Balta1701

Aside from all the more-than-expected Rondell White bashing...was anyone else extremely happy to see the Sox pitchers finally respond? We've spent like 6 games being nailed left and right by baseballs, to the point that it's literally hurting quite a few of our guys. Thanks for sending a message John...I don't want to see our guys getting nailed the whole season on this junk just because people think they can.

Right now we have 2 guys on the bench who can play the infield - Harris and Ozuna. We have 1 backup catcher who can also play a little 3b (and it seems...also pitch?) We will have a backup 1b when Frank gets back. We have 1 backup outfielder in Timo, another backup outfielder in Everett who also does some DH work, and until Frank gets back, we have Gload who can also play 1b or DH. This team is loaded in terms of quality reserves. There is not a single reason to even consider trading for another one unless someone ends up seriously hurt - it would hardly be an upgrade over what we have now, and there's just no roster spot open. Hell, I could see us being a team that has reserves to trade - both Thomas and Everett have contracts that end this season, and I can picture teams (Houston, Atlanta) giving up a ton for an additional bat. There are only 2 reasons why we seem so banged up - 1, a string of bad luck, such as A.J.'s toe getting hit, and 2; the Bean(e) ball war that Oakland launched...hitting Pablo & Crede repeatedly & pitching so far in on Uribe that he pulled a muscle getting out of the way. Give us a few more days and things will suddenly correct themselves.

Damn...after going through the Hell that was the bottom of the 6th...having things finally work out in the 7th was an absolute freaking joy. Finally we got some people on base...got them moving over...got a bunt down...and drove them in. God that was a relief! Feels like it's been a week since we've done that. In other good news...while Paulie didn't pull off a hit in the later innings, at least he ripped the ball twice. He might be a little ahead of the ball, but at least he's hitting the ball hard again, and it wasn't going straight up. That shot to Third base is only going to be an out 1 time out of 10.

Ok, there are really 2 things pissing me off right now about this team. 1: Shingo Takatsu's control. What the Hell happened to Shingo? He has all of his pitches. He struck Irod out on an 9 mph fastball that totally blew Irod's mind. His changing of speeds is still there. But every single damned batter he starts off with a pitch that's at their ankles. If he gets that ball up another 2 inches he'll be unbeatable. But he just can't get that ball to rise on him. Secondly...what the Hell happened to small ball? We had so many freaking guys on base leading off innings and we never moved them over once! I mean, I know A.J. is hurt, so its hard to hit and run with him, but this game was just pathetic! We didn't do all of the th ings that have been winning games for us; getting people on base, bunting and putting pressure on the defense, using the hit & run to open up holes in the defense, having people take off, and so on. The only thing we did to put pressure on the defense...Iguchi taking off in the 8th...actually worked! Irod threw the ball away! I know our guys are hurting...but it seemed to me like Ozzie was trying more to avoid hurting anyone else than win the game.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 29, 2005 -> 11:07 AM) The one thing I would definately disagree with is that the Twins were supposed to be better. They lost their starting left side of the infield, along with some of their OF depth. They also have had some injury problems, and signed no one in the off season. Yeah, the Twins lost the left side of their infield, but at the same time, they brought up other players who could play those spots. While they might not be improving at those positions...the argument was that we should take a look at what else they have; an improved offense. While Morneau was hurt for 15 days or so, if you stretch his numbers last season out over a full year, he would have hit 30 home runs for the twins, and they haven't had a 30 HR guy in decades. On top of that, they were looking at a healthy Joe Mauer, and expecting him to produce a lot more runs. On top of that, they have Nathan in the closer's role for the 2nd year, their big signing in the off season was holding onto Radke, and they locked Santana up for several more years as well. Plus, Santana was really shaky for the first 1/3 of last season - he had an ERA over 5 for the first 2 months, which gives him even more room for improvement. So, their defense on the left side was supposed to be worse, but their hitting was supposed to significantly improve, and they were saying that should more than offset the left side of their infield, along with whatever young guys they bring up or trade for. That said...we're still a better team.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 29, 2005 -> 10:57 AM) Its a negative because that means we still have games left against good teams. I don't buy into this at all. Yeah, we do still have games against plenty of good teams (Angels, Yankees, Bosox come to mind), but on the other hand, we've been hot at the time it would help us the most. We opened this season against the AL Central. 2 teams in the AL Central were supposed to be much improved this season: Cleveland and Detroit. We've played both and beaten up on both. Minnesota was supposed to be even better this season than last. We've given them a little bloody nose. If you're trying to win a division, the best time to be hot is against your own division. The more you beat up on yoru own division, the harder it becomes for them to pass you. The only team I'll say we've played that can't finish the season .500 or better is the Royals, and we've beaten up on everyone but Oakland. (ANd we would have beaten oakland if either we could catch the ball or the umps called better games). We've played good teams and we've roughed them up. It's a very good sign.

