caulfield12

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news...o&type=lgns Great article by Wetzel (very sarcastic) about how messed up the B12 is right now...good stuff. Many salient points.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 11:27 PM) I have a hard time distinguishing who the best team is between Texas, USC, Oklahoma, and Florida. I think Texas has to be ranked ahead of OU due to head to head on a neutral field, but a little round robin between those 4 would be nice. Too bad it can't happen. In regards to relevance though, Texas is in great shape to play in the Big 12 title game if BCS expert Brad Edwards of ESPN is right. He predicts Texas will be #2 and Oklahoma #4 in the BCS standings (with Florida #3) tomorrow. I'm not sure I buy that, but if he is right, I can't see any way Oklahoma can jump Texas, and the BCS standings are the 3 way tiebreaker of course in the Big 12 South. That is how it SHOULD be though, I don't care how good Oklahoma looks, Texas beat them on a neutral field and there is no way for OU to dispute that argument. Well, there's some other things to consider...will OU jump ahead of Texas (all the way to #2) in some of the polls? Heck, they might even get some #1 votes as far as I'm concerned. Second, beating OSU on the road has to improve their BCS Standings a lot more than for TEX to beat Texas A&M, and, by the way, the Longhorns have lost those last two games, so that's not a foregone conclusion. Not to mention the fact that it's a 3 way tie...why can't TT argue they deserve to go, based on their head-to-head win over Texas??? A win is a win and a loss is a loss, right? Third, momentum...if OU closes out the season trouncing TT and on the road at OSU, that's a lot more compelling to the voters than the way TEX is finishing out the season. Yes, they won on a neutral field in a game OU choked away, but Texas lost to TT, and TT was blitzkrieged by OU. I think that equalizes that argument in the eyes of many fans. If OU does beat OSU and finishes behind TEX, you will have the most heated argument/s ever about the playoff system and BCS.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 11:08 PM) And the reason for that is actually pretty simple, in the inner cities it's easy to play basketball, all you need is a ball and one other guy to play a pickup game whereas with baseball, you need a ball, a bat, a bunch of guys, and gloves for at least half of those guys, which is expensive and hard to organize. With football you have more or less the same problem since need all the equipment and whatnot but at least it's sponsored in high school. And it doesn't take as long to develop skill as baseball does for most people. Then you have all the marketing, the Air Jordans, the hip-hop/entertainment industry's tie-ins with the NBA, the fact that Michael Jordan was the coolest guy in the world that everyone wanted to be (Be Like Mike). Not to mention it's easier for kids today to identify with Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade or KG than Jackie Robinson. Places to play and equipment are one part of it, for sure...and yet soccer/futbol has never taken off in America. Maybe it will continue to make progress, simply because it's the most important sport in many Central/South American countries. The RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner City) program's been around 10 years or so now, it will be intereting to see what, if any, impact that has on bringing more African Americans back to the sport.

QUOTE (Shadows @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 11:37 PM) Why? Thats going to be the National Championship game Oklahoma after tonight will almost certainly jump Texas in the BCS and I don't see them losing to Ok St or Missouri Alabama is going to get wrecked by Florida in the SEC title game, so the #1 and #2 will be Florida and Oklahoma when its all said and done.. So this is what I am seeing.. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #1 Oklahoma Vs. #2 Florida ROSE BOWL Oregon State Vs. Penn State FIESTA BOWL Texas Vs. Utah SUGAR BOWL Alabama Vs. Ohio State ORANGE BOWL Florida State Vs. USC Of course, thats just a total prediction about how I see it playing out Stoops has had the most trouble against OSU (until going 1-3 against TEX after thoroughly dominating for five years)....of any team he has played, with the exceptions of USC and LSU. The game is in Stillwater, that's a HUGE advantage for the Cowpokes. In fact, Josh Fields was a big part of winning a couple of those Bedlam Series match-ups for the Cowboys. That place is already scaring Sooners fans...like the MetroDome for White Sox fans or kryptonite for Superman. OU will be favored, but a couple of better Sooners teams than this one have lost there in recent years. They will amped up for this game, and they deserve the NC game if they win it....then they still would have to play Missouri (a team they've dominated over the last 10 years), which is another big "letdown" game. But I think Stoops has his team peaking later instead of early and they're not going to take anything for granted like when they lost to KSU 35-7 w/ Jason White at QB. That was the infamous Darren Sproles game.

