caulfield12

QUOTE (BearSox @ Oct 2, 2008 -> 06:38 AM) I think if Javy has nothing on the ball once again, and it looks like another long day is shaping up, then we pull Javy fast and put in Floyd and have him take Javy's spot in the rotation for game 4. If Javy actually shows up with something on the ball, then I see Floyd just being a safety net for the rest of the pitchers in this series, and Javy getting the nod once again on game 4. Why would you start Vazquez on short rest over Floyd, especially when he's pitched so poorly the last two times out? Even if he pitches very well, I still don't think the White Sox would go to him in Game 4. Floyd proved on Monday he can win the big game and has been our "stopper" more or less the entire season. Disagree completely about starting Javier in Game 4. If anyting, Buehrle would go on 3 day's rest in Game 5 INSTEAD of Vazquez. The White Sox are doin with Floyd the same thing Piniella wanted to do with Zambrano Sunday but it was nixed. Have him pitch an inning or two, get his feet wet and maybe that will help him get a better feel for the breaking ball. Floyd will have gone Monday to Monday in terms of rest, it's smart to sneak him in there just to let him get comfortable and a feel for what it's like to pitch in playoff atmosphere, especially if Vazquez/Richard just absolutely get blown out of the building in the first 4-5 innings. Why not?

I think if Wise struggles again Thursday, Guillen has to go with Swisher in LF against Kazmir. Heck, he might even go to Brian Anderson as well in CF to replace Griffey, although I'll believe it when I see it. OTOH, we win Game 1 and Wise goes 0 for 5 with 3 K's, he'll still be in the line-up on Friday, because Ozzie is always superstitious about winning streaks, and we have won three elimination games on 3 consecutive days DESPITE Wise being in the line-up, fwiw. I wouldn't mind seeing Alexei hitting second behind Cabrera against Kazmir, or leading off with Cabrera 2nd. Alexei had one of his best games of the season the one time he did lead off...and you might see it again next year if KW can't find anyone. The problem is his lack of patience and OBP around .320 don't justify the move, not until he become a little more patient. But I like the idea of a Soriano/Sizemore dynamic type of hitter leading off...not saying Alexei is QUITE that good, but he has the potential to be, especially if he gets a little stronger and puts on 10-15 pounds (hopefully without losing any range/quickness).

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Oct 1, 2008 -> 03:56 PM) i remember a very good AL team, youngest in the MLB that year, who wound up with the best record in the league heading into the playoffs. Sadly, the 2000 White Sox got swept in the first round. Pitching, pitching, pitching....Baldwin, Parque and Sirotka were already injured/dying/fading at that point. Sirotka would go down for the count after the Wells trade. Parque's and Baldwin's careers were never the same after this season either. We really just treaded water that season the final two months (I think we were something like 5-8 games over .500 after the ASB...the team really peaked in June/July that year...like the 2003 and 2006 White Sox in July and August. All our big hitters were horrible against Seattle too, they were either shut out or got 1 hit I think...Thomas, Ordonez, Lee and Konerko.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 1, 2008 -> 02:11 PM) I think that's a mistake by Maddon and company. Of course, I'm pretty sure they have Price on their roster so it's not like they'll be empty handed with studly arms. Why they would pick Price over Jackson is beyond me...they need all the guys with experience they can get, IMO. It's almost like if we added Poreda to our post-season roster...not quite, but close.

I'm not sure Vazquez goes, because the status of Contreras is so shaky for even the 2009 ASB, and, if nothing else, he'll eat a ton of innings and be a .500 pitcher. Now whether it's wise or the norm to pay 4/5 starters that kind of money, I'll let JR and KW decide (because Garland and Garcia were making around the same and were roughly the equivalent of Vazquez in salary and performance level...except the fact they both really picked it up in 2005). It would be sweet for KW and Vazquez if he could finally get his game together. There's really not a tremendous amount of pressure at this point...almost everyone expects him to fail miserably, as long as we don't blow our bullpen for the 2nd game, most Sox fans will be "okay" I think. Everyone realizes with Buehrle's lack of rest over the last couple of weeks that you just can't keep going to the well too often and not expect him to come down with a dead arm at some point. If you look at the Tigers in 06, Sox in 05, the A's (Hudson, Zito and Mulder all having major injury problems), the post-season usually has a way of catching up with you the following season, unless you're the Red Sox, Angels or Dodgers and can spend your way out of any problem.

