http://www.suntimes.com/m/20501006-773/ven...vidual-sox.html

 

OAKLAND, Calif. — The players who have been talked to should consider themselves warned.

 

If you think manager Robin Ventura was going to let the White Sox’ shameful play last week go by without being addressed, think again.

 

Ventura has had meetings with individual players, some of which included general manager Rick Hahn.

 

“Robin is addressing some issues,’’ bench coach Mark Parent said Sunday before the Sox lost their sixth game in a row, 2-0 to the Oakland Athletics. “He doesn’t always say a lot about them all to me when they’re addressed, but they’re being addressed. This way if they don’t get fixed and the shoe falls, they know where they stand. Whoever it is, clean it up. If you’re hitting too many fly balls, stop hitting fly balls.’’

 

“The shoe falling” on a team that went from playing some of the cleanest defense in baseball last year to the worst this year and from being fourth in runs in the American League last year to last this year could mean benchings or getting shipped out of town.

 

“If we don’t see improvement in the near future, then some guys who planned to spend their summers in Chicago very likely won’t be,’’ Hahn told the “Hit and Run” show Sunday on WSCR-AM (670), his toughest talk yet this season. “Messages have been sent that we expect that improvement to take place in the very near future.’’

 

With the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers, whom the Sox won’t play until July 9 because of an unusual scheduling quirk, failing to pull away, Hahn doesn’t have to commit to trading veterans for prospects yet. He has time, but the Sox look like a lost cause.

 

Hahn called his team’s showing against the Cubs and Athletics embarrassing and disappointing.

 

“The way we’ve played this past week and the lack of execution offensively and defensively, and even the lack of energy we’ve shown, has been disappointing,’’ Hahn said.

 

Teams that don’t hit look sleepy, and the Sox, shut out for the third time in six games, have that look about them. Even bullpen coach Art Kusnyer, an old-school, hard-nosed baseball lifer and storyteller extraordinaire who travels with the team at Ventura’s request for team morale, can’t say much to cheer this team up. Kusnyer says this team is a little too nice. Parent said it’s a little too subdued.

 

“You look at some of the teams we’re playing, and there’s a little excitement,’’ Parent said. “Even when things are going good, we seem to be waiting for things to go bad. We’ve had discussions about it.

 

“We come out and get a couple of guys on, we don’t get them in, or a guy doesn’t cover second base, it kind of takes the wind out of your sails.’’

 

Jordan Danks was called up from Class AAA Charlotte and immediately plugged into the lineup. Ventura said he hoped Danks would supply a jolt of energy. Gordon Beckham will try to inject something when he joins the team Monday in Seattle.

 

“It’s not overrated,’’ Ventura said. “It can zap you when you go through stretches like this. You have to find a way to get it.’’

 

Danks went 0-for-3 and made an error in center that led to a run.

 

“We lost games in the beginning of the year from mental mistakes and errors, me included,’’ third baseman Conor Gillaspie, one of the Sox’ few bright spots this year, said after Sunday’s loss. “It will come around, and if it doesn’t, I’m sure there will be changes. I don’t know what else to say.’’

Edited June 3, 201312 yr by Chicago White Sox

I will say this, tough talk is better than nothing, but a real roster move or a coach getting fired would put more stock into these statements.

Danks get called up? When did this happen?

Danks get called up? When did this happen?

 

When Wise went on the DL.

 

A guy whose age and weight are both very close to mine shut out the Sox on Saturday. Something needs to happen.

Edited June 3, 201312 yr by HickoryHuskers

Sounds great.

 

But with the contracts on the books and the lack of options in the minor leagues, what are the real possibilities?

 

Not many.

 

Here is my list of five guys who earned a meeting in the Principal's Office:

 

1. Tyler Flowers -- for general incompetence.

 

2. ARam -- for too many brain cramps to outline.

 

3. DeAza -- for forgetting what made him a reasonably functional player last year.

 

4. Viciedo -- for trying to play left field like Podsednik and Pierre

 

5. Jones -- for ball one, ball two, ball three ...

When Wise went on the DL.

 

A guy whose age and weight are both very close to mine shut out the Sox on Saturday. Something needs to happen.

You need to work on some secondary pitches. You're leaving money on the table.

You need to work on some secondary pitches. You're leaving money on the table.

 

I'm a lefty, so at the very least I could be a LOOGY. I could strike Dunn out.

You need to work on some secondary pitches. You're leaving money on the table.

 

More accurately start undergoing some experimental procedures plus shoot some steroids...

 

Who's the one hitting too many fly balls?

 

DeAza, one would assume.

Who's the one hitting too many fly balls?

 

DeAza, one would assume.

It certainly isn't Dunn.

Talk is cheap. Actions are preferred.

 

Go Sox!

