caulfield12

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 03:06 PM) It's sad that even with a one run deficit, this game feels out of reach. If not Escobar, we'll be facing Shields and Rodriguez. This offense is dreadful to watch, regardless of the opposing starter. The aforementioned pitchers just about closes the game. Please update the McCarthy watch...or cancel it, I think he's doing to AAA tomorrow.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 03:04 PM) Excuse 1 - Weather Excuse 2 - Injuries Excuse 3 - ??????? The Answer - Greg Walker sucks as a hitting coach Tough schedule...we've face 23 consecutive Cy Young contenders throwing from 6-10 pitches each that not even Al Kaline could do anything with.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:56 PM) It is true. Actually a guy I wouldn't mind having is Jacque Jones of the Cubs. I know he's not a star but he's a very good role player who can play all 3 outfield positions (albeit he's a lefty bat which I know doesn't help the Sox issues against LHP) but I've always been a fan. That said the Cubs aren't going to give up that soon. However, I think Jones is a guy who not only makes the team stronger while Thome is out, but would make them strong once he gets back as well. Plus it means Anderson can be down in AAA and Erstad/Pods would get more rest with Jones getting a ton of Ab's (as well as spelling Dye out there). So much for momentum.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:52 PM) Tigers win on a walkoff by Inge. Every Sunday home game seems to be a walkoff. And he was hitting .145 going into that at-bat. At least someone can stop Santana, or at least neutralize him. On the bad side of the ledger, we're back to 4th place in the division if we don't come back and win.

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:44 PM) And that pretty much sums things up. The pitching has been good enough to contend. But the problems with thin lineup are bigger than Thome being out. Crede, Konerko, AJ, Dye, Mack have all performed worse than what I would expect. The problem is that it may not be a slump for some of them -- it may just be who they are at this point (Crede, AJ in particular). The Sox need to make a trade. And what do they have to trade? It's a classic case of the desperation, shake things up move...getting someone like Willits from the Angels would probably cost us Haeger and-or Broadway. We're stuck. Maybe Anderson and Haeger/Broadway for Ryan Church. We need to do something. Otherwise, we'll just have to dangle Buehrle out there for the best possible return for 08 and beyond and cross our fingers identify the right player/s to acquire in return. WOW!!!

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:42 PM) ....and that would've scored a run. There went that game out the window. Thanks Sweeney, if you're not going to hit, at least hold the runner to first. That's the second time today. Guess they're going to Aardsma.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:38 PM) More incredible contributions by our bench players. Ozzie really should try the hit-and-run more with Mackowiak at the plate. AJ's and now Rob's at-bats have not exactly been the highlights of the game in terms of "small ball." OUCH. Those Phoenix NBA jerseys are uglier than the 1983 Sox jerseys or even the Astros' JR Richard jerseys.

QUOTE(3E8 @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:31 PM) Bulls sweep We must be near league-lead in quality starts, no? No...around top third. Intentional walk to Erstad here? The way the Sox are hitting, it might be the best approach. Of course, it won't happen, but it would be hilarious. Meanwhile, Erstad is 14 for his last 41 or something like that. 15 for 42. .357

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:22 PM) I wish I could see something that would make me think we can win over 85 games this year. Well, at least we're not sending Brandon McCarthy to Charlotte...we would have been worse off with Brandon in the rotation, and Garcia's struggling too, as predicted.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 02:19 PM) They really do act like Erstad's family members by trying to make excuses for why he would do something bad. He was safe...had a terrible slide though. He went on first move by Buehrle. Meanwhile, we're two innings away from a collision with the Angels' pen again. I was about to say this is one of the best innings I've ever seen Mark throw and then, poof, it's a run on the board.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 01:24 PM) I wonder how many times this year Erstad has grounded out to the 2nd baseman and Konerko has struck out in the same inning? Every Sunday a hero? Thames just hit a blast off Santana to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:17 AM) Aardsma is a very different beast than Anderson and McCarthy. Aardsma has heat and enthusiam on the mound, something that's clear from watching him. I don't think it's possible to dislike Aardsma for me even if he were going bad. With Anderson and McCarthy, the thing that bothers me most is that everybody's going crazy over Ozzie Guillen and I a. believe that neither of them resembles a good ballplayer and b. believe that McCarthy wasn't better than any of our starters last year, b2. Anderson probably deserves what's happening to him now. It isn't because Ozzie's racist or irrational or hates young players -- it's because Brian did something to disrespect Ozzie's country, or to disrespect the game, and he probably deserves it, IMO. I can second-guess Ozzie, sometimes, but I put this situation on BA, KW and then Ozzie. KW shouldn't have put him on the roster if he knew that Oz has got serious issues with him. I'm glad he did so well for us but I always knew he'd go back to normal. I'd have preferred trading him after 05. (Easy to say now.) (Besides, I don't have as much contempt for him, Podsednik or Garland as I do BA and McCarthy.) Yes, Erstad. I still prefer Erstad to BA. I think BA has a terrible swing. But that's not a discussion for this thread. I believe this thread is about Brandon McCarthy sucking, and I'm glad to see it. 3 runs in first two innings today 9.47 ERA Looks like he will be headed to AAA after they tried skipping his turn once and pitching him out of the bullpen this week. Already at 70+ pitches and only one out in 3rd. Three walks and HBP in first inning...he's struggling big-time with mechanics now...FB down to 87-88. 5 runs now, 10+ ERA, 32 hits in 19.6 IP

