caulfield12

(How) can the Phillies make the playoffs with THAT hitting? http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...yoff-team-maybe

(How) can the Phillies make the playoffs with THAT hitting? http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/i...yoff-team-maybe

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 2, 2012 -> 12:13 AM) No way. Edwin Encarnacion is in his 8th season in the majors. He's a guy who's bad enough defensively that teams want to move him from the position, but whose bat doesn't translate anywhere else, and he's not bad enough defensively that it keeps you from playing him there. He's eclipse a WAR of 2 once, and generally sits in the 1.5 range. The Sox simply can't give up anything from their minor league system for such a marginal upgrade. They may as well stick with Morel in that case and let him work through it, or give a shot to anybody else within the organization. I was basing this idea more on his hot start than anything else. But yeah, over his entire career, MEHHHHH. He's just an average or slightly below average MLB player. That said, we can't have the player with the worst OPS in MLB at the position if we expect to contend, either. Geoff Blum (39) Miguel Cairo (39) Eric Chavez (35) Mark DeRosa (38) Brandon Inge (36) Maicer Izturis (32) Jose Lopez (29) Placido Polanco (37) - $5.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout Mark Reynolds (29) - $11MM club option with a $500K buyout Scott Rolen (38) Mark Teahen (31) Ty Wigginton (35) - $4MM club option with a $500K buyout David Wright (30) - $16MM club option with a $1MM buyout Kevin Youkilis (34) - $13MM club option with a $1MM buyout http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/pos.../OPS/order/true Wright is the (probably) pipe dream, although clearly the most enticing for many, many reasons. Chase Headley and Hannahan would be the only other upgrades that might be available, and Hannahan's no Mike Schmidt. Polanco, Rolen, Stewart and Reynolds have been beyond bad.

And Bell had a 1-2-3 ninth. Maybe he got confused and still thought he was pitching in the NL West out in Frisco?

Amazingly, we've only faced Tomlin once in the 1 1/2+ seasons he's been on their roster. This year, 4-2 victory. 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K's (more than a pitcher like Tomlin should get) DeAza and AJ homered in that game. XBaza also had a double, and Viciedo doubled off him, too.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 2, 2012 -> 12:06 AM) There was a lot of smoke and mirrors with their team last year...the fact that Valverde didn't blow a save is reason enough...but there are just too many good players on that roster right now for them to not be a better than .500 team, again, barring crazy injuries. They've been predictably bad defensively (UZR is right around -12, which means their poor defense by itself has cost them a full game in the standings, roughly speaking) but, according they have produced negative value offensively thus far, meaning in this young season, they have lost more games than won because of their offense. This is essentially the same team, minus Victor Martinez, plus Prince Fielder, that finished 5th in the entire MLB last year in offensive value at 90.8 batting runs above value meaning, when not taken out of context for positional adjustments, their offense alone won them 9 games. The offense is good and has plenty of talent. They're going to hit. There may be a few guys who regress a bit - Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta come to mind immediately, plus Betemit was really good down the stretch for them last year too and he's in Baltimore now - but they're going to hit. The main thing at this point is getting Scherzer and Porcello straightened out. I half tongue-in-cheek stated they'd win 100 games after signing Fielder, but I really can't see any scenario where they win fewer 85 unless it involves someone getting injured. That is a very, very top heavy organization (no offense intended to Cabrera and Fielder, who are going to eclipse 600 combined pounds before they do home runs), and one significant injury to Verlander, Cabrera, or Fielder puts their season in very serious jeopardy very quickly, and if two get injured, they may as well pack it in. Papa Grande says "Don't forget me, I'll full-figured, too!!" Agree, what determines their season is the contributions of Jackson, Boesch, Raburn, Peralta, Kelly, Santiago, Eldred, Worth, etc. If their "complementary" players rake, then they're a 95+ win team. And I'm already putting Avila at that assumed All-Star level at catcher, although it's perhaps a bit early (see Soto, Geovanny). Jackson definitely gives them an added dimension in being able to manufacture runs, and Boesch can carry a team when he's hot, like 2 seasons ago. Delmon Young is a pretty big wildcard, especially now after the suspension. Hard to expect the 2010 version with the Twins to return, but stranger things have happened.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 1, 2012 -> 11:25 PM) I think they do look better. It's still early, so stats are skewed all around, but Konerko, Pierzynski, Dunn, and Rios all look good at the plate and are generally hitting the ball well right now. De Aza looks like he has a plan and usually puts a good swing on the ball every time he comes to the plate. Beckham is still here or there but he looked great tonight, destroying a mistake pitch and then going with two other pitches on the outer half of the plate. Ramirez always looks lost in the early part of the season, so there's nothing I worry about there. Viciedo is a talented hitter and is still learning, but he still needs quite a bit of refinement. The one guy (who I really like) who I just haven't seen anything from this year is Morel. He just doesn't look like he's swinging with any authority whatsoever right now. I don't remember which AB, but there was a pitch tonight that he should have absolutely smoked with the way the bat made contact, and it had absolutely nothing on it. I love him defensively, but he isn't even offering the occasional homer that Crede provided when he was young. In fact, 3B is probably the one area where the Sox could find a big time upgrade at this season that would be really, really worth it. The one guy who has been mentioned on here before is David Wright, and if the Sox can play above .500 ball through June, I think that is a route Williams will look to take. Even an .800 or so OPS at 3B would be a huge bonus, and Wright has done that quite often in his career. It's too early to even be considering that, because perhaps Morel starts hitting with some authority here soon, but as of now he really seems to be the biggest hole in the entire lineup. Or, if they want to go "cheap," Edwin Encarnacion, somone of his ilk. I've given Walker credit for Quentin (although nobody ever really questioned if he was a talented hitter in the draft or as a prospect coming up with the DBacks), for working with Konerko to maintain consistency, for getting the most out of Brent Lillibridge when his career looked over heading in 2011, etc. As far as DeAza goes, it's hard to reach much of a conclusion about what if anything Walker did, as he was hitting very well all last year in Charlotte. For all we know, the Charlotte hitting coach had more to do with it than anything. In that 40-54 game zone, we'll know a lot more...although I doubt anything conclusive.