QUOTE (Shadows @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 11:57 PM) Oops, yeah your right I didn't even think of the Big East because of how lame their auto bid is My corrected BCS bowls would be as followed then NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP #1 Oklahoma Vs. #2 Florida ROSE BOWL Oregon State Vs. Penn State FIESTA BOWL Texas Vs. Utah SUGAR BOWL Alabama Vs. USC ORANGE BOWL Florida State Vs. Cincinnati Remove Ohio State, add in Cincy.. Of course, if Oregon State loses that would put USC/Penn State in the Rose Bowl and I would then slide Ohio State back into the Sugar Bowl I wonder how many millions of dollars the OB will lose substituting Cincy for OSU? Many, I bet.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 11:33 PM) I'd actually say there is a pretty decent chance we do see that game. I'm not sure what the tie breaking scenarios are that make OU win the big 12 South over UT but the reason the Long Horns wouldn't get in because of their win over OU is because of the fact there is a 3 way tie right now, not just UT and OU. The BCS standings decide who will play in the B12 championship game...I guess this change occurred after NEB or another team backed into the BCS by not even playing in the Championship game when the favored team that had advanced lost out. I guess this makes a little more sense...I would imagine if OU beats OSU on the road next week, they will be ahead of TEX in the BCS Standings because they crushed TT so badly and Texas Tech beat Texas in a very close game. And I guess there's a good chance UF beats Bama to win the SEC Championship. So it at least can happen, about a 50% chance I'd say. I doubt USC will factor into the puzzle, there's a big dropoff to them from #5 to #6.

Yep, they just need one Yao Ming or Yi Jinlian....the Red Sox or Yankees signed the first two Chinese players this past year, there was the focus on the Olympic games, MLB sent a big delegation over in March and then there were the exhibition games played there as well. There is a baseball presence in Taiwan, which is technically part of China...just like Tibet. The first player will be from Chinese Taipei, FWIW. The other reason is because more young Americans are playing basketball (especially African-American), but also individual sports like golf (Tiger Woods phenomenon kicking in) and tennis. I really doubt we're losing too many future All-Stars to NASCAR and Ultimate Fighting though.

I think it was also public knowledge about Hunter, Aaron Rowand and Fukudome...but those weren't trades. But the White Sox certainly had eggs on their faces AT the time, little did we know how things would work out. FWIW, I don't think KW really made a serious run at Rowand, that was more for PR and placating the Aaron Rowand "niche" of jilted Sox fans.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 10:28 PM) i dont care what anyone's arguement is...theres no way texas tech makes a BCS bowl now....oklahoma will go to the big 12 championship, and texas will likely get an at large, even though they lost to tech....this game is 52-7....you can't lay an egg like that and make the BCS still IMO looks like itll be...Florida, Bama, Oklahoma, Texas, PSU, Oregon State, USC, Utah, + whoever wins ACC and big East in the BCS...i doubt boise pushes USC out, but who knows....though that is all assuming oregon state beats oregon next week I think the best two teams are Florida and Oklahoma...unfortunately, we'll never get to see that game.

Are you sure Texas wouldn't play Missouri over OU because of head-to-head victory in Dallas? It seems that the winner of the Big12 South sometimes is the team that DOESN'T have to play an extra game and expose themselves to a loss. FWIW, I think there's a good chance that OSU can beat Oklahoma, just because that game is always a toss-up no matter how good Oklahoma is...then again, the way OU is steamrolling TT today, you wonder how they blew a lead against TX. But I've been there before with Stoops teams, they were undefeated and got rolled 35-7 by Kansas State in the Championship game about 5 years ago. Shout out to my Iowa Hawkeyes and Coach Kirk Ferentz for resurrecting that program a second time in a decade...this time more do to off-field problems and recruiting stagnation. 55-0 over Minny, the 2nd worst loss at home ever for the Gophers. Wonder if the Outback Bowl would take Iowa over MSU and NU? It will be interesting, NU beat Iowa at home, but that now seems like a fluke because Iowa was in control until fumbling right before the half...and MSU was torn apart by PSU, who was just beaten at home by Iowa. I just don't see Northwestern travelling well to any game, let alone the Alamo Bowl, which has hosted the Hawkeyes many a time. Iowa lost four games this season by something like 12 points. Not saying they are a BCS team at all, but they are definitely on the way back up, although I don't think Shonn Greene has anything to gain by returning for one more year. Stoops is about to put 70 up on the board...vindication for all the doubters and bulletin board material ripping OU's defense over the last 4-5 seasons. This is a no-doubt statement game for that program, playing without their best DL.

I can see Sabathia...but there's not a law in the world that could/should force a team to give AJ Burnett/Lowe/Sheets 4-5 seasons and $15 million plus per season. As we're seeing in the political/government arena, there has to be some form of regulation that controls a completely unfettered free market, lol.

