Kalapse

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ May 1, 2009 -> 07:41 PM) i would trade a choice draft pick for their hitting coach If Andruw Jones keeps this up and turns his career around he should donate half of his future earnings to Rudy Jaramillo because he looked done last year.

Yeah, Josh needs to make that play.

Maybe it's too hot out.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2009 -> 07:13 PM) I still can't believe KW didn't take a chance on Andruw Jones. It's amazing how skinny he is now. There's a reason why he signed with Texas, was willing to play in AAA if need be and took a bench job when spring training was over. They have the best hitting coach in the game and they play in Coors south. What better way to get your career back on track? Supposedly his mechanics were all f***ed up and Rudy has made some changes.

QUOTE (Brian @ May 1, 2009 -> 06:52 PM) Hawks, do NOT make excuses for Thome on that. He wasn't even close to hustling it out. He's favoring his heal, it's obvious. If that's all he's got then he should be on the DL.

Oh dear god, the way he's running it really doesn't look like Thome should be playing.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 1, 2009 -> 04:28 PM) Any word on why Bmac got pushed back? Game was rained out on Wednesday.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 1, 2009 -> 04:17 PM) How close was Hanley to tying the game with 2 outs in the 9th? Says fly out to deep center. It wasn't far at all, half way between the dirt of the infield and the warning track.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 1, 2009 -> 03:08 PM) Seriously? I suppose that is a hint of some kind about where in the lineup he expects to hit. That's what it says on his MLB.com page but I doubt he's had a chance to speak to Fields before today.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ May 1, 2009 -> 03:17 PM) You think he would put Pods in a Leadoff lefty on lefty matchup? I wouldn't put it past him. We know for sure that Getz won't be playing on Sunday so it'll be either Lillibridge or Podsednik. Scott's first game back from the groin injury in '07 was against a left handed starter (Rich Hill) and he hit leadoff of course that was after Darin Erstad hurt himself in the first inning of his first game back during the previous game. If Ozzie thinks Pods will give him better ABs than Lillibridge (his recent comments make it sound like he's unhappy with Brent's performance) even against a lefty then he's going to go with Pods. If I had to guess I'd say Brent will be leading off on Sunday but we'll see what Pods does today.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ May 1, 2009 -> 02:57 PM) Give him a game or two. Well lefty Matt Harrison will go for the Rangers on Sunday so we'll see either Lillibridge or Pods in the leadoff spot then. Perhaps he'll have Pods leadoff against McCarthy tomorrow for old time's sake?

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 1, 2009 -> 02:40 PM) Yeah, weak flyballs would be ideal if they're not sky high, but realistically I think we're screwed no matter what. We're going to need to get the bats very hot to take this series. I'd rather play anywhere in the world but Texas, even the dome in Minny. No park is less baseball-friendly than the one in Arlington. It's hard to watch a series there and think, "yeah, that was baseball." Remember just how horrible the series there was last year? It was 3 days of pure hell. Even the game we won (Danks start, Logan/Thornton/defense tried to blow it) was horrible. Texas, Oakland, Tampa and Minnesota the 4 worst parks to watch the Sox play IMO.

QUOTE (almagest @ May 1, 2009 -> 02:34 PM) I wonder what his rationale is on that. You have to think Ozzie has access to Getz's minor league stats and scouting reports. Maybe he thinks it's so much harder to hit LHP in the majors vs. the minors that it's not worth undermining Getz's confidence? I can't believe he's doing it solely based on lefty vs. righty matchups. He's even 3 for 7 in his big league career vs left handed pitching. 2/3 vs Brian Tallet (who shut us down) 0/0 vs Craig Breslow (HBP) 0/1 vs Ron Mahay 0/1 vs Dan Meyer (K) 0/1 vs Bill Murphy 1/1 vs Josh Newman (RBI - first career hit last SEPT) 0/0 vs Jaimie Walker (RBI SF) How do you develop as a young left handed hitter against left handed pitching if you get no ABs against big league lefty pitchers?

