caulfield12

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 02:19 PM) There's no good reason to trade Jake Peavy for salary reasons if...as we've heard repeatedly, there is an insurance policy on Peavy's contract that has already met its deductible. It's possible that the team has paid Peavy only a tiny, tiny fraction of his contract for the last full year, and it's also possible that we're not paying him right now. Humber, Santos taking the closer's role and the argued Peavy insurance deal are probably the 3 single biggest reasons we haven't heard a peep out of JR about cutting salary/payroll despite the tepid attendance numbers.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 12:33 PM) So who gets traded at 1b? Kila or Butler? Kila has very little value. They'll probably try to hold onto Butler as their DH. Not sure how much Wilson Betemit will fetch in trade, not much is the guess. Indians look like they will be on a 4-13/1-8 stretch if they lose again today to the Yankees. Only have to lose five more in a row to equal our 4-18 stretch...with the only (and key) difference being they'd still be 1 game over .500 as opposed to 11 games under. 5 shutouts suffered during that stretch. Of course, facing Boston, Texas, TB and the Yankees doesn't help the cause. We've already survived that same march, fortunately.

Which leaves the only other option Jake Peavy pitching like CY YOUNG for 4-5 weeks before the trade deadline... In this case, does anyone believe KW would actually trade him after how much they've had to defend that move for almost 3 seasons now? And probably if he was pitching that well, we'd be so close to DET and/or CLE he'd never be traded anyway.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 01:54 PM) The A's had lost 10 in a row. He needed one out. My god. The A's "feeding on the blood in the water?" The A's, who are on the road losers of 10 in a row? Sergio f***ed up. It happens. But like somebody said. If the sox brought in one of those other rag arms and the inevitable fail happened, you would crucify Ozzie the same. Second guessing leaving in a closer IMO is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Truthfully I can't believe some A's player didn't hit a bullet at third or line smash right at an outfielder and we get lucky and still win the game. It really is difficult to blow a game like that. The odds are astronomical you blow a 2 run lead with 2 out and nobody on. But look at the Rays breaking through when they were 0-6 and beating us for the first time this season. We've managed to bring the A's back to life twice this season already, singlehandedly. Keep in mind, they have a new manager. Remember how many times it has been debated whether that will make ANY difference....and yet many would acknowledge that a majority of teams have at least a momentary "blip" upwards when they change leadership as the entire team looks forward to re-starting at 0-0 and making a "new" impression. At this point in the season, we've blown three games already in absolutely horrific fashion against Oakland. Turn that 4-4 to 7-1 and we're only 2 games back. Of course, you can say anything hypothetically...like...if we didn't sign Phil Humber, we'd be 8-10 games under .500, etc.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 01:54 PM) Does this type of deal ever happen? Where you give up a high salaried guy you don't want and an actual talent to get very little back? What would really happen if the Sox sell is that they'll try to get maximum value fromm the guys they can trade, Konerko, Q, Ramirez, Danks, whoever...and they'll hold guys like Rios, Peavy, maybe Teahen, etc., and see if there is any way they can perform well enough to either start earning their salaries or to rebuild trade value for next season. I can't recall off the top of my head. Usually it's a bad contract for bad contract deal, like the Silva/Bradley example. It all depends on what KW and Ozzie are feeling...if they really did believe that Rios or Dunn would never contribute at close to their prior levels, it's the only possible justification for making that kind of insane move that makes you look like a complete jackass as the GM. (And since he's still holding onto Tony Pena for dear life, not going to happen). Don't even think it's in KW's DNA to do something so outrageous. You'd like to think he learned his lesson with the 2nd Swisher trade. Sometimes you almost wonder if it's more important for both our GM and manager to be proven right than to win games, but it's hard for even their biggest detractors to believe they're really deliberately not doing what is the best thing to put the team in the maximized position to win in favor of their own ego gratification.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 01:48 PM) Nice post. It's hard to blame 20 more fans for not wanting to see this dysfunctional team. I mean it is really difficult to blow a game with a two run lead in the ninth and two outs and nobody on base. The fans were standing and applauding for the final out that came way too late. I'd start trading guys as soon as I could get a "good deal." First up is Juan. Next up is Rios. Next up Dunn. Next AJ. Next Edwin. Next up Danks. I realize the amount of money we'd have to pay for anybody to take these guys makes it difficult to trade them, and I realize nobody probably wants Juan or AJ but IF you could get a deal, start dealing. I didn't even list Peavy, but obviously if anybody was dumb enough to take him, he's right at the top as well. I figured nobody to be that dumb. And that's why I made a list of the players I perceived to have the most value to other teams, although I didn't include Beckham. Everyone in the world knows we'd like to dump Rios, Dunn and Teahen. Doing that now wouldn't benefit our ballclub much. Even trading AJ, and recalling Flowers, you end up probably damaging your starting pitching results as a consequence...if KW and Ozzie felt Flowers was close to ready defensively, they wouldn't have given AJ a two year deal with it backloaded like that. Holding onto Danks gives you the chance to compete again next year, but then you hold on too long and you only have a first round draft pick that may contribute by 2014 or 2015...obviously trading Jackson is only going to net you a marginal prospect, unless your scouts just ace it with the right hidden pitching talent in A ball.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 01:39 PM) None of those things will separately cut 25 mil. You'd have to bundle cheaper guys like Floyd and Danks with guys like Jackson and Rios to get close. Yeah, probably right. You'd have to make a blockbuster move like Danks and Quentin or Ramirez and then you force them to take Rios or Dunn as the 3rd part of the puzzle. Of course, you'd like to hope JR would rather have the young talent back for the combination of Danks/Quentin/Ramirez than simply the monetary savings of dumping Rios or Dunn, but we haven't always operated in that fashion. Meanwhile, we're about to be just 5 games back, whether we deserve it or not. The Indians are inevitably pulling the Tigers and now the Sox back into the race.

