almagest

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 29, 2008 -> 07:07 AM) Considering the post I was answering included this: Any player who can't post a .800 OPS in the minors has no chance of ever being a useful Major League hitter. Why is it "cherry-picking" when I find 3 off the top of my head? Wouldn't just 1 suffice? Strawman. I never said a player who didn't post an .800 OPS in the minors had no chance of being a useful major league hitter. I said there's no reason to hype a guy who never posted an .800 OPS in the minors, because he hasn't come close to realizing the potential that made him a high-ranked prospect. You also continually miss the point that the players you mentioned have ALL had success either in college, Cuba, the minors, or very early in their major league careers. Carlos Gomez has had none of this so far.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 28, 2008 -> 05:23 PM) Robin Ventura didn't. Carlton Fisk did in low A ball, in 195 AB, but didn't after that. Jason Varitek never did. The only time Brian Roberts ever did was a 29 AB stint in rookie ball. Put things into perspective. Gomez is 9 months older than the latest White Sox #1 pick. He still hit .260. Stole 30 bases. Maybe that's not useful to you, but for a 22 year old its not bad. His OBP is .014 lower than Alexei Ramirez. It obviously needs some work, but he's only 22 with a ton of talent. I don't think he's as good as Hawk says he is, but he's certtainly a lot better than Jerry Owens.You can cherry-pick former and current player stats all you want, but ALL of the players you mentioned had seasons in college, the minors, Cuba, and/or the majors early in their careers that justified their hype. Nothing Gomez has done so far in 5 years of professional baseball has merited any recognition. He's had a couple of decent minor league seasons, has a negative runs contributed value (-.145 MLVr), and is overall playing at replacement level (0.6 VORP) in the majors. He needs to vastly improve on his contact rate, his selectivity at the plate, and he needs to start hitting for more power before he comes close to the hype given to him as a prospect, and by himself. That's a pretty tall order, and lots of players with as much or more ability as him can't do that, so what makes him worth such a vehement defense?

What we need is for our pitching staff to stop giving up 12 runs a game. Work on patching the bullpen a bit, maybe shore up the starters, and we're fine.

QUOTE (SoxFanForever @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 10:52 PM) Almagest, I don't think that is too bad an area. You are pretty much in Bucktown/Wicker Park there. The area of Humboldt that you really want to avoid is west of Kedzie. Used to be anything west of Western. However, that area has been yuppified in recent years and I think you should probably enjoy it. What agent did you meet with? I'm planning to check the area slightly east of you in the upcoming weeks. Yeah, that's the conclusion we came to as well, after a lot of research. We'll probably take it, as long as it's still available. Urban Domain is the agency. They have a couple listings in the West Loop/Bucktown/Wicker Park area. Check 'em out -- should just be http://www.urbandomain.com

QUOTE (Steff @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 08:33 PM) I played with the iPhone a bit and Lord does it suck. I text at lightening speed and that thing has severe lag. It would end up out the window fast. I like the Curve a lot. They didn't tell me about the Storm though. I'll have to read up on it. I told them I would be back on Tuesday after I did some more research. Is the internet slow on the BB? They said that was the only thing faster on the iPhone.Mobile Safari is a much better browser than whatever Blackberries use. I doubt the speed is any different though, if both phones use 3G. Do Blackberries use wifi if it's available? If not, the iPhone would be faster when connected to a wifi network. If you text a lot, though, I'd highly suggest a sidekick. Easiest device to text on. Not sure if AT&T offers those, though.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 02:47 PM) "Oh no the corn! Paul Newman's gonna have my legs broke!" - Simpsons quote.Fixed that for ya.

