Flash Tizzle

For all our knowledgable minor league poster, tell me about Indians pitching prospect Fausto Carmona. He pitched well against Detroit. 6IP, 5hits, 4K's, 1 ER. It's amazing Sabathia goes down, and without missing a beat another pitcher is called up whom immediately contributes. Apparently, not only do we have to look forward to Carmona, but Jeremy Sowers whenever he is promoted. Lance Broadway...lol. Just thinking about him in relation to other teams top pitching prospects makes me laugh.

www.soxtalk.com/chat Get IN THURR.

QUOTE(ottawa_sox @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 07:12 PM) Very ugly at bat. And people wonder why I criticize our minor league system. Anderson's loopy swing is continually exploited by major league pitchers. His plate approach isn't exactly good, either. What's funny is he's the best we have in a position of supposed strength.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 11:43 AM) Well BMAC was just about as unheralded when picked up, so thats why I was making comparison's. I didn't mention this, but I applaud the development of McCarthy. He'll likely become our #1,2 one day. --but there's no comparison between him and Liriano regarding performance, or expectations. Comparing McCarthy to Baker would be more suitable.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 10:24 AM) Liriano was never even drafted, so there's no real comparison when it comes to that. You could compare top pitching prospects to top pitching prospects which would arguably be Broadway, Liriano, Verlander, Sowers/Miller and Luis Cota I guess. That was my intention--comparing top pitching prospects. Although Liriano is hardly what I would consider a 'prospect', I believe Baseball America appointed him atop Minnesota's list recently. Limited innings (24) last season likely influenced BA's decision. Honestly, what aggrivates about Liriano is how the Twins, of all organizations in MLB, pick him up. Perhaps the ONE pitcher best suited to replicate Santana just happens to be on their ballclub? I wouldn't call that chance. In addition to emulating their style of baseball on the field, Williams should replicate whichever methods their scouting department uses. They're obviously doing something right. Not only do you pick up a 1-2 punch that alone can win them a World Series, but their system literally creates hardthrowing pitchers out of thin air. Give them an offense and they're off. Don't get me wrong, they've done well with Cotts and Jenks. Problem is, as we've seen this spring, there's not going to be many replacements available anytime soon. And I'm not even talking about pitching prospects capable of producing Cotts or Jenks numbers-- we're void of AVERAGE pitchers. Ones who could keep their ERA below 6. Good teams need turnovers available to sustain success, especially from the bullpen. It may have come off as a joke in another thread, but I'm serious when I suggest Guillen should whore his popularity in Venezuela for top talent. Wasn't Felix Hernandez's idolizing Freddy Garcia during his early teens? If he would have been just a few years younger, who knows how the influence of Garcia, Guillen, and our World Series championship might have had on him. Perhaps right now our championship has set in motion the events which may lend us a Felix Hernandez. Our baseball camps should essentially be the Yankees of Venezuela. "Want to play for national hero Ozzie Guillen? Join our camp," should be printed across banners and distributed. I understand it's greedy to expect so much. If anything, after winning a World Series championship, Williams has shown how trading prospects for proven major league talent can be accomplished successfully. I'm not arguing with the philosophy in principle. However, we've been very fortunate none of the departed prospects have progressed into legitimate talent. One unfortunate add-in and we're bound to regret it. Joke all you want about Todd Ritchie trade, but not having either Wells or Fogg set us back several years. I'm convinced it would have led to a divisional championship in 03'. What worries me is how other clubs within our division are beginning to catch up. Years of solid drafts (yes, many due to cellar dwelling) have provided our rivals with ideal opportunities to develop talent. We have to counter this. Our payroll is above 100mil, but we're not going to outbid many teams for good players. Konerko is an exception. There needs to be a more concentrated effort to atleast send scouts through Central America. Sox have produced no legitimate Latin prospects within the last 7 years. Doesn't this sound a little odd? Considering the high percentage of ballplayers in MLB from that area, I would say it's pathetic.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 06:17 PM) Third question: Why have an automatic out at the top of the lineup? There's plenty of room for him at the bottom of the lineup with Anderson. They're already batting next to each other. -- I call that inning the beer frame. It only lasts about the time it takes to make a run to get a beer, and by the time you're back to your seat, the inning's over and you didn't miss anything exciting. Management will place Podsednik on the DL long before they consider removing him from the leadoff position. You know more goes into personnel decisions than what's right for the team. His confidence may be shattered moving down below Anderson!!111 Admittingly, I've missed this afternoon's game-- so I can't judge the quality of his AB's. Or how he appeared running out grounders (if any were hit). Players utilizing speed such as Podsednik shouldn't be in 2- for season- funks. Why hasn't he attempted more drag bunts? It just doesn't make sense to me. Something is noticeably wrong. You can even begin to notice how lack of production is affecting him defensely. So now, it may be turning into a physical AND mental problem. If this continues for another week, someone will have to make a decision. I believe 50 AB's should be enough to alteast guage whether he's truly healthy, and making strides, or needs time off.

