caulfield12

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 01:50 PM) Liriano, Blackburn, Perkins, Slowey, and Baker is a very good starting rotation. The worst thing from a Sox perspective, all of those guys were produced in-house essentially, with the exception of a few seasons for Liriano in the SF system. Not only that, but in that same time frame, they've also acquired Bonser (struggling mightily, on the border of a trade/release) and drafted Garza low in the first round, leading to D. Young's acquisition. And none of those guys (except Liriano) has what you would call great stuff (compared with Floyd), maybe Baker is the closest, but he doesn't dominate with his fastball.

QUOTE (AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) Is it me or has KC been a house of horror's for us? After starting off a pretty decent 5-1 against the Royals, we're now in danger of leaving KC up only 7-5 in the season series. That's not going to get it done.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) Game Day on MLB must already be writing the Sox off. The single by Swisher was first listed as an out. I guess they just figured what the heck? Of course, Liriano has a no-hitter through 3 innings, although he has had to use 53 pitches so far...the only hope for us is getting into that Twins' bullpen in the 6th and 7th. I'm sure Matt Ginter will keep the shutout going for the Indians.

QUOTE (Brian @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 01:42 PM) Can't believe I am hoping Contreras gets back soon. 11.81 ERA Why can't we EVER seem to produce a decent starting pitcher??? It seems that we should be able to find a starting pitcher more than once a decade (Mark Buehrle).

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Aug 3, 2008 -> 09:45 AM) All the dems need to thank the GOP for having their convention in MN. I think the Twins play something like 14 consecutive road games. Interesting stat of the day...Twins are 4-12 when they are exactly 1/2 game out of first place. Well, if ever there's a day that will test the Sox holding onto first, it's today, with Ginter/Liriano and Richard on the mound, Twins at home and the White Sox on the road. Which, of course, probably means Richard will get his first win and Liriano will get shelled.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 11:56 PM) A Twins fan could say, essentially, the exact same thing. And they're not in first either, so it's a little more justified. I'm also curious to see how Blackburn and Perkins handle the extra workload, though the same could be said for the Sox and Floyd and Danks too. I just find it hilarious that people are jumping to conclusions when the Twins have a 6 game, 14 game, and 10 game roadtrips ahead of them. Over the next month and a half or so they'll play around 75% of their games on the road...that could take a toll on them as much as anything. So sit back and f***ing relax...there's 50 or so games left to be played. I think it will be interesting to see how good Liriano is this time around...psychologically, they have the edge, with Liriano's return, their overall "better" play over the last two months than the Sox and the fact that ten more of their games down the stretch are against sub .500 teams, vis a vis the White Sox. As in 2003, it could go either way. They have four out in Anaheim, three in Oakland and three in Toronto, as well as four at TB and a pair of series at Baltimore and Cleveland, who could turn out to be spoilers. The exact numbers are 30 of their next 45 games (.6667) on the road...we're in a position to knock DET out of the hunt, and then there's the logjam with the Yankees, D-Rays and Red Sox over in the AL East.

QUOTE (Winning Ugly @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:41 PM) Really....50 games left and we squandered the lead to a Twinkies team without Santana. Or a healthy Liriano... Or Torii Hunter, Radke, Jacque Jones, Denny Hocking, Koskie, Guzman, Rivas, David Ortiz, Matt LeCroy, Jason Tyner, Lew Ford, etc.

QUOTE (rafacosta @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:19 PM) 14 hits...this is going to be a blow out...prolly 10 runs and 22 hits for KC. Your estimate might turn out to be too low. What happened to this staff? It's not so simple as Contreras and Linebrink being out. We were leading the AL in staff ERA about 3-4 weeks ago, and our defense was at least adequate. Oh, by the way, former Sox pitcher MATT GINTER is starting against Liriano tonight in Minnesota. That sure inspires confidence.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:19 PM) Awful decision to not let Wasserman start the inning. Do you really have tremendous confidence that Wasserman could have shut down the Royals, the way he's pitched this year? I think half of Esteban German's hits this year have come against the White Sox. And they're playing without two of their better players, DeJesus and Grudzielanek.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:18 PM) Winning is overrated when you can possibly get a starting pitcher a win. Yeah, Thornton should have faced Mauer and Morneau the other day...but we've seen how well Thornton and Dotel have looked recently. If it weren't for Esteban German's idiocy, we probably would have lost the game yesterday...as the bases should have been loaded with no outs. If DJ Carrasco's our #4 reliever, then we are in real troubles here, folks.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:16 PM) Ozzie sends Buerhle out there again. Lovely. Who would you put in, seriously? Wasserman? Well, that Sisco for Gload deal looked promising way back when...at least to some. NOW we really have no choice but to go to the pen.

