caulfield12

Wise must be playing on the warning track if that last one landed where it shows it on Gameday and was only a single. Thank god this game isn't being telecasted! I'm sure the Tribune will make it into a headline sports story though. This game has turned into Little Big Horn for the White Sox. And to think, once upon a time, Russell and Wasserman looked like future contributors to our bullpen.

I guess that might be the end of the Adam Russell era. At least in the two games we've gotten pounded, the starting pitchers (Marquez/Richard) have both looked very good. Russell sporting the 36 ERA, Dotel at 22.50 and Wasserman's is "down" to 9.00. LHP Randy Williams (ex-Marlins) has pitched two scoreless outings now. Don't get too excited yet, he's a 33 or 34 year old veteran. On the hitting front, Quentin doesn't have a hit yet, Josh Kroeger has cooled down after a hot start, same with Lilli. DeWayne Wise has been the hitting "star," two for three today to get him up to .667. Is is just me or is it lot more exciting when Viciedo and Beckham play in the same line-up? Hopefull that will happen in one of the webcasted games soon...would love to see how they look. At least Sunday's game is on MLB.TV and radio. Russell's 36 ERA replaced by Salmon's 81. He's really getting filleted and sauteed out there!!!! Russell quickly gives up five hits, a walk, 4 ER (so far) and leaves the bases loaded WITH NO OUTS for Salmon to give up a GS here probably.

Here's what NIX looked like a LONG time ago in a scouting report, a five year-old detailed one from John Sickels. He would be challenged to play anywhere else on the field (unlike Lillibridge, who's a natural SS, and Getz can play 3B or SS if he has to, probably even better than Betemit)...but he's also our best 2B defensively right now, from all reports. Jayson Nix is the brother of Texas Rangers outfielder Laynce Nix. Someone in their family must like the letter "Y." The Rockies drafted Jayson in 2001, out of high school in Midland, Texas, as a supplemental first-round pick, compensation for the failure to sign '00 pick Matt Harrington. A pitcher/shortstop as a prep, Nix moved to second base after signing due to questions about his range. He has good pop for a middle infielder and is one of the better "sleeper" prospects around. Scouting report Nix is a good athlete, with surprising strength for his size. He has quick wrists, and like his brother he shows good baseball instincts, with a natural feel for the game. Offensively, he will hammer most fastballs and will usually hold in well against breaking balls. He strikes out too much when he tries too hard to hit for power. That's the main thing he'll need to correct at higher levels. He'll hit for plenty of pop if he just stays within himself and makes contact. Nix has decent speed and shows a knack for stealing bases. Defensively, he has a very strong arm for second base, being a former shortstop. His range is adequate. He made 21 errors last year at Visalia, but his reliability should improve with more experience. Scouts praise his work ethic, and say he is a baseball rat. Performance Statistically, the most notable thing in his record is his unusual power for a second baseman. He knocked 21 homers last year, but his 46 doubles were equally as impressive. The doubles tied for the minor league lead. That's a sign of further power development to come. His batting averages and on-base percentages aren't terrific, and he projects as a .260-.270 hitter up the ladder. But with enough power production, that's fine, and the thin air in Coors Field will likely boost those numbers. His strikeout rate is high enough to worry me, and it will be extremely interesting to see how well he adjusts to Double-A pitching. He steals bases at a sound percentage and should remain a speed threat at higher levels. Health record Nix has had no major health concerns. What to expect Nix has major breakthrough potential. His power makes him an attractive fantasy investment as a middle infielder and playing in Coors will boost his numbers even further. The main concern is his plate discipline: are the strikeouts a warning that he won't make contact at higher levels or is it a correctable problem that will ease with experience? At this point, we don't know. Personally, I'm inclined to be optimistic about Nix, and I think he's one of the most promising middle infield prospects in the game. He should reach Colorado in late '04 or early '05. We will track his performance in Double-A very closely and will alter his timetable as needed.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 08:27 AM) I live in the NW Suburbs, aka Cubby heaven. I still dont hate the Cubs like everyone else does, I actually enjoy watching them sometimes. The two teams that I do not care for at all are the Yankees/Redsox. I also root for AL Central teams especially in the playoffs if the Whitesox are not affected by it. Although the Twins do annoy me sometimes, it helps Brad Radke, Torri Hunter, and AJ Pierynzski arent playing for them anymore. AJ and Hunter were definitely their leaders you hated...Santana you just respected the heck out of, and I never came close to anything but admiration for Radke, because he went through almost a decade of being on a rebuilding team, and his final season, it was amazing his arm/shoulder/elbow didn't completely fall apart, he was pitching in so much pain but still gutting it out. I guess you can hate Nathan for being so good and sort of cocky, but the players I disliked even more: Denny Hocking Lew Ford Jason Tyner Jason Bartlett Nick Punto Doug Mietkiewicz Matt LeCroy Henry Blanco or Mike Redmond Just because they alway found annoying ways to beat the White Sox somehow, and they are/were mostly role/utility or "complementary" players.