If you're hoping that a 5th outfielder can provide a spark, your team is in trouble.

How about we evaluate our team based on what we're doing, not what the Tigers are doing. Hahn sounds like he's floating more bulls***. Changes? Yeah right. I'll believe it when I see it.

Right on, someone called out Alexei.

I expect a coach to be fired soon if things don't turn around. I'd like to see some roster moves, but what would said moves consist of? Trades, demotions, DFAs?

It certainly isn't Dunn.

 

Dunn is actually markedly better the more fly balls he hits

I expect a coach to be fired soon if things don't turn around. I'd like to see some roster moves, but what would said moves consist of? Trades, demotions, DFAs?

Unfortunately there's not a lot of roster moves that obviously make this team better immediately. Phegley might be the only one with a chance of doing that, and that could also screw him up by bringing him up before he's ready.

 

Personally, if there was something I wanted to see...it'd be a daily repeat of Robin's extra hour of fielding practice. Just non stop until they finally do some of the basics right.

I expect a coach to be fired soon if things don't turn around. I'd like to see some roster moves, but what would said moves consist of? Trades, demotions, DFAs?

I really doubt they'll undermine Robin. Or at least they shouldn't.

 

When Robin was hired they told us that he was going to take some time, maybe a couple years, 3 years, whatever, to come into his own. And that would be fine, because we'd be retooling/reloading whatever you want to call it. But since hiring Robin we've signed veteran players to MLB contracts & traded prospects for veterans. So we say one damn thing and do another. If this coaching staff is here develop players then let's bring in some players to develop. Calling out anonymous players and then demoting Tyler Greene solves nothing, and it's hard to blame the coaching staff for not coaching up a contender when the FO made it very clear that that wasn't the goal, and when the FO hasn't done a damn thing to make this team into a contender.

 

I want Hahn to make a move soon, finally, because ATM it seems like there's no plan around here.

Unfortunately there's not a lot of roster moves that obviously make this team better immediately. Phegley might be the only one with a chance of doing that, and that could also screw him up by bringing him up before he's ready.

 

Personally, if there was something I wanted to see...it'd be a daily repeat of Robin's extra hour of fielding practice. Just non stop until they finally do some of the basics right.

 

 

I have to agree with you. I posted something similar somewhere. If a signal has gone out who would it be to? What changes would be in order? I don't see any. Maybe they meant benching some starters but are tbere any bench players that would be better? Get back to the basics defensively, bunt the guy over and get a runner on third in with the fly ball and one out and don't strike out so much that's all I can say.Bring up Phegley? maybe. How do we know he is ready and what catcher goes? I may be crazy but I actually think Gimenez has shown more than Tyler

Good some veterans on this team are way too comfortable.

Out of curiousity, how many people out there have actually watched a decent amount of Phegley AB's? I am curious what his swing looks like, and if it is something that will translate to the majors. We seem to have a lot of guys come up here with a long swing.

Out of curiousity, how many people out there have actually watched a decent amount of Phegley AB's? I am curious what his swing looks like, and if it is something that will translate to the majors. We seem to have a lot of guys come up here with a long swing.

Haven't seen any from this season in Charlotte yet, but saw some from ST this year, and video from previous years. Looked pretty level, and no big pre-swing load, at least when I saw him. So his quickness should be OK, and this would explain the relatively low K rates too. In 2012 it looked like he didn't get a lot of leverage behind it, but he also had that hand injury in '11 or '12 (I forget which now, I think it was '11), so he may have taken a while to get the strength back in his hand.

 

With Greene off of the 40 man roster, the Sox now have two open spots.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/06/weak...l#disqus_thread Lol.

I really doubt they'll undermine Robin. Or at least they shouldn't.

 

When Robin was hired they told us that he was going to take some time, maybe a couple years, 3 years, whatever, to come into his own. And that would be fine, because we'd be retooling/reloading whatever you want to call it. But since hiring Robin we've signed veteran players to MLB contracts & traded prospects for veterans. So we say one damn thing and do another. If this coaching staff is here develop players then let's bring in some players to develop. Calling out anonymous players and then demoting Tyler Greene solves nothing, and it's hard to blame the coaching staff for not coaching up a contender when the FO made it very clear that that wasn't the goal, and when the FO hasn't done a damn thing to make this team into a contender.

 

I want Hahn to make a move soon, finally, because ATM it seems like there's no plan around here.

 

 

Only the Peavy extension.

 

And Sale, although if he doesn't get hurt, that's just great arbitrage, when there's a decent likelihood he'll outperform that deal by $70-110 million based on sabermetric values.

 

But you could also say that bringing back Floyd (there's another move about contending now) and Peavy was spinning them off for future assets at some point as Plan B, with the idea all along they were in-between as an organization in terms of being able to compete these two seasons.