QUOTE (AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:12 PM) We need some.... If our problem is offense in KC today, with every ball jumping out...then we are doomed. We have no bullpen (except Jenks) and very shoddy overall defense around the field, with the exception of Uribe recently. First baserunner stranded today, and it's in the 5th inning already. Against Kyle Davies. And Soria has been one of the top 5 closers in baseball this season. Well, we have 9 more outs before Soria. Just seems like one of those games where the Sox just stopped pressing/pushing the lead and relaxed a bit. Seen enough of that this week!!!

QUOTE (Winning Ugly @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:10 PM) Anyone know who is going for the Twins tonight? Slowey, who pitched like Cy Young the first game of the series earlier this week to set the tone...

QUOTE (AWhiteSoxinNJ @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 03:06 PM) What's worse the Buehrle today is that we've gotten only 3 runs of off Davies so far, he blows!!!! This is like that start he had at Minnesota (where he was tipping his pitches) a few years back...or one of his Oakland starts. Ugly, especially on national television. We're definitely missing something...could be out of first place by 1 1/2 games with Richard going tomorrow and Liriano starting Sunday at home. FWIW, this would have been a nice place for a Masset or Loiaza type to eat 2-3 innings...unfortunately, Carrasco is that pitcher for us now, but we've been forced by circumstances to make him a 7th inning important set-up man.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 08:06 AM) Tony Gwynn, Johan Santana, A-Rod, Soriano Have any of those players won a World Series? I guess Soriano did with the Yankees, and it's hard to criticize Johan Santana...whose Twins' teams never had the depth to get past the first round. But it is very curious how Soriano has moved around so much (for a player with his offensive skills) and hasn't won much of anything but big contracts since leaving the Big Apple. A-Rod? Well, I guess at SS, but I don't think we could have won in 2005 because so much of our payroll would have been sunk into his contract, and we wouldn't have been able to add on Hermanson, El Duque, Vizcaino, AJ, Iguchi, Pods, etc. However, it would have been nice to see, and he would have been closer to the Iowa hometown of his best friend from Scores, lol. Maybe too far from Madonna, though.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 07:51 AM) Having 2 guys who don't play the field cripples the roster. Having Griffey paired with Konerko or Thome paired with Konerko...it just doesn't make much sense to have 2 aging LH hitters. I know Everett sort of worked out in 2005 as a replacement for Thomas, but not by much! I mean, if Griffey really plays well and fits in AND wants to stay, he might be a much less expensive option that Thome, and we no longer will be receiving an offset for Thome's contract from the Phillies either.

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 07:55 AM) Carlos Gomez Vince Coleman and Willie McGee were two of my favorite NL players in the 80's and early 90's...when you mentioned Gomez, I thought back to Lance Johnson (who couldn't find any playing time in that Cards' outfield) and "rabbit ball" on that searing hot artificial surface. Felipe Lopez is an interesting name....only 28, just waived by the Nationals, has the versatility to play 2B and SS (although not a good defender, only 3 years removed from the Silver Slugger Award)...I wonder if he would be a better option than Uribe? Well, he's at least a player to keep an eye on for 2009.

