OK So I am a day late... sue me.

 

The A's

 

Kenny Williams-Top grade on the whole team. Some of the players he bought low on and got huge returns for are just incredible (CQ, AR, and GF) I guess Detroit really did need to add players to compete with us.

Ozzie Guillen-Crazy like a fox. Knows exactly what buttons to push, and when to push them

Don Cooper- Second best team ERA in all of baseball, playing half of the games at USCF. If that wasn't enough, look at guys like Gavin Floyd and John Danks.

Carlos Quentin- He has been a God send who carried the team for a couple of months until the rest of the O has started to stir.

John Danks-Has had a great first half so far, seems to be really turning into a little Buehrle.

Jermaine Dye-Great numbers across the board

Alexei Ramirez-has stolen 2B away from Uribe, and never looked back

Gavin Floyd- Leads the team with 9 wins, and still has an era under 3.5

Scott Linebrink- Pretty much has been unhittable

Bobby Jenks- hasn't got the gaudy numbers of years past, but still getting the job done

Jose Contreras- dispite a bad stretch ERA is still under 4, and has been way better than anyone expected

Boone Logan- limited work, great results

Matt Thornton-done everything asked of him well

AJ Pierzynski- Average is way up, and his catching has been great, except for throwing out runners.

Nick Massett- see Logan and Thornton

 

The B's

 

Mark Buehrle- some really bad starts, but seems to have rebounded

Javy Vazquez-struggling as of late, after being great early

Octavio Dotel- I fought over an A or B, but has given up some big games

Orlando Cabrera- rebounded nicely after a bad start

Toby Hall-has done a very nice job in limit ABs, defense has hurt him

 

The C's

 

Pablo Ozuna- pretty much what is expected of him, we have gotten

Greg Walker- Would have been much easier for him to walkaway when the entire planet wanted him fired. He manned up, and the team has responded.

Joe Crede- A for offense, F for Defense. Looks like he is avoiding torquing his back too much, and it is hurting in the field. I wouldn't be surprised to see him out for a while in the second half.

 

The D's

 

Jim Thome- rebounding as of late, making a push to get back to low end of career norms

Nick Swisher-see Thome

Brian Anderson- hasn't played much, numbers have faded as of late, even with more ABs after PK DL trip

 

The F's

 

Paul Konerko-I know injuries have hurt his numbers, but he has been a big void

Juan Uribe-his career is circling the drain

 

Incompletes

 

Adam Russell- 4 IP, probably not long for Chicago

Ehren Wasserman- back in Charlotte, has been unhittable there

Esteban Loiaza, in Charlotte ISO velocity

Mike MacDougal- couldn't find the strikezone with GPS and a guidedog.

DeWayne Wise-very nice work in his short call up time

Edited July 1, 200817 yr by southsider2k5
Forgot the Rally Crede!

Ozzie Guillen-Crazy like a fox.

 

 

Honestly...is this a new term coined by that TV commercial???? I always thought it was Sly as a Fox....

 

Honestly...is this a new term coined by that TV commercial???? I always thought it was Sly as a Fox....

 

Definitely not a new term, I have heard it plenty of times

Definitely not a new term, I have heard it plenty of times

 

I don't see what makes a Fox crazy.....

 

Sorry S2K...getting off track....little bored at work

Edited July 1, 200817 yr by DABearSoX

My list. and you forgot crede?

 

A:

Floyd

Danks

CQ

Dye

AJ

Bullpen as a whole

Toby Hall

 

A-:

Alexei (not amazing amazinng but compared to Uribe....)

 

B:

Vazquez (moving down..)

Contreras (iffy lately)

OC (moving up)

Buehrle (moving up)

 

B-:

Crede (defense killing him)

Swisher (moving up)

 

C+:

Thome (moving up)

 

C-:

BA (still disappointing)

Konerko (yea yea injuries)

 

F:

Uribe (just DFA him)

 

that's why the commercial uses it - cuz it's already a well known term.

 

stupid computer generated fox

I just remember that from the Simpsons.

 

I agree with most, but I'd give Toby Hall an A.

