Retweeted by cst_Cowley 16h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open @Doug_SoxPack So were the eight years of Ozzie worth a World Series trophy? In reply to Doug Gross 16h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open Loria wanted an over-the-top ballpark and an over-the-top manager that captures headlines. Check and check. All press is good press, caveat emptor, blame it on Loria and KW. 16h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open @Ricky11Slade It sure is..... put some sun block on and have fun with that. In reply to Tim Boyd 16h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open @Kaufmak Please don't do the, "Well, if I did that on my job.... '' The pro sports world is not even close to a normal job. In reply to Kaufmak 16h cst_Cowley ‏ @cst_Cowley Reply Retweet Favorite · Open And memo to Cuban protesters: You will be protesting free speech, the very thing you did not have in Cuba. Think about it. Check, check and check: Turn the tables on the protesters and try to make them out to be the bad guys, blame the victim(s) Boy oh boy, Marge Schott and Al Campanis were sure entertaining!

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 11:52 PM) And, IIRC, Brandon Allen has spent some time in LF when he was with the DBacks as well. I'd be a lot more excited if they could convert him to 3B. There, he would actually be a "plus" bat, whereas at 1B/DH he's struggling to survive in the majors. It's a long shot, but to take a young player with some upside over McPherson/Johnson/C.Jackson...playing him at 3B or even in the OF in Birmingham or Charlotte, why not?

Let's hope Beckham can start matching some of his nifty fielding with his work in the batter's box. Alex Rios, TWO HANDS. Chris Sale, every left-handed batter in the league will cringe when they see the Shin-Soo Choo HBP highlight. Fear is your friend. Dayan Viciedo, keep it up. Same with DeAza (except for getting thrown out on the basepaths).

The Marlins called a news conference -- which will be streamed live on MLB.com and marlins.com -- for 10:30 a.m. ET at Marlins Park on Tuesday. http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012...s-little-havana So now comes the damage control. Guillen already has had a few days to work on his apologies since he first read the to-be-published comments last Friday. He has been as contrite as anyone could be. I have no doubt he will be sincere at his news conference Tuesday morning. He cares about people and knows he has hurt a lot of them. Of course, there's also that four-year, $10 million contract he wants to keep. This was apparent last week when he dodged a question about the sore-thumb home run sculpture in the new park. "Mr. Loria (Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria) made it? (It's) beautiful," he said. He was smiling but he wasn't joking. So what's next? Will the Marlins do the right thing and suspend him? When this blows over, will Guillen stop doing so many interviews? Will he stop popping off about topics he knows nothing about? I hope not. He would not be Ozzie Guillen if he didn't make ridiculous comments. I don't believe he meant any harm with this one. He was just trying a little harder than usual to be say something outrageous. Heck, you even could say he was just doing his job. The Marlins wanted him to generate headlines. Well, that's what he's done, just more stupidly than usual. Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012...a#ixzz1rckbXpgs

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 12:19 AM) Or he can finish the year 40 of 48 and no one is going to care either way. Or he can lose the job ala Matt Thornton/Aceves/Melancon in the first 6 weeks of the season.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 12:35 AM) I never have a problem selling high on a closer, period. It's a guy you bring on to get 3 guys out. Random guys can come in and be successful closers, and it happens all the time. Hell, Santos was a converted SS who became a successful closer. •1996-1999 Billy Taylor recorded 99 saves in four years and was traded for Jason Isringhausen on July 31st 1999 •2000-2001 Jason Isringhausen notched 67 saves in 2 seasons, signed four year, $27 million deal with St. Louis Cardinals. Beane in return got two compensation picks, both of which never made it out of the minors. •2002 Billy Koch was added in an offseason deal with Toronto. He saved 44 games, then was flipped to the White Sox for Keith Foulke, two others and cash. •2003 Keith Foulke recorded 33 saves, then signed with the Boston Red Sox for $18.75 million over three years. Beane again acquired two compensation picks, catcher Landon Powell and outfielder Danny Putman. •2004 With no closer in the bullpen, Beane acquired Octavio Dotel in June, 2004 in the three team, Carlos Beltran deal. Dotel finished the season with 22 saves. •2005 Dotel gave way to Huston Street after 7 saves. Street had 23 saves himself. Dotel signed with the Yankees in the following off-season. No compensation was given for the loss of Dotel. •2005-2008 Huston Street recorded 84 saves over four seasons. Street was traded after the 2008 season for Matt Holliday. •2009-2011 Andrew Bailey has 60 saves through two plus seasons, and is now “available”. http://www.ultimatesportstalk.com/MLB/2011...elming-rangers/

