caulfield12

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Oct 9, 2011 -> 06:46 PM) Disagree. Garcia was unquestionably not a frontline starter at that time. He was a #3 having a very good season and one who had true ace potential, but nowhere near a true ace if that's what you're implying with "frontline starter." Furthermore, Garcia was a righty who had had a bit of an injury history. The Garcia situation was seen as a bit of an overpayment by the Sox, but that was also during the trade deadline with fewer bidders, so being that Danks would be for a full season, and presumably with a pool of 15-20 teams who think they will be contenders in December at the meetings as opposed to a handful of bidders near the deadline, and being that Danks is also a lefty and not quite the extension concern Garcia would have been, in total, I think that Garcia haul would be at least be a pretty fair gauge of Danks' worth. Also, no need for any kind of extension window here. The 2012 season will be the extension window. The main teams for the Sox to target would be Texas (Ryan possibly losing CJ Wilson after losing Cliff Lee will have him wanting to bring the hometown kid back) and the Yankees, who are undoubtedly going to be interested and also unfazed by any of Danks' extension demands. Daniels wouldn't do that, simply because there's way too big of a risk he would make 2 stupid moves with Danks. Trading him in the first place, then overpaying him to return. Danks isn't even Cliff Lee-Lite, not based on last season. They have younger starters in Holland and Ogando, they're not going to be desperate to overpay for Danks when they can go after a typical 4th/5th guy or even someone like Edwin Jackson who won't cost them anything in talent surrendered.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Oct 9, 2011 -> 09:08 PM) Did anyone see this? Please tell me this was a joke: Konerko Considered for Player/Manager I thought they would also give consideration to Omar Vizquel as a player/manager as well, but apparently he's too loyal to Ozzie to stick around. It would have been interesting. Like Alomar Jr., he has a lot of the same qualities you look for in a coach/manager. As far as Konerko being able to push the likes of Dunn and Rios, forget it. Might as well name Jim Thome manager just to spite Ozzie...would have been about the same effect. The White Sox's stunning hiring of Robin Ventura to replace Ozzie Guillen as manager Thursday came as a result of board chairman Jerry Reinsdorf instructing his general manager, Kenny Williams, "to think outside the box on this one - no retreads." And how would Alomar Jr. or Dave Martinez been considered retreads?

Danks isn't worth Freddy Garcia in 2004. He would only come close to approximating that value were he willing to sign the same type of favorable/hometown discount contract (obviously not with the Rangers) that Freddy signed to avoid going on the open market, locking him up for 2013/2014 and possibly 2015 seasons. But his year was erratic at best. He's worth a great deal, but obviously not as much as he would have been after 2008 or 2009. Garcia was unquestionably a frontline starter at that point in time. There are lots of question marks about Danks now. Very good left-handed starter, a #3 in many rotations? Sure. But ace, no way.

REAL STEEL is a heckuva movie....a lot better than I expected going in. Between Moneyball, The Blindside and Dolphin Tale, lots of underdog movies these days are making it big.

QUOTE (knightni @ Oct 8, 2011 -> 09:18 PM) The best athlete isn't always the best coach. See Ted Williams.

QUOTE (soxfan-kwman @ Oct 8, 2011 -> 11:44 PM) I like the hire. Robin is a true student of the game. I'm sure it was just a matter of getting Robin to commit to coming back to the game full time. He'll help our hitters next year regardless of who we hire as hitting coach. Plus, we have Coop for our pitching staff. Assistant coaches, I would like Harold as bench coach & bring back Rock Raines. That or have Buddy Bell as bench coach. Third base coach, Lance Johnson?.. Joe Crede as hitting coach. Any thoughts? I don't think EVERY single coach on our staff should or has to have White Sox ties. From everything I've read, Rock Raines and Razor Shines burned a lot of bridges and won't be welcomed back with open arms. Lance Johnson would be a good base-running coach, although his "on point" style might not exactly be replicable. Presumably, Baines would return to 1B coaching duties. Based on his health, I would doubt Crede would feel well enough to be around the game and standing up so much for 8-9 months a year. Maybe a spring training "advisor" like Ventura has been in the past. That still leaves 3B, bench coach and hitting coach. Probably at least 2 of those guys will come from outside the organization (HOPEFULLY).

