shysocks

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 11:00 AM) They should try the bat with an axe handle like Pedroia uses. No knobs. I wasn't aware of that but it's really cool. We're gonna start seeing a lot more of those.

In a cool piece on Herm Schneider, he mentions Beckham and LaRoche as guys who hold the bat by its knob and are vulnerable to hamate injury, and specifically describes some of LaRoche's hand pain as "in some serious places." That probably explains some of his reduced productivity.

Under. Perfect game.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 09:47 AM) Not only is the Sox offense an embarrassment, their starting pitching has been below par besides Sale and Quintana, and the bullpen isn't that great either. I mean, the bullpen has improved about as much as we could have expected from the terrible 2014 unit. It's basically middle of the pack now. We're sixth in starting pitcher WAR and second in the AL, and everybody is more or less performing to expectations if you look outside their ERA's. A lot - or even most - of that bad ERA can be pinned on bad defense. I'm not comfortable blaming the pitching when the position side of things has been so disappointing in every way.

From 2009 to now - since the cutoff is evidently 2008 - there are 12 teams in baseball with a worse win% than the Sox. 6 of them have had no playoff appearances in that time. 5 more have won a total of 6 playoff games in 7 appearances between them. The remaining team is KC, who was a laughing stock until 2014. So as far as "one of the worst franchises," maybe. Depends how large a clump you want to make "the worst" (I'd say bottom 6, I guess, to match the number of divisions) and how much stock you put into short playoff runs (I'd say some).

Probably one of the top 10 games I've ever been to. I know it came through on TV too, but the crowd went crazy (without any stupid MAKE SOME NOISE prompts) every time Sale got 2 strikes. I was so wrapped in watching those two guys chop through the lineups that I lost track of the score, but the rally was thrilling and made all the sweeter because we didn't hang any earned runs on Buehrle. There was an extra layer of drama in the stadium from watching the sky and wondering if they would beat the rain. Under two hours, with two replays! Awesome game and a unique experience given the state of today's baseball.

The AL Bullpen is weird. Herrera is obviously pretty egregious, but two O's relievers? Brad Boxberger?

Some in the past have brought up the angle that trading all the free agents you just signed would give the organization a bad look for future free agents. I don't know how much of an effect that might have, but it is something to consider.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 6, 2015 -> 02:36 PM) This may be one of those crazy, rain-delay games where Sale and Buehrle have to deal with four delays and they pitch like two innings each. So the weather may ruin the streak. That would truly suck.

Viciedo's lefty splits were buoyed by his first three years in the league. Over his last thousand plate appearances or so, he became a guy who just couldn't hit anyone that well. There is no reason whatsoever to miss him unless you really like funny .gif's.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 6, 2015 -> 11:16 AM) Sure, but it's an easier pill to swallow when he provided your team with such a dominant stretch and was part of 5 playoff teams and two WS appearances. It's not like they signed him as a free agent in 2013 or something. Agreed.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 6, 2015 -> 10:47 AM) If John Danks had a Cy Young Award, four top-5 Cy Young finishes, and a MVP award on top of all that. That's all over and done though. Raise your hand if you think Verlander will ever come near those numbers again... I think every team would take Danks' contract before Verlander's.

Hoo boy

The Jays have the highest team OPS against lefties, and the gap between them and 2nd is the same as the gap between 2nd and 19th. They are downright scary. This'll be a great test for Sale (not that he needs to pass any tests).

Justin Verlander, who the Tigers extended two years before his deal expired and who is still owed at least $112M over four seasons after this one, looks like he might be completely toast. He has a 6.75 ERA, a 7.05 FIP, and a 1.2 K/BB. In his one quality start of four appearances this season, he allowed 6 hits and 5 walks in six innings with 3 K's.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Jul 6, 2015 -> 08:26 AM) With the way these guys pitch setting the over/under for game time at 2:15 Better be under, because last I checked we're supposed to get rain between 9 and 10.

Holy balls is that annoying. I couldn't get past the second paragraph. You don't have to explain every stat to me. WHAT IS WITH ALL THE DAMN EXCLAMATION POINTS.

Three SP's made their season debuts this afternoon. Only one was any good. Matt Moore: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 4 R Matt Cain: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 K, 4 BB, 5 R Jose Fernandez: 6 IP, 7 H, 6 K, 0 BB, 3 R, also hit a solo homer

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/putting-chr...al-perspective/ I was hoping something like this would be written. Very cool article putting Sale's 8 game achievement in context of not the raw number of K's, but the likelihood of getting that number of K's in a game given the time period. The kicker is the chart at the very bottom... "the list of players with streaks of at least eight games when the rate of x-strikeout games was under 5%."

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 2, 2015 -> 08:40 AM) It's been years since Hahn/Williams made a real plus trade. That's hurt the Sox as well as the poor drafting and development. Salary dump nothing - Peavy was a prime trade chip. Too early to really judge Garcia (he had no approach when they got him - that shouldn't be a surprise - just hope he's one of those who can overcome a bad approach). But of the 3 A ball players, 1 looks good, 1 could be a bullpen pitcher in a year or so and if the other could hit a lick..... The Sox tend to get fixated on that one player and one prospect. Maybe it's better to take a bundle of good ones and the odds are 1 will turn into a player (and, no, good ones does not mean AAAA and utility infielders like Williams did in Swisher 2). I tell you who a salary dump was, or at least should have been - the first E Jackson trade. Yet somehow Williams managed to send our top 2 pitching prospects for that guy with his high salary and 5+ ERA. And it looks like the Shark trade shows, again, poor evaluation skills by the Sox on their own players. I shouldn't have said salary dump; I just meant that the Sox shed his entire salary, which tends to lower the return.

ANNUAL HOT STREAK

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jul 1, 2015 -> 03:20 PM) That would be awesome but he will have to do it against a tough Blue Jays lineup on Monday. Stay tuned... I do believe they've shuffled the rotation around and Sale will be going against Baltimore on Sunday. Also tough, but more manageable than Toronto, especially for a lefty.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jul 1, 2015 -> 11:48 AM) I doubt they'll do that. They obviously don't return to STL, but both teams do have an off day tomorrow. Cards start a 4-game set with San Diego tomorrow.

Read the comments below the article. He acknowledges that the price would be high and does an impressive job doing so. He's not an idiot.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jul 1, 2015 -> 08:38 AM) oh so now they have the worlds best fans and the gold standard for baseball viewing. F*** this bull**** Sorry, I was misinformed. They have the BFIB but only the 5th BCAIB (best camera angle in baseball).