jackie hayes

santo=dorf from one of the Iguchi threads:

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 10:26 PM) Beck, Levine said that earlier report of the Sox being $600,000 apart from Icughi was BS. His agent was looking for "Matsui" money the entire time, but now he might have to settle for "Matt Suey" money. Now that's clever!

Incidentally, the ACLU declined to pursue any disciplinary action whatsoever, those hypocritical, censor-happy bastards! So Nuke, your one and only source of information was proven totally wrong. How 'bout you explain how this proves you right?

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Jan 22, 2005 -> 02:16 AM) Not the point at all. Last week you people spent an entire evening lecturing me about what a great champion of free speech the ACLU is but now, it seems, that one of their own board members can't speak his own mind and dare to not tow the party line without getting himself in hot water. Of course that's alright with you guys though. Hypocrites is what they are. WOW, what garbage. Everything you base your argument on is wrong, yet you still think you're right. What the world must look like through your eyes.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Jan 22, 2005 -> 01:38 AM) Uhh guys.........Oreilly was interviewing this guy on air. Those words were Mr Meyers' not O'reillys. Try again. Well then it's GOTTA be right! I don't care whose words those are. The pres of the ACLU announced to the press that she doesn't think anything will come of it. The review request did not come from the board at all, it came from a chapter in Oregon. The request was made b/c the board members in question were airing their internal grievances via the press. There aren't many organizations that would tolerate that -- however, it appears the ACLU board members weren't too concerned. You present it as, they're kicking him out b/c he wants school prayer. Huh???

Here's the NYT article on this. Unless the article is completely wrong, or something dramatic happened today that hasn't hit the news, you're totally misrepresenting this. I can't imagine why...

QUOTE(JoshPR @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 09:27 PM) Joe Cowley pitched his No hitter Sept 19th 1986 11-1 final He did say "about 1985" -- I think when I looked it up it said it came out in 1987, so he was off by a year. Picky, picky.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 07:07 PM) Still, as FZ once observed, kneeling down is better than bending over. Of course that was originally meant in a figurative sense, as it preceded the various church sex scandals by some 20 years. See, now you messed up my plans again. At first I thought I could just go to limbo. That's so Catholic, I figured I'd be okay there. But w/ all the priests trying to get into limbo, that won't be any more pleasant. Crap, maybe I should just sell my soul now and at least get a donut out of it.

QUOTE(CrimsonWeltall @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 07:38 PM) We must prepare the world for The Rapture! Sure, right after we get rid of Social Security. Priorities, man.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 07:30 PM) Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. There are posters who want to discard Iguchi based solely on what Kaz has/or hasn't done in NY. Perhaps Kaz doesn't have the necessary ability to translate his game in order to succeed in the MLB. Remember: We have the "Sod Father" in Roger Bossard. Everything I heard about Kaz's fielding when he signed was glowing. From that, I find it hard to believe it's a question of ability, but jmho. And from watching him a few times, it seemed like he just couldn't break old habits (about charging the ball, or backhanding) -- that's what I worry about w/ Iguchi. But I trust the scouts know what they're doing, I have no problem w/ the Sox signing him.

QUOTE(AddisonStSox @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 07:14 PM) For every Kaz, there's an Ichiro. For every Hideo Nomo, there's a Hideki Matsui. Although it's important to consider the trends of Japanese ballplayers and their transition to the MLB, it's not eveything. Its all about the individual. The Sox are the kind of team that needs to gamble on guys to compete with the big spenders. Iguchi is a calculated risk that may or may not pay off. If he does, Kenny just signed the 2b of the future at a great rate. Worst case scenario: he flops, try and trade him for a prospect (per Chan Ho Park, etc.). Huh? I'm not suggesting all Japanese players are bad risks. If the scouts like him, I have no problem w/ the Sox signing him. The reason I bring up Kaz's fielding is that these are both middle infielders, coming over mid-career. I wholly believe Kaz was a very good fielder in Japan. To play as horribly as he did last year, there has to be some problem adjusting. Since 2b requires roughly the same skills as ss (not exactly, but they are similar), it's useful information -- I'm not comparing them just b/c they're Japanese. Hideki's play in the field means squat for Taguchi, imo.