Yep...about 10-12 years ago, the numbers of Hispanic players passed African American MLB players and now it's about 30% of major league players that are born in Spanish-speaking countries, maybe even 35%.

Since we've been talking so much about Fernando Perez recently, why not another Perez? It's kind of funny, all the talk about not drafting Porcello and we're handing out money now like the Salvation Army after the holiday bell-ringing season is over. It will be interesting to see where this kid ends up, and if he does, in fact, get a major league contract. There are also Arguellez (P) and the SS among Torres' clients that remain unsigned. The White Sox are becoming like the UN...although we probably need to get another Japanese/Korean pitcher back on the roster to further diversify. We have Betemit, Viciedo, Ramirez, Contreras, Vazquez (Puerto Rico), Cora (PR), Guillen (Venezuela), Carlos Quentin sounds Hispanic (lol)...before that Uribe, Ozuna, El Duque, L. Vizcaino, Marte, Olivo, Carlos Lee, Ordonez, Colon (DR), Loaiza (PR), Iguchi, Takatsu...I think there were a couple of times in the last decade the White Sox even had an all African-American and Hispanic starting line-up and pitcher. Just shows you how international the game has become over the last 10-15 years. I've also heard rumblings that the Dodgers made a serious run at Viciedo, too. When's the last time we beat the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers out for a player that those teams were seriously interested in obtaining?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...eals/index.html Good stuff. This really supports JR's and KW's philosophy about signing pitchers to long-term deals, the obviously very difficult decision made to re-up Mark Buehrle, and the reason why Jaime Navarro and David Wells are just a couple of examples of pitchers blowing up in our faces. Also, not trying to keep Garland looks to have been a wise decision...yeah, I know a lot of Sox posters think the White Sox should have signed Clemens when they had a chance, but everyone felt he was at the end...until the performance-enhancing drugs kicked in. Can't fault KW or Schueler for not taking a risk there.

I think Huston Street also figures into their plans b4 Jenks as well...at least at present. The obvious move for us is a Taveras and Street "mini-blockbuster," although KW taking on another big contract down in the pen might arguably give us the most expensive bullpen in baseball, right? I'd have to think Jenks would be moved in that scenario, simply because of the money we'd be paying Street, Thornton, Dotel and Linebrink, not to mention MacDougal. We've gone from one of the cheapest bullpens in the league in 05-07 to one of the most expensive. As far as Joe Nathan goes, he showed signs of being human/fallible for the first time last year...mostly in the final three months, but especially on the road. He blew two games against the Mariners (of all teams) alone.

Ummm...without Contreras, we probably wouldn't have made the playoffs in 2005, let alone won the World Series. That alone is a reason to appreciate him. He actually pitched pretty well last season until he became hurt and tried to pitch through it without telling Ozzie and KW. He's a bull and a strong competitor. I'll just cross my fingers he can make some positive contributions to the ballclub next year, whether as the fifth in mid to late season or out of the bullpen, a la El Duque in 2005. http://www.670thescore.com/topic/play_wind...audioId=3118084 Fairly interesting interview with Cuban baseball "expert" on the Score. Nothing we haven't heard so far about the kid...I guess the news, if any, is that his defense is "adequate" at 3B but I'd take that with a grain of salt because Bjarkman has seen him play maybe a dozen times in person. That said, we couldn't really expect Ventura/Crede over there at his size and age...let's see how he does this spring. Apparently, it's going to take something like 1-2 weeks for him to get his visa to fly to Chicago or Miami from the Dominican Republic. Hopefully he won't have any visa problems in the spring, because he needs as much time in Glendale as possible.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 06:18 PM) Caufield made a few points. Jenks is also 6 years younger, has thrown in and won a World series, and has shown he can handle the pressures of pitching in a large city. Fuentes is also going to want a 4, 5 year contract. And he has a lot more innings on his arm than bobby. New York demands a winner. Bobby is a winner, if he stays healthy. Fuentes is more of an unknown Good article by Merkin with lots of good stuff from Don Cooper has all the compelling arguments one needs for BBBJ. should be a good link http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 06:13 PM) Howell's stuff isn't even close to being on par with Thornton's. He has mediocre velocity on his fastball, although his hook is a plus pitch. I was a big fan of his back to his days at the University of Texas but I think scouts had it right when they identified him as the type of guy that wouldn't make it as a starter. He has a fit being a solid reliever, but I don't see him being anything like Thornton who is a dominant reliever at times and a potential closer. It just goes to show that it's possible for an ex-Royal to have a positive effect on a bullpen...and Howell, an ill-advised former first rounder, was pretty much given up for dead. OTOH, H. Ramirez and MacDougal have been duds for us, while Carrasco has been something of a pleasant surprise.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 03:24 PM) I don't quite understand how Jenks is a better bet than Fuentes. Fuentes has been rock solid the past 4 seasons in Colorado. Simply because the Mets have concerns about how Fuentes would do pitching in the crucible of NYC...Jenks has succeeded on the highest level (World Series/playoffs) and already is in a pretty massive media market, third only to LA and NYC. Many of those saves were for Rockies teams that were the White Sox equivalent of Kip Wells dominating inferior NL opponents five years ago after he was traded...could Kip have done the same thing in Chicago he did for 2-3 years in Pittsburgh, or Fogg? Well, we will never know for sure, but most doubt it strongly.

