caulfield12

Since he came back from the bullpen, the White Sox have won 4 out of his 5 starts. 33 2/3 IP, 22 hits, 7 ER's, 9 BB's, 39 K's, 1.87 ERA. Change that 4-1 to 1-4 or 2-3 and we're 29-28 or most likely 30-27 and not in first place. But I highly doubt that the injection of confidence that this team got from Sale coming back healthy would have spread to the entire line-up if we had Dylan Axelrod or Terry Doyle or Stults making those starts. The entire season changed for the better when he went back, and the offense started clicking on all cylinders simultaneously. We'd still be saying 100% that we need to rebuild. So does anyone really believe we'd still be talking about adding a 3B or about first place if Chris Sale was still our closer? I'll own the fact that I said KW mishandled things and that our franchise was headed for disaster if we couldn't count on Sale in the starting rotation going forward. All the doomsday scenarios that started with that might have been "gloom and doom" or "dark cloudy" or overreactions or exaggerations, but that doesn't mean they were inherently wrong, either. So I'm being called out because I thought they mishandled the Chris Sale situation, fine.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 8, 2012 -> 04:14 PM) No it wasnt just that. Sale, Morel, Hudson, attendance. All of it DA is absolutely right And I'm still right about Morel and Hudson. And attendance, for now, is still being used as an excuse for not adding to this team. My whole "thesis" was based on the fact that it would be impossible for the Sox to compete without Sale in the starting rotation. I guess everyone in that thread who was predicting he would be back in the rotation right away...they were the ones who were right, but I'm pretty sure there weren't many. I've never wavered on Viciedo, and I never backed down that Brian Anderson was going to be a bust, so even Marty and I get some right occasionally. Those are easier to call than others, like the fact that Zach Stewart's not going to make it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 8, 2012 -> 01:33 PM) Compared to some of your posts a few weeks ago, McNeil is downright optimistic. You criticize him? Look in the mirror. That was because of the Chris Sale situation. And we wouldn't be in first place or close to it without him. We'd be in full rebuild mode still.

They've got to test his plate discipline in a league where the pitchers have much better command. While the overall stuff in the Southern League's going to be better, AAA will be a quite different kind of test. Can he keep up his incredible progress in terms of walks and patience? Will his strikeouts stay the same, go down or keep rising at the next level? It will also show us if he can change/convert/adapt his game to a smaller stadium and start turning those doubles and triples into homers. You'd like to think of Mitchell as being a lot like DeAza as a hitter...maybe 12-15 homers, lots of XB hits, especially at USCF. Didn't someone say Pedro Hernandez was hurt?

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 8, 2012 -> 08:16 AM) Well, he should at least point out that so many things haven't gone the Sox way (O-Dawg, Morel, Humber, Floyd, Santiago) yet we're still in first and besides Konerko, no one in the lineup is really having such a start that there is no room for improvement. In fact, this team has very pedestrian/career numbers for many of the players and yet we're in first place, to me that shows the potential of this team. And Danks, up until now, has been one of the biggest disappointments of all. But if he's 100% healthy, it's like adding another pitcher, compared to what we've seen out of him so far this year. The same thing as the Tigers getting back a productive Fister. We got almost nothing out of Viciedo, Beckham, 3B and Alexei for most of the first 57 games. For every DeAza, AJ or Konerko "overperformance," there's a similar underperformance to balance it out.

