Y2HH Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 No matter what, I don't foresee Loaiza being any worse than Wasserman, so even if Loaiza is bad, it's a wash as far as our final slot in the pen is concerned considering the alternative we had out there... Besides, maybe Coop can help him recapture the cutter Loaiza was throwing inside to people during that 21 game win season...which he stopped throwing inside the last few years. At least from the little I've seen of him, he no longer uses it like it did in 03. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I remember this about Loaiza ... That last year he was with us ('04?) he was throwing about 89-91 mph fastballs. Till he went to the AS game to audition for Joe Torre and the Yankees, where he was popping it 94-95. Comes back to the Sox and goes back to the mediocre effort. So yes, Loaiza was being lazy and I was glad to see him traded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gosox41 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (YASNY @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 08:30 AM) I remember this about Loaiza ... That last year he was with us ('04?) he was throwing about 89-91 mph fastballs. Till he went to the AS game to audition for Joe Torre and the Yankees, where he was popping it 94-95. Comes back to the Sox and goes back to the mediocre effort. So yes, Loaiza was being lazy and I was glad to see him traded. Can't lance Broadway fill Loiaza's role? Or are the Sox that down on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (gosox41 @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 10:36 PM) Can't lance Broadway fill Loiaza's role? Or are the Sox that down on him. Broadway isn't very good. His ERA is almost 7.00 his last 5 starts. Loaisa was topping out at 86. He probably won't help much, but if he takes Masset's role maybe he gets lucky a couple of times. Masset is an upgrade over Wasserman and the long guy is used in games that probably will be loses anyway, so its worth the shot to pay Esteban the minimum and see if he can either pick up a little arm strength or somehow get by with some cunning and guile. They can always release him and he'll cost less than Jeff Nelson a couple of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 11:01 PM) Broadway isn't very good. His ERA is almost 7.00 his last 5 starts. Loaisa was topping out at 86. He probably won't help much, but if he takes Masset's role maybe he gets lucky a couple of times. Masset is an upgrade over Wasserman and the long guy is used in games that probably will be loses anyway, so its worth the shot to pay Esteban the minimum and see if he can either pick up a little arm strength or somehow get by with some cunning and guile. They can always release him and he'll cost less than Jeff Nelson a couple of years ago. Loaiza topped out at 88 tonight, and still had very nice movement on his pitches. The HR to Casilla was bad luck, as it was tailing way in on his hands and he did a great job of getting out in front of it. And all this was without having any real game action in 3+ weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 10:20 PM) Loaiza topped out at 88 tonight, and still had very nice movement on his pitches. The HR to Casilla was bad luck, as it was tailing way in on his hands and he did a great job of getting out in front of it. And all this was without having any real game action in 3+ weeks. You get the television gun or the one at the park? The one at the park had him either 86 or 84 with the fastball and 78 with the offspeed stuff. Unfortunately, that is what he was topping out at with the Dodgers. I like signing him, but really don't think I should expect much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 11:24 PM) You get the television gun or the one at the park? The one at the park had him either 86 or 84 with the fastball and 78 with the offspeed stuff. Unfortunately, that is what he was topping out at with the Dodgers. I like signing him, but really don't think I should expect much. TV gun. He hit 88 once, the others were 84-86, with 74-78 on the offspeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 It's not always speed, it's location. "That's what she said." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan101 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 (edited) After seeing his stuff for one inning, I REALLY hope he's just taking Masset's old role and only pitching in garbage time. If your only hitting 88 when you reach back on the TV gun (which is traditionally giving the pitcher an extra couple MPH), that's a big issue. I guess it's possible his stuff was that way due to the layoff, but also he must have been released for a reason. Bah, I am correcting myself midpost, and I'll try and be more patient and see what his stuff looks like after a few more outings. But I was more than underwhelmed tonight, hopefully it's just a case of rust, but at the same time I wouldn't trust him in a spot of any relevance right now. Fortunately, our pen is great so we can experiment here I guess. Edited June 7, 2008 by whitesoxfan101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 ELo also hasn't pitched for five weeks. I would be more inclined to think he wouldn't be good based on the last couple of years versus his velocity after a month long layoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 So is his role to come in during mop up time and give up enough runs to make it interesting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 10:22 AM) So is his role to come in during mop up time and give up enough runs to make it interesting? Its either that or Wasserman coming in to give up enough runs to lose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29andPoplar Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Loaiza looked rusty. His role will be garbage time or if one of these starters wears down which is entirely possible, likely even. My guess is they give Loaiza to the end of this month or mid July to see if he's still got it. As stated above, he was released and usually teams have good reasons to release someone. They have very little invested in him and if they need to replace him I'm sure they can by 7/31. Nonetheless I think a bit of patience is in order. He's a pro, he knows how to get hitters out, and it's worth noting he battled an injury earlier this year and he may need some time to round into top form, whatever that is at this stage of his career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedge Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Think about it this way: any game that Loaiza gets into is probably out of reach anyways. What he does isn't that important, as long as he eats innings in bad games. If he can come out as the long reliever and shut things down, that's just a bonus. It's a really great move because Masset has gradually been coming into his own. On a given day, we now have 5 relievers that we can be reasonably sure will come in and shut things down. This bullpen might actually be better than 2005's... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCSox Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 6, 2008 -> 09:27 PM) TV gun. He hit 88 once, the others were 84-86, with 74-78 on the offspeed. Comcast's gun isn't very reliable, so it's difficult to tell what's real and what isn't. But if it was even remotely accurate last night, the fact that he only hit the upper 80's ONCE suggests that, unless he develops Maddux-like command/movement, he's done. I still like this signing, though. Loaiza might be able to make some adjustments and improve over the next month and a half or so. And while doing this with a rock-bottom price tag, he gets to play mop-up man, while Masset (who isn't pitching badly this year) gets to throw some more meaningful innings. And it's not like they were going to keep Wassermann in Chicago for much longer anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickman Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 this signing actaully just shows how poor our minor league system really is. if you cannot go down and get someone from triple AAA to be a mop guy then your system is hurting. Hopefully this won't hurt us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (quickman @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 09:48 PM) this signing actaully just shows how poor our minor league system really is. if you cannot go down and get someone from triple AAA to be a mop guy then your system is hurting. Hopefully this won't hurt us. Loaiza looked like the same pitcher last night that he did for the Dodgers last season when I saw him pitch. Hopefully we don't have to use him in a close game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29andPoplar Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 this signing actaully just shows how poor our minor league system really is. if you cannot go down and get someone from triple AAA to be a mop guy then your system is hurting. Hopefully this won't hurt us. Why would you want somebody from the system for that role anyway? It's a perfect role for a veteran, a guy who you don't worry about developing. Just have him eat innings. Even if his stuff isn't the same, he knows how to get people out and is by all accounts a good guy to have on the team. Of course I am biased about having veterans who know what they're doing, especially when you're contending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WCSox Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 QUOTE (29andPoplar @ Jun 7, 2008 -> 01:28 PM) Of course I am biased about having veterans who know what they're doing, especially when you're contending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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