Cabrera and Kipnis aren't going anywhere. Jason Donald and Santana, they're not so good. But they really need to keep Carlos healthy and keep his bat in the line-up. Hannahan's a very good defender and their normal everyday 3B.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ May 1, 2012 -> 11:05 PM) Greg, in what way was that a "great reply"? He doesn't assign responsibility properly, justify anyone's actions or provide any rationale for Cowley's behavior or CST's. All he did was say "boys will be boys" which is a thoughtless response to any controversy and simply enables Cowley's poor behavior. I understand that he mentioned wrestling and so did you, but how does that make anything okay? If a wrestler takes a pro-toddler murder stance, can Cowley justifiably take the same stance and say it was a bit? That's nonsense. Only if the aforementioned wrestler takes a pro-Peavy/Dunn/Rios or pro-bottom third of the Sox line-up murder stance. I JEST. Toddlers and puppies, protected classes.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 1, 2012 -> 10:55 PM) I said I liked you, I just disagree with this. You aren't the first to do it. A lot of people think it's fine. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one. LOL. If i was Cowley, I would p.o.'ed that someone likes me (see above) and ask them to unfollow me, unless you actually are a Brazilian supermodel pretending to be a White Sox fan so you can find a man who really loves you/her for who she is!

Greg, here's the thing.... Why would I copy a personal message from Rick Telander that doesn't support my position against Cowley/CST? Because I felt it merited inclusion in the thread, and to show the OTHER SIDE...something your heroes don't generally like to do. He would probably be offended if I asked him whether those comments should be retracted from public consumption...and I did mention that I posted here, and even gave him the direct link for the message board thread about this topic, had he wanted to read what was written. I seriously doubt he took the time to do that, but he at least took the time to write a response. It would have been just as easy for me to ignore it or pretend I didn't receive it, yes?

That does it. Greg thinks I am "slimy" and Cowley is his new hero in lieu of any Ozzie controversy. Shouldn't his name be officially adjusted to Cowley Fan Club, Ozzie Fan Club OR Ozzie/Cowley fan club? Especially since his other hero Rongey has disappeared for the time being.

QUOTE (MAX @ May 1, 2012 -> 11:36 PM) ^I'm hoping that no one is willing to touch that one with the proverbial ten foot pole. I just did it to make a point, lol. And the point is that there's SOME things in life or in the world you can never talk about or argue or seemingly defend, NO MATTER WHAT. Doesn't matter if you're just taking a Devil's Advocate view, regardless of one's personal beliefs. The funny thing is that you CAN talk about Mao Zedong or Stalin, and they killed MANY more millions of people in their own countries. In China now, I can say he was a "bad guy" even though officially he's still a national here and his body is preserved in a mausoleum, just like Lenin's at the Kremlin. Just like if Ozzie said that same thing about, say, Pol Pot in Cambodia, it wouldn't even have registered as a blip on the radar screen. But he said it about Fidel Castro in South Florida in Little Havana.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 1, 2012 -> 11:16 PM) See? I was right. That is what Cowley was doing, the wrestling persona. That was a great reply from Telander. I like you caufield, but I wonder if what you did here isn't slimy. Telander prolly didn't want you posting his response for the world to see. He was nice enough to send u a response and you show it to the world. Just my take on that. Guys ... Cowley thought his followers knew his schtick. Now he knows better. Case closed. Slap on wrist. His posts I'm sure will be dull as hell from now on. He'll do the bare minimum of play by play from the games w/no opinion since people can't handle his Dice Clay act. Just like Miami can't handle Ozzie's Dice Clay act, either, lol. Not when they ALSO lose 9 of 10 games with that huge payroll and looking up at four teams ahead of them in the standings.

