caulfield12

Thanks...well, the way TB and Cleveland have played against the Angels, taking away their best record in the majors (etc.), I think there will now be some stronger motivation for the Angels to show up...not to mention they're playing at home.

What's wrong with Thome? Sorry, I just woke up (it's 310 am in the morning here) and noticed he was pulled from the line-up. Haven't had the time to read through the whole game thread.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 20, 2008 -> 02:55 AM) It depends on what you mean by "Moneyball." If you mean OBP, SLG, OPS, then you are absolutely wrong; you would be suggesting that baseball has become more sabermetric than anything, and those are just the very basic sabermetric statistics. Moneyball is all about finding what teams do not value and loading your team up with that. The A's have had a good pitching staff for a number of years now and it hasn't had everything to do with the quality of their pitcher, as, instead, they've started to focus their game around defense and building the best defensive team they can. If you were wondering, the 2005 White Sox team was a "Moneyball" team in that it wasn't a big spender and instead focused it's financial resources on the entire team itself, rather than one or two players, and found what was being overlooked by the market - defense. The White Sox and A's were the 2 best defensive teams in the entire majors in 2005, and it's no wonder why both teams were in the top 4 in the AL in team ERA. The Twins also take a Moneyball approach and do have good scouting but also have fantastic coaching and a top 2 manager in all of baseball. That doesn't hurt. Rick Anderson is also one of the most underrated pitching coaches in the entire majors. Not only defense, but they found needed "cheap" speed in Pods (which allowed them to manufacture runs for the first time since the late 90's), leadership from Pierzynski, a player who was willing to do the overlooked "little things" in Iguchi...then they really got lucky with Hermanson for 4-5 months, and Jenks the last 6-8 weeks....as we went through 3 closers in one year. El Duque was a great mentor for Contreras as well that season, to get him back on track. But that's the gist.....Carlos Lee/Ordonez/Valentin The trade for Pods was never about talent...it was about getting rid of Lee's salary and changing (at the time, we've now reverted again) the fundamental composition and approach of the team.

He reminds me in many ways of Buchholz from the Red Sox. Lots of potential, very good stuff (93-94 MPH), a very good frame for a pitcher...but something's just not quite clicking yet. On-the-job-training so far for him, just like Zach Greinke. To tell the truth, I was quite surprised to see Zach make it back from the brink with his social anxiety disorder. It really looked like his baseball career might be over before it started.

Are you sure they might not prefer to stick with Lowrie and Pedroia staying together in the middle of the infield? Granted, Lowrie still has a long ways to go, but he's quickly becoming a fan favorite and his OPS is .858. I don't know when the last time Uribe came close to that...probably the first two months of the 2004 season? That year, his OPS was .833, but it has been slowly/steadily downhill ever since that season, for a number of reasons. Has anyone seen enough of Lowrie at SS to say that he can't play the position long-term? Range? Arm? Since I've been overseas all year, I haven't seen him play at all.

Chicago White Sox records after 125 games.... 2003 (64-61) thought it would have been a little higher, losing those last five games in a row to MIN was the death blow to that team 2006 (73-52) had already begun to sink after being 26 games over .500 at the ASB 2007 (56-69) 2000 (74-51) 2005 (78-47)

Valido has simply become an "organizational" player that will soon no longer be a part of our system. It's time to let the better and younger prospects take his place. Sounds like a good move to get some valuable playoff experience for another player in the org. Final line for Poreda...6 IP, 6 H, 1 R/0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K's, 3.17 ERA now (didn't get win due to a blown save by Link) Beckham, 1 for 4 (single), .533 AVG.

Well...we shall see how they (Broadway/Richard/Poreda/Egbert, etc.) do against the better teams down the stretch. That will be the key. Luckily, we're 2-0 in our last two starts out of the fifth spot. From 2001-2004, the winning percentage from that position was pretty abysmal, something like only 15-20% of the those starts. I think KW simply made a calculation that it wasn't worth trading someone like Poreda for a pretty minimal return of 6-7 starts down the stretch. If they didn't have those conveniently placed off-days, I think there would have been really no choice but to make a move...as giving up (possibly) four more games would have been a bigger difference in the final standings. He also knew that he had Carrasco as a last/final resort, and the September roster call-ups/reinforcements. All things considered, a very positive start. Like Alexei and his baserunning, Cooper needs to work with Richard on his throws to first base before they really come back to bite us in the butt.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 10:13 AM) That's a great observation and one that I wholeheartedly agree with. Maybe Crede and Orlando are both leery of getting injured/re-injured or lots of contact in light of their pending Free Agency? If that was the case, I think I would designate OC for assigment right now if not for the fact that Ramirez, Uribe or Getz would be hitting leadoff and we'd lose the draft picks.

