29andPoplar

Uribe is a big time insurance policy. I don't think the White Sox are in a big hurry to launch him, unless they get something they really like in return. It should be factored in that Uribe plays an excellent 3B even though he hasn't been seen much over there. If something happens to Crede or Cabrera or Ramirez, Uribe is the guy. We have to remember they (Williams and Guillen) are really valuing defense to support this pitching staff. Plus they like Ozuna in his role ... spot starter, pinch runner, spark plug, all around good guy to have on the team, etc. What they might do is sign a guy or two for Charlotte and build some depth there, just in case. There have been quite a few guys DFA'd lately around baseball. Although I will see if God forbid something happens to Cabrera, KW's first phone call will be to SF about Vizquel, despite Vizquel's weak stats last year and so far this year.

Is his velocity really that low? I thought I read in one of the game threads when Loaiza pitched his fastball was sitting at 88 or so. ??

Well that's true, anyone is expendable if you get the right deal. If they can find a guy who plays good defense at 2B, SS, and 3B and has speed and is a pesky hitter, launch Uribe. But I can't figure out who that'd be. Actually you did contribute to the thread by describing it in one word. It is yet another let's shoehorn Josh Fields into the lineup no matter what threads.

Agree on Fields and would love to see a speed guy but who do you move off the team? Not that the current guys are the be-all end-all but the only odd man out I see is Uribe. And despite his lack of hitting prowess he does have value to this team as a defensive backup and/or insurance policy. Not to mention those good speed guys don't grow on trees.

The whole team has a day off next Monday 6/16 and the following Monday 6/23. There's another day off July 7th and then 4 more days off the next week for the All Star break. Worry about this stuff after the All Star break. At that point, see if personnel changes are necessary. There will be almost two weeks before the trade deadline to get something done and/or promote someone internally. Thome for one will get plenty of rest when the Sox travel to NL parks.

Agree. Although I do find it very curious he hasn't started once since coming back from the rehab stint in AAA. I'm not sure he's even played?

I didn't want to post it because I am not sure (whatsoever) that the source is reliable. Repeating, I can not vouch for the source. All I do know is the man I heard it from deals with Chicago pro athletes frequently. I know that to be true because I checked up on his credentials (what he told me he did for a living, who he works for, etc.) And I did hear it in a restaurant/bar which is why Quick used that phrase. I shared it with quickman as a "take this for what it's worth, here's what I heard" ... but again I did not post it because I have no idea if it's reliable. I try very hard to only post things I know are true or from very reliable sources. I will admit to being highly surprised/doubtful when I was told as it seems highly unlikely at this stage of the game. As such, I asked (almost interrogated) the guy to see if he knew his stuff about the Sox on several different levels. He passed the smell test but again, I can not and do not vouch for the information. It may be true and it may be BS. It came up when we were chatting watching the game. Crede hit a home run Sat. night and I said "the only guy more happy than Crede about that HR is Scott Boras" and the guy immediately came back with "not any more, Crede quietly dropped Boras a few weeks ago and is finalizing an agreement with an Arizona based firm for representation."

The whole thing is interesting. You'd have to believe Jordan Danks and the Danks family isn't happy about Jordan lasting until the 7th round. He was still rated very highly going into the draft, in the top 100. Granted he may not be the hot prospect he was coming out of high school but he's still done reasonably well with the Longhorns. The fact he dropped to the 7th round reeks of Boras. A poster here said Baseball America people were told that Boras told all the teams that Jordan Danks would sign only for 1st round money. My belief is that Jordan wants to turn pro and get going. He will likely get more than 7th round money due to the circumstances and this new agent isn't a pushover either. However I expect nothing acrimonious and we should see Jordan in the system, probably playing for Great Falls at some point. I hope people aren't expecting a superstar though. He has some holes in his game he'll need to fix, not unlike most prospects. Regardless, this is good news and it will be good to get an athlete of his caliber into the organization.

The Sox bullpen will need to do its job. It's a great game to win here, everyone will need to step up and execute.

Sounds like another Come To Jesus talk my friend.

That's true Ross and you are indeed a good kid.

Motherf***ing Yahtzee.

It's amazing he got anything done in that at bat. The first two pitches were clearly outside, Mauer pulled them back over. Actually a bad pitch by Guerrier on the 0-2 to even let him get wood on it.

Good start here.

Ahhh, he's a good kid. He has umped for a long time for such a young guy, but yeah, it's not a criticism of the entire profession. If they're inconsistent, they're inconsistent. It is what it is.

