caulfield12

We ran statistical calculations until we were blue in the face...projecting this offense. I don't think anyone is really surprised. It's the off performance by Peavy that has everyone the most concerned, although he did bounce back his last start.

''It's OK, even in a 12-game span or one game, it's perfectly OK to be disappointed and upset,'' Paul Konerko said of the building doom and gloom around the team, ''but as long as you come back the next day and can cut that baggage away, that you can still have that belief that what you're doing as an individual or as a team, you're doing it the right way and that will win out, you have to trust that. ''You can't say, 'Well, we're doing everything right, what if we just never get it going?' You can't think about what ifs like that. Guys fight that. You fight it on a personal level because we've had a few good offensive games, we've had games where we didn't score runs but everybody did the little things right. There have been games where the ball just happened to be hit in the wrong place, there was this crack and we didn't take advantage, and it's then easy to say, 'OK, we're not doing this right, we have to change something.' You don't trust what you're doing then, you stray from it. Especially early, it's easy to stray from yourself or the team, from the concept that you laid out in the offseason and spring training. You can't do that. ''You make minor adjustments as you go, but that doesn't mean that if it doesn't go well you shouldn't be pissed off. You just need to come back the next day with the same beliefs. So far, everyone has done that.'' suntimes.com He's a 1B, after all....I think you have to give those contract numbers to a "premium" position like SS, CF and C or perhaps the right pitcher. Paulie being a leader. It's why we will really really miss AJ, Paulie and Buehrle someday in the not-too-distant future. Hopefully Peavy and Beckham can start picking up some of the slack there, and Teahen/Pierre.

That's why I was being sarcastic. I guess I need to use green. Although you can argue that Wise, Lillibridge, Anderson, Fields, Corky Miller, Torres, Colon, R. Williams, Owens ARE NOT MUCH BETTER than Josh Kroeger in the overall scheme of things, yes? You just answered your own question. He saw how well that worked last year and at least TRIED to adjust philosophically this year.

Danks with another hit to get up to .306. Atta boy, at least some positive offensive developments SOMEWHERE to discuss. Now 2/3, .320. 1.014 OPS.

If Josh Kroeger is our 1B/DH next year, then I'll start to actually get worried about KW's sanity. Or Maurice Gartrell.

What about Teahen's judgement fielding that bunt in the first series? That was another key, momentum-changing play...

HUH? You're saying he will get $160-240 million dollars on the free market?

It makes perfect sense. The Red Sox are desperate. They're 4-9, same as us. They just got swept at home. Epstein won't stand for that very long...their fans are too spoiled. And they have the pieces and financial ability to make a trade happen. You've got to be kidding me if you think we couldn't have added Damon, Matsui, Thome, O-Dog or Vladimir Guerrero to our roster...the "will to win" is usually blocked with financial reality, in BOS, that financial reality is in a different stratosphere altogether. Plus they let Jayson Bay go and didn't seriously pursue Holliday. You're telling me that KW can go to JR AGAIN after taking on Peavy and Rios with mixed results (at best) and expect to get the go-ahead to sign Adrian Gonzalez to an $80-120 million dollar extension? REALLY? I don't think so. Maybe I should have chosen my phrasing more carefully...it's not that we don't want to win, of course we do, we just have more limited (and now dwindling resources), and most of KW's bullets are already spent...as we saw the last 2-3 weeks of the offseason when we missed on any targets we might have had. Losing Mitchell further complicated our compass of which direction to go in (adding/subtracting). As we've heard a million times, our offseason was Peavy/Reason, not Teahen/Pierre/Vizquel/Jones/Putz. Although I think both Putz and Jones both have the chance to be among the five best steals of the offseason...at least one of them. KW's specialty. I'll use another image. Minnesota always had the "WILL TO WIN" but they were always 2-3 players short of competing with the big boys. That was 100% on Pohlad, who despite being one of the richest owners in baseball, was very very penurious with the pursestrings. No way I could ever say Brad Radke or Mientkiewicz didn't have the will to win, they just didn't have the ability to add superstars to their roster and keep them. Now they do.

AGREED about A-Gon. 100%. We're too far away that one player simply isn't enough to offset the margin of error in the ALCD. Maybe we'll change our minds again, but right now, 10% chance. Besides, the Red Sox have the will and desire moreso than we do after the Rios and Peavy moves last year. KW's bullets are mostly spent, and Mitchell going down further damped enthusiam for dealing Jordan Danks.

