ZoomSlowik

QUOTE(quickman @ Jul 12, 2005 -> 11:57 AM) I am not sure i understand your point. You brought up the cardinals, now your not thinking about them? The cardinals had practically an allstar team lineup last year with solid pitching. The Whitesox have nothing near superstars, in there lineup. There are no potential MVP's on the whitesox, the cardinals had two last year and possibly a distant third in Edmonds. I brought up the Cardinals of last season as an example of a good team with the best record in baseball that a lot of people (virtually anyone I talked to on the subject last year) thought was going to lose early in the playoffs because of their inferior pitching. Their rotation wasn't exactly stellar last year, but it got the job done in the regular season. However, in the playoffs most thought it would be an issue, especially after Carpenter got hurt. Woody Williams, Jason Marquis, Jeff Supan, and a struggling Matt Morris isn't exactly the type of rotation I'd want going into the playoffs. Despite their flaws in that area, they went to the series, and lost to a Red Sox team that was on a roll. I'm not worrying about this year's team just yet because we wouldn't have to face them until the WS, and even then it's possible that they aren't there. Their lineup produces, but looking at the stats Pujols is the only one that stands out as a major hitter. Rolen has been off before and after injuries, and Edmonds and Sanders are doing roughly what Dye is. It is formidable, but I wouldn't call it murderer's row. Their pen is also solid, and thus far Carpenter and Morris have been very good, and Suppan/Marquis/Mulder are doing roughly what their rotation did last year. Are they a good team? Yes. Are they unbeatable? No. My main thing is I'm not going to start panicking over matching up with a team that I might have to face in the WS, especially when it is only the all-star break. My other issue is that outside of Chavez and Vizquel, I don't see us making a significant upgrade, and both of those guys would cost a bunch of money for a lot of years, besides the talent we'd have to give up.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 12, 2005 -> 11:49 AM) I thought St. Louis was the best team in the NL last year, if not baseball, so I definately didn't think they would slide last year. I also think they are the best team in baseball thi s year. I love the Sox to death, but I think on paper the Cards and Marlins are both better teams. That said if the Sox met the Marlins in the series, the Sox would win cause they are playing the game right. If it were vs the Cards it would be interesting. A lot of people didn't think St. Louis was that good last year. Everyone thought their pitching would be their downfall, and they made it to the series. The Cards and Marlins are another story. I'm not even thinking about them yet, especially since the Marlins might not be in the playoffs. If they end up trading Burnett, they're nowhere near as scary. Even with him, Beckett and Willis aren't exactly dependable starters, and their pen isn't that great. St. Louis could be a problem if Carpenter and Morris keep pitching like this and Mulder pitches like he should. However, that wouldn't happen until the series, which is a long way off.

Whatever guys. Keep doubting the team with the best record in baseball. How many of you thought the Cardinals were going to slide last year? I heard a lot of people saying that, and their pitching was weaker than ours (granted their O was awesome, but no one seems to think that matters when the playoffs roll around). I can't believe how some people to react to one series. And I highly doubt we lose 3 of 4 to Cleveland. The game Elarton pitches is a virtual lock for us, and I expect at least a split in the Garcia/Buehrle games. This is the same team that we are 6-3 against. Nothing has really changed except Hafner heating up and Betancourt being suspended.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jul 11, 2005 -> 08:03 PM) First Review is out 8.8 on gamespot http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/sports/ncaafoo...006/review.html that is exactly what i needed to here, since i loved 04. Definitely agree with you about 2004. I bought last year's game and was disappointed. The game play just didn't feel right, especially the passing. I got so frustrated with my senior 92 rated receivers dropping balls even though they were wide open on an out pattern on 3rd and 4 and I hit them in the chest that I traded the game in. I did like the home field advantage and the composure system though. I wasn't sure that I was going to buy this game, but it looks like I will. Go Cats!

