chw42

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 01:22 PM) Yes, I actually do want 2006 Kobe. The real issue is...how the Hell do you beat the Heat unless you can find that? That's the real problem. A guy who could make us better in the regular season might well make us worse against the Heat. That was the catch-22 that was built when the Heat put themselves together. They've got 3 of the best offense/defense players in the league surrounded by guys who can sub in and out for offense and defense. If they add some size this offseason...how do you beat it if you can't match it? We tried to outdefend Dwyane Wade and still lost. Do we think that we can actually outscore Dwyane Wade? The Mavericks don't have that and they're in decent shape to beat the Heat.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 01:05 PM) He's done a phenomenal job of not over-reacting like a bunch of nut jobs here and staying calm and as a result the players responded. Ozzie has a tremendous ability to try and put his players in the best chance to succeed. That might not be in-game managing but it is an art that he has managed exceptionally, well, imo. And I know someone will now make a bunch of posts about how Kotsay being DH was a position he couldn't excel at, but by and large, Ozzie has done that and you'll hear a lot of his current and former players allude to that. Ozzie understands how up and down the game of baseball is and he isn't going to overreact to things too often. I have problems with some of his ridiculous comments and some of the things he does, but by and large, he's a good manager. The question to me is at some point, players tune guys out or maybe just need to hear another voice, and when that type comes, it comes. It will happen to pretty much every mgr and coach. Like bunting with guys who can't bunt? Ozzie's good at managing a clubhouse, but he really doesn't give his players the best chance to succeed with some of his on-field decisions.

