caulfield12

Fans deservedly booing the Sox for only scoring one run there against a AAA pitcher.

Jesus. Of course. What else could you expect? And now Rios.

Either a GS or a K here from Ramirez. Quentin apparently has "stars" instead of a "dotted i" on the back of his jersey. Wonder who did that? Equipment manager or MLB orders?

Quentin, an All-Star outfielder advances these runners to 2nd and 3rd (at least.)

Fathom jinxed Dunn into his second hit this season against a lefty.

Division standings (if things continue) DET 15-7 MINN 13-10 CLE 13-12 KC 10-16 CHW 6-12 HOW? HOW? HOW? We're 4-1 against CLE, right? One win against DET out of 6, 0-4 versus Minny and split with KC.

Francis is 3-9. He's absolutely gotten rocked his last 3 starts. His ERA is near 6 (correction 5). He's topping out at 85-86-87 MPH. If we can't hit him, who exactly CAN we hit? He's the definition of major league filler/replacement level pitcher. At least Lopez had deception on his side.

Would it be possible for this team to sustain any sort of momentum this season? Probably not with our offense. It's just too spotty and inconsistent to put together any type of long-lasting streak of winning baseball.

Morel, Rios and Dunn all between 575-601 OPS. JESUS of Nazareth, that's not good. Do any other contending teams have 3 guys below 600, in the AL? Can we just stick in DeAza in CF? I'm guessing the answer to that is no, he sucks in CF.

What will Dunn's average have to fall to before they consider Viciedo for at least two weeks? .150? .145? Why can't they just bench him until Viciedo struggles or September when/if the team's no longer contending? At the very least, he should never be playing against lefties. How can you?

There must be some kind of universal law that Buehrle will always struggle with the Royals. Through August/September of 2005, he really dominated them. Ever since, not so much.

The fans aren't even booing Dunn as much as previously. Small crowd on 4th of July or they've just given up trying? The Twins and Tigers had close to record crowds in the last week....will we even get to 30,000 today?

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jul 4, 2011 -> 04:52 AM) Depending on where things stand at the trade deadline,and the Sox are right in it, I'd like to see him, or someone dealt for Scott Rolen. Their salaries match up and even though Morel has been ok, I'd much rather have Rolen and his glove, bat, and attitude in a pennant race. It's not a knock on Morel but Rolen brings alot more to the table. I think he'd be a perfect fit for the Sox. Why would the Reds deal him? Who would they play at that position? Doesn't he only have 4 homers this year?

QUOTE (since56 @ Jul 4, 2011 -> 06:15 AM) It has become a disposable society. I want it and I want it now. What is a reasonable level of expectation for a player who signs a $14/year contract? Sure, if you go back one year ago and track his numbers for the past six months, it's scary bad. He's hitting .165 at this point. Not even Esteban Beltre, Joe Borchard or Mike Caruso could manage that feat. It's one thing to expect the White Sox to make it to the World Series every year or for Dunn to hit 55 homers, it's quite another to expect something resembling his "average" career numbers.

Not only Peavy, but you have to wonder about Danks' oblique and Humber's fortune not continuing forever. Right now, it's pretty far from unclear whether they'd even risk offering arbitration for the possibility of a Type B pick. I don't think many Sox fans would be too comfortable with the idea that "accidentally" retaining Jackson for 2012 meant they had to give up Buehrle or Danks. With Boras as his agent, you'd think he should be able to get more than $8.5 million from another team, but I'm not sure which team that would be...certainly not with how he's pitched the last couple of months. Of course, it all depends on what the current organizational thinking on Sale is, too.

1. The worst GM in the game wouldn't have found Santos and Humber for free (basically). 2. The worst GM in the game might have let Carlos Quentin go during one of the two past off-seasons. Probably, he would have traded Danks as well for 3-4 prospects that would never pan out. 3. The worst GM in the game would never dare to trade for an "ace/former Cy Young winner" because he would be afraid of the contract and would play it safe instead of taking any risks. 4. The worst GM in the game wouldn't have dared to sign Viciedo. 5. The worst GM in the game would have turned the catching position over to Flowers instead of extending AJ. KW will get another opportunity at some point, if he wants it. You don't put together a World Series dominating roster for $65 million with just complete luck.

