Flash Tizzle

5K's in 2IP. Looks like those late inning comebacks against the Royals won't be a guaranteed anymore.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 04:38 PM) Yes but that production could have come for less money, which would have allowed them to move that cash and use it to sign higher draft picks, which is something that has held them back previously. I don't know about their payroll, but I also don't believe Dayton Moore would have made the commitment to Dotel and Meche if it would effect the signing of future draft picks. Especially considering how the Royals need production from the draft.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 04:30 PM) A 5 million dollar risk? Early in the offseason, yes. It's because accounts of his velocity around the signing was 93-94mph. I rather risk 5 million in one season to someone such as Dotel than 4-5 @ 12+million with another pitcher.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 04:25 PM) 55 million wasted was not the correct move. You really have to understand the Royals position to appreciate the move. Their fans realize the deal was ridiculous; but the way they've conducted personnel decisions (ie, throw young pitchers into the fire) hasn't worked. Look at Greinke and his problems. If nothing else, Meche should give some time for the younger pitchers to develop.

Well, looks like Dotel is back to normal. (sigh) I know I wasn't the only one who thought it would have been wise to take a risk on him.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 04:08 PM) Meh, I dont know, detroit could always spend money. KC never will. The key to success is develop, but also spend. TB has probably the most talent in the MLB coming up in their ranks right now, especially in the OF and a few IF'ers like Longoria. But I will never hold my breath at them making the playoffs nor winning a World Series, you just cant compete these days just drafting talent, you need to purchase some pieces. Kansas City did spend 55 million on Gill Meche. That may not suggest Baird is suited for the job, but Kansas City needs immediate help with pitching and the only way they'll draw talent is overpaying. About Tampa, their problem is starting pitching. It's Kazmir and then everyone else. Similar with Kansas City, they're deep in positional players and not much else. If Tampa drafts David Price (a legitimate ace) their chances of competing immediately improves. Hopefully, he doesn't fall to the Royals or we're in trouble for a long time.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 03:55 PM) They've been selecting high for years with no real success. The royals will be the royals Up until last year we were saying the same things about Detroit. I have faith in Moore turning things around as the new general manager. Atleast in a shorter span than Baird. The last sequence with Dye is why I don't want him signed long term. I swear, it appears he's running through concrete in the outfield. QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 04:01 PM) Russell so far has a good arm with movement. This is the type of prospect that we should keep a hold of. You can draft a million safe pitchers, but something that has a live arm and can miss bats is a good thing. he needs seasoning but lets keep up with it. Considering our stance towards pitchers and long term deals, it'd be ideal to hold onto as many pitching prospects as possible. I wouldn't count on the other veterans signing deals such as Javiers.

QUOTE(BFirebird @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 03:38 PM) Teahen will light up more than just White Sox pitchers. KC has a couple of good young hitters: Alex Gordon, Shealy and Teahen. I guess all of those years in the cellar should produce some good players. Royals have good positional player, but few pitchers. The upcoming amateur draft is loaded with talented pitchers. Kansas City selects 2nd. They're almost guaranteed to select a potential #1/#2. If Luke Hochever projects, and their selection this year turns into anything of value, the Royals could easily be the 2006 Tigers in three years.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 03:09 PM) What an amazing concept! I'm not going to act like I'm crazy about this move, but I'll atleast wait until we see what, one, Erstad has left and, two, if Pods is able to rebound from a miserable second-half last year. I don't understand what the rationale behind this deal is. If Erstad weren't recovering from an inury, and Iguchi having two consecutive years of decent production from the 2 spot, I wouldn't have a problem. It just doesn't appear, IMO, to be the lineup best suited for victories. I'd rather have seen Guillen bat Erstad 8/9th, Iguchi 2nd, and if the production dictated a move switch around the lineup

Games on CSN right now. Top of the 2nd, 1-0 KC. Sweeney still kills us. Greinke pitching for Royals, Russell for us. I really like what I've seen from Russel this spring. I hope Williams isn't showcasing him for a trade...

I belive the answer is rather simple -- Guillen is hell bent on featuring a lefthanded 1-2 combination of (supposed) speed. Considering how every viable statistic within the last several seasons has favored Iguchi as an ideal 2-hole hitter against righthanders, what other explanation is plausible? It's not as if we're hurting for power and need Iguchi to drive in more runs lower in the lineup.

