caulfield12

Yep, he (Dunn) kept his shoulders turned in went right over the left-fielder, who looked like he had a play until he ran out of room and hit the fence. Would have been further out to that part of USCF, although you can never tell how much the desert air helped. That's at least 3 or 4 hits so far already this spring by Dunn off lefties, less K's, more walks, and I've seen a couple of other good AB's where he went to the track or hit the ball hard to LF against LHPers. Wow, Quintero signed with us in 1997. Always had that great arm and questionable O. Stewart with another questionable pitch lashed for a single.

Rongey talking/questioning about Beckham and somehow Melton doesn't get the hint and keeps talking about Peavy, lol. Escobar a hitting machine in ST. Which of course means he won't hit at all once April rolls around. Battle with Escobar and Lillibridge for the same spot? C'mon Melton, Lillibridge is on this team for sure.

Two former Sox farmhands, Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero (both newly-acquired from HOU), might see significant time with the Royals this year with the Perez/Pena injuries, especially Quintero. Jason could make the team as one of the last guys on the bench. Stewart looking so-so, 1 run through 2 IP. He really needs to hold runners better, as well. As Melton and Rongey pointed out, too many times we gave up uncontested steals of second and third, and those runs always seemed to come back to bite us.

Great sign, Dunn's 3rd homer of the spring, goes opposite field off Bruce Chen...4-0 Sox. Guess Morel's been going through some touchy back issues. And Alex Ramirez's English hasn't improved at all since 2008. I think it's getting worse, somehow. Not the best break for Rios on that ball lashed to RF by Francouer.

Frank Thomas would have been the "Albert Pujols of the American League had he been speedy." Thanks, Melton. And Thomas led the White Sox with his power hitting from 1995 on? I think he's forgetting 1990-1994, because among his 7 best seasons were the first seven consecutive ones, starting with his rookie year. Lillibridge HAS to change his swing with 2 strikes against Chen to get that runner over 3rd with 1 out. Rios with a somewhat surprising RBI single to LF to score DeAza. Konerko with RBI double to RCF gap, Rios scores from 1st easily (Beckham, Viciedo please note that swing). Melton now thinks it's very important to have a fast runner in the 3rd spot to score on Konerko hits, lol.

Guess there's not too much concern about Viciedo within the organization, he hasn't been in the line-up (except for B games?) for three days now, one was the off-day. Looks like they don't have the feed for the game up just yet at chisox.com?

I'm pretty shocked they're even letting Chen face the White Sox so close to the start of the season. I'd probably hide him in a B game if I was the Royals. Then again, he's already "in their heads," if he goes out and dominates them YET AGAIN, the Sox might as well be psychologically beaten before they ever face him in a game that counts. It seems to me we really roughed him up long in the past, when he was with the Orioles or Braves. Not so much recently.

By the way, starting from 2006-2011, the Royals have made a grand total of $93 million in profits. And interestingly, we're still ranked ahead of the Cardinals, good for 10th place in overall franchise values, despite their newer stadium and 2 World Championships...although losing Pujols has to hurt a little in the short-term, the long term effects of that Angels' contract on the franchise would have been disastrous. The Twins are also greatly hurt by the Mauer/Morneau contracts going forward. Interesting to see how much profit those teams with strong farm systems like the Rays, Blue Jays, Pirates and Padres made. Only the Mets, Phillies and Angels (barely) lost money. The Cubs raked in nearly $30 million in a very down year for attendance/revenue. Forbes says Royals made $28.5 million in 2011 By BOB DUTTON The Kansas City Star By BOB DUTTON The Kansas City Star Updated: 2012-03-21T21:55:49Z JOHN SLEEZER Note: Operating profit and revenue include revenue sharing. Baseball’s most valuable teams (Forbes) TeamOperating incomeCurrent valueChange 1. Yankees$10 million$1.85 billion9% 2. Dodgers$1.2 million$1.4 billion75% 3. Red Sox$25.4 million$1 billion10% 4. Cubs$28.1 million$1 billion14% 5. Philliesminus-$11.6 million$723 million19% 6. Metsminus-$40.8 million$719 millionminus-4% 7. Rangers$15.3 million$674 million20% 8. Angelsminus-$1.2 million$656 million18% 9. Giants$8.8 million$643 million14% 10. White Sox$10.7 million$600 million14% 11. Cardinals$25 million$591 million14% 12. Mariners$2.2 million$585 million30% 13. Astros$24.3 million$549 million16% 14. Twins$16.6 million$510 million4% 15. Braves$20.7 million$508 million5% 16. Nationals$25.9 million$480 million15% 17. Tigers$8.2 million$478 million24% 18. Rockies$14.4 million$464 million12% 19. Orioles$12.9 million$460 million12% 20. Padres$23.2 million$458 million13% 21. Marlins$12.9 million$450 million25% 22. Brewers$19.2 million$448 million19% 23. D-backs$27.2 million$447 million13% 24. Reds$17.1 million$424 million13% 25. Blue Jays$24.9 million$413 million23% 26. Indians$30.1 million$410 million16% 27. Royals$28.5 million$354 million1% 28. Pirates$15.9 million$336 million11% 29. Rays$26.2 million$323 millionminus-2% 30. A’s$14.6 million$321 million5% The Royals generated an operating profit of $28.5 million last season, according to Forbes magazine in its annual “Business of Baseball” report. That profit, according to the magazine, represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Only the Indians, at $30.1 million, showed a greater operating profit among baseball’s 30 teams. Major League Baseball has long disputed the Forbes figures, but they are generally cited as the game’s best financial measuring stick. The Royals’ operating profit stemmed mainly from a low payroll because the club showed only modest gains in franchise value ($354 million up from $351 million) and revenue ($161 million up from $160 million). Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/21/35053...h#storylink=cpy