Hybrid of Carlos Lee/Bobby Bonilla with Vladdy's aggressiveness and lack of selectivity. Although his patience has increased appreciably this season in AAA.

Ordonez is actually showing some signs of life too. Pretty tough lineup when you've got Avila hitting 8th or 9th. That said, Boesch really fell off in the 2nd half last year (well, not quite like Chris Shelton) and Austin Jackson's been way off his rookie form. Wonder if Carlos Guillen has anything left in him? Peralta's been a pretty solid "low-risk" acquisition for them...but they're not getting offense any more out of Inge. It's kind of been a revolving door across that infield. Raburn's not really a true 2B. Our infield can run circles around theirs defensively. Then again, Cabrera's basically the best hitter in baseball, so that can make up for a lot of weaknesses. And not just because of tonight, but their bullpen seems a pitcher or two short. Ryan Perry at one point looked like a future closer and Zumaya's basically finished. Al Albuquerque's on the DL.

Don't forget Rowand. It's just so unfortunate we didn't get Miggy Cabrera when we had a chance, personality/off-field warts and all.

I'm not so sure. They have to have another option at DH besides Lillibridge to bat against LHP. If Dunn doesn't get a hit against the Royals, there's just no way I would keep him in the line-up when we play the Twins.

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Jul 2, 2011 -> 08:57 PM) I was there! Humber didn't have his best stuff but he battled! Way to go Thorton! Not the first time that's happened this week. Peavy's fastball was 3-4 MPH slow and Jackson was a mess, too.

I wonder if they'll leave him at SS. Probably, that's where he has the most value. Teams leave legit SS prospects there as long as possible (typically) until they possibly make a position change later. If he has quite a bit of pop, you wonder if the Sox might decide to switch him over to 3B if Morel doesn't hit for power or walk much in the 2nd half. How strong is his arm? Range? Does he profile as a better 2B or 3B from a defensive standpoint, based on his skill set?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 2, 2011 -> 07:04 PM) Nishioka has been hurt. You never call a guy a bust when he's been hurt unless that's all he's been. The Twins will find someone they have confidence in as a closer, you know that. Nathan would still be likely to return, IMO, just for a lot less money. It's possible they give him $2 million NOT to pitch for them next year and then offer him an incentive-laden contract. Knowing Nathan, he might accept. I'm not sure how wise it would be for them to put all their eggs in the basket of just one potential closer without a back-up plan. BTW, Mr. Capps just blew a 7-4 lead against the Brewers with the Crew now leading 8-7 after trailing 7-0 in the early stages of the game. They're also going to have to decide what to do with Pavano again. And how many Japanese players in the last 5-7 years that have been signed to MLB clubs have actually exceeded expectations? Not many.

KW and Ozzie clear the air about the "Pierre/Viciedo" debate and alleged sniping back and forth... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,1950575.story

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 2, 2011 -> 08:37 PM) a pregame graphic stated that Beckham has the best fielding percentage among second baseman. And he proved it multiple times And not just sheer percentage (because that makes Rios look very good this year), but turning the double plays more quickly (saved the game earlier this week), stopping balls from getting to the outfield...his range is arguably the best of any 2B in the AL right now. He's also gotten better at balls hit towards the bag or up the middle. Ramirez has made his typical 2008/2009 "lackadaisical" errors, but it's hard to argue there's a better defensive infield right now with Morel also picking it up after a rough start...and Omar Vizquel in reserve. You'd like to think that having Omar around has rubbed off positively on both Alexei and Gordon. And a 700 OPS 2B isn't anything to sneeze about. We need to readjust that expectation of him putting up 850-875 every season. Not with offense down like this all around baseball.