caulfield12

QUOTE(Beltin @ May 2, 2007 -> 10:59 AM) That is an interesting idea. Can Baines and Walker swap roles? Harold always had a pretty good approach at the plate. I don't see why Tony Gwynn or Wade Boggs couldn't be brought in for a couple of weeks as "guest" instructor, although anything like this in the middle of the season smacks of desperation, and it would also cause Walker to feel insecure. Then again, with our line-up struggling like this, a hitting coach should be willing to try almost anything if seemingly nothing is working, even a sacrifice of bats like Jobu in Major League.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ May 2, 2007 -> 10:54 AM) Give me a break. You would trade our best hitter for Aaron Rowand? It sucks having grinderstad and pods in the outifield, but you have to be on crack to trade Thome for Rowand. Your what hurts? This is so ridiculous as to be almost beyond comprehension. One month of a hot Aaron Rowand doesn't equal Jim Thome's presence in the line-up. Actually, his absence is showing exactly how valuable his presence is...

QUOTE(Jimbo @ May 2, 2007 -> 10:46 AM) Ozzie needs to chew this team out, break things, hell sacrifice Cora to the baseball gods. Walker will be gone before Cora. Heck, Baines will be gone before Cora.

QUOTE(Texsox @ May 2, 2007 -> 09:33 AM) Not loyal to Walker, I worry that wholesale changes would take weeks to learn and ultimately hurt more than help. It almost smacks of a white flag move way too early in the season. The change, as I posted earlier, should have been made before Spring training began. Most studies have shown that changing pitching or hitting coaches in mid-season yield temporary positive results (2-4 weeks), but the overall performance after the change is almost indistinguishable from pre-change performance. It needs to be done in the offseason, and it needs to be a system/organization wide change in philosophy.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ May 2, 2007 -> 08:45 AM) I say anyone from the twinkies organization. They been doing things the right way for so long. The middle of the Twins' line-up is an exact replica of ours. The only difference is the players like Punto, Bartlett, Tyner, Casillas and Castillo are better fundamental players than our "all or nothing" attack of Uribe, BA, Mackowiak, Molina (worst catcher in WS history by far), Crede, Cintron, etc.

QUOTE(klaus kinski @ May 2, 2007 -> 08:00 AM) Something that should have been done in the offseason needs to be done now. Wake up front office. Someone tell Williams the meter is running and there is no indication things are changing. Firing hitting coach wont put a threat in the line up. Fill in players like Mack, Osuna Terrero and Cintron just arent every day players. Therein lies the problem...you can't go out and give up your resources (minor league pitching) to fix problems like LF or DH unless you have almost 100% certainty that neither Pods or Thome will come back 100% Mackowiak and Ozuna is fine as a 4-6 week solution, but not six months. Although there are quite a few that would prefer that option to having re-signed Pods, or at least it seems that way. I do think KW's really going to have to do some serious "stewing" about the direction of this organization, and it might have to come even before the trade deadline. We are aging (Thome, Contreras, Iguchi, AJ, Erstad, Dye) and slow...(Crede/Konerko). Or both. I think the end of the line is coming for this particular line-up, as there just seems to be something "missing" with this team, and its now been evident for at least three months of regular season play. And it's not just BA, Garcia or Brandon McCarthy you can blame...it's institutional, endemic, a "system" problem that permeates into the minor leagues. KW was so fortunate to put together that mix of talent in 2005, we started thinking the same things people were saying in 2000... Dynasty. Waves of pitching. Minor League Organization of the Year. Joe Borchard. Atlanta Braves. The only thing different today is we have better pitching, but our core of position players is much older than the 2000 group...Durham, Lee, Konerko, Valentin, Ordonez, Thomas and Singleton were all in their 20's or early 30's at that time. And that line-up wasn't enough to offset the pitching problems, injuries and lack of development at the minor league level (compared to the immense hype for the 2000-01 pitching prospects). QUOTE(Brian @ May 2, 2007 -> 08:13 AM) What's Eddie Murray doing these days? Actually, I think he is LA or something. We would probably just promote a minor league coach to the position. Don't think that would help much. Make a change if you replace him with someone respectable. I think Murray's probably a better hitting instructor than the -ss he was with the media during his playing career, but he doesn't exactly inspire me. With the veterans in our line-up, it's got to be someone they will listen to and respect. I know that Charlie Lau Jr. is always hyped here in KC by Royals fans, but I don't know much about him, as we're all more familiar with his father's books and what he did with George Brett. Believe it or not, the Royals' offense is actually in worse shape (especially driving in runs from scoring position) than the White Sox "arsenal." QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ May 2, 2007 -> 08:10 AM) It's a joke, an absolute joke. I can't remember ever watching an offense this anemic. I mean, how many times have we gone up 1-0, 2-0 and just said "That's all they will score, better pitch a GEM " only to see it become true, and (generally) like last night, the pitcher blows it? The offense is so damn predictable. Homerun or out. Homerun or out. Thats all that happens. The ENTIRE LINEUP sucks right now. There is not a single person in the lineup that I would keep if I were to completely rebuild the team in my own fashion. Not a SINGLE one. Something needs to change. Whether it be Walker going, Ozzie going, new players, etc. etc., SOMETHING needs to change. We can not just become complacent with this s***. That's the problem for KW...he doesn't have the luxury of completely rebuilding this team in the middle of the season. Those changes can't be made entirely until the offseason. Just like 2003 was the beginning of the end for the Lee/Ordonez/Valentin/Thomas group, I think this year will be the same thing for our current offense. A few of our contracts (Thome, Hall, Konerko and AJ), go through 2008 and beyond. Iguchi, Uribe, Erstad, Pods, Dye, Crede and most of our bench could easily be gone after this season. The complicated thing is keeping Thome and Konerko if you're rebuilding an entire offense around an aging player (Konerko) and one in the twilight of his career (Thome). I think Jim would be willing to accept a trade if they do go through a massive overhaul and completely change the complexion and "rebuild" for the future ala the 2002-2003 Cleveland Indians.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ May 2, 2007 -> 12:06 AM) well he was mediocre last year and they scored 875 runs and they've returned essentially their entire offense, or perhaps improved it. So if Peralta is strong this year, people really need to watch out because they might score 1000 runs. Not to mention the fact they were playing Marte/Boone as well as not getting great production from their OF platoons...and 2B was a wasteland as well.