Texas? Houston (traditionally, you can't blame them for tuning out this year if they lose Berkman/Oswalt) and the Rangers have good fanbases, the Rangers attendance is up again this year, right? Colorado really plateaued and then their fans came back with the World Series and winning baseball. Seattle, with a competitive ballclub, they're doing much better again. The trouble spots are obviously OAK, KC (just need a winner, MIL proves a small population base can support a team, and new stadium), PIT, TOR, CLE (ever since Dolan deconstructed the 2002 team....and now shedding Sabathia/Lee/DeRosa/V-Mart, the fans just don't trust ownership), both Florida franchises (stadium/multiplicity of issues too long to discuss), WASH/BALT, TOR. That's 10 teams...not including San Diego, so let's say 11. That's a pretty significant %. I also didn't include CINCY, who was able to sign Chapman, so I'll look at that as a positive sign for the future of that franchise. If/when McLane sells the Astros, all bets are off, but they have a relatively new ballpark, they just have to become competitive again. Fans in PIT, KC, Baltimore and Toronto, as well as SD and Houston...those six teams, there's very little to look forward to. At least the Nationals have Strasburg and higher draft picks to rebuild for the future. I think the presence of NY/BOS/TB just dooms the bottom rung teams, to the point where they fans have given up. Both BALT and TOR have had longstanding and proud baseball traditions, but they, also have high hopes for the future with their young talent. Even then, though, it's a LONG LONG row to get to first place or the wild card. What did TOR draw against KC at home last night on a Monday? Must have been brutal...

As stated, how many 3B or 2B have been converted to SS? Probably, in basball history, just as many athleticaly gifted CFer's have gone to SS in their minor league careers...who can also go to 2B, like Shoemaker (I think) with the Cardinals. Teahen tried 2B, RF, LF, 1B...he wasn't even close at 2B, but can you imagine him at SS? No way. That's why Uribe is so unique, he can play 2B, SS and 3B to a lesser extent equally well. Someone like Jayson Nix can't make that transition, for a number of reasons. Valentin played 2B/3B/CF after they took him off SS, but that progession almost never goes from one of those positions TO shortstop.

Because it's 5X harder to find a starting SS than a starting 2B...just like finding a corner outfielder/DH is 10X easier than finding a leadoff hitter with high OBP skills and an 85% success rate stealing.

Robin Ventura worked very hard to go from and average or even below average defender at OSU to make himself into a Gold Glove level player at the hot corner...I don't know how to explain Fields, part of it is lack of instincts (Joe Crede was never close to fast, but he was QUICK) and part of it was simply "baseball IQ" or whatever you want to call it. Maybe because he was never 100% devoted to playing baseball....before bad oe lazy habits had become ingrained that were too hard to unlearn or retrain? It's not like we never have had terrifically athletic players...it's just that Borchard, Fields, Brian West, Brian Anderson never seemed to have high aptitude for the mental part of the game, like Beckham does, but Alexei Ramirez (another athletically gifted player), does not. At a certain point, it's not teachable or coachable. Like Borchard, he was the nicest, most well-spoken, most humble kid in the world...perfect player to build a franchise around. I think his off-the-field qualities enhanced his projectability and the reach became justifiable, plus he was left-handed.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 02:07 AM) Nice to have a day like yesterday where the Sox didnt lose. No, it's actually quite bad. We're 2-0 on Mondays and 2-9 the rest of the week.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 20, 2010 -> 02:00 AM) Just cause we disagree with you doesn't mean we're little girls. Some of us played sports as well as you did. And some of us liked Pods all last year even with his baserunning gaffes. I love Pods and I do believe he still has pop in his bat. And I have never been a fan of guys like Pierre who have no pop in their bat. It sickens me to see how shallow they play him. Guess it reminds me of Little League when guys like Pierre came to bat and as a third baseman our skipper forced me to play about even with the pitcher in case of bunt. Little girls don't risk their teeth gettin knocked out playing hockey from youth leagues through high school. No, Greg...he was taking a shot at me, but indirectly. This has nothing to do with you, or very little. Apparently he learns his insulting style from Ozzie Guillen. It's okay. I can take whatever he dishes out...because I am probably the only poster here who has had anything negative to say about the White Sox in the last week, haven't you noticed?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 19, 2010 -> 12:03 PM) If the shoe fits. Very mature. Heaven forbid that I actually like a player (Juan Uribe) who has played well now for quite a while and is still in the prime of his career. It doesn't ever make you wonder how he became so "stale" and lost at the plate...why he regressed offensively every season from 2004 until he left the organization? I guess I'll have to love Mark Teahen, despite my years living in Kansas City and seeing only one four month stretch that would ever make me think that he's a regular MLB 3B for a contending club...because his defense is lousy, and his offense is sub par for a corner IF spot. Now I know you'll quote his high OBP right now, but let's wait and see if he ends up approaching over 775 for the season, cool?

Good for Konerko? I think we're going to be very lucky just to unload the remaining salary for a B/C prospect or two...

