elgonzo4sox

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Sep 9, 2010 -> 06:23 AM) Nauseatingly bad defense. He made two bad errors, the second of which led to four runs. I didn't realize he was that bad, but now I do. Both plays were pretty easy. Vizquel could have made them while blindfolded and having a conversation with Alexei. Even Viciedo would have had no problem. Morel is well positioned to knock Teahen off third base next year, if KW doesn't trade him first. The little I've heard about Morel's defense is very good - "Crede-like". Ozzie values defense, and if Morel fields well in spring training and bats a little above the Mendoza line, I think the job is his. I'd also like to have Vizquel back next year, and playing 3rd as much as possible for the rest of this season, but Omar can't be counted on to play 162 games at third next year. I don't think Teahen's contract will guarantee him playing time at third, if Ozzie has a better option - Morel. Linebrink's contract has kept him on the 25-man roster, but Ozzie has kept him out of high leverage situations.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 07:07 PM) i got no problem with that. starting right now. I wish Ozzie would do it right now - send a message - this is the playoff push, boys, and we need to win!

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Sep 8, 2010 -> 07:02 PM) I think Teahen is used to the season being over by mid-August. Bench Teahen, move Vizquel back to 3rd, and put the Bridge at 2nd until Beckham can play 2nd again.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 7, 2010 -> 08:42 AM) Teahen played 1B yesterday, has played it before, and is perfectly capable of the rare appearance over there. There really is no need to have Kotsay on this team if he is going to be useless with the bat. Wow - some Teahen love on this board, for how he plays in the infield (albeit first base) - I'm shocked! Back to the 25-man opening day roster: if you drop Kotsay to add Thome, then you have three bench players: Vizquel, Jones, and Nix. If Teahen were Paulie's backup at first, then when Teahen went down we would have seen a heckuva lot more of Dayan Viciedo, at both 3rd and 1st. As it was, in the limited time he played, it appeared that opposing pitchers figured him out, or he lost his plate discipline, and he struck out a huge percentage of the time towards the end of his stay. And he wasn't exactly stellar in the field. If Viciedo had been exposed more and earlier, it would have forced the Sox onto the trade or scrap heap market for a backup third baseman or corner infielder. Again, this is where the Twins' apparently stronger supply of major-league-ready AAA talent helps them. They know that if someone goes down, they likely can bring someone up from the minors to fill the gap (isn't this what everyone always says about the Twins?). And that gives them the ability to put a part-time "DH only" guy like Thome on their 25 man active roster. I know I'm one of the few, but I still agree with Ozzie (and KW, who allowed it to happen) that, when you look at the big picture including the supply of major-league-ready talent from the AAA level, that we couldn't afford a "DH only" guy on the 25 man roster this year, with an aging Paulie and questionable Quentin. But now that we're past the Sept. 1 roster expansion and headed into the playoffs, we can not only afford it but benefit from it.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Sep 6, 2010 -> 11:38 PM) That's a very good post. I think people forget the shape the pen is in, even after having a couple of days off. What many fans don't realize is the number of relievers on a daily basis that teams try to avoid using and they sometimes don't realize just how quickly a pen can get burned out (like elgonzo said, ask Ron Gardenhire). Yesterday, they did not want to use Sale or Santos again, and they ABSOLUTELY did not want to go to Jenks. And with no Putz, that meant lining up the final 2 innings plus with maybe Thornton (who had not pitched in over 2 weeks) and somebody else. Martinez, by the way, had already popped up twice and flied out once to Buehrle in yesterday's game leading up to the HR. It wasn't like he had been killing him on that day, anyway. O know the argument will be made that this is a pennant race, etc., etc., etc. But this is not the final week...the end of the season is not 'til Oct. 3rd. This is still a time to be careful with the pen and monitor it's usage. I think people just get so angry with certain managerial decisions (and, yes, it does happen everywhere) that they don't even really to take the time to try to understand WHY they're making a move that doesn't make sense on the surface. Thanks, Ranger. Your show is a beacon of sanity in an often chaotic world. This has been a crazy season, with major highs and lows - let's hope it ends on a high!