QUOTE(winninguglyin83 @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:59 PM) Cleveland still has bullpen issues. Minnesota is the team to beat as long as Ortiz keeps pitching well for them. Ponson tonight. Don't think you can favor MIN over DET or even CLE at this point, however.

QUOTE(Soxfest @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:59 PM) Double to 9 hitter! Sox are ONLY team in AL not have played a game against AL East..............Hawk is nuts! Aren't their fans saying the same thing after Washburn gave up a tater to a AAA call-up?

QUOTE(greg775 @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:48 PM) Is anybody else getting worried about Cleveland running away with it this year with Detroit the obvious second best team in the division? We have the toughest schedule in AL, and fourth toughest schedule in baseball so far. Hawk

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:42 PM) HA! Terrero Marrero Fever...Catch It! Apparently, he's playing for the Charleston Knights, thanks M's announcers. Not sure if they think it's WV or SC.

QUOTE(Texsox @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:33 PM) Gee, I was planning on a late night. BTW, these announcers on mlb.tv are the worse. I forgot how bad they are. Yankees' no-hitter is gone... Is that the first "generous" hit by a Sox hitter after an 0-2 count this year? Then you blink and the inning's already over. Thought Uribe might actually coax a walk.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:27 PM) Or a Zumaya-like inning from last week. I bet the pitchers are pumped every night knowing that they aren't going to get s*** for run support. And I really don't care about the Cubs rain delay. Especially when it causes me to miss 2 pitches. Yet another 0-2 count for Konerko. That's 23 strikeouts on the year I think.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ May 1, 2007 -> 09:00 PM) Don't feel too sorry for the network, the Yankees are up 9-0 and Phillip "The Savior" Hughes has a no-hitter through 6. He had to come out due to a strained hamstring. No hitter still alive for now.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 1, 2007 -> 11:15 AM) If Anderson is not going to be starting 8/10 days or more...then this was 100% the correct move. As long as Sweeney starts 9/10 days while he's up. I think he'll start against everyone but the likes of Santana, Bedard, Sabathia, etc....the really hard throwing lefties. Yes, I'm aware he was hitting lefties better than righties so far at Charlotte. I think he was only at .232 versus righties, if I remember correctly. That doesn't bode well.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ May 1, 2007 -> 08:38 AM) I got a feeling Terraro will be the starting centerfielder and Erstad will DH as an injury to Erstad and the Sox may set a record for futility. Guillen likes Terraro, he will play. I find it funny that Guillen will make excuses for Cintron doing nothing and being absolutly abysmal but then will rip on Anderson for not being able to produce when called upon. Cintron came back from the bereavement list and he's clearly not 100% after his surgery. The only thing more horrific than Ozuna or Willie Harris at SS might be Cintron making that throw from deep SS. Cintron's a veteran with a proven track record, and has gotten some clutch hits for the Sox in the past. I do think he's CURRENTLY one of our problems, because he has makes a very good amount of money for the amount he contributes to the team. OTOH, we have no clear alternative if we don't keep Uribe or make a trade, as Valido seems to be falling into the Ray Liotta "abyss" and we need to have SOMEONE to play the position for 2008, if they don't pick up the option on Uribe. However, you'd be hard-pressed to argue why Cintron would be the starting shortstop in a team in "rebuilding/reloading" mode...any more than it would make sense to keep Pods, Erstad, Dye or Iguchi.

