Ozzie Ball

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 06:28 AM) Considering Law is a stats guy, it makes a hell of a lot of sense why he voted Vazquez over Wainwright. Better K/9, better BB/9, better H/9, and then obviously a better WHIP too. Wainwright was overall more valuable, but there is a definite argument that Javy Vazquez was a more dominant pitcher than Wainwright last season. I'm not sure how you're defning valuable but a stats guy would argue that Vazquez was the better pitcher overall last year: 2.77 FIP to Wainwrights 3.11 2.82 xFIP to 3.36 3.62 tRA* to 3.82 6.6 WAR to 5.7 Perhaps you consider those stats "domination" stats, which would b a fair point to make. But then it gets down to preventing a player from winning the CY Young just because his team couldn't field, which some might say is unfair.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 03:29 AM) I was really surprised Hudson didn't make it. I thought Flowers had a chance to sneak in near 50, but I honestly didn't expect to see him. Not even top 60 for the pair: 51. Tyler Matzek, LHP, COL 52. Jennry Mejia, RHP, NYM 53. Mike Leake, RHP, CIN 54. Casey Crosby, LHP, DET 55. Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B, CLE 56. Nick Hagadone, LHP, CLE 57. Mike Trout, OF, LAA 58. Mike Minor, LHP, ATL 59. Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL 60. Derek Norris, C, WAS

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 03:04 AM) MLB Network had a Top 50 Prospects of 2010 special tonight. Zero White Sox prospects made the cut. Not Flowers, not Mitchell, not even Hudson. The Royals, Rangers, and Rays led the way with four each. Flowers hasn't been in many top 50's. He only made Sickels' list because of Desme's retirement. Mitchell I haven't seen in any top 50's. Hudson has been a lock in the 30's though, but he's the only one.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 02:51 AM) If Law is a stats just then he really has no excuse for the Alexei Ramirez comment in Oct. 2008. Well he does also appear extremely arrogant and obnoxious, so that could explain it.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 02:39 AM) ^^^^^ That is one of a thousand good reasons. He wrote a pretty scathing report a few years ago explaining why Gavin Floyd was basically not a major league pitcher too. Doh! Well in fairness to Law, he is a stats guy. Floyd was posting 6 K/9, 5 BB/9. That's not a Major League pitcher. Gavin Floyd's turnaround was seemingly unforeseeable by everyone other than Kenny and his scouting team.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 02:08 AM) i was doing a little reading about him to see what the hype is. so basically he projects as edgar renteria, with a little better defense I don't get it either. But then again I didn't get the Elvis Andrus hype, and then he goes and has a 3 WAR season as a 20 year old rookie.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 28, 2010 -> 01:34 AM) Tell me why the Cubs are 7th. They have no farm system to speak of, and couldnt even unload their non prospects on other teams. Keith Law is not a good minor league person. I know he has a huge infatuation for Starlin Castro so that's probably part of why they're ranked so high. He was the first prospect guy to hype Castro and now everyone's on the bandwagon.

QUOTE (heirdog @ Jan 27, 2010 -> 09:13 PM) I still can't believe we got Peavy for 0 A-list prospects. Perhaps Poreda was closest but not after it seemed obvious he was a reliever with one plus pitch. Yeah. I loved the deal then, still love it now.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 23, 2010 -> 09:06 PM) I want to show my friend Iguchi's diving play, but I cannot find it online for the life of me. Does anyone have a link? Much appreciated. When you say you tried "for the life of me", what did you actually try? I just Googled "Iguchi amazing play" and the first link was: http://www.extremesportclips.com/video/114...field-Play.html

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 23, 2010 -> 08:23 PM) Andruw Jones and Mark Kotsay or Jim Thome... I think it's obvious who we'd all rather have. You say that but there are plenty of people who don't want to see Thome back. People don't like that he clogs the bases. Apparently having men on base is a problem. Who knew.

From Phil Rogers: Sounds good to me. There isn't going to be a middle infield spot open for quite a while (trades pending) and everyone's bat plays better at catcher. We are relatively well stocked at the catching position with Flowers, Phegley and Gonzalez but versatility is always a plus.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jan 21, 2010 -> 06:56 PM) He's also under contract for a limited amount of time with no arbitration years to tie him to the team after the contract is complete. So yeah, there is a rush. I'm fairly certain that this is incorrect. I'm pretty sure Hahn said that Viciedo will be subject to the arbitration process just as any other draftee/IFA would be, and the same for Alexei..

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 08:30 PM) Were those draft-and-follow guys? The Frontier League is an independant league. They got rid of the draft and follow process a few years ago.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 04:40 PM) Frankly, that's a good match for him too, maybe give them what they tried to get with Burrell last year...although he kinda duplicates Pena with the bat a lot doesn't he? You say it like it's a bad thing. God damn those duplicate .370+ wOBA bats!

QUOTE (hi8is @ Jan 20, 2010 -> 03:07 AM) They should have shut the whole team down so we could have got the worst record in baseball! I really wish we could draft Bryce Harper. =) What would be the chance of them actually taking Harper and having to deal with that Boras negotiation though?

QUOTE (scenario @ Jan 19, 2010 -> 05:23 PM) The speed number itself (average time = 4.15 seconds going from home to first) based on very small sample (2 at-bats?) tells us very little. Especially when you consider that the difference between "average" and "above average" is only 1/10th of a second. I think it's more significant that out of the 45 players evaluated, only 10 had a higher scouting grade than Danks' 55. The scouting grades that surprised me were: Starlin Castro (40) and Josh Vitters (20). Looks like the Cubs may have to hire a surgeon to remove the lead from their a**es. I found that speed data really funny. Adam Foster likes his stats, he preaches sample sizes and not getting pulled in without a significant amount of data and then he turns around with speed grades after 1-3 AB's. Matt Angle's 75 grade after one drag bunt was ridiculous. That said, most of what they do at Project Prospect is very good and I think their Digital Prospect Guide looks fantastic. And as the name Starlin Castro came up, I want to get on the record as saying that he is one of the most overrated prospects in baseball. Someone also needs to tell Josh Vitters that walks are good, because he apparently doesn't understand.