Quick question--did Thorton throw anything besides a fastball this afternoon? In past appearances thus far it's been a consistent diet of fastballs and one outside, weak slider per outing.

QUOTE(Benchwarmerjim @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 01:20 PM) Liriano came on in relief. 2 IP, 1 hit 5 K's Of course he did. That's what dominating pitchers do. I'm sure if Lance Broadway were pitching against Oakland, the line would be 2IP, 6 hits, 4 ER's.

So, who is going to be the first person to complain about something he said? I know someone out there is furious after reading this Playboy article, and will come on here whining about his comments.

Yesterday, Boers and Berstein played a soundbyte from Murphy and Mulligan's crossover where they confronted their supposed squabble, as discussed within Greenstein's article. It was hilarious. Murphy had this subdued tone while confronting Mulligan, which sounded incredibly pathetic. One of numerous awkward moments he asks, sincerely, "Mully, should....should I get a bodyguard?" Also, earlier within the segway, Murph insisted giving the middle finger is "despicable" and he would never do it, yet, swearing insisently over the phone is somehow acceptable. He was intent on finding the indentity of the producer whom discussed this incident with Mulligan rather than apologize. Mully stood his ground. Entertaining afternoon all around. Should be a fine day when he's finally canned.

Podsednik needs to figure himself out sooner than two weeks. Depending on the schedule, and whether Guillen implants alternatives in LF, there may be 40 AB's during such a period. I'd give him atleast half that amount before seriously assessing his health, which I believe is the key factor for his prolonged slump. It's not merely his 1-27, but an observation of his speed--it has noticeably decreased. Podsednik isn't utilizing his strengths by elevating weak fly balls. Just think about it--he has to know exactly what made him successful last year. He can't be looking over his season numbers and thinking, "Now I AM a fast ballplayer....and last year I did have a large number of bunt singles....but I'd rather just avoid speed altogether." It couldn't have escaped his mind. The 2005 Podsednik wouldn't have allowed himself to endure such a drought. There would have been several more drag bunts by now. If there exists no immediate physical concern, then it's entirely mental. He would be purposely holding himself back because of a fear his groin troubles remerge. In such a case, he needs someone to slap him aside the head. Our ballclub needs a healthy Podsednik, and if he can't fulfill that need, someone needs to think assignting him onto the DL.