If Oakland and Minnesota were the only good teams we played...well that's a great thing, because it means its the Sox & Twins battling for the top of the division, and I like a 2 team race much better than a 4 team one. Maybe it'll also shut Dimitri Young up. And on top of that...let's also remember that everyone is calling the Twins a good team, and we've taken 4 out of 5 from them (thereby giving the Twinkies 4 losses, btw.) And I'm a bit bewildered by Rob Neyer's piece on why the Sox won't win the AL Central, especially since Rob Neyer picked the Sox to win the AL Central barely a month ago! (I'd give you a link but I don't have ESPN Insider access)

Dye will turn it around. You simply do not remove veteran players from the lineup because they make a few poor defensive plays and are hitting badly in April. You just don't do it. How long did we stick with Konerko 2 years ago? How long did the Yankees stick with Jeter last year? Hell, how long did we stick with Crede while he wasn't hitting? 3 years? I understand the suggestion that maybe we should drop Dye in the batting order; he's probably even hurting Paulie right now, since if I were a pitcher I wouldn't show Paulie anything he could remotely hit with Dye coming up next. I'd even consider Dhing Dye for a day or two if he thought it would help him. Just give him time. He will snap out of this funk. And even Torii Hunter completely dropped a routine fly ball that hit his glove a week or so ago.

I agree with you on all those points...but my big question is this...how do the Sox react to these 2 losses? These 2 games have been absolute embarassments. We've lost 2 games because we couldn't catch fly balls. Everyone it seems is hurt. People are getting ejected. Couple of bad calls at bases. Jermaine freaking Dye playing short. Middle of our lineup still struggling. The question is...how does the team respond? These are the kind of games that can really hurt a team for a while, and if we come out sluggish against Detroit, or if Contreras (or Hernandez if we bump him up) has a rough start, then we're looking at the makings of a losing streak, and the team might start worrying. More people might start overswinging...the pitchers might not be as crisp...and so on. Days like today are the days that test how well you're managed. Ozzie needs to get that team's head in the right place for Friday. If he doesn't...that 3.5 game lead could evaporate really quick.

There's 1 possible other side here to keep in mind. Dye is a career .270 hitter, who averages roughly 25 home runs a season. He has usually hit extremely well at New Comiskey Park. Right now, he's something like 13 for 80. Eventually, unless he's hiding some sort of an injury right now...he'll snap out of this, and all of a sudden the pendulum will swing the other way and he'll hit .600 for a week or two. It just has to happen. Over the last 2 years...the times he's had the most problems have been when he's been hurt. Last year his hand was broken for about 6 weeks, and his average fell throguh the floor. If he's hurt right now, he shouldn't be in there (and certainly shouldn't be at short.) But if he's not...he's going to snap out of it at some point. The one good thing we can say is that Dye has been hitting the ball hard, or at least he was yesterday. When you hit the ball...eventually it'll start falling. It's still only April 27th. If he's hitting .200 on June 27th, we have a major problem. But right now all we have is a guy in a slump. Jeter started the season in a slump last year for all of the first 2 months, and they still stuck with him. Give the guy time. Although...he really needs to stop costing us games with errors in the outfield. That is unacceptable...especially for a guy who was supposed to be an upgrade on defense over Magglio. That's 2 games by my count.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Apr 27, 2005 -> 04:59 PM) I'm sure there are probably unions or all kinds of red tape that will keep this from happening, but c'mon, as it stands, the umps can do no wrong and even if they do, there's no penalty. If memory serves...the Umps attempted to go on strike a few years ago...and MLB completely broke their union by simply tossing the former umps out of the game. So somehow...I don't think that any umpires union would be a problem.

QUOTE(chisoxfan79 @ Apr 27, 2005 -> 01:02 PM) So lets pretend a middle infielder gets hurt today, if that happens Timo Perez or Gload would have to play middle infield. Actually...found this at Whitesox.com... "Both relief pitcher Cliff Politte and outfielder Jermaine Dye volunteered to play the infield if needed, having previous experience from their early baseball days. With the way things are going on the White Sox injury front, they might be in there by the fifth or sixth inning." So, after the normal infielders (let's hope some can play by friday)...it's Dye, who we saw today, and then maybe even Politte.

