caulfield12

But does Gilmore have enough power to play corner infield or OF? Just looked it up, he really has ZERO homers still so far, at 1B/3B??? Seems more like a Ross Gload/Ryan Sweeney/Lyle Overbay type of bat so far...what are his "upside" projected power numbers later on down the line? Disappointing White Sox Prospects of 2009 South Side Sox — ... : This Jon has been a whole lot of projection without a whole lot of substance. A piece in the Vazquez trade, scouts gush about his athleticism. The evolution to a baseball player, however, hasn't happened. He did have a very encouraging finish to the season in August and September and a recent scouting report still raves about the potential. But .274/.322/.361 overall in Kannapolis isn't much about which to write home. At 21 - and probably returning to low A for part of a third season - he'll need to produce next season to ... Got that part wrong. Sox Machine — ... made solid contact with two strikes. His bat speed is elite, but his mechanics are messy. He should adapt his two strike approach to be his every pitch approach which would not only shorten his swing, but help take advantage of his tremendous bat speed. At third base, he was iffy at best. His arm was solid average, but he didn’t move well laterally and his hands were just so so (sounds like Teahen/Fields). With his size, I’m not sure he’s a great fit in left field or at first base either. He also broke down what’s left of Jon Gilmore’s game . *Larry picks ...

Absolutely nothing! (Respnnding to war, what is it good for? query) Wonder if KW will be a guest in the booth with Big Hurt and Hawk? That would be great to see. Well, anything we can do to improve ratings would be worth trying, to get some renewed interest forming around the team after quite a few fans have already started tuning out. We're amazingly behind BOTH the Orioles and Rays now in attendance (#21 overall), which has to be causing some sleepless nights in the ticket office as well as F.O. and marketing department. Tampa Bay, you could sort of understand, but BALT?

If nothing else, something like that should get him a mention on the Prospect Hot Sheet at BA finally. Maybe he can be like DeLosSantos and emerge from relative obscurity into a top 4-6 prospect in the system. Colligan, I'm really like what he has shown so far as well... Nathan Jones with a "solid" start for W-S, and it's amazing the dichotomy when you look at their box scores and compare with the parent club....4-6 guys every night in the line-up with .300+ BA. Some of the "worst" hitters are at .268 and .270 (Escobar). I love you Ozzie Lewis. Kidding, just like that name for some reason. Santiago with BS, Remenowsy with a sharp relief appearance. Has anyone seen Nathan Jones' MPH/radar gun numbers as a starter, and how long he's been able to sustain at that velocity? (No, not expecting Verlander or Colon in his "prime" numbers, just curious). I still like Short the most of any position player on that team, although legit arguments can be made for others.

Would Juan Pierre have any XBH if he played at the Little K (next to Kauffman) or at Williamsport Little League World Series diamonds #1-4? That's all I am asking...

I'm trying to think of other recent examples. Zach Greinke with the social anxiety order that almost deprived the game of one of its best young hurlers. I remember the interview he gave where he said he would rather be out there mowing lawns with his headphones on than pitching for the Royals, I was flabbergasted. Ankiel and all those pitchers who suddenly "lost it" and couldn't ever find the strike zone again. Catchers and infielders like Mackey Sasser, Chuck Knoblauch and Steve Sax that couldn't make a simple throw to the mound or 1B to save their lives.

Breaking news. That 2005 White Sox rotation was expected to be stronger than this years' Minnesota starting 5. Buerhle over Liriano=nobody expected Francisco, before Winter Ball, to even be on the roster or in the rotation, and 3 months ago he was being talked about as a potential closer after Nathan suffered his injury Garcia over Baker....Garcia already had a reputation as one of the best big-game pitchers in MLB, and he was throwing 91-95 still at that point. Contreras over Blackburn....toss-up, nobody could have predicted the break-out success of Jose but Cooper/Ozzie/KW, but the ability was certainly always there to be an ace, versus Blackburn, who's more of a 3/4 type of pitcher and always will be Garland over Slowey...toss up, but Garland also was loved by scouts since his Cubs' days, especially his infamous 2 seam sinker El Duque/McCarthy over Pavano... Every one of our 2005 starters was expected to be better than what the Twins are running out there. Now obviously, Liriano and Buehrle can be flipped based on what they've done so far this season, but NOBODY would have predicted Liriano to be close to 2006 form. Buehrle falling off a bit, that wasn't totally unseen, most had him around a 3.75-4.25 season ERA.

