Flash Tizzle

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Mar 9, 2007 -> 10:43 AM) IMO that Vote For The Worst is being effective, in that people now like voting for complete crap. That site was pushing Sundance, but the rest of the world knows how bad Sanjaya is. So I think it's a combo of people that actually like him and the people that are enjoying seeing him go on and on. Heck, now it's just hysterical. The judges are all but saying he sucks and should leave. EVERYBODY knows it, even the camera guys! LOL! I hope he keeps going now, just because it is pissing everybody off so much! It was rather hilarious how everyone reacted. I wonder, though, is there a record of how many phone calls are processed by American Idol? What's to stop them from fabricating results or pushing up vote totals? If Sanjaya were to win American Idol, their product is immediately under question. For this reason, it'll never happen. Even if everyone joined together. FOX strikes me as doing whatever is necessary to push their people. Articles on Vote For The Worst suggest as much.

Personally, I believe dealing Logan is a mistake. He has shown immense talent in the minors and could be a fixture in our bullpen for many years. If Williams is intent on trading several AAA players (Rogowski/Tracey), why not search for a similar to situation to ours where a player (CF) is blocked? If it doesn't work out, who cares? I'd rather take this risk than preventing Anderson from playing another season because Rowand is back. And everyone here knows Rowand will be given ALL the time to hit out of slumps.

If Williams acquires Rowand, it's yet another indictment on our player development. We trade Rowand under the assumption Anderson is ready. We trade Young because he's expendable (or so we thought) with Anderson ready. Now we're interested in reacquiring him. Why? Because Anderson hasn't shown consistency. This doesn't take into account any off field issues, either. It's not really even a point to argue, anymore. They obviously thought more of Anderson and haven't been impressed. Personally, I feel Anderson should be our fulltime CF. If nothing else, atleast to determine -- without question -- whether he's capable of improving upon last season's statistics. Too bad Guillen doesn't feel this way. His Spring Training woes also don't help matters

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 10:30 PM) 2 - Power Arms. We've taken Broadway and McCullough in the 1st round over the past 2 seasons, We know they're safe bets, and we know they'll probably make it into a major league rotation one day. But we don't need to be drafting an arm like that early on now. Take a risk, and draft some power arms early on. Sure you'll find a Nick Lemon here and there, but you could also hit on one of these guys, who could be a potential #2 starter for you one day. Oh, so now you've finally come around. Only took several years.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 07:52 PM) I may just quit watching if Sanjaya makes it into the Top 12. It's obvious Sanjaya has every phone operator in India voting for him..........

Goodbye, Antoinella. Vote for the Worst has been proven useless.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 04:13 PM) Rogowski now PH for Konerko. Anyone else find it interesting that Rogo is getting so much work in ST? Trade bait perhaps? Maybe, but Konerko has also looked ready from Day 1. If I were Guillen, I wouldn't feel the need to push him out for another few usless AB's against Colorado's fringe talent.