The funny thing is that Edwin Jackson was left off their playoff roster, and he's a darn good pitcher. He's more or less the equivalent of our Javier Vazquez. On our playoff roster, he would be Clayton Richard. In terms of their pitchers, Shields is definitely the most consistent in providing quality starts, but all of them have struggled at various times during the September stretch drive. Kazmir is the one guy who can go out there and throw a no-hitter or go Rick Ankiel almost on you...and fall apart with his control. Sonnanstine has also struggled. And some of our hitters are familiar with Garza from 06/07, so that should be beneficial. OTOH, most of their hitters have not seen Floyd or Danks at their best. Tough choices for the manager. I think MacDougal might be the slight favorite over Russell (definitely) and Wasserman (maybe). Don't see Anderson or Wise getting left off the team, especially with three games possibly on turf. The turf concept also tends to favor the inclusion of JB over Fields, because we already have Swisher to use off the bench for pop, and Hall is very comfortable playing in that environment too. Ramirez is a a tough one to choose too...then there's Broadway, but he doesn't serve any purpose, since we have Carrasco and Richard for long-relief of Vazquez (or any other early faltering starter). The White Sox love being in this position I think. Only 2 of the Tribune writers picked them to make it past the Rays. EDIT: We need someone like Juan Castro on the White Sox...that guy should be there, simply for being such a great fielder and because he's Vin Scully's favorite Dodger of all-time.

I think you have to start Vazquez...and have Richard ready to go at the first sign of trouble, especially against Crawford or Pena. I don't expect to win this series, but I wouldn't be surprised by anything after this week (we are 5-17 in domes, but then again, we just beat the Twins in a crucial game, so who knows?)

I missed another start of Danks against MN. 2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 3 K's Overall, 2-2 against Twins...ERA in the stratosphere, which is the same as Blackburn's recently. So who knows...? Relax, sit back and strap er down....although no relaxing tonight I don't think.

"The first time I stepped in the box I started laughing," A.J. Pierzynski said. "He cursed at me in Spanish, and I started laughing just because I know Freddy so well and I know he's back and throwing the ball great. I hope Freddy has a great career." Best quote of the night, or maybe a close second to Mark's.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Sep 30, 2008 -> 12:12 AM) Are these what you think, or are these actual complaints you've heard? Both...just go to startribune.com, read the story about the "celebration that wasn't" and you can see all the reader comments. It's a lot better than most teams' MLB message boards, most of what I wrote down was written there, except for the part about Garcia. Actually, the Twins' fans claimed it was a "mysterious" injury/reason and they were, for some reason, not understanding what was wrong with him. Stone called it right away...that it was his shoulder and that the pitch he had delivered was his final toss of the night.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 10:00 PM) I just want to say that I want Swisher in LF tomorrow. I've had more than enough of Wise. I prefer to think of Quentin as Achilles, lol. Or maybe Contreras is...and Quentin can be El Gran Titan de Stanford.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 10:28 PM) I hope our crowd goes nuts. Those domers got 3 home games last week against us and we paid the price. We need to intimidate them into oblivion and beat them like KC did. They looked mighty ordinary all 3 vs. the Royals. GO SOX; MASH TWINS! One thing is true, Morneau is in a huge slump which could cost him the MVP. Hamilton actually has one more RBI now I think. Something has to give, Justin's numbers against Danks and are almost unbelieveable, same with Mauer and Cuddyer.

Even if we lose, it was worth it to hear all the whining and complaining going on. 1) Twins should host playoff because they won season series 10-8 (conveniently forgetting 90% of the reason for their two World Series victories in 1987 and 1991 was due to the Dome...in fact, in 1987, they had one of the worst records of the playoff teams but had an advantage because the AL West and AL East alternated home field advantage, and both years the AL had home field) 2) Selig and MLB conspiracy to try to match up Cubs and White Sox in WS and leave out small market teams 3) Coin flip is patently unfair, Selig sucks (even though this was tradition well before Bud) 4) Garcia took himself out of the game as a personal favor to Ozzie, who he's related to by birth 5) Wedge hates Gardenhire and bagged the Cliff Lee start on purpose so that Lee's Cy Young status wouldn't be tarnished 6) Tigers hate the Twins because of 2006, passing them the last weekend (that doesn't make much sense) 7) There should be an investigation of Leyland's "minor league" line-up by MLB 8) Galaragga threw 2 wild pitches after only 4 all season before that 9) The Tigers' relievers deliberately walked all those Sox batters so they could go home early, and then the hitters mailed it in afterwards 10) "We were all packed up to go somewhere. Whether it be Tampa or Chicago, we were ready to go," he said. "We're looking forward to getting out there. It's a one-game playoff. It's going to be exciting." Still, the tiebreaking grand slam by Alexei Ramirez in the sixth inning for Chicago was clearly a buzz kill for the guys gathered in the room. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't kick myself or was a little upset, but it is what it is," Punto said. "We've got business to take care of in Chicago, and that's all I'm worried about."