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 10:55 AM) Since it is BP, they will probably use their VORP rating as a discriminator: 1. ARod - 56.3 2. Kinsler - 54.8 3. Sizemore - 51.4 4. Huff - 49.2 5. Quentin - 48.1 6. Bradley - 47.4 7. Youkilis - 46.3 8. Hamilton - 45.5 9. Mauer - 42.3 10. Roberts - 41.6 With Texas, Cleveland, and Baltimore out of the running, it looks like it would be between ARod, CQ, and Youkilis. Sam, Mike or Aubrey Huff? You've got to be kidding. By this theory, Baltimore should actually be good, they have two of the top ten players in baseball. It's one tool, but certainly not the be-all, end-all by any stretch of the imagination. If Huff even finishes in the top 10, or Roberts, I will be completely shocked. The one thing I do like it is seems to value catchers, middle infielders and CF's more highly. And I'm not exactly sure how Milton Bradley, who's basically a DH, is more difficult to replace than Josh Hamilton, who is a very solid defender with a strong arm? Morneau is fading, but he will definitely be in the Top 5 if the Twins win the division.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 09:22 AM) I hope you mean "especially Octavio", because he's been the man, while Linebrink's been on the shelf. No, I meant Linebrink. He was the glue the first half that held everything together in the pen...like Pods, in a very different and less visible way, in 2005. We wouldn't have been able to get to the 10-15 games above .500 mark without him, there's not a doubt in my mind. Since he went down on July 22nd, the White Sox have been treading water until this recent string of games against lower competition (KC, Seattle, Oakland).

QUOTE (Texsox @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 10:26 AM) Crank up the way back machine Mr. Peabody and replace Crede with Maggs inj all thos esentences with; no one will take a chance, he hasn't run, age, health issues, Boras client, etc. etc. Somebody will take a chance It will be a big payday, with incentives for games played. He may or may not be a MLB starter for the next 10 years. I wish him the best, no matter where he winds up. What about Sherman??? Everyone always forgets him!

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 10:13 AM) I have always been a Juan Uribe supporter, but he is not the replacement for Joe Crede when Jow is healthy. I do hope the Sox consider keeping him on the team in 2009. He is a super defender and brings what you want to the clubhouse. He is a team player. In the same vein I hope Joe Crede is back also. I think after what we saw from Josh Fields that he is not the answer at third. There is not much available next year that I can see as far as availabler thirdbasemen are concerned. Some have suggested KW going after Chone Figgins, but why the LA part with him? Maybe just cause we hope they will? KW doesn't have many bargaining chips left to deal...don't see who we could send to the Angels that they would want (besides the obvious, like CQ!). I would be shocked if he dealt Poreda for Figgins, and Fields packaged with other prospects simply won't get it done either (I'm thinking Broadway/Richard/Getz). Konerko? Thome (would he even accept a trade to the West Coast)? Swisher? Those are big assumptions to make. I'm not sure they would accept Konerko's contract, shaky injury status (without a thorough doctor's exam) and then give us their most versatile player to boot. Fields has lost a lot of his luster, and they still have the internal option of Brandon Wood still rating higher than Fields I would think...they made the interesting decision to hold onto both McPherson and Kotchman until they lost most of their value, same thing with Kendry Morales I suspect.