Verlander threw 82 pitches. Pretty risky to bring him back on only 3 day's rest, but they might have no choice if they're down 3-0 or most likely 2-1. How many times has he gone on only 3 days in his career?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 8, 2011 -> 10:39 PM) Unless Ventura is some kind of baseball guru/genius and he doesn't strike me that way, how in the hell will he know how to handle a pitching staff and know who to bring in and all that? If the Sox are truly thinking outside the box, I hope they give Coop the authority to make all the pitching moves. Coop should revolutionaize the position of pitching coach and have the authority to make ALL the pitching calls including in-game decisions. Let Ventura make out the lineups and decide when to hit and run and steal. I wonder how closely he's followed other teams. You simply can't have two managers. I'm sure Cooper will provide a tremendous amount of input, especially in spring training and the first half of the season, but Robin will learn quickly enough. Cue Dick Allen response that Greg Walker should have been able to make out the line-ups and decide on pinch-hitters.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...in-trouble.html http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/wh...in-ventura.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,4656874.story McLaren and Lachemann are rumored... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,4477232.story

QUOTE (Cali @ Oct 8, 2011 -> 02:41 PM) I've calmed down a bit, but I plan on having a s***-fit once it's announced who hired Martinez (probably the Red Sox, ugh) Don't rule out DeMarlo Hale, but, in a town like Boston....well, we shall see if they have the cojones to hire an African-American manager. In the 70's or 80's, it would have been unthinkable. That team was always famous for having the fewest black players of any team in the majors. I remember Ellis Burks having some comments about this from his playing days there.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/8094684-419...ding-phase.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/o...e=Ozzie_Guillen 30 best Ozzie Guillen tweets

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 10:44 PM) They've been paper tigers since the century. Since Kenny wanted to be demoted, maybe he will quit in a few years. I have hopes Al Davis gives him a call. I don't think even with Geritol, V-8, Viagra and Cialis combined into a daily 3X-a-day cocktail that Al Davis could be termed "Oakland Tough" these days.

QUOTE (daggins @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 08:59 PM) Lets not get histrionic. I think he is just saying Robin doesn't have the coaching background to build "trusted advisors". He might have some old players he respects but as far as people he knows he can work with in this setting, there aren't really any. It's a crapshoot anyways, lets all go get loaded. More fun that way - look at the Brewers. Fair enough...just thought he was being a bit too cynical before the guy's even gone through a spring training (another weakness for the Guillen regime, which was fundamentals/execution/bunting/throwing to the correct bases, etc., it seemed Ozzie never cared at all about winning or losing in ST and it seemed over time to have an effect on how we started in April). I guess he'll (Robin) have to earn our faith over time. Some will take it on faith, and some will be doubting Thomases. Neither stance is empirically right or wrong, obviously. At this point, I give him (Ventura) credit for being loyal to JR and the Sox family and stepping into the breach. You know he'll do the job to the best of his ability, and always remain dignified and professional. And there will always be a second-guessing crowd you will use it as one more nail in KW's (and by extension, JR's) coffin.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 08:52 PM) Worse shape than 2001? You mean that great team that didn't win a damn thing. We're not in nearly as bad of shape as you make it out to be. We're relatively young and still have strong pitching. For a team that has such an awful system we'll have a bunch of contributions from players that spent time in said system. I'm not a fan of where we're at, but it's nowhere near as dire as this site makes it out to be. In fact, if a couple things go our way next year, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Sox overtake the Tigers. They're good but hardly a Juggernaut. Now I understand wju that hyperbole thread was a sticky. BTW, I know its easy to forget but there is that thing we did a few years ago that nearly 90 years of Sox players and GM's failed to accomplish. However, if you subtract Buehrle AND Danks OR Floyd, that rotation goes from a strength to a definite weakness. Then Chris Sale simply HAS to quickly evolve into the next Randy Johnson...and not break down like Liriano somewhere in the process. As far as 2005 goes, the statute of limitations for the majority of the fanbase has already passed. Expectations have increased, and you can both blame and credit KW for that. Most of the posters here aren't expecting a competitive team before 2014. So, if they're not at least .500 in 2014, are you still going to cite 2005 as the reason to retain KW? Just curious. What has he done in the last 3 years to give Sox fans a reason for hope? I hope it's something more than Humber, Santos, Sale and Viciedo!!!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 09:34 PM) The close trusted advisors he's worked with the last 5 years manage high school. So you're going to be like Greg backing Ozzie...in terms of now being stuck in the "firmly set in your belief in the unlikelihood of Ventura succeeding" camp for the next 2 seasons? UGH. The White Sox have done some HORRIBLE things since I've been following the team in the early 1980's. Despite all of these, I've never wavered in my "fandom" or questioned my choice of favorite team...nor drank myself into a stupor as a result of aforementioned decisions/moves. I hope you can start to look on the bright side and find a few things to be optimistic about (like the bench coach or new hitting coach) or it's going to be a LONG 2-3 years for all of us (picking on JR, pleading for him to sell the team or worse...KW...and eventually Robin).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 08:40 PM) F From all the interviews, it doesn't seem like Robin is really involved in choosing coaches. He should have at least ONE guy he's VERY (personally) comfortable working with...like Maddon has Martinez. Obviously, he's probably on good terms with Harold and Cooper, but is that enough? Think if you were named to run a company, wouldn't you bring at least one close and trusted advisor with you instead of letting all of the terms and conditions of your staff be dictated by that future employer?