Greg, c'mon. Live in the real world. There's no such thing as "off the record" when a random person from China sends you an e-mail. If anything, his response was meant to be shared...although I can certainly e-mail him and ask if he'd like to have it taken down, lol. He's never seemed like that kind of a writer or person. I even said I was a frequent poster at a White Sox-related message board. It's not like I was pretending to be a lawyer for a random female Asian HR worker at the Sun-Times who was threatening a fake lawsuit just to get a reaction from him! Everything a professional writer does is for public consumption unless he requests otherwise. The whole purpose of what he wrote was to defuse the tension and make Cowley more sympathetic, correct?

Put on your seatbelts here, Marlins' fans. Even in a mop-up situation yesterday, Heath Bell got rocked and almost completely melted down with walks, HBP, hits everywhere around the diamond...he gave up 2 more runs last night. Giants down by 1 in the bottom of the 8th. Leadoff hitter on with a double. Would be 9 losses in 10 games if they blow this. Sac bunt, catcher throws the ball into the dirt when he underestimates how fast Angel Pagan really is....Blanco on 3rd, Pagan on 1st now, no outs still.

Sox haven't lost a game this year scoring more than 4 runs. Chris Sale continues to impress, although perhaps not quite dominate. Indians really looked like garbage. Humber vs. Tomlin tomrw night will be the big test, if we can have a repeat performance from the offense. Everyone WANTS to believe that this is the "real" Beckham but there's so much evidence against it that we've become cynical and inured to his occasional offensive breakouts. Crosses fingers that either Beckham or Morel can pull out of it. Morel did hammer another ball hard into an out. Better to be optimistic. And Santiago, we must remember, is a year removed from A ball. He should spend another season in the minors refining his offspeed stuff...at the worst, he's a very useful set-up guy and an inexpensive replacement for Thornton. At best, a very competent member of the starting rotation in 2013/14.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 1, 2012 -> 10:01 PM) ah nevermind. Funny that you censored yourself in a thread about Cowley, lol. Maybe he could take a lesson from you. Think before sending. It was Abraham Lincoln (I know kyle or northside will love this reference) who always used to become furious with his commanding generals during the first 2-3 years of the Civil War. He just needed the therapy of putting down on paper his anger, his frustration, writing page after page with furious indignation about their failures to take the fight to the enemy....but he always tore them up or threw them in the fire instead of undermining the morale of the Army.

It reminds me of George Bush at age 40 working hard to get over alcoholism or Bill Clinton over sex addiction, etc. "Youthful indiscretions." Still, a father, married man and cancer survivor should know better. Being around AJ and Ozzie so much really caught up with him. It is ironic the poor intern got eviscerated for one mistake, and yet that's the nature of the world, there will always be "favoritism." I saw it for years and years with Jason Whitlock in Kansas City with the same, or at least a very similar act. He (Whitlock) was further insulated by the Borat defense (how can he be offensive if he's Jewish but making fun of Jews??)...because he was African-American, he got away with a lot more than a white columnist arguably.

Don't worry, mcgrad wants him either sent down or outright/unconditionally released. LOL

Here's the response I received...a little bit of a surprise, but maybe not as much vitriol for Cowley in the newsroom as there was for Mariotti. Joe is a good guy who made a mistake--and I think that's how most people see it. He felt that others were in on the joking and smack talk (pro wrestling kind of blabber) with him--a kind of club on the Internet, if you will. Now he knows. Now he will be who he is. I appreciate your concern, and I'm glad you care enough to write to the S-T about it. We're all going to try harder to be better here. All of us. Thanks much--Rick Telander

Dunn really not looking good at 1B. Almost wish we'd put Lillibridge in there for defensive purposes. Guess Kipnis was going to beat it out anyway. Two hits for the Northbrook kid against LHP, impressive, hanging in there against offspeed stuff from Sale and Santiago.

LOL. That's what happens to 86 mph four-seam fastballs. How could this guy have been a reliever in the Reds' system, or a "top prospect"? Get a hearse, because those baseballs in that inning just got killed.

Greg, that's ridiculous. ANYONE could just say AFTER that they were "pretending" or doing satire/parody or whatever. Greg walks into the office: "Well, you gotta love that Nathan Bedford Forrest guy. The KuKluxKlan has done a lot of good things in the South to protect our rights and prevent improprieties from being committed against our women." OH, that's just you pretending to be racist/misogynist/bigoted. Then I guess we'll have to let it go, you can keep your job because you didn't really mean it. If he walks into the Sun Times offices (which he seldom does) in painted black face and says he's just joking after pretending to talk in an exaggerated jive/slang, by your logic, nothing would or should happen to him because it's just a performance. But golly, why didn't Ozzie using the same excuse work for him with MLB? Ozzie was just JOKING too, right? He really didn't believe what he was saying about Castro, he just wanted attention... There's a bomb on the plane!!! Oh, just kidding. (Does Ben Stiller impression from MEET THE FOECKERS)

With one hit in his next 3 AB's, Beckham will at least be back to the .200 mark. In news almost as important, Jared Mitchell now has 20 walks and 21 K's. Josh Phegley finally ended his hitting streak and Dan Johnson has 5 homers and 20 RBI's, bidding to get back to the majors. Think the Indians just might want to rescind that Jimenez trade about right now?