Not for losing to Greinke tonight, that was pretty much a given and was one of those bets you ALMOST make but you can't really bring yourself to bet against the White Sox, no matter what.

 

1) Nix had played in 9 minor and major league games before his appearance at 3B. He threw one ball into the ground that Konerko miraculously snagged or it would have been runners on 2nd and 3rd. He also muffed a double play ball and almost didn't get the out at 1B.

 

1B) Wilson Betemit is now officially superfluous. This team would be better off with Uribe as the back-up across the infield. If you can't trust him to play 3B against Greinke, then you might as well just release him or wait for Thome to go down again so he can be the starting DH. Playing against tough RHP was SUPPOSEDLY the area where he excelled, at least last year.

 

2) Lillibridge has no business near CF (see yesterday's boot) or in the White Sox line-up, PERIOD. He hasn't hit a ball to the left of second base all season long. He has taken feeble/anemic swings 3-4 times already this season, getting baserunners like Anderson and now Pods thrown out easily on botched hit-and-runs. He makes almost as little contact as Josh Fields, and it's borderline nauseating now to watch.

 

If you're not going to play Pods in CF, you might as well stick Nix out there, since he's NEVER even played the outfield in a major league game...still, he managed to look better than both Pods and Lillibridge respectively. Imagine if we lost a one run game because of Lillibridge and Pods being out there.

 

3) Pods playing AT ALL in RF is a permanent stain on all ML RFers. He can't judge flyballs (he never took good routes), he has to have the worst arm in the history of those who have ever played RF for even a single game (as a starter) and he's no longer a threat on the basepaths. The only thing he does (now) is work the count a little bit and get a few walks.

 

It would really be better if KW just was honest that this team wasn't constructed to repeat in 2009 and that he wanted to build a team capable of winning and going deep into the playoffs in 2010/2011/2012. The fans are smart enough to know that players like Jerry Owens, Lillibridge, Corky Miller, Jack Egbert and Lance Broadway aren't really major league quality contributors...at least on winning teams.

Edited May 5, 200916 yr by caulfield12

Beckham and poreda will take us deep into the post season this season, i feel it.

Ah, the old vote of confidence for Walker. It's like groundhog day. When you have to give a coach a vote of confidence every year, maybe it's time to go in a new direction:

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...-050409.article

Brent Lillibridge, .186 career MLB average, 555 OPS

Andy Gonzalez, .188 career MLB average, 549 OPS

Edited May 5, 200916 yr by caulfield12

KW would tell you off the record that they're not going for it this year.

 

Which is fine by me, there's too much of an upside to halting spending now and waiting til some big money comes off the books after this year.

 

Spending that plus adding Beckham could make for a great 2010, and i wont sacrifice that for a slightly better '09 with the dinos.

Brent Lillibridge, .186 career MLB average, 550 OPS

Andy Gonzalez, .188 career MLB average, 549 OPS

 

lol that's pretty bad when you're compared to Andy Gonzalez.

We also now have the very WORST offense in the American League, at least until the A's game becomes official later tonight. I'll repeat, after 15% of the season, we are now ranked last in runs scored per game in the AL.

 

Oakland is behind us in runs scored, because they have played 3 less games.

 

White Sox=4.32 runs per game

Oakland=4.36 runs per game

 

Home Runs

White Sox=26

Royals=26

Ah, the old vote of confidence for Walker. It's like groundhog day. When you have to give a coach a vote of confidence every year, maybe it's time to go in a new direction:

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...-050409.article

I don't even know why Gary Ward is still in the organization. Oh, that's right...he played with Kenny.

and FWIW, it's WAY too early for freaked-out threads like this.

and FWIW, it's WAY too early for freaked-out threads like this.

 

Yes and No. There's still so much time left, and we were in the same position we were in last year. Also, if Quentin and Thome hit a combined .225 this season, then it's not meant to be. I do agree KW should be ashamed of the pathetic lineup that's been on the field the last couple of games. No excuse for Lillibridge/Pods to be on the MLB roster. If he would have put one cent into improving this year's offense, then maybe he could honestly say he tried his best.

Yes and No. There's still so much time left, and we were in the same position we were in last year. Also, if Quentin and Thome hit a combined .225 this season, then it's not meant to be. I do agree KW should be ashamed of the pathetic lineup that's been on the field the last couple of games. No excuse for Lillibridge/Pods to be on the MLB roster. If he would have put one cent into improving this year's offense, then maybe he could honestly say he tried his best.

 

 

I am still tying to figure out the Swisher deal. What Nick needed wa s akick in the pants not a trade. However I think the pitching staff and the injuries are ore to blame at this point 25 games into the season. We have plenty of time to turn things for the better. But, KC is looking darn good

Ah, the old vote of confidence for Walker. It's like groundhog day. When you have to give a coach a vote of confidence every year, maybe it's time to go in a new direction:

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...-050409.article

 

 

We had this discussion before.

