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QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 08:20 AM) I don't know what people are exactly looking for on this. Velocity takes time. Th fact that he is on the cusp of 90 is great. Command and control is more important. We have some depth in the rotation that can allow Danks to come back n the sox timetable. The thin Arizona air takes breaking balls away and makes Joe Borchard and Brian Anderson into allstars. Especially in this case. While the surgery did not involve the muscles much, there was some cleanup, he hadn't thrown since late last season. It will take time to build the strength. He is probably going through fatigue phase of muscle building. Another possibility is that since the physician tightened up the shoulder capsule, the shoulder feels different now. He may take time for him to get the feel of the new shoulder and be comfortable enough to get his command back.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 18, 2013 -> 09:56 AM) Nobody in the Sox organization would support a full rebuild. We will always try to make the current team as good as we can, within reason. The Sox will be willing to have seasons where they don't have a great outlook, but they never will intentionally gut the major league club. It's not good business to rebuild -- you should be as close to contending as possible as often as possible. This doesn't mean you can't trade a Carlos Quentin or save some money in offseasons in which you don't like the major free agents, but it means you wouldn't ever trade an Alexei Ramirez, Dayan, Sale, Rios or other major pieces (well paid and not) before a season like this one. I think they would trade some pieces like that but only if it was for major league ready prospects. I agree with the premise. They wouldn't trade them for prospects that would need time in the minors but if it was for someone who would contribute right away plus some others it could happen. The trade proposed earlier would not happen as it would be for too many developing players and not enough to improve the MLB roster.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 17, 2013 -> 04:55 PM) I don't see a separate Yankee injury thread. Just the ARod one. Teixeira injury more serious, could miss the season. Depending on which tendon it is that is a real problem. The only tendons in the wrist with the own synovial sheaths are the wrist radial abductors and thumb extensors.. These are the extensor pollucis brevis and abductor pollucis longus. These are the primary muscles for bringing your wrist up towards your radius or lifting the bat up. They also work eccentrically to control the bat to slow it down during follow thruogh or if you stop the swing. If one or both of these tendons are coming through the sheath, swinging the bat comfortably is next to impossible. The tenosynovitis of these muscles is called DeQuervain's syndrome. It's really hard to swing a bat with this type of pain. I see it alot with discus throwers in track and field where they need to snap the wrist forward to get the spin on the disc. This could be a significant problem.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 18, 2013 -> 08:29 AM) There are many people who seem far more concerned with the farm system ranking than the actual major league team. Trading Sale for prospects should make them happy. The farm system would be top 10. Obviously, they aren't going into a total rebuild, and hopefully, at least for me, they won't anytime soon. I think the new pricing, as long as the Sox are competitive, will help at the gate, plus some guys coming off the books, plus the additional TV money starting next year. The Sox should be able to throw a little money at their shortcomings and remain competitive for at least the near future. The key will be spending wisely. They just can't have the misses other teams can make. Too many +1,000,000,000,000

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 10:59 AM) From the way it screws up, I can tell it is the GPS at fault...just doesn't collect enough data points. The map gets too many straight lines based on lack of data points. So I am planning on just getting a Garmin GPS watch which are pretty well regarded and I'll get other fun features like heart rate, cadence, etc. I would be interested if Samsung could demonstrate a better GPS than standard. When can I buy the S4 anyway? I've been using Garmin products since the mid-90's for all my runs. The only time it has problems is on forest trails when the sky is really blocked out.

QUOTE (BFirebird @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 03:41 PM) I agree. I think that the Sox staff has been trying to stress to hit it to the opposite field to everyone...even Dunn. Dunn at least talked about going with the pitch more. I believe Alexei mentioned it as well. That is the only way they will improve their averages and OBP...hitting to ALL fields. Easier said than done though.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 12:34 PM) We do this every March. SoxTalk on net has actually been pretty decent at this, better than many of the statistical models and "experts". Will SoxTalk do it again? How many wins? Answer poll and discuss... I'm going with 86. Don't think it's enough to win the division but they have a pretty good team based around pitching and defense. These types of teams tend to win more than the talent shows over the long haul of a 162 game season.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 07:56 PM) i went to Loyola Chicago - Jesuits are awesome. They get sloshed on wine and party with students. They're typically among the more liberal of catholics... although for some reason this guy isn't. laaaame. I got my doc from there and my undergrad from Marquette. The Jesuits are great. They are liberal only in the sense of changing things with new knowledge. They tend to be very traditional with regards to practices, ceremonies and symbolism