Thornton apparently gave up a few hits and a run. 7-3 Colorado. Looking ahead to next week, if everything remains the same, we'll probably miss having to face McCarthy. He last pitched March 4th, and will likely go tomorrow. Five days afterwards is March 14th against Milwaukee. Just miss him by one start. However, if everything remains on a schedule of four days between starts, we'd be slated to face McCarthy on March 25th. A game broadcasted on CSN.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 10:45 AM) So at the ST game Monday, we saw something you don't see every day. The people sitting in front of us were Amish. Yes, Amish (no, I don't know how they go to the game). One of them said he made a New Year's resolution to "have more fun". So that was pretty weird. But here was the interesting part for Sox fans. Apparently, they are all huge Jim Thome fans. Why, you might ask? Apparently, these Amish folk were from Ohio, outside Cleveland. When Jim had a new house built on the family land in Illinois, he hired a bunch of these people to build it for him. They couldn't stop raving about how nice Jim and his whole family were, and how they are really great people, treated them really nicely, etc. Which just further confirms what we all knew to be true. The Amish love Jim Thome. Smart man, that Thome character. I don't even have to know the exact figures to conclusively state hiring the Amish likely costs less money, and ultimately less time, to complete a house.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 08:40 PM) -Danks looks to project as a solid LHP with a low 90's fastball, and great off speed stuff. Looks like Kenny got a Buehrle clone on purpose.... If that's his plan, I hope the next item is looking for the clone of a legitimate ace when the next veteran is delt. But hey, atleast we won't have to worry about producing another Buehrle for 7 more years. If you average out the two salaries Buehrle's agent mentioned, a figure of 6yrs/95mil is the result. Basically, about 16 million a season. Let someone else pay that.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 08:05 PM) Anderson with a poor 0-4 game today. Aardsma continues to be my leading candidate for most underserving player on the roster. Cooper should instruct Aardsma to throw nothing but secondary pitches from this point onwards. Screw the fastball -- it'll be there. He needs to have something else, because from the sounds of Farmer and Singleton, he was all fastball for nearly two innings. Again.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 06:55 PM) So if the 24 year old Floyd has a bad 14 innings in meaningless games this spring, the trade was a mistake? Interesting.... (sigh) No. If he doesn't win the position, where's he going to end up? Charlotte. Once in Charlotte, when will he be promoted? When injury and/or ineffectiveness sidelines another pitcher. Do you believe he realistically stands a chance of outperforming Gonzalez or Danks in Charlotte, in regards to a potential 2008 opening? I don't. Either he wins the position and produces, or doesn't and has to wait until something happens to starters/bullpen arms going North. Oh, and don't act as if people won't be doing the exact opposite and vindicate the deal if Floyd pitches well after 14 meaningless spring training innings. I won't even argue with those who do, considering my position. It's important for Floyd to pitch well EVERY pitch considering this is his tryout. He isn't guaranteed a slot in the rotation.

Yeah, we lost again today. I guess everyone knew it was inevitable before gametime and just bothered not to create a thread. I listened on the radio, and it just sounded bad. Especially late. Spring Training games for the White Sox these last few seasons haven't been the prettiest of sights. Lumsden pitched two scoreless innings against us. -Contreras: 4IP, 5H, 6K's, 1BB, 1WP, 2ER -Massest: 2IP, 1H, 2K's, 1ER -Aardsma: 1.2IP, 2H, 1K, 1BB, 2ER -Oneli Perez: bad. Real bad. You'd think he never retired a single hitter after these last several outings.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 02:49 PM) This is one reason I like KW. Use all of the information available. Don't get caught up in only one aspect of evaluation. He isn't always right, nobody is. But he also make gutsy moves which you need to do to win. It's awfully difficult to win being conservative. How exactly did Williams use all available information before trading for Floyd? Because, when I look at his minor league numbers, I don't see anything of value. I completely agree that using everything -- from statistics to scouting -- should be considered for player evaluation. However, when one of those options seem to portray Floyd as an enigma; now you're counting on your scouts to notice something that nearly everything quantifiable suggests doesn't exist. There should be some level of agreement between the two factions. Such as the scouts noticing Floyd has a great arm, and the numbers -- at some point in his past -- indicating as much. Sure, such a risk is acceptable when signing someone to one year deal; but it shouldn't be when attempting to collect the largest cache of talent for a departing starter. No doubt it was 'gutsy' acquiring Floyd when perhaps an additional arm, or another player more projectable, could have been included. I've said before, I believe if Fabio Castro were included in the deal Philadelphia would have approved it. His upside is, at the least, equal to Floyd. At worst, he replaces Logan in our bullpen. If Floyd is unable to win the 5th starters position this spring, that'll be enough evidence to prove acquiring him was a mistake. I'm almost certain that Williams' plan after the Garcia deal didn't revolve around Floyd pitching in AAA, perhaps replacing an injured/ineffecitve starter in 2007, only to ultimately be in the bullpen for his White Sox career. This is where I could see him heading if his spring training doesn't end well.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 11:59 AM) ??? Is the only goal that matters winning a World Series? Yes, but that has nothing to do with these comments. "They can pitch on a Championship team. Otherwise they wouldn't be here." Is this supposed to refer to their mental toughness, or "grinding" abilities? On it's own merit, I wouldn't have thought much about the quote. But the preceding sentence of "We look at things a little differently sometimes than other clubs..." suggests a different philosophy in regards to our pickups. Is Williams implying that he acquires players to play on a championship ballclub, yet other teams don't? Just a strange thing to say, IMO. This is my belief -- he's refering to the methods used to evaluate players. By suggesting he does things differently, he's refering to scouting more than statistical data. Why else would Floyd be on this ballclub, afterall?