QUOTE (joeynach @ Jan 19, 2010 -> 12:59 AM) 1.2 Mil for Tony "Floating Fastball" Pena. Yay im jumping for joy...gotta love that 1.53 WHIP too. His high WHIP was largely due to his unsustainably high hit rate (.346 BABIP) which is much higher than his career average of .303. If you regress his BABIP for '09, his luck neutral WHIP would have been around 1.24, which is also known as 2nd best amongst our relievers last year. I don't know why people are so down on Pena, maybe they dislike the trade and it's affecting their judgment. Pena is a very solid reliever. $1.2m is good value for someone who should come in with a WAR of around 1 next year.

Sounds good. I like Pena seemingly more than most, I think he's going to be a very capable late inning reliever for us.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Jan 17, 2010 -> 02:09 PM) I was thinking more than Gavin, yet less than Lester. The Sox aren't going to make Gavin's deal look like peanuts and cause a rift salary wise. I'd be very disappointed if the Sox refrain from signing Danks just because they're afraid of ruffling Gavin's feathers. Gavin is the one who decided to sign the team friendly contract, after all. I definitely don't consider Danks to be as good a pitcher as Lester is, but I think he'll be after 4/$25m-4/$30m with that 5th year option.

QUOTE (since56 @ Jan 17, 2010 -> 02:14 PM) Why are we so locked into the stereotype of a DH being a power hitter. There wwere times last rear I would have had Pods at at Dh because we needed him at lead off but his defense was so bad I wouldn't want him out there. If you have a guy that can not play the field but can still hit what you have is a pinch hitter. Ozzie wants the Dh spot to be able to hit in match ups run the bases and go into the field if necessary. The DH does not have to be a home run or nothing guy. He will use his bench to fill that spot. That also gives him room on the roster for another picher. The better hitters are those one's who don't make outs and hit for power, hence why this is the DH stereotype. The only reason Ozzie wants this flexible DH bulls*** is because he's clueless. Jim Thome provided this team with more value between 06 and 09 than flexibility ever could have. Flexibility isn't production. Sure it's nice to be able to rest your players but at some point you need to have someone capable of stepping up to the plate and giving you offense. I don't see who that person is from our current DH rotation. Andruw Jones could be the guy, but I'd be surprised if he's ever a good offensive player again.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Jan 17, 2010 -> 12:30 PM) Danks should be locked up. I'm sure the numbers can be worked out between the two sides on a deal similar to Gavin's. Danks will be after significantly more than Gavin. He rejected a contract similar to Gavin's last year so there no way he'd take that now. I'd expect him to get more of a Jon Lester type deal, something like 4/$30m with a club option for a 5th year.

Thome. He makes a lot of sense and shouldn't cost too much.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 05:15 AM) wOBA is a great stat, but Pierre's a leadoff hitter. Honestly, I think OBP is still the best way to judge a leadoff man since his job is to get on base. If he gets extra base hits, awesome, but I don't think measuring how far on base he got is the right way to gauge his job. If he gets on base, he's done his job. Anything else is extra. If you want to talk about him as our "worst" hitter/run producer (not in an RBI sort of way), then fine, he is. His lack of power and his barely above average OBP don't mix well for that. However, he's a leadoff hitter. I just don't like this exception that people make for leadoff hitters. I want the player who receives the most PA's on my team to be a good hitter, who is also capable of getting on base, hence why I'd go with Beckham. If Pierre bats 9th he'll still be coming up to bat in front of the 1/2/3 hitters but he'll get significantly less PA's in the process. Surely that's the best of both worlds?

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 03:59 AM) A .301 career hitter is the worst hitter on the Sox?! ...OK. http://triplesalley.wordpress.com/2009/12/...atting-average/ That is all.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 03:18 AM) How is he our worst hitter? Sure, he doesn't hit for power, but when it comes to getting on base, he does it at an okay clip. I'm pretty sure he can put up a .340-.350 OBP, which is around what Podesdnik gave you last year. It has been made clear that Gordon Beckham will not be a leadoff man. He has too many other tools that could be useful in other spots in the lineup. Other than Beckham, you really have no other viable option to leadoff. Now, if we get Johnny Damon, it would be another story. Although I'd like to have Damon in the two-spot given his combo of decent power and good OBP. I like sabermetrics just as much as the next guy, but the SABR community's constant bashing of Pierre is getting annoying. I'll rattle off some quick projections. (wOBA): Teahen- .330 A.J.- .315-.320 Alexei- .330+ (although I think he can take a step up to the .340 range) Konerko- .355-.360 Beckham- Hopefully .360+ but .350 is probably more realistic Quentin- anything less than .370 will be disappointing Rios- .345-.350 Pierre- .310-.315 So the roaming DH monstrosity aside I expect Pierre to be our worst hitter. He's not a .340/.350 OBP guy, he had a good '09 season but in all likelihood his OBP will return to ~.330 next year, and that just doesn't cut it, especially when you have zero power. I would bat Beckham leadoff. It definitely wouldn't be ideal and I'd prefer to see him in the 4-5 hole but I just don't see a viable option other than Beckham.