MiddleCoastBias

QUOTE (hogan873 @ May 18, 2010 -> 08:10 AM) 12:05 start. Another day of low production at work and much swearing at the computer. It's Election Day on the campaign I am working for. Something is going to have to give....

Can we bring back Contreras? /green, maybe...

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ May 12, 2010 -> 09:43 PM) his stance used to be more open as well. NOw he's almost lined up directly at the pitcher. I don't know why he, or anyone, changes with something they have been successful with. It's like the young golfer who wins early on in their career and then decide to change their swing only to never be heard from again. Cal Ripkin, Jr. Seemed like that dude had a new stance every time he came to bat. Definitely the rarest of success stories in terms of how much he changed his swing/stance while still maintaining sustained success.

QUOTE (IamtheHBOMB @ May 11, 2010 -> 10:17 PM) He is the antithesis of the typical White Sox player (in recent memory). Elite defender. Great instincts and technique on the basepaths. Power and plate discipline. To top it off, he is apparently coachable too. I'm so glad he is patrolling center field. If he keeps up this level of play, he will be well worth his contract. And the best part is that I have no idea how he manages to hit like he does with the stance that he has. Every pitch I catch myself thinking "bring the bat up like you're ready to hit!" I don't know how he has such level swing-control with his hands starting so low, but I love it.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 4, 2010 -> 10:07 PM) I like how the dude in the comments section thinks that this is the precursor to a Gonzalez or Fielder trade and that Coats is coming in to replace Quentin. Um, how about how that same guy is making hypothetical trades including players that HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THEIR NAME. Brent Worell? Seriously? How can he claim to know that he's a "stud in the minors" if he doesn't even know his name. I'm sorry, I don't normally call people out on a board but this is just frustrating.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:25 PM) I bet he pees like a girl... Fixed.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ May 2, 2010 -> 10:52 PM) some interesting points, but i strongly disagree with you on number 5 and 10. danks had a great april, but so did 11 other pitchers, he is only 12 in the ERA list, look at guys like zito, fister, silva, livan hernandez, cj wilson, jamie garcia, do you call them cy young candidates? if he has 16 wins, and a sub 3.00 ERA in september, then it's debatable whether he is a top 5 lefty starter. i can think of guys like lester, sabathia, santana, cliff lee, and even a renewed liriano off the top of my head as better lefties than danks most of the prospects we have down in AAA/AA are not ready, even D2, flowers, viciedo, just look at their K/AB, those are josh fields numbers in the majors, and i do not want to see 3 josh fields on the team right now. our team is the worse contact team in the league, and we do not need to rush guys up who will strike out twice every game. PK, danks, and jones has been sensational thus far, but expect them to come back to earth the next month or two. the only trends i see that could continue are Santos being a dominant reliever, and Rios continues to hit. Santos has really great stuff, reminds me of a young Bobby jenks or a poor man's jonathan broxton. If he continues to do well in the 7th or 8th inning, expect the Sox to trade jenks away at the deadline to avoid arbitration next year and put him or putz at closer spot. one thing that bothers me and hasn't really receive enough attention is buehrle's struggle. he has really gone down hill since the opening day, recording one 1 QS since, and opponents are just teeing off him like it's T ball. if not for that great opening day start, his ERA would be topping 6.00 now. Going back to last season, you can see his struggles really started after the perfect game, and he struggled to finish the season, and the trend continues now. perhaps the hitters are finally figuring out how to hit his soft stuff after all these year? i mean not even the cardinals would be into him now for that money and the mighty struggles. Like most here, I love everything the Burls has done for us, a true competitor day in and day out. But it really does sound like he wants to finish soon so he can take care of his family, and he also really wants to play for the Cards. I would really hate to see him go and I know it would be a big blow in terms of how the fans view the front office, but I think we should play the cards and consider trading him to the Cardinals (if we can get a positive return). Think about it, the Cardinals would love to have him, and Buerhle himself said he may not want to play much longer... why try to keep him for big money when we can flip him for good talent now considering he might not be around in 2 years anyway? I say trade him while he's just barely past his crescendo and before he loses value. And that hurts to say, knowing how much he means to this franchise, and I don't like bailing on franchise players.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 2, 2010 -> 05:06 PM) IF you watch him at the plate, he has a godawful swing technique right now. His hips are flying open on every swing, for starters. I believe his head is flying out following it. It also looks like he's standing straight up in the box when he sees a fat pitch, as if he's coming out of his stance too early. And this high fastball fascination of his is concerning.

I know Paulie seems to be a great guy for the organization (didn't he say he would take a pay cut if it would help the team?), but will he be the type of guy that will take a 'play cut' ie move to DH? I know Dye is adamantly against move to DH; is it likely that Paulie is ready to take on that role?