My dad always told me you should pick a pin number that was the year of your birthday multiplied by 3. Now I have a new idea, haha. And whoever said the Twins don't have a LH reliever, they have Breslow and Mijares, who were probably their best relievers down the stretch. It was Nathan, Crain, Guerrier and Guardado that were the shakiest. The Twins will have an interesting battle for the outfield (right now Delmon Young, who is their most talent player, is ticket for the bench) and at SS (Punto vs. Brendan Harris). Their long relief is still unsettled too. Bonser's out for the year. Maybe Humber or Mulvey, RA Dickey, someone like that. Just glad they didn't get Juan Cruz. I agree, though, that if Liriano is close to his 2006 form, then the Twins are the team to beat. By the way, who said that Crede isn't the best defender in the AL Central? CHW=Fields/Viciedo/Betemit CLE=DeRosa or Peralta DET=Brandon Inge KC=Alex Gordon Inge and Gordon are good athletes, but there's no way they are obviously better than a closer to healthy Crede. The White Sox and Indians might have even more of a train wreck on their hands.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 28, 2009 -> 09:23 AM) I hope the kid just comes in all guns blazing so we can stop reading stuff like "It would have taken a Crede-esque dive at the ball to get it" This is going to be a year that will be annoying with Comparisons on this site. "Crede would have made that play", "Its too bad we dont still have Vazquez in the 5th starter spot", "Uribe's defense would be nice off the bench" It won't be easy for Fields/Viciedo/Betemit at 3B, being compared to Crede...Ramirez being compared to Cabrera...or Betemit to Uribe. The only one I will be shocked to hear is missing Swisher's defense. Not matter who we go with at 2B, they should be pretty solid, but the left side of the infield will definitely be under the microscope...and what will make it more annoying is the players will be compared to the 2005 and not 2008 versions of Crede and Cabrera.

White Sox GM Williams to open restaurant/bar in West Loop By Mark Gonzales GLENDALE, Ariz. - White Sox general manager Ken Williams is part owner of a new restaurant and sports bar set to open in April. Market, the name of Williams' business venture, is located at 1113 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop.The establishment features a 4,500-square foot bar and dining area with 20 flat screen televisions, a 2,500-square-foot outdoor beer garden, a 1,200-square foot sidewalk cafe and a 4,000-square foot rooftop lounge. chicagotribune.com/sports

Trying to drive up his trade value I'm sure...the results on the field will have a lot more to do with that than any PR hype attached to his appearances. They also had to scratch Bonderman already.

Dayan Viciedo hit a home run off Jon Garland in his second pro game, and 2008 first-round pick Gordon Beckham cracked an RBI double to lead the Sox to a 10-1 victory over Arizona at Tucson Electric Park. "You see Beckham swinging the bat, and it's like he has been here before," Guillen told reporters. "I think the Cuban Tank (Viciedo) has looked very good, and he played even better third base. It will take a little time to get him better." "As long as [pitchers] don't know him, I think it makes it easier," Guillen said. "To me, he has more confidence than his countryman ( Alexei Ramirez)." Paul Konerko, who homered, also was impressed with Viciedo. "He has that same Alexei mind-set — if it's coming at me, I'm hitting," Konerko said. "But he's good and can hit everything. I'm envious of those guys. They are pretty mindless up there." chicagotribune.com/sports

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 08:05 PM) Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Napoleon Lajoie, Bob Boone, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Robin Roberts, Dick Allen, Greg Luzinski, Richie Ashburn, Ron Reed, Tug McGraw, Chuck Klein, Curt Schilling, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels. Bob Boone? Ron Reed? No Bake McBride, Garry Maddox or Ivan DeJesus? I was just laughing with Boone's name stuck in there between two HOFers. Schilling bounced around a little bit to be most closely identified as a Phillie. Kind of like Fisk, I think he'll be remembered more as a Red Sox. You can also add Bob Abreu, he's probably been their best player over the last decade on a consistent basis.

