caulfield12

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 10:44 PM) To me it looked like Dye lost the ball in the lights mid dive the way he turned his head. I really doubt Mack moves out there for Dye. Dye has never looked fast, ever, but he gets to a lot of balls. He has a long stride, he is 6'5". As far as Erstad goes, he has been hitting good for a while now. He has been smacking line drives for about a week or so, unfortunately just at people. The last couple of days those hard line drives have been hits instead of outs. He is going to be a damn good pick up for this team if healthy. It might have been the lights...Dye definitely didn't get a good read on it, and he kind of took an akward backhand dive at it, whereas he should have at least kept the ball in front of him. I was in the RF bleachers and it happened right in front of me. I guess it's just enough that Konerko and Crede are finally coming around and the Twins are about to lose in extra innings, so all four teams in the AL Central are within 1/2 game now, and the White Sox have had the toughest schedule to date.

I was at the game tonight and his velocity is slowly climbing, as some expected/predicted. Consistently 95-96 on the gun, which is a legit reading. A few 94's. Sisco and MacDougal were both geeked up to face the former teams, especially Sisco. Jeremy was throwing 94-95 and Mike 95-96, which is the hardest each has thrown this season (that I've seen). Erstad also is starting to get dialed in...the RBI single up the middle was the hardest hit ball on the night, and he also hit a liner to CF that was caught. By the way, Jermaine really should have had that ball in the 9th inning. He looks very slow out there...I think we'll see Mackowiak moving over there and Anderson in LF more and more frequently. Would be nice to take out Brian Bannister, who really struggled in the spring after being expected to make the Royals' rotation as the #4 or 5. And the Royals' bullpen really is a mess. This is the right time to be playing them, despite their 2/3 against the Twins this weekend. Interesting gamesmanship from Ozzie, I know he didn't want to let Ross Gload get a clutch hit to beat him. Most impressive thing was that the White Sox came back twice against Meche. Lowlight was Sisco's wildness and Matt Thornton continuing to struggle, although he did get the final out in the 8th to keep the White Sox from picking up their 6th blown save in 18 games.

QUOTE(IowaSoxFan @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 01:41 PM) A few things that I got from the game. Massett pitched well to begin with but seemed to lose his control quickly. Bringing in Logan was the right call because you get a cold bat off the bench and hopefully you get him to hit into the double play. Unfortunately Logan didnt appear to have much control either, and that may have been nerves as that is the biggest spot that I think he has been in. I think that Ozzie should tweak the batting order for a little while, move Konerko up to third so he sees better pitches, and drop Thome to fourth so that he has Dye protecting him. I think BA is doing everything he can to get sent to Charlotte. I thought the bullpen performed well, outside of a couple pitches, I would have rather had Mac in there, but he has been worked pretty hard. I guess the situation against CLE was the last comparable one for Logan, when he gave up the homer to Hafner in April of 06? QUOTE(IowaSoxFan @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 02:12 PM) I think Boone will be fine and the experience he is getting now can pay off in August and September. What will tell the most about him is how he comes out and throws next time. It sucks to lose now, but if he would have came through in that spot that would have been a huge confidence builder, unfortunately it didnt pan out but hopefully they can build off it and make each of the young relievers a better as the year goes on. I would like to have seen a six man rotation last year in June and July, I know that is frowned upon, but the way our pitchers were throwing I think they could have used the extra rest. It seems like Garland, Contreras and even Buehrle might have the tendency to overthrow a little with an extra day of rest. Garland's more effective at 88-90 than 90-92 if he can keep his sinker down. Contreras seems to get a better forkball the more he works....I think it's great in theory, but it is almost never done for a significant amount of time at the big league level anymore. And it's pretty hard to take an athlete with pride like Buehrle or Garcia off the mound unless you can prove to them conclusively that something is wrong with them physically.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 23, 2007 -> 08:59 AM) What do Sunday's stats have to do with anything? Placing Erstad, a guy who's OBP over his last 700 ABs is bordering .320, at the top of ANY lineup isn't a good idea, period. Five softly hit, perfectly placed singles aren't going to change anyone's mind about that. The point is, people are selectively leaving out yesterday's stats to make their case. Erstad won't have another 2000 season, but he's not as bad as he has shown recently, because he wasn't healthy. We all know from watching Thomas from 2001-2005 that a player in his 30's (and Erstad's now only 32, not 37 or 38 like Thomas in 2006) can have a very good season if he feels 100%. You have to remember that Erstad missed almost the entire season, of course he's going to be rusty. Look how long it took Thomas to get started last year, he looked like a candidate for release in April and May before he finally got his "muscle memory" back and started clicking on all cylinders. If Erstad is still struggling around .200 in late May or early June, then we can talk. Heck, wasn't Dye in this same position in April/May 2005? I vividly recall one year a veteran Tim Raines came out of the gate more slowly than Erstad. All I know is that when your biggest possible contribution is defensively and you're inserted into just such a situation and through a mental error (Detroit announcers called BA "nonchalant"), you put the winning run on 2nd without having to give up an out via a sacrifice, there's no longer any reason for you to be on the team. He hasn't shown the ability to hit for power minus 2 AB's against Felix Hernandez and he can't get a stolen base when needed, so what purpose does he serve?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 09:33 PM) Not only staying in the lineup, but in the leadoff spot. I'm sure you didn't include Sunday's stats in those lines, did you?

