caulfield12

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 06:36 PM) Where did Carlos Quentin learn not to field the ball? Not at Stanford. Supposedly he always had pretty good or at least decent defensive metrics in the minors and with the D-Backs, and REPORTEDLY a good throwing arm as well. All offseason, the theory is that he would be "fine" once he went back to his natural position in RF. So much for that.

The only problem is playing Mark Teahen out there with his 750 OPS and DHing Quentin isn't much better...because Teahen will never hit like a corner outfielder and Quentin doesn't have the mindset for DHing yet at this point in his career. Edwin Jackson is never going to want to stick around here in 2012 if the defense continues to make errors that he has to pitch around. And we want Ramirez to hit off the Indians' phenom and yet not hit against one of their many struggling starters? I hope Manny isn't stupid enough to go out tonight in his former "hometown."

Wow...we really have relied on Jackson to shut down the opponent almost every time out. Have we scored more than 3 runs for him? Maybe once.

Pretty surprised Hafner has his OPS all the way up to 832, but I still wouldn't touch that contract with a 10 foot pole. Jackson averaging 11 K's and 2 BB's per start now with the Sox. Once again, Don Cooper's contribution, a very simple one. He got Jackson to stand more upright, thus creating more downward plane and action on his pitches. Quentin with a season like Beckham's 2009 at USCF, 7/24 HR's on the road.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 09:06 AM) Getz actually showed some legitimate promise last year and there was a time in July when it seemed like he and Beckham were the only 2 on the roster who knew how to hit. Reality with Getz though is...even if he topped out what he could do, he's a fringey starting 2b or a backup IF at best. Beckham belongs at 2b long-term and the org knows it, so Getz was basically the odd man out there. Fields was given chances and was a real drag. He had a great 2008, but struggled through injury in 2009 and by 2010 showed zero ability to adapt to hitting fastballs. He could have been given more chances, but giving him those chances meant waving the white flag, since the team flat out needed offense out of that spot. I think you mean great 2nd half of 2007 with no pressure on him.

"It's not Bobby's fault," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Our bullpen has to step it up a notch."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...&id=5512674 Jayson Stark article, not the most complimentary in the world but I guess we're going to have to get used to it...at least it's White Sox national publicity One scout tells SN he questions why the White Sox are making the deal. Two years ago, I respected his ability but not the way he treated the game. But he's not the same. For me, his bat is slower. He’s cheating to catch up (to fastballs). If you ask 10 scouts, nine of them would agree with me that he's not worth (what the White Sox will be paying). "Put the negatives on one side, the positives on another, the negatives outweigh the positives. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He’s been there, and in the past he’s stepped up. "When he got kicked out after one strike (Sunday), I thought it was like he didn’t want to hit. He did that on purpose. I think there’s some doubt in his mind that he can do it anymore." Read more: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2010-...z#ixzz0yBwsCtHi "I think Manny is a good get over a short, very short period of time -- if I had the financial capability to take on that money and the medical (reports) are OK," the GM said. According to that GM, it comes down to one reason: "He can still hit and hit good pitching." Ramirez's power numbers are down and his second-half numbers are pretty much zeroes across the board. But his .312 batting average and .404 on-base percentage in the 62 games he has played in are in line with his career numbers of .313 and .411. As usual, he has been even better with runners in scoring position (.352 average), lending credence to former teammate Johnny Damon's assertion that Ramirez is "the best two-out, runners-in-scoring position hitter I've ever seen." Because his contract is up after this season, Ramirez has incentive to put on his happy cap and produce for a contender in September much like he did when he was shipped from Boston to LA at the nonwaiver trading deadline in 2008. Ramirez has less than six weeks to prove that, at 38, he is worth a contract for 2011. Any club wanting Ramirez -- the Rays and Rangers also have rumored interest -- needs to have him on its roster by midnight on Aug. 31 for him to be eligible for the postseason. Having Ramirez on a short-term basis might be best for a contender. The longer Ramirez stays in one place, the more he seems to wear out his welcome. "You do have to be set up to handle the distractions he will eventually cause," the NL general manager said. A veteran NL scout who saw Ramirez earlier this season doesn't believe he is worth the potential headaches, even on a short-term basis. "When I saw him, he wasn't catching up with above-average fastballs," the scout said. "And his body language looked like he didn't care. I wouldn't touch him." Read more: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/feed/2010-...v#ixzz0yBxLUQdO Is Manny a good addition for Chicago? Yes. Manny and Ozzie are like long-lost brothers 17% Yes. His bat is worth any trouble 19% No. He and Ozzie will have to be separated 18% No. He's got nothing left and he's trouble 47% A more apt – and painful – comparison might be that Ramirez has hit a home run once every 24.5 at-bats this season and Thome has homered in Minnesota once every 12.7 of his 229 at-bats. At $3.5 million for a month of work — roughly $29,000 per at-bat if Ramirez gets 120 at-bats with the Sox — Ramirez needs to give his new team a better return on the investment than the Dodgers received. Maybe Ramirez, as he has in the past, will be motivated by a change of scenery and a contract drive. Maybe he has one good spurt left. Or maybe Manny being Manny, post-steroids suspension, means being likely to take more trips to the disabled list than the barber. Either way, I have a hard time seeing how Ramirez's presence or absence in the lineup affects the AL Central race more than the Sox's bullpen will. Heading into Monday night's game against the Indians, no team in the majors had scored more runs than the Sox in August (141). Mark Teahen, whose at-bats will be limited now, was hitting .316 with a home run and seven RBIs since returning Aug. 13. Ozzie's Way was working. Yet instead of either blocking the Twins from getting late-inning lefty Brian Fuentes with a waiver claim or keeping Fuentes for themselves, the Sox chased Ramirez. The Twins aren't obligated beyond the $1.5 million they will pay Fuentes the remainder of this season. As the division leaders improved their late-inning relief pitching, the Sox, minus injured relievers Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz, were left to trust a failing bullpen that has been their biggest problem. I'll save my Manny crush for whoever solves that. david haugh/tribune.com