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jul 11, 2005 -> 01:05 PM) Is it already on TV!?!?!?!? I had no clue. My money is on one of the young guys this year. No. Coverage starts on July 19th for the more minor tournaments. The coverage for the final event doesn't start until like October. However, the main event has started, and if you look you can find updated standings.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jul 11, 2005 -> 10:56 AM) I have a question, can anyone get into the tournament? as long as they have the 10k to buy in of course. Yeah, that's why there are so many people. Qualifying might help a bit, maybe a earnings qualifier with a couple of play ins. I'm really sick of seeing some of these guys get so far, like Moneymaker, Varkoni or Mattias Anderson. I saw those guys win so many races, many when they were not favored and on their way out, it was disgusting. I know everyone needs to have some luck, but I don't remember Rayner having anywhere near as many as those guys, and the pros seem to be victimized in those situations quite a bit.

I'd really like to see one of the grizzled veterans or top pros (don't know who's left, but I'm talking about guys like Brunson, Cloutier, Ivey, Ferguson, etc.) win this tournament to stop the flood of amatuers and youngsters a bit. It's gotten to the point where the top players don't stand much of a chance to win. I'd like to see a tiered entry setup where previous champs and top pros could get a pass to day 2 or 3. I'd think the TV ratings would be a bit better if you got to see the top guys battle it out as opposed to one pro and a bunch of no names.

QUOTE(WhiteSox311 @ Jul 9, 2005 -> 09:45 PM) Man the Sox do some stupid s*** against the A's. Of course there's the errors, but even bad pitches. I don't mean hangers i mean a mixture of bad pitch selection and location. For example, I think it was the second inning and Byrnes was up and kielty was on second. The count was 1-2 and its still early in the game so the shadows were still affecting the hitters. And when shadows are out its probably easier to see the change or fastball. So instead of throwing a nice curve like buerhle can he throws a fastball right down the damn middle (Byrnes of course smoked it down the left field line). Plus what were they thinking buerhle isnt a flamethower so just use the shadows and throw a breaking pitch DUMBASS. That pitch pry pissed me off more than any other play in the game. I thought the worse one was the 1-2 change that Kotsay hit for a 3 run homer. He just barely fouled off a high fastball, so wouldn't it make sense to come back with another one, or a slow curve low and away? I wonder if that pitch had something to do with the fact that Widger was catching instead of A.J. Also, here's hoping Crede gets back soon, I'm sick of seeing Ozuna out there. He's got as many errors as Joe at third in much less time, and he looks overmatched pretty much every time at the plate. I know his average is high, but he has only one extra base hit, and I expect that average to come down a bunch the more he plays.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2005 -> 04:48 PM) Zito is still signed through next year...are the other 3? I know Kotsay and Durazo are FA, not sure about Hatteberg.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 8, 2005 -> 03:44 PM) KW would never trade El Duque, he is clutch I only mentioned El Duque because it'd be a little easier for the Marlins to swallow his salary than Contreras'. They could probably use a starter back in the deal given that they wouldn't have a whole lot of depth and Beckett is injury prone. I'm sure they'd rather have a good young major league level starter, but teams don't give up those kind of players, especially when seeking pitching in the deal.

We could do worse than Finley. They mentioned Antoine Walker in a rumor (heard it on either ESPN radio or the Score).

The main thing is we are in great shape barring a collapse on our part. Our great start has put a lot of pressure on the other playoff hopefuls in our division. We can play .500 ball the rest of the way and still have over 95 wins. On the other hand, I think we are bashing the Twins a little too much. I don't think they're playing any worse than they have in the past, it's just this year it's going to take 95-100 wins to take the division instead of 90-95. They've still got enough talent to make a playoff push, albiet (that seems to be my word of the day) the division is probably out of reach. They still have a pretty good pen, and their starters have all been pretty good (I didn't expect them to have 4 starters under 4.10), and their offense is passable. I could still see them winning 90-95, especially if Johan gets back on track. However, that still probably won't be enough to beat us.