So, in summary, Terry Doyle and Tyler Kuhn might not have as much of an impact as previously envisioned by some. Doyle has to start out behind Molina/Axelrod/Stewart and probably Castro and Hector Santiago. Behind him, he has the likes of Petricka and Rienzo. But it's nice to have a little depth for a change, just not 100% sure how "quality" that depth is.

YAY, now our net profit margin from 2011-2012 can go up to $10,725,000.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 05:10 PM) According to Forbes. Sox profit $10.7 million in 2011. Team value up 14% to $600 million. Does that count the insurance reimbursment claim for Jake Peavy? Well, let the latest financial "spinning" begin anew. The Royals made $28.5 million in profits. Someone in Lawrence won't be happy with David Glass. http://www.google.com.hk/url?sa=t&rct=...tOg&cad=rjt Brooks Boyer interview on the marketing team's challenges heading into 2012

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 07:37 PM) Ha, I remember that. Hawk was going nuts. Check out the major-league debut of Miguel Asencio of the Royals on April 6, 2002. Ascencio threw 16 straight balls, walking the first four batters he faced... Found it, can't believe it was a decade ago, time flies. I was actually at that game, I just remembered "Miguel" and that it wasn't Batista.

This is like the revisionism after Orlando Cabrera left claiming Williams was a genius to force him to leave when many were sweating if he would actually depart or not and we'd end up stuck with him and an arbitration raise in salary, blocking Alexei Ramirez from SS to boot.

QUOTE (shakes @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 05:16 PM) It's not bulls***. http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2011...his-own-formula http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2011-...ce-for-st-louis Anyway, it was only a few games, but it was to illustrate that the difference between playing RF and LF is not that much of a change. Berkman said himself he preferred playing the position closest to the dugout. That does it. My new one line response to every post from Marty34 will be "you talk too much at a message board, and your post is simply made up bull---- and disingenuous" and nothing further in terms of elucidation. That will surely help to make this board more enlightening and entertaining.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 03:07 PM) I find it pretty hilarious that this: Was followed by this: Well, actually, I was accusing of talking too much (even though this is a website where I thought people WROTE about the Sox) and being disingenuous, which means "not candid or sincere." I've been one of Viciedo's biggest defenders on a consistent basis since 2008, as much as I was anti-Brian Anderson. Why would I have any reason to characterize Williams' signing of Viciedo in a false light? It would be better if people knew the meanings of the words they were throwing around. I guess we shouldn't even bother to quote what anyone with the team itself actually says, and just make up our own interpretations as we go along, since we're all professional scouts here. I should have written last year, no KW, Zach Stewart will never, can never be a starter, you're being disingenuous foisting this huge acquisition for Edwin Jackson off on us as anything but another bullpen arm, lol.

Kloess in, not sure who he is. Buch might have had the worst inning I can remember except for that guy with the Royals who walked about four guys in a row on 16 consecutive pitches against us something like 5-6 years ago.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 10:12 AM) I know you like to talk a lot, but this is completely disingenuous. He signed Viciedo for nothing more than that bat. He didn't sign him to "play 3rd." Despite the "axis of evil" we have one of the better fielding 3rd basemen in baseball starting. So, uh...good post. He was projected by Williams and his staff to be the 3rd baseman. Look at all the comments when he signed, many were referring to his strong arm and surprising level of athleticism. We had just let Juan Uribe go, and Crede was down for the count too. It wasn't until Viciedo struggled mightily at Birmingham in 2009...leading to the trade in November of 2009 for Mark Teahen to play 3B and the simultaneous move of Gordon Beckham to 2B. You're not going to find a single comment from 2008/2009 saying otherwise. If he was signed to be the primary DH, then bringing in Dunn didn't really make any sense unless KW was so smart at that point that he knew he would trade Carlos Quentin, he of the MVP ability just one year prior, yet have the foresight to know he would ditch Carlos 2 years later and open up that spot in the line-up for Dayan. THE POINT is that we had 2 great defenders in Uribe and Crede at that position...and brought in two dubious ones in Teahen and Viciedo, when clearly the defense played on the left side of the infield in 2005/2006, 2008 and 2010 (when Vizquel replaced Teahen early in the season) were common threads to our best teams in the decade. Morel wasn't drafted with the thought he would become a more important player in the organization than Viciedo or take over the starting role as soon as 2011. And, he has to prove on the diamond that he can consistently defend like Ventura, Crede, Uribe, Vizquelo or even Ramirez/Beckham, etc. He didn't do that last year, not enough to make up for his low OBP and missing power for 4 1/2 months of the season. But please show me a quote from the White Sox where THEY (and not scouts of opposing teams) viewed him more as a DH/LF/RF and presented him as such at the time of his signing. We have one of the better PROJECTED defenders at 3B, that's it, until he proves it on the field for a full season at near Gold Glove-level.