Utility Sox Rushmore Craig Grebeck, Pablo Ozuna, Norberto Paco Martin, Warren "The Deacon" Newson or Rodney McCray twincity sox, those are all good choices...

Merkin is usually not so effusive in his commentary, so high praise indeed. We seem to have a plethora of players that could end up at any one of 3-4 positions. Ramirez=SS, 2B, CF and possibly 3B Fields=3B, 1B, DH, LF Beckham=SS, 2B, 3B, LF, RF, DH Viciedo=3B, 1B, LF, RF, DH Lillibridge=SS, 2B, CF That gives KW a lot of versatility building the roster moving forward. Add in Flowers, Allen, Shelby (who can also play infield and outfield) and Jor. Danks and you have some interesting combinations. Based on all of that, I think Nix and/or Getz might end up being the loser (one of the two) as they are both less versatile. Getz could play 3B and maybe SS if he had to, but he doesn't have the type of bat for the corners and the arm/range for SS. The outfield fight with Owens, Anderson, Wise and possibly Kroeger will be very interesting and could down down to the last week of ST. I'll reserve my praise for Don Cooper at this point, but if Van Benschoten makes the club, that would be a pretty amazing turnaround for him.

QUOTE (Cubano @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 12:43 AM) I spoke to a frien of mine that has some contacts in the Dominican R. today. He said that SS/2B Jose "Candelita" Iglesias may be drawing attention from the Tigers. Supposely, the Tigers are offering 3.5 millions. He defected in 2008 along side LHP Noel Arguelles and another pitcher in Canada while in the World Junior tournament. It is just a rumor. I do not think the Chi Sox will go after him bacause it does not make sense for them to do so. It makes sense for the Tigers, because Adam Everett is a stopgap for now with Guillen moving to LF and Polanco is getting up there in years, too. I guess it depends on the number of years to say $3.5 million is a lot in this depressed market...if it's modelled on the Ramirez deal, it would be better...or the average or one year salary was $3.5 million, you would wonder why they didn't just go out and get Orlando Hudson, Cabrera, etc. I would be pretty surprised if DET sank that money into a playing heading into the perfect economic storm for the city that has been portended.

How did they overlook Sosa, lol? Five years ago, he would have taken Banks' place for sure. I would go with Thomas, Fox, Aparicio and Shoeless Joe. An interesting/controversial pick would have been Veeck, of course, you can't have Veeck without Reinsdorf (love him or hate him), so I nixed that idea completely. Fisk? Close call, but his going with the Red Sox cap eliminated him. Someone had a good catch with Minnie Minoso, too. Baines is the sentimental pick, but not quite good enough. If you were two Mt. Rushmores from the last 25 years, it would probably be some combination of Baines/Guillen/McDowell/Fisk/Ventura and then Thomas/Konerko/Buehrle/Ordonez I guess. Heck, you could make an argument for DON COOPER or HERM SCHNEIDER, hahaha. We could also have a Crede/Brian Anderson/Aaron Rowand/Robin Ventura special monument for fanboys. So many interesting possibilities...having had Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan on the team, they wouldn't fit exactly, but iconic figures nonetheless. I know all those guys like Appling, Lyons, Wilhelm, Eddie Collins, etc., deserve a place, but history tends to have a short memory....which is why it would be biased in favor of modern players...I say that having picked 3/4 players from a half decade prior! Also interesting that no other managers/coaches came up in the history of our franchise...not sure what that says. Guillen would be there for a combination of his playing days and managing, but I'm not quite ready to bump him for Fox or Aparacio. And then you always have the high probability he would do something idiotic and you would have to sandblast him off the facade and replace him with someone like Baines who wouldn't ever get in trouble.

March 9th is going to be a pretty significant day this ST for the Sox. If both Contreras and Colon hold up, that's a big plus...compared to where things were 6-8 weeks ago, when we were thinking it would be Richard/Marquez/Poreda at the back end of the rotation.