Just write with some balance. Dunn's heading towards the all-time K record while still being very productive. Will that pace continue? The bullpen's blown 9 saves, tying us for first in the AL with the Angels. Only the Mets and Rockies have more. Is that likely to continue as a trend? We have far and away the best rs/ra differential in the AL Central. We've recorded the AL's best record in interleague play...approaching that time of year again. We're only 15-16 at home and 6-6 in one run games. The Indians are 10-2, the Tigers 9-10. We're 1-3 in extra innings. All those trends could just as easily turn, and we're still in first right now. We get a LOT more games against the Twins and Royals in the next 2/3rd's of the season. While it's been our downfall, it's also a great opportunity and assuming we're going to struggle in those games isn't necessarily warranted under a new manager. There's no easy fix for the Tigers' defensive problems. Do they have the resources to go out and add more, sure, but there are no guarantees. It would be one thing if it was Detroit 1 1/2 GB and gaining steam, but it's not. It's the Indians, and they already added Jiminez (some would say foolishly) last year. Their attendance is last in the AL, so it's not like they have tons of manuevering room. Sure, if all those players like Fister, Austin Jackson, Albuquerque, Avila, Hafner, Hannahan, Sizemore, Santana, etc., come back and start playing to their potential, we might not be able to hold onto the lead unless we add another piece or two. You never know. But there's not that aura of inevitability the Tigers had last season when Papa Grande never blew a single save. They're more vulnerable than a year ago. Actually, with Cabrera and Kipnis looking the most solid up the middle of any of the three teams, I'd be tempted to go with the Indians over the Sox and Tigers if I were a betting man, but is Derek Lowe going to keep performing so well for the rest of the season? Is Scherzer going to be so bad? Or Floyd? Or Humber? Or Danks? Or Tomlin. At least when you're writing an article, consider BOTH sides.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120608/COL0...ews|text|Sports Mitch Albom column on the Tigers' defensive woes. Hey, at least we "only" have Hudson to worry about, comparatively.

QUOTE (jhonnydanks @ Jun 8, 2012 -> 02:06 AM) this mcneil article has been pissing me off. i'll be the first to admit his thoughts and arguments are valid (you're kidding yourself if you don't have the same concerns), but i see no reason this has to be published. it is lazy journalism, perhaps only brought out because he had a deadline to make and has fallen off the wagon over the past week or so (fishing trip + alcohol). if felt compelled to call in tomorrow, i would not argue his points (again, they are valid) but more so why this is the route he chose to take in light of all the recent (and positive) developments. just had to get that off my chest. don't stop get it get it Yeah, EVERY SOX fan knows the downside to this team, we're all just kind of along for the ride as long as it lasts and enjoying the fact that we're playing meaningful games at this point in the season (as opposed to last year)...but it's almost like it was specifically written to rain on everyone's parade. Something about it is just irksome...he did everything but lump in the fact that Courtney Hawkins is going to be a bust and that JR is cheap. It's like what you would expect the callers to Rongey's post-game show would have said the two previous nights. Not sure why they even gave him column space for it. At least Cowley has his agenda and his attempts at humor and he'll throw out something gossip-wise, but this article could have been written better by 85% of the posters at SoxTalk who know the team better than he does.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 6, 2012 -> 08:16 PM) Two decades ago - more like. All '80s star rookies were $75-100.00+ easy then. Henderson, Ripken, Boggs, Sandberg, Gwynn, Mattingly, Strawberry, Gooden, Clemens, Puckett, Bonds, McGwire, Canseco... Yeah, the 83-87 heydey, I never got into collecting Bowman, but I had Topps, Donruss and Fleer for all those years. I have about 25 Fleer 1983 Rookie cards of Gwynn...had a ton of Donruss Sosa rookie cards, too. (Of course, I also looked back and had 25 Hensley Meulens and 50 Juan Gonzalez, virtually worthless now). Canseco was one of the hottest ones back then (recently gave away the autographed version to a friend from high school whose son loves baseball cards), along with the Mattingly. They 1982 Ripken one (Topps) was one of those where there are 2-3 players on the same card, right? My biggest regret was probably selling my mint 1969 Nolan Ryan and all my Roberto Clemente cards (at one point, I had every one except for the 1955 rookie) when I was in college, but I probably ended up getting a lot more back then than I would have holding onto them all.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/colum...,6968593.column Not Cowley, but it reads exactly like him. McNeil, you suck!

Remenowsky seems like one of those guys like Wasserman with the unusual build or delivery and without great stuff that never quite seem to make it....Ehren had the advantage of the diminished depth on that 2007 roster, but Remenowsky's going to have to leapfrog over about 5-7 guys. Then you have to factor in this week's draft class, someone like Beck and Hansen will already be jumped ahead of him, when they sign. You've also got guys like Bruney, Heath, Doyle, Axelrod, Castro. Infante, at one point, was very highly regarded, although he's clearly slipped. Jhan Marinez, Omogrosso (possibly), Shirek, Leesman...he would just have to go on an incredible run to put himself into consideration. With the way Veal and Septimo have pitched, they would both factor in, too. Maybe if Crain's dealt, he will get a closer look, but the odds of that happening aren't very high.

