caulfield12

Pettitte out after only 64 pitches and 4 innings. Anyone who know what happened with him? Some dude named Cody Eppley in, 2-1 Yankees now, top of the 5th.

Glen Perkins said the biggest thing Youkilis will do is add to the OBP and battling opposing pitchers, fouling off lots of pitches...that the White Sox generally tend to be aggressive hitters and swing early in counts and get themselves out, not too many walks other than Dunn and Konerko (and DeAza has had a good OBP, too). Professional hitter, etc. Also mentioned how Dunn really was pulling off the ball last season...trying to live up to his contract and hit too many home runs. 5th homer against Sale this year. Makes up for the ball he let through the wickets against Ramirez earlier.

First Youkilis White Sox RBI. But ill-advised first out at third base. 0 for 24 now for Dunn.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 01:28 AM) Can't wait til Michael Kay gets to remind Yankees fans about Quintana. Or Phil Rogers. The Blue Jays had yet another starter get hurt last night, with Henderson Alvarez leaving the game against Boston due to a sore elbow. He’s expected to avoid the DL, but the Jays already have three of his rotationmates there: Brandon Morrow (oblique), Kyle Drabek (elbow) and Drew Hutchinson (elbow). Now comes word today that Nestor Molina, the top prospect the Jays parted with to get Sergio Santos (also injured) from the White Sox over the winter, has been placed on the DL at Double-A Birmingham with an elbow injury. His status is uncertain, but it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he misses a big chunk of the season. FOXSports.com’s Jon Paul Morosi recently wrote a glowing article on the Blue Jays’ young arms, taking shots at Oakland’s 2002 “Moneyball draft” in the process. The Jays now employ more area scouts than any team in the league, and it might well be helping them identify talent other clubs have missed. nbchardballsports.com

Two 1-0 games in the 2nd inning, in the Bronx and Target Field. Indians trying to prevent the sweep by the Yankees behind Ubaldo Jimenez vs the Old Warhorse, Andy Pettitte.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 28, 2012 -> 01:12 AM) He clearly doesn't know what he's doing. First place? This team is supposed to lose 95 games. There were a plethora of 85-90 losses predictions....at best +/- 5 games of the .500 mark for most.

Dunn now 0 for his last 23. Blackburn streaks. 9-6 lifetime against Sox, 5-1 all-time at home, 3-0 with ND since coming off the DL/rehab assignment.

Maybe Greg wrote that to himself, and didn't use his normal, inimitable, staggered line/iambic pentameter style?

Jared Mitchell's season has gone the same way as Viciedo's....similar paths, although Mitchell still has decent overall numbers because of the first 6 weeks. Despite the downturn, should still have great hopes for both of them, though.

I was just thinking what Weaver or Lasorda fans would be saying if they heard the comparison made, in favor of Guillen. They would probably be more incensed that the managerial track records are even deemed in the same ballpark simply because of 2005. Isn't the winning percentage for Gene Lamont better than Guillen? And yet nobody ever would say Lamont was better than an average manager for the White Sox.

If you put Brent Lillibridge's numbers together for his entire MLB career OUTSIDE OF 2011, what would they give you? Probably something that looks a lot like Eduardo Escobar? You could make the same arguments that Lillibridge should be starting as the DH over Adam Dunn against LHP, or for DeAza, but obviously Ventura never agreed with doing either. Should we have benched Dunn now for Dan Johnson or Conor Jackson as well? You have to look at track records, and Dayan has had results in both the minors and majors and he's only 23. If we're building towards the future, what good would a third season in AAA do with developing Viciedo? We have to do what he can do NOW, this season...we can compete for the division and still do development at the same time, it's exactly what is happening with Reed, Jones, Santiago and a number of other players on the team, Quintana in particular. Nobody's suggesting dropping Quintana from the rotation, just like a month ago nobody would have dreamed of benching Dayan. He's streaky. He, Dunn and Konerko will go on another hot streak again soon. I was wrong for doubting Floyd and believing he'd completely lost it, there's ZERO reason to believe Dayan won't end up with close to 25-30 homers and 70-85 RBI's. That's great results for a 23 year old in his first major league season...and something to build upon. Even if Johnson and Jackson put up Dayan's numbers up to this point of the season, that's doing ZERO for the 2013 Chicago White Sox, and more than likely hurting our chances of competing next year by standing in the way of Viciedo's development.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 11:40 AM) What team is Byrnum on again? BRISTOL Barnum, Keon. By the way, where is Lillian to note Conor Jackson's 3 hits? That hasn't often happened this year, in fact, it's probably the 1st or 2nd time.

QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 11:48 AM) If demanding a new contract in the middle of September and willingly negotiating with another team during September isn't quitting on the Sox, what is? Did he literally have to not show up to the park? I suppose that would've been Kenny's fault, or the gas prices were too high at the time. Yes, so WHAT exactly was Ozzie's fault or responsibility in the final week of 2011 fiasco? ANYTHING? We should all have guaranteed multi-year contracts going forward past our current salary year or we can refuse to perform our stated duties? Sounds reasonable, especially when your teams have made it to the playoffs just once in the previous 6 years, and many of those teams with $100+ million payrolls. Well, that's not Ozzie's fault, bad players, bad GM, fire KW. 2005=good managing, good players, Ozzie is God. All the blame probably lies with JR, KW and Don Cooper, the new "axis of evil."

I think we should all pool our money together and buy an Applebee's franchise in Lawrence (since we'll probably come up JUST a bit short for the $1 billion on the Sox or even a minor league team, although, in fairness, our internal SoxTalk marketing department might be stronger here than the one at 35th and Shields presently) Whenever any news happens with the Sox, Ozzie, whatever, we can "insta-poll" all the diners to get their immediate feedback and put it into Sherman and Peabody's quant analysis machine for further digestion.

I wonder what Greg will have to do when Ozzie gets canned? Defend his broadcasting abilities? There will still be Dee Weezey, Pierre, Pods, a few relics of 2005 still left.....Buehrle, of course. Jenks seems to be history. Then he'll be left with only comparing what Ozzie would have done versus Ventura in the games that the Sox lose, perhaps. Second-guessing.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 10:56 AM) We win. Reed gets the job done but didn't seem to have good stuff IMO. Greg was poised at the keyboard for the tying run to score so we could all predict the Sox would never win in extra innings because they suck at that so far in 2012. Then again, a statistic like that has to even out eventually.

QUOTE (Paulie4Pres @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 11:02 AM) Attendance is low because it's still TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE. I'm sorry, but I'm not dropping $300 to take my family to a baseball game... Now the real question is whether the Sox care about a comment like this? Do as many Cubs' fans say the same thing, or they're just paying more for the "experience" of being there, like going to Las Vegas or some random hip/trendy/cool/iconic place they can tell their grandkids?

Please, not another Jenks/Santos/Reed argument.

At least it won't go down as another Paniagua/Hunter/Burke/Jenks/Thornton/Gomez/Hocking disaster ending.

