caulfield12

LOL at Jaime Navarro as M's bullpen coach. Seemed like it should be even more damage...but Seager makes that catch on the Morel liner and the inning's already over, so we'll take. Once again, except for DeAza and Viciedo, great at-bats for most Sox hitters today...ab after ab. Making Beavan work hard.

Dammit, just a bit too much too much top hand or that ball gets out and it's 4-0. Let's go Alex, ooops AJ. Once again, don't get behind in the count to Paulie and dare to throw a fastball. Pierzynski pulls an RBI single through the hole between 1st and 2nd. AJ at .375 with 14 RBI's, Paulie .365 with 11 RBI's. 2nd walk of season for Beavan. 17 MLB starts, 16 walks.

Liked the swing there from Dunn, got it off the end of the bat a bit. Despite 2011, Dunn still 2nd in the majors in homers to Pujols since 2008...Albert, Dunn, Ortiz, Tex, exclusive company.

Morel and Beckham turning on those balls, .136 and .189 respectively, now.

Humber K's the side with ease. Hard to say if he's pitching that well or the M's just don't have many offensive threats, let's go with the former. AJ was talking trash with Eric Karros, forgot it was the FOX Game and not M's broadcast...and why would FOX pick Twins/Royals next weekend as their 3rd game? Well, I guess it will get about as many regional viewers as this one. 17 of 39 White Sox managers have been former players. Beckham now 6 for his last 30. Ventura on Sox job, "It was a challenge and an opportunity...he's always telling his daughters to take advantage of those, so he felt he had to live by that philosophy." Hate the idea of the dangerous DeAza bunting to put the runner on 2nd for MOREL. Not until Brent starts hitting better.

Mariners last night with RISP, 1 for 13 with 7 K's. Viciedo now out in front of everything, cueing balls to the right side. Totally out of sync offensively and under .200 for the first time this season. Only positive is that he's not K'ing time after time. Rios at .308. Konerko .353.

2 more homers to go for 400. 2-0 count fastball, forgehhhtttaboutit. Ties Dale Murphy for 50th place, Big Cat Galarraga and Al Kaline are next at 399.

Didn't realize Ichiro had 2,445 hits already with the M's. Considering he started playing there at age 29 or 30, that's amazing. He legitimately could have had 4,250-4,500 had he played his entire career in the US.

Well, at least Morel pulled the ball, lol. White Sox on 17-3 run against Seattle. Hitting .344 with RISP, versus .197 for the M's. Outhomering 33-14. Sox have only won 2 of Humber's last 12 starts. That's not so good.

Has Rios even BUNTED since his rookie or second season? Ventura seems to prefer having the capability of a hitter with this ability. Not a Ramirez strength, either. AJ's pretty good in this category but you can't put a hitter 2nd in the AL in OPS there when he's hitting the ball with such authority, not when Dunn's starting to walk so much and Paulie still needs protection behind him. AJ talking loads of smack about the White Sox being back and how they have so much more confidence this year with Ventura managing them...they gave him a mike for the FOX pre-game show. Blowers and Dave Sims were trying hard not to laugh. Sounded like one of his wrestling things.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 01:22 PM) Jenks and Santos both had more overpowering fastballs than Santiago though, so perhaps AJ should adjust. Which Jenks? 2005-2008, sure. His last couple of seasons with the Sox, not so much. All three of those guys have/had pretty straight fastballs, although I'll agree that Santos and Jenks were probably more explosive and had a BIT more movement.

With Dunn, Rios and AJ hitting beyond what anyone ever expected, Konerko maintaining, DeAza with a lower OBP but continuing to mash...Manto has to get SOME of the credit for that as well. And you can always fall back on the argument that Morel and Beckham weren't that good, although you're going to get a lot of arguments about Beckham or Viciedo and their talent ceilings. We'll see how sustainable it is. Usually whenever there's a change in coaches or managers like that, you'll see a brief upswing...but will it be a lasting one?

Napoli with six homers in 5 games. And he hits 8th. Unreal. Verlander tonight versus the Rangers sets up as the "can't miss" game of the early season, as right now the Rangers sure look like the best team in baseball, and it's not really even that close.