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Aug 31, 2010 -> 08:39 AM) Are we playing a Game 163? I think nothing would be sweeter than winning Game 163 in Minnesota this time. Right now, I seriously would think about using Jackson in that game, although I'm sure Ozzie would go with Danks or Buehrle if he had a choice.

Roberto Clemente was one of the first Hispanic/Latin superstars who really fought with the media about the way his phonetic pronunciation was "overexaggerated" by the media in print interviews to deliberately make him look ill-educated. I think it's okay to write the words that someone is trying to say if they're very very clear...just not pronounced correctly. Remember Sosa's "beisbol has been berry berry good to me" line? I think there's a a fine line between accuracy and deliberately trying to make someone look stupid. For that matter, both President Bushes had tons of malapropisms and butchered sentences...not unlike Guillen, of course, yet much more easily understandandable. Some writers chose to quote them word for exact word to poke fun at them (became a running joke or gag on late night shows or SNL)...other writers cleaned up their English to make them sound like William F. Buckley, Jr., when that was obviously far from reality. It's a tricky area for a writer, to be completely "objective" when quoting someone, the ideal of what is "fair" or "unfair" is in the eye of beholder.

But we can go back and say we didn't give Joe Borchard, Ryan Sweeney, Gio Gonzalez, Josh Fields or Chris Getz a real chance to succeed, too. I think it's interesting there is the perception that Brian Anderson was really screwed over by the organization, but you rarely hear that about any of our other busted prospects. Did Ozzie also screw over Jon Rauch and Sean Tracey, for example? I guess the proof is in the pudding, it's just as much about "mental toughness" and psychological preparation as it is the physical...especially in the majors. It's not like Anderson went to another team and became Torii Hunter. I still am skeptical he's legitimately throwing 97 on a consistent basis. I think he MIGHT have thrown that speed ONE time on a fast gun, and that supports the case it was a worthwhile move to change him to a pitcher, but I find it very hard to believe he's going to go out there like Santos or Sale and throw 95-98 (even touching 99/100 in the case of Sale) on a consistent basis with any degree of command/control.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:49 PM) I went to dinner with my daughter with the Sox up 6-3 and Buerhle still in. Came home to see it was 6-6 in the 10th. Shocked by Lilli's HR as he practically hit it one handed and wasn't a big swing. Then the bigger shock of Linebrink's 2 perfect innings. He might be moved ahead of Santos at this point. Bring on the Manny salary drive and pray for a surprise waiver pickup of a reliever. Thornton will be back on Saturday. I just don't see JR adding additional salary for a Fuentes type with a big, bloated contract. It's definitely not going to be another LH with Sale and Thornton down there. (This was KW's argument for NOT blocking the Fuentes move to MIN). And with Linebrink actually pitching admirably tonight, there's an argument (albeit MINISCULE) against adding another RHRP.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:13 PM) Kotsay? Peavy, Quentin's plantar fasciitis, Threets' elbow, Mitchell, Phegley, Thompson and Beckham's hand. And he prevents Chris Sale from going down like Strasburg EVER...it's kind of scary, many, including Don Cooper, predicted when he was drafted that his elbow wouldn't last very long. Hopefully Chris will put on some weight over time and build up some more arm strength, just not bulkiness. It's scary to think of Sale throwing even harder, then you'd have another Randy Johnson...either Sale or Aroldis Chapman.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:42 PM) Just ran the new lineup through an optimizer with rest of season projections - with Manny 5th, lineup averages 4.93 runs. With him 3rd, 4.91. So Ozzie's actually sort of right... Ran the old lineup through the optimizer as well, with the rotating DH combo having a combined .330 wOBA and a .440 SLG, they averaged 4.7 runs. So Manny is a .23 run upgrade per game. Over 30 games, that's 9 more runs, or pretty much 1 whole win. I prefer to think of it as nine "one run" wins, but that's expecting way too much with our bullpen in shambles these days. He's definitely one of those elite hitters you want to have up there with the game on the in the late innings.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:42 PM) Just ran the new lineup through an optimizer with rest of season projections - with Manny 5th, lineup averages 4.93 runs. With him 3rd, 4.91. So Ozzie's actually sort of right... We've been averaging over 6 runs per game for the last 2+ weeks. The problem has been the bullpen and some occasional no-shows by our "aces," especially Danks. Mark Buehrle only had 4 quality starts in his first 12 (his ERA was at 5.40 in early June), but I think he's only had one "non-quality" start since that date. Maybe two at most.

