WCSox

QUOTE (Wanne @ Aug 21, 2009 -> 10:50 AM) I guess it would boil down to who would you rather have...Juan or Nix? I kind of lean towards Juan a little. I think. With Getz out, I'd rather have Nix. Juan was a black hole at the bottom of the lineup. With a healthy Getz, I'd rather have Juan as a "super-sub" utility guy.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Aug 21, 2009 -> 06:12 AM) Even though Alexei has a great contract, I have this feeling the Sox would move him for a similarly good-contract SS who gives perhaps more defense and less offense than the Cuban Missile. I doubt it, especially with Thome and Dye both potentially leaving soon. The Sox will move Alexei to 2B or CF before they get rid of his bat and very reasonable price tag.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 10:26 PM) Why do we need a grinder on this team? I'd prefer someone who plays plus-plus defense and can hit for power. Because hitting .230 and having zero speed on the bases is typical of the inconsistent station-to-station type of player that has resulted in this team sucking ass with RISP for the past few years. If the Sox lose both Dye and Thome next year (or if Getz continues to stay in the .320 OBP range), Nix in the lineup would make a lot of sense. On the other hand, if the Sox maintain some of their veteran slugging power going into next season and Getz is able to inch his OBP closer to .350, he's our new leadoff hitter.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 07:50 PM) Garland's just bad now. He has a medicore ERA in the NL, so eh... Not to mention his 1.51 WHIP with the Angels last year. They didn't even put him on the playoff roster. After 2006, I was convinced that Jon would never be anything more than a mediocre #3 or halfway decent #4. I'm glad that we had him during his productive years.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 08:30 PM) One thing about Uribe, you never caught him taking a play off... He could also play 2B, SS, and 3B really well. That's a luxury that I miss.

Uggh. Getz and Nix are utility-caliber infielders, not Presidential candidates. Harboring ultra-strong feelings about one at the expense of the other seems a little silly. Plus, I don't think that we've seen enough sustained major league at-bats from Nix yet to make an informed decision about him. He's shown really nice power and excellent plate discipline, but his BB/K ratio isn't as low as it was in the minors so it may be an aberration. If he can keep drawing walks, he'll probably be our starting 2B next April. If he regresses to his minor league BB/K ratio, he'll be our utility guy next year.

QUOTE (Allsox @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 08:16 AM) In 23 yrs of watching White Sox baseball, this decade has undoubtedly been the best. The 80s' were awful, the 90's were very disappointing and both decades only had one division title to speak of with very few seasons of still being in the race by Aug. IMO, '83 and '85 were both pretty exciting, but I agree that the rest of the decade overwhelmingly sucked. I agree. From the mid-80's up until 2000, the Sox were never the team that would make the huge free-agent signing (Albert Belle notwithstanding) that would put them over the top. They were always outbid/outspent by the "big market" teams. Because of this, you always felt that the battle to overthrow the Big Boys was uphill. Kenny Williams changed that. Not all of his teams were competitive, but you knew that he was willing to take the risk of bringing in expensive, high-caliber veteran talent to put them in a position to win. That was a pipe dream back in the Ron Schueler days. And, by God, it worked in 2005. And even though we've only made it back to the playoffs once since then, you always felt that the Sox had a chance at another ring going into Opening Day. Kenny made White Sox baseball exciting.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 11:19 AM) It's a fairly small sample size, but UZR suggests that Alexei is a below average second baseman and an average shortstop. This is one of the problems with sabermetrics. Based on simply watching him play, it's difficult to argue that Alexei was worse at 2B last season than he is at SS this year.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 20, 2009 -> 08:16 AM) Jayson Nix is far from being all-or-nothing. Even if he didn’t draw walks and hit bombs, his defense makes him infinitely more valuable then Chris Getz. Look at the numbers, Chris Getz was an offensive black-hole at the start of the season; he’s clearly experiencing some growing pains. Nix provides an asset that's a little more valuable then a potential .360 OBP and 30 stolen bases. A potential .360 OBP/30 SB leadoff hitter would be arguably more valuable on this team than what Nix potentially brings to the table. I like Nix's defensive versatility (although he sucks at SS) and the patience that he's displaying at the plate, but let's not get carried away here. Frankly, I'd like to find a way to keep both of these guys on the 25-man roster next season. Their skill sets are complimentary.