Well, Cubano...the main thing to give you faith is how they stuck with Alexei last year when he was hitting about .120 going into mid-May and struggling mightily. I was really suprised they showed that much patience in him, because from reading the reports, the expectations weren't as high at that point as many of us now have. The White Sox are going to do what's best for their ballclub. $10 million is a pretty big investment in this economy...they're not going to rush him and risk damaging his career if he's not ready to play a position at the big league level yet. They know that they only have him for four seasons, so there's a big risk they really incubate his career and then when he enters his real prime he'll be gone to another organization. I'm really interested to see what some of these arms like Santeliz, Nathan Jones, Santos Rodriguez (Braves trade), Nunez and Jimenez can do out there. I don't think any of them will make the team (especially someone like Jones), and Ozzie/Cooper seem to be leaning in the direction of a multiple inning reliever, so pitchers like Richard/Carasco/Marquez/Broadway/Egbert/Van Benschoten are more likely. Putting Poreda in AAA as a starter makes the most sense...unless Cooper's the only one who can teach him secondary pitchers or they feel close to convinced his ceiling in the big league level is as a Matt Thornton type reliever, in which case, it would be better to trade him when we could market him as a POSSIBLE #2-3 starter. It is a bit strange we haven't seen or heard anything out of Cole Armstrong or Donny Lucy. Not sure about Lucy's health right now...maybe Armstrong played in the B game... One thing is for certain, Ozzie is going to play the heck out of Owens to make sure his health holds up over an extended period of time.

I don't think we can expect Matt Thornton velocity. Everyone's (DJ said it during the radio broadcast of Game 1) said a tick or two under that, so, when the season comes around, he should be at 93-96 pretty consistently.

An interesting case in this analysis has to be Damaso Marte. He was a castoff from the Pirates (I think he'd also been with the Yankees and M's) and he was really the Matt Thorton of the AL before Matt Thornton became Matt...at different points in 2003 and 2004, he was arguably the best LH set-up reliever in baseball. I think Cooper had a lot to do with that, but I also think Ozzie really got in his head in 2005 (like Vazquez this year) and he lost his edge mentally and got scared to throw strikes.

I'm not sure that's much worse than some of the idiotic things broadcasters will say about Erin Andrews. Almost as fawning as the Tim Tebow commentary in the national championship game. Try to be a little objective, fellas.

I guess Bryan Bullington and JJ House are next. The Pirates and Royals have just had some really, really crappy drafts. The funny thing is that both teams also went with the drafting athletes theory. I worked for the Pirates in 94 and 95 and Jason Kendall was about the only high draft pick that panned out. During that time, there was Charles Peterson (QB scholarship to Auburn), Mark Farris (QB, ended up at A&M after blowing out his knee), Shon Walker, Chad Hermansen, Jermaine Allensworth...none of those guys ever made it, except for Allensworth for a brief time. I didn't pay as much attention over the last 10 years, but I'm sure it is just as bad or worse during that time period. A number of bad GM's, too.

SO the very, very early surprises of ST. Josh Kroeger keeps hitting and ends up stealing an outfield spot...only 36 games to go on that one. Miller, who most assumed would get no more than 3 hits per month, gets 3 in one ST game. Flowers has been a non-factor. Lillibridge, who seems to have the best combination of speed, defensive ability and versatility, impresses. Nix, who everyone says could win a Gold Glove at 2B, comes charging out of the gate and actually looks like a hitter (so far) too. It looks like it will be a very interesting competition among Richard, Marquez, Poreda, Nunez, Jimenez, Carrasco, Egbert and Broadway for the final spot in the rotation (if Colon/Contreras start on DL) and the last spot or two in the bullpen. I think they really like Nunez...nice to see him come into the game in the 9th and shut the Rockies out, seems like our young pitchers have come into that situation in the past springs many times and given up the lead.

Let's also hope his statement about Aardsma and Sisco essentially failing due to the lack of a secondary pitcher (and the ability to learn one or be taught one) doesn't also end up applying to Aaron Poreda. Pretty strong comments about how pitchers failing in Chicago just don't have what it takes to pitch anywhere effectively...and some interesting comments on Van Benschoten.