You know what's odd about today's performance for Garica? He threw harder this afternoon than I've seen him throw since joining club. Consistently 92mph; 94 occasionally in certain situations. Last season he rarely hit 94, and today he reached it frequently. I would have been satisfied if he eclipsed 90. Literal night and day difference between second-start Garcia and typical, hardthrowing Freddy Garcia.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Apr 10, 2006 -> 02:40 AM) If there was no chance of Buerhle re-signing with us, and say St. Louis offered a trade deal involving players like Anthony Reyes, Adam Wainwright etc. would you possibly be interested in that? If such a scenario presents itself where Buehlre is traded, he should go to the team offering the most talent in return; whether or not that's St. Louis. I want Williams to absolutely pillage any team inquiring about his availability. If we were offered an unbelievable package--truth be told--I wouldn't object to trading Buehlre. Although I want to make it clear that this 'scenario' would have to include an unquestionable phenom, cant-miss stud prospect. Basically the next Felix Hernandez. Otherwise, hold onto him. One problem I can already forsee is the amount of money/years Buehlre would ask in regards to a contact extension. Since he'll be 28 when his current deal expires, perhaps he won't object to a three year deal. Really, what other alternative do we have if he moves onto St. Louis? Anyone capable of replacing his numbers readily on the market whose not asking for a ridiculous contract? If he were to become a FA following next season, there's no minor league arms ready for promotion unless someone has a breakout year...

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Apr 9, 2006 -> 12:34 AM) Flash, you're a really good poster, and I respect most of your opinions -- but do you absolutely have to trash our minor league organization every 5 seconds? Sure, it would be nice to have one or more of those flamethrowing guys everybody drools over. But, considering we draft 15th or lower EVERY year, what do you expect? You're not gonna find guys like Liriano and Verlander where we usually pick. It's just not gonna happen. First--no, I don't have to continually insult our minor league system. It's usually something which which erupts whenever I witness a fellow divisional rival promote legitimate prospects. Which, by the way, appears to be occuring very frequently. I believe our club is an ideal position to contend this year, perhaps next--basically, as long as this current rotation remains intact and unscathed. Contract extensions have all but ensured this, but I'm wearly about Garcia(velocity/health), Garland(consistency), Contreras(age). Hell, who knows if we're willing to pay Buehrle the contract he'll undoubtedly seek. Reinsdorf may have to break the bank in both regards to money and years to maintain him, whether or not it's his policy. This division is beginning to gain respectably. We'll need a consistent flux of talent to compete. And not just league average outfielders or unproven single A players, but Brandon McCarthy's--prospects with legitimate potential. See, our payroll may exceed 100million, but we're rarely going to outbid other organizations for legitimate talent. You can suggest Konerko as an example, but his situation is unique. I know many Soxtalkians approve of Williams current organizational model which involves unloading prospects left/right for proven major league talent. I don't mind unloading prospects, in the event those prospects remaining can still be depended upon to one day contribute. This may be a problem. Look at our damn infield prospects, for example. It's pathetic. Our pitchers? Unless you hold high hopes in Lance Broadway securing the #4 spot, not much there. Sure, Lumsden has talent, but who knows how his arm endures a full season of pitch following injury. They need talent. Even those we've regarded as promising (Sweeney/Owens/Fields) have big years ahead of them to prove their worth. You're correct to mention our draft position. Verlander was picked, IIRC, second in the overall draft. I have no idea where/when/how San Francisco picked up Liriano. Probably a free agent signing from the Dominican Republic. Our organization should probably start investing more money in hiring scouts to counter our continually low draft positions. Get their asses out to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, to scout. If that doesn't work, hire private detectives to follow Oakland and Minnesota scouts to steal their picks. Ozzie Guillen should absolutely whore his popularity in Venezuela right now to draw the attention of quality, young talent to our baseball camp. The accounts I've read of native Venezuelan's loving the man, I expect a monopoly of prospects within our baseball camps. The next Felix Hernandez emerging from that country better have a White Sox jersey on. Yeah, so I believe I answered your question somewhere within the post.

I'm going to temporarily adopt the role of Poppy Hildago here and predict a loss. Rip away if need be, but I'm not feeling good about tomorrow. Nothing tangible justifies my belief--although numerous Royals hitters have abysmal career numbers off Buehlre. He SHOULD pitch well. I just believe tomorrow our hitters will press against Elarton, we'll fail to string together quality AB's, and the first play/missed umpire call which goes against Buehrle will rattle him. Sweeney will probably find himself at the plate when this occurs, of course. Just going by how the season has started, and the inventive ways we've found to lose, it would only be appropriate for this club to finally convince everyone this isn't 2005 with another embarrassing loss to KC.