I was thinking about this over the last couple of days....since the Griffey, Jr., deal. In my lifetime (and I'm 38), we've had Fisk, Baines, Sosa, Frank Thomas, Seaver, Steve Carlton (at the VERY end), Ventura, Michael Jordan (sort of), Bo Jackson, Jim Thome and now Griffey... Which player OVER the last 25 years would most liked to have seen in a White Sox line-up? Barry Bonds? don't think so Cal Ripken, Jr.? Well, that would just seem weird I guess! Kirby Puckett? the hometown angle would have been a nice story...much better than the reality behind the scenes apparently Ozzie Smith? Nolan Ryan? George Brett? Mike Schmidt? Reggie Jackson? Rod Carew? Pete Rose? Randy Johnson? Greg Maddux? Tom Glavine? Tony Gwynn? Johan Santana/Joe Nathan/Joe Mauer/Justin Morneau/Torii Hunter? Chris B. Young? I listed mostly HOF times to get the "ball rolling," but I am sure there are many good ones that I left off the list.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Aug 2, 2008 -> 02:14 AM) If that were to happen, our team would be sick nasty offensively and defensively... I think Ramirez is much more valuable in the middle infield than he would be in CF, especially due to his range and arm strength. What is the likelihood of being able to deal Konerko in the off-season, and at his lowest possible value? Aren't the odds at least 50/50 that Konerko has a more significant injury (the oft-rumored congenital hip problem/s)...and that there's at least a "pretty good" chance he could return to .280, 30, 100 RBI form with the Sox next year, pushing Swisher back to CF again? Everyone wonders where the power has gone and WHY his drives that used to go out routinely are now dying on the warning track, and KW concurred with that concern by dealing for Griffey when he had the opportunity. Even with Ramirez's OBPS hovering around .800 for much of his hot streak, I think he maxes out around 22-26 homers per year...those are All-Star numbers in the middle infield, only so-so for an OF. Perhaps he will also learn the craft/art of basestealing, although projecting him as a Soriano-esque 30-30 type of player at this point is really pushing it. Unfortunately, the idea of a Getz and Ramirez pairing seems to be getting more and more traction as an internal option...and I just hope that Getz is more like Aaron Miles and less like Willie Harris or Richar. Going with Juan Uribe out of desperation again at 2B doesn't seem too great of an option either. I hope A. Russell can "man up" this offseason and polish his game enough to become a more reliable version of Masset/MacDougal.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:56 PM) i refuse to put any more relavance in his closing stats with the astros and A's, than I would with them for the Royals, none of those teams contended i mention the royals as that was the last team he was a closer for Both the Astro's and A's from 2004 won over 90 games...so I think that it the definition of contention. The 2000 Astros, the other main instance when he was a closer, they had the same record as last year's White Sox team, so I will give you that one. At worst, he would have been considered an "average" closer at the MLB level though. Also, he has 844 strikeouts in 688 career innings pitched, so he obviously has the "stuff," at least before the surgery, to get the job done. But it's what's between the ears that is the most important for every player.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:48 PM) if griffey is butchering plays in CF, costing us games out there ala Mackowiak, you'd have to think that Ozzie would stop putting him out there. even though our defense has been pretty bad lately, ozzie seems to put the best players defensively on the field at each position if he can help it (Uribe is probably better at 2B than Alexei, but you obviously need Lexi's bat in the lineup) I'm not sure if I agree with that assessment....maybe the sloppy Ramirez of the last couple of weeks is a downgrade from Uribe, but it's not even close when you add the offensive impact, and the mental impact/psychological lift he has on the team when he's raking the ball. You could even argue that Uribe might be better at 3B than Crede...19 errors, despite the many great plays, just doesn't cut it. And Joe's bat has been missing in action since the first two months of the season. Somehow, he'll end up with between 20-25 homers and 70-85 RBI's, but Joe Crede has always been something of an enigma. You want to argue that Crede is great, but he's simply very good...with occasional flashes of greatness, but not quite a consistent All-Star or Gold Glover. As with Magglio, I don't think you can take the risk to sign him to a huge contract...despite the obvious flaws with Fields' defense and his very big/long/loose batting stroke. We already have lingering concerns w/ Konerko and Contreras for 09/10, I don't think we can afford to add Crede to that list. And you might have to add Linebrink to the list as well...he has been overused and pushed to the limit the last five years, it's no wonder he is starting to break down.

QUOTE (BobDylan @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:38 PM) That Dotel guy has never been in a pressure situation. Cook me a Sloppy Joe. Dotel was a closer with the Astros and A's, and, when healthy after surgery, the Royals. Look at Howry, Foulke, Takatsu, Hermanson and Jenks. At least three of those guys were converted from starting pitchers earlier in their careers. I don't think there's any magic recipe...you either have it or you don't. I do think Thornton might have electric stuff...but, for whatever reason, he just doesn't have the mental strength (like Jenks) to gut it out when the chips are down and we need that big out to end an inning. MacDougal was also a former closer...and, Aardsma and Sisco also failed for a myriad of reasons, but Mike M. had a fairly decent set of lifetime closing stats before coming here. Once again, as mentioned, doing it in Chicago in the heat of a pennant race is different that performing in Pittsburgh or KC. I think the Brewers are realizing how tough getting over that hump is....a week ago, everyone was favoring them to run down the Cubs. Now they're five games out and the jury is out whether they will recover.

