caulfield12

C'mon Paulie....got busted on the fists, good pitch by Meche there. Let's go TMK!!!!

No, Jones had a huge RBI single to LF earlier in the season, very clutch-y. Can't remember the game, but I think there were 2 outs, too.

Ginger, that's where they're pitching him...he has to keep his head down and inside out it in that direction, it's much more encouraging than trying to pull those balls to the left side of the INF.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 3, 2010 -> 07:50 PM) This left side of the KC infield is horrendous. Keep hitting it their way if you have to. Wrong, according to Dayton Moore, Callaspo deserves playing time over Alex Gordon for the remainder of the season.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 3, 2010 -> 07:49 PM) 2-run triple by Span. Sac fly by O-Hud scoring Span. Twins lead 7-0 There's no need for negativism in this thread...the Twins just put themselves in a better position to compete with the White Sox when they got O-Dog and Thome.

Atta boy, Soriano...er Sexy Alexy.

Please, not a no-hitter. (Half serious, half not). It always leads to bad things for the Sox when Buehrle does it.

C'mon Jake, just concentrate on the batter. Don't let a walk to Getz get you out of your rhythm. 38 pitches so far, 23 strikes...consistently at 93-94-95.

Charlotte in a rain delay, Viciedo 1/1, now up to .275 with 719 OPS. Morel (homer) and Shirek star for BIRM in first game of DH (win)...Shirek's closing in on the Prospect Hot Sheet. Trayce Thompson has a base knock for the #3 cars, sitting at .286 with 8 RBI's.

It's early. Teahen is still besting his career average with a .714 OPS. He's not the problem.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 3, 2010 -> 07:33 PM) Rios gets nailed by Kendall. Wonderful. AJ is back over the Mendoza Line at .203. And we would have had a 1-0 lead had we actually stolen the base successfully, had Rios actually gotten a good jump and read on Meche...

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 3, 2010 -> 07:32 PM) Rios is to Meche as Pods is to Greinke. Is that the associative theory of ALCD greatness?

Good aggressiveness Ozzie and Rios. We're leading the majors in stolen bases. Ozzie Ball is the greatest invention since Wonder Bread or just sliced bread in general.

Michael Cuddyer didn't actually hit a grand slam off Scherzer. The Tigers are actually winning 4-0, helping us to make up ground on first with a win tonight behind Jake.

"The Safety Dance" is a classic retro song (now playing at USCF)...fun to hear that again, haha.

Thunderbolt, what is there to feel pity about? I was trying to make a joke, and yet you automatically misconstrue it, lol. Maybe KW or Ozzie (deserve pity), not that they would ask for or appreciate it...

Well, we are good at proving we can make pitchers with a 10 ERA look good. That's something to be proud of...trying to be optimistic here, can't think of much. At least Beckham didn't K?

Game plan against Gordon Beckham. Attack with high and inside fastballs, get ahead, put him away with low and away sliders....he needs to take those sliders into RCF and get back to his game, which is hitting doubles, going up the middle and just making solid, all-around contact every time up.

Gets the K on the slider to Butler at 84. Nice to see him get a strikeout with the offspeed stuff.

Peavy at 91-93-94-95 with his fastballs to DeJesus in that at-bat. Seems his velocity is back to normal.

DOUBLE POST DELETE

''I believe in this lineup we have,'' Guillen said. ''I don't need to talk with [GM Kenny Williams] about making changes. It's still early. Hopefully, May will treat us better than April. I'm very positive. I'm still positive. I still believe those guys can do it.''

Well, at least on paper, the Indians have a more anemic offense than the White Sox...that's something to celebrate!!! And it looks like with CLE losing 3-0 to the Blue Jays, we can pull into 3rd place all alone with a win tonight over the Royales.

But Sox director of player development Buddy Bell admitted that although Viciedo's talent led to certain expectations, they were limited. "I don't think we had any expectations other than getting him to do different things he needed to do," Bell said. "Coming from a different country, just understanding the culture, understanding what we do here is a lot to take in, in one year. "The game is played a little bit different than what he's used to. It's played at a little bit of a slower pace in Cuba, and when you get over here, there are certain things they have to do that they're not used to, like running balls out. The perception that you get from Dayan sometimes is that he's not ready or prepared, but he's the greatest kid in the world. All you need to do is tell him what he needs to do, and he's terrific. Those are the kind of things he has to make habit. Quite honestly, he's got to do better, but offensively and defensively, he's making great progress." Last season, Viciedo hit .280 with 12 home runs and 78 runs batted in for Double-A Birmingham. In 10 spring training games, he is 4-of-22 (.182) with a run scored, two RBIs and seven strikeouts. And the numbers game is not in Viciedo's favor right now. Although he played well enough at third base last season for Birmingham, the acquisition of Mark Teahen from Kansas City to play third for the Sox, complete with a three-year, $14 million contract extension, has essentially forced the Sox to look to first base as a possible destination for Viciedo with Paul Konerko and backup Mark Kotsay both becoming free agents after this season. "We're kind of going back and forth with that right now," Bell said. "[Viciedo] is going to play a little more first than he ever has in the past because of the depth we have there right now, and we feel like Dayan is probably a better fit than the other two guys (Kotsay/Konerko or Flowers at 1B???), so this is probably his quickest path." The other problem with Viciedo playing third is that he is listed at 240 pounds, but he looks considerably heavier and needs to improve his physical condition. "I think that's fair," Bell said. "But he's a typical 18-, 19-, 20-year-old. Your body kind of gets away from you like when you go to college, but we have him on a fairly strict program, and he's starting to lose some of his baby fat." Viciedo said it "doesn't matter" whether he plays third or first but agrees his weight is a concern. "Right now I feel healthy, but I know I have to lose a little more weight to be more comfortable playing," he said. The Sox love his hands and his power at the plate. "We're still working on his feet," Bell said. "Part of that is changing his body. He's kind of a young hitter right now where he gets out of control, so we have to kind of back him off a little bit, which is really hard. But I'd rather do it that way than have a guy who's passive that we've got to push. We've got to get him more under control, more balanced. But he's got great ability. I think it's just going to take a little bit more time." Bell compares Viciedo to Cuban-born Angels first baseman Kendry Morales. "He was supposed to be the next great thing," Bell said of Morales, "and he had to spend a few more years in the minor leagues, and now he's one of the better players in our league. I think it's very similar." Being the next great thing does have its drawbacks. But Jordan Danks, who played with Viciedo in Birmingham and became close friends with him despite the language barrier, said it did not appear to faze Viciedo. "I think he handles that weight [of expectation] really well," Danks said. "He was born to play baseball. He said he knew that as soon as he got drafted out of high school. He was real mature at a young age, and I really don't think it's that big of an adjustment for him [to be playing in the U.S.]." Guillen said he still has high hopes for Viciedo. "I expect a lot of things from him," he said. "He's a different type of guy. He doesn't look like a Latino. He's so laid-back and sometimes with Viciedo acting that way, people think he's lazy, but no, that's the way he is." www.espn.com

We should have just trotted Fred Lewis out there and saved a lot of heartache and money wringing our hands over Juan Pierre at this twilight stage of his career as a speed-based player.