caulfield12

After giving it careful consideration, Kyle Tucker would be my choice. I'm coming around to the POV that pitching is easier and easier to find/develop/trade for than huge impact bats. Granted, there's already some controversy surrounding the Hawkins choice, and the temptation's going to be to take another proven college arm, but I think they surprise us and go in another direction. Just not excited enough about all these middle infield guys like Swanson and Newman. Happ (if they are confident he can play 3B) or best available collegiate pitcher without injury problems would be the 3rd choice.

You don't make these kinds of desperation moves barely 1/16th of the way into a season...yes, we're behind the 8 Ball, but the fact is that Carlos Sanchez wasn't an overwhelming offensive force by any stretch of the imagination last year (at the MLB level). I'm sure they have their reasons for sticking with M.Johnson, just like Guillen was right to have reservations about playing Viciedo against tough righties from 2010-2011 or bringing up Gordon Beckham too quickly (2008-09) and letting the hype build and build....he was, in the end, right on both accounts...remember, there was a long period of time when Juan Pierre was really struggling and Viciedo was raking in the minors that they stood pat and didn't make a move and it seemed inexplicable at the time. It's going to be hard for the fans to let go of their hopes of making the playoffs in 2015, but Micah Johnson's the better long-term solution at 2B, and in order to build a playoff-caliber team, they're going to have to take their lumps with him THIS year. If they push him back another year, you're breaking in a rookie on a team that absolutely has to compete for the division title/playoffs/wildcard from Day 1. Better to do it in 2015.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...le14519633.html Story of former Sox minor leaguer Paulo Orlando and how he finally made it to the majors... At one of these tournaments, he met a coach from Cuba who also was working as a White Sox scout. In 2005, he signed with Chicago, but still had designs on competing in track and field at the 2007 Pan American Games, which were going to be held in Rio de Janeiro.... Once with the White Sox, Orlando played briefly in the Dominican Republic, and it was an eye-opener. “At that time, I played every day and they really taught me how to play baseball,” Orlando said. “Running, how to catch a flyball and where to throw the ball.” After 2 1/2 seasons in the White Sox minor-league system, Orlando was traded in 2008 to the Royals.Orlando’s ability as soccer player and a sprinter appealed to his new employer. “You look at the way our team is built and our ballpark and our emphasis on being able to cover the outfield, he fits that mold,” said assistant general manager J.J. Picollo. “He fits our prototype. He’s a very good outfielder. He can play center field, he’s got some power. He’s getting better every year.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...l#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...l#storylink=cpy

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...le19011936.html Billy Butler baffled by what went down this weekend...(just wait until the return trip to Oaktown in June) So when Lorenzo Cain was hit by a pitch for the third time this season during the first inning against Oakland on Sunday at Kauffman Stadium, it didn’t merely mark the 14th time a Royals player had been plunked this season. It marked enough is enough. It was the breaking point on extending benefit of the doubt for all the stray pitches and turning the other cheek and turning the page. Yet the truth is, whether he hit Cain on purpose or not, unwittingly or not, this can of worms was pried open by Kazmir. He denied doing it on purpose, saying that anyone with a feel for the game would know you don’t throw intentionally at someone’s feet. And Cain said Kazmir asked him whether he was OK. Still, it’s hard not to note that 73 of Kazmir’s 103 pitches were strikes and that he didn’t issue a base on balls until the eighth inning. Mostly, though, this was mostly about critical mass on the other end and responding with a dramatic rally.At some point, no deniability is all that plausible. “I’m tired of seeing my brothers with bruises,” Duffy said, later adding, “I’m not saying that’s not part of the game, but when you take as many in the ribs or the leg as we have, it raises eyebrows.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-colum...l#storylink=cpy

There's no way in hell you're going to get a starting caliber MLB catcher for Carlos Sanchez alone.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 09:37 PM) I agree. This is beyond weird. So I guess he comes in the sixth or seventh if we can get a starter besides Sale/Shark to go that long. So he'll pitch the sixth and seventh or seventh and eighth? But how's he gonna get enough work to stretch himself to be a starter? Unless Sox are making him the powerful 8th inning guy to get to the ninth, which is weird cause this team doesn't figure to be leading going into the 8th all that much. I don't see why he doesn't just start but maybe they plan to pitch him a lot. It will still be Duke and probably Jennings. He'll begin as the long man and work his way up from there, like Buehrle did. He won't be inserted into the closer's role like Sale was in 2010, and that wouldn't make sense anyway with what they're paying Robertson and how effective he's actually been.