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:37 PM) I see you don't know much about him. That kid is a serious stud. Byrd beat Contreras, the best pitcher in baseball, in the 2005 playoffs. Kennedy looked like a stud when he was coming up in TB, b4 getting lost in Colorado. Tejeda at least has good stuff. Carlos Silva has had stretches in the last five years that he was VERY good, but not as much recently. Gaudin is a classic 5th starter, but he's not horrible either.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:30 PM) Yes. As well as the writers from Baseball America, Hardball Times, Baseball Think Factory, and whichever free-lance scout signed Francisco Liriano. Of course there is. Guillen and Williams knew the right people, played professional baseball, and were afforded the opportunity to continue within the sport beyond their playing days. I don't know for sure whether or not I know more about baseball then Guillen. I do know from his on-field decision making he's hardly a genius. Which is what I originally addressed. What I would like to know is what BA is actually responsible for today? Anything? Apparently, every mistake (even defensively) is excused because of inconsistent playing time and Ozzie's "vendetta" against BA, which was exemplified (to BA supporters) by his comments about Erstad being a better defender (for now). I wonder what would happen if Erstad broke his ankle tomorrow, BA hit .220 for 2 months, and his supporters would still be saying "Ozzie didn't want him to succeed, he would be better off in that Texas clubhouse." QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 08:42 PM) Erstad is a better player than Anderson right now. The best CF on the roster is starting everyday. The two problems with that are 1. I don't think the best CF on the roster is good. 2. Erstad shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the order. After Anderson's lack of hustle in the OF today, I think he should be in Charlotte or simply waived. It seems like he may have given up on the Sox, and he should get a shot to turn it around someplace else. Williams needs to be looking for a starting CF. Well, Gathright and Baldelli are it...unless you prefer Willits?

QUOTE(Jay @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 01:15 PM) It's the only way to get him off of the field. I don't really have anything against Erstad. I'd like Erstad as a fourth OF and backup 1B. I wouldn't mind using the rare managerial trade to ship Ozzie to anywhere on Earth, either. I'm tired of having a manager that thinks what "the team needs" is an automatic grounder hit right to the second baseman every at-bat with weak-to-mediocre defense in center field. Anyone else believe that Ozzie is watching Erstad's game tape from 2000? I can't believe that I spent all of 2005 thinking that Ozzie and "grinding" was part of the reason we won. I feel dirty! Which is one dollar more than you could get for Brian Anderson. Parents can "gift" a car to a child for $1 and a change of the title, but we can't find a taker for BA I'm afraid. Even the DET announcers mentioned he was "nonchalant" about fielding Inge's "double." Everyone in baseball (except BA) knows that Inge can run as well as any corner infielder in MLB. And I've NEVER seen BA try to change his approach at the plate. I don't care if you sit on the bench or are part of the bullpen unexpectedly (McCarthy's excuse), you can't take Crede/Rowand 2002 swings and just flail away up there without making an attempt to shorten up your swing and go the other way, like Crede did against Zumaya yesterday. QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 06:59 PM) uhhhh...??? Simple. There's "potential" and there's a baseball player. BA is like Borchard right now, a gifted athlete who happens to have chosen baseball. Even if he's no longer a great player, Erstad intuitively understands situations on the field, and does what it takes to get the job done, such as hustling out of the box to prevent a double play. I think Ozzie realizes BA would just be another "free swinger" at the bottom of the order and he was hoping that Pods and Erstad at the top of the order would rub off on the mentality of the rest of the team. I think Uribe has that ability to at least understand how to get a runner in from 3rd with two outs or less...at least he does it better than anyone on our team, despite his other AB's throughout a game.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:39 PM) But Garcia's injured and will never pitch in the majors again. It was a different trade, but Hirsh looks fantastic for the Rockies so far. The funny thing is that many "insiders" were predicting Jennings would be the second most valuable commodity after Zambrano on the FA Market next offseason. I think Buehrle might be #1 right now, possibly over Zambrano based on "value" to a team. Zambrano might end up a huge bust with a team like the Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners or Angels.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 06:16 PM) Lets see how we do against the Royals, who have played us tough and have cost us in the past before we talk about the Twinks. The twins and the Tigers last year have made a history of beating bad teams, and playing decent against good teams. The key to this year is beating teams like the Royals. If we play like we did against the Tigers this weekend against good teams, and roll the bad teams we are gong to the playoffs. If we struggle against bad teams this year, its going to be tough. The royals are a better barometer of how we have progressed. Our killer instinct against bad teams has be poor. As far as Aardsma today. How he got beat, thats okay to me If you get beat on a fastball or pitching to a hitter. Tip your cap. If you get beat by walking a bunch of people and then giving it up. Then you feel like you got punched in the stomach. With our pitching we should have the twinks record if not better. The Tigers were 45-30 against the AL Central last year. We don't need to put up our 2005 record, but we need to go 12-7 or 13-6 against the Royals, that's for sure. We're one game under against the Central right now, I think. The encouraging signs are Buehrle, the fact that we actually won 2/3 at Oakland and now we've taken 2/3 against DET and almost swept. If we could only figure out how to contain the Indians' offense and/or beat Sabathia, we'd be okay. We also have 5 blown saves to lead the AL, with three leading to losses (Cleveland Game 2, at Oakland and now today). In the overall scheme of things, we should be 3 games over .500 (10-7), because we came back at Oakland in Game 3 against Duscherer and Street and we didn't deserve yesterday's game at all. Of course, coming into today, New York is 0 for 5 in saves (as a team). Pretty amazing. Well, they say you can't win it in April, but you can lose it, and 1 1/2 games behind is definitely not out of the race, right?

