caulfield12

chat today? or everyone expects Garza to mow us down and not watching, lol? C'mon Anderson! Wise would have had it, diving all-out and separating his other shoulder.

I guess Mark DeRosa's about the closest thing you can find to Tony Phillips (minus the speed)...or Chone Figgins. When you think about it, he (Phillips) was kind of a hybrid of the two. I was thinking about Billy Hall too, but I'm not sure how his skills would translate to the AL. Wonder if Lillibridge will ever hit a home run...he's the closest we have, though....or Hitless Alexei. That name thing jinxed him.

All those guys end up getting higher ratings because they're run on so much that they have a ton of assists just by the sheer volume of throws they make. However, with Soriano, you would think they might learn, because while he gets bad reads/jumps, he's always been able to throw the ball pretty accurately and without bringing down rain. By the way, has anyone ever contributed more to a team with JUST one hit than Lillibridge has this season?

Carrasco has decent or average stuff for a reliever...91-93 MPH, nothing special, but MacDougal's lost about 5 MPH off his fastball (like Colon) and that slider isn't consistent enough to work backwards from. At least Carrasco knows how to pitch out of trouble...sometimes a lot better than our Big 4 relievers.

Young doesn't fit because he's a "me-first" player. He's a very bad baserunner, a little bit out of shape...and his fundamentals are non-existent. Young was always the best player on the diamond, so he never had to learn how to do anything but hit, and now it's coming back to bite him. When you're not hitting for 20-30 HR power and you're a drag on the team defensively, then you need to do other things to help your team win...Young just has no idea where the strike zone is sometimes (typical for young/er players who are promoted so quickly and don't spend much time in AA/AAA) and he's very susceptible to breaking balls outside of the zone. It's amazing though, all the talent in that system at one point...D. Young, Josh Hamilton, Jonny Gomes, Baldelli, Dukes, I think Toe Nash was even in the Rays' system. Maybe that's wrong.

I think we're all giving up way too quickly on Fields. His swing has just gotten a little too big, but, by and large, he's been an effective player for us so far this season. I am much more concerned about Thome and Ramirez at this point. Figgins? I could see a one or two year contract, but committing long-term to a player who should be at the point in his career where his speed is declining and he's more injury prone than before is dubious when we have Shelby and Jordan Danks in the pipeline as well. I really see our bigger concern going forward as filling out the rotation after Contreras and Colon are gone. Out of the group of Broadway, Egbert, Marquez, Richard and Poreda, we MIGHT get one so-so/serviceable starter. Poreda just doesn't have the look and feel of a top of the rotation starter, maybe he'll magically discover his secondary arsenal but we can't be counting on it. We have some better arms in A ball, but they're at least 1 1/2 - 2 years away from Chicago...we have that huge gap in pitching talent (only a few with upsides as relievers mostly) at the upper levels. The Angels are in a division where they almost have to wait and see before they go about trading any of their core players...the M's will be improved, but projecting them to win 90+ games at this point is a little foolhardy.