QUOTE (whitesox901 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:35 PM) I'd like to see De Aza. I was hoping he was going to be the starting LF and lead off man before we got Pierre. Really? Why?

I would have said Ramirez should take Rios' place 2-3 days ago...but now that Alex SEEMS to be getting hot again, I doubt Ozzie will change things around much. OTOH, with Quentin's well-documented road struggles, it seems more logical to fit Ramirez into the 5th spot and potentially move him to 3rd if Rios slides backwards again. Plus it's too confusing with Ramirez and Ramirez hitting back to back. Ozzie might write down the same name twice while filling out the line-up card and end up with us getting an automatic out.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:25 PM) Bobby has always been terrible with 3+ inning saves, stick with Bobby at this point... any word on Thorton? I know he was retroactive, so he should be eligible this week. Any chance of seeing him soon or does he need more time? I thought he was always terrible in 1+ inning saves. Maybe you mean 3+ outs? Especially the next outing after a save attempt when he's been extended over multiple innings, it's almost always a disaster.

Don't you mean tracking Manny Ramirez CHRONOLOGICALLY...? Or you're implying Manny smokes the chronic, lol?

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 11:25 PM) Bobby has always been terrible with 3+ inning saves, stick with Bobby at this point... any word on Thorton? I know he was retroactive, so he should be eligible this week. Any chance of seeing him soon or does he need more time? SATURDAY

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 10:06 PM) I thought they changed Manny's premiere to Wednesday? He will definitely be in uniform tomorrow night. I think Ozzie will want to get him into the line-up as quickly as possible, especially with Beckham likely to be out for at least one game and maybe two since Wed is a day game and then we have an offday on Thursday.

LOL at the post-game callers.... "Will Manny Ramirez provide some protection for Paul Konerko in the middle of the line-up?" What kind of inane question is that? You hit Ramirez either 5th or 6th, I think Ozzie will go with 5th for now and bump Quentin behind him with how Carlos has struggled so mightily on the road.

QUOTE (SexiAlexei @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 09:22 PM) He shouldn't get any credit. If it wasn't for his horrible throw there may not have been a need for extras. I still don't think Jenks would have gotten out of that inning with anything other than a tie ballgame. Guess we'll never know. But at least he made up for it.

Where's Lillibridge on your list? Well, that was definitely the most surprising/unexpected victory of the entire season. Everyone is so beyond Jenks sucking that we don't even care that much anymore. Thankfully, it seems at least Thornton will be back by this Saturday.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 10:17 PM) More than anything, happy to win this game so there's more excitement for Manny's debut tomorrow. Amen to that. After the 2-8 roadtrip the same time last year when we were only down 2 1/2, we had to have this game and somehow managed to pull it out. It feels like the most important victory of the year...even though our odds of getting to the post-season are probably about 20%.

QUOTE (elgonzo4sox @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 10:15 PM) Didn't know he was down...bummer...who might they bring up for another infielder? He's played through it, and his hitting hasn't been affected, although I can't imagine it would help his power numbers. One of those situations where they said it wouldn't get worse, as long as he could tolerate the discomfort.