The fact of the matter is that we were very fortunate to get through the 7th and 8th with the way both Sale and Bruney pitched. Can anyone honestly say they envisioned Brian Bruney having a key role to play in the 8th of a close to "must win" game that we were leading in the middle of the summer? I can't. Yes, Dick Allen is right. No doubt if Lucas Harrell was the option, or even Ohman....we all would have gone nuts and said "how could you possibly take out your single best pitcher of the season (along with Humber)" for the last guy on your roster? Well, someone made the argument about Buehrle/Ozuna and how they came in (or almost) into that World Series as relievers. After the bases were loaded or probably one batter earlier, you'd at least have to think about putting one of the starters out there. Of course, that could have blown up too...the starter would have had the additional stress of warming up (of course, they have their normal throwing routines and bullpen sessions between starts anyway) and then maybe they end up going on the DL later and you second guess yourself even more. Impossible situation, really. Buehrle would be the logical pick because of his control....Jackson would have been tempting, had he not already been the starter, but his control issues and propensity for wild pitches as a reliever? Humber or Floyd, I would have been pretty comfortable with. Still, when's the last time a major league manager put a starter out there (in a game that wasn't extra innings or tied and the entire bullpen wasn't emptied first) in the middle of a June game? Can anyone remember? Baseball-reference?

With Peavy seemingly on the "forget about counting on him for the rest of his contract" list now...is there any move left for KW to shake up this team? He really can't trade a starter at this point, there's nobody behind Santos who looks like they could possibly close (Sale is the closest, and we saw how well he did yesterday...just terribly inconsistent this season)...and Konerko/Quentin/Ramirez are essentially the only everyday players (along with Beckham) that any sane GM for another team would want to take on unless we send 75% of their contract dollars along with them, what would you do? There's obviously no back-up for Ramirez, unless you count Escobar...and that would be a stretch to forecast him as an everyday player. I guess Lillibridge would be the best candidate there, as you wouldn't dream of moving Gordon yet again. In some ways, trading Konerko/Quentin at their highest value (especially Quentin) would be borderline insane (from a fan standpoint but also competitiveness standpoint), and yet with Viciedo backing up both, that's the only area we have any depth in our organization... You just start to wonder how much more apathetic our fanbase has to become before some kind of move is made. Still can't believe that we barely drew 20,000 on a Friday night when we've been playing some of our "best" ball of the season and are actually legitimately close to being back in the division race, even though we've now failed miserably in our 3 opportunities to get back to 2 games under .500 in heart-rending fashion.

QUOTE (PeavyTime @ Jun 11, 2011 -> 12:21 PM) Anyone who makes a parlay bet combining two mutually exclusive events is an idiot. i.e. Rangers and White Sox or is an "insider trader" lol

It's not like Santos has been pitching his entire life...he's one of the five least experienced pitchers in baseball, if not #1 in that category. I think letting him absorb HUGE defeats and numbers of pitches thrown in the 3 bad outings that Sergio has had this year has been more deflating for his confidence than if Ozzie would have had the earlier hook. It's one thing if Santos had been the closer for 2-3 seasons, it's only been 4-5 weeks though, in this case. When you just have that feeling in the pit of your stomach that the guy's just has ZERO confidence out there...well, obviously the opposing batters sensed the momentum of that entire inning and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Especially when you're down to the last batter (in the LAD game) or strike, you have to sense the other team is going to start feeding on the blood in the water when any life is breathed into them. You have to cut off the arm or leg to save the body in that situation. We'll see what happens, but personally I feel even less confident now in Santos because of the way Ozzie has handled him since he became the closer.

