TLAK

Diaz v Maddux Umpire Charlie Reliford should get the plate. His strikes percentage is very slightly above average (thanks again Cheat for the link). Advantage: Nobody. I expect the hitters to decide this game. Should be a barn burner.

From MLB Com: By Friday's pregame, Guillen stated that the issue was resolved with his fifth starter. "I did talk to him and everything is straightened out," Guillen said. "He was kind of sad and so was I. I treat my players as my friends and not my players, and he came and talked to me about what he was feeling. He didn't know what the plan was. "Now, everything is clear. I don't want to say he apologized to me, but he's going to be pitching when his start is coming up." --- End of another tempest in a teapot.

Talk about a rough week. Get traded from a real contender to a last place team. Go 0-3. Miss a pitch for a run (went as a wild pitch, but he should have had it), Kidney stones. 15 day DL. Hang in there Miguel! This too shall 'pass'.

Guillen's best sentence: "I'm not here to build players. I came here to win. If the best way for us to win is with Schoeneweis [starting], it's going to be Schoeneweis. If it's someone else and Schoeneweis is in the bullpen and that's the best for the team, we will do that." I think he will make the pitchers compete for playing time. It's certainly worked well with position players Rowand, Harris, Perez, Gload and Uribi. Get some hits and do something to help win and you'll be back out there. Go into a funk and you go back to the bench. If Scho gets guys out he will start, if he struggles then Rauch, Diaz or somebody else will go out there. But if you falter, he doesn't give up on you. Like the position players, he will get you enough innings that you can show if you're straightened out and get back into the mix. Scho will make this decision himself, on the field not in the papers.

If Bobby gets velocity he will help them. Hell, he'd help us too.

Hey Chisoxfn! I respect your thoughts and ask your opinion; during our many and agonizing threads about trades with the Braves I maintained that the proto-type of the player the Sox need most is JD Drew. Your fine article makes me speculate that JBorch could develop into a JD. How is JBorch doing against good RH pitching? or am I just dreaming? I can't tell from just reading the box scores, I don't know the opposing pitchers well enough to judge.

The $1.4 Mil you read was an option that Colorado had on him for 2004. They chose instead to buy him out for $200,000 and release him. The Sox signed him in January to a Minor League contract with a spring training try out. I can't find any salary info on him for 2004.

Need #1 addressed with Freddy Garcia, Olivo/Reed was a heart break but the team is better today. Need #2 looks like Shingo may indeed be the answer. He hasn't proven he can in the US over a long period, but he has shown no reason to think he can't. Plus, Politte and Marte gave us everything we could ever ask for. Need #3 is still out there. The umpire handled Maddux, Zambrano handled himself but Prior got us. We remain susceptable to stud right handed pitching. Even when Maggs comes back the only two guys in the line up who can really hit good righties are Frank and Jose. Come play-offs you need to get through 2 or 3 studs in a row. I think another heart break is coming.

Do you think Greg Walker can fix him?

Tuesday Sandy will catch Buehrle, come Wednesday against the Twinks the Sox will throw Garcia instead of Rauch, probably with Davis behind the plate. Burke may get Garland on Thrus. I think the team will have a better chance to win the Minny series with that scenario than if Miguel were to catch Rauch on Wed and Garland on Thurs.

I agree. That stuff is good in bars or message boards but not on a Major League baseball field. But I offer that it may not have been a stadium sound effect? Did it only sound like that when he hit the ball?

Most of the infatuation stems from his being a left handed bat. But he's also just plain good. Look at these numbers:

That's a BS article. For starts Rauch beat the Indians Thursday not the blue vermin. Second, Jones is a fine talent but that move would not address the LH bat issue. I don't think the team will win more games with Jones over Ordonez, Jones brings things the team already has. JD Drew on the other hand would dramatically improve the team's chances against stud right handed pitchers. The names DBAHO mentions are interesting but Drew is the prototype for the player that the Sox need.

He was never the same after the labrum. I hate to say it, but my most enduring memory is how he would bend over and put his hands on his knees after giving up a home run. ---Saw that too many times, remember the Mike Cameron game? Ouch!

