Flash Tizzle

Another White Sox pitching prospect wets itself. I'm really tired of watching this. This is the part where he's demoted, and never regains the numbers he had before being called up.

Thus marks another stellar first outing for our pitching prospects. He escapes with 1 run we should be satisfied.

QUOTE(qwerty @ May 10, 2006 -> 05:40 PM) Nothing. To be honest i think the ump is actually being too generous to haeger. Three pitches that were called a strike on the low outside corner should have been balls... yet he called them strikes. He's missed several which were strikes as well. It's not where the pitch ends up, but where it crosses the plate. That's why this pitch is the most difficult to call. It could conceivably cross the strikezone and still end up in the dirt, or outside the strikezone.

Haeagar could probably get away with throwing a few more fastballs in certain counts. It isn't as noticeable to detect as I previously thought. Not that I'd expect Haegar to exceed a ratio of 10/1 knuckle to fastball/etc., but atleast he can somewhat deceive hitters if the pitch is called.

QUOTE(JimH @ May 10, 2006 -> 05:17 PM) Sorry, I still don't get the Cleveland Indians avatars. Is there a logical explanation or will I just get the 'ol again qwerty? He hates World Championships. And freedom.

Williams has to have made a decision by now whether or not Contrereas is pitching. If he's experiencing any degree of discomfort, don't chance it. Considering his value to our team, and the fact he recently signed a contract extension, risks associated with aggrivating his hip/back/whatever should oversee this upcoming series. Only under the condition of no pain would I consider starting Contreras tomorrow. I'd hate for any decision concerning Haegar's promotion to wait until later this evening. He should be in Chicago by 7 pm, resting in his hotel room preparing for tomorrow. Not leaving Charlotte at 7 pm and arriving in his hotel room around 1am.

What a joke. You know what they'll do is protest before a game. This will basically consist of a large amount of people partying on Waveland Avenue with television helicopters and reporters mentioning how "devoted' and 'intelligent' Cub fans are. Once their protest is over, the dumbs***s will probably enter Wrigley Field and continue cheering as if nothing occured.

Jackass doesn't know we're in the American League.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ May 8, 2006 -> 06:25 PM) You know, it would really be nice to see a starter not named Mark Buehrle come up and succeed right away. I can't think of any who have since Mark, including BMac who struggled in his first stint with the big club last year. We've had success bringing up relievers (Bobby, the legend of Boone Logan), but no starters who come up and blow everyone away. With this knowledge in mind, you should--at the least--prepare yourself for failure. That's how I typically view our pitching prospects once they've been promoted. Expect failure, hope for success. The concept of 'Instant success' within our organization might as well be a urban legend alongside Bigfoot and the Lochness Monster. Atleast within the last 6-7 years. But really, I'd love for Haegar to succeed. His success, if translated to a major league level, would give tremendous flexibility for Williams concerning our rotation. If Garcia is traded this upcoming offseaon, and Garland the following, a cheap rotation whose substitutes (McCarthy/Haegar) could duplicate the production of departed pitches is smart management. This would be my idea of a best case scenario.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ May 6, 2006 -> 08:54 PM) SUNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Wouldn't you know, another opportunity to pull this image out for the Lakers.

QUOTE(soxhawks @ May 5, 2006 -> 05:40 PM) With the current economic structure, and terrible farm system the Royals have they have no chance for a least another seven years. One component of their team which I wouldn't mind having is their bullpen. Some lively young arms the Royals have. Unfortunately, as the cruel fate of baseball has it, starting pitching and offensive production remains slightly more important. Both areas the Royals are horrendous. And with their luck, they'll have the first draft pick during a year in which no superstarts emerge. Always seems to miss the Prior's, Upton's, Mauer's, etc.

QUOTE(Soxy @ May 5, 2006 -> 08:59 AM) I imagine when there's the next eruption it will all topple over or something It it survives an eruption entact, it'll probably end up a good distance from the crater; chilling in some huge hole it created. It's surprising to me how quickly this rock is growing. 4-5ft a day? Considering it's already 300ft tall, it'll have to topple over soon because in one year it would conceivably be taller than the Sears Tower.