QUOTE (EvilJester99 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 06:52 PM) So if Wags just went on waivers there is no way he makes it out of the NL I find it somewhat difficult to believe that Wagner may have been put on waivers two weeks ago, but it wasn't leaked until now. My guess is that Minaya held him back and hoped that he'd progress in his rehab stints to the point where he'd have some trade value.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 06:06 PM) Royce had ZERO range by the time he played with us My God, the hyperbole here is ridiculous at times. I know that statheads loved Valentin because of his super-awesome range. I liked Valentin as well, and thought than he was more that serviceable at SS. But he wasn't nearly as good defensively as some of the Church of Sabermetrics parishioners want to believe. In general, I agree that range is more important than errors. But 36 errors in 141 games is a lot. It speaks volumes that Valentin and his range, 25 HRs, and .835 OPS in 2000 was replaced by a guy with inferior range and coming off of a season with a .685 OPS. At some point, errors DO matter.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 05:10 PM) Valentin >>> Clayton OR Cabrera (2008 version) "Royce The Choice" was much better defensively than Valentin. Unfortunately, he couldn't hit and was a douche in the clubhouse.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 02:58 PM) It's so stupid to try and claim that a player getting injured is a good thing. Unless you're a Patriots fan talking about Mo Lewis' hit on Bledsoe back in 2001.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 01:46 PM) but the Jose Contreras and Bobby Jenks redemption tour Bobby hasn't been nearly as bad as Count this year. He's definitely having a down year (by his standards), but his WHIP is still pretty comparable to his peers... Jenks 1.22 K-Rod 1.27 Papelbon 1.31 Valverde 1.19 Fuentes 1.27

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 02:26 PM) Or when Getz is back (Nix getting a spot start at 3rd). Wouldn't mind that either. Nix is hot right now and keeping his bat in the lineup would be a good thing.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) It would be nice to have him on the big league club so Gordon can actually get a day off once in a while. That might be a possibility when the rosters expand next month.

Way for Jose to step up big-time. Great all-round day on the mound. Kudos to Beckham, Paulie, Rios, and Quentin as well. Q is starting to get hot again.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 10:25 AM) The lack of a viable 4th and 5th starter the last month is what will cost us the division. As will the lack of a reliable bullpen and the lack of a lineup that can consistently hit with RISP.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 19, 2009 -> 05:55 AM) lol, refreshing to hear him come out and actually say the truth about Wise. Which begs the question: Why was he propping him up all this time?

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 07:49 PM) Freddy's velocity tonight was where it was for us in 2006 So does this mean that he was topping out at 86-87? How'd he look overall? I didn't get to see the game and am curious.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 05:04 PM) 26. 27 in a few days. My mistake. I was off by a year. You're right, but it's not exactly a sign of progress when a first-round pick doesn't sniff the majors until his eighth year, and doesn't have any substantial playing time in the bigs until his ninth year, when he's on his second team. Perhaps Nix is just a late bloomer, but his career had pretty much followed the "first-round bust" script prior to this season.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:56 PM) I haven't seen him have this issue at 2B. The guy is no doubt a plus defensive 2nd baseman. Nix is indeed very good at 2B. And it's perplexing that he's been even worse than Alexei at SS.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:50 PM) Nix may be somewhat prone to errors but his range is fantastic. Defensive range is easily one of the most under appreciated aspects of baseball, it's so much more important than errors that it's not even funny, yet people only remember the errors because that's what they see. That and the fact that the runner often gets to advance to 2nd base.

QUOTE (scenario @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:14 PM) The small sample of major league at-bats your using to make your point does not give you the basis for a meaningful comparison. And that's good news for the Nix fans, as his OPS+ of 4 in 56 at-bats last year would be pretty damning otherwise.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 18, 2009 -> 04:01 PM) You guys are operating under feeling. You feel like Chris Getz can make these improvements. The fact is throughout his professional career, he hasn’t. Look at the numbers. Generally, People don’t learn better plate discipline at the major league level. Chris Getz is who Chris Getz is. He’ll hit you .275 and OPS around .700. what’s at question is: do you want this guy on the roster over a guy who will walk more, hit more homers, and save about ten more runs than him on defense? The only clear advantage for Getz is that’ll he’ll steal you about 15 more bases than Nix. You're guilty of the same thing, plus projecting based on a tiny sample size. Jayson Nix is 28 years old and didn't play a single major-league game until last season. What makes you think that he'll suddenly morph into an every day, .850 OPS player? I realize that he's hitting the ball well right now, but let's not crown him and cast Getz aside based on 165 at-bats.