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 11:15 AM) I thought this KW quote in the FoxSports article was very interesting, speaking in regards to the new pitchers: So if they don't need to be anything but a No. 5 now and next year, doesn't that imply that the current 4 will all be around in 2008, including Buehrle? KW normally chooses his words very carefully and this seems pretty obvious. It does? Considering three of the four pitchers mentioned will be back next season, I don't believe he gave a "freudian slip" and played his card concerning Buehrle. What concerns me more is the first line and last line Williams gave in response to Rosenthal's question: Why the hell should it matter whether someone can pitch on a world series championship? The true goal of trading McCarthy and Garcia should have been obtaining the greatest amount of talent. I don't know about many of you, but this answer doesn't sound like someone who's confident the prospects received are good

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 09:15 AM) Williams likes to trade young pitching and if we lock up Buerhle imagine the damage that he can do........ I'll vomit if he even considers it. Trade veterans for SP prospects; then once veterans are signed, trade prospects for, what, positional players? And what if the starters fail, who's left? Don't move the prospects. Develop a contributing system once every 15 years. Honestly, I'm not thrilled with the possibility of retaining Buehrle. Even if he were to come at a discount (relative to the market). Not only is my belief based upon the second half of last season, but quotes this spring by Buehrle suggesting he may have to alter the method in which he pitches. That is, less strikes. Uh, why? Unless you have doubts of your durability, or disappearing velocity. Or perhaps hitters are looking for strikes and he no longer possess the talent to deceive major league hitters. One would assume someone with the success of Buehlre wouldn't want to change much based upon one bad, half season, right? Right? At the least, Williams should wait until the end of Spring Training to see how he fares. Time should be set aside to determine whether reports of low velocity are because he's not stretched out yet, or something more. Oh, and in case no one has bothered to look ahead, retaining Buehrle basically means we're without Ichiro. Unless another starter is traded. Which is certaintly possible, but for such a scenario to work, we'd need an additional prospect (aside from the 5th starter's spot) ready to immediately contribute. This would kind of be impossible if the prospects were previously delt...

Recently, I've been browsing through various sites projecting draft selections and had to laugh once I came upon a familiar name -- Josh Fields. The third one. According to Scout.com, he's listed as their 22nd overall selection. I don't believe there's any doubt where I stand. Focus in the first several rounds should be directed towards pitching. This upcoming draft is heavy with left handed starters, and it's certainly possible to select a projectable starter; even at #25. What'd I like to see, in addition to an obvious preference for power arms, is the willingness of our ballclub to sign pitchers who drop due to signability issues. Boston seems to have mastered this concept within recent years. And much to our advantage, clubs you'd typically figure as willing to spend whatever is necessary -- Anaheim, New York (both), Boston -- are either without first round picks or select below us. We absolutely have to take advantage of this. I don't care if whomever is a Boras client either. Enough of that petty crap.

QUOTE(ChiSox1323 @ Mar 6, 2007 -> 05:20 PM) Has anyone mentioned how Vazquez is probably the worst out of buehrle, garland, contreras and him? why extend him when these three are much better. that being said, if this is a sign kw is actualy going to spend some money on these pitchers, iguchi, crede and dye, i'm all for it. vazquez is the least important of kw's expiring contracts. Extending Vazquez really doesn't change anything these next two seasons. He'll have, what, a ~ million increase next season? If Williams is intent on resigning any of the names mentioned in your post it shouldn't matter one bit. I don't believe we'd have a chance of resigning Buehrle or Garland to deal below three years. As for Contreras, he's definitely a person I wouldn't even risk a two year extension with considering his age and possible injury concerns.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2007 -> 05:19 PM) Then they could always trade him. We'll still have Garland and Contreras to trade.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 6, 2007 -> 05:15 PM) I'm not going to call anyone out, but yes. I know I didn't. It appeared like I avoided the issue in Dick Allen's question.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2007 -> 05:07 PM) I don't know why the Sox would extend a guy now, considering they don't like to go more than 3 years with pitchers, and its cost them chances to sign good ones, who they have under control for 2 years and has not been a very mediocre pitcher for much of his career. I'd much rather take my chances on him having this breakout year a lot of people seem to think he'll have and paying him a couple more million for 2008, than signing him and taking the more likely chance that what you see is what you get through 2010. Did any of the people who think this is a great signing laugh at the Cubs when they signed Ted Lilly? This organization had to weight their options. We're extending Vazquez now after a fairly mediocre season. If Williams waits until 2008, perhaps Vazquez doesn't significantly improve and we have a better idea of what to do with him. Yet, if he has a breakout season, we're paying 14-16 million in arbitration and the likelihood of extending him with a contract comparable to today is impossible.