QUOTE (osxfreak @ Mar 15, 2013 -> 08:49 AM) Do You remember??? Brings me back to junior high when it was just pure excitement over the game.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Mar 14, 2013 -> 02:25 PM) I find it funny how people are b****ing about a player who plays a position where offense production was never an issue by traditional baseball standards. We seem to follow this same cycle since production could be far better at 3rd, 2nd and DH. It's like blaming a punter for his lack of tackles. Part of this comes from many of the posters here "grew up" in the steroid area of baseball. This means everybody should have 15-20 HRs and a slugging% of 450-500. They really don't remember the time when SS,2B and CF commonly were defense first and a 260 ave. was commonplace. Not that the standards should be lowered as players have gotten better over the years. It's just that the value of that type of player isn't recognized as much. With defensive metrics beginning to catch up with offensive metrics this may start to change some.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 10:46 PM) As the product of a Jesuit secondary education, I am edified that a Jebbie has finally made the Big Time. I agree, and I've got an undergrad and a doc from separate Jesuit institutions.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 12:18 PM) Proof? I don't know him personally. But judging from what he has said and done so far in his career, my analysis is far more plausible than what you have thrown out there, which apparently stems from your lack of patience to await his return. Too many people expected him to return by January, or after ASB, and March hits, there's a chance he's not coming back this year at all so people are just getting frustrated because they won't see him play this year. He is physically cleared to play, but no one knows his body except for him. His biggest issue right now is he's not able to put too much pressure on his left knee mentally, which leads to overcompensation of other parts of his body, i.e. hamstring. That's also why he's experiencing burning hamstring after practice. This will actually lead to a higher chance of injuring other parts of his body if this continues on. So while his knee has healed, he needs to be mentally be able to use his knee the "Derrick Rose way" before he should come back and play. People are comparing his injury to Shump Rubio and AP, but just go look at a Derrick Rose jump cut, he puts pressure on his knee far more than others do. If he's not able to do the things he's able do before, then he should not come back. I am one of the few people who actually appreciates his maturity in handling his return. He could have just made decision like any other headstrong young kid and rush back to play before he's fully ready, but now he's making sure he's taking the safe approach for the long term interest of the orgranization and the fan base. Grow some patience man. You will appreciate this when he's fully healthy again in the future. The reason his hamstrings are burning is that strengthening and learning control of them is a major focus of ACL rehab. The ACL prevents the tibia from gliding forward on the femur. The hamstring pull the tibia posterior ,thus they assist in preventing ACL injury/re-injury. He is getting a great deal of hamstring work during rehab thus they will "burn" when worked even more during practice. He is not overcompensating with them, he is supposed to do that.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 07:16 PM) Knew Africa was, didn't know that Asia. Interesting. What country/area, mostly? Here is a paragraph: In 2010 there were just under 1,196 million Catholics, compared to about 1.181 million in 2009, for a total increase of 15 million faithful at 1.3%. The territorial impact of Catholics suffered noticeable variations between 2009 and 2010: they have reduced their importance in South America (from 28.54 to 28.34 per cent) and especially in Europe (from 24.05 to 23.83 per cent). They reclaimed position in Africa (from 15.15 to 15.55 per cent) and South East Asia (from 10.41 to 10.87 per cent).