Haha, I knew you would defend Santiago and Rios, siempre! Well, yeah, Jones isn't close to being a realistic option right now (Crain would be more likely), but it was just a projection based on raw talent and ability, and it's going off only a few appearances in mostly non-pressure situations or mop-up work. I still think it should have been Reed from Day 1, but I'm not complaining about Santiago. I'm just glad it wasn't Thornton. That closing experience really shook Matt and he didn't fully recover until the second half of the season. He's super-expensive for a non-contending team to carry on the roster, but, the more one thinks about it, you can cover up his salary if you build a youthful/inexpensive pen all around him. We've already shed Frasor, we might be able to get something decent back for Crain, we can save money on Ohman in 2013 using another minor leaguer...my feeling was always that we should auction Thornton off to the highest bidder, but if Reed and Jones can both be legit, there's the possibility of competing both this year and next, that changes the calculus of decision-making around a bit. It all just depends on where we are in relationship to the 2 wild card spots in June/July and how desperately other teams are willing to shed good prospects for Crain/Thornton.

One game does not a season make. A week ago, Dayan Viciedo looked fine and Rios/Dunn were basically garbage. It's early, although there have been encouraging signs with both Alex and Adam. When you're striking out over 50% of the time at home, the fans, who are paying Top 5 prices in all of baseball, have a right to boo. But they would rather cheer, obviously. To call someone an "idiot" for booing is a bit much, the reverse of someone who's a bit more cynical or jaded making fun of those who always cheer no matter what for being too idealistic or naive. White Sox fans, the large minority, don't enjoy coming to the stadium to boo their team. That's probably why many of them are staying home with their families instead, when it's no longer fun or enjoyable to take their family to the game. But sports fans LOVE a great comeback story, and rehabilitating both Dunn and Rios in the eyes of Sox fans would be a minor miracle, but not an impossible one.

QUOTE (SpainSOXfan09 @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 05:36 AM) Good article up about some simple analysis between Mitchell's 2011 year and so far in 2012 (Although 90 AB's between ST and Double A is a small smaple size). Let's hope he gets it together to avoid the 1st round bust label. Link: http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago...&feedID=621 Way, way too early to use a term like first-round bust when he's only had one full season of professional baseball, coming off the injury. Not to mention he split time with football at LSU. And he wasn't even close to being a high first-round draft pick, it's much harder to define someone as a bust in the last 5-10 picks of the 1st. He might not end up being a leadoff hitter, like a Crawford, that steals 30-40-50 bags per year, but he's definitely shown a lot of explosiveness at the plate, and that's the most encouraging thing, the ball is jumping off his bat and he's feeling confidence in that ankle to go after triples and stolen bases. That and the fact that he's already managed to hit double figures in walks, so it's not just K or nothing. And all those statistics would look even better if you include last night's 2 for 5 with his first homer and five RBI's. You can definitely see him hitting 9th in a major league line-up and bringing tons of excitement to that spot, paired with DeAza. Of course, at this point, the jury's still out on Dayan Viciedo. It's nice to know we have our best potential impact player as insurance emerging behind him. If Beckham and Morel can get their acts straightened out, this whole thing could come together quite nicely.