25,743 Average attendance up to 21,274 26th

Where's "mcgrad" these days? Still lurking, one would think...waiting to strike. Almost had his opportunity if we would have gotten swept, although the retort back would have been "first place b-----s!"

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 8, 2012 -> 12:08 AM) It's usually about $5 million. It's not hard for relievers to accumulate WAR though. They generally don't pitch a lot of innings and simply don't stick on the roster if they struggle badly enough and put up awful numbers unless they make a lot of money. I've never really ripped on the trade because I never really cared much for Brandon Allen, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't have rather seen him be traded for something else. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of any of the other trades Williams has made for mediocre middle relievers in the past. Williams was generally applauded for the Mike MacDougal trade and was then ripped when it looked like Dan Cortes was going to be a good arm and Lumsden had already been good in the Sox system as it was. At this juncture, who the f*** even cares about that trade anymore? Or Masset, Sisco and Aardsma, etc.

I guess it's a sign that the year has gone better than expected (so far) when the biggest debates are about the various ridiculous nicknames being bandied about...

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 7, 2012 -> 10:32 PM) I'd actually prefer the Tigers get that one....I know in the long run they are probably the better team, but I don't want anyone getting too hot...I was happy with the way that series split. Yeah. You actually worry with all the players the Indians have theoretically coming back in the coming weeks that they could start to believe (just like last year) they're going to be in it all the way to the end. 6-0 against the Tigers in the season series, including a sweep on the road...that would have been tough evidence to refute. And Detroit, even being knocked to 7 games back, there's no way they won't make a run at some point. The Twins and White Sox were about that amount behind the Royals in 2003 at the ASB and quite quickly blew past KC. It's only early June. Keeping first place feels good.

26,000 in attendance is encouraging after the 2 previous losses. Any game we draw 25-30K is a moral victory this season.

That Tigers game easily could have gone the other way had Berry not made a miraculous bases-loaded catch when he turned the wrong way on a ball blasted directly at and over his head. That ball lands, the Tigers are down 8-7 (having blown a 7-1 lead) and they're in serious trouble. They also had runners at 2nd and 3rd with only one out the following inning and escaped...Cabrera had a ball he should have thrown to 2nd for the force, he waited too long, missed the runner going for 3rd and almost ended up loading the bases except for the fact it was Marson running. And Miguel's actually been a defensive surprise on the "plus" side of the ledger for them so far, all things considered.

Giving Doyle a shot would demonstrate to the minor leaguers that even players who have been unprotected or weren't considered top prospects would get their shots eventually if they performed well. Stewart, since we acquired him, really hasn't been able to justify or defend his presence on our roster. Whether it's Doyle or Bruney, one of those guys deserves another shot for being persistent and resilient and not giving up in the face of high odds against them making it to the White Sox 25 man.

QUOTE (sunofgold @ Jun 7, 2012 -> 09:27 PM) Peavy hasn't pitched 200 innings in a long time, coming back from injury. Sale has never pitched 200 innings in ML, Danks coming bak from injury and has been ineffective, Going to a six man rotation protects your vulnerable pitchers and in this case gives you a chance to give Q some more starts. I wouldn't stay with a six rotation the rest of the season. it could also help you sort out your starters and then you can send one to the bullpen or Q back to minors. Or they throw in the towel on Humber. But starting pitching's too valuable, and experienced SP moreso. Just can't imagine trying to compete for the division relying on the likes of Quintana, Axelrod and Castro for another 4 months. Isn't that the whole reason that Hudson was dealt for Jackson?

Seems like we dodged a HUGE bullet with this win. Great job of Peavy getting his act together, the clutch hit there at the end, obviously needed this win badly.

He got a HIT?

Going to need another wild pitch here. Hudson fighting for his MLB career with this AB.

C'mon Ventura. There's ZERO reason not to PR Lillibridge now.

2 run deficit, we PR Lillibridge? But not here? Hmmmm....