I've never been a big fan of Zito. His numbers the last two years are fairly pedestrian. He's been getting better as this season goes on, but I still don't think he's the ace that he was earlier in his career. I don't think he's fallen off as bad as Schmidt, I just think he's more of a mediocre 2 or a solid 3 type starter at this point in his career, plus you have the migration from pitcher-hitter park again. Plus Billy would probably be asking for the entire farm system. I think Burnett's injury issues are overblown. He's really only had one injury, albiet a major one. He's not really on the Kerry Wood/Ken Griffey Jr./J.D. Drew level of injury prone. I suppose you're always going to worry about someone that throws as many pitches as hard as he does, but he's healthy now and pitching well, so I wouldn't be as worried about it. I think his contract status is a bigger impediment to the trade. However, if we could do something like El Duque, Marte, and Anderson/Sweeney, we'd not only be preventing a log jam that would result from acquiring a starter, but also possibly have enough money to resign him.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jul 8, 2005 -> 03:10 PM) That is why I root for Schmidt to return to form. I don't think KW will touch Schmidt in current form, but if he does return to form, he would be an another ace that could be added if KW so chose. Root for him to return to form... I don't see the point. If he sucks, he's gonna end up staying on the Giants. If he's decent, he's probably going to stay on the Giants because his trade value won't be great and there'll be hope for next year. If he kicks ass he probably stays on the Giants so they can compete next year; or his trade value would jump and we wouldn't be able to get him anyways.

So much for my eventual champ line. There's still time, and my pitchers are finally getting healthy. Anyways, I have an important question for all league members. Some have expressed interest in making this a keeper league. I would be willing to do that if enough members are interested. If I do it, the format will be a 3 year setup with 5 keepers, draft order in the reverse order of finish, and the eventual winner determined by total points earned (1st place worth ten, 2nd worth 9, ect). I for one would like to do it. Anyone else?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 8, 2005 -> 02:25 PM) Based on his career numbers and his history of being an ACE. He performed well with AJ as his catcher last year as well. Over the last 3 years his BAA has been .218, .200, .202 His K/9 have been 9.52, 9.01, 10.04 his slugging has been below 340 all three years. Those are ACE numbers. Take a look at his numbers since the All-star break of last year. He had a 4.02 ERA after the break to go along with his crappy numbers this year, and you still have to compensate for the move to a hitter's park and the AL switch.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jul 8, 2005 -> 02:05 PM) Boo I say to that. Everytime he pitches you should be hoping he returns to form, thus getting KW more interested, and thus getting us another ace for the postseason. Think positively... As others have said, I fail to see how a guy with a 5.11 ERA in a pitcher's park in the NL is an improvement and an ace.

It isn't even original. Brian Giles did that a while ago in the middle of a Pirates' batting practice. Without saying a word, he went up for his usual batting practice wearing only his spikes, helmet, and black duct tape in the shape of his number.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Jul 8, 2005 -> 12:03 AM) Does "doing s***" mean putting up numbers like these for pitching: Team ERA: 3.68 Team WHIP: 1.23 Team BAA: .246 Hell yeah they're a f***ing surprise. I have no problem with them being on this list. I figured that they were a team on the rise in 04, mostly on the strength of their up-and-coming position players. But strangely enough, it has been their pitching that has them 7 games over .500 I don't watch BBTN, but at this point, they all gotta be acting like they know. I can't imagine that they'd want to dwell on their terrible Sox predictions show after show after show. I wouldn't exactly call them a positive surprise, considering a lot of people picked them to at least compete for the division lead, if not win it. Their pitching is doing a bit better than people expected (me included), but as a whole their offense has been a disappointment. Many were saying that they would be one of the best offensive teams in the league, which hasn't materialized. They're 7 games over, which I wouldn't call that surprising. Now the White Sox having the best record in baseball when pretty much no one picked them to win the division and most had them in third (some fourth), I'd call that a pretty major surprise. I'm pretty sure if you would have said at the beginning of the season that "the other Sox" would be leading their division by 11 games, whoever heard it would be telling you to pass them the s*** that you're smoking.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 05:58 PM) Hey, in case you missed it, Schmidt had a pretty good year last year too. 18-7, 225 innings, 165 hits, 3.2 ERA. Then he started the year with a 2-1 record and 3.41 ERA in April. In May he went on the DL after his second start and hasn't fully returned to form since that stint, though he did post back-to-back 8 inning outings where he surrended no runs. Give me that over "Jose the head case" or "bad shoulder El Duque" every time. Actually, Schmidt started his decline last year, before the injury was a big issue. He had a 2.51 ERA in the first half last year, 4.02 after. He had a mediocre July (3.50), came back with a pretty good August (2.86), and then got rocked in September (over 5). Normally I wouldn't worry about it, but when you add what he did after the break to what he has done thus far this year, I think it is a cause for concern.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 11:50 PM) Cubs?!?! LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every time I hear the Flubbs and the word "playoffs" mentioned in the same paragraph I break out in fits of uncontrolled laughter. They make it on average about once every ten years, and they already blew their shot this decade.