SEVIERVILLE - Boston pitcher Jonathan Papelbon is a right-hander while Tennessee Smokies reliever Jeremy Papelbon is a lefty. But the biggest difference between the Red Sox reliever and his younger brother is the velocity of their fastball. The all-star closer's high-90s heater is overpowering while the minor leaguer's No. 1 tops out at 86 mph. Both can be effective but the younger Papelbon has little room for error as evidence by Saturday's night's appearance. Birmingham's Stefan Gartrell cranked a two-run home run off Papelbon and Gordon Beckham a disputed solo shot as the Barons muscled their way to an 8-3 Southern League win over Tennessee at Smokies Park. "Tonight wasn't his night but he'll be back out there," Tennessee manager Ryne Sandberg said of Papelbon. "He's a little trickster out there at times and he can be effective." The Chicago Cubs' 19th round draft pick in 2006 must rely on finesse instead of power. "Up to this point, he has had some good outings for us and in the past," Sandberg said. Papelbon yielded only one run in four appearances spanning 5 1/3 innings this season before serving up Gartrell's third homer. "A mistake, a hanging slider," Papelbon said. "All my stuff was kind of flat and up in the zone. When that happens they are going to hit it pretty far." Papelbon's line (1 1/3 innings, five hits, five runs, a walk and two strikeouts) reflected that. "I have to work both sides of the plate and mainly stay low in the zone," he said. The 25-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla., had a streak of 35 scoreless innings for Class A Daytona last year. He virtually did not allow a run the second half. "I had a lot of good defense behind me but I located the ball really well and was throwing some good sinkers," Papelbon said. "It was a good pitch for me and every time I went out I had some of my best stuff." Beckham's second homer of the season landed on the berm near the left field foul pole. "A flat slider that hung over the plate," he said. "I thought it was foul but you've got to go with what's called in the field." The Barons (6-3) broke through in the third inning after two were out against starter Jay Jackson (0-2) on a run-scoring double by Tyler Flowers and Brandon Allen's triple. Jackson yielded two runs on four hits over five innings. "He threw better and that was good to see," Sandberg said. "He made some improvement but we didn't do much offensively while he was out there." Tennessee nicked Birmingham's Lucas Harrell (1-0) for a run in the third on consecutive doubles by Brandon Guyer and Darwin Barney but that was all the support for Jackson.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 18, 2009 -> 09:38 PM) For shame that no one had this up yet! Great game for the boys. Double digit walks, not to mention eight runs. Two out of three in Tampa so far, and we have put an ass whippin on their two bet pitchers Kazmir, Shields and Garza are all kind of like co #1's. Sonnanstine is #4 and Niemann is definitely their fifth, the pitcher we beat Thursday. Niemann is probably better suited as a reliever...he throws the ball hard, but doesn't have enough of an assortment of offspeed stuff. David Price will eventually replace him in the rotation.

The Central will be a dogfight. Edwin Jackson is really pitching well for the Tigers. He shut out the M's (in SEA) for 7+ innings and then Seay and Rodney finished it. If they can get Bonderman back and/or Porcello pitches like Verlander in his rookie season, look out. They still don't really have a fifth starter (Robertson/Miner), but I think DET could end up being the best team in the division if Perry and Zumaya can team together with Lyon and Rodney to be a shutdown bullpen. That's assuming that their older guys like Ordonez, Guillen, Everett and Polanco can stay healthy. Minnesota will always be dangerous at home, but without 2006 Liriano and Mauer, they are a 85-87 win team, at best. Their bullpen still has gaping holes, and they will continue to flounder on the road, just as they're almost impossible to beat at home.

Zach Greinke downs the Rangers 2-0 with his first career shutout/CG. 34 consecutive scoreless innings stretching over 2 seasons (19 IP this year)...Harrelson's "man love" is right on this one. Royals now 7-4 and have beaten Rangers two in a row, tough to do in Arlington. Josh Hamilton is almost as lost as Alexei Ramirez. Also, the M's have really turned things around, kudos to Jack Z. and the gang, they lead AL in ERA under Rick Adair. Beat the Tiggers.

Ben Broussard was parked behind Betemit and Josh Kroeger on the depth chart. For all we know, he probably asked to be given the opportunity to find an organization that was a better fit.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Apr 18, 2009 -> 02:57 PM) I highly doubt it either. Which is why i love Maddon, Gardy, M.S. etc.. as managers. And please Ozzie, stop taking out BA in late innings. Give the guy some confidence for once. Wait a second...you're complaining because the move that Ozzie made actually worked out and Betemit got a hit in that situation? Well, you could argue he should have used the PH for Alexei Ramirez, but hasn't Ramirez earned the chance to work through his struggles based on last year...and the falloff to Betemit at SS (then you have to burn another player to put in Lillibridge) compared to Owens/Lillibridge in CF is greater.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Apr 18, 2009 -> 09:25 AM) Unlike, Swisher that's a sample size that's going to rapidly plummet. You're telling me that you expect Swisher to win the AL MVP? Because if he keeps these numbers up all season, there's no way he doesn't finish ahead of even the beloved Jeter.