QUOTE(babybearhater @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 06:58 PM) probably, maybe, sound like good reasons to me. You dont think that baseball fundamentals are taught at all in japan??? The fact is, fielding on grass is not only easier for the fielders, but it gives them much more range on the ball. It would be alot easier for him to field the ball in grass, not to mention that the cell is regarded as one of the best fields condition-wise to play on. What gives me pause is all the trouble Kaz had in the field last year, and he was supposed to be a wiz. If grass were really just easier, he should have excelled.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 05:55 PM) Looks to be standing room only for history's several billion Christians (kneeling room for Catholics of course). If that's the role that Catholics play in heaven, I'm glad I haven't been very good in my life.

QUOTE(bogie @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 04:59 PM) ?????? He saw Minnie play as a younster.and teenager. Minnie was well known as a promising player at ayoung age. Castro knew about him and had Al come see him play. Just stop. Castro didn't come to power until the 50s, and he's younger than Minnie.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 04:44 PM) Weird. I wish someone here was fluent in Japanese so they could translate the article correctly into English for us. Where's Shingo or Timo when ya need em? I don't agree, unless we get to keep these translations too. Screw mosquito! These are too funny. Beta, you say?

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 03:09 PM) It was called "White Sox: A Visual History" It only went up to about 1985, because the last thing they showed was Joe Cowley's no-hitter. It was pretty cool, though. Very cool, thanks. A bunch of Chiland libraries seem to have it, I'll have to check it out next time I visit my folks. The line stretched all the way to Terre Haute... Palmolive had a nice, piquant after dinner flavor, heady, but w/ just a touch of mellow smoothness... Sox + Christmas Story

Tried it a few times for giggles. First shot, 66% w/ 0 false alarms on 3 threats, 17 bags. Second, 100% w/ 3 false alarms on 23 bags. (If it gets that easy that fast, I don't think it's THAT hard a job. ) Third, 0 false alarms on 0 threats. 3 bags, which is kind of weird, since all I did was stare at the first bag, trying to piss everyone off. Good enough for government work!

QUOTE(robinventura23 @ Jan 20, 2005 -> 06:37 PM) I know that guy who did "A Christmas Story" was a big Sox fan. Jean Shepherd was his name. He even hosted a video history on them. He died years ago. This made my day. Don't suppose you remember anything about the video history, do you? (Title, year, anything like that.)

QUOTE(chi-guy2 @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 01:31 AM) whos number seven? i see six i think the bears would be better suited in a 3-4 defense, theyve always been a good team w/solid linebackers Patriots steelers have had huge success, and the texans surely improved with it That would require too many personnel changes. You have to build with one or the other in mind. (Eg, Ogun and Brown don't have the size you want in a 3-4.) Anyway, the defense was the side that was working this season, why change it?