Lawrie was still furious after the A’s 4-2 loss, saying, “You don’t throw behind someone and then walk away, when you throw 100 mph, and say, 'The next time I face you, I’m gonna hit you in the head.’ That’s s—.” Asked if he believes Herrera should be punished for his actions, Lawrie said, “That’s some bull—, and he needs to pay for that. That ain’t OK. This is a game. This isn’t going up there and trying to hurt people. This guy doesn’t throw 85 mph. He throws 100.” Herrera told reporters that the ball slipped in his hand because of the rain that had started that inning and his gesture to his head was to say, “Think about it.” But, wait, there’s more: In the first inning, A’s starter Scott Kazmir hit Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain with a sinker on the foot. “It wasn’t intentional,” said Kazmir, who was not ejected. “I think anyone who has a feel for the game, they would know that it’s not intentional. I don’t think anyone tries to throw at someone’s toe or whatever. I tried to throw a fastball in, tried to throw it hard and get a little more on it because he’s quick inside, and I just pulled it. That’s all it was.” “Certainly it doesn't look great the way things are going, but it was just a fastball down and in and he pulled it a little bit,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. www.sfgate.com/sports

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 07:02 PM) Explain he Dodgers in 2013. Mattingly needed to be fired. The watch was on. Then they got ridiculously hot. If they made the change a week before the streak, everyone would have concluded that would never have happened with Mattingly. I see now you are trying to become Balta's yes man, but Balta's theories don't make any sense. Balta thinks if you orepare the exact same way in sorimg trainiing, the results should be exactly the same. Any sane baseball observer would know that is not true. This team has some talent. The last 2 did not. The defense is going to be shaky at best no matter who is making out the line up card. The offense, as Levine pointed out, has to get going. You don't win many games scoring 1 run. Gee, totally the exact same situations. Did I miss where the White Sox had an unlimited budget and were bringing in $334 million per year from Comcast/RSN's? That team was filled with too much talent, it was a matter of getting them to play to their potential and also have the willingness to share or give up playing time. A-Gone, Puig, Hanley Ramirez (the two who spear-headed the pennant drive), Carl Crawford, Ethier, Matt Kemp, Josh Beckett, Kershaw, Greinke, Ryu, Edinson Volquez, Jansen, League, etc. When you change almost 85-90% of the roster from Opening Day 2012 but still have the same bunting, baserunning, defensive/wrong routes and reads, throwing to the wrong bases or missing cutoff men, "fundamentals" issues....despite an almost complete turnover of the roster, then who exactly do you hold responsible? We can't blame Viciedo or DeAza any longer, right? It's all because of "lackadaisical" Alexei, then? Hahn and JR, more than the everyday manager? So, using the DA logic that pitching coaches and hitting coaches and managers don't really matter at all, then the only logical thing left to do is seek institutional/ownership change, right?

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 07:06 PM) Is there a reason he's left in for a full 94 pitches to throw softballs? Resting the bullpen for the next week, lol...or padding Cespedes' numbers for 2016 FA? Maybe there's an agent there in common.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 06:55 PM) They White Sox have made they playoffs 7 or 8 times iin 100 years. It would be silly of me to take that bet. But here is a bet. You started a thread which stated the White Sox had a 2.54 % chance to make the playoffs. That is a little more than 39:1. I will give you a deal and bet you $100 and all you have to give me is 20:1 Take that one,. Speaking of Cooper, how do you explain his zero trips to the mound today? What's he going to do, give an intestinal fortitude and cojones transplant on the mound? Quintana was fearless the first half of 2012...somehow the White Sox blowing all of his leads and/or Tyler Flowers' pitch calling has caused him to become more tentative. Or he's injured/dead arm and not at 100%. If the White Sox have only made the playoffs 7 or 8 times in a century, why would you bring that up? You're making the comparison with last year's Royals' team and arguing KC was 4-7 last year at this same time, so why shouldn't the White Sox (with an even bigger payroll and more resources) make the playoffs in 2015, according to your logic?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 06:41 PM) LOL. You make up percentages all the time. Robin isn't a quote maxhine. The media doesn't need to protect him. What qualifies Levine to make the assertion that Ventura isn't responsible at all? Hasn't he (Bruce) been watching the same team/organization repeat the same exact pattern of mistakes since September of 2012? Why would any sane baseball observer expect it to change? What's Balta's trademarked quote again?

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 05:27 PM) Didn't know that. Was it clear he was trying to hit him? http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...le18930987.html Pretty much...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 05:48 PM) How in the world could anyone rip someone for saying run production is a problem.? I know you want to keep the rip Robin bandwagon rolling, but use some common sense. Is he a scientist that can just isolate "run production" and say that it's 82.6% of the reason for the slow start? C'mon! Use some common sense that it's simply the local media protecting a "favorite son" and that's about it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 05:29 PM) You are not going to believe this but look it up. The White Sox, the team you said had aboit a 1 in 300 chance of making the playoffs with 159 left on the schedule,, as bad as they have played, have exactly the same record through 11 games as your beloved Royals in 2014. And that statistic about starting the season off 0-4 is relevant exactly how to the 2015 White Sox at 4-7 with two teams at 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 games ahead of them??? What was Detroit's record last year after 12 games? I'm pretty sure it wasn't anywhere close to 10-2. What's the point? That they will still make the playoffs at 15-30 like the Houston Astros did in 2005? I'll make you a bet. The White Sox will not make the playoffs this season with Robin Ventura as the manager. If you they do, I will never post at SoxTalk again. If you lose (again), you can never mention Don Cooper's name while he's still employed as pitching coach for this organization. Deal?