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 08:32 PM) Richard gave us 3 innings of 1 run ball on Saturday against Cleveland. If he's available, he's our best long man option. Richard or Carrasco...depending on which part of the order you were in. You'd have to hope that Richard could do something with Mauer/Morneau/Kubel. And there's no way Logan or Ramirez will be seeing any part of this game. They should just be kidnapped like in the movie Eagle Eye by giant remote-controlled construction cranes on the way to the ballpark.

QUOTE (Felix @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 07:55 PM) He should be starting anyway, regardless of those numbers. All of Anderson's homers have come against lefties. And Griffey was our only offense last week at HHH...he actually showed up to play a little and didn't wet the bed.

QUOTE (Friend of Nordhagen @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 07:54 PM) Judging by those numbers, we should play Anderson. But where? Griffey is 1 for 2 with a homer against Blackburn...and you don't sit Griffey against a slow tossing RHP, that's who he should match up with the best at this point in his career. Griffey, like Konerko, deserves to play. I'd almost think about benching Thome, but that will never happen against a RHP and with Ozzie managing this team...with Thome and Griffey both fighting for that last chance to do something in post-season.

QUOTE (Felix @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 07:51 PM) No. 3 for 9 versus 1 for 12 is not a huge enough indicator (and Swisher is ice cold, and most of those AB's from Paulie were from the first half of the year when he was struggling in the .210's against every pitcher in baseball seemingly). More importantly, Konerko's your captain, your horse and he's been hot as firecracker recently. Sitting him would be the White Sox keeping Josh Paul and Chad Bradford for the playoffs and leaving Mark Johnson at home. Nick has been sulking and he doesn't deserve to start. Let him PH maybe, but no way he starts OVER Konerko. Now Ozzie might think about replacing Wise, but not after winning the last two...I think he stays with the same line-up that got him here.

QUOTE (joejoedairy @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 06:09 PM) 1. Alexies grand slam 2. Floyds performance today Alexei...lol. I would have to go with this GM, but Buehrle's last two starts (even though one was a loss, he was around 120+ pitches) and then winning yesterday on fumes....getting key GIDP's at the moments they were most needed. I go with Buehrle over Floyd for that reason...although Gavin really has a lot to be proud of the way he pitched, and something to build on for next season, as he was fading down the stretch a bit.

Is it split with the Twins? Do the White Sox keep everything, because they won the coin-flip? Does MLB get a higher percentage of the gate? Just curious if anyone knows. Even though it's not a playoff game, it's an extra chunk of money in our war chest for offseason acquisitions which might come in very handy for KW during hot stove time. Theoretically, could the White Sox charge higher or playoff prices for this game if they wanted...? Or is it not up to them to make that decision? (Not that I would agree with raising them, even though they could get away with it...the fans the last four games deserve so much respect for showing up and not booing them, except Vazquez and the bullpen). If they do win, the crowd's enthusiam and support definitely will have played a very vital role in the Sox resurrection.

QUOTE (Felix @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 07:34 PM) Whatever, I still would have pitched Danks. You also have to keep in mind that Danks went to Cooper and Guillen and said he was going through some dead arm/soreness, which is why they shut him down for one week before his KC start that he pitched so wonderfully in... If you look at Floyd's and Dank's IP this year versus career numbers, they're well over, and that has to be of great concern to the front office. Still, it's do or Dye trying. Perkins and Blackburn are dealing with the same issues, they're all in uncharted waters/territory. However, coming off his last very shaky start, when he had a chance to give us back the division lead, I think all bets are off with what will happen. I think the most important thing is to keep the crowd in the game and not let MN jump out to an early lead of 3/4/5-0. That would be a buzzkill. Danks knows he can beat the Twins at home, and Blackburn knows he can hold down our line-up without great stuff (which he doesn't really have on his best day).