I hope our organization holds onto Haeger. I'm honestly not a fan of proposals involving him going to another club in exchange for a reliever. This will undoubtedly backfire. Relievers are inconsistent from season to season. Ask Politte, Marte, or Vizcaino. Trading perhaps our best pitching prospect for a reliever is about the definition of ignoring long-term implications for short term gain. Yeah, I know we're built to 'win-now,' but you have to hold onto something. There's no guarantee he'll become the next Tim Wakefield, but using him as an example, he's remained with the Red Sox for 10+ years and has become an important component of their rotation. I'm sure Haeger's knuckleball doesn't match Wakefields, but as I recall, Haegar throws in the 80's. Wakefield's fastball certaintly doesn't reach that velocity. Nice equalizer to possess. Ultimately, I like the security Haegar provides our starting over the next several years. Everyone should know by now the rotation was the main reason our ballclub won a World Series championship. It will be difficult to maintain such dominance in the future when our starters leave, but atleast having some resemblance of a turnover is important. Focus should remain on internal replacements before persuing outside options. When the day comes, of course. Perhaps in the future we'll be in a position where trading Vasquez or Garland is possible because Lumsden and/or Haegar are ready. Imagine a 100 million dollar payroll, of which two starters are earning the minimum and another (McCarthy) around one million. Now, I realize it's unrealistic to expect both Lumsden and Haeger to be future rotation studs, but just the possibility of their inclusion in our rotation is appealing.

All the criticism is warranted by one simple fact--Central America produces 30% of ballplayers in the majors, yet we've somehow managed to avoid producing a quality player from that region in nearly 9 years. Longer if you consider both Lee and Ordonez were signed as FA's in 94' and 91' respectively. Can't find your Liriano's and Hernandez's by refusing to travel south of Texas. Hopefully our baseball camp in Venezuela will serve to monopolize talent out of that country.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 2, 2006 -> 03:48 PM) Name me a team in the modern era that has won multiple World Series, while maintaining a solid farm. Are you suggesting there is supposed to be a correlation between the two? Or one may impact the other? I said before, trading necessary pieces for proven talent (Thome/Vasquez) is acceptable if what remains is still servicable. You can't disregard prospects, as the Yankees are beginning to learn. Just as you can't hold onto all of them, as Minnesota should realize. Is this a "have a cake and eat it too" scenario? Probably. But striving for improvement is better than sitting still and doing nothing. Our main problem is first, even those prospects we send away aren't doing much, and second--those we keep aren't producing either. Our position in the draft hasn't helped matters, as previously mentioned. Refusing to deal with Boras clients eliminates good players, and our Latin American scouting doesn't provide anything.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ May 2, 2006 -> 03:39 PM) It was always b****ing about the talent that we had the major league level in the past, because KW was an awful GM and we never had what you wanted/thought we needed. And now that we won the WS, you can't exactly harp on that anymore. So you've moved on to "bigger and better things." Your're right--I did regard Williams as a terrible GM until last season. 2003 offseason I was furious he didn't land any noteable FA's. I give him credit. He proved me wrong. His track record prior to last year wasn't great, so therefore, I didn't exactly have much confidence in his abilites. Concerning this minor league system, you can't exactly fault me here. Is Anderson not our top prospect? Is he not embarrassing himself? Good defense only goes so far. If he were a pitcher. a .140 may be expected. Not from a CF replacing .280/.340 production from Rowand McCarthy saved us. He's been great. That's perhaps their best pickup since Buehrle. But we need more. Can't have McCarthy contribute, then nothing viable for 4 years, then another good player. Where's a steady stream of talent? It's not impossible to both contend and develop a system. Anaheim and Atlanta seemingly have no problem with this. This is what I want--success backed up with SOME minor league talent. I understand it may be necessary to trade away talent for proven players. Just hope what remains is still good enough to help your club.