QUOTE(Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 08:33 PM) I want to suggest this again(Didn't read the thread if it has been already suggested): Do we need a 5th starter for April? I don't think we do. Why not send everyone down for some extended competition? Keep Haegar up for the last pen spot and use the extra roster spot for a posistion player. It'd be an absolute mess to avoid the 5th starters spot for all of April. If something such as that were to occur, Contreras -- for example -- would pitch on three days rest four times, four days rest one time, and five days rest another. That's just him. I'm sure the others have odd schedules as well. Really, the first month is really a pain in the ass to project starters. 5th starter or not. I have no idea how Guillen and Williams plan on solving this. One time through the rotation we can afford to miss the 5th starter, as Wite suggested. April 7th, their first start, would be a projected meeting against Santana. That's just a no win situation for either Danks or Floyd. Either one of them sould instead pitch April 8th. This immediately places everyone in their routines of four days rest. Well, until the off day on the 12th. Then it gets a little tricky, especially considering the offday four days later on the 16th. Either several pitchers are going to be throwing bullpen sessions during this period, or they should prepare themselves to possibly wait a week between starts. Oh, and that Santana character? Based upon opening day for the Twins, I have him projected to pitch against us in the first three series of the season.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 07:49 PM) Im not sure they got better, the tribes pen is still utterly terrible. Also the twins pitching should be a little worse as well. I'd really like to believe that. I just know better then to count out anything from Minnesota regarding pitching.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 06:26 PM) But hey, who knows what Floyd will do if he gets a chance, and like wite said, an ERA around the 5-5.5 mark is really what we need from him. This just won't get it done. Put together the numbers and try to figure it out. Let's say 4.25 ERA is the necessary average for the rotation to reach the playoffs. Floyd - (extremely conservative here) 5.00ERA Buehrle - 4.25 ERA Contreras - 4.00 ERA Garland - 4.50 ERA Vazquez - 3.60 ERA The average of these numbers? 4.27. I didn't change Garland's because he is probably the least likely of the starters to drastically improve. Basically, we'll need Vazquez to throw a career season, Contreras and Buehrle to improve, and Floyd/Danks to produce an ERA around 5. It just doesn't seem very realistic when you put it all together. You can throw any name into any category, but the results remain similar -- the 5th starter must produce, two/three starters must show noticeable improvement, and someone needs a career year. I do believe, however, that the bullpen should be an improvement over last season. Offense may regress, though. It just seems realistic to me, unless we're reliving 2005, our win total will fall around 85 games.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 06:01 PM) You, sir, must not be Irish in the least. I'm half Irish. I just despise the tradition of cooking that crap. Almost as bad as my dad cooking galumki.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 05:41 PM) If the offense is good enough - and it should be - the team should be good with a team ERA around 4.25, and probably good enough to win a lot of games. Assuming there's a 4.25 ERA among the five, we're expecting every starter -- including the 5th starter, whom replaces Garcia -- to improve upon last years numbers. Or, for several starters to experience career seasons and the remaining pitchers to match last seasons performance. There are several other combinations, as well. Every one depends upon two/three starters remarkably improving and the others atleast standing pat. What also doesn't help our cause is the strength of the American League central, which makes sustaining a 4.25ERA seem ever less likely. I'm really growing more pessimistic about our chances to reach the playoffs every passing day.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 05:39 PM) Oh and Im pissed I didnt get some corned beef and cabbage this year. I need to find a restaurant that is still serving it ASAP. I honestly can't stand corned beef and cabbage. Worst part of St. Patricks day for me is waking up to the smell of my mom cooking it for her employees and relatives. And if that isn't bad enough, having to move past its left-over contents in the refrigerator is enough to vomit in rage.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 05:35 PM) Looks like Floyd was much more impressive than Danks today judging by their line. 3 hits in 4.1 IP is always a decent outing no matter who you are facing. You're not taking into account the umpire, or the outgoing wind. This is why you need to separate Floyd and Danks. People may assume Floyd pitched better, and he did, but it wasn't against the same hitters as Danks faced.

QUOTE(spiderman @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 05:21 PM) Are we calling this a competition ? We don't have a 5th starter - just a bunch of young arms with good potential who probably aren't ready to pitch in the majors, much less for a team that's expected to win 95 games. It's early, and let's hold off on overreacting, but I'm not sure we have anything more than a revolving door in the 5th spot. This is more overreaction than anything I've said. If this 5th starters spot doesn't work itself out, quite simply, Williams will look like an idiot. He preached to us the arms acquired could possibly fit the rotation. Especially Floyd. The perceived goals of dealing Garcia and McCarthy was to improve ourselves in the future while not sacrificing much of the present. He's repeated this sentiment on the radio and on TV. Anyone but the Williams' Asslickers and the baseball retarded realize this. No viable 5th starter = relenting criticism onto Williams. Trading for a 5th starter now = relenting criticism onto Williams. It's fine dealing starters such as Garcia and McCarthy if the return packages make it worthwhile. The Garcia deal, in particular, was highly debatable. Our scouts should be held accountable if Floyd fails to perform, considering they were assigned by Williams to monitor Philadelphia's farm system for quite some time; including the Arizona fall league.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 05:11 PM) We heard that last year. Haeger had a BAA against him last season in the major leagues of .182. He averaged over a strikeout an inning. He walked a few, but his ERA was 3.44. He didn't allow a homer. His numbers, and obviously its a very small sample size, where much better than Javier Vazquez's and the Sox have him for 4 more years at over $40 million. How come Haeger doesn't get a fair shot? Trade bait? Maybe Cooper knows Williams is attempting to unload Haeger onto another ballclub. I sure hope this isn't true.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 05:04 PM) Its not just his ERA. He's getting wins. He eats innings, and if catchers can't catch it, hitters can't hit it. Its better than watching Danks and Floyd pitch home run derby, which is probably going to happen if either one of them is in the rotation. That's why, IMO, whether Danks or Floyd are chosen you have to bring Haeger along in the bullpen. There may be some brutal starts where someone is needed to eat innings. The organization may have already pegged Masset as that person, though.

QUOTE(SoxGovernment @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 04:48 PM) MOTHER OF GOD!!! Oh hey, it's a newbie.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 04:44 PM) Floyd actually turned in a very nice performance today. He did; but against, what, a predominantly minor league lineup? This crap of the coaches placing Floyd after Danks in a game (or vice versa) needs to stop. If we really want to judge their performance, have both pitching separately against major league lineups. Have Buehrle and the veterans in B games.

Danks and Floyd are now separated by .75 ERA. Looks like we have a competition again (sigh)

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 04:28 PM) Shouldn't he be granted the same excuses as Floyd/Danks though, as he's pitching in Arizona with a repetoire of pitches that would be greatly impacted due to the circumstances? I could also suggest that McCarthy has pitched against lineups full of major leaguers, whereas Danks (especially) had padded his early stats later in games against minor leaguers. Floyd just hung a breaking ball for a hit, but I'm sure Arizona had something to do with that.