almagest

QUOTE (daa84 @ Mar 16, 2009 -> 03:37 PM) thats really encouraging to see from josh...back up the middle on the 2 strike fastball on the outside cornerHe's got to have much better bat speed, because in '07 and '08 that would've been a K or foul to the right, not solid contact up the middle.

QUOTE (Jimmywins1 @ Mar 16, 2009 -> 03:16 PM) IP, 2 ER, 1H, 1BB for Colon. He was throwing pretty well though, seemed to have good control over the fastball and wasn't afraid to attack the hitters. Restovich may have cost him a run with some questionable routes in RF. Bart was actually elevating the fastball above the strike zone pretty consistently. That does tend to happen when you haven't thrown from a mound in a while, though. Restovich misplayed that triple, and KC didn't do much else against Bart otherwise.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 16, 2009 -> 01:50 AM) That's why it's best to have Wise lead off and use BA as a late-inning defensive replacement. If the Sox decides to go with a platoon, then they can have Anderson bat 9th, (then we'd have a problem with leadoff) and we can use Wise as a late-inning pinch-hitter/pinch-runner. People are grossly undervaluing the speed Wise brings to the lineup. We have too many slow station-to-station runners that we really need some quicker guys on the bases that can potentially steal bases. Please no. Wise could barely play left field last year. I don't see how he's going to be a successful center fielder all of a sudden. Your assumption of "speed=stolen bases=good" is a little off as well, since Wise needs to actually get on base to do any running. His lifetime .254 OBP doesn't indicate he can do this, at all. Unless we put Alexei in CF, or go outside the organization, our best option (best defense, equivalent offense, best potential) is Brian Anderson.

Jerry Owens = versatile at making outs. Groundouts to second, first, AND a K looking?

Poreda looks pretty decent.

That Melton segment was fantastic.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 04:05 PM) Owens may just not be strong enough to do anything with that type of swing.With a level swing? That type of swing is the least stressful and allows you to put more into the swing, and level contact gives you a better chance to hit the ball hard. On another note, I don't even need to see where Konerko hit the ball any more. I just need to see his reaction to know it's a GIDP.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 04:00 PM) He never sqaures up the ball, every piece of contact is partial and there is nothing behind it. I hate to use this example since he really wasnt that great, but PODs had a very level swing that stayed in the zone a bit and allowed him to have some decent contact at time. All of jerry's hits are glancing blows.Podsednik had the same issue Owens has in his last year in Milwaukee, IIRC. Every swing was uppercut, and all he got were weak grounders and popups. The White Sox and Pods obviously did some work to help Pods with this in '05, so they know what they're doing. Why don't they work with Owens, or (more likely) why doesn't he listen?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 03:55 PM) Its so inefficient.I almost expect to see a line shot somewhere in the OF every time he swings, based on the effort, but all I get is a dribbler to the right side. It's so unfulfilling.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 03:50 PM) since when does owens walk!?Don't worry, he grounded out to first.

Getz can fly.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 03:28 PM) Danks getting pounded. Cleveland just getting more confident about facing us when the season starts, they always own us anywaysThis game means absolutely nothing.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 03:24 PM) LinkI really, really hope that's just a case of talking your players up, and not tipping your hand for the other players competing for the CF job.

Why is Ozzie naked?

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 03:23 PM) Um, as much as I hate it, the Aramis/Lofton trade for crap was the best trade in last 10 years. Aramis is going to end up with HOF numbers if he plays another 8 seasons or so.Really? A guy with a career OPS+ of 113? He'll also be 38 by that point. I doubt he'll stay effective that long, especially since his slugging percentage has gone down every year since 2004.

