TLAK

QUOTE(beck72 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 06:25 AM) Should have been green, I had pictured Rogo in AAA at 1B this year but they keep bringing in guys ahead of him. If Jacobson and Dugan (and possibly Gload) are in Charlotte then its probably back to Bhama again. Casey's getting Rowandesque, every time I see him play on TV (in the spring games), he looks like a nice player, but management keeps bringing in guys over him. He's on the 40 man, so we know they are not giving up on him. He's like the guy who finally gets ahead in the rat race and they bring in a new rat.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Feb 25, 2006 -> 06:03 AM) If the sox were looking for the best 5th OFer option, no doubt it would be Borchard. But if they were looking at things besides someone who may once a week in the late innings [like as a backup 1b man, pinch hitter, pinch runner for Thome/ PK] Gload may get the nod. We'll see the quotes and the reports as ST progresses. No doubt Casey Rogowski is pleased.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Feb 23, 2006 -> 07:19 PM) Fly open = inside fastball

QUOTE(The Critic @ Feb 19, 2006 -> 10:34 AM) This is nice for speculation, but I don't put a lot of weight on statistical speculation. Baseball has so many intanigbles that I think it's very tough to try to predict anything. Interesting chart, though - surprised to see the Cardinals speculated to finish 4th. I certainly don't see the Brew Crew as being better than the Sox. 92 wins is VERY optimistic for Milwaukee. They'll be pretty damn good, but 92 wins? I'd be stunned. Agreed. Everyday in baseball is a new day and these are past results pasted on to the future. It did kill a couple hours on a very, very cold morning though.

After a winter of trades and signings how do teams stack up 'on paper'? I used the rosters from the MLB Rosters thread and added each batter's 2005 runs scored and each pitcher's runs allowed. I normalized each team using MLB averages for team AB and IP and added them up to estimate the number of runs scored and runs allowed by the current members of the roster. Then I applied the venerated Bill James Pythagorean theory to the results to come up with the chart below. It says look for a dogfight in the AL Central, the Brewers will surprise, the Cardinals will disappoint and nobody will win in the NL West. Wild cards go the A's and Astros. AL Central Team Runs Runs Allow PagPct W L GB White Sox 755 665 .557 90 72 .. Indians 792 713 .548 88 74 2 Twins 704 645 .540 87 75 3 Tigers 731 765 .479 77 85 13 Royals 688 874 .392 63 99 27 AL East Team Runs Runs Allow PagPct W L GB Yankees 893 742 .584 94 68 .. Red Sox 797 713 .551 89 73 5 Blue Jays 745 661 .555 89 73 5 Orioles 716 770 .467 75 87 19 Devil Rays 716 955 .371 60 102 34 AL West Team Runs Runs Allow PagPct W L GB Angels 745 632 .574 93 69 .. A's 776 682 .559 90 72 3 Rangers 819 781 .522 84 78 9 Mariners 731 727 .503 81 81 12 NL Central Team Runs Runs Allow PagPct W L GB Brewers 752 641 .572 92 70 .. Astros 721 634 .559 90 72 2 Cubs 739 692 .530 85 77 7 Cardinals 746 715 .520 84 78 8 Reds 806 841 .480 77 85 15 Pirates 701 769 .458 74 88 18 NL East Team Runs Runs Allow PagPct W L GB Braves 786 694 .556 90 72 .. Phillies 791 728 .538 87 75 3 Mets 728 715 .508 82 80 8 Marlins 746 738 .505 81 81 9 Nationals 691 737 .471 76 86 14 NL West Team Runs Runs Allow PagPct W L GB Dodgers 757 771 .492 79 83 .. Rockies 773 855 .454 73 89 6 Padres 711 794 .450 72 90 7 Giants 664 770 .433 70 92 9 Diamondbacks 710 820 .434 70 92 9

QUOTE(Steff @ Feb 16, 2006 -> 02:36 PM) I know, I know... It will be interesting to see how they react if (when) we hit a slump. Wonder how many will jump off the ship at the first 3 game skid... :rolly Choke avatars?

QUOTE(G&T @ Feb 16, 2006 -> 02:11 PM) I think it might fit.

QUOTE(3E8 @ Feb 14, 2006 -> 08:03 PM) I got so excited about making a table that I messed it up. Cool table, you can join us all in HTML hell!

Traditionally you put your best OBP at 3. Jim Thome ------.408 Paul Konerko---.349 Jermaine Dye---.334

Interesting points. For the heck of it, let's see how Javier fared in games where Chris Widger was the starting catcher. This, of course, is 'before he began to struggle'. I won't make anymore smart ass comments, but leave it to you to draw your own conclusions. Vazquez / Widger

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 12:09 PM) What are they caulking again? Dont they just bolt the seats to the concrete? I think they are recaulking between the concrete slabs under the seats. The same concrete we walk on also serves as the roof over the club houses and all the under deck stuff in the park. It is exposed to the weather year round and you don't want any leaks screwing up the stuff below. Think about the scale of the operation, you don't use a little squeezy gun like Tom Silva doing a room addition, you pump it in from 55 gal drums, with the seats out they can get at everything. I guess you could say that one man's floor is another man's cieling. har

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 9, 2006 -> 08:26 AM) And the funny thing is the scalper is probably owned by the Cubs as well This is just too funny. Can you imagine the uproar if the Sox ever pulled a stunt like this? Jesus people were holding grudges from the white flag trade for years... were?