QUOTE (gatnom @ May 1, 2010 -> 01:59 AM) When Brent Lillibridge grows up, he wants to be just like him. Wammy, made my night.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2010 -> 05:10 PM) Oh, and the Mets at least for now are liking Ike Davis at 1b. What other teams will we be competing with for theses big-name/big-ticket 1Bs/DHs? Can we expect their value to decrease at all given the number of names out there with (possibly) few destinations, despite the precedent that Howard set with his contract?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 28, 2010 -> 03:57 PM) I wonder if that has ever happened. A bunt double. I know there have been infield doubles, in fact I believe Guillen hit one back in the day, in Minny. Didn't Carl Crawford or someone on the Rays have some crazy play within the last two years in which they turned a bunt into a run? Throwing error to first, more errors, etc.?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 27, 2010 -> 05:39 PM) Yes, the more power you have the more acceptable your K-Rate is going to be. When the ball leaves the park, it still counts as a hit, so a guy hitting 40 HR can still put together a reasonable set of overall numbers with those sort of K-rates and won't be guaranteed to hit .220. However...34% is high even for a 40 HR hitter. Over a 600 at bat season that's >200 K's. Thanks. I guess my concern is WHAT IS an acceptable K-rate for Danks at his position, given his particular role and skill set? What would he have to get that rate down to so that we don't view it was an issue anymore?

I might be a little late to this discussion, but I recall watching the Braves game the other night, and they highlighted Hayward's K-rate as over 34%. Is it more acceptable for him to have such a high K-rate because he has more power than Danks?

According to Cowley, Coop didn't make the trip to Texas. What might this be about?

Nix and Lucy, following a sweep with momentum on our side, and after a rest day. Interesting.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 11:38 PM) randy moss was consistently awesome his first 5 years in the league. True. But he had some issues with keeping his head in the game, and they were overlooked at first because of his super-stardom. My point is that Alexei has a similar issue (skill but no concentration), but he's not at the relative level of stardom to get away with it; he doesn't have the relative awesome skill that Moss possesses to compensate for his lapse in concentration. It eventually caught up with Moss, but he fought through it and overcame. The true test for Alexei is if he can learn from Vizquel or whomever to find the path necessary to overcome his brain farts, and become the player he has the ability to be.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 10:43 PM) We have a drawer full of those cowbells from the 2008 season and postseason. I want to melt them down so my family doesn't ring them in my face when my Sox suck arse against their Rays. Melt them down into the form of the World Series trophy as a constant reminder. What's better, cowbells and mohawks or World Series trophy and rings?

QUOTE (elgonzo4sox @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 08:18 PM) Did they mention if the trophy would get redistributed if the Sox and Cubs meet in the World Series? Or is this a moot point? Please note the highlighted words. If this actually happens, they won't be concerned about this trophy, but the Department of Child and Family Services will be on high-alert after all of the bets that Cubs fans have in which they are all willing to sell their first-born.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 26, 2010 -> 08:08 PM) I know I have said it. Alexei's baseball IQ is nil as far as I am concerned. He takes off way too many plays mentally, and makes the wrong choice all too often as well. It's sad to say, but it generally seems like he's the 'Randy Moss' of baseball (though he doesn't have the relative all-star capability that Moss has, if you can relate that across sports). He seems to be the guy that has the skills to really excel at his position if he can 'figure it out'. Moss seems to have settled into a solid role after a shaky start; I'm hoping Alexei is just experiencing those same growing pains and can break through that cloud. If he can, he can be something really special. I suspect Omar is here to really try to 'ground' him and keep him focused; I just hope it works.

Even Greg Maddux knows, chicks love the long ball. And Tom Glavine swings like a girl. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/...g-the-longball/

Or blow-up dolls.

It's tough to follow that tirade. But seriously, it's more than a bit disconcerting to see how Peavy has performed this year. I guess I will give Ozzie credit for attempting something really new in the lineup; it days past he has said he's trying something new but it's really only been small changes. Today was a whole-sale lineup change: given Beckham will be in the everyday lineup, it was refreshing to see Q was moved down because something is clearly not clicking for him right now. I feel like if you replace the real pieces for their place-holders in today's lineup might make for interesting everyday lineup ie Beckham for Vizquel, Rios for Jones in CF and batting 3rd. AJ batting 5th was more than questionable given how he's hit this season, probably a reflection of Ozzie's boner for L-R-etc. Not many positives, but I'd like to think that at least Ozzie is trying to do something to get it going, though why he did it with the scrub lineup, I can't be sure.

This thread got off to a shaky start, but I think this has been one of the best discourses on here in a while. I'm loving this real debate, chock full of informed rebuttals.

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Apr 21, 2010 -> 02:36 PM) Totally dude, I was just joking. Imagine like 30 thousand pointing and laughing at him though.