 

It will be a disaster if Walker tries to make Flowers, Beckham, Allen and Viciedo patented "lift and pull" hitters. They've all consistently shown their best power to the opposite field this season.

 

Unfortunately, there's no "fire sale" to be had with this White Sox team, even if they wanted to. We don't have any outfield replacements for Dye, unless we plan on playing Dayan Viciedo in LF/RF next season. Shelby and Danks are at least 1 1/2 seasons away from the big leagues.

 

So Dye's not really tradeable, because 1) we have no replacement in the minors and 2) his contract is pretty big. Still, he's probably our most valuable player to the opposition.

 

Konerko, if he continues to play as well as he has, would definitely be an interesting acquisition to a team like the Angels, if Morales continues to struggle. There are probably 2-3 teams out there who would be interested, and that could change with a key injury on some of the big market teams.

 

Thome, at $13 million, forget it.

 

Dotel, Linebrink, Jenks and Thornton will all be sought after.

 

1) Thornton...would it be best to trade him now or make him the closer to replace Jenks? Or could Poreda be the closer? It depends on what the Sox and KW are thinking here. There's always been that question about his ability to close or even pitch with inherited runners. Of course, scouts are in love with his arm and repeatable/easy delivery. Big plus is his contract seems to be a bargain.

2) Jenks, although his contract is going up year after year, will be around $7.5-8.5 million next season.

3) Dotel...an expensive acquisition for all but the big market teams, but our most effective pitcher so far this year and looking healthy, knock on wood.

4) Linebrink...least likely target, two years more to go on his contract, questions about overuse and future reliability

Edited May 5, 200916 yr by caulfield12

You keep Thornton, and trade Jenks if you're out of it come the deadline. Dotel is definitely a quality trade chip, but Linebrink isn't going anywhere with his contract. I think Dye's the most likely player on this roster to get traded.

What pisses me off the most is the money is NOT being put back in the team for 2009.

Edited May 5, 200916 yr by Soxfest

The Plan was to trade Dye for Bailey and an OF prospect. So, i believe he would be replaced in the event of trade.

He must be a god to Reinsdorf because he sold enuf of us on what he did to get 90% season ticket renewal along with a price increase ,

The Plan was to trade Dye for Bailey and an OF prospect. So, i believe he would be replaced in the event of trade.

 

No, the plan was to sign Abreu if the trade occurred.

The Plan was to trade Dye for Bailey and an OF prospect. So, i believe he would be replaced in the event of trade.

 

Yeah. Trade Dye for an underperforming AAA pitcher and an unknown. Makes sense to me.

KW would tell you off the record that they're not going for it this year.

 

Which is fine by me, there's too much of an upside to halting spending now and waiting til some big money comes off the books after this year.

 

Spending that plus adding Beckham could make for a great 2010, and i wont sacrifice that for a slightly better '09 with the dinos.

 

I am not holding my breath on them spending money next off-season.

 

As far as KW, I understand not having money to really improve the team, but some of these roster decisions were again made to stroke his ego and I'm sure the smug bastard is hoping for another "I told you so" opportunity at the end of the season. Whatever.

Yeah. Trade Dye for an underperforming AAA pitcher and an unknown. Makes sense to me.

I should have clarified my post. I was trying to show that KW was seeking two pieces: a pitcher and and OF in a Dye trade. I was not advocating the Bailey trade.... yet.

The more I think about it, the more I just want to be entertained by the White Sox this season. I had no championship aspirations for this roster, but at least be competitive in every game and put together good at bats, etc. Hopefully things get better soon, and the games are more enjoyable. That will relieve a lot of the tension on this site and Caulfield won't have to start another new thread every other day.

So who's gonna start the "WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR???" thread?

We're putting a TON of faith to think Don Cooper could magically transform Bailey and get him to respond.

 

It worked with Thornton in one or two days, but that's because Thornton was completely lost and desperate for any wisdom and guidance. From everything we've read about Bailey, he seems like he is a lot more resistant to coaching.

 

Definitely, Dye for a pitching prospect is the right move, because you have to replace Colon/Contreras for the immediate future...it's just that it's nearly impossible to get a team with a young but underachieving pitching prospect to throw in the towel on them.

 

Expecting Cooper to get anything out of Van Benschoten or Marquez is really pushing it.

 

I liked Clayton a lot tonight. I'm not sure if he was a legit 93-96 tonight, but his pitches were on the same gun as Zach Greinke, and Clayton was throwing a tick or two faster than I've ever seen from him.

 

It's going to have to be Richard, Poreda and/or an acquisition/trade of Dye/Konerko or one/two of our relievers in order to really have a competitive team for next year.

So who's gonna start the "WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR???" thread?

 

What, no "In or Out" thread?

We're putting a TON of faith to think Don Cooper could magically transform Bailey and get him to respond.

Bailey's been dominant in AAA his last four starts. He went back to his old delivery. I don't want to start the debate again, but maybe Coop wouldn't have to do much "fixin".