DBAHO

A few updates on the situation;

Now I would actually like to make this sort of a deal. Deal the 1st for the 6th and the 15th picks. And maybe try to work Joffrey Lupul into there somehow. I think in the long run there won't be much difference b/w say Kane and Angelo Esposito or the Russian Prospect Cherepanov who may be better than anyone. Any thoughts?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jun 21, 2007 -> 02:51 AM) Maybe. Contreras had a pretty good stretch earlier. He's been struggling recently. I think he'll be ok. The main question as to whether he can rebound is his velocity. Can he find that extra zip on his fastball, or is it getting to the stage now where he's getting too old and he can't? That's what KW, Ozzie and Coop need to find out ASAP. Otherwise, it's probably a good idea to trade him, but the Sox may have to eat some of that contract if they really want some talent in return, although starting pitching is always valuable.

Well it's just getting sad now. There's almost a sense of inevitibility, anytime the Sox lead by a run or 2 in the closing innings, that the other team is going to catch up. We had the feeling in 2005, that we would catch up, when we would get those clutch hits, and the bullpen would do the job. Now it's the complete opposite. Coop's done some pretty solid work getting Buehrle to rebound and Garland to have another good season, but right now he doesn't have much else going for him. And unless that turns around, well he might have to worry about his job security as Walker is doing now. What the bullpen is serving up, day after day, is totally 100% unacceptable. KW's loaded up on power arms which is all well and good, but if your secondary stuff isn't good enough, hitters are going to clue in on what our relievers are going to toss up, and we're paying the cost.

Thornton's got to get a handle of his off-speed stuff. Too often hitters are getting locked into that fastball of his, and if he mis-locates it, it's gone. Almost the Neal Cotts syndrome all over again really.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 20, 2007 -> 11:48 PM) Dye's quad injury is a little more serious than first reported. We need to trade him now, before he eventually goes on the DL. He said he would try to play thru it IIRC. Really an important time in terms of his future over the next couple of weeks. He need to stay healthy, because he's finally starting to come around with the bat. With the Pads trading for Barrett today though, maybe it's a sign the market is starting to pick up though.

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Jun 20, 2007 -> 11:50 PM) SCORE is talking to Steve Stone; Here it is, Stone's friend talked to Barrett moments ago and he is leaving. Barrett is a FA. Speculation Stone says they had to be getting Bard or Bowen... Bard's numbers are certainly down across the board this season, and Kevin Towers may be regretting that deal he gave him in the off-season (think it was a 3 year deal). So maybe Barrett for Bard and a fringe bullpen arm from the Pads? They're pretty full with relievers ATM.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 20, 2007 -> 03:39 PM) It's all BS. BBC is making such a big deal out of this that it's sickening. England's 2nd goal came on a play where one of Serbia's defenders was on the ground and the English side took advantage and scored, instead of kicking the ball out. From the commentary I saw, Rajkovic had been laying on the ground at least 2 minutes. Then, there was a skirmish between the teams following the goal. Then the Serbian fans started chanting racist remarks. First off, shame on the referee and shame on England. For the country that preaches fair play, they sure know when to take advantage of a team when a man is down. That is complete BS. Derbyshire's celebration after the goal was just classless as well and his goal should have been pulled back and he should have been carded. This is unacceptable in international play. 2nd, if Serbia would have scored the same way, with an English player down, BBC, England, Queen Elizabeth, and the rest of the fans in the stadium would have thrown a huge fit, especially considering the fact(s) that A.) Serbia had it's entire 2nd team in, B.) The celebration deserved a swift kick in the face, and C.) it would have possibly cost England a shot at the Semi-Finals. This whole incident pisses me off so much. Anything England could do to make Serbia the bad guys is what's happening. No mention of the "fair play" that England loves. No mention of the celebration. Nope, just Serbia's racist fans. GMAB. Really I think the new rule they introduced where the referee decides whether a player is really injured or not, and therefore decides whether for play to continue, is really going to cause a lot of controversy, like it has here and into the future. I mean sure players fake it, but then situations such as this occur and it really blows up.