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ May 1, 2009 -> 02:25 PM) I don't hope that because the ball flies out of that park especially to the corners. The Sox need to throw as many groundballs as possible and hope to God they're hit right at someone. This is going to be a very high scoring series. I'd put the over/under on runs in this 3 game series at 36 combined, and I'd take the over. BTW I'd much rather have Lillibridge out in CF instead of Pods. We're back to the same old argument of whether you'd rather have a bad hitting CF who can't play the position or an even worse hitting CF who can play the position, and I'm always going to go with the defense there. Well, obviously I'm talking about weak, playable flyballs, they have to stay out of those f***ing jet streams. This team will kill you with ground balls and I'm still not entirely comfortable with Alexei as a SS, if they're keeping the ball in the park but working the gaps then we're in trouble. There could be more than a few triples in this series.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ May 1, 2009 -> 02:07 PM) When do they release the lineups? 1 minute ago Getz 2B Fields 3B Quentin LF Thome DH Dye RF Konerko 1B Pierzynski C Ramirez SS Podsednik CF Buehrle P

Another thing to think about: given how much Ozzie likes to get his new toys into the lineup will Chris Getz get even a single start against a left handed pitcher this season now that Jayson Nix is around?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 1, 2009 -> 01:54 PM) The difference between their bats at this point is greater than the difference between their defensive performances. Lillibridge is just hitting that bad. I think that remains to be seen, I'll actually have to see Podsednik at the plate before making that determination. If Lillibridge really is a plus defender in CF (which I highly doubt but it's been said) then I'll say that defense in a big center field in Arlington is more important than any offense you'd get out of the 9th hole (though I'm sure Pods will lead off right away). When Podsednik was on the radio yesterday he sure made it sound like he was anticipating taking over the leadoff duties even though he had yet to speak to a White Sox official.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 1, 2009 -> 01:53 PM) Erstad was never that bad defensively, I guess the memory of him losing that ball in the lights stuck with a lot of people. I'm surprised that so far people think Mackowiak was better than Swisher out there. Yeah I remember Erstad being pretty good out there, he f***ed up more than a few easy plays but overall I suppose he got the job done.

QUOTE (striker62704 @ May 1, 2009 -> 01:44 PM) Pods > Lillibridge I guess it depends on how much you value defense.

I always thought Luis Terrero played a damn good CF for us in '07. Darin Erstad is also missing.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 1, 2009 -> 01:33 PM) I know all you guys are s***ting on Pods but I am pulling for him. In CF its gonna be a roller coaster but I think he has a chance to get hot with the bat and atleast show that he could contribute on this team. There's no reason not to just like there's no reason to believe he'll do much of anything at the plate or in the field except for, you know: blind faith and the undying magic of the 2005 season. I also think he could start out semi-hot just to spite me, which I'd like very much. I just hope the Rangers are pull happy this weekend with lots of high fly balls to the corners.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 1, 2009 -> 01:30 PM) Since injured players (see Pipp, Wally) aren't supposed to lose their jobs, does this mean BA is back to starting when he returns? I have always liked BA, but one thing no one mentions and I have always worried about is trouble staying healthy. Pods/Lillibridge is a bad combo in CF, but Owens/Lillibridge is worse. If Pods plays much, he's going to get hurt. Hopefully, BA will be ready by then. No, you're wrong about that. He changed his workout regiment and now he's invincible it's really that easy, someone should tell Mark Prior.

At least we know that Carl Everett is keeping in playing shape with the Newark Bears just in case Thome makes a trip to the DL. Garcia and Vizcaino were recently released, Orlando Hernandez is still looking for a job, Neal Cotts should be available soon, Willie Harris should be available for trade once he comes off the DL, the Bobby Valentine led Chiba Lotte Marines are in last place so Tadahito Iguchi could become available soon, Pablo and Timo have stuck around and could easily be acquired, Hermanson, Politte and Widger are out of the game and Damaso Marte could be released by the Yankees sometime this year. It's a perfect storm.

Yeah, this is officially a disaster. Good luck Burls, that OF defense isn't going to do you any favors.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 1, 2009 -> 12:11 PM) One thought I just had, it seems we call every guy without a top fastball a pitcher and every guy with a 96+ fast ball a thrower. Seems too easy and over simplified. Just thinking in terms of current players: I think Josh Johnson has become a hell of a pitcher same goes for Josh Beckett when he has his good command, Felix Hernandez is one of the best in baseball and Edinson Volquez should get there soon. That's just young pitchers off the top of my head all with mid to high 90's heat. Zack Greinke is the definition of a "pitcher" and he can run it up there. Roy Oswalt (he doesn't really work in the 96+ MPH range anymore) and CC Sabathia are a couple more examples. It seems like these days you either become a pitcher or you'll find yourself in the bullpen. You can't just run it up there against big league hitters, they'll destroy you, you have to be able to locate and change speeds.