QUOTE(quickman @ Feb 8, 2006 -> 08:16 PM) Jesse jackson JR. owns a pepsi bottling plant on the south side. Add the political ramifications and now you know why they serve Pepsi. there you go. So Jesse sponsored half price night?

QUOTE(chisox72 @ Feb 8, 2006 -> 06:26 PM) Having worked for a Miller distrubutorship for 5 years, I have to say that I am thrilled about this. Its great to see all of the different beer/team related things that come out every year to get into the baseball season. Be it banners, signs or neons. Besides, Miller is the better beer . On a side note, do not be suprised if you start to see some MGD light handles pop up around the ballpark in different places. That beer has been a primary focus of the brewery in terms of growth over the past few years and has been met with some success. Also, after this year, Miller will NO longer be the sponsor of the Hawks or Bulls at the UC. Bud will be taking that over. Miller finally gave it up because there is no money in it like there used to be. Lets face it, its hard to justify spending millions of dollars on a sponsorship when the Hawks are lucky if they draw 5000 people. Its going to be a weird adjustment going to the UC and seeing that, but I understand the logic behind the move. In the end! Way to go Miller! I will be looking forward to many a nice frosty Miller Lite in my seats this season! Do you know if MGD will make that huge schedule poster again, the one they print on plastic for outdoors. I cajoled one from a bar maid two years ago and had the BEST looking garage on the south side of Chicago. I'm sure my #$%^& cuB fan neighbor enjoyed it too.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Feb 7, 2006 -> 07:02 PM) Um...Tlak...West Germany? South Vietnam? Um...yeah...it's been a while since those were countries... When Will Ohman, Edwin Jackson and Jeff Baker were born it was West Germany. And in 1973 when Danny Graves was born there were still two Viet Nams. I don't know their individual stories, but I would expect their Dad's were soldiers.

19 different countries were represented in the big leagues in 2005.