QUOTE (fathom @ Mar 2, 2009 -> 03:00 PM) What's next, everyone's going to say Dye is bad defensively?Paul Konerko hits into too many double plays.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Mar 1, 2009 -> 12:00 PM) Yes! I can't wait! I also hope to see Viciedo and Beckham, they're the main reason I'm watching. Also, I hope it'll be in english, cause for some odd reason Sox games on CSN comes out in spanish on my 16 year old tv. Sounds like you're getting the SAP audio feed for some reason. Check and see if your TV remote has an SAP button, or if there's one on the front of your TV (unlikely). Hitting this button should bring you back to English.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Feb 26, 2009 -> 10:17 AM) Wow, I thought Van Benschoten was just minor league roster filler. If the Sox actually believe they can turn him around and his arm isn't too broken down then I'm very intrigued.I'm guessing he's primarily roster filler, but with Pittsburgh's inability to develop pitching from so many high draft picks, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sox start grabbing some of these players to see what can be fixed.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:14 AM) They came back and won too many miracle games last year. Everything went right. When the Sox had a season like that, the next year everything went wrong.We still won 90 games, though, in a much tougher division than 2005. If the Cubs do the same and win 9 less than last year, they probably still win that division.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 11:01 AM) No. Poreda to AAA unless every outing in ST is a no hitter for him. I want him starting. Richard looks like an ideal bullpen guy based on his splits in outings last year.Agreed. I wouldn't mind Richard in AAA to work on additional pitches, though, because I think he could be a decent starter/trade bait.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:44 AM) Even if we accept the fact that CQ is a fantastic all-around ballplayer, how many individuals are able to his .290/30/100 year after year after year? How many that do break out with a single season like that are pitched much differently in year 2 and regress a bit?We don't. But given his success in 2008, his college success, minor league numbers, and high projected ceiling, we can make a good guess that he'll be good next year. And really, there's not much of a weakness in his offensive game. Most of the hitters who regressed had a bad K/BB ratio, had an unexpected power surge, or had an abnormally high BABIP in their good season. Q was solid all around, except for his temper. My main concern is that he's a flyball pitcher in our park. He's effectively wild, though I would like to see him start striking out a few more batters. I think his problem wasn't his stuff, it was his approach. Now that it appears to be solid, I think we can count on him for the numbers you suggest -- 15+ wins and an ERA around 4? I'd take that from him any day. Probably not. I think he's due for a regression more than any other player, and I'm still not convinced he's an everyday player. That said, he has a lightning-quick bat, can stay alive in at-bats very well, and knows how to hit. I think a .270/.300/.450 line from him is reasonable, and that's just fine from a #9 hitter. Hopefully he can play SS as well, because that's a concern. Probably not, but I think he'll be just fine. Danks seems to "figure out" the league he's in after a year or so. His minor league numbers suggest this, and this continued in MLB. The cutter has helped him out tremendously, as well. If we can get an ERA right around 4 from him, I'd be happy. I don't think we're relying on Broadway for anything. Richard will be in the bullpen (and be solid, like last year) unless he develops another pitch. I think the last spots will come down to Colon/Poreda/Marquez/another option we haven't considered, or hasn't signed yet. If Colon can be what he showed with the Red Sox before he got hurt (which is a concern), we worry about the 5th spot, which at the very least, Contreras will fill respectably after he comes back. Because he hit .244/.308/.480, with 23 HR, in only 373 AB. He can actually take a walk. His minor league stats are good (.275/.359/.458 career, .817 OPS). He's a smart runner, with pretty good speed, who can go 1st-3rd and score from 2nd. He fixed the physical problems that plagued him last year, and has been working on conditioning and defense. He has good minor league numbers. He had an OPS+ above 100 4 out of his 6 major league seasons (coincidentally, the years he got the most ABs). He's not in New York any longer, a place players historically struggle, and rebound once they leave. He was a highly-ranked prospect, and made the majors at the age of 19. We're not relying on him to be anything more than a super-sub, which he should be able to do better than Uribe and Ozuna. You already said one reason -- he's been screwed over by the Sox. He's fantastic defensively. He had a good minor league career, and plays well in spring training -- both times he gets consistent playing time. He's a doubles machine (23 in 365 AB in 2006, 13 in 181 AB last year). He has good power, and likely can top 20 HR in a full season. He doesn't look as lost as he used to at the plate. He's a good athlete, and can go 1st-3rd and score from 2nd. It's his make-or-break point, and I feel we can afford to give him 400+ AB, since our offense will be likely pretty solid, to see if he can cut it. If he can, and can reach the Torii Hunter-lite point I think is possible for him, we'll have our CF hole finally filled. We built our team around power, and rightfully so, given the launching pad we have. This is what happens as power hitters age. I would only consider Thome and Konerko DH candidates, though. Dye plays a mediocre RF (and should be in left, really). What teams have insurance policies, really? The ones that aren't the Yankees rely on AA/AAA talent, non-roster invitees, and scrap heap pickups to fill their rosters. We've been better at the latter two than most teams, and we're finally starting to get some quality talent in our minor leagues. Really, this is the most optimistic about the future of the Sox that I've been since 2000 (even though that didn't turn out so well)

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jan 13, 2009 -> 10:35 PM) ...assuming Dusty doesn't f*** the kids' arms off.That is a disturbing mental image.

He was also busted for DUI.

I'm a little leery of storing all my information online in one "convenient" place, but I suppose it's not much different than having personal information compromised from Amazon or my bank.

Opera is a solid browser, too. http://www.opera.com/. The latest version (might be 9.6, might be 10 beta, I forget which) scored 100 on the Acid3 test, which is the definitive web compatibility test.