QUOTE(max power @ May 1, 2007 -> 01:42 AM) For some reason they wanted to send Chone all the way down to A ball on assignment after injury. That later got changed and he was sent to AAA like a normal person instead. (According to yahoo sports.) Why the crap would they want to send him all the way down to A ball? All he did was break some fingers http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6986/news Usually it has to do with location, and proximity to the major league ballclub, and playing in a warm weather stadium. It's not a "demotion" or punishment, a number of major league pitchers in rehab this year have been throwing in the Florida State League and the California League. No biggie. They're not going to send him to the Midwest League, for instance...although it's less of an issue now in May than it was in April. As for Anderson going to LA, no way. They already have Willits and Murphy, as mentioned.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 01:46 PM) Jacque Jones would be the perfect fit right now Erstad and Jones are pretty much the same age. Is Jones a long-term answer, any more than Erstad? No. Therein lies the dilemma. We don't want to be the KC Royals and keep putting band-aids on problem positions, with the "veteran of the moment" filling as stop-gaps while younger players mature and are promoted from the farm system. Not only that, but Jones has a pretty decent-sized contract which goes through 08 and I don't even think he's homered this year. Younger and faster? Well, Jones and Erstad would have been better additions 3-4 years ago, when they were in the prime of their careers. Of course, adding older veterans like Dye, Iguchi, AJ, Hermanson, El Duque, Vizcaino, Pods, etc., paid huge dividends. Almost all of those players were outside of their 27-29 year "peak" years and beginning to reach the downsides of their careers, but it worked out for us. In many ways, a player like Murton or even overpaying for Baldelli makes a lot more sense than Jacque Jones or Geoff Jenkins or Pat Burrell, etc. And you also have to figure that acquiring Jones would leave KW strapped to make ANY moves at the deadline after we've had more time to analyze exactly what needs to be added to jumpstart our team for a playoff run.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 11:58 AM) Dude...we're talking Rocco Baldelli....not Vernon Wells. He's good...but not giving up the farm good for god's sake. Therein lies the dilemma. The D-Rays don't HAVE to trade him, no other team HAS to give up the farm to get him, because he's not a superstar level of player...not even Carl Crawford. So they sit on a depreciating asset and the rest of baseball waits for the price to come down to a more reasonable level.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 10:47 AM) They would want at least one ML ready arm to go along with Kazmir. I think any deal would have to include a young starter, or someone who can start. So, it would have to include Danks or Masset and I'm not giving up either one of those. So until the D-Rays get their collective heads out of their arse all of their players are staying put. At least not coming to the Sox. They would ask for Gio 50 times before they would ask for Masset...