I'd rather criticize Anderson. As you've mentioned, Uribe has proven himself capable of hitting major league pitching over an extended period of time. Anderson hasn't. This alone separate's the two. I'll criticize him EVERY opportunity until he begins showing improvements; regardless of what Uribe does. I'm not giving Brian any benefit of doubt due to his success in the minors, and how we're supposed to "give him time." His AB's are painful to watch. How will this magically improve over time? It appears his long swing is most responsible for early troubles. That's not a minor adjustment Walker can fix. I've accepted the likelihood he'll remain on this ballclub atleast until midseason. By then, no more excuses should remain. If he's hovering around .200--goodbye. Have fun in Charlotte. Whether the option for a replacement lies in on our minors (lol) or outside the team, it's not acceptable for a contending club to have a regular such as Anderson. People wonder why I criticize our system. For an organization whose strength is outfielders, it's amazing how Anderson is our top prospect. What does that tell you? I know not everyone is Jeff Francouer. Or Matt Murton. Or Minnie Mendoza. I just expect some consistency. Hitting clutch HR's once every 50AB's doesn't change matters.

Another fine day at the office for Anderson, it seems. Don't worry, though, he'll turn it around. Not every team has the luxury of promoting outfielders who hit .200. It takes time! I believe the team gives him a month to turn it around. Stellar defense aside, you can't have someone in your lineup--your alleged "top prospect--batting .140. What I wouldn't do for Anderson to have 60% of the plate presence Matt Murton has. For anyone about to mention Uribe, I'm atleast confident he can bring his average above .200. He also happens to play great defense at perhaps the most important position on the field. For what Anderson has provided our club with thus far, not removing him from the lineup one month from now would have to be justified under two scenarios: his average increases, or a ball NEVER touches the ground in CF.

ESPN must have had a field day slurping the Indians for 9 innings.

QUOTE(T R U @ May 2, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) Problem is this is Tuesday against someone who could give us problems this year Now we know, and Ozzie should adjust next time against Cleveland. Perhaps rest some starters with Vasquez, and have them available fore Buehrle.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ May 2, 2006 -> 12:37 PM) 5 k's in 2.1 innings for THE Boone Logan. Liriano approves of Logan's performance.

QUOTE(Allsox @ May 2, 2006 -> 12:28 PM) Wouldn't have mattered who was in the lineup today as Buehrle was simply not good anyway....Plus, Uribe's a regular and he's left about 8 on base so can't blame that on the Sunday Lineup.... Buehrle wet himself. The criticism concerning today's game shouldn't be with the lineup. Sunday lineups are acceptable when your supposed ace is one the mound. You rest players when you have either Contreras or Buehrle going. These two are pitchers which almost always guarantee a quality outting. Alternatively, Guillen should concentrate on putting put the regulars when Garland and Garcia are pitching--where more than 4 runs may be required to win. This is atleast how I feel it should go.

QUOTE(fathom @ May 2, 2006 -> 12:23 PM) I've said this before, and I'll say it again.....Buehrle has his worked cut out for him this year vs this Indians lineup. They're loaded against LHP. Too bad for Buehrle. Either he steps up and adjusts, or we're going to go through this several more starts. Aces adjust. I just won't accept a shoulder shrug or "tipping our caps." He may pitch against Cleveland 3/4 more times depending on scheduling. Can't have 4 or more runs scored every game when we're battling their team down the stretch.

I'm glad I'm stuck studying for finals instead of watching this game. Talk about a pathetic pitching performance. His line is almost enough to puke--5.2IP, 13 hits, 3 walks, 7 earned runs. Someone can say (and I'm sure they will), "OMG, I knew someone would complain," but I don't expect our ace to do this against a divisional rival. Considering they weren't exactly fooled by him opening day, I'd say it's time for him to man up against Cleveland next start.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ May 1, 2006 -> 02:51 PM) Can you please explain how this is calculated. ERA would seem to need PBP data to figure out. Is somebody going through and reconstructing games against only RH batters. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult for a computer program to figure this out. Divide innings pitched to right-handers by the RBI's credited to right-handed hitters and you have a total.