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 08:33 PM) Some of you guys are so over the top it's hilarious. It's like we're the Orioles or Indians over here. The fact of the matter is that we've spent (wasted) a TON of money from 2006-2011. The Tigers have spent the same or more, but at least they have a World Series appearance and another ALCS (or more). Of course, they also came up short against the Twins in 2006 and 2009 in terms of winning the division. Say whatever you want, but they had enough of a minor league system to acquire Cabrera, Dombrowski chose perfectly with Victor Martinez (instead of Dunn) and then the two key acquisitions of Fister and Delmon Young helped to put that team over the top. They finished 38-16 and we are currently MILES behind them. Maybe not 15 games, but nobody will be surprised if we're predicted to finish 8-12 game back and in 3rd/4th place at the beginning of 2012. As far as being like the Indians, that's not the worst approach to be taking. Anything is better than the Orioles or Astros, who have been stuck between rebuilding and holding onto some of their aging veterans/journeymen. You could probably name 5-7 organizations we're clearly in better shape in (especially considering our advantage due to the Chicago market), but we're not in better shape than when KW took over the team in 2001, either.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=ArKs..._rookies_100511 I think it's worthwhile to look at this article as it really frames what we should be looking at as Ventura fills out the rest of his coaching staff...if the D-Backs can go from 65-97 to one inning away from the NLCS, then it's obviously possible for the White Sox to contend again as well. Unfortunately, DET has Verlander/Scherzer/Porcello/Fister/Jacob Turner all signed through 2014. Of course, we looked like we had our own pitching dynasty set-up for 2-3 years after 2005 and that fell apart soon enough.

You'd think ONE of them might be a guy who Ventura's familiar with from the last 7-8 years living in SoCal. Someone from the Angels, Dodgers, Padres...just a guess.

http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/7...-thinking-brawl The inevitable Nolan Ryan article with Ventura being named Sox manager...

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 06:59 PM) When it's all said and done, people are going to say that KW was, at one point, a very good GM and that he got caught up in making splashes and "flying under the radar" so much that it overtook his baseball acumen and ruined his ability to be a GM. And that the "riverboat gambler" side of him lost out in a series of bad moves at the end of his tenure. Perhaps from the bigger perspective, he'll be most remembered as a GM whose goal (while not often accomplished) was to put the White Sox in a position to compete every season, particularly from July until the end of the season. It's a bit ironic that with all of the hype for his trades and mid-season "tinkering," it was only in 2005 and 2008 that he actually succeeded, and adding Geoff Blum (in 05) was perhaps one of the most under-the-radar moves of his entire tenure. Maybe the vanishing dream of the "Sox decade" in Chicago with the collapse of the 2006 team and the freefall in 07. Finally, the last 3 years of acrimony with Ozzie, punctuated by the Dunn/Rios/Peavy/Swisher/Edwin Jackson moves.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 06:08 PM) When she acted in Uncle Buck she played a high schooler but was really 20 so it's not creepy to ask you to watch that movie and look at her aged 20-30. She also remained a good looking woman into her 30s-40s but whatever. And she is a great singer as well as actor. How would you rate her compared to Mrs. Teahen?

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Oct 7, 2011 -> 07:25 PM) The most amazing thing to me in the Coop interview was right at the beginning. After OG signed his extension, he was asked about his assisstants and, according to Coop, Ozzie said let them sweat. I've been a defender of Ozzie but that's pretty bad, if true. I don't see what, or why, or how, that could be good for a team on any level. OG wuold always defend his coaches publicly as being hard workers, why would he want them to "sweat" waiting on a contract extension? And then all the lip service to motivating the team to finish 2nd instead of 3rd because of the coaches' families and that share would mean an extra $10,000 or something per coach...what a joke.