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 10:16 AM) Just a thought, reports have it that NYM is looking to deal Delgado. If Thome is out for an extended period of time, he could fill in... However, I'm sure his contract would nix any of that... just wanted to get discussion going, while there's no real appropriate place to put this thread (yet). There are $14,500,000 reasons not to take Delgado, unless they agree to pay 1/2 or more of his salary and not ask for a player in return.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 08:30 AM) The question is why you bring Terrero into a situation where you already have an adequate rh cf, but you have a desperate need for more offensive firepower. Therein lies the problem. Terrero has 9 MLB homers in over 400 at-bats. At one point, he was one of those 20-20 or 30-30 prospects, but, at this point, he looks like Brian Anderson statistically with even less of a reason to worry about getting playing time or at-bats. Obviously, this was the correct move at the start of the season (everyone could see it and anticipate Erstad would get 90-95% of the starts). But Sweeney in no way, shape or form is an adequate everyday replacement for Thome's bat long-term. KW and OG, hopefully, feel the same way, but we can't be so sure.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 08:26 AM) Well, here's a thought. What say you limit those Erstad-supporting posts to topics that involve Erstad and those Ozzie-is-not-a-racist posts to topics where someone has actually made the accusation? Or at least where someone might conceivably make the accusation -- unlike, oh, the choice between two Latinos. You hijacked YOUR OWN f***ING THREAD. In the first post. Unbef***inglievable. I don't know why you would think anyone should change his mind just because of your post volume. I don't post much in the relevant threads because I'm tired of seeing the same goddam bits over and over. But it gets really annoying when you start using something like this, something totally unrelated, as a soapbox on which to defend Ozzie and bash Anderson. Want me to answer your questions? Ask them in some relevant thread. On the other hand, I am grateful that you realized that "jackie" can be a guy's name. Ozzie has not mentioned Perez recently, nor has KW. In his most recent comments, he said the call-up was between Fields (as a DH) and Sweeney to replace Thome. Since Terrero is the only player capable of playing CF and Owens is battling an injury, Terrero's the best option unless they go out outside of the organization. And it would take Perez at least a week or so before he would be ready to play. The point of the thread is how ridiculous it is to say that Ozzie is racist, because I've seen it overtly alleged, as well as more covert accusations. It permeates a number of threads. I also see Ozzie being held responsible for not helping the White Sox sign every Venezuelan player (since he's Venezuelan), as well as the disaster with Razor Shines, BA and the Tiburones (Sharks) this past winter. I have no reason to bash Anderson, I said I would pick him over Jeremy Reed in another thread. The only manager in baseball who's not under fire is the manager of the defending World Series champions, and LaRussa's already had his share of headaches this year, now exacerbated by the death of Hancock and the media boycott against the Post-Dispatch after their comments about the Cubs. We think we have it bad? The Cardinals REALLY went on the cheap and they're suffering for it...no team is pitching to Pujols unless they absolutely have to, and the Cardinals' rotation is in shambles without Carpenter. I wonder if Cardinals fans are as critical as we are, because it seems they tend to be more supportive. I would say the same thing about BA I said about Rowand, Borchard and Crede when they first came up....those long, looping swings are going to be picked apart by major league hitters. BA is classically in-between. He has to guess fastball to get his bat started fast enough...but he's still not hitting the breaking ball, which has been his Achille's heel. You would think with a slower or slider speed bat, he would be able to stay on the pitch to the outside and poke it into RF, but he's pulling too much with the front side of his body and I don't even think he's seeing the ball the last 5-10 feet. He swings and misses as much as any Sox player I've seen, perhaps with the exception of Borchard.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 08:28 AM) 1 - then place someone else in that deal instead of Anderson - who cares. 2 - Baldelli played yesterday as far as I know. I believe he hit a HR. He had a bruised knee, nothing serious. GET'ER DONE! If you're the D-Rays, you reject BA as part of the deal. You ask for either Fields or Sweeney. At that point, KW is likely to say no, and there's no deal. You can't or probably shouldn't trade Sweeney OR Fields, Logan and Broadway for Rocco Baldelli, because Baldelli's not nearly the caliber of player that Crawford is...and we need what Crawford can do in LF (assuming Pods is "iffy" for the rest of the season) than to replace Erstad. It's a lot cheaper to go out and get a full-time 1B/DH type of player than Rocco Baldelli.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Apr 30, 2007 -> 08:10 AM) I don't think they would want him either, but who is the best player in this deal? Wouldn't you say Baldelli is? I would. Since that is the case the White Sox are getting the better end of it. I would give up all of those players for Baldelli. What is stopping this from happening? One, they probably have no interest in BA at this point. He has to prove SOMETHING at Charlotte. Two, Baldelli is injured again, not sure if he's on the DL or not, but he's always getting little nagging injuries.