Let's say the average MLB catcher gives you .250-.260, 12-15 homers and 60-65 RBI's. If Flowers could double the home run numbers and put up 80-100 RBI's on a consistent basis, that's still a huge asset. As mentioned, as long as he can call a good game and has a good repoire with the pitching staff, then he's a huge asset...just like a Mike Piazza. Very few teams besides the Twins get good offensive numbers from that position. It's just the first game though. Not getting over and blocking pitches with your body/chest instead of trying to backhand them is a habit that needs to be taught and reinforced until it becomes natural...just like getting down on one knee to block a grounder for an infielder or running into the ball instead of being caught flat-footed or backing up on a flyball when there's a runner on base for an outfielder. Just comes down to good minor league coaching/teaching/instruction. Ozzie has already annointed Flowers as the starter if something were to happen to AJ. We all know Stewart, Lucy, Armstrong and Corky Miller aren't the long-term solution there. I know someone else was already saying Flowers and Marquez were overhyped. Well, look at the Cubs. Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith, Corey Patterson, Bobby Hill, Angel Guzman, Rich Hill, Gary Scott, Kevin Orie, Mark Prior (well, that's a different case), Felix Pie, Brooks Kieschnick, Kyle Lohse, Sisco, Matt Murton, Brant Brown, every team has prospects that stumble and don't become what they're supposed to be.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Feb 25, 2009 -> 02:15 PM) I cant see any city putting up the financing to build a stadium right now, or in the near future. Teams are locked in where they are and are going to have to make due with their current financial situations. KC - The team has lasted this long in that market and recently had renovations, dont see them going anywhere. Detroit - Probably the team in the most trouble because of their payroll obligations and increasing unemployment rate in the area, Detroit will probably see a shift from spending like a large market team to more of a small to mid market team over the next 10 years. Cleveland - The team is in pretty good financial condition and the population of the city will hold steady at least. Minnesota - Almost folded once, but a new stadium will cease any specualtion about that possibility and the team will continue to operate with its financial constraints. Pittsburgh is a team that could be in trouble, low attendance, small market size, and a lack of results hurts the team, though it has a storied history and a newer stadium to keep it anchored. Florida - The team is in the process of building a new stadium and ownership will be obligated to keep the team in the area for a period of time after the stadium is completed so that the city can recoup some of the money that was invested. Going nowhere. TB - Last season a WS run, this season contenders in the East that will likely fade in the second half of the season. Last years success will cause an attendance bump, but with no financing available the team will look at re-locating but have few options available (Charlotte, OKC?) I lived in KC for 10 years. If the team is at least .500 or competitive, you can guarantee 22-25,000 in attendance. But that has only happened in 2003 for the first 4 months, before that, you'd have to go back to the early 90's for the last really good Royals teams. They had a good foundation with Damon/Dye/Beltran/Sweeney but the pitching never got them over the hump. A couple of other teams that bear watching are SD (if they were still in Jack Murphy and with Moores' financial problems/divorce) and Cincinnati. Pittsburgh and Cincy are fairly similar, cities that have been or will be hard hit by the economy...mid-size markets...difficulty competing with the Cubs, Cardinals and Astros to a lesser extent. Milwaukee, I think they're stronger because of the ownership group...but, then again, wasn't most of the Selig money from car dealerships? Still, SD/Pitt/Cincy/Milwaukee all share one thing in common, "newer" stadiums. As far as a team in OKC, I doubt that will ever happen. They've been too closely tied to the Rangers for a long time in terms of their fan base. It would be like Omaha having a major league team, although I realize OKC is quite a bit bigger and has done well during the "oil boom" compared to many other states...well, until recently, which is another "bust" period for oil it seems. That inconsistent economy just isn't a stable one for a MLB team.

I guess the game thread is closed...first day's thoughts: 1) Flowers is really going to have to work on both throwing mechanics and blocking pitches 2) Nix and Josh Kroeger were the most impressive from a hitting perspective 3) Owens is still getting some bad reads out in CF 4) Who is Willie Anderson (pitcher)? I thought he played for the Spurs and UGA. 5) Brad Salmon is done, stick a form in him. 6) Wasserman and Russell didn't do anything to distinguish themselves...(John) Adam Russell (sorry DJ!) has a quickly diminishing star 7) Richard pitched well, Dotel was his normal unpredictable self and all over the place