I agree Harrelson takes it too far sometimes but DJ doesn't whine about the umps much, if at all.

Ross ... it's not personal. The whole site knows you're an ump. We know umps will make mistakes, they are human. It happens. However, people are just pointing it out. Dreckman was in fact inconsistent earlier in the game.

Desn't happen often, a hitter getting HR's from both sides of the plate in the same game. I remember watching Brian Simmons do it in KC.

5-4 now, Swisher.

He can't get Mauer, Morneau, or Cuddyer out now, and it's 5-2.

I'm watching on TV, the pitch Konerko K'd on, hey sometimes that pitch is called a strike. Those things happen. However, if those things happen, then they need to happen on Mauer's and Morneau's at bats. Can't give a strike to Perkins and not to Danks. Then Dreckman almost tossed Cooper when he came out to talk to Danks. He was giving Cooper the eyeball all the way back to the dugout. He should lose the chip on his shoulder, shut the f*** up, and be consistent.

I'm watching it on tv, just got onto the board. The Konerko K pitch was iffy although that's the way it goes sometimes. But if it does go that way sometimes, it needs to go that way on both Mauer and Morneau. If Perkins gets the pitch to Konerko, don't turn around and squeeze Danks. Cooper almost got tossed by Dreckman when he came out to chat with Danks. Dreckman acting like a big tough guy, staring down Cooper going back to the dugout. Lose the attitue and shut the f*** up Dreckman and call a consistent game.

There were a few things of note in the Charlotte game. First, DJ Carrasco is active and pitched, he was a non roster invite this spring and has been hurt. He threw 3 2/3 last night, took the loss while giving up 5 hits and 2 runs while striking out 7. He might be a guy who can eat some innings later in the year. Owens was 1-4, he is hitting .250. Fields was 1-5, he's hitting .260. Richar was 0-4 and is hitting .206.

Steve, good points here. One thing I believe this board will have to remember is about the hitting. It was extremely frustrating to watch these first two months. When your team is built for U.S. Cellular Field, you'll need power hitters, and the reality is power hitters are prone to slumps and not to make excuses but cold weather doesn't help either. That said, pitching wins and it always will. The pitching was pretty good in April and March overall. If you can lean on pitching it will keep you in contention. Last year the bullpen was the biggest problem but the offense stunk it up too. Several guys had down years and also we were playing guys like Andy Gonzalez who didn't belong in the big leagues. A good recipe for finishing 72-90. While I am on a soapbox, one of my and a few others biggest frustrations (if that's the right word, maybe annoyance) is the judging of good veteran players after 6 weeks. There were a lot of "Orlando Cabrera sucks" posts and those wanting to retract the Swisher trade etc. etc. Now I'm being careful about saying this because those two players in particular are still not where they should be. But the dramatics and the generalization and the sarcasm about these guys was way too much. With a six game winning streak, everyone's happy but just watch, lose a few and these guys will suck again. To me that's overreactionary. It's not about eating crow or dishing out crow, it's more about realizing and understanding that it's a long season. Check the pitching, if it's doing at least ok, the team has a shot. I fault Williams for two things. One, the team isn't quite balanced enough, there are too many plodders and they can still use at least one more high on base guy. Two, and I know I harp on this, but how long will it take until they can draft or acquire a legit leadoff hitter? Harder to do than say for sure, but this has been a problem for a few years. My other concern is pitching depth, but I suppose that's a concern for 29 other teams too.

Interesting thread. I don't think it's time for I-told-you-so's nor crow eating at this point. Here is my view though ... This site has huge mood swings. A few losses and it's "this guy is done" and "trade this guy for anything you can get, just dump his conract". People seem to forget it's a long season and further, sometimes a team's makeup has to be viewed from an even longer lens, like 2 or even 3 years. No one wants to hear that in today's "I want it now" society but it's very true. Williams gets credit for having patience and faith in his players. Many on this site wanted Crede traded this spring for a B prospect from San Francisco because they were so sure our 3B prospect would be better. Contreras? He should have been given away or dumped according to many here. There are a few more examples but the point has been made. This guy Williams wants to win, he is the anti Ron Schueler who horded prospects that never panned out. He's always looking to add to the team and to make it better. He is far from perfect, says some dumb things from time to time and comes across the wrong way to some. I for one will take him as GM of my team. This team will go through a slump this year and guess what, people will panic again and want guys dumped for nothing again. Whether this team makes the playoffs or not, it's far too soon to tell but the front office deserves credit for building a team that's in decent position as we sit here on June 9th.