Today's blast from the past (god I love Cornette as a commentator);

QUOTE(Steff @ Jun 20, 2007 -> 11:36 PM) Not a shock. Any idea who for?

Great article here from Phil Rogers on the situation;

QUOTE(fathom @ Jun 20, 2007 -> 12:27 PM) You just want to see him get ahead of hitters Well you can't have everything for a starting pitcher in his 1st season in the bigs I'm afraid.

QUOTE(DonnyDevito @ Jun 20, 2007 -> 12:13 PM) this is the same old white sox offense. uribe is stealing $6-7 million per year from the Chicago White Sox. he must be in bed with Ozzie Guillen because dude sucks more than anybody else on our team yet he never misses a game. we get a few runs early and then shut down for the rest of the game. typical white sox Uribe's actually only making 4.15M this season FWIW.

PHEW. I don't know how, but we're somehow still ahead.

Well Ozzie was vindicated for at least 1 inning. Let's hope Aardsma can keep that form up.

Hell, he might not even get out of this inning.

John will be done after 5, he's already up to 84 pitches. So the bullpen has to do the job tonight.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jun 19, 2007 -> 10:04 AM) Looks like Tevez might actually stay at West Ham, and it also seems that Sam Allardyce is going to completely reconstruct that Newcastle squad. I certainly hope so. He showed what he's capable of over the final 10 games. We've already signed Scott Parker from Newcastle while Reo - Coker is on the outs to Aston Villa. The arbitration panel is deciding today whether to open up the Tevez punishment as well. Sheffield United want re-instatement to the Premier League and for West Ham to be relegated. I'd say there's under a 10% chance of that happening though, and the Premier League agree. And what's been your take on the whole England vs. Serbia fiasco at the U21 Champs Soxfan1? Certainly an interesting situation (not a good one though).

From the Daily Southtown;

Buehrle and Dye to the Mets? Milledge, Martinez, Pelfrey and Humber please.

Did Joe Crede pop up out of a birthday cake for you? (and further injure his wonky back in the process) Happy Birthday Steve!!!!

Of course Paulie is going to say that. He's not going to say "Nope, we've got no chance, might as well rebuild". So I don't blame him on that regard. He's a veteran, he wants to win, he doesn't want to a few seasons for us to contend again. But it's absolutely stupidiof KW decides, alright Paulie, I'll do what you say. Doesn't matter if we're 15 games back when Pods and Erstad get back, we're going for it. The sad realization here, I think KW thinks that when Erstad gets back, this team is going to get hot. He thinks that the major reason that we have gone into this slump, is because Darin Erstad has not been on this ballclub. And while that may be "partly" the case (because Owens has done squat), it is certainly not the major reason. It's because of the inability to hit, and for this bullpen to get the job done and give the ball to Bobby Jenks in save situations. And until those 2 aspects improve, it doesn't matter if we bring in Adam Dunn, Todd Coffey etc., we're done. By the day I lose a little bit of hope in terms of KW and building a young team for the future, after seeing this article a little piece of hope went away again. /EndRant

Charlotte got shutout 3-0. Haeger went 6.1 innings, 9H's, 3ER, 2BB's and 7K's. Anderson 0 for 4, Sweeney 0 for 3 with a BB, Pods 0 for 2 with 2BB's, a SB, and a K. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...ox&did=milb B-Ham got thumped 9-0. Whisler went 5.1 innings, 9H's, 7ER, 5BB's and 1 K, not a good outing. Valido 0 for 4, Collaro 0 for 4, Lucy 0 for 2 with a K. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/st...biraax_cngaax_1 W-S didn't play today nor did Kanny. Both leagues have All - Star games tomorrow.

The Sox are always going to be aggressive, in situations like that. It was quite funny when Razor became our 3rd base coach and everyone said "Oh he'll be a huge upgrade on Cora!!!"

C'mon A.J, get it done here.