PLEASE DELETE, DOUBLE POST/THREAD

Santiago PROs: Ventura really seems to really like this kid, compares him to John Franco, likes his confidence/calm/poise/moxie, has a vast repertoire of pitches from his time as a starter, throwing harder than he ever did as a starter, consistently at 94-95 MPH with the fastball, works quickly, doesn't seem to be too affected by previous results CONS: Fastball is too straight, not enough confident to go to his offspeed stuff in big situations (or AJ/Cooper are not calling it), left-handed closers are not the norm, has already given up 3 homers and multiple hard hit balls, would be better off continuing to progress as a starter in the minors as he continues to hone all of his secondary pitches, don't want him to end up in the same situation as Chris Sale, where he'll have a limited number of innings he can go as a starter (potentially) in 2013 Has 343 total minor league innings pitched, 133 last year but only threw 61 in 2010 and 58 in 2009. On the other hand, he would probably go to the head of the class of Sox minor league starting prospects, because of his fastball velocity and repertoire and his left-handedness. Other than Molina, and maybe Castro and Axelrod, we don't have many pitchers in the minors that could be projected as having successful careers as major league starters. Addison Reed http://baseballprospectnation.com/2011/12/...dison-reed-rhp/ PROS: Experience as a closer, pedigree, groomed by the Sox and expected to be the closer in 2012 or at least 2013, has the perfect two pitch combination with the fastball and slider for work as the stopper, very good control throughout the minor leagues CONS: Ventura seems to prefer having Reed and Jesse Crain available to use whenever he wants depending on match-ups, anywhere from the 6th-8th innings, we haven't yet really seen the explosive (95-97 MPH) velocity, as Addison has mostly been around 93 and 94 in his time with the Sox in April, has looked very good at times, but not quite sharp or dominant enough to say "he's definitely the closer" Nathan Jones Wildcard, might just as easily be in the minor leagues again in 2 months as the Sox closer, has shown the most explosive fastball of anyone in the bullpen, but also has something of an unorthodox delivery (short arms it a bit) which makes the ball harder to pick up but also has been part of the reason for his command/control issues throughout the minors, has added quality to his offspeed pitches from the time he was originally drafted, largely as a result of his time as a starter in our system, CONTROL CONTROL CONTROL, relative lack of experience and polish as a closer/late inning reliever compared to Reed, who came from college, as opposed to Jones, who was and still is to an extent a very raw and still developing high school prospect

QUOTE (Fenway @ Apr 20, 2012 -> 11:10 AM) Epstein was 'invited' but told he could not be on the field and he declined. Schilling says he wasn't invited until last week and claims he is flying to China. Clemens turned them down and nobody knows if Grady Little will show. Some here actually believe that the Red Sox will make some kind of an announcement concerning Francona which is why he changed his mind. The Yankees pulled that stunt in 1978. This is how bad things are right now. WEEI had an online pole asking who would be a better manager for the Red Sox in 2012 - Bobby V or Ozzie. Ozzie won with 70% of the vote. It is going to be a long summer in Boston. The Mariners crew (Sims/Blowers) made a comment about Harrelson in 1967 and the fact that he was invited but wasn't going to show (besides the fact he was broadcasting the game). Something to do with not liking the current Sox ownership, but I couldn't understand what he said because it was right before the commercial break. But Francona did come back, right? I saw the scene with Pedro Martinez and Millar partying/drinking on the dugout, as well as Yaz and James Edward Rice. What about Nomar? I think Varitek and Wakefield were there, too. They had to roll out Pesky and Bobby Doerr. Dwight Evans? Fred Lynn? Carlton Fisk? Trot Nixon? I'm sure JD Drew wasn't in attendance, either. Dave Roberts couldn't be there because of his coaching duties with the Padres.

