danman31

'The dreaded'

Phew, now let's continue to enjoy facing the non-Greinke parts of the Royals' bullpen.

Yeah, either Sweeney got screwed or Soria is getting screwed vs. AJ. Same pitches.

He still has talent, but his current numbers aren't making me regret the deal yet. It's not like Vazquez hasn't had value with this team so Young has to be a solid player for a while for me to say we screwed up. It might take less than that, but all I'm saying is to date we still have received more value out of that trade and until that changes (which it very well could) I'm not going to worry.

I could very well see all 4 of those pitches to Sweeney being balls, wow.

For some reason I think the Sox are going to win this game still. They took Greinke out and I feel even more confident now. Despite his numbers he still has good stuff and I respect him more than the rest of the Royals bullpen (maybe with the exception of Soria who has been a surprise). So of course as I'm posting this Soria comes in...

QUOTE(fathom @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:41 PM) We've drawn an insane few amount of walks since Thome went out....it was shocking to see someone lay off an offspeed pitch twice in one night on a full count. The funny thing is there were people after his first AB saying he didn't look that good with his swing. Yeah, and his swing didn't look much better in the 2nd at bat, but he drew a walk. Of course he went and hit a HR later, but a lot of people would be (and were) upset to see him swinging harder and longer.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:37 PM) Hell we have people on this board bashing our rookies who reach base every PA including hitting a homer. I haven't bashed Sweeney, I've just said he's overrated by a lot of people on here. QUOTE(fathom @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:37 PM) I like that the Royals rushed him. He had nothing left to accomplish in the minors. They know they're not competing for the title this year, so why not get him experience. Yeah, that's fair, and originally I didn't oppose the idea. However, there is a difference between experience and being overmatched and losing confidence. He never played at AAA so it wouldn't hurt to give him some time there if he doesn't show signs of improvement in the next week or 2.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:32 PM) That comparison is totally apt. One is a 32 (?) year old, one (maybe zero now?) tool player who hasn't been a good baseball player since pre-ASB 2005. The other is a 22 year old who has been the best hitter on the Sox besides Jim Thome. Average? Sweeney has been average? Offense all around the league has been down, and you're going to call Sweeney's .875 OPS, plus baserunning and plus defense average? Go ahead, keep posting, you're giving me some good laughs on a dysmal night. I wasn't comparing Podsednik to Sweeney. I was just saying Podsednik was putting up good numbers, .303 average, .378 on base, .833 ops. I don't mean to compare the players in any aspect, but Podsednik was putting up damn near the same numbers (better on base and average, lower OPS as you would expect from a leadoff guy). My only problem is people will love or hate who they want. Also, keep treating me like a total piece of s*** and acting like you are never wrong about baseball. I really appreciate getting responses like you are making me laugh and that was the dumbest thing said on this board (the 2nd one wasn't you). I'm just stating an opinion and making observations.

I feel a little better after looking at Alex Gordon's stats. .164 with 37 strikeouts in 110 at bats. At least he walks (has 13), but damn, the Royals rushed him. Those are sub Anderson numbers. Imagine how much we would hate Gordon on this board?

QUOTE(fathom @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:22 PM) That's one of the dumbest comments in the history of this board. QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:22 PM) No, he caught it just below the knees. You watch it again. Kid's 1-for-1 with 2 BBs and a homer and you're b****ing about people being a little excited that he's one of the few competent hitters in the lineup. People are calling him a god and all this garbage. It just bothers me when Scott Podsednik was hitting .300 and people value him like a piece of s*** and Sweeney has played like an average Major League hitter and everyone is gaga over him.

Toby Hall is on rehab tonight in Charlotte.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:19 PM) What a joke. Greinke buried a beautiful changeup on 3-2 just below the knees and Sweeney laid off of it beautifully. You're just pissed that Sweeney is doing better than you expected. You called out a poster last week for saying Sweeney would be hitting (insert batting average) after the week was over. He's probably not going to continue this up, but give the guy some credit. He's one of two hitters (Uribe the other) who looks competent at the plate as of right now. Look at the replay of that 3-2 pitch, the catcher caught it just above the dirt. Talk about a joke.

I've seen enough of Boone against lefties to trust him. Once he got a strike on Teahan I felt good. That's a major change from me thinking he was almost as good as automatic runs for the other team.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ May 12, 2007 -> 08:06 PM) Seriously, no Aardsma? Maybe Ozzie thinks Masset will "step up" against his former team? Very doubtful. He was never with the Royals.

Sweeney's at bat sucked ass before Grienke came nowhere near the plate. Sweeney's swings were awful, but he showed a good eye on that backdoor curve. Sweeney is the only hitter on this club that gets credit for a walk, most of the rest of the hitters it goes unmentioned. You see what you want to...

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ May 12, 2007 -> 06:46 PM) It may be my imagination, but there appeared to be something different about Sweeney's swing his last AB. I'll have to pay closer attention his next time up. From first glance, his three swings just didn't look right. He swung much harder than I've ever seen him swing on that 1st strike.

If Sweeney gets a hit here I'll stop calling him overrated for a while.

Gotta love Young's sub .300 obp. Apparently he forgot how to take walks. In May he is hitting .289 and still only has an obp of .300. His power numbers are nice, but I'm not worried about losing him yet. Vazquez is having a solid year so far and pitching is way harder to get (especially starting pitching) than power hitters who don't walk and strikeout 100+ times per year. Also, his situational splits (RISP, close and late) are awful.

White Sox at 17-15 which is ok, but they are in 3rd by 2.5 games. 17-15 would be good for 2nd in any other division. Yay AL Central. Nice win tonight Sox! Go Garland!

He wouldn't be the first to do very well at Kannapolis and then struggle at Winston-Salem and eventually fade into mediocrity, but his splits are nasty. Hopefully he can keep it up and do well through the levels. If he puts up similar numbers the rest of the year and then at Winston-Salem at some point he would be one of our top 5 prospects.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ May 11, 2007 -> 08:51 PM) DLS has allowed 12 hits this season in 30 innings pitched. 33 strikeouts too. Yeah Faustino is the s***. As for Broadway I really like him for reasons I can barely describe. I think he will be a respectable to solid Major League starter.

QUOTE(WhiteSoxfan1986 @ May 10, 2007 -> 07:39 PM) I think everyone on this board agrees with me that it would be an absolute travesty is Pods plays over Sweeney. Yeah, that .300+ batting average Podsednik had before getting hurt isn't good or anything...

Boom! Though I still don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with Sweeney's .259 average.

2 solid road series wins in a row and the Sox pass up the Twins who are a .500 club right now.