QUOTE (ChiSox35 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:35 PM) It does get old, but so does blowing a multi-run lead against the Twins. You don't hear much verbal ass pats aside from the generic spiels when we're playing KC, but who has been nipping at our heels all season/taking vital games from us in heartbreaking manner: Royals or Twins? Well, the Twins will have 5 division championships in the last seven years if they can overtake us...with a very modest payroll compared to what the White Sox and Tigers are putting out there on the field. You have to admire that, that they could survive and even prosper losing David Ortiz, Santana, Radke, Guardado, Hawkins, Koskie, Guzman, Rivas, Mientkiewicz, AJ, Hunter, and turn around and become competitive again in such a short period of time. Have they won anything? Heck, no. But you have to say in many ways they are the second most successful team after the Braves in recent years (I'm not going to compare them to the Yankees or Red Sox, who operate on a different set of expectations and financial considerations). Have they stuck their necks out there and made a big acquisition to put themselves over the top? No, unless you consider the likes of Tony Batista, Bret Boone, Rondell White, Ruben Sierra, Rick Reed, etc., from the scrap heap to be big impact moves. I think the only flaw of Ryan and Smith was their fear to deal any of their minor leaguers, which has also plagued the Angels until recently. I don't know what KW is doing, I think he realized in 2006 that you can make too many moves and change the fundamental nature of the club too much, even though all the moves at the time seemed to be improvements, at least on paper. Time will tell with this Griffey move....how it impacts our CF defense, Wise/Anderson, and, most importantly, Konerko, who we still have to pay quite a bit of money to in 09 and 10.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:19 PM) I actually think our offense and starting rotation will be fine and even above average, especially the offense. The problem is the bullpen is injured and performing terribly, and I'm not sure if that is going to change. Also, I think the defense will cut down the error totals as time goes on, but our lack of range on defense could get us killed. It just feels so much like 2003, hopefully I am wrong though because like in 2003, I love this roster. It just feels uneasy right now. Let's not forget, the Twins lost four in a row earlier in the season at the Cell. Both of these teams, along with the Tigers, are quite flawed. For whatever reasons, Thornton and Dotel really seem to struggle when we have huge outs to get...the outs that Hermanson and Jenks routinely got to end games in 2005. I don't know what will happen...sure, like in 2003, the White Sox are a better team on paper, but that doesn't mean much at all. The scary thing is that the White Sox were clearly a better defensive team at the beginning of the season than the Twins, and now they're not. You look at Crede, Cabrera, Ramirez and Swisher in the infield, those are four guys capable of winning Gold Gloves, although Cabrera's losing range and I don't Joe's 100% healthy. After the Twins beat up on the Indians and probably jump into first place by a game or so (because we always figure out ways to lose one game we should have against the Royals), they play 30 out of 45 games on the road. Counterbalanced against this fact is the looming presence of Liriano...probably to replace Hernandez. The irony is that the 2005 team with Pods and the bullpen tried in some ways to mirror Twins' ball, especially with the fundamentals, execution, sacrificing yourself for the good of the team (I'm thinking Iguchi primarily)....KW wanted to build a team to compete with Minnesota, it happened for one season...but then we added Thome to replace Rowand, Konerko and Dye seemed to get "old" the last couple of seasons and now we have Ken Griffey, Jr. Thank god for Quentin, Ramirez, Danks and Floyd...because our farm system hasn't produced much of anything since Buehrle/Rowand/Crede. At least there is some moderate hope for the future, although I expected a lot more out of Swisher than he has delivered. Still, the White Sox are in a vulnerable position, with no prospects in the pipeline (well, Poreda I guess is at least a year way) and yet a rapidly declining/aging team looking to replace Crede, Thome and Cabrera...and the biggest concerns are probably the health (mentally and physically) of Konerko and Contreras, who we are both on the hook for $35-40 million over the 09/10 seasons.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 07:22 AM) I certainly see your point, I just think Gio and Aaron Cunningham, maybe even Chris Carter, will come back to haunt the White Sox. Carter's raking by the way. I just hope Quentin maintains his current level of success over the years. Because all three of those guys could crack Oakland's lineup sooner than you think. Especially Gio. Well, baseball is filled with guys who have done it in the minors and could never translate that to MLB success. I'm not worried about Cunningham, like Rowand or Josh Reed, he's not a great fit for Comiskey...where you need outfielders who can consistently hit 25-35 homers. More of a 5th outfielder, I think, long-term. Carter could be great...but so could Brandon Allen. Who knows? That's why the minor leagues are so interesting...there are so many cases like Buehrle, Piazza, Pujols, Alexei Ramirez...where talent flies under the radar or is undervalued or underestimated.