I love these threads that blame our "HR or nothing" offense for this losing streak, yet in the past three games we've scored 6, 8, and 6 runs, yet lost all 3. Really the only game we had a chance in & our offense let us down on this losing streak was the second game in Minnesota. You can argue the third Minnesota game was also the offense's fault because they didn't score after the 4th, but the pitching staff blew a 5 run lead. You can't do that and expect to win.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 09:28 PM) I do know several scouts. I never said numbers don't matter, I said they weren't all that important. Its what you can become being more important than what you currently are. You now are using Ventura's numbers in college using aluminum bats vs. Gomez playing professional baseball with wooden bats? That is as crazy as it gets. As 22 year olds, they were major league hitters needing to improve. Of course Gomez has to improve, but there's a very reasonable chance of that happening. Many don't like his brashness, but as I said earlier in the thread, I bet if he was a White Sox you and others would have a different opinion of him. I bet you wouldn't think he was a Jerry Owens clone if he was a White Sox.So what do these scouts say about Gomez? What has his mediocre 1.5 seasons on the majors done to impress them? Nothing about what Gomez currently is, or has been in the minors, points to him becoming anything special. Quite simply, he has a bunch of raw tools he hasn't done anything impressive with in 5 years. And no, I wouldn't want him on the Sox. He's all attitude, no ability. When he puts up an OPS of .800 or better at ANY professional level, he can punch his chest and scream and yell all he wants. Oh, and I guess Ventura's 3-time All-American, 58-game hitting streak, Golden Spikes Award, Dick Howser Trophy, .428 batting average, .792 slugging percentage, 302 RBI (in 3 years), and inaugural induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame mean absolutely nothing because he hit with a metal bat. Right. None of that comes close to Gomez's magnificent .735 career MiLB OPS. Seriously, do you think before you post some of this? It took me all of 1 minute to check Wikipedia and find Ventura's gaudy college career numbers. You are right about one thing, though. Both were 22 year olds who need(ed) to improve. Except Ventura actually had a track record that indicated he had a good shot to improve -- Gomez has nothing but hype.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 07:31 PM) The only thing I said was Owens couldn't hold Gomez's jock. You said they are essentially the same player. I used Ventura as a 22 year old just to show that at that age numbers don't mean a lot. Ask a scout. Numbers for a 18 19 20 21 year old in the minor leagues aren't very important. For an older player they become more significant. If I were a GM and I could have either to trade, I know I could get a lot more for Gomez than I could for Owens. Gomez sure got a horrible read on AJ's ball last week didn't he? Except Ventura's numbers were at 22 in the majors, after only 1 year in the minors. Gomez has had 4 years in the minors. You keep glossing over this fact. You also gloss over Ventura's stellar college numbers, which Gomez hasn't even approached in any of his minor league seasons. I also sincerely doubt scouts will tell you numbers don't matter from 18-21. Most every scouting report I've seen mentions things like K/BB ratio. I bet that can tell you a lot about a player at any age -- Gomez has a "stellar" 82 BB / 250 K rate in 4 minor league seasons. Gomez also has an even more "stellar" 33 BB / 168 K rate in about 1.5 major league seasons. So, he has essentially no discipline so far, which sure doesn't help a speed guy. The stats I posted earlier also