We're stuck with this team. Doesn't matter if the attendance was 15,000 tonight, there are very few trade options that will lighten JR's financial burden. I think he's learned that criticizing or challenging the fans to support inferior product doesn't do any good. Instead, his attitude is more like they'll weather the storm and not threaten the fans with dismantling with every negative attendance number posted.

Welcome back to 2009. No momentum, trolling around the .500 mark for most of the season but not a legit contender, either. You really wonder if Santos will be able to recover from this outing so easily. Not surprising that only 20,166 want to watch this team on a Friday night. Yeah, yeah, bad weather...

Same overall feeling about SUPER 8. Well, there's always The Tree of Life or Midnight in Paris. I wonder when we'll reach the saturation point with all these superhero movies with Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, The Avengers, etc., all coming out so close together? Harry Potter and Transformers 3 better not disappoint or this entire year will be considered one of the biggest disasters in the last 15-20 years.

Finally saw "Win Win" last night, excellent film, and great work by Giamatti and his adopted wrestler son. It always makes me think of his father and Pete Rose whenever I see him on screen! I've totally run out of movies to see these days...I actually watched "I am Number Four" (interesting premise but horrible special effects, amazing considering Bay was the producer) and "Beastly." I even sat through "Something Borrowed" because I'm a Ginnifer Goodwin fan (Kate Hudson might be in my all-time bottom 5 though). After going through all the NCIS season 8 episodes, I'm at a total loss.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 9, 2011 -> 03:40 PM) I'm rather pleased with myself that I could figure that one out on the fly. JPCASMFDAW. It's not another "Juan Pierre Caught Stealing Merits Fielders' Delight" acronym? They're all over the Net these days.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133_20483446,00.html Super 8 getting a rave review from one of the most influential critics out there....can't wait to see it tmrw. Hopefully Juan Pierre will be magically abducted by aliens and two birds can be killed with the same entertainment dollar.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:03 PM) I would look online to see if Dave Wilder is his agent. I think you're onto something. Follow the money trail. Maybe it's KWJR or the Guillen clan who is now representing him? Can't wait for KWJR to join the White Sox F.O. as an intern two years from now. Must drive Hahn crazy.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:55 PM) Could I send Scotty's wife to myself to distract me from these woes? I ran out of choices at Number 10. #11 Be stapled in the cheeks at least 100 times by the red "Office Space" stapler every time Pierre is caught stealing, hits a soft liner caught by the LFer or weakly grounds out. Maybe inflicting that pain on KW or OG would get them to change their minds. #12 Surreptitiously plant a nest of 100,000 rare North African scorpions in LF before the game #13 Have Fred Durst, LeAnne Rimes or Josh Groban sing the National Anthem every White Sox home game until Pierre is gone

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:47 PM) He sucks. I don't care how nice or how much of an ass someone is...as long as they help the Sox win. Pierre's had an absolutely brutal season this year. I would rather have our current heart of the line-up be Wil Cordero, D'Angelo Jimenez, Julio Ramirez, Albert Belle and Magneto.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 21, 2011 -> 01:35 PM) I've really grown to dislike Pierre. At this rate, I'd rather Have Piers Morgan play LF. I'd rather have Joe (either former Reds/Giants/Stros star or the former manager) Morgan, Nyjer Morgan, Mike Morgan or Erin Moran from Happy Days. Heck, just for hotness factor, Josie Maran too.

Let's start a spirited debate about our various options of protest...

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:37 PM) Ha, I'm just bad at geography I guess. I was talking about the players available during the usual contract period with the DR, Venezuela, etc. Apparently, Jerry Krause got lost somewhere between Mexico and Venezuela. Rescue him, somebody!!!! At the very least, a BOLO or APB.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:34 PM) Ya, that includes Cuba. I assumed that was included in "Latin America"? If you take away Viciedo's initial contract, who exactly are you referring to? Rienzo? Clevelan Santeliz? Infante? I hope it's not still a reference to Juan Silverio. How much did we sign Escobar for?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 8, 2011 -> 10:33 PM) There's no way that's accurate unless you're considering Cuba (which you know I wasn't referring to). I think he must mean bribes to buscones AND/OR highest budget on Brazilian players!!! Everyone knows Brazil is the future. I'm still looking for some more Indian and Chinese players to be signed soon.