A: Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye, John Danks, Scott Linebrink

 

B: Alexei Ramirez, A.J. Pierzynski, Toby Hall, Gavin Floyd, Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, Boone Logan, Bobby Jenks

 

C: Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Nick Swisher, Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Nick Masset

 

D: Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Brian Anderson, Pablo Ozuna, Javier Vazquez

 

F: Juan Uribe

 

Incomplete: Dewayne Wise, Adam Russell, Esteban Loaiza

 

Kenny Williams: A

 

Ozzie Guillen: A

 

Don Cooper: A

Edited July 1, 200817 yr by Hanky Panky

My list. and you forgot crede?

 

Thanks, nice catch! I will edit.

I don't see what makes a Fox crazy.....

 

Sorry S2K...getting off track....little bored at work

Foxes aren't crazy. They're smart. That's the rub.

Good work, I agree with most of the rankings, but two of the players i thought deserved higher grades.

 

Toby Hall should get an A, i mean what else can you ask for from a backup catcher who played 20 games, other than a BA over .300 and alright defense...

 

I'm extremely disappointed in Swisher's season, but I think its partly due to getting put into uncomfortable sports like the leadoff spot and CF, I think now that he has been put back into an RBI spot and at 1B, he has been hitting more like we expected. He should get a C just for doing what he could from the position he was put in.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&saf...fox&spell=1

 

Stupid TV show...

I don't see what makes a Fox crazy.....

 

Sorry S2K...getting off track....little bored at work

 

IIRC, there was a Simpsons episode some years back where Homer coined the phrase "**** like a fox." In the episode he used many odd terms in place of ****, like "Stupid like a fox" I believe was used. Ever since then, I've seen it here and there in conversation. Not sure which happened first, on the Simpsons or in conversation, but now you know .

 

I have zero sources for the above comment, all based on personal memory.

 

I just remember that from the Simpsons.

 

edit: Just read your comment, heh.

Edited July 1, 200817 yr by Maverick0984

Not sure that I'd give Crede an F for defense. Dude has made some stellar plays with his glove. But I agree that his back seems to be messing with his throwing mechanics. I'll hate to see him leave this winter, but it's the right thing to do.

 

I'd bump Thome and Swish up to C's. Both have been hammering the ball lately and Thome is still sporting good overall power and OBP numbers. Swish was dreadful early on, but played CF better than we thought possible and has been a real sparkplug in the clubhouse.

 

I'd also give Massett and Alexei B's. Both have been better than expected, but I wouldn't say that either has been excellent.

 

Other than that, I pretty much agree. It's amazing what a difference a year can make. I don't think that more than 3 or 4 players could've been legitimately put in the A category last year.

 

I do not know how any sox fan who has watched all or the majority of the games can give Uribe a F. I think you guys are guilty of looking at statistics and nothing else.

 

 

1. His defense at 2b has been superb

 

2. I recall at least 2 games where we would have lost without him

 

The game tying HR April 28th vs Baltimore (which was suspended but would have been a L without his late inning HR)

June 13th vs Colorado he had a BIG 2 run Single late in a game we won 5-4.

 

3. Are these grades not based on expectations? He hit .234 in 07 and .235 in 06 and is hitting .215 in 08. He is not FAR from what I expected from him.

 

 

4. Lastly, a previous poster mentioned Swish is on the way up (and I agree) However, so is Uribe. He is hitting .275 since MAY 1st most of it in his backup role.

 

 

Uribe gets a C- based on expectations

 

 

Anyone who mentions to just DFA Uribe now is a fan too LAZY to look at all the stats/splits ect.

I don't mean to get into the 'sTaTs R teh StUpId!" argument, but I think the example of swish's problem at leadoff is an example of creating an offense off pure numbers isn't always the best way. Swish's OBP looked ideal to leadoff, I was a proponent of it, but it seemed to mess with his head after his initial success.

Cabrera B-

AJ B

Quentin A+++

Dye B+

Thome C

Konerko D-

Swisher C+

Crede B-

Ramirez A-

 

Anderson D

Ozuna D

Hall B

Uribe F

 

Vazquez B

Buehrle B

Danks A

Floyd B+

Contreras B

Masset B

Logan A

Dotel B

Thornton A

Linebrink A+

Jenks B-

My grades around the horn

AJP - A minus. Hall - B.

Paulie - D to D-minus.

Alexei - A; Uribe C-minus.

OC - B (nice nice comeback from slow start)

Crede - B minus (wouldn't argue with a B after surgery)

Carlos - A

Swish - C (he's heating up and might vault to a B before long); Anderson C (don't understand the hate).