Balta was off by a year....but he definitely should have seen any velocity rebound almost 3 years removed from that surgery.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 05:29 PM) Oh, Bruce.... https://twitter.com/MLBBruceLevine White Sox lack of run production not Ventura cause for slow start . Take away 12 run game they have averaged 2.6 runs per . (3,45 overall ) Honestly, I think he should replace Haber as Asst. GM if Levine can diagnose what's wrong with the team/organization so easily and remedy the situation.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 04:58 PM) You should change your name to Kap. You are the David Kaplan of Soxtalk, only he loves the Cubs and you love the Royals. No, I love teams that play baseball the right way, with energy/excitement and enthusiasm...imposing their will with speed, solid fundamentals and great defense. Basically, the opposite of the White Sox since 2008/10/12. Remember how the Twins were the small market "underdogs" (they were even rumored to be leaving the Twin Cities in 2001)...well, the Royals simply inherited that role vis a vis the White Sox and Tigers. Of course, I have a LITTLE bias deep down because I lived in Kansas City from 1996-2007...and watched many a White Sox team absolutely throttle the Royals, even felt sorry for their fans (like the time Ascencio threw 16 consecutive balls to walk in a run). I will always root for the White Sox first, but the Royals 2nd (when not playing the Sox), as well as the Dodgers, Cardinals and Rangers now (because I know their manager). Heck, it's going to be a VERY long baseball season if the only thing to keep me interested in the season is Carlos Rodon after a mere two weeks. We all have our rooting interests. You love to support Ventura/Beckham/Danks against the world and pick on Don Cooper. Fine. Enjoy yourself. Have at it. Remember, I predicted Beckham would hit under .240 last season and over .270 this year and I'll have been right both times. Not that anyone will care about Gordon by the end of this year, anyway.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 04:50 PM) Do you have to mention Bryant in every post? Fathom is leading me by 18 posts in that category, lol.

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 04:45 PM) When was the last time he pitched? He could be out of the bullpen for a day or two and then start in place of Quintana. I doubt it but that is the first thing I thought of. I am not a fan of him being here out of the bullpen Well, you can't be a fan of him starting this week and then being shut down in mid to late August, either. It's the best way to limit his innings and pitch count for the next 2-3 weeks while he gets his feet wet...and he can refine his fastball and change mechanics with Cooper and Geo Soto to watch over him and monitor his daily progress. And it's impossible to discount the PR angle of it...although I hardly doubt there will be any type of attendance bump like the Cubs are getting with Bryant (at least Fri and Sat).

QUOTE (BigHurt3515 @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 02:50 PM) Wow, Herrera throws behind Lawrie and is ejected. Benches cleared.. Why are they throwing at him again? Is once not enough? Because Kazmir threw at Cain early in the game and nothing happened to him or Melvin. I'd love to see this type of spirit and enthusiasm on the White Sox. The home crowd basically won that game for the Royals...you just had the feeling there was no way they weren't going to at least come back and tie it. Escobar is their brother. Ventura and Herrera have his back. Simple. All the Hispanic players on that team are bonded together, with Sal Perez as the father/mentor/advisor despite his young age, the AL equivalent of Yadier Molina. The Royals are simply showing they're not going to be pushed around by anyone in baseball anymore (plus, nobody except his teammates can stand Lawrie). LaRussa did the same thing for years and years and people called him a master tactician/hardass. So be it.

It might already be too little, too late (in terms of getting any refocused attention with the slow start, Bryant hysteria and Bulls/Blackhawks)...but this is going to be a huge important development year in terms of setting things up for 2016.

Sometimes it pours, lol.

The funny thing is that Sanchez has been as bad or worse as Quintana and Verlanders their own version of the D Rose story but Greene and Simon have almost covered up for it, along with Lobstein, Cespedes, Gose, JD Martinez and Iglesias. dombrowski on a pretty incredible run as GM...despite all the bone-headed Illitch longterm deals like paying Verlander $140 million more.

0-2,goes to 3-2 yet again.

QUOTE (Condor13 @ Apr 19, 2015 -> 11:18 AM) Was he stealing or did he take off thinking that was gonna fall for a hit? Misread...needs to be halfway so the worst thing that could possibly happen is one out at 2b if the ball inexplicably drops.