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:25 PM) Wrong. It's winning the World Series, which three of the four teams you just named off haven't done it in a while. I have a ton of respect for what the Twins have been able to do, and what the Indians have put together, but ask 98% of their fans, and I'm sure they would love to have a 100 million dollar payroll and a World Series Championship in the back pocket. Your logic just doesn't make sense. If the fans show up, there is 0 reason to cut payroll. 0. Neither does trading Freddy Garcia for a busted project and a AA project.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:21 PM) win it in the 13th I wonder how long Ozzie will stay with Masset?

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:17 PM) grilli's been known to walk a few. Twins actually fail to rally and lose 3-1 to the Royals. Anything is possible. Of course, now KC is "hot" (2 of 3 versus Twins in this series), right when they come across the Sox for the first time on the schedule.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:12 PM) Yep Looks like we have Grilli if we can get Perez out. PK owns Grilli lifetime, which means he'll probably backwards K or pop out. EDIT: Thought for sure that one would drop too, just like Magglio's! WHEW. At least the Sox bullpen is fighting back and just not packing it in.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:03 PM) After today it'll be very hard for anyone to argue giving more playing time to Brian. Even Crede adjusted his swing to face Zumaya yesterday. Why the HELL does BA take the same exact approach in EVERY situation during a baseball game??? Does he ever actually think out there?

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 03:00 PM) I'd hate to lose another game this year where we were one pitch away from winning. That rarely happened the last two years. 05, not so much....06, it was a pretty regular occurrence with Cotts, Politte and then Jenks in the 2nd half of the season.

QUOTE(Sox It To Em @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:56 PM) lead-off double kill me now You mean a single and a mental error on Anderson....JESUS!

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:55 PM) Haha, don't cite them as authorities, man. They're terrible. AJ can bunt....about as well as Anderson played that ball. That's why BA shouldn't play, how can you NONCHALANT a ball in the bottom of the 10th???????? RIDICULOUS ATTITUDE.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:48 PM) I feel like the biggest jinx. Turned the game on with 2 outs in the 9th. White Sox now tied for AL lead with 5 blown saves.

QUOTE(shawnhillegas @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:44 PM) let me introduce you to john danks That second pitch to Thames was definitely a strike and changed the composition of the entire game...oh, well. Get that run back. And the Konerko DP ball stings a lot more. You know that will come back to haunt you somehow, leaving a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:07 PM) h0ly hamburgers, Dye working the count, then getting a hit. What a concept. Did that pretty well against Millwood last week, or when Buehrle is pitching in general.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:04 PM) No idea how Leyland lets Rubelo hit there, but good for us! PR Anderson?

QUOTE(shawnhillegas @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 02:03 PM) Ahhhh, nothing like facing the Tigers' version Wiki Gonzalez in a big spot, huh? Wiki was a much better hitter for the Padres than Rabelo or Molina will ever be. Didn't Lopez used to pitch for the Blue Jays, or is that my imagination?

QUOTE(G&T @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 01:53 PM) Garland walks Guillen. First baserunner since the first, I think He wasn't going to give in to Guillen. Intentional unintentional walk.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Apr 22, 2007 -> 01:52 PM) Sox giving a great pitched game away (they must think Danks is pitching). 15 LOB with several in scoring position. No, you're reading the box score wrong...has to be. You don't add each LOB throughout the order to get it.