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 07:21 AM) Uribe will be on the Sox in 2009, probably at SS with Ramirez staying at 2B and Fields/Crede at 3B. There is not going to be a lot of demand for a 3B who has only played in 137 games over the last 2 years, is 30 with a bad back, who has a lifetime OPS of .750, with declining defensive skills. Never underestimate Boras... I would prefer Ramirez at SS, his natural position, unless Juanie really comes into Spring Training in great shape. Eventually, Ramirez is going to be your everyday shortstop, and Juan will be gone, so why not start the transition ASAP? And no, I don't see Beckham at shortstop...my preference would be for him to be 1) 2B and 2) 3B. I also don't think we will go into ST with both Fields and Crede on the roster. I think KW needs to pick one, keeping in mind we will still have Getz around as a back-up around the infield. I think KW might try to find a leadoff hitter from the 2B postion, not sure who it is yet and how he'll do it.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 11:42 PM) I don't know about the Royals. I'm still not convinced. They have some pitching in the minors I guess and Greinke is damn good. Aside from Soria do they have any stars in the making? Butler and Gordon ... jury still out. Like somebody said they've been saying a long time KC will be improved. The bottom line is the owner is a joke and allegedly Moore is an up coming GM with some ability. We shall see. I wouldn't bet on them excelling like the Rays next year. Hochevar, Gordon, Moustakas and this year's first round draft pick are all expected to be big-time, impact players. Then they have Greinke and Soria. Those six players are really the key to the future of the franchise....they have finally transitioned from the Mike Sweeney Era into the closest thing to a true youth movement in KC for the past 5-6 years. For the immediate future, they have some pieces like Meche, DeJesus, Teahen and Bannister that have value and could be traded for even better players, if Moore and his Braves-trained staff can identify the right prospects.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 07:16 AM) There's a lot of time left, obviously, but if the season ended today, CQ would be your 2008 MVP, and the league would somehow find a way to not award Kenny as Executive of the Year again like they did in 2005. Alexei CQ Those two moves alone would merit it. I'm sure they will give it to the Rays' GM or Shapiro. Actually, one of the biggest trades of the off-season was Bartlett/Garza for D. Young. If the Twins had kept Bartlett and Garza, I think they would now be 3-5 games ahead of us. A lot of Twins fans are really getting aggravated with Young's lack of speed, hustle, defensive ineptitude and complete lack of plate patience and bad habit of swinging at either first pitches or every single ball out of the strike zone or in the dirt with 2 strikes. Harris isn't a very good fundamental player, either. The irony is that bringing in position players from other organizations doesn't work so well for the Twins usually. I think you have to add Linebrink and Dotel to that list too...they both have played (especially Scott) huge roles in bridging the way from the starters to Jenks. Danks and Floyd weren't such bad moves either, :-). Neither happened in this past off-season, but you have to consider them part of the total body of work in putting together this year's team and recovering from 2007.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 07:05 AM) This is the quickest surrender I have ever seen that didn't involve the French... You're forgetting the First Gulf War/Desert Storm, whatever historians are referring to it as...

PLAYOFFS ODDS REPORT AccuScore ran 10,000 simulations of the remainder of the 2008 baseball season – and so few of them showed scenarios in which the Angels didn’t make they playoffs, they simply rounded up to 100 percent. The rest of the AL playoff race has three spots for four teams, with the Blue Jays – currently in fourth place in the AL East – actually a better longshot than the Yankees. Aside from the Cubs, who have the NL Central locked up, the race is wide open. Milwaukee, likely the wild-card team, is actually in the second-best position, according to AccuScore, and the Mets and Diamondbacks (actually, not true, Dodgers are favored 57/43% over AZ) are favorites in the East and West. American League Los Angeles Angels 100 percent Tampa Bay Rays 94.9 percent Boston Red Sox* 69.9 percent Chicago White Sox 67.6 percent Minnesota Twins 57.0 percent New York Yankees 5.4 percent Toronto Blue Jays 3.8 percent More reasons to be nervous...from yahoo.com/sports (Passan)