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 11:16 PM) More power, less injury prone, and he's having a much better 2007 season. I think the odds of Rowand getting hurt, playing the style he does in the OF, are arguably greater than Erstad getting hurt this year... Although there's a part of me who would like to bring back Thomas, Rowand, Everett and other Sox "leaders," see the team struggle just as mightily for a stretch, if only it would help many to realize we didn't win in 2005 or lose in 2006 due to Rowand's presence.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ Apr 29, 2007 -> 03:10 AM) A guy who's hit for s*** his whole life--do you think he's going to step right in, get minimal AB's and tear lefties apart like there's nothin' to it? Eduardo Perez offers nothing to this team. The guy sucked to begin with, and he's going to suck more now. He's 37 years old and hasn't seen a major league pitch since September of last year. Pablo Ozuna is a better option than Perez. And frankly, I think this guy should be batting lead off against lefties. Put Ozuna in at DH, bring up Josh Fields and platoon him with Mackowiak. That would be fine, if Fields had more than one or two weeks' of experience in his entire life in LF. His offense is a big enough issue at AAA, and then you want him to learn LF in the big leagues "on the job" while in the heat of a competitive division race? That type of pressure destroyed (at least temporarily) Anderson and Borchard, along with many other Sox prospects who couldn't be incubated in Pittsburgh, KC, Tampa Bay, Miami, etc.

QUOTE(Jeremy @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 07:54 PM) The problem is that he's still slugging a paltry .321 and hasn't topped .400 in any of the last six seasons. He can hit around 30 doubles and a few home runs but when you don't hit for average or take walks that's just not good enough. How is Rowand any different from Erstad, except Erstad is more fundamentally sound and a better all-around player?

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 09:29 PM) I hope KW gets Rowand. Charles Haeger and Anderson for Ryan Church

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 09:13 PM) I think we have more blown saves already this year than we did throughout 2005. 19 blown saves, 73% conversion rate overall for the bullpen.... OTOH, we already have 6 in 22 games, which would put us on a pace for 44 blown saves and a coronary.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 09:11 PM) Sweeney reminds me so much of Sean Burroughs. I don't see any possibility that he can dominate at this level. And if he does dominate, it's going to be in a Mark Grace/Olerud fashion....not like a 4-5 type hitter, as Borchard was once predicted to be. You certainly can't expect him to hit 20-25 homers as a rookie. I think .265 with 10 homers and 55-65 RBI's would be a realistic expectation, maybe 10-12 steals. QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 09:14 PM) If Perez receives enough incentive (ie, money) to return, and understand his stay in AAA could be relatively short, perhaps he would. One of Cintron or Podsednik should be gone by midseason. That's another problem, Perez is at least a week to ten days away from being able to play after having the last month or so off.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 09:02 PM) I agree with you, here. Except we'll likely see Perez sharing times with Sweeney at DH and Mackowiak/Ozuna splitting time in LF. Guillen won't forsake his veterans for playing time in the outfield. An even bigger question is whether KW will go for a bigger "name" solution over the next two months than Sweeney, and how much he will be willing to give up...in terms of mortgaging a little of the future to fight it out to the best of our ability this year.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 08:12 PM) Another good AB for Erstad. We'd have a couple of runs tonight if not for our bench players in the lineup. Erstad 13 for his last 35.... .371

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 07:53 PM) He's not as big of an asshole as his brother, but he's close. His pitch count was up and he's coming off some shoulder problems and didn't pitch much at all this spring. He got knocked around (rusty) the first couple of times out, but he's back now. We had our chances to score and simply didn't get in done, and we let him settle into a rhythm. Erstad gets on in the bottom of the first and the complexion of the game might have changed, with Weaver coming into this game a big question mark.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 07:37 PM) Washburn was been pitching well. That's not good for us. Man, Boras wasn't kdding about Weaver being ML ready when he was originally drafted. I think Erstad is the only one swinging the bat well now....and Jermaine.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 07:24 PM) This game should be tied 3-3 right now. Sox aren't helping out Garland. He's given up 3, but Weaver has been hittable to the tune of three runs by now as well. Dead bats. Garland hasn't helped himself with that ball hit back up the middle by Aybar. Normally, he prevents those two runs from scoring.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 07:21 PM) You'd think at home on a nice night against hittable pitches we'd score some runs. Maybe "doomed" is the right word. We are gonna face better pitchers than Weaver w/out Thome. Weaver is pitching well so far. He's making them beat him a single at a time, and we're not a fast team on the basepaths. It's not an accident he went 9-0 to start his career last year.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 28, 2007 -> 07:21 PM) Why the hell is Cintron batting in front of Uribe? The alternating Lefty/Right thing...