By the way, does anyone know when the Viciedo press conference is scheduled today? What about his physical? Has he already passed that or taken it? There are also many conflicting stories about the length of the contract....is it four years or five?

More on the M's from Espn.com Yet Zduriencik, in barely three weeks on the job, has already begun transforming the organization. Scouting director Bob Fontaine -- responsible for the much-lamented decision to bypass University of Washington star and Seattle-area native Tim Lincecum in the 2006 draft in favor of Cal's Brandon Morrow -- was fired. Benny Looper, who had spent 23 years in the Seattle front office, most recently as vice president of player personnel, quit the organization rather than accept a demotion. He is now an assistant general manager with the Phillies. Greg Hunter, director of player development, was reassigned to the pro scouting department. In their places has come a string of new hires -- Tom McNamara, former Brewers' scout, as scouting director; Tony Blengino, Zduriencik's assistant in Milwaukee, as a special assistant to the GM; Pedro Grifol, promoted from within to director of minor league operations; Tim Tolman, the former Nationals' third-base coach, as director of minor league instruction. Zduriencik put Blengino in charge of creating a new department of statistical research, a sign that the Mariners are going to lean more on sabermetrics than they have in the past. That came as welcome news to many in the stats-minded blogging community who correctly predicted a negative outcome for many of Bavasi's moves -- including the so-far disastrous trade for Bedard that cost the Mariners several top prospects in addition to All-Star reliever George Sherrill. Don Wakamatsu, right, takes over a Mariners team that had the worst record (61-101) in the American League last season. "We want to take all the information at our disposal and combine it with our scouting,'' Blengino told the Seattle Times.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 22, 2008 -> 07:28 AM) It was all based on his .251 BABIP. Supposedly, that makes him very unlucky. Well good news, the guy that had a better year than him anyway, the guy who people wanted gone so Swisher can flail away at 58 foot sliders in the dirt and then watch the next pitch go by right down the middle, Paul Konerko, had a .247 BABIP. He was even more unlucky. Double that...he was more unlucky, just because he was "unlucky" when he was plagued by three separate injuries and still put up a better number than Swisher. First his hand, then the ribcage pull/tear and finally the twisted knee at the end of the season. Not to mention the fact he's mentioned his "aging" and that for the first time, Konerko's really going to be more conscious about diet, training and conditioning in the offseason. All good omens.

Well, seemingly a ton, 3 of our top 5 prospects. Then again, our system is/was so weak, that's a little bit telling. Maybe DLS had one fluke season before going down with possibly a career-ending injury. He was still 2-3 years away. We all know about Sweeney and Gonzalez...Sweeney might turn into a poor man's David DeJesus, but where would he be starting if we still had him? CF? I think not, although some want to believe he could play that position adequately, I've seen enough of that with Mackowiak, Griffey and Swisher to last me 20 years.

Nope, just underlined the other parts of the article I thought were most interesting. I suppose I could have been redundant and underlined the line an earlier post was referring to, but we're all intelligent enough (I hope). An earlier article said one of the teams was willing to move their starting 3B to create an opening for Viciedo...obviously not the Yankees, so that means the Red Sox were/are open to moving Lowell, and the Astros are letting Wiggington go.

Felix Perez...let's set to work and see what we can find out about this kid! Perez is a raw teen talent who has spent parts of two seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, batting a light .271. Torres, who represented such big leaguers as Yoslan Herrera, Jose Contreras, Yuniesky Betancourt and most recently Alexei Ramirez, admitted Perez was raw but said he had five-tool talent. baseballamerica.com The fact that he's left-handed is reason for excitement...I really wonder if there was some sort of "package deal" where KW bid more than he wanted to for Viciedo in order to also bring in Perez, too? Of course, there have been quite a few Japanese players that came to the US in their late 20's/early 30's with huge contracts, like Ichiro, Hideki Irabu, Dice K Matsuzaka, Godzilla Matsui, etc.