caulfield12

The first thing you may notice about these guys is their age – this is a very young skillset, with the average age of a pitcher posting this kind of season being 25.3 years old. In fact, A.J. Burnett’s 2009 season is the only example of a pitcher older than 30 meeting this criteria. The type of result is often the product of an inexperienced pitcher still trying to find command of his stuff, and as he gets older, that command generally improves. In fact, if you’re a Nationals fan, you have to be excited about some of the names that show up here – Kershaw, Lincecum, Johnson, Jimenez, and Gallardo all posted similar seasons at one point in their career before turning one some of the best starting pitchers around. This is clearly the upside that the Nationals believe they’re getting – if Gonzalez does improve his command slightly while retaining his ability to miss bats and get ground balls, he has the chance of becoming one of the best pitchers in the league. However, with the exception of Jimenez, none of those guys had the same long track record of walking guys as Gonzalez does. He’s consistently run walk rates north of 10%, even dating back to the minor leagues. This isn’t a new problem for him, and one that he hasn’t shown any real signs of improving on, even as the rest of his game has gotten better. So, while one could focus on the “what if” upside, it’s more practical to look at Gonzalez’s command problems as something that are going to stick with him, and ask how good Washington can expect him to be if what they’ve seen is what they’re going to get. That brings up a very different set of comparables – Burnett, Billingsley, Zambrano, Cabrera, Volquez, Sanchez, and de la Rosa. These are all good stuff guys who never really conquered their command problems, and had to rely on strikeouts and ground balls to overcome all the walks. If we just look at the career numbers for those guys (minus Volquez and Cabrera, who haven’t thrown enough innings to really be all that helpful as comparisons yet), we see a group that is a bit above average overall, mixing some really good seasons with some less great seasons into an overall package that is good but not great. Overall, these guys have posted +97.5 WAR in just under 6,000 career innings, or a total of about +2.9 WAR per 180 innings pitched. Interestingly, all of these guys are also generally perceived as “headcases” or “bad makeup guys”. Gonzalez has also been described that way, and his attitude is often cited as one of the reasons he’s now been traded four times in his career. I don’t know which way causation flows here – whether guys with command problems are judged to have mental issues because of their command problems, or whether guys with makeup issues are more prone to missing the strike zone regularly – but it is worth noting that this pitcher type is often seen as one of the more frustrating in the sport. fangraphs.com

OOOPS. 4 years off, for some reason remembered it as 1995....really should have remembered it was 91 because one of my best friends was studying at Northwestern, that's why he was in the city and went to so many Sox games...and unfortunately left that one too early.

NOT HUMAN CENTIPEDE AGAIN!!! What about the sequel? I think the only movie that made me more uncomfortable was HARD CANDY. Don't imagine SHAME will be on my reserved list, either.

QUOTE (Crash73 @ Dec 26, 2011 -> 07:56 PM) C'mon! Very few sports people in HISTORY, have wanted to see his own team fail. Are you telling me Oz wouldn't have been happy with another WS ring? See Chicago Black Sox/Charles Comiskey.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 26, 2011 -> 04:53 PM) Therein lies the problem. I really don't think that is the main focus of the organization right now, and I think the Santos trade proves it. "All in" teams don't trade their closer to put a prospect into the role. Obviously, they aren't going to trade Floyd for the sake of trading Floyd, but if a few guys they want become available for him, I doubt they would hesitate to trade him. How does it prove it? Maybe the front office really does believe Reed will be both better and cheaper in 2012. It's not like we're trading Floyd and replacing him with Stewart/Axelrod or trading Thornton and replacing him in the 8th with Ohman/Santiago/FA/waiver wire. Both of those moves would have obvious negative consequences for our ability to compete THIS year. You can also make the obvious arguments that Quentin basically HAS TO GO and Viciedo needs to be given everyday playing time. The only reason to keep Carlos is 1) you think you can compete better with him in 2012, 2) you can't get anything at all back in return and 3) there's a strong likelihood you believe that he will quickly be needed as additional depth to replace Rios and/or Dunn in the line-up offensively, playing the corners with Dayan, and DeAza in CF. Or sharing DH time with Dunn/Dayan. Is that worth $6.5-7.25 million to JR and KW? Guess we'll find out soon enough.