Damn, I wish I was still in Urbana. A lot less people there right now for summer school and two Jimmy Johns close by. JJ's the best super late night food.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:25 PM) Korver is supposed to be that kind of instant offense. He shot 42% from 3 this year, Martin shot 38%. Martin had a TSP of 0.6, Korver 0.57 (although Korver in 2009 was 0.62). The difference between the two is shot volume. Plus, Martin gets to the line like crazy. Korver gets there sparingly.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:27 PM) I generally am pretty forgiving with players, but something is really wrong with Pierre's defense. Hes getting bad reads on a lot of hits, and many times going towards the wall he just jumps in the air, not even making a play on the ball. That has nothing to do with speed, so its strange. This too. His range isn't that bad, he's just not finishing the plays or getting good reads on them. It's more or less a confidence thing, but his inability swipe bases also tells me it could be a physical issue.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:22 PM) If I was going to bet on any of the 3 players to bounce back, it be rios. He's so talented and still physically there. The problem is, he's in such a funk and mechanically I think he needs to make an adjustment to that swing. Dunn is out of shape and has a slow bat thus far and Pierre is pretty much him (just slower). That said, I still think Dunn could turn things around to (or I sure as heck hope he can). My hatred of him probably makes me more biased though. I'm just trying to point out to you guys that talking in these crazy absolutely is detrimental to the overall quality of the board. I get that Pierre isn't ideal, I really do. But I have to respond when I see some of the stuff getting thrown around in here. If a good chunk of Soxtalk ran everything, every player would get cut within a week of making the roster since as soon as something bad happens, they are immediately the worst of all time at this or that, etc. It just isn't true. Baseball is a long season and you fail a lot more than you suceed and intangibles and other factors not measured directly by some of the new power stat (like OBP/OPS/WAR/etc) do exist. And sometimes you just have to ride out guys slumps because they have proven they are capable major leaguers (no, they aren't all all stars and we'd love to have better guys at different spots) but you just have to be patient and hope it is just a slump. Think about how Boston has ridden out some of Big Papi's slumps. Just my 2 cents. Players like Dunn and Ortiz are more likely overcome these slumps. They have old people skills (walks and power) and these are skills that are easy to sustain with age. So their talent doesn't regress as heavily with time and eventually, their luck will turn around and they'll start hitting, get their confidence back and that'll be that. I don't even know what to do with Rios. He's so mechanically and mentally screwed that they should just erase all of his stats on the scoreboard and make sure he doesn't think too much about it. This is when Walker's supposed to help his hitters or maybe Rios just isn't listening. But you'd think with his desperation at the level it is, he would have gone to Walker for help already.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:13 PM) What about when you have Dunn hitting like garbage or Rios being worthless. Pierre has at least hit and done a decent job of that over the past month and defensively outside of maybe yesterday's play (which wasn't near the gaffe that some of you make it out to be, imo), he's been improved. He was really bad that first month of the seaosn, but since than he's been better. Still, his lack of efficient base-stealing is costly and it is why I would prefer a better alternative and I honestly think I would have Lillibridge leading off for this club right now. However, that is a big risk. Maybe we put too much pressure on Lilli and he regresses and we lose out on what could be a guy turning into a solid everyday player (who is playing some insanely awesome defense). Dunn and Rios are still in their prime, Pierre's been thought of as a regressing player for a while now. There's still a good chance Rios and Dunn bounce back, especially Dunn. But there's the age/physical hurdle for Pierre to overcome.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 12:03 PM) Korver's problems were on the offensive end just as much as the defensive end. Martin can create his own shot, doesn't need the entire team to set up screens for him, and can get to the line 8 times a game. Korver just blacked out after the Indiana series. He was pretty decent for most of the year. My point was that you'd still be looking at a one way player, something that could be problematic come playoff time.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:55 AM) JP had a prime? I don't want any kind of incarnation of Juan Pierre. Young, old or inbetween young and old. Juan Pierre was a 4-5 WAR player in Florida. Mostly because he played CF and was good at it. But I think he had one season where he hit .330 and actually had a slugging percentage above .400.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:50 AM) There are far worse role players out there. In the NL, I'd love to at worse, have a guy like Pierre on my bench. I cna pinch run for him and even if he isn't the same base stealer he once was, he's still an above average base runner that would be of great use in a late game situation. I could also use him as a pinch-hitter to start off an inning or as a pinch-bunter. And I am hard pressed to think that in just one year his defense has completely regressed from being an above average LFer (which he was last year defensively) to utter crap defensively. In fact, while it might not have been a great play yesterday, I didn't have any problem with it and by and large his arm is what sucks about his defense. His range has been fine most of the year (sans his early hiccups). But people here love to overreact and talk in pure absolutes. And contrary to the statiticians below (IMO), there is value in a guy that can smack hits, even if it is just singles. Singles are still a valuable commodity in the world and you don't always have to slug. Do I want Pierre back as a starter, would I prefer a different leadoff hitter, absolutely, but Pierre was solid last year and people still acted like he was the worse left fielder in the game. I get it, a lot of you are going to hate to hate cause its the cool or fun thing to do, but lets not pretend like the Sox are the only team that would have Pierre on there roster and worse yet, that since no one else would pick him up, he's the worse position player in the majors. Sorry, I'm not buying it. I thought Pierre was fine last year. He provided defense, good base running, and an okay OBP for a leadoff hitter. But this year is a completely different story. He's costing the team on defense (by almost all statistical measures and by the screw-ups everyone has seen), he's incredibly inefficient on the base paths, and his hitting is what I expected it to be. If you add all of those things up, it equals negative contribution. When you have Viciedo mashing in the minors and Brent Lillibridge hitting like Jose Bautista every now and then, there's no reason for Pierre to touch the starting lineup. I know it is hard to believe that a player can regress as much as Pierre has at base running and fielding in just one year, but it's not totally abnormal for guys like him to regress heavily. He's actually made it pretty far for a guy who relies on speed and speed alone.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:46 AM) Well I assume he would move to LF, as Rios seems pretty entrenched in CF. And Rios seems like the type of mental midget that would be bothered by the thought of having to play a position he's never played before. The only reason I even mentioned Bourn is because he's only got one more arb year left until he becomes a FA and I've heard the Astros wouldn't mind dealing him. You know Ozzie would be drooling at the thought of slappy 3.0. And KW would happily oblige him. Michael Bourn is a better version of Juan Pierre. Or at least Juan Pierre in his prime, who happened to be a pretty good player. Regardless of how slappy he was.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:37 AM) My legal department will be contacting you shortly for not citing my trademark on Kevin Martin = perfect Bulls fit. He's far from a perfect fit. He still can't play a lick of defense. You'd have the same problems you had with Korver this season.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:37 AM) You guys are out of your mind if you don't think someone would pick up Juan Pierre if the Sox released him (no they wouldn't take on his contract, but they'd take him at the major league minimum). And no, he wouldn't need to go to the minors either. And that isn't me defending Juan, it is more calling all of you out for making stupid reactionary statements. Which team would want a .260 hitting corner outfielder with a slugging percentage 30 points lower than his on base percentage who can't field, can't steal bases, and is in his mid-30s already? No sane team would want him just for the hell of it, it'd be out of necessity, even if it's for the league minimum.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:29 AM) I'd rather have him in the lineup than Dunn or Rios right now. Whatever happened to Pierre DHing? That might actually be a good thing for the team this year.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 10:57 AM) Serious question: If JP were released today is there a team that would pick him off waivers? I doubt it. And here Ozzie is starting him, no less. His most valuable asset was always his speed and he covered a lot of ground in the outfield and got to balls others wouldn't, but even that seems to be gone. He doesn't get on base enough and he can't steal even when he does. What's the point? No sane team would.