Here's the beginning of the actual TIME MAGAZINE story...interestingly, the quote/s are from the first week of March, more than one month ago. And Time actually has the picture of Guillen wearing a White Sox uniform from the 2011 season!!! Bet Reinsdorf and KW aren't happy with that. "I love Fidel Castro," Blurts Ozzie Guillen, the new manager of the Miami Marlins, in his Jupiter, Fla., spring-training office before an early-March team workout. During a typically stream-of-consciousness Ozzie oratory, he has covered some favorite topics, such as his passion for bullfighting ("You're giving the animal an opportunity to kill you"), disdain for sports shrinks ("You're 4 for 4, you don't need psychology. You're 0 for 4, you need a f---ing guy to get you ready to play?") and the benefits of brutal honesty ("I told my wife, 'I don't like the perfume you're wearing.' She was mad, but meanwhile,...(the rest is available through subscription) Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...l#ixzz1rc15Ys92 http://www.cnnsi.com/video/mlb/2012/04/09/...1&eref=sihp Verducci on why Ozzie shouldn't be suspended

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 11:26 PM) Which very well could become upgrades soon enought. Reed -> Santos Viciedo -> Quentin Sale -> Buehrle Santiago/Reed/Molina > Santos

With 50/50, you'll actually be pleasantly surprised. Seth Rogen isn't half as annoying as he normally is, largely because he's a supporting actor. Both a totally realistic and "feel good" story at the same time that doesn't feel completely contrived...at least not as much as most Hollywood fare these days. Bryce Dallas Howard does a great job of making you dislike her, which means she hit her mark well.

With all respect to Rosenthal, a 30-day sitdown is ridiculous. Not only because it'd be a longer punishment than transgressions in baseball history that were much worse, but because it's not as if he directly endorsed the despicable methods (including obstruction of free speech) that Castro used to rule over the island country for more than half a century. When I read Guillen's comments, I interpret them as the product of a rambling idiot unable to draw a distinction between the reality of Castro and the weird admiration our society has built up for fictional rogues who gave the middle finger to those who wanted them dead (i.e., Scarface, Tony Soprano). One day we're reading how Guillen says he gets drunk every night, win or lose, and the next we're expecting him to be well-versed on the societal implications of talking about Castro in Miami? What's more, I'm willing to bet that Guillen's thoughts on Castro were likely one of 500 off-the-cuff observations he made that day, whether it was to a relief pitcher on his way to get treatment or in front of reporters with notepads and recorders. Serious question here: If Guillen doesn't have an adequate filter to judge what should and shouldn't come out of his mouth — if he's freely flowing from thoughts about dictators to the yacht he wants to buy — why are we assigning any value or judgment to his ramblings? I don't want to be seen as condoning Guillen's comments here. And I don't want to praise the Marlins for acting like they had nothing to do with it either. When the two sides agreed to a four-year deal, the first bullet point should have been that Castro's name does not leave Guillen's lips for any reason the entire time he wears a Marlins uniform. But with Guillen exposing himself as completely ignorant to the issues involved less than a week into his first season, I think the immediate loss of respect at his new workplace is a worse punishment than any suspension could possibly bring. Taking away his Marlins hat and replacing it with a dunce cap until the All-Star break seems perfectly fitting. BigLeagueStew at yahoosports.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...0,2369568.story Chicago Tribune editorial board getting into the mix

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/11806414-41...ro-in-2008.html Telander taking Guillen to the woodshed. Interesting they didn't let Cowley address this directly, at least yet. Maybe he'll be at the presser tomorrow. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/cowley/1174...know-basis.html This Cowley column from five days ago complaining about the Sox organization not being "open" enough about information like who the closer is seems even more hilarious in light of Ozzie's being "too open." Who can blame them? After all, with Guillen gone, everyone is happy. Williams finally gets to be the face of the franchise, a position he long has coveted but couldn’t have under the huge shadow left by Guillen. Sure, Williams pretends he wants to be “under the radar,’’ but he’s on television more than Snooki. The latest is the new North Side-South Side Nike ad. A bunch of players from the Sox and Cubs are shown training, and there’s Williams, lifting weights and sweating. What the hell does a GM need to train for? You know why Theo Epstein or Jed Hoyer weren’t in it? BECAUSE THEY’RE EXECUTIVES! They’re building teams, not muscle and ego. It’s crazy until you consider this: The Sox must make this transformation. Who knows, it just might work. The idea that they are a 90-95-loss team seems far-fetched. They should breathe down the backs of the Tigers in the first half before fading in September and still finish second or third in the Central. What’s next for the franchise? Sometimes you have to go all the way back to Step 1. No one said detox is easy.

Well, our newest version of Aaron Miles/CJ Retherford might end up getting extensive playing time if Beckham and/or Morel don't get things figured out.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 09:51 PM) The Sox have Cespedes-lite in LF. Or Cespedes-Heavy! Now 9 K's in 15 AB's for Yoenis, the ultimate all-or-nothing hitter.