QUOTE(Chi Sox 88 @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 04:34 PM) Indians lead 2-0 in the 5th. Final--Cleveland defeated Minnesota 3-0. They're now 4-1. Pronk was 3-3 with 2RBI, HR, 2B, 1B, BB. My guy Liriano (aka type of hardthrowing starter we'll never see in our organization) struck out 4 over 2.2IP. He's another player that's going to haunt the dreams of AL Central opponents for a LONG time.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 04:09 PM) Texas' minor league system developed him. That Einar Diaz trade did real well for the Rangers. It's not like Hafner is a youngster either. He was a late bloomer. He's just a year younger than Konerko. I didn't mean to give the Indians credit for developing him. A sizable portion of the Indians club was assembled from trades as it is. I know Sizemore and Lee came over from Montreal during the Colon trade, and I believe Belliard was aquired from Colorado (?). I'm sure there are several I'm forgetting.

QUOTE(Yoda @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 03:58 PM) Haffner's a beast. He's put the Tribe on top 1-0 by hitting his fourth HR in just 7 AB's. What I wouldn't do to have him on our team. Or for our minor league system to develop a player comparable to his talent. Honestly, I rather have the Indians entire lineup aside from Boone and Blake. And when the day arrives in which Marte is promoted, I'd rather have him as well. They're going to be good for a LONG time.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 03:54 PM) I remember this being disucssed in a thread during the third week of ST. I was one of the "don't worry, the bullpen will be OK" crowd. Pass the salt, I have some crow to eat. :puke Well, you shouldn't have believed they would simply "turn it on" once the season begun. According to some, Jenks would gain nearly 6 mph on his fastball through the course of one week because, apparently, when the season begins there's a switch he could have flipped.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 03:33 PM) This should also apply to Garland and Garcia, who gave us nothing in their 2 starts. To Garland's credit his velocity was around its usual range. Although he didn't pitch well, the two defensive gaffes behind him certaintly made it more difficult (IMO) to judge his performance on its own rite. Garcia, however, appeared to be in Spring Training form with a flat fastball rarely touching the high 80's. What's difficult to accept is we may have to endure Garcia-light for several starts until his velocity gradually improves. This could mean several more embarrassing losses. If his velocity doesn't return, then there's a huge problem.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 03:21 PM) How did the bullpen suck today? Sweeney lifted a bailout swing on a nice slider out of the park. They looked pretty good today IMO. Rock, you know I love ya, but none of Politte's sliders looked good today. Politte was lucky as s*** Sweeney didn't hit out one particular slider thrown several before the HR. It hung right over the plate, but he fouled it back.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Apr 8, 2006 -> 03:08 PM) I think we're going to be fine, but KW needs to look at the pen and think to himself, I f***ed this up and I need to make it right. Neither Logan or Thornton are going to cut it. We need help down there. Don't expect any help coming from our depleted minor league system. Nothing valuable is coming from down there for a few years. During Spring Training we've all witnessed the pride of our organization give up LEAD after LEAD in the late innings. Lopez may be the best option available and even he will be hit around in the majors.

After yesterday's loss a caller said Rongey was in, "Midseason Asskissing form." It was funny, and he handled it well by brushing the comment off. Atleast he appears willing to hand critcism to this team, unlike posts postgame hosts....

f***ING DISGUSTING. It's almost as if they talk to themselves between innings and say, "How can we lose in the most excruciating way possible?" It's time for Buehrle to step up tomorrow. Pitch like an ace against an atrocious Kansas City Royals team.

Politte has been opening the eyes of hitters with a rather weak slider thus far this season. There's no radar gun available, but I guarantee his fastball isn't around the 92-94 range it was last season. He threw several meat pitches to Sweeney during the AB. It was envitable the ball was going to be crushed somewhere. We're not talking about the same Politte here as last season. Our bullpen woes have only been heightened through the first week.