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Jan 20, 2005 -> 07:31 PM) WH v LH: Not enough to go on? 2001 2ab .000 .000 .000 .000 2002 38ab .237A .293O .237 .530 2003 19ab .105A .150O .105 .255 2004 72ab .181A .224O .264 .488 Some minor league notes: http://www.orioleshangout.com/minors02/Willie_Harris01.htm vs ml LH: 192ab 302A, 333ab 306A So what happened? Team splits might give us a clue: vs. ANA 32AB .375A .412O .438S - good vs. ATL 11AB .091A .286O .091S - bad vs. BAL 18AB .333A .400O .389S - good vs. BOS 19AB .211A .250O .211S - bad vs. CHC 18AB .111A .158O .111S - bad vs. CLE 35AB .286A .359O .314S - good vs. DET 47AB .149A .226O .255S - bad vs. KAN 43AB .326A .383O .465S - good vs. MIN 30AB .200A .400O .200S - can hit Lohse but no other vs. NYY 28AB .179A .250O .250S - bad vs. OAK 15AB .133A .278O .200S - bad vs. SEA 22AB .318A .400O .455S - good vs. TAM 24AB .375A .400O .458S - good vs. TEX 29AB .276A .364O .310S - good vs. TOR 17AB .588A .600O .647S - good It looks like Harris can hit weak pitching real well but strong pitching real bad. That's yet another sign he is not an everyday player. Absolutely, not enough in the ML to go on. 30 abs is roughly the equivalent of one week's work for a ML starter, not much. Actually, the minor league notes say "Hits left-handers as well as right-handers", which is a very good sign. These make me a little more optimistic. (Thanks for posting this, btw, I've been looking for something like this for a while.) The splits vs teams last year, I don't make much of those. That looks like normal variation, especially for someone who didn't bat very often. The conclusion you make, I don't see that. Detroit had an awful rotation, and he didn't do anything against them. Cleveland had a pretty good rotation, and he hit the Indians. Imo, these numbers just aren't very meaningful. 10, 20 abs is precious little information.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ Jan 20, 2005 -> 04:24 PM) I agree with the splits. It's not a question of it being only 200 ab v LH but rather there is no sign of improvement. If we had his ml split numbers we'd be able to see if there was any hope there. But we don't. So based on what we do have, you can't seriously consider Harris an everyday player. Look at the LH in the ALC: Santana, Sabathia, Moroth, Robertson, Lee, May, & Anderson. Then add LH the Sox are sure to face at least once: Johson, Lilly, Zito, Hendrickson, Moyer, Rogers, & Redman. There are more quality LH arms in the AL than in the NL. Not true on "improvement". His splits against lhp in the 2nd half of last season were much better than his splits against lhp in the 1st half. So that would count as improvement, right? Problem is, you're still talking about only 70 abs total. He only has 130 or so in his career (not 200). That's not enough to make a fair judgement. Until he gets real, consistent playing time, I won't know what to think of Harris. But he seems to have good plate discipline, speed, and a good glove. I'm cautiously optimistic. (About his ability, anyway. Not sure if he'll get much playing time next year.) As for good lhp in the AL, I agree that there are a lot of them. But that doesn't change the fact that any regular in the ML will see at least twice as many pitches from rhp as lhp. The ability to hit rhp is still a valuable commodity. Anyway, suppose Willie isn't worth a lick against lefties. Then the White Sox should have known that and were pretty stupid to ever count on him to be the regular 2nd baseman. If that's the case, the Sox should stop acting like they're disappointed or surprised.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Jan 20, 2005 -> 12:59 AM) Willie isn't an everyday player because he can't hit lefties... Willie's 3-Year Average Splits: vs. Righties 580 At Bats .257 AVG .327 OBP vs. Lefties 129 At Bats .186 AVG .234 OBP Willie's 2004 Splits: vs. Righties 337 At Bats .279 AVG .366 OBP vs. Lefties 72 At Bats .181 AVG .224 OBP Willie's AVG and OBP versus righties is respectable. He just can't hit lefties at all. We need a right-handed 2nd baseman to at least platoon with Willie. Cairo would have been a decent choice but the Mets signed him. Now it's pretty much Iguchi or bust. I don't think 72 or 130 abs make a conclusive argument. Would you say a starter who had a bad month will never be able to hit? I'd love to see Willie's minor league splits vs lhp, b/c basically he's never been allowed to hit them in the ML. John Sickels wrote a complimentary piece on Harris when he was breaking in w/ the Sox, and he didn't say that Harris was incompetant vs lhp. (He also said "Scouts have nothing but praise for his intelligence, work ethic and baseball instincts. He plays 'above his tools.'" Fwiw.) Even if it proves he can't hit lefties for his life, you face so many more rhp that a .360 obp against righties will be valuable.

So, just to be clear, would it be sexist to suggest that (say) women are more intelligent on average, but are less likely to be on either end of the spectrum? I'm not even that interested (for now anyway) in the statement's truth -- I am very curious about the reaction to it, and what it says about the definition of sexism. Some people clearly believe that Summers is sexist for even throwing it out there. I'm not sure -- I can understand how women in academia would be offended by it. But there are at least physical differences between the sexes. Is it sexist to suggest, not that women are less than men, but that talents are distributed in a different way? Obviously some people are inferring more into his comments than were actually there (like the Harvard student w/ the "genetic flaw" comment). I want to avoid that -- on the face of it, taking the argument literally, is this type of argument simply unacceptable?

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 01:14 PM) Who would we drop from the 40 man roster to sign a pitcher who won't throw until at least August, if ever? You can't sign a guy and place him on the 60 day DL so he has to have a roster spot with a ML contract, at least until spring training. Well, at this point the Sox seem content w/ their 40-man, I'm not suggesting that they even considered signing him. But there are possibilities -- are Kevin Walker, Reynoso, Timo, or Borchard more valuable than Williamson will be, if only a year from now?

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 06:59 AM) How is Garland more reliable than Contreras? I don't think we should skip the fifth starter days now that we (finally) have a complete rotation. Let Mark, Freddy, Jose, and Jon get and extra day of rest by having Hernandez go 6 innings. Well, Garland was better than Contreras last year, for one thing. As good as Jose's stuff can look, he has imploded so many times that I think you have to look at him as your worst starter. As for rest, as long as El Duque stays healthy, I don't care how they use him. I just hope they're careful to ensure that.