CUBS signed Andy Sonnanstine on the cheap. With Wood and now this recent acquisition, looking to rebuild their starting pitching depth chart a bit. If we're really going to deal Floyd, Sonnanstine would have been decent filler for 1/2+ season, although he's probably too homer prone for USCF.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 26, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) There's some good things there though. If you move one of those relievers and you get back another starting pitcher prospect...yes, that might move Stewart into the pen, but then we have a replacement starting pitching prospect. That's what we need! Looking long term, that gives you Danks, Humber, Sale, Molina, and then "New starting pitching prospect x" as your guys under control for 5+ years. If Stewart goes to the bullpen because there's someone else to take his place as a starter, that's more liveable to me, with the current situation, than "Stewart went to the bullpen because we wanted to win in 2012". Actually, I'm higher on Santiago as a starter (than Stewart) in 2012, but he'll also be needed in the bullpen (most likely) right out of the gate. No scientific/empirical evidence, let's just call it a hunch. Then again, having 3 lefties in a rotation would be pretty unusual. Not unheard of....but you're right, dumping Ohman wouldn't be a bad idea either, except for KW having to acknowledge another questionable move of his.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 26, 2011 -> 05:02 PM) I won't have any problems with it either. I just focus on the rest of the roster. There's very little reason to keep Quentin around if you're not looking to compete, for example; in fact it's counterproductive, since he continues blocking Viciedo. There's little reason to keep Ohman and Thornton around if you can get anything for them. IMO, you really have to try to give PK14 a chance to move, with his age and him being a 2013 FA again. I just really dislike the 1/2 measure rebuilding, where you eat another year of Konerko, Quentin, and Thornton's contracts but you start off 7-8 WAR behind where we were last year with a pretty bad team. The other "win now" move was bringing back a seemingly overpriced Frasor on a questionable deal that reeks of KW's penchant for proving himself right and justifying a past trade. Now Danks' deal. Curious, have these White Sox been, this offseason.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 26, 2011 -> 04:59 PM) What I'm saying is...if that's the case, then there are other moves that need to be made soon (i.e. moving Quentin, moving Matty, taking calls on Konerko and AJ) that need to happen in conjunction. If you move Floyd,on top of what this team has already lost, you've taken such a big bite out of this team's chances that even if some things went right (Dunn, Rios, Beckham recoveries) they would just be offsetting what we lost. Or we push Crain and/or Thornton on a team desperate enough for relief pitching they'll give you the equivalent of another Stewart or Molina. But of course that pushes Stewart more into that relief role in the dreaded "must win now" and field the most competitive big league roster possible mode. Marty34 will chime in with the Ramirez trade theory, which is pretty much writing off competing until 2013 or 2014.

One would guess the hope is to "patch" things together to stay in the race and remain competitive through July, the tried and true KW theory which almost never works unless we're the front-runner out of the gate... Who knows what Stewart will do with a full spring training/offseason under his belt? I guess the only one who really knows the answer to these questions definitively is Don Cooper and the rest of the staff. Personally, I feel we'd be better off going with the rotation we have unless we're bowled away with an offer...so then the next question is does Stewart start in AAA or get sent back to the dreaded relief role which might impede his future development, considering we'll definitely need him as a starter again in 2012 or surely in 2013. Gavin would still have 1 1/2 years on his deal to go....so he'd be an attractive target. But probably equally attractive for the Sox to hold onto Gavin in case we're still fairly close to the Tigers...so let's just hope we're in first place or last place at the ASB and the direction of the organization/future couldn't be any clearer. The money allocated to him isn't going to break the bank, and we don't have any insurance for Sale/Peavy/Humber besides Stewart/Axelrod and possibly Santiago or whatever Loiaza/Gil Heredia they unearth on a waiver claim coming out of March. We all saw what little patience they had for Daniel Hudson, only 3 starts. And the pressure there will be to lift Stewart if he has 6-8 starts in a row with a 6-8ish ERA.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 25, 2011 -> 12:51 PM) I love 3 ways With another dude and chicklet or the more typical two girls version?

HUGO is really an excellent film. With so much money invested into it, they have done a horrible marketing/advertising job with that campaign. Whoever was in charge of it will undoubtedly lose their job over it, because the movie's almost brilliant and film-making at its best, along with MI/Ghost Protocol. One review I read explained it so well, it's a kids movie actually made for adults. http://www.avclub.com/articles/furtively-f...ase-file,61684/ Great article/review/criticism analyzing SUCKER PUNCH

Whatever that game was in late 1995 that he hit two (grand slam) home runs against the Rangers, the last one won it. My best friend had already left that game early and has regretted it to this day.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Dec 24, 2011 -> 06:37 PM) The Sox are all in for 2012. Gavin and Danks and Peavy and Humber and and a fight for #5. Reed and Crain and Thornton and Frasor in the pen. CQ in right. Mark my words. We are counting on a turnaround from some non-performers You're going to sit Viciedo another season? Why? QUentin is not a part of the future. What is going to be our bright idea this year, to leave him in Charlotte yet again and make him into a catcher?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Dec 24, 2011 -> 03:07 PM) Production from corner OF spots should be far down the list of priorities for a big-spending team like the Sox. Those guys can be found easier than SP. We haven't done a great job of it, exactly. Borchard, Nick Swisher, Josh Fields (he was a "corner" player when they drafted him, they just didn't know it yet), Ryan Sweeney, Adam Dunn, Juan Pierre, Alex Rios (still think RF is his true position, he just can't hit enough for the corner), etc. About the only guy who has been a success in our park offensively has been Carlos Quentin, and we can't really take any credit for developing him. DeAza, we just scrounged him up off the waiver wire. Viciedo obviously has a shot as well. Flowers, maybe but doubtful. But clearly, we've had a horrible time developing ANY impact bats the last decade, as well as finding a true prototypical leadoff hitter/CF type. As mentioned earlier, you trade Alexei Ramirez ONLY for a blockbuster package, because there's no reason to dump that contract at all and there's no suitable replacement for him unless you want to return to the Ozzie Guillen offensive years in Old Comiskey of 1985-1989, where Ivan Calderon and Carlos Martinez were offensive standouts comparatively.