Can't believe you left out My Best Friend's Wedding, where Cameron Diaz is the Sox owner's daughter or something like that...and part of the movie was filmed at USCF. If you include rappers/actors wearing White Sox hats, you could have a whole list of 50 movies, probably. Let's see, does THE ROOKIE count if Royce Clayton was batting for the Rangers in it, but he played for the Sox? 1983 movie "A Christmas Story" While reading the newspaper at the kitchen table the "Old Man" angrily mentions that the "Sox traded Bullfrog". This is a reference to long time Chicago White Sox pitcher Bill Dietrich, whose nickname was Bullfrog. He pitched during the 1930s and 1940s. Dietrich was never traded from the Sox, he was released September 18, 1946. Father is an avid baseball fan in the movie who follows the Sox religiously. Seems like they were playing the White Sox in at least one of the MAJOR LEAGUE movies, but I could be wrong. For example, in the movie "Back to School", Rodney Dangerfield's son Jason Melon has an '83 Sox pennant on his dorm wall. Another example is in "The Breakfast Club", where the dean has a Sox batting helmet in his office. The custodian also wore a Sox jersey. In 'Running Scared,' starring Billy Crystal and the late Gregory Hines, Hines wears a mid 80's Sox hat throughout the movie. He also wears a Bears Payton jersey. Frank Thomas/Big Hurt poster on Jerry McGuire's wall in that movie. Only the Lonely, they went on a visit or trip to Old Comiskey Park. Frank Thomas in Mr. Baseball with Tom Selleck. Tupac wearing Sox hat in Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson. In the movie Hardball, there's a scene where the guy is listening to the radio and it's previewing the cubs-sox game. They mention Jon Garland. Funny fact: the van that James Earl Jones and Kevin Costner drive in cross-country in FOD has a Cubs' sticker in it. The was a scene shot at Comiskey Park in 2000 in The Ladies Man with Tim Meadows. . . Also, I know it's not a movie, but in the popular MTV video "Dre Day" with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre wears a Sox hat and even points to it in the video and says something about "this White Sox hat." The song F with Dr. Dre is basically about how he hates (the now departed) Eazy-E. As you have probably seen from the picture of Eazy with his guns, Eazy often wore a White Sox hat (as did Dre). The Sox hat line is actually a rather violent threat to Eazy-E: Quote: Spot him, got him, as I pulls out my strap Got my chrome to the side of his White Sox hat Note: I pulled a lot of these from the internet, old WSI thread, etc. Not just from memory, lol. Maybe the S. King book THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM "Flash" GORDON will get a White Sox reference if it's ever made into a movie, haha. Robin Ventura knows he has his work cut out for him. He’s not only replacing Ozzie Guillen as the manager, but replacing him as the face of the franchise as well. He knew going into this that he would get compared to his predecessor at every move. But what he wasn’t prepared for is the onslaught of Robin “Ace” Ventura Pet Detective references permeating Spring Training this year. “Say what you want about Adam Dunn and how he struggled at the plate last season, but he does one hell of a Jim Carrey impersonation,” said A.J. Pierzynski, an avid fan of Carrey’s movies. “Just the other day he, right as Robin was walking up to address the team, yelled, ‘Warning! Assholes are closer than they appear!’ We were all rolling, but Robin wasn’t too happy.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Players have been responding with a sarcastic, “Allllriigghhhty then” every time Venture dishes out instructions. Players have paid groundskeepers to put up missing puppy, kitten, and dolphin posters. Even the coaches are getting in on the act. Third base coach Joe McEwing began giving his signs by talking out of his butt cheeks. “I just couldn’t help myself,” said McEwing. “I saw it on TBS the other night and decided to have a little fun with it. The players really seem to like it.” But Robin doesn’t. “I knew it would be a challenge for me to control the team, but this is ridiculous,” said a frustrated Ventura. “I got guys talking to me out of their butts and awful Jim Carrey impressions all day. How is a guy supposed to be respected with all that?”

The Indians by far have the lowest attendance in the major leagues. They also currently have the best road record (6-1). (Yes, I realize last year when they were leading the majors in late inning comebacks, especially the first three months of the season, that the majority of those happened at home before small crowds, too.) There's probably some correlation there. With the White Sox last year, it was more about the pressure of the "All In" thing from the fans and media, expectations, booing, whatever you want to throw out there.

Yep, Dunn is 19th in the AL in OPS. AJ's 2nd, our old friend Reimold from the O's 3rd, Cespedes 22nd, Konerko 25th and DeAza 29th. Heck, Alex Rios is 40th. Amazingly enough, Derek Jeter is answering all the critics and more with his production at SS at his advanced age (12th).

Ventura doesn't trust Reed yet to be the closer. There are issues with Santiago, but if he can gain confidence to throw his offspeed stuff more often, he should be fine. He has 4-5 pitches he can use, he just needs to stop over-relying on the fastball.

That's what Santiago needs to throw a lot more often, his fastball is too flat to just keep pumping it in there pitch after pitch.

Ventura has been comparing Santiago with John Franco, his former teammate. We can only wish he has that type of career.