shows he has little power (low SLG), and can't hit much or walk (low AVG/OBP). Maybe you're right, and numbers don't matter that much at a young age, but Gomez has to improve in every single aspect of his game (besides speed) to become a good player, and he's going to have to improve a lot to earn that "5 tool player". Also, I like how you, a fan, are telling me, a fan, that I need to "ask a scout" about all these things. Since when did you go to scouting school and suddenly learn how to evaluate talent? You know no more than I do about it, except I at least have SOME evidence to back my opinion up.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 05:41 PM) If you really think Jerry Owens and Carlos Gomez are anywhere the same player, lets just say, I'm glad you're not a White Sox scout, or if you are or ever were, I can understand the condition of the system. What about defense? What about throwing arms? Comparing what Jerry Owens does when he's 25 or 26 or 27 to what Carlos Gomez does offensively when he's 19 or 20 or 21 is beyond silly. Gomez is a far better prospect. He will make a lot more money playing baseball than Jerry Owens. Look at Robin Ventura when he was 22 offensively in the major leagues. Ventura played all of 1 season in AA at the age of 21. By the time Ventura had 5 years of pro experience (what Gomez has now), he put up MLB OPS+ of 57 (Sept. of 1989, at the age of 21), 83, 126, 127, and 120. He was also one of the best defensive 3rd basemen in the league after his first year or two (Gold Glove in 1991). Gomez, on the other hand, has put up an OPS+ of 79 in his only season in MLB, his 5th pro season, at the age of 22 -- worse than Ventura's age 22 season, when Ventura only had 2 years of pro experience. Gomez's defense relies largely on speed because he gets bad reads. He does have a solid arm, though -- not the most important thing for a CF. Overall, I doubt anyone considers him a good defensive player. Hmm... sounds a lot like what people say about Owens, minus the good arm... So, let's see here... you compare Gomez to Ventura, which is a terrible comparison because they haven't had anywhere near the same career path so far (as I've shown), then you mention defense, which Gomez isn't very good on and appears to parallel (gasp!) Jerry Owens the most. Are you going to keep trying, or will you finally admit you've got a chubby for Superman .660 and are selectively picking and making up evidence to support your points?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 04:44 PM) Gomez is 9 months older than Gordon Beckham. Compare him to an almost 30 Jerry Owens. Good example. You have the most accurate name on soxtalk.Jerry Owens career minors (6 years): .291 .359 .359 (.718 OPS) 162 SB 66 CS (71%) Carlos Gomez career minors (4 years): .278 .336 .399 (.735 OPS) 141 SB 39 CS (78%) So Owens gets on base more and gets more hits, but Gomez has more power. a .017 point difference in OPS is basically nothing. Gomez is also a little better at stealing. But yeah, basically the same player. Also, Owens didn't start in Low A until he was 22, due to football. He's been a couple years behind the curve development-wise. Owens is also NOT "almost 30". He's 27. Gomez probably has a much higher ceiling due to his young age, but who knows if he'll reach it? If his attitude to this point ("The .660 OPS Superman") is any indication, he won't. And to say he and Owens are anything but almost the same player based on their careers to this point is silly.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 24, 2008 -> 08:30 AM) Im in the West Loop and couldnt be happier. Close to 2 major highways, lots of stuff around or being built around me, easy parking, older crowd. Rock, Anywhere in the West Loop that you'd say to look? Any areas around there to avoid?