Yes, I wrote that before. And then scenario wrote it again...so I was reiterating, since people don't seem to read through most threads, they just start at the back and sometimes work their way forwards. And the last time I wrote it, Seattle hadn't played yet...or had a no-hitter almost.

Has Richard actually learned how to field his position well enough and THEN make accurate throws to 1B? Just wonder if he's made any progress in that area with a new organization and pitching coach....

Not the slider...you'll have elbow ligament damage like Liriano sooner rather than later.

Well, the Mariners have won 5 straight now (almost had a no-hitter) and the Rays have won 8 in a row on the road dating back to 2009. YIKES is all you can say at this point.

I think the organization might be willing to change their idea about Beckham again if they had a new manager. MAYBE?

Jordan Danks was another player that comes to mind with signability questions that we brought into the fold. That encouraged quite a few around here, as well as the obvious connection to his brother...and feeling more comfortable making the White Sox his long-term hope to stick around because of that fact. We'll have to wait and see. KW just might surprise everyone and deal Danks if he can't get him to sign like Floyd did. MAYBE.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 19, 2010 -> 07:59 PM) Off my memory of the 2000 BA Handbook which is pretty good since I actually still take a look at it, I know both Garland/Buehrle were not considered rookies for the 2001 season and thus not eligible for the 2000 Prospect Book. You're probably right though about Guerrier being a bit later. Okay, I wasn't sure whether we were referring to entering 2000 or 2001. Yes, at that point Kip Wells was the heir apparent as ace before flopping...Buehrle had emerged from his long relief role and doubts about his FB. Entering 2001, Rauch was THE man. Garland had his debut against the Royals that mid-summer, I remember listening to the game driving on I-35.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 19, 2010 -> 07:22 PM) Doesn't that include about 20 other teams in the league though too? I mean, at that point in the season, there really are only about 5 teams that have no significant statistical chance of making it, and then another 5 that are still within some type of level that has been accomplished before (say, 12 games back), but still leaves them with virtually no chance barring something miraculous. I mean, if you are 8 games back with 60 to play, you can go 38-22 and tie for a division title if the team in 1st place plays .500 baseball. There's not a great chance that happens, but you are still in it, even if that isn't technically competitive. Anything closer to that makes you more and more competitive. At some point in time, being competitive just doesn't cut it anymore. They didn't exactly suck one year and just luck into Joe Mauer. From 1993 to 2000, an 8 year stretch and the better part of a decade, the Twins... -never finished higher than 4th place in the AL Central -lost 88 or more games in 6 of the 8 years (and were on their way to losing 86 games in 1994) -lost 90 or more games 5 of the 8 years -lost 92 or more games 4 straight years, from 97-00 The Twins were not a very good organization and were constantly accumulating talent through their high draft picks and trades (and still actually have Nick Punto indirectly as apart of the Chuck Knoblauch deal which happened in 1998). And it wasn't as if they didn't go without flak for taking Joe Mauer. Mark Prior looked like an all-world pitcher, and there were people who criticized the Mauer draft choice and said it was the Twins taking the cheap road again. That would, today, be compared to the Nationals passing on Stephen Strasburg. Playing like kids again isn't going to get them to suddenly become miraculous hitters. Greg Walker has been credited with helping turn Joe Crede into an all-star caliber hitter (albeit, for 5 months, and then his back gave out). Further, if you want to look at before and afters, he has helped Jermaine Dye, Carlos Quentin, Scott Podsednik, Aaron Rowand, and I'm sure more can be found. I'm not a fan of Greg Walker, but he can't help that he's given Mark Kotsay as a starting DH or Juan Pierre as his everyday leadoff hitter. The fact of the matter is, the pure talent level of this offense is mediocre, and Walker is not at fault for that. Everything comes at a price. Adrian Gonzalez's will be monstrous if he is put onto the market, and there are several teams that will be able to outbid the White Sox. At some point in time, you have to either consider whether mortgaging part or all of your future is right for the current roster, and losing Dan Hudson, Tyler Flowers, and Jordan Danks might not be good for the long-term state of the franchise, considering Pierzynski is a free agent and getting older, Freddy Garcia is only signed through this year and is not that great, and that the White Sox outfield situation is anything but settled in the near future. Beyond that, you'd likely have to include even more beyond that. Alexei is also a league average shortstop, and that's not easy production to replace. It's also possible that something clicks for him and he turns into the offensive player he was in 2008 and becomes a solid 20 homer, .800 OPS bat at SS. I don't personally envision it happening, but it might. The Sox don't exactly have capable replacements either, what with Omar Vizquel, Robert Hudson, Greg Paiml, and Justin Fuller being the only other players within the Sox organization listed as a shortstop. It's Alexei or bust, so get used to seeing him. Or Nix/Beckham in very desperate circumstances.