Viciedo=Bobby Bonilla Forget the Vladimir Guerrero comparisons, a HOF career is pretty unlikely.

Would rather give half that amount to a Brad Lidge, an on the rebound (ala JJ Putz) formerly effective closer.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 24, 2011 -> 01:04 AM) No doubt. Apparently, in 2011, the most efficient way to restock the farm is to keep your good or "better" players and trade your bad ones. Only way to do business. lol. Just reread what you quoted. Of course. "If you want our defensively-challenged, injury-prone OF who we only have under control for one more year...you must take one of the most overpaid, perpetually underachieving players in baseball with him. The ball is in your court. We don't have to do anything." Or you can have John Danks, Alexei Ramirez, Matt Thornton AND a serving of Rios on the side, to go with the division crown for whatever respective league you're playing in. So why not add about $150-175 million to your team payroll in future salary commitments, it's Christmastime, right?

QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 23, 2011 -> 11:20 PM) Yup, I expect them to step it up as well. It IS baseball thou - anything can happen. Dunn could hit 40 bomb - or 12... either wouldn't surprise me. Rios could be totally worthless or put up a 4 WAR - either wouldn't surprise me. Humber could throw to a ~1 WHIP or could put up a 1.5 - either wouldn't surprise me. It's gonna be an interesting 2012 - but I'm not expecting us to beat Detroit this year. The other thing that really threw a lot of observers for a loop is how well Peralta played, both offensively and even defensively. Seemed his career was winding down in a backwards direction with the Indians. Boesch and Jackson weren't nearly as good as 2010, Ordonez and C. Guillen were non-factors, and they still were pretty darned impressive. Obviously, they had some offensive struggles from time to time, as can be expected with any club.

Cooper MIGHT NOT be able to fix Heath (no relation to Phillips). Maybe Greg Walker can?

Cooper MIGHT NOT be able to fix him.

QUOTE (sunofgold @ Dec 23, 2011 -> 10:12 PM) Haven't heard the White Sox are going make Stewart a short reliever. I could see him in the long reliever spot since there is no opening for starters right now. And we also have Axelrod who could start and then Molina hopefully coming up soon. Right now I think that Reed has to get the job (by default really) . Crain backing Reed up if he cannot do the job. Or open competition for the job. But Thornton cannot close. 25 blown saves, 20 saves. That is enough for me. Balta is waiting to go all Incredible Hulk on that idea. With Sale already a potential victim of the bullpen experiment in 2011...trading Santos/moving Sale/Pena departing/trading Thornton and forcing Zach Stewart into a relief role doesn't quite seem to be a good enough payoff for Daniel Hudson. Where it looks like a magical move is if Stewart. Sale and Molina put up Buehrle/Floyd/Hudson/Gio Gonzalez/Edwin Jackson numbers on the board. Otherwise, the future is bleak indeed.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 23, 2011 -> 11:07 PM) I'm thinking a full year of Fister will do wonders for them. That's still a big stadium to pitch in, but I don't think he'll repeat his success from last season so easily. We'll just have to wait and see. Porcello and Scherzer remain the keys to that rotation, along with Jacob Turner.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 23, 2011 -> 05:59 PM) If I had to guess, I'd say he dumps Quentin, finds a catching prospect to compete with Flowers for AJ's spot after next season, and then acquires a prospect who can hopefully take over for Konerko in 2 years. How he does any of this other than dealing Quentin, I have no idea. He could take a first baseman high in this years draft, but the catching prospect definitely would need to be more seasoned. Now that I think about it, Kenny probably still values Flowers highly enough to have him penciled in as our starter after AJ is gone. Trading Thornton or Floyd is the only way to get that done. Or possibly Crain. Just can't see any scenario yet where they deal Alexei Ramirez or Konerko....not until July, at the earliest. And then we really are rebuilding (officially) if those 2 go.

QUOTE (sunofgold @ Dec 23, 2011 -> 10:31 PM) This team is coming together very nicely. If KW has to cut some salary, there are still a couple guys that he could trade (Thornton, Quentin). If he doesn't then there isn't any rush to make moves. Both Thornton and Quentin might have more value near the trading deadline in 2012. KW has been putting out high prices for our players. Thus, he probably isn't in a rush. Maybe JR said that team salary is in an acceptable range right now. It is lower than 2011. Probably the only big question going into next year right now is who is going to be the closer? A lot of people are saying Addison. Just don't make Thornton the closer if he is on the team. 1. Reed 2. Crain 3. Frasor OR Zach Stewart There's always the chance someone emerges from out of nowhere (like a Scott Radinsky or Boone Logan) and makes the team, but usually it's LH relievers who can jump like that. Soptic is getting some hype just like Nathan Jones did in the past, but there aren't many examples of RH relievers appearing out of thin air. Jenks and Santos are about as good for examples as any, and both were our pet projects.