DBAHO

That'd be Edwards' best outing of the season so far (although he hasn't really shown that much either).

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 02:40 AM) BABIP, for a lot of players is more luck oriented. Unless, you’re a fluke, BABIP can generally be thrown off by a slight tilt in offensive orientation, or as you said, just bad execution at the plate. Nothing, other than last year from Swisher is any real statistically significant suggestion that implies Swisher isn’t the same exact player he’s always been. Clutch, frankly, isn’t really a measurable statistics. It’s what your eyes tell you are clutch, and that’s a wooly distinction to have to make. A good stat to look at is GPA, Gross Production Average. 06 - .293 07 - .294 08 - .242 09 - .285 Out of all this, I agree that Swisher is definitely better than the player we saw last season, and we probably sold low on him. But would Swisher have produced this season if Xavier Nady was healthy and the everyday RF? Would Swisher have bounced back this season if the Sox kept him? So like I said before, there's a lot of "what if's", and obviously Swisher is a much better player than DeWayne Wise, there's no doubt about that. But the Sox lucked out and got Pods who has bounced back very nicely, and our OF looks pretty good ATM with Quentin-Pods-Dye, although I'll be surprised if they can all remain healthy going forward. I think at least Nick realized going to the Yanks was a real last chance for him, and he's making the most of it, which is good for him.

One thing Swisher hasn't improved on, is hitting in the clutch. He has a BA/RISP of .219 and a clutch factor of -4.0. But this season, he's hitting far less line drives and more flyballs, and that's translating into more power at the new Yankee Stadium. I still think though, if he ever wants to get back to where he was rated a few seasons ago, that average of his needs to get back to around the .270-.280 mark, and I don't know whether he's capable of that anymore.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 2, 2009 -> 12:37 AM) I am absolutely giddy about this trade, but I remember we were saying similar things about our rotation when we acquired Vazquez. I just don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. Hopefully Peavy has at least more "marbles" than Vazquez ever did.

If Nick Swisher would have put up last season the numbers that he has put up this season for the Yankees, and been a better influence "off the field", then Swisher would probably still be a member of the White Sox. But then, Podsednik wouldn't be here, and Peavy may not be either, so there's always a lot of "what if's" in baseball. Both parties moved on, and they've both done well out of it.

Good to see Dayan really starting to establish himself at the batters box in B-Ham. If he keeps this type of pace up for the rest of the season, I'll be interested to see where the experts (BA, Minorleagueball etc.) rate him as a prospect all things being considered.

Well I certainly didn't see this one coming 24 hours ago. Here's my thoughts on the deal and the players involved; Jake Peavy - Well KW wanted to get an ace, whether it was a Roy Halladay or a Jake Peavy, and when was the last time the Sox signed a big name SP in FA? The ERA's up a little this season compared to the past couple, but he's still an elite pitcher when healthy, we all know that. How will he fit at the Cell though, going from the friendly confines at PETCO? Well Peavy has a GB% of just over the 40% mark. For comparisons sake, Buehrle's is around 45% and Danks is at 47%, so I don't anticipate that number being a huge issue going forward, and perhaps he'll try to generate more groundball by pitching down in the zone more going forward. His FIP this season is 3.04 which is excellent, and right around where he has been over the past 4-5 seasons. So all in all, I like what I see from Jake, and I think he can definitely put up an ERA around the 3-3.5 mark going forward, so long as his HR rate doesn't spike dramatically. One note of caution though, he struggles a lot more against lefties, with them hitting .276 against him compared to .173 against righties, and there are some good lefty hitters in the division obviously. Richard - His numbers should improve pitching at PETCO, and I could see him being a long - term #3 - #4 starter for them with an ERA around the 4 mark. He's cheap, and he fits into what the Padres are trying to do. Poreda - Same scenario as Richard. Young and cheap, and I think he could end up being a #2 starter for the Padres if he can reach his upside. Pitching at PETCO will obviously help. The thing you have to remember though, even if these 2 do well for San Diego, you have to ask whether or not they could have done the same for the Sox considering the leagues / ballparks etc. Carter - Dexter's put up excellent numbers and has been a excellent draft pick for where he was selected (13th round). Needs to develop a 3rd pitch, but again, he could definitely reach the Padres rotation one day. Russell - Russell was never going to contribute for the Sox again I would have though, so he's basically a throw in. But if he can get his control in order, a future career as a set-up guy certainly isn't out of the question. So all in all, who wins the trade? Well I think it's fairly even. The Sox wanted an ace, and were willing to give up some good talent to do so. The important thing is, we didn't give up Tyler Flowers, Dayan Viciedo or Jordan Danks to get a deal done here. If we traded for Roy Halladay, one of those guys is definitely involved for sure. Adding Peavy to Buehrle, Danks and Floyd argubly gives the White Sox one of the best 1 to 4 spots in the rotation in baseball. For the Padres, they are rebuilding and cutting costs. Richard and Poreda should contribute now, and I think they did well in the end.