The oldest player going to camp is 47 year old Met Julio Franco, born 8/23/1958. The youngest is Justin Upton from the Dbacks, he’s 18, born 8/25/1987. The player with the longest name in MLB camp is Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Catcher for the Braves. The shortest names are both pitchers, Jae Seo of the Dodgers and Joe Roa of the Pirates. There are 238 left handed pitchers scheduled, 625 righties. The lightest guy is Luis Figueroa a 140 lb infielder with the Jays. The heaviest is Walter Young of the Padres, a whopping 320 lb infielder. ... and a few more seconds until camps open are now behind us.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Feb 5, 2006 -> 02:10 AM) *bump* This is gonna get ugly. Its interesting already and as you say, could be a real mess if he thinks he can play and the team doesn't.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Feb 5, 2006 -> 10:22 AM) I think he would, he has been complaining about just about every move since the offseason started. Pretty close, the only move I liked was Marte (after his fight with Ozzie) for Mackowiak. I'm trying to get behind the current players but it's hard for me. Most others on this board are very optimistic while I struggle to see this team equaling, much less improving on last year's bunch. On offense they subtracted 1577 AB, 393 H, 52 HR and 208 RBI. They added 719 AB, 181 H, 17 HR and 90 RBI. A banner year from Thome (.207 BA in 2005) and better production from Anderson (.179 BA in 2005) might balance this but it's a stretch to assume they will improve on it. The big defensive change was to replace Rowand, who may have been the heart of the team, with a rookie who might still be looking for that pop fly in Seattle had Uribe not picked it up off the ground and threw it in. Mackowiak will probably take over most of Iguchi's 30 or so off days, he as a .966 career FP at 2B vs .988 for Willie Harris and .994 for Geoff Blum. I haven't seen Mack play much but the numbers are not encouraging. On the mound they subtracted 288 IN 4.85 AL ERA 19 W 22 L, and added 216 IN 4.42 NL ERA 11 W 15 L. Plus there is another 70 innings to come up with from the likes of Javy Lopez, Arnie Munoz or Chad Bentz. After last season ended Ozzie said he wanted more speed and a 2 hitter. I don't see how any of these moves addressed it, KW just fixed a bunch of other things that were not broken. The joy of baseball is we can forget all about this come opening day, every year in baseball is a new year. I'm not really pessimistic about the team, I just don't buy into the euphoria I see on this board after I do the math.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Feb 5, 2006 -> 06:20 AM) On Vazquez---"If he doesn't have it all working, he can really fall apart mentally, and that scares you,'' said a scout. "He has three or four good pitches and good command. But sometimes he'll nibble or give up on certain pitches, or fall in love with a certain pitch. And when he's not right, his ball can flatten out. He's definitely underachieved.'' Who else thinks AJ, Ozzie and Cooper will have the same advice for Javier they did with Jon and Jose----'Don't think-- just throw to the glove'? I really haven't followed Vazquez's problems and why he's underachieved. Yet this does sound very correctable--Get the guy to trust his stuff, throw what he's told when he's told, pitch with confidence. With Vazquez's quality pitches, command and high K rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he think he turned into the sox ace this year. He certainly is coming in with less problems to correct than both Jon and Jose did. And his control has always been there. Not bad for a #5 SP [or #4 if Jose is traded]. If Vazquez doesn't turn it around it'll be because of what's going on between his ears and not his arm. Felipe Alou, Frank Robinson, Joe Torre and Bob Melvin must be pretty dumb for not being able to see this very correctable problem. They had Vazquez for 8 years and I guess it never occurred to them that all you have to do is whisper in his ear and everything will be better. The White Sox have very good coaches but to just assume they will turn him around is drinking kool aid. I hope he does well but if he gets blown out 10 times again the team won’t make the playoffs.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 09:31 PM) Are you honestly comparing the Yankees version of Jose Contreras to last year's version of Jose Contreras? lol. And what the hell is with some of those guys you named? You can't fix what never was. What the hell has Koch done since his last good season in 02? Colon was here one season and won 14 games. Loaiza was a fluke and everybody knew it before the 04 season started. You're gonna blame Coop because Marte could no longer throw strikes or get left handed hitters out anymore? All the other guys you named are scrubs who have never done anything with or away from the Sox. Nobody is implying Cooper can take any scrub and turn him into an all-star. NO pitching coach can do that. But his impact is undeniable. I was objecting to Jugg's assertion to another poster that just being around Don Cooper will make Javier Vazquez a better pitcher. "What shocks me about your suggestion is you're not even factoring the impact Cooper is going to have on Vazquez. Just look at what he did for Garland Contra. There's no reason to believe he can't make Vazquez a MUCH better pitcher as well." So, I showed that Contreras had success before Cooper got him and wasn't some failure that got magically turned around. Then I cited 22 guys who didn't fare so well under Coop, which to me is very good reason to question that his aura alone will cure Vazquez's tendency to stink the joint up 10 times a year. I like Coop and think he and Oz did a masterfull job of keep everyone focused and fresh despite the heavy innings. I just don't buy that a guy like Vazquez, who has been the same for 8 years, will suddenly change his stripes just because of a new pitching coach.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 03:10 PM) What shocks me about your suggestion is you're not even factoring the impact Cooper is going to have on Vazquez. Just look at what he did for Garland Contra. There's no reason to believe he can't make Vazquez a MUCH better pitcher as well. Contreras was 15-7 with the Yankees, he went 15-7 last year with the World Champion Chicago White Sox. Is this MUCH better? Also, look what a fine job he did with Koch, Colon, Adkins, Walker, Diaz, Ginter, Glover, Grilli, Jackson, Loaiza, Marte, Munoz, Rauch, Sanders, Shoeneweis, Stewart, Takatsu, White, Wright and Wunsch. If Cooper is so freaking great why couldn't he fix these guys? I think there is a stronger corelation between success and a pitcher's health and talent than with his pitching coach. Coop's a good coach but the pitchers throw the ball.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Feb 2, 2006 -> 02:40 AM) Mackowiak alone makes the bench better than most in the league. Not many bench players have played in 297 games in the last 2 years. Ozuna gives the Sox a legitimate base stealing threat off the bench; Widger plays very solid for a backup; and Borchard should fill in nicely. That last spot will probably be decided in ST. There will definitely be less of a fall off of performance this year when the bench players are in. Saying that, the bench last year did what they were asked to do most of the time and they definitely contributed to the WS Championship. I'd love to see that last roster spot go to somebody that could catch some. With only two catchers Oz has to hesitate PH'ing for Widge and putting his only other catcher in the game, so they eat some bad matchups. This would also open the option of DH'ing AJ when Kong needs a day off and Thome plays 1B. I don't see anyone in camp who fits, but it would be nice to find, say an older guy who can pinch hit and survive a couple innings behind the plate and on the corners.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Feb 1, 2006 -> 02:09 AM) I'm worried the most about Contreras, Hermanson, and Politte. I'm not to worried about Buehrle, Garcia, Vazquez, and Garland. Are you counting on another 11-15 (4.42 NL ERA) from Javier? This is the one guy you should be worried about.

Keep an eye peeled on the Royals, I think they’ve made some smart moves over the winter. Not a prime time team but they are much improved and don’t figure to be anybody’s doormat. I don’t think they can win the Central, but on paper they can catch the ball, hit a little, pitch enough to survive and could good enough to cost somebody else the division. From right to left: OF: Brown, DeJesus and Sanders IF: Tehan, Berroa, Grudzielanek and Mientkiewicz C: Buck, Baco DH: Sweeney, Stairs SP: R.Hernandez, Elarton, Greinke, Redman and either Affelt or Mays BP: MacDougal, Burgos, Sisco