Just read some stuff about how the Warriors were talking to the Bulls, along with a bunch of other teams, about Monta Ellis. Ellis is a good player, but he's a volume scorer, something the Bulls don't need. The Bulls lacked efficiency last season, they didn't have any great shooters. Deng and Rose hovered around a .550 TS% and they were the only starters you would trust to shoot the ball on a regular basis. Get somebody who can give you well above average efficiency and can shoot more than Keith Bogans and you have yourself a match. Kevin Martin is a better player to look at IMO.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 11:07 AM) Pretty stupid if you ask me. What the hell is Butler going to be able to give them at this point? Udonis Haslem turned the series around for Miami in the ECF. So who knows?

Didn't Carlos start killing the ball at this time last season too? I remember him going on a huge tear before the ASB and then going back to being bad after getting hurt against the Angels.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 09:26 AM) Except of course once we got to hear him speak, he was nothing of the sort. But you go ahead and assume that based on nothing. He was probably told to be quiet about it. Rumor has it that he was promised the Sox would draft him.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:23 PM) The Sox have 2 batters around 200, so you were saying? Rios is terrible, I'll say that much, but at least Dunn has an average OBP, regardless of how many times he strikes out. My point was that NL teams aren't centered around on base percentage or batting average.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:19 PM) The team doesnt exist, but that is the goal of creating a NL style offense, high batting average and high obp. The Sox offense does neither of those things well, I was merely stating that if I could trade the Sox offense for an offense that got a ton more hits and was better on base, Id gladly give up some hrs, because I just cant stand watching a game and hoping that we hit 2-3 hrs or else we cant score. Its just frustrating. I'm pretty sure it's hard for an NL team to out-hit an AL team since they have a .200 hitter batting 2-3 times a game. Plus, when NL ball is symbolized by small ball, I'm not sure it's encouraging getting on base.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:15 PM) Where have I said that I would prefer NL style to an actual AL offense? I said Id prefer a team that can get on base a lot compared to OUR CURRENT OFFENSE. You really prefer the White Sox offense, to a team that averaged over 300 and got on base at a 370+ clip and scored a bunch of runs? I couldnt disagree more. Sox offense is pathetic this year. That team doesn't exist.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:12 PM) Why would you ever want to do that playing 81 games at the Cell? BECAUSE WE SHOULD MOVE THE FENCES 100 FEET BACK. Because you know, offense is on a huge rise in baseball, not in the worst shape since the 1980s.

Quick J4L, say something along the lines of Brandon League being too good and that the Sox have no chance. The last time you did it, the Sox scored 4 off of Soria. lol

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:09 PM) Ozzie just jizzed in his pants when he was the suicide squeeze on. "O muh gawd. I shood do dat!" Watch him do it when we're down by 3 or something.