But Blanco would be more expensive than Josh Anderson, for sure. Maybe Poreda, Allen, someone like that...the Braves won't just give him away for free to us, they have no incentive to do so...and he's their primary "insurance" behind Schafer. Not to mention the fact that Blanco has a major league track record of relative success that Josh Anderson didn't. The way Poreda has looked, I'm not sure they would take him for Blanco. Probably...but he hasn't even been throwing 93-94-95-96 yet. He's in the low 90's. And Matt Thornton can get crushed at 96-97 as a one pitch pitcher, as we saw last night.

Still would like to see him drive in a runner...but the ball he hit today up the middle was too hard to score AJ. At least I've seen a few small signs of progress, and he seems to be making a bit better contact.

Well, we had this argument about Taveras for 2 months at least this offseason... Hopefully Anderson can man up and do the job at least until the trading deadline.

Probably everyone but Alexei Ramirez will hit for the cycle at the rate things are going. Well, I can't say that anything the Twins do will surprise me...at least in their Humpty Dome. Without Mauer. But they're not facing the best of the Angels' starters by a long shot. Of course, when we face them, you know we'll get Lackey/Saunders/Weaver/Santana/Escobar.

We'll see if Konerko has another lingering wrist/hand injury again early this season...he looked really bothered last night by that ball that got into his kitchen.

I don't think Gordon was rushed...he was the equivalent of Beckham coming up sometime in August or September of this season. I do think there was too much in the way of pressure and expectations, but he was ready from a physical standpoint, in the same way Jon Garland was ready in 2000...keep in mind, the Mike Sweeney Era in KC was ending and Gordon is from nearby NEB and there was the expectation in the KC papers and media that he would be the next Royals' franchise player. You can also look at Zach Greinke in the same way...physically, he was ready from the day he was drafted, but the mental/psychological side is much more difficult. Beckham, IMO, has a better "make-up" to deal with adversity than Gordon, and I know how good Gordon was, the Golden Spikes winner. Yankees come back against the Indians and win 6-5 behind a Mariah Carey homer...Reyes pitched decently and had a 5-3 lead in the middle innings, but the Achilles' heel (unless they start using Wood for multiple innings) is going to be exposed, and it's one area where the White Sox and Royals have an advantage. Perhaps the Royals too, with Juan Cruz, Farnsworth (sometimes) and Mahay. Actually, the Indians really pushed Mo Rivera, they had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out but Sizemore and DeRosa went down against the best closer in MLB history. Cleveland falls to 3-8 now, 3 GB.

Don't like the way Thome and Ramirez look, or how big Jenks has gotten. Well, I remember when Matt Guerrier was traded for Damaso Marte, their GM AND McClendon were gloating about how Guerrier was the "next Greg Maddux" and how they were going to have to release Marte anyway because he was out of options and they already had their lefty set-up guys. We all know how that trade worked out. Nice prediction there Pirates phools. Actually, the Pirates missed out (twice, once on Marte, who'd already been with the Yankees and M's) because they didn't realize he (Guerrier) could be a decent long man and 6th/7th inning guy. Of course, it took the Twins to pick up on that. As far as Marquez goes, the true proof in the pudding will come when they have to use him or Richard at some point when Contreras or Colon go down. We all know Charlotte is a "hitter's park," just like BIRM is a "pitcher's park," so let's just give him a year in our system before we jump to premature evaluations. The point with letting Garland and Vazquez go is that KW felt there was a decent opportunity to approximate those numbers from someone like Richard or Marquez at league minimum. Second point, the trade is really Viciedo and Betemit for Swisher, forget about Marquez and Jhonny Nunez.

And God help the White Sox if they figured out how good David Ortiz was going to be and he had remained in Minnesota. Then again, if they had any money, they probably would have picked Mark Prior over Mauer and look where they'd be...