QUOTE (rangercal @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 07:17 PM) lifetime stats are overrated to me. 2008 stats can tell you more when evaluating Danks. Fair enough, they've won both times he pitched at Comiskey. He was hit hard in MN and lost, a game we eventually lost 10-6. Three Starts against MN this year.. 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's (W) 6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K's (W) 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K's (L) 17 IP, 19 H, 10 ER, 7 BB, 13 K's (2-1, 5.29 ERA) The thing that gives you the most confidence is the home field advantage, and Blackburn has been bad on the road. Danks is usually better in road games, but he's pitched decently (more or less quality starts) both times at home.

Against DANKS lifetime... Morneau, 7 for 16, 2 doubles and 3 homers EIGHT RBI'S!!! Mauer, 8 for 12 Cuddyer, 7 for 12, 2 doubles, 3 RBI's (who will Gardy sit, Kubel, Young, Span or Gomez??..of course, Cuddyer is just off his injury and not the same player) Brendan Harris, 5 for 10, 2 doubles Jason Kubel, 3 for 7, 1 double, 1 homer, SIX RBI'S!!! Delmon Young, 3 for 9, double, RBI If I was Gardenhire, I think I'd start Cuddyer at 3B and Harris at SS. Of course, normally Punto (1 for 11) and Buscher/Harris would be playing on the left side, but it's hard to ignore Cuddyer's career numbers against Danks. Overall .363 BAA, .540 SLG, .987 OPS http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp...=9&sort=avg The thing that makes little sense is that Morneau, Mauer and Kubel (Hawk's CQ comparison notwithstanding) shouldn't hit him THAT well. Of course, Mauer absolutely kills all LHP, he's close to .400. Whoever is playing LF should just peek over the SS in short LCF and dare Mauer to hit one over his head. He hits more soft singles to LF than Luis Polonia, Wade Boggs or Ichiro.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp...=4&sort=avg Splits against Blackburn Everyone hits him well except for Cabrera, Dye and Konerko (1 for 12) BA is 2 for 3, Griffey homered off him (1 for 2) and Swisher is 3 for 9 with a double. Wise, 0 for 2. Overall, the White Sox hit him at a .319 clip with an .847 OPS. I think Ozzie will stay with Griffey in CF for tomorrow...and probably stick with Wise in LF, just because he's Ozzie and seems to like having him at the top of the line-up for now. I don't think he would bench Konerko and stick Swisher at 1B, although the career numbers would back that up. Their recent play, however, would not. It would be nice to have Anderson's defense in CF though, but this has been a back-and-forth discussion of offense versus defense since 2006 and probably will be forever with BA, wherever he ends up. Baseball, as usual, is a game of hunches and intuition.

After Floyd made the error on the throw down the line in the 6th...he went out to the mound and calmed him down instead of replacing him, which would have been the knee-jerk, chewing and chomping on the gum reaction. The pitchers have all learned to appreciate that you have to fail repeatedly (like Logan) before Ozzie truly loses confidence in you. Not only did Gavin leave the game feeling he accomplished something and righted the ship after the slip, he also got his 17th win. Amazing totals for our "fifth" starter. Good work KW! Too bad Garcia had to go out with an injury, he pitched a very gutsy game. I was getting a sinking feeling that it would be somehow "karma" that he would beat the youngster who we acquired to replace him. Ozzie also did the same thing with Garland. If you noticed, we're really set up well if we can just get through Minnesota. Dotel, Linebrink and Carrasco are all getting some confidence back and the team actually is looking like it's capable of putting a nice streak together again. Heck, maybe Ken Griffey, Jr., will get back another gear and show an amazing capacity to patrol CF in the Trop just like in the Kingdome. Farmer's call on Ramirez GS..."Oh my God, he goes deep again!" Nice to see Uribe, Dye, Buerhle, AJ and Konerko all looking good down the stretch...shades of 2005 again? I'm not going to even think about the Cubs in the WS, we have to beat the Twins first...but it's nice to have hope again after Saturday. Of course, the Twins can rise again and crush our spirits, but I just want to see/hear a great game and hopefully Danks can also man up to follow Buehrle and Floyd. That also reminds me of 05, the way the pitchers would push each other and one start seemed to boomerang with a continued run of success.

Where's one of Guillen's kids when you need 'em for translating?