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 6, 2010 -> 04:23 PM) When he was brought back I had no idea what the final roster was going to look like. Obviously had I known this was a straight-up choice between Kotsay and Thome I would've said Thome. I really didn't think we were actually going to go into the season with that roster and that Ozzie really intended to give Kotsay 300-400 at bats. If you pick Thome over Kotsay, then you relegate Paulie to playing 162 games at first, or putting Teahen at first. Both have had issues with tiredness or minor/major injuries. Injuries and tiredness happen, and that's what Ozzie and KW had to factor in while constructing a 25 man roster to play 132 games (until Sept 1, when the active roster expands to 40). KW and Ozzie got us to Sept 1 in 2nd place, 3 games back of the Twins in the loss column, and now we have our full-time "DH-only" guy (and Manny Ramirez no less), so I don't understand the intense flaming Ozzie is receiving.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 6, 2010 -> 12:07 PM) This is what I thought he'd be doing when he was brought back and I had no problem with it at all. You guys wanted to keep Kotsay (but play him less) and add Thome? It's a 25 man roster, not 26. Who do you throw off the 25 man lifeboat? We started the season with 12 pitchers and 8 starters in the field, leaving 5 backup fielders plus the DH. Castro backs up AJ, so that's one backup. Which of Vizquel, Nix or Jones would you have dropped to add Thome and keep Kotsay? If you drop Nix you have only 1 backup 3B-SS-2B. If you drop Jones you have only 1 real backup OF.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 11:22 PM) Thome wouldn't have played 162 games as DH so Paulie easily could have gotten those days of rest even with thome on the roster and we wouldn't have had to have the kotsay experiment. If Thome was on the Opening Day roster instead of Kotsay, then who plays first when Konerko gets a "half day" off as DH or a full day off? First base is a very important defensive position.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 09:30 PM) Hell, what does the rest of Minny's schedule look like??? Aside from the 3 at the Cell: 6 versus KC (split home/road) 6 versus Cleveland (split home/road) 3 at Detroit 3 at home versus Oakland 4 at home versus Toronto at the end of the season So I don't see much help. But if the Sox stay hot and the Twins luck runs out a little, the Sox could pick up a game or a few.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 09:16 PM) But some help would always be nice. No disagreement there. It'd be great! I'm just pointing out that we don't absolutely (or mathematically) need it. I don't think we're likely to get much help, because the Rangers were the last supposed-to-be-hard opponent for the Twins, and the Rangers mailed it in because they are so far ahead in the West. But no problem - Sox just need to go ahead and take care of their own business, and get ready for 3 or 4 HUGE games against the Twins that will very likely determine the winner of the division. I've got my tickets!

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 08:11 PM) I couldn't possibly disagree with this statement more. My statement that the Sox don't need help from anyone and control their own destiny is mathematically correct. Hear me out: If the Sox win out from this point forward, they will make up the 3 games they are behind in the loss column by beating the Twins three times in the Sept 14-16 series. If the Twins win all their games except the 3 against the Sox, both teams will finish with exactly the same record and there will be a Game 163 (in Minny, alas), which the Sox also control and can win. Therefore they control their own destiny and don't need anyone else's help to beat Minny. But they would have to win 4 of 4 games against the Twins (the 3 in the upcoming series, plus Game 163). The math works the same if both the Sox and the Twins lose exactly the same number of games when they are *not* facing each other. So as long as the Sox don't lose more games than the Twins when they aren't playing each other, they set up a scenario in which they would have to take 4 of 4 from the Twins. But, you might say, winning 4 of 4 against Minny (3 games in Chicago plus 1 in Minny) is pretty hard or unrealistic. If so, then we do need some help - and we actually need two games worth of help (two more Twins losses than Sox losses when they aren't facing each other). If we only take 2 of 3 versus the Twins in the upcoming series, then we only make up one of the three games in the loss column, and we need other teams to help us make up the other two losses and again force Game 163. So we can indeed win the division by taking just 3 out of 4 games versus the Twins, but that requires two games worth of help.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 08:44 PM) Um... no one here complains when PAULIE is the DH; I know I sure as hell don't. It's when it's Kotsay, Jones or someone similar. What are you talking about? Am I missing something here? Paulie shouldn't DH all the time, since he is still very good in the field at first. He just can't play 162 games at first any more, as he proved again today and likely tomorrow, when a hopefully minor injury is preventing him from taking the field. So having him DH on occasion keeps his bat in the line-up. But in order for the rotating DH strategy to be implemented, you can't have a full-time "DH only" guy on the roster - you needs players like Kotsay and Jones who can also play good defense in the field. So how are the Twins doing it, with Thome as a part-time "DH only" guy? They lose a fielder from their active roster, but as we all know they have a seemingly endless supply of AAA call-ups who come up to the big league club to spell their major league fielders when they go down for a while due to injury or tiredness. I don't think the Sox have the same supply of talent at the AAA level.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 08:29 PM) How can you give credit to him for playing an injured Paulie? Ozzie didn't play Paulie at first base - I assume he and Paulie both thought Paulie could DH but needed some rest from playing the field. It's effectively a "half day off". And by the way, shouldn't we give Ozzie some credit for Paulie's awesome age-defying season? I know many will hate to hear this, but the rest Paulie has gotten by DHing (which keeps his bat in the line-up) is the primary benefit of the much maligned "rotating DH" strategy. If we had a permanent DH, whether Thome or Manny or anyone else, then Paulie either plays more at first (risking injury or tiredness) or he sits his hot bat down.

