chitownsportsfan

QUOTE (ptatc @ May 8, 2014 -> 01:49 PM) There is no exploratory surgery for something like this. The joint is currently not lax so there is no plans for surgery, otherwise he wouldn't be throwing. If the joint is lax but not enough for surgery, he is shut down and in a brace for 3-6 weeks. Currently it is a question of building the arm strength back with no adverse effect to the muscles. If the muscles aren't working properly the ligament can tear. So they need to strengthen it a the symptoms allow. Are you a doctor? I just ask because I'm generally curious. My understanding is that the imaging (MRI and X-Ray) are good but not perfect for looking at the structural integrity of the elbow joint. They can say "it looks clean" but if symtomps perisist past the time of a mere "muscle strain" and they can't see anything in the imaging then they go into the elbow. A google search of "exploratory elbow surgery" yields quite a few results, including Joel Zumaya to have exploratory elbow surgery

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 7, 2014 -> 06:05 PM) @scottmerkin: Chris Sale threw his second bullpen today. The biggest thing is he remains pain-free Poorly worded tweet, is he saying it's important he stay free or that he threw and it was pain free? Robin's words today scare me: So, what does that mean? Anyways, all we know for a fact is he's thrown two bullpens in the span of a week. If things are actually better in his elbow then he'll throw a rehab start next week and be back a week after that. If that doesn't happen you'll probably see the dreaded "exploratory surgery" option thrown out there.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 8, 2014 -> 01:25 PM) He seems to be such a pragmatist and I definitely embrace the KIS approach. Yea he's a badass. I loved his quotes when he was hired about how he wanted to let AG be his self but also work within that to take advantage of his natural power by starting to pull the ball with power more. I also liked he mentioned that OBP leads to runs and runs leads to wins but that you aren't necessarily going to tell (for example) Jose Abreu to go up there looking to walk. Hitting coaches are great when guys are hitting and awful when they aren't, but it's at least nice as a fan to hear a guy that has a solid philosphical base for scoring runs (don't make an out) while also being pragmatic. Viciedo is never going to take 100 walks a year, but if you can get him to realize he needs to stop chasing garbage away, not only will he take more walks, he'll hit more balls hard. It could be that finally healthy and with 800 odd PA in MLB behind him a lightbulb went off for Dayan (also gotta like Hahn's "progress isn't linear") but I think Stevenson helped him get to this point. Maybe he would have come to it on his on but I certainly dont' think Stevenson is hurting.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ May 7, 2014 -> 09:48 PM) He had a very nice fastball and a changeup that rated as elite to benefit off that. Not so much now. But damn we just caught a huge break. Yea his average FB velocity pre injury was 91.6. That is pretty damn good for a lefty starter. It was a very good pitch that was complimented by the change at 85-86. Now his fastball sits at 87-88. There are very, very few pitchers in MLB, even LHP, that can survive with that velocity.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 7, 2014 -> 09:46 PM) It's what happens when you move players all over the diamond at his age, instead of letting them get comfortable at one position. Different reactions at 3B than the middle of the infield. yep.

As someone said earlier today "never thought I'd say it, but we need Conor back in the worst way". Maybe not tonight, but Semian is a butcher at 3B.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 7, 2014 -> 08:29 PM) Why is Beckham leading off? God is he bad and Ventura dumb. Just DFA him. God I want to live in your world. "Hey I just hit green on the roulette well everyone that said it wouldn't hit is dumb".

once again we have some of the worst fundamental base running I've ever seen. That's on the manager.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 7, 2014 -> 08:08 PM) Got a nice change and getting a lot of swings and misses and soft contact. There has been one ball hit hard in 3 innings. Yea it's not like the Cubs didn't put up huge numbers against DFA bait Hector Noesi last night. Oh wait.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 7, 2014 -> 07:55 PM) Funny you put such a premium on velocity considering your screen name. Is this the real Dick Allen? Sure act like him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 7, 2014 -> 07:49 PM) He is fine. They have hit 1 ball hard. You don't have to throw 95 to be effective. Luckily he's facing the Cubs.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 7, 2014 -> 07:47 PM) Nice job by Abreu! He really messes with Hawk. Usually it's "stretch" when the ball is 20 rows back in the seats. Now it's "souvenir...no!"

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 7, 2014 -> 07:43 PM) So Danks still hasn't given up a hit, yet we have several posts saying he has nothing and one poster saying he can hit him. dude, do you watch the games are just react to what people say on the game thread? He's throwing meat at 87 and can't control his off speed stuff. He just got lit up for a double after a walk to a s***, s*** lineup. He came in to the day bb/9 of over 5. Do you think he looks good?

well, if he can throw that change consistently he has a chance, but we haven't seen it.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 7, 2014 -> 07:38 PM) He really doesn't have much control over his pitches... I couldn't even tell you if he has thrown a cutter well It's great the one time the Sox actually gamble on a long term contract for a starter this happens.

seriously, john danks has f***ing nothing. If the Cubs can't hit him, they should probably cancel the rest of their MLB season.' lol, and a swing through a grooved 87mph fastball. Man, I could hit that.

man Konerko's bat is so slow now. He would have nailed that pitch down the line in his prime 9 times out of 10.

Viciedo is a different guy, it's amazing. He works counts, doesn't chase, knows what he's doing up there. Crazy.

dayan should be able to tee off on this guy.

who is this dayan viciedo? he can keep the "real" viciedo hidden the rest of his career however.

Damn that was a good pitch to hit.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ May 7, 2014 -> 07:16 PM) Danks really doesn't have good stuff anymore.. It just looks soft and he can't control it very well. Yep see my post as well.

wtf has happened to his velocity? He's basically Buehrle at this point. His average FB velocity this year is 88. That's down from even 89.6 last year after the injury. And that's down from 91.5 from before the injury. He's going to have a helluva time succeeding throwing 88 mph fastballs.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 7, 2014 -> 04:21 PM) You have to be kidding me. You're really finding a correlation between recreational drugs and athletic performance? That's pretty absurd. I'm sure Lebron is smoking blunts at half time. Do you actually think the entire league was blowing rails on the bench 82 nights a year? Maybe it's improved defense and rule changes. Yea, amps were big in the 70's in MLB and that was one of the lowest offense eras in the history of the game. As for the NBA, a scout was quoted in ESPN last week saying Mitch McGary's positive test at Michigan wasn't a big deal because "half the league smokes".

QUOTE (ptatc @ May 7, 2014 -> 02:19 PM) True as I stated earlier. However, this is the way the game is played. You MUST rely on other players in the lineup. Even the stats can't isolate everything. Your example is an extreme case that will not happen in a game. The more likely is that some of the players will strikeout and sometimes there will be people on base ahead of you. You cannot predict this or isolate it with any of the stats. So both of them have some predictive factor. So the advanced stats really didn't tell me much different. In the example someone used earlier where Phillips looked better than Trout, a GM would be stupid to offer Phillips more than Trout. However we knew that before the numbers anyway. I can't remember where I saw it now, but there was a saber study that looked at super high ISOs like, players that had ISO above .280 and I believe the conclusion was that wRC+ underestimates the value of players with extreme power, such as Abreu. Frankly I don't care if his OBP is around 330 in his time with the Sox, yea it would be great if it was higher, but I will take 250/330/530 every single year he's with the Sox and not think twice. UZR likes his defense so far as well, that's a bonus.