can it ever be easy against this damn team?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 03:28 AM) Which screams to me he'd rather be somewhere he is happy, versus somewhere that pays him the most money. I am guessing if he won't extend up there, he doesn't like it there. He probably does fit in more on the West Coast than anywhere...Dodgers, perhaps. Angels can't possibly have any more crazy money to throw around again so soon after Wilson and Pujols. SF, if they had the money, but they still need to improve their offense and figure out what's wrong with Lincecum. Seattle, if they decide to build around Felix and another stud pitcher and actually start spending after the Figgins/Sexson/Beltre disappointments. Maybe Arizona. Teams like the Orioles or Blue Jays that fancy themselves as getting closer and need an anchor for their rotation might wade into the water. Phillies, to replace Hamels, but still so many payroll/rebuilding issues with that team...if they think they can contend by just flip-flopping those two.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 03:21 AM) I frankly don't think Robin will do any better than Ozzie with this roster when all is said and done. Team has a weird dynamic again. Lot of old guys mixed with young guys in key spots. 2 through six in the lineup is Youk, Dunn, Paulie, Rios, AJ, that's a ton of veterans to go with Tank, DeAza, Beckham and Lexi. It seems like a scary lineup, but something is amiss. Our pitching is very inconsistent as usual despite the fact on paper we've got a good closer and average rotation in Peavy, Sale, Floyd, Q and Danks when he comes back. Ozzie would be getting fried for not having this team in the playoffs, when in reality the team still just isn't that good. It's basically underachieving once again. We have a lot of name players on this team. You just said the rotation is "average." Why would that get any manager fried? BTW, with a healthy Danks, very few people in baseball would say our starting pitching is average, especially if Quintana's close to real and Floyd/Danks go on hot stretches again. Second, we lost Santos/Quentin and your beloved Buehrle? Why would there be any expectations of contending? Are you Marty now? Obviously there wasn't by many, as season ticket sales were down 20-25%. Everyone was expecting genetically modified rebuilding, not being in first place halfway through the season. If they did, where were those brave souls in the pre-season prediction threads who thought we were capable of being in 1st? You also said that Manto isn't doing a great job. So hitters aren't hitting, pitching is average, why would Ozzie have been fried? As far as having a blend or mix of talent, youngsters and veterans, every great team has that...with a very few historical exceptions. The 2005 team was streaky and dysfunctional at the end and pulled out of it, but they were a week or so from being bounced by the Indians.

So why would anyone's speculation be better than someone who is paid to do it for a living and has sources throughout the game? It's an educated guess, that's all. I lived in Kansas City and followed Greinke from the very beginning, was there when he had his breakdown/social anxiety diagnosis, when he famously remarked about walking away from the game because he'd prefer to be out mowing lawns in So Cal with his headphones on. Does that mean I know more than someone who lives in Chicago or have some unique insight? Just don't see him agreeing on an extension. Garcia was a rare exception. More importantly, with the Danks situation, and even Dunn struggling again...those huge long-term contracts for pitchers just don't look so attractive. Too many teams have been burned by them. How long until the Marlins are dumping Buehrle for 50-75 cents on the dollar? You can make the argument we're finally seeing a "fair" ROI on the Peavy deal, but it hasn't been until Year 4. And we still won't have anything to show for it when he's gone.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Jun 27, 2012 -> 01:26 AM) You sound as if sports teams should be treated like a charity. To a point they are. Most stadiums are built with tax player dollars. Clearly, someday, when the team is sold for $1.2-1.5 billion versus a pittance comparatively in initial investment, they will share the proceeds with the United Way of Greater Chicago. Yeah, yeah, to the victor go the spoils, those with the gold make the rules, we all could have put together an investment group (for example, in the early 80's when I was in middle school) and purchased the team, but that's still not a motivational tactic that a legit marketing team of a well-run franchise should be using.

3. Zack Greinke, whose Milwaukee Brewers have drifted six games under .500 and sit behind three teams in the NL Central. Greinke has done his part: a team-leading eight wins, 2.81 ERA, 99 strikeouts and just 21 walks over 96 innings. Brewers reliever Jose Veras has issued 22 free passes in 32 innings and closer John Axford 18 in 28⅓. Like Hamels, Greinke discussed a contract extension before the season. At this point, though, the chances of a deal are about nil. With 18 starts until free agency, why would he accept what's sure to be a below-market offer? No player who values free agency, which Greinke undoubtedly does, would even listen. GM Doug Melvin is in a unique position. He could set the market with Greinke, like he did trading for CC Sabathia the first week of July 2008. Or he could wait, let it breathe, and cause teams who need that extra push to clamor with a deadline approaching. It's what makes this time of year so fascinating, and it colors the unique case of … I linked the whole article in the next to last post over at the Youk thread. Now, it's just one writer, it's not proof, obviously. http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/arti...98&c_id=mil FWIW, his agent now is Casey Close, not Boras.