If there were ever two games to bet against the White Sox and for the Twins, these would be it. Which means the Twins will probably be crushed, and Richard will only give up 2 runs in 7 IP and Dotel will strike out the side in a 3-2 pitcher's battle doing to the Sox. One can hope. At least we know, worst-case scenario, that Minnesota could only be ahead by one game when they go on their long road trip for two weeks. Heck, by that time, I think a clear favorite will have emerged for POTUS.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 12:34 AM) I would agree with you. I'm just hoping Oz/KW know something we don't know and Clayton will come through. I can't figure out why they wouldn't let Broadway start again compared to Richard. You'd think Richard would fight like hell tonight to get us a win. It's a big game. If Clayton fails again I don't know what to say. I think it's simply because they think that Clayton being a LH pitcher (of course, so is Poreda) gives them a better chance against Ichiro and Ibanez, who are the two best Seattle hitters. Not sure about the difference/discrepancy between SEA W/L percentage against lefties and righties, but I think that has to be part of their thinking. Everyone in the organization seems to think it was a good idea to leave Carrasco in the pen...it's just that there is a huge difference of opinion around here about Broadway, Poreda and Richard and the relative merits of each starting this game. http://www.cappersmall.com/mlb/articles/ML...tchers8259.html According to this table, they are a better team against righties than lefties, FWIW. The information's about two weeks out of date though...

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ Aug 19, 2008 -> 12:36 AM) I know the answer will be "wait until after the postseason," but it appears both Uribe and Crede will be type B free agents. Do you offer them both arbitration? I think you do with Uribe if you plan on him being the starter at 3B, SS or 2B next year for the White Sox. If you want to bring him back as a utility player again, that's another matter. Then I think we should let him see if he can find a starting job somewhere else in the league. With Crede, I think you risk offering arbitration because Boras will want to take him out into the market no matter what. Of course, the obvious danger is that nobody bites and we get "stuck" with him for one season...and he's either non-productive or a constant distraction (about his future and trying to get another contract at the end of 2009) to the team. That's the risk. I don't think it's worth the risk that he comes back to offer arbitration if he's only a Type B. For a Type A player like Cabrera, you definitely will take the draft picks in return.

UNLESS Joe is capable of producing the same type of offensive output he did in the first six weeks of the season. Even then, Juan's a better fielder (this season at least) and Juan has to be hitting close to .300 or above for the last couple of months, because he was below .200 most of the first two months. Does anyone know the exact numbers? First two months Crede 47/172, 9, 29, .273 AVG Uribe 22/112, 3, 15, .196 AVG SINCE Crede 31/133, 8, 25, .233 AVG Uribe 27/86, 2, 10, .314 AVG It would be nice to see Juan pick up his power numbers a bit, but we can afford to carry him with our offense lighting up the scoreboards and his defense preventing numerous runs. With Crede, we're not sure if he will get the power back this season and his defense has been very spotty, at best. He still makes some great plays, but he's starting to remind me of Jose Valentin in 2000.

QUOTE (moragasoxfan @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 10:30 PM) Just to be clear, the only times that Poreda registered 100 mph were last year when he was coming out of the bullpen in Great Falls. There was one time that he registered 99 mph on the stadium radar gun this year, but the team gun said 97. Typical FB velocity during his game is 92 to 96.....but remember, it's not the speed, it's the movement and the command. See Zumaya, Joel. Also, see what happens when pitchers take the mound without a 2nd or 3rd pitch to keep batters off balance.

Does anyone doubt that Brian Anderson will be in the line-up against Felix...? The major highlight of Brian's career so far has been his two-homer game out in SEA against the King.

Both teams are fairly fortunate...the Twins that Liriano was even able to make a comeback. One year ago, I would have thought that Garza and Bonser would be two of their better starters. Maybe Perkins. I didn't see Blackburn and Slowey having this much of an impact, so quickly and so quietly. We've lost Linebrink, Crede and Contreras...in 2005, the only major injury we had was Pods, and we had a pretty signifiant division lead to final hold the Indians off with. The Twins have absorbed the losses/non-performance of Livan Hernandez, Juan Rincon, Pat Neshek, Craig Monroe, Alexi Casilla, Michael Cuddyer, etc., it's just that they have had a much better farm system to replace position players over the last decade. Kubel has finally started to come into his own, after being so highly-touted, like Cuddyer. Those two guys were more like Crede in their delayed big league impact/s. D. Young is starting to play like the Twins thought he was capable of, but his power numbers are still mysteriously lacking. Gomez has been a huge disappointment for them as well...if you look at it statistically, the White Sox should be 4-5 games ahead, but the White Sox find silly ways to lose ballgames the Twins usually hold onto (with just a few exceptions, like the SEA trip) and the Twins' AVG w RISP is incredible, which leads one to think that 1) they're a team of destiny again, or 2) that they will cool down on the road trip.