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 02:39 PM) I believe this is going to be a lot of firsts. Obviously first new world pope, but it is also basically the first pope outside of Europe that was not born under Roman Empire. It makes sense, South America is one of the last stands for Catholicism. Africa and Asia are growing at a greater rate.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 12, 2013 -> 01:12 PM) My apologies. How about 4 straight years he has failed to match his rookie season, with drastic decline over the past three. The f***. He had an OPS of .650 last year and people try to say "oh, well, if you ignore the first three months... and the last month... he was good!". Yeah, that's half the f***ing season, and every game counts. God, the desire to phallate Ramirez around here because of a good glove is ridiculous. The guy has been increasingly disappointing, but my apologies for saying 4 years of straight decline. Let's just look at the overall numbers. OPS by Year .792 .723 .744 .727 .651 Dude hit 140 OPS points below his rookie season. Dude has 711 OPS over the last four years. Dude's also 32 this year. Yup, guys leaving their prime tend to improve! But don't worry! He's pretty good for an AL shortstop! Oh, wait. Alexei ranked 10th out of 12 AL starting shortstops last year that qualified for the batting title, and 17th overall out of 20 that qualified for the batting title across all of baseball. f*cking statistics of f*cking shortstops ranked by OPS 2012 But keep telling me that he's the "best shortstop in the AL" or "underrated". I hope that these numbers satisfy your urge and were worth the wait. Alexei Ramirez sucks, and RBI are not a statistic to tell anyone otherwise. Imagine if there were a productive player in that slot - how many runs would have been knocked across the plate. I disagree with your assessment, somewhat. This team is going to live or die by pitching and defense. For this team his defensive his well worth his poor offense. Replacing one player in this offensive will not help as much as replacing the defense will hurt the team.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 9, 2013 -> 10:10 AM) He must be a hypnotist then to get so many players to take hometown discounts to play here... Sale, Konerko three times, Danks, Peavy, Buehrle for a lot of years... They may be the only way to explain the behavior of these players to many people on this board. Many of whom are convinced JR is the reason the Sox have not won a World Series in 8 years.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 9, 2013 -> 07:50 AM) That is pretty amazing in this day and age, especially when you consider that this team has multiple guys who have done exactly this. Just remember JR is a cheap horrible owner.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 7, 2013 -> 12:57 PM) After the season. The full season retirement tour is kind of annoying. The Chipper Jones victory tour became pretty self-serving. After a career that he has had, I think it's deserving. As it would be for Mariano.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 02:28 PM) Melton on these webcasts is just an embarrassment. It's like listening to Drunk Uncle from SNL. Or Harry Caray.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 02:01 PM) Rose has no issues on the 15th and 30th of the month..................Rose needs to play If cleared! He's probably still getting worker's compensation. Although since he was cleared to play he may not be. It would be up to the case manager.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 12:34 PM) I think he could sit out the next 2 years and the first time he plays he won't feel normal.IMO, the only way to get his knee to feel "normal" again is to play. Isn't playing real games an actual part of rehab for injuries like this? Yes it is. It's the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) principle at it's best. You won't get good at it until you do it. The problem is that his knee won't feel normal for about 18 months post-op. So playing now he won't feel normal until next year. He is doing all the basketball drills and is doing game situation things but not at the intensity and endurance that a game requires. He needs to get back in the games to build everything up. That is part of it. However, as stated, it's not going to feel normal this whole season. By most accounts of the pro athletes I've worked with anyway.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 11:42 AM) I agree. I've been fine with him taking his time, but if the doctor says his knee is good to go, the best way for him to get anywhere close to his 110% requirement is to play. Odds are he had the medical clearance about a month ago. It's just coming out now. Just because it is medically sound doesn't mean he "feels" normal. Hopefully with it becoming public he gets a little more confident in the knee.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Mar 7, 2013 -> 10:55 PM) meh, would've liked more years since we'll lose 1.5 to TJ... but... not bad. I think the shoulder is going to be more of an issue with him. I'm not a fan of giving pitchers more than three year deals in FA. However, they are usually 27 years old or older when that happens. This is an unusual case where he is 23. It's probably worth it but long deals with pitcher still scare me.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 08:50 AM) Correct. ANd the chart at the top makes it seem like the worst year for Bulls injuries was actually their last season of VDN. Thanks for the info. Being in the field these things always interest me. Many times I think the primary variable is youth and winning. Younger player get hurt less and when you are winning everyone wants to be out there and small things hurt less.

QUOTE (southside_hitman @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 07:41 AM) To your point, yesterday I heard Farmeo refer to Morel's "surgically repaired back." I thought "what?" I never heard that he had any surgery. That being the case, I entirely agree with your point. Morel's back is like a time bomb. It is only a matter of time before the problem resurfaces. And that is unfortunate for Brent and his ML career. The Sox can't allow that to become their problem though. From what we have seen thus far at least Conor Gilaspie can fit in as a platoon LH bat player at 3rd base with Kepp. If he hits North of .250, plays respectable D, his playing time will go up. If not, he may slide into the Minors. Meanwhile, this keeps up pressure on Beckham. He could see reduced playing time if Conor(or Morel) and Kepp are hitting and he isn't. As far as Alexei, get real with the trolling. He is become and outstanding defensive ss and has proven he can hit in the past. He needs to cut down on the home run swing and make some adjustments, but he has a decent eye and is an excellent athlete. And remember trolls, this isn't an Epstein fire sale. The Sox know Detroit has much better talent but they are not on board with tanking the team for 5 years while remodeling the stadium and banking minor league prospects. That's your boy's plan. I wouldn't go that far. If he works with the medical staff and keeps up with the exercises there is no reason to think that he can't continue playing regularly. Of course there is never a guarantee but with his age and the fact that they got to it early is a big help.