You know what's scary? I think it could have actually been worse than Dye playing short. Just caught this at Whitesox.com... "Both relief pitcher Cliff Politte and outfielder Jermaine Dye volunteered to play the infield if needed, having previous experience from their early baseball days. With the way things are going on the White Sox injury front, they might be in there by the fifth or sixth inning." They wrote that before the game, I think. Anyone else want to Picture Widger...Politte...Dye...and Konerko as our infield?

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 27, 2005 -> 01:24 PM) We have another 2 years of this buster Dye??? No wonder the A's fans were booing him last night. Dye has to play better than this...he's been better than this his whole career, and he should be healthy. He didn't play this bad last year even when he was hurt.

QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Apr 26, 2005 -> 10:05 AM) Maybe i'm crazy but maybe trading shingo wouldn't be a bad idea. I mean it's obvious he's struggling against the teams that have started to see him more often. It would give him a fresh start in the NL who has barely seen him. It would also allow us to trade him while his value is at it's peak and move Hermy into the closers role. However they would have to give us something really good for him in return. Make them pay out the nose. Shingo has struggled for 1 reason; his control hasn't been there. His struggles have not been because people have seen him too much. In the outings where he's had problems, his problems have happened because he couldn't get his best pitches over on the corners, which has allowed hitters to sit on a pitch and drive it. Shingo has already shown me that he'll turn this around, he just needs to get enough work in. And Hermanson is now letting us knwo that he's had problems recently with back spasms. That makes me worry a lot about putting him in the closer's role permanently.

QUOTE(Capn12 @ Apr 26, 2005 -> 03:42 AM) May even see Ozuna in at 3B tbh because Crede wasn't loooking too good on the bases before he came out. The you have: According to the Trib...Crede was pulled in the 7th last night due to a bruised forearm...maybe from when he got pelted by Zito earlier in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if he's sitting tonight, but then again, I wouldn't be surprised if he plays through it either. I'd say that tonight isn't a good night to play around with your lineup much; if Harden is their best pitcher, we should put our best hitters in the game and hope that at least 1 of them is good enough to get the job done. You can't play righty-lefty matchups on everything for an entire season.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Apr 26, 2005 -> 09:31 AM) yeah, lets give up marte. Not a chance on Marte. If we have to do any sort of closer-by-committee until Shingo works things out, we need the left hander to go along with Hermanson and Vizcaino. My guess would be that if KW was willing to part with anyone, it would be Adkins. And heck, if the Cubs make the right offer...I'd be at least open to it...let's all take a moment and fondly remember the Matt Karchner for John Garland deal, and ponder who came out on top in that one.

QUOTE(El Piervizdyeguchansodnik @ Apr 25, 2005 -> 06:59 PM) I'm sick of Ozzie screwing with the lineups. Pods is the best leadoff guy we've had in AGES and he doesn't start him against Barry motherf***ing Zito, who we'll probably need a speedy guy who will agitate the pitcher. Pablo's a great guy but he can't hold Pods jockstrap when it comes to running the bases. I agree...at this point, Pods has already had 1 week off...he can't need another day off yet...and he's been one of our hottest guys lately. Is Ozzie trying to make sure that when we face Santana later in the year our best players are scared because he's a lefty?

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 25, 2005 -> 06:52 PM) Why must people always assume steroids? For a bunch of reasons. First, we know the A's have already had that problem. Second, he got worse at exactly the right time (just like Billy Koch, btw). And third, Baseball didn't test, so they have no evidence to prove me wrong.

QUOTE(chi-guy2 @ Apr 25, 2005 -> 06:30 PM) this is gonna be a long scoreless game if we dont have success against zito like other teams,, although zito hasnt been in the zone lately, not sure what direction this game will take but it will be a good one Zito isn't the pitcher he was 2 years ago...he's lost a lot of velocity in a short amount of time, and it seems like his pitches don't work as well overall as they used to. Of course, losing velocity between 2003 and 2005 usually means 1 thing...the S word...

I think Jose will be ready for his next start, especially with an extra day of rest. And if we do have to bring someone up, I would much rather have it be Adkins, since he's already been up.. Big Mac is still working out the kinks at AAA...we know he has talent, but he is too important to risk for 1 start. And let's try to remember...he's been in the minor leagues for a grand total of 1 year; he could almost certainly use the extra seasoning. It might be a smart move in the long term to try to shuffle the rotation around a bit for the bullpen's sake...don't necessarily go 1-2-3-4-5 in that order - put Buehrle next to El duque or something like that.