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 02:03 PM) Carlos Gomez just did the Fox lineup for the Twins and proclaimed himself as Superman while showing his Superman shirt under his jersey. I didn't know Superman meant .660 OPS. What a tool.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 12:58 PM) You got the exact address of intersection? 1740 Maplewood is the address. Nearest major intersection is Western & North Ave. About 3-4 blocks from the Western Blue Line stop.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 11:22 AM) Just got the LCD TV, now I am wondering whether to stay with the dish or go to Comcast. What do you guys think? I have DirecTV, a friend has Comcast. Both are fine, though I like DirecTV more because the HD-DVR unit is better quality, and the menus are much easier to navigate. A lot depends on where your house is, and if you have a clear view of the southern sky, though. The dish might have to be mounted somewhere where it'd be an eyesore (I speak from experience). Also, if you have internet or phone service through Comcast, it's probably cheaper to get TV through them as well. So, I guess I'd say go with DirecTV, unless you have Comcast for other things, or can't mount the dish in a good spot.

So we found a place 3 blocks west of Western, 5 blocks north of Division. Agent called it "Bucktown", Wikipedia and other places call it "Humbolt Park." The area didn't seem too dangerous -- pretty much large condo buildings all around -- but I know Humbolt is considered one of the worst areas on the Northside. Does anyone know anything about the area just west of Western? Thanks.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Sep 27, 2008 -> 01:16 AM) Dear KW, Please don't ever do this to us again. Don't put together a team that competes for 160 games near or in first place. It was obviously your fault that Swisher and his worst career year and that Thome and PK slumped for 5 months. All you need to do is sign a bunch of fast guys, trade Macdougal and Wasserman for Chone Figgins, it shouldn't be too difficult, I did it in MLB 2k8 no problem. Trade Bobby Jenks for someone like Carlos Gomez, we have enough depth in the bullpen to cover for him. Enroll in medical school so you can heal our best hitter, bullpen arm, all-star 3rd baseman and starter. And whatever you do, don't acquire any more MVP's or ROY candidates. Invest in fast guys who hit .220, that's where the division championships are made. Follow the lead of those "pesky piranhas" and build a team that scratches its way to playoffs and gets swept every year. Signed, Clueless fan base overreacting to losing. We can't do that. Trading one-dimensional power for one-dimensional speed only works in that cement dome. It won't work in USCF.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 10:59 AM) and Lee isn't pitching fo the Indians Here is the line-up I would throw out there for all four (hopefully 3) games and say get it done you are all veterans Swisher-Cabrera-Thome-Dye-Griffey-Konerko-Ramirez -AJ-Uribe Bullpen for all three games Dotel - Thorton - Linebrink - Jenks, that's it. I'd probably switch Cabrera and Swisher. I think Swisher's a pretty decent option at #2. I might even consider Alexei at leadoff. He doesn't walk, but at least he has productive at-bats. He can also go 1st-3rd pretty well. I'd also put BA in CF against the lefty & for defense.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 10:34 AM) In 18 games and 77 PAs vs. the Sox this year he is hitting .384. Yeah... probably something to that. He is a piece of s***baseball player against almost everyone EXCEPT the Sox. Someone please hit this guy in the knee with a crowbar or something. It's because we apparently don't pay attention to the fact that he'll swing at almost ANYTHING. We throw him pitches over the fat part of the plate, and Hawk slobbers over him when he hits them hard, as pretty much anyone will at this level. Then he takes an extra base on Dye or Griffey plodding over to get the ball, and all of a sudden he's a doubles/triples machine. I also don't understand why Wise was shading him to hit to the right side when apparently the strategy was to get him out on curveballs. At this point Gomez is swinging hard in case he hits it, so anything offspeed is probably going to be pulled.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Sep 26, 2008 -> 07:15 AM) The funny thing is, he's not that good. The White Sox just have no defense against speed. This guy can't draw a walk and swings at everything, yet we throw fastballs down the pipe to him consistently. Gomez this year: .262/.301/.367, which is a delicious OPS of .668. BB/K ratio of 25/139. He's pretty much Juan Uribe of last year, with a slightly higher average, and less power. He's also 32/43 in stolen bases, which is a 74% success rate. Not bad, but at that rate he's pretty much breaking even with helping/hurting his team's chances to score. All in all, there's a reason he's batting 9th now, and not leading off. Of course, that doesn't help when we throw high straight fastballs and hanging curves to him consistently.

Joined.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Sep 25, 2008 -> 09:26 PM) ozzie is a dumbass if he doesn't put BA in CF Agreed. Then we won't see that goofy lefty in the game. The Twins have him, and Nathan left in the bullpen. Everyone else isn't very good, IIRC.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Sep 25, 2008 -> 11:48 AM) East Rogers Park is nice...West Rogers Park is up and coming, but still not a great neighborhood. And have you thought about Jefferson Park? It's on the blue line so you can get into the city...but right on the highway and past the Nagle curve so you'll miss a good deal of traffic going out. I have. A friend of mine lives in Portage Park, which is right by there. He complains constantly about how awful the Blue Line is, though, which is one of the reasons I haven't looked at much around there.

My girlfriend found a place she really likes in Rogers Park, near Devon and Ashland. I'm going to see it with her on Saturday. Any opinions on Rogers Park/that part of Rogers Park? I've heard it's not the greatest area.

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Sep 24, 2008 -> 07:51 PM) 2 runs scored WITHOUT ONE ball hit hard. Minnesota baseball at home. At some point you can't say it's luck. I mean, you cannot be this lucky, can you? They know how to play at home. Things that are easy outs on the road are cheap hits here. They're really going to have to change their team philosophy once they get that new stadium.