Dye - A

Thome - C minus to D-plus.

Wise - incomplete.

Floyd - A-minus. Danks - A minus. Mark B. Javy - B minus or B. Jose Contreras B.

Jenks - A. Dotel C. Linebrink A minus. Thornton - B. Boone Logan B.

Ozzie A; Kenny Williams A.

 

A:

Dye+

Quentin+

Linebrink+

Hall

Danks

Thornton-

 

B:

Swisher+

Cabrera+

Ramirez+

Buehrle+

Floyd

Logan

Dotel-

Masset-

Jenks-

 

C:

Wise+

Thome+

Russell

Vazquez-

Crede-

 

D:

Uribe+

Konerko

Anderson-

Ozuna-

 

What Swisher/Cabrera have done of late more than makes up for their early season struggles. Thome isn't quite all there, but his power certainly is, which is why I don't have him with Paulie, Uribe (both of whom were DL'd at one point or another and haven't gotten the chance to play for awhile), Anderson (who I think needs more playing time to get into a groove but really is running out of chances) and Ozuna (08's Toby Hall). I would have damned Crede to that list but his hot start spared him, although you can only use that debit card for so long before the balance of goodwill is at zero. Javy has been the most disspointing of our starters. Here was a guy who was supposed to be a dark horse Cy Young contender. His nice start is a distant memory. Floyd has gotten knocked around a bit lately, but his expectations weren't that high, AND he nearly threw 2 no-hitters.

 

I guess to sum it up my grades are based on expectations coming in, and what has actually transpired.

Edited July 1, 200817 yr by ChiSox35

Pierzynski B+

Konerko D

Ramirez A

Cabrera B-

Crede C+

Quentin A+

Swisher B-

Dye A

Thome C

 

Uribe C+

Ozuna C+

Anderson C+

Hall B

 

Vazquez B-

Buehrle B

Danks A

Contreras B+

Floyd A-

 

Masset B-

Logan A-

Dotel A

Thornton A

Linebrink A+

Jenks A

Pierzynski B+

Konerko D

Ramirez A

Cabrera B-

Crede C+

Quentin A+

Swisher B-

Dye A

Thome C

 

Uribe C+

Ozuna C+

Anderson C+

Hall B

 

Vazquez B-

Buehrle B

Danks A

Contreras B+

Floyd A-

 

Masset B-

Logan A-

Dotel A

Thornton A

Linebrink A+

Jenks A

 

 

I know Swisher has had some bad luck at the plate, but I am curious as to why he gets a B-. Is it because of his defensive versatility?

I know Swisher has had some bad luck at the plate, but I am curious as to why he gets a B-. Is it because of his defensive versatility?

Yes. That and he was pretty solid in the leadoff spot (no power but plenty of OBP and saw a ton of pitches) for the first month of the season, he was god awful at the plate in May and managed a 1.030 OPS for the month of June. He didn't let his poor play at the plate affect his defense at a position he's relatively new to which counts for a lot in my book. He was either going to get a C+ or a B-, I gave him the benefit of the doubt since he's spent much of the season out of position (both defensively and in the lineup.)

IMO whenever a player moves from a team he's become familiar with, to a new team and a new park, there will definitely be an adjustment period in terms of both their hitting ability AND if they're a pitcher, their pitching ability

 

I also feel that Cabrera is a perfect fit for this team, however I am unsure how he feels about signing a new deal with us. With that said, a healthy Richar+Lexi at 2B+SS would not upset me. It's just that OC finally looks like he fits in well with the other players, good chemistry

 

with that said, I feel Swisher's worst days are behind him (sub .240 BA, low SLG/HR totals), I think he's getting used to hitting in the cell, as early on he wasn't letting that swing go and now he's just crushing the ball, taking hard swings at straight fastballs, i think he'll have a nice career in a sox uniform

The bounceback of both Swisher and Cabrera in such a short period of time is what warrants higher marks. Buehrle also falls into this category. They've been so good it makes you forget the misery of yesterday.

he bounceback of both Swisher and Cabrera in such a short period of time is what warrants higher marks. Buehrle also falls into this category. They've been so good it makes you forget the misery of yesterday.

 

That's a great way of putting it. My apologies to the internet gods for hating on OC and Swish for a long time. Always had faith in Mark.