I haven't tried it, but supposedly triplethreatsports.com has numbers/names available. I gotta try it, I got an authentic Maggs jersey that I can't stand to wear right now, try to put a 56 on it.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 7, 2005 -> 05:06 PM) El Duque's days of postseason dominance are history. In 2004, he started 1 game against Boston, pitched 5 innings, gave up 3 runs and 5 walks for a 5.40 ERA. In 2002, he only pitched out of the bullpen, but was credited with a loss in his 2 games. In 2001, he was 1-1, beating Oakland in the ALDS, but getting rocked by Seattle in the ALCS. He pitched well against Arizona in the WS but got no decision. Most of this was before he developed arm problems. Contreras's 2 postseason series ended with his ERA at 5.79 and 5.68 and his record 0-2. He walked 7 guys in 11 innings. All games were in relief. This is Jason Schmidt's postseason line from 2002-03. (Granted he's been hurt since too.) 4 Postseason Ser 2-2 5 5 3.06 3-1 0 1 1 32.3 26 11 9 32 I'd rather take my chances with Schmidt. As you said, those starts from Schmidt were a long time ago. Considering how much it would supposedly cost to get him here, we'd be better off with what we have. Plus, the Giants have said a few times that Schmidt won't be traded.

Actually, not only has he pitched more games on the road this year than at home, he has a slightly better ERA on the road. His home park isn't having a major effect on his stats like it does with a lot of players. Plus not only is he a strikeout pitcher, he's getting a ton of groundballs this year, and has been a slight groundball pitcher in his career. I really don't think that the park will affect him too much, and the league switch shouldn't be too pronounced with a guy with his kind of stuff.

I like what we'd be giving up in the deal if we can avoid dealing B-Mac, Anderson, and Gio. I'd have no problem giving up Marte, Tracey, and Sweeney for a key player given the way that Marte has struggled recently. However, I'm not so sure that Burnett is the right answer. His similarity to Kerry Wood is scary. He's got filthy stuff, but he walks a lot of guys and is typically gone by the start of the 7th, and he is going to cost a s***load of money. I'm not overly concerned about his inury history, however, because to the best of my knowledge it was one injury, albiet a Tommy John surgery. The major issue is I don't see the Sox signing him long term with our current situation. We already have 5 starters under contract for next season, and with Garland's imminent raise 4 of them are probably going to be making $6 million plus. I don't see how a $10-$12 mil starter fits in there unless we can con them into taking Contreras or Hernandez, which I doubt the Marlins would do. However, if we could get him and sign him that'd be pretty cool. After looking at his game log, some interesting things come up. One, he's failed to go less than 6 innings only once, and he was hit with numerous unearned runs in the 5th in that game. Also, he's pitched into the 7th in 7 of his 17 starts, with three of those being complete games. He's also not as wild as some of us think. He's only walked more than 3 in 3 of his starts. That's not really that bad. As for his injury history, he pitched 173 innings in 2001, and 204 in 2002. He's only pitched in 4 other years before that. His first two he was still developing, the next two were shortened because of his Tommy John surgery. He hasn't had a problem since the surgery, so I wouldn't exactly call him injury prone. I think there is a pretty good chance we'd be acquiring a solid starter that will be a work horse for the next few years. I'd go for it if we could resign him. I would assume that dumping Contreras or Hernandez would be a pre-requisite for that, so that'd solve the logjam issue.