QUOTE(soxfan3530 @ Mar 6, 2007 -> 04:52 PM) for how inflated the market is this could be a great signing. we all know that javy is at least a average pitcher and average pitchers were making this much. the difference b/t someone like lilly and vazquez is that javy has a much higher ceiling and better stuff IMO. I look at it this way -- if he performs at his 2006 level, he's atleast worth 10-12 million per/yr according to this market. If he exceeds this, it's an absolute bargan.

I absolutely love this deal. Even considering Vazquez's struggles, he would have earned a substantially higher amount of money/years based on last year's statistics alone. Have we not seen what teams offer for power capable arms? Now imagine a powerful arm capable of avoiding injury and providing innings.... Honestly, how can anyone oppose this contract extension? I'll just have to assume -- without physically viewing the previous messages -- that EVERYONE realizes this is a good signing. Yes, there exists risk. Most extended contracts for pitchers do. However, even with a collection of possible SP prospects, we need stability within the rotation. More importantly, someone capable of sustaining the "ace" moniker. I'm not foolish enough to believe he'll mysteriously revert to Montreal days for several seasons. However, considering how he hasn't been in one place for two consecutive seasons since 2004, I'm looking forward to this season. Oh, and LOLLERZ at Rotoworld. So? No mention of how it's a fair deal in comparison to other pitchers?

Man, I appeared to miss a full out assault yesterday. QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 5, 2007 -> 10:10 PM) Where's flash and gosox41 to put the spin on this one? I didn't really such a s***ty farm system could be ranked third in the number of quality prospects. No spin is necessary. Prior to acquiring Gonzalez, Sisco, Danks, Rasner, Masset the farm system was atrocious. Which the additions over the offseason we have restocked the system. Suggesting our organization is ranked third in the number of quality prospects is doing exactly what you accuse me of -- spinning. Sure, we're tied with several other teams for third in the number of prospects on the Top 150. But does that automatically assume all are quality players? Two players are rated above 100! Reasonably, after 100, anyone compiling these lists are throwing out names and placing them in random positions. Close enough; except for the items in bold. You've guys have me pegged fairly well. I honestly don't care about these posts, but atleast be accurate. I dont' believe something as crucial as how Minnesota acquired Santana and Liriano has even been misintepreted by me. The draft position argument has also been clarified on numerous occasions. Quality starting pitchers can be found in the low first round. Consider Broadway's position of 15th in the 2005 Amateur draft. Here are the following pitchers I found in a comparable draft position: Scott Kazmir - 15th in 2002 C.C. Sabathia - 20th in 1998 Jake Westbrook - 21st in 1996 Jeremey Bonderman - 26th in 2001 Philip Hughes - 23rd in 2004 Chris Carpenter - 15th in 1993 These are only a hand-ful of within the criteria. I'm not even counting positional players. What the data suggests is it's not impossible to succeed in our draft slot. For Broadway's position, we could have -- and should have -- taken a more projectable arm. If they're willing to draft safetly and avoid arms capable of injury; fine. Atleast have some interest in scouting outside America. It's there where you can find a Carlos Zambrano, Johan Santana, Felix Hernandez, Francisco Liriano without having draft position effect you. It all depends on your devotion. And -- if anyone were to judge that devotion based on the results we've seen from that region -- you'd realize it's pathetic. Nothing positive can be said. Not even a Neifi Perez clone has been produced within the last 10 years. That's just an embarrassment.