If the Sox beat out the Twins, Ozzie deserves AL Manager of the Year for the simple (yet incredibly important) reason that he held this team together in May when almost everyone in the media, fandom and perhaps even front office had written them off. As for today's game: --Some people ripped Ozzie for sitting Manny and playing Kotsay. But after the game we learned Paulie had a bad back, so Ozzie was right to have Kotsay play first. The choice Ozzie had to make was Paulie vs. Manny for DH, not Kotsay vs. Manny. And Ozzie did use Manny beautifully well in the 8th with one out. He scared Francona, who panicked and went to his closer Papelbon for a *five out save*. Eventually, Papelbon tired and gave up the game. Give Ozzie a little credit for that. --I was nervous too when Ozzie left in Burls to face VMart, but our bullpen was not at full strength after yesterday's DH sweep. If you want to see what can happen when you switch pitchers too often, look back at Thursday night's Twins/Tigers game, in which the much esteemed Gardenhire blew through his entire bullpen and three starters, and then had no one to start the next night except an emergency AAA call-up. Now that's a prime example of mishandling pitchers.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Sep 5, 2010 -> 06:52 PM) Why couldnt MLB just contracted Minnesota years back? Would have made life a lot easier as a baseball fan. I saw the interview with Ron Washington yesterday on the Fox game - he basically said "We've got the division won, so we're mailing it in this month and resting up for October." Fortunately, the Sox are 3 back in the loss column with 3 to play against the Twins, so THE SOX CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY. Yes it will be tough to sweep the Twins, but we're playing great again and don't need help from anyone else right now.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 10:15 PM) Dayan. I hope he developed some plate discipline during his weeks in Charlotte...or maybe Walk'll fix him?

Linebrink gets the W!!! Lillibridge gets the GWRBI!!! This is the game that turns our luck around!!! Look out Twinkies - your days are numbered!!!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 10:13 PM) Who is that girl? Christina Ricci's sister from Black Snake Moan? I don't think we'll see Morel with the labrum problem...but it certainly is a possibility. Didn't know he was down...bummer...who might they bring up for another infielder?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 30, 2010 -> 10:07 PM) Bruised right hand, the ubiquitous "day to day" tagline appraisal for all those situations. Thank goodness rosters expand on Wednesday...maybe we'll see Morel for some additional infield help.

Rios is going to benefit by having Manny in the lineup - it will take some of the pressure off, and he can just quietly keep knocking out hits.

Who needs Manny when we've got The Bridge!!!

Twins are 2-3 in their last 5 games, and have been shut out twice, and have 3 more in Texas, and have lost their 2 primary bullpen lefties (Mijares and Mahay) and a starter (Slowey)...this is a good opportunity to pick up one or two of the games we need to make the September Sox-Twins series determine the winner of this division...

Twins eked out a hit (Mauer ground ball up the middle that got past a diving SS Elvis Andrus), but no runs, and were indeed shut out for the second time in five games, meaning they are 2-3 in their past 5 games. Phil Rogers and others have already crowned the Twins AL Central champs, but I say there is plenty of time left, and the Twins are far from invincible. Twuck the Fins!!!

Twins on the verge of being shut out for the second time in five games...Rangers lead 4-0 and will take a combined no-hitter into the 9th. Twins line so far: 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error If the Twins lose, they will be 2-3 in their last 5 games, with 3 more to come in Arlington...

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Aug 23, 2010 -> 01:23 PM) The pitching has sucked this year. There's no DH out there or ever will be to conquer that. It's not easy to manage in the big leagues when your pitching sucks. I know it's hard for some people to grasp that the season was lost coming out of the gate because of pitching and now the only way for Sox to win games is if games are 6 innings. Since we like to get in the habit of blaming coaches, maybe Coop is no longer useful. Coop no longer useful? This is insane. The man has a World Series ring that was primarily delivered by his pitching staff (4 complete game victories in the ALCS), a pitcher with a no-hitter and a perfect game (Burls), two pitchers who have set the all-time MLB record for consecutive batters retired (Jenks and Burls), and a lengthy list of pitchers who have been made into studs by his coaching, from Jenks through Thorton and now perhaps EJax. I know Sox fans are frustrated, but going after Coop is crazy.