And Buehrle, we already know the story with that situation. Pretty hard to see anything wrong with how things have broken so far, but it's only 4-5 games in. Obviously, it would have been a spark to sign Cespedes or Soler, but the numbers just got too big with the Dunn/Peavy/Rios contracts already on the books, couldn't afford another bust.

So now Sergio has to save 15-18 in a row to put himself in the territory of "successful" SV/SVO ratio.

Never would have thought that Hernandez would be a starter in AA and Santiago would be the closer at the beginning of ST. Probably just trying to develop all of his pitches like they did with Jones, still a pretty high likelihood he ends up a major league reliever.

All that I'm saying is someone who can consistently throw 95-97 and has that 10+ MPH differential with the offspeed stuff, and 2 decent to above average off-speed pitches, at least has the physical tools/ability to be a closer. Many don't make it, true enough, but the reason they took Jones over Bruney was 100% potential and raw stuff.

QUOTE (Chet Lemon @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 08:51 PM) I think his "best" option would be Brian Sandoval. Unlike some other options being mentioned to appeal to hispanic voters, Sandoval would actually be qualified to take over the Presidency if needed. He's a Governor, former federal judge, held statewide offices, etc. Except very few people have even heard of him. I thought I followed presidential politics pretty closely and that name has never once been on the radar screen nationally.

Pretty funny that former Sox RF Ryan Sweeney broke Papa Grande's save string in DET and now beat ex-Sox Santos in TOR. Ouch. Meanwhile, the bullpen is seemingly our greatest strength and we have theoretically five guys who have the ability to close in Santiago, Thornton, Crain, Reed and even Nathan Jones. Darvish is going to get an ugly win, but it counts. 98 pitches in just five innings, 5 ER, FB 92-93-94 but not anything that was just totally dominating or awe-inspiring.

8 k's in 14 ab's, 1.375 OPS But a bit more power than Brent Morel. 4. All or nothing Already living up to the hype, Yoenis Cespedes looks like he's going to be fascinating to watch this season. After doubling off Felix Hernandez in his major league debut in Tokyo, Cespedes has homered in each of his last three games, and the moonshot that he hit off Jason Vargas Friday night suggests that Oakland's Coliseum isn't going to cramp his style (though it would help if they played Christopher Cross' Sailing when Cespedes rounds the bases). Those three homers tie Cespedes for the major league lead in the early going, but it's worth noting that he also leads the majors in strikeouts. Of Cespedes' first 15 major league plate appearances, 10 have ended in a home run or strikeout. That's not unexpected given the scouting reports we had on him, but it's still a red flag, particularly given the fact that none of his plate appearances have ended in a walk (though he does have a double and two hit-by-pitches in his five other PAs). The concern is how often Cespedes will make contact once major league scouts, coaches and pitchers have seen him enough. Watching major leaguers figuring out how to pitch to Cespedes, and watching Cespedes try to adjust to them in turn, could be one of the more fascinating plotlines of this season, and one of the few good reasons to watch A's games. www.aolsportingnews.com

Leadoff double, 3 chances to tie it. Now a passed ball, runner on 3rd base.

If you factor in all the money we spent on Pena, it probably wasn't a win. We already have Dan Johnson and Conor Jackson, then there's Dunn/Konerko in front of him, so not sure if it would be of interest to KW, maybe not.

CLEVELAND -- Alexei Ramirez is a Cuban native, but with his wife, Mildred, being a native of the Dominican Republic, he did not defect when coming to the United States to play baseball. The White Sox shortstop rarely if ever talks about Cuban politics or dictator Fidel Castro. But he did take time on Monday to briefly address former manager Ozzie Guillen's comments referring to the despot as someone he loved and respected in an upcoming Time Magazine article. "His opinion is not the same opinion I have," said Ramirez through translator and White Sox director of cultural development Jackson Miranda on the Guillen issue. "Everybody is free to have an opinion. "It's one of those that there are some people who like Castro and some people who don't. In Miami, it's definitely of a different thought frame." Although Ramirez had not heard or read Guillen's comments, he felt a public apology that Guillen is set to deliver on Tuesday could go some way in putting the matter behind him. "Apologizing is definitely a big first step," Ramirez said. "Again, I feel that everyone has their opinion, but I also feel that people should be forgiven. So, if he's going to apologize, then I feel that hopefully it will be accepted. I would just say whatever his thoughts, whatever his comments, those are Ozzie's comments. That's more on him." Scott Merkin

That's better. Didn't compound his mistake by walking the next batter. Outings like this might actually be better for his development than just going through it 1-2-3...he'll need it when he faces the best offensive line-ups like DET where every batter can take you yard in a heartbeat.

Uh-oh. Well, still a two run lead. Saw too many pitches there. Have to mix it up more.