Nothing like some home cooking to get the bats all warmed up.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 02:50 AM) doesnt pitt already have Doumit and Jaramillo? Yep. They could move Clement permanently to 1B though, after the LaRoche trade.

Maybe Seattle thinks they can still win the AL West? But it's a curious gamble to say the least. I think they soured too quickly on Clement, and it's a nice haul for Huntington here. Can Snell actually pitch decently in the majors for Seattle?

I heard Clement to Pittsburgh;

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 02:30 AM) The question I have, is how is this info getting released so accurately and officially? Sounds like the Phillies are trying a little gamesmanship with Ricciardi right now... Very well could be. Either way, there's a lot of pressure of Riccardi right now, and he HAS to cut payroll also. Unless he can trade Rolen, trading Halladay is the best way to do that.

Here is the package for Lee;

I'd love for this move to go down, just for the fact that Knapp is only 18 and probably still quite a long way to make the majors, and if he's the centerpiece of the deal, well there's certainly a lot of risk there for Mark Shapiro with that sort of deal. And it takes an ace out of our division of course.

Just saw this a few mins ago; And then this;

Saw this yesterday, apologies if posted already;

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Jul 30, 2009 -> 12:15 AM) Man, you're right, forgot about him. Jeez, we've just had some MISERABLE first rounders. That's Duane Shaffer's legacy for you right there. At least things have seemed to improve under Doug Laumann with the Poreda, Beckham and Mitchell selections.

Jeff Clement likely to be dealt soon;

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 03:12 PM) I was gonna say that I wouldn't mind having someone like Bonifacio as a utility player on the bench, but then I remembered if you have speed, Ozzie will horribly over-use you. I'd take a decent arm from the Marlins system, as they've been pretty good at developing them. And Fields would fit in with the Marlins financially. Maybe he could be the next Josh Willingham for em?

Well in 1 way I'd sad to see BA go because I know we didn't see the best of him and you want to see your 1st round picks succeed with the major league ballclub. But BA's hitting never came around and that was the issue. Long - term I think he could still be a starter for a team like San Diego where his defensive ability comes more to the fore, but right now he doesn't look anything more than a 4th OF. Hopefully Kotsay can do a better job than Wise has done so far this season.

Well that's all well and good, but you'd have to find the right fit obviously. The Reds could be a fit, as they'd probably like a change from Edwin Encarnacion, who's hittin .202/.331/.372 currently. The Astros also, althogh Geoff Blum has actually hit decently this season. The Marlins maybe could want an upgrade from Bonafacio at third base who's OPS is just above .600 now.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 11:51 PM) Maybe she was actually born in Russia? Vladivostok maybe? She's a Commie!!!!

Shows that the Cats are probably strugglin financially, but Brown's loves his shot blocking centers. But I like the deal for the Hornets. I'm still reminded of Dick Vitale predicting how much Orlando were going to regret not picking Okafor instead of Dwight Howard though. Oops.

Garko's under the Giants control until 2012 so I like the deal from that perspective for the Giants there. And Barnes may not even be a starter long - term.

Keep going with hot hand. Until Richard forces your hand, you keep him in the rotation. Lefties with his velocity don't grow on trees, and today's outing showed that he can certainly strike out hitters with the high fastball. But it's certainly nice to have options, because you can never have too much pitching.