chw42

QUOTE (rangercal @ Apr 14, 2009 -> 07:37 PM) My previous post was sarcasm. I know. I could tell by the big at the end.

This is epic lulz. He was tossing 70 MPH fastballs up there. The Rays should be ashamed that they didn't score off of him. There was a YouTube video of this, but MLB.com took it down. At one point, Swish went to the side arm like Jose does.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Apr 14, 2009 -> 07:13 PM) Depending on the tools you are looking for. I guess we need someone who plays gold glove defense, has a power bat and is a base stealer . Then you're talking about a hybrid of Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes. Not happening. There are literally zero great SS in the AL right now. It's sad, but based on stats from last year, Alexei Ramirez is the best offensive shortstop in the American League right now. Looking at these other SS, it looks pathetic. NYY - Jeter BOS - Lowrie BAL - Izturis TB - Bartlett TOR - Scutaro MIN - Punto/Harris CLE - Peralta DET - Everett KC - Aviles LAA - Izturis/Aybar SEA - Betancourt OAK - Cabrera Who on that list is even close to Alexei in terms of offensive production when you take out Jeter and Peralta? I think the answer is absolutely nobody. Keep Alexei at short, you're going to have a hard time finding anybody that's even close to his production in the AL. The NL is a bit different. Center fielders are also pretty damn hard to come by, but we have two great ones in our division right now (Granderson and Sizemore).

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 14, 2009 -> 05:40 PM) It just reminds me of how much I hate watching him hit. He works counts well because he just doesn't swing the bat. For his career he's only swung at 36.7% of his total pitches seen. Last year that would have been the 4th lowest swing% of the 343 players who had at least 200 PA. He makes contact at a very high rate; his 88.1% number would put him in the upper 14 percentile of qualified hitters last year but he chooses to just watch pitches. For his career only 7% of his total strikes are from him swinging and missing while 38% are looking. That's why back in '05 and '06 50% of his strikeouts (total: 171 K) were looking. He's incredibly disciplined, anyone who watches 63%+ of pitches into the glove has to be but his strikezone vision isn't great. Good discipline + poor zone vision = bat on shoulder approach. He doesn't really draw walks but 8 to 9 percent of his plate appearances will likely end in him jogging to 1st. I gotta agree with this. I remember thinking back in 2005 about how Podsednik was probably one of the worst .290 hitters I've ever seen. I saw why the next two seasons. I like his discipline, which is good for a leadoff hitter, but you have to be able to swing the bat if you want to lead off as well.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Apr 14, 2009 -> 05:01 PM) Scott Podsednik is a 33 year old marginal offensive player (.256/.322/.353/.675 in 1008 PA over the last 3 seasons) and terrible center fielder with an awful arm. Why anyone would a player such as this to receive 75% of the total PA in center field is beyond me. It's Ozzie likes fast players and the fact that he doesn't like BA. BA himself isn't so impressive you know... If BA shows me he can hit .250 playing everyday, I'll take that. I think everybody will. Problem is, he probably can't. He hit .230 last year while getting selected at bats where he saw nothing but fastballs half the time. Throw him a breaking ball and he will squeal. What makes you think BA is going to hit .250-.260 while playing everyday? I'm not hating on the guy, it's just what the stats tell me.

Jose usually sucks against the Tigers.

Shortstop is probably harder to fill.

I still want to know the truth about Roswell.

Rose has shown he has the ability to take over. The guy's got heart and he knows when to turn it on. He just needs to learn how to do it for most of the game, not just a quarter. BTW, when was the last time two Chicago teams beat two Detroit teams in Detroit on the same day? I know this can't happen with hockey and basketball because then they would play in the same facility. The only possibility might be a Bulls/Hawks/Bears win combined with a Sox/Bears win. The fact that two Chicago teams play in Detroit on the same day is hard to come by in the first place.

Poor Pods. He couldn't get 20 while he was here cause Garland had it (I believe he was 20 in Milwaukee). Then he got let go last year and Quentin took 20. Now he can't even get his older number back cause of Fields. I think 24 is the way to go here...

I don't know how good BA would be if exposed over long periods of time. Start BA against lefties and keep Pods down at 9th against righties. See how it works out. I have a feeling Ozzie is tempted to put Pods at leadoff...ewww.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 03:29 PM) The DET announcers seem to be besides themselves on why the Sox always beat the s*** out of the Tigers. They even said "they have speed." Epic lulz

He's still got one more start this week. He can still redeem himself.

Carlos is back! What wrist problem? It was nice to see PK and JD go back to back and both have monstrous offensive days. I couldn't watch the game because I was at school, but damn, Gavin sucked. 7 walks? I even started him in fantasy, stupid me. At least he got me a win.

Lillibridge is Ozzie's kind of guy. Not a good hitter, but can do the little things well. If he can play center, Ozzie would do it.

Nice play by Fields there.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 12:09 PM) everyone who knows anything about baseball recognizes him as a flash in the pan. yeah he's got talent, but he's going to be streaky as hell - nothing close to a reliable leadoff hitter all year. He's gonna be a decent fantasy player though. He plays 2B and 3B, two of the shallowest positions on the field and he hits leadoff and steals bases for you. You're going to get runs and steals out of him in a good position. As long as he hits .260-.270-ish he'll keep his job and will provide decently for you as a fantasy owner. As an actual baseball player, you're probably right.

Phil Rodgers is an idiot. How can you drop Cleveland THAT much after the first week?

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Apr 13, 2009 -> 01:39 PM) Quentin will be hitting his 300 sometime in Sept. If he keeps this up, yes. It looks like that wrist is fine.

QUOTE (Felix @ Apr 12, 2009 -> 09:04 PM) Seriesly. I hope you're not SUPER Serial.

Philly owns the tie-breaker. Better win tomorrow. I really want that 6th seed. It sounds better and we have a better chance against Orlando.

Although the Bulls have played an easy ass schedule lately, they can beat just about anybody at home. I think this team can at least make it go to game 6 against any team and make it interesting.

Did Wise get two hits...? Woah. The offense is coming back around. Clayton Richard scares me though.

Alexei with two hits. Quentin had two hits. Corky freakin' Miller had two hits. Bartolo pitched well with the aid of his high-80s fastball. If this was July and the Twins had Mauer, this game might have been a little different. But a win's a win and at least we know Bartolo can pitch. BTW, I liked Lillibridge (good patience at the plate, put down a good bunt) and Fields continues to impress.

With 3 games still left, the Bulls could possibly end up in the 6th seed if Philly plays like crap and the Bulls play well. I'd much rather face Orlando than Boston and Cleveland.