Reminds me of the Iowa football visiting locker room being painted pink...by Hayden Fry.

Well, he made contact on the hit-and-run...for once a ball didn't go in the direction of a fielder, because the SS was covering the bag. The other thing Harrelson has been picking on early this season is dipping the back shoulder, which is causing an upward plane swing and causing the likes of Lillibridge and Getz to hit the ball more into the air. Chris was looking much better in ST...but hopefully he'll come out of it. Ozzie seems satisfied with him at leadoff for now, as long as the team's winning and he's getting walks or making things happen with his hustle. I imagine it would be acceptable (to Ozzie) as long as he had a 320-330 OBP, although that's not ideal. Thome and Ramirez are more of a concern right now. As far as bigger SS's go...well, would Ripken even make the Hall of Fame if it weren't for the consecutive games played streak??? Maybe not. There was that point about 10-12 years ago when you had Garciaparra, Jeter, Tejada, A-Rod, Carlos Guillen, etc. and a couple of others all coming into the league and dominating as offense-first SS's. Vizquel is the last of the breed...until the cycle/trend turns around. But even Omar was a very pesky/dangerous hitter in his prime, much more like Placido Polanco than Ozzie Guillen.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...sside17.article At first, I was really annoyed with Cowley for writing this nonsense, but at least it made me laugh a little bit...with his trying so hard to be cool, hip and funny. BA, please spend more time working on your swing and less time worried about ghosts, thank you. Or maybe the ghosts stole his swing with RISP? Anderson tried to downplay the story before Thursday's Sox-Rays game. ''We got in late, we wanted to get a good night sleep and we figured, hey, if something does come about, as a unit, we can team up against it,'' Anderson said. So he and Quentin were scared of something happening? ''No, I don't believe in that stuff,'' Anderson said, ''but we kind of looked at each other and said, 'Let's just get a room, man, and we'll share it and we can get a good night's sleep.' ''Everyone was chattering about it on the bus, so we were like, 'Dude, let's just get a room together. I don't want to deal with this, even if someone messes with us.' We just wanted to get a good night's sleep.'' During this series, Anderson is sleeping by himself like a big boy -- but in the Guest Towers, the newer, non-haunted part of the hotel. Jermaine Dye also was thinking about having his room changed to the Guest Towers after Thursday's game, even though he's on the third floor of the main hotel. The only members of the Sox' party currently on the fifth floor of the main hotel -- considered the hot spot of the hauntings -- are MLB.com writer Scott Merkin, who has promised to make any female ghost his Facebook friend if he sees one, and catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who dared any ghosts to come into his room. Pierzynski has three rooms on the fifth floor for his family but wouldn't say if he has Room 521 because he doesn't want his teammates harassing him. ''If I do have 521, maybe I'll put my kids in there,'' Pierzynski joked. Now the kicker: The Sci Fi Channel show ''Ghost Hunters'' investigated the Vinoy last July, and according to one of the hotel workers, since the TV crew left, ''there has been a beehive of paranormal activity, especially on the fifth floor.'' Sounds like a fun weekend. Can any of them play center field?

Staying at leadoff: Chris Getz returned to the leadoff spot despite a .263 on-base percentage. "[The numbers] haven't been great, but they've been good enough," Guillen said of Getz, who missed two games because of a bruised right elbow. "We won a couple of games, he was on base a couple of times and we could do some stuff when he's on base. He [allows] the No. 3, 4, 5 hitters to get another at-bat. [Getz] is the one that's going to be there until we think he can't do it anymore." www.chicagotribune.com/sports Nix has never really played any position regularly but 2B, and coming back from a quadriceps injury, that's the LAST place you would want to put him...in CF. Look at what happened to Jose Valentin, a better athlete than Jayson Nix. Besides, the fact is that Nix is only a factor in the possible mix because of his "Gold Glove" defense at 2B, because his bat has been spotty and he didn't hit as well as expected in Colorado. But he's not the type of hitter you would count on having an 800+ OPS.