The key to this game may well be Eric Cooper. He ump'd 1B yesterday so should be behind the plate unless MLB changes the crew. I looked up his strikes called percentage using the link recently posted by The Cheat and Cooper is slightly below average, MLB 61.9% Cooper 61.7%. This bodes well, as Maddux is most effective when he 'trains' the umpire to call strikes on pitches that are outside. Loaiza, on the other hand, does well with an honest zone. Any pitcher is susceptible to getting lit up when squeezed but I think Loaiza is better equipped to adjust to an ump than Maddux.

On June 28, 2003 Zambrano gave up 4 runs in 6 innings for a no decision in a game the Sox won 7-6. Let them play the game before you give him the win.

On June 26, 1983 the White Sox were 36 and 34 in fourth place. They went on to win 99 games and won the division by 20.

But seriously, a LH hitter good enough to hit in the 3-4-5 area would revolutionize this team. They currently hit .302 Vs lefties and .274 Vs righties. Good righties just shut them down, only Frank and Jose can hit them and they don't get pitched to.

Todd Ritchie's Mom.

I believe the Sox greatest shortcomings are: 1. The 5th starters have lost 7 games. The Sox came back to win Diaz' first start and Rauch won today. The other games were all pretty much over after a couple innings, they just had no chance to a win. If the 5th guy could have just treaded water I have no doubt the team would have won at least 3 of these games. 2. 7 blown saves. Blown saves are going to happen occasionally, but even factoring that in, at least 3 of these games should have been won. 3. They can't beat good right handed pitching. This was exposed most graphically during the Marlins series, Burnett, Pavano and Beckett (while they were in there) just dominated. The lefties we have to sub; Gload, Harris and Perez are great guys but are quite a fall off from the quality of right-handed hitting the team has. The internal solution to problem 1 is Jon Rauch; problem 2 is Shingo Takatsu. I'm hopefull, but I doubt anyone wants to bet the mortgage on them. The internal solution to problem 3 is not in sight; the most promising guy is Joe Borchard but he's unpredictable. I can't see the Sox winning this year unless they get very very lucky with the internal solutions, or they make some radical moves. Radical in terms of it may cost you talent such as Carlos Lee, Aaron Rowand, Damaso Marte along with ace prospects or some combination. So I'm bracing myself for a heartbreak in terms of seeing a favorite leave the team. But I don't think they can win unless they do so.

I remember a bean ball war distracting the Sox. In game 2 Paciorek and Luzinski were hit; then Kittle in game 3. The Sox hit Ripken and Roenicke but I always felt they were intimidated. I have never seen a LaRussa team look intimidated since.

The game is so different today. Last year Roy Halladay led the majors with 260 innings, many are now saying he was abused and blaming over use for his slow start this year. The '74 Sox team was led by Wilbur Wood with 320 innings, followed by Kaat's 277. And that wasn't Wilburs career high, he pitched 377 in 1972, part of stretch of 5 consecutive years with 290+, 4 of them 300+! Another favorite of mine, Stan Bahnsen, was on that team. Ed Hermann, Dick Allen and Wilbur all made the All-star team in '74.

The winning run to boot!

I passed hi8is's find to Scott Merkin, he's a pretty good writer. From: "Merkin, Scott" To: "'TLAK" Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2004 10:38 PM Subject: RE: Tom, The sarcasm would usually bother me, but luckily that wasn't my mistake . I don't write the captions. Many, and I mean MANY, thanks for catching that one. That's a horrible mistake. ******************* MLB.com: Where Baseball is Always On -----Original Message----- From: TLAK To: [email protected] Sent: 6/12/2004 10:48 PM Dear Scott, Jerry Manuel no longer manages the White Sox. It was in all the papers.

Don't forget how important a stud pinch hitter is without the DH. Who ever doesn't start is still likely to get a key at bat. I'd go mostly with Konerko so you don't have to save Gload for late inning defense. But Frank would be handy to double switch for with a late lead (you just can't leave him in if there is a possibility of a throw home). It's gonna be fun!