$20 is a lot for a movie, but that includes free popcorn, a comfier seating area, and free valet service, as well as the ability to buy drinks during the whole flick. Does that mean unlimited "free" drinks are part of the $20, or you just have the ability to buy a drink and get free refills, not sure I quite understand that last part... 60 positive, 6 negatives now...91 rating for THG, but wow, some of the negative reviews were really scathing...seems like there's no middle ground on this picture, other than the admiration for Jennifer Lawrence's continued evolution as a young actress

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 04:53 PM) In my view, Kenny Williams job rests in the performances of Beckham, Danks, Viciedo, Sale, and Reed. If they play the way they have been touted to play by Kenny Williams and others in the organization, I think the Sox will contend. If they don't the Sox have a huge problem because there isn't anyone else to build around and we're looking at a 3-5 year process. Kenny should not be the guy to rebuild this team if that young core doesn't produce this year. And Nestor Molina. It's fair to say those 6, isn't it? Perhaps you could extend it to Tyler Flowers, Humber or DeAza, but the point still remains, the "youth core" has to perform well or the whole thing will have to be completely blown up in 2013 or 2014. Of course, Dunn and Rios will continue to get the lion's share of attention in the media if they bomb again this year.

The only roster question/s is between Johnson and Escobar and the final bullpen spot/s, isn't that the consensus so far? Although it seems that Axelrod has a slight lead on Zach Stewart at this point, and they wanted 2 of the last 3 bullpen spots to go to pitchers who were capable of going 2-3-4 innings at a time.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 20, 2012 -> 02:44 PM) Hunger Games getting 100% on RT thus far. I'll see it even though I never read the books. Off tomorrow so I have to see 21 JUMP STREET due to word on the street. Honestly thought it would blow. 57 positive reviews, only 6 negatives so far

It is kind of amusing that KW's and Bell's solution to the 3B problem was to sign/acquire/trade for two of the worst 3B in modern-day baseball history in Teahen and Viciedo. Throw in Wilson Betemit, and you have a true Axis of Evil Defense. Even more ironic that after watching Crede and Uribe all those years and the positive effect it had on our pitching staff, they still decided to go in that direction.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 19, 2012 -> 04:09 PM) Saladino doesn't get over to 1B on a bunt play. I still don't know why he was added to the major league camp. Probably because Saladino and Lillibridge are the only ones in the entire organization with enough pop in their bats to play everyday SS/3B/2B if Morel/Ramirez/Beckham go down. And the fact that he's something like our 4th-6th rated prospect.

That would be about as effective as those electronic town hall meetings that Ross Perot proposed back in the day. Yay, let's cut all government spending. Ooops, I guess we need to keep the military, we can't cut national parks, I need my Medicare A & B and no way they can take away my Social Security!!! 40% of the people in the US would probably decide to get rid of the Federal government and Washington, D.C., altogether. The point is...an unscientific "opinion poll" or survey either here or at Chicago Trib or Sun Times.com isn't the best way to run a ballclub, it's a Bill Veeck stunt disguised as giving the fans a voice. The last thing that Reinsdorf wants to do is give Sox fans any power in the decision-making process of this team. It's nothing like a democracy, and never has been. And please save the, "why don't you put together a group of venture capitalists and come up with $400-500 million" comment, lol. Imagine if the Broncos had done that, the fans might have voted to keep Tim Tebow and passed up on Manning...because it's usually the most vociferous/passionate fans who vote (numerous times) in those polls, but it's far from the "average" fan's viewpoint, nothing close.

Self would be on a pretty hot seat in Lawrence if not for that national championship game escape. It must be a deja vu feeling for KU fans when their team gets down by 10-12 points early in an NCAA tourney game the last decade or so. Big 10 looking to have 5 of the final 16 teams surviving, Big East second with only 3. Johnson's draft pick status has jumped about 5-10 spots in the first round thanks to the last two games for KU.