Let's be honest, if we saw the power numbers put up by Quentin, AJP, Ramirez and Beckham after the first month, we'd probably be thinking we're 8-10 games below .500 at least. Then you might throw in the Juan Pierre line, if the argument needed further convincing, despite the counter-argument that our pitching staff and bullpen would end up #1-2-3 in the AL. Teahen, about what expected. MEHHHHHHHH. It's a testament to how well Konerko, Andruw Jones and Rios have played that we're even in this thing still...

But, would you really say that you would rather KEEP Andruw Jones (at the same contract numbers he signed with KW) for the rest of the season OR swap him out for Matsui, Thome, Damon, Vlad, Dunn, etc.?

I am a master computer hacker. I was hired by the Twins to demoralize the Sox fanbase and beat them into submission, allowing for a decades-long dynasty of Twins' domination.

QUOTE (chiguy79 @ May 6, 2010 -> 10:47 AM) Carlos Martinez! In my experience he was a jerk, when I was 8 I got a foul ball that he had hit, I was waiting for autographs from players as they left the stadium he walked out of the gate and was rude walking through the crowd of kids, Steve Lyons stopped his car and signed 25-50 autographs...so I am a Steve Lyons fan now and glad to see he is doing well broadcasting. Too bad if he had health issues young, that is never good. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...sp&c_id=cws I had the opposite experience with Lyons when I was young....but, when he retired, I had the chance to meet him when ESPN paid me in 1995 to help broadcast one of our games nationally from Augusta, GA, for ESPN 2. Really nice guy, easy to work with.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 5, 2010 -> 10:26 PM) This is the first time I've EVER seen the words "smoke and mirrors" used to describe Rafael Soriano. You either decided just to make something up or you've never seen the guy pitch. I have seen/heard the words "filthy," "nasty," and "electric" used to describe Soriano. His velocity is right on line with his norm this year. Soriano >> Rauch. And you would be saying the same thing if Soriano were a Twin. The two games I followed on-line, most of his fastballs were 90-92. Maybe they were two seam sinkers, not sure what was up, but before all of his injuries, when he first came up with Seattle, he was at 94-98 consistently. I never have once said anywhere at SoxTalk that Rauch was even a "good" closer. Where did that come from? Yes, Soriano, if healthy, is much better than Rauch. The question has always been about his durability. I've also seen those three adjectives used to describe Jon Adkins, Arnie Munoz's curveball, Gio's curveball, Felix Diaz, Lorenzo Barcelo, Nick Masset, Sisco, etc.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1081616 White Sox projected to pick LSU pitcher Anthony Renaudo with 13th pick in draft...6'7", big guy.

"Good chemistry is winning, and winning is good chemistry." Quote for KW to consider after the prior 2 offseasons: "Good judgment (wisdom) is a result of experience, and experience is a result of bad judgment."

More than meets the eye to this story... "He's going through some things in his life right now that are very personal and very emotional," Zduriencik said. "We firmly believe that we manage people first. Certainly we are about winning baseball games ... but most important is the employees that work with us. We will join together and help him receive the assistance that he needs." Two hours earlier, Bradley revealed yet another emotional side. Joined by fellow speakers Wakamatsu, Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney, Bradley stood before students and teachers at Lakeridge Elementary school in south Seattle and openly discussed what motivates him. The man who in March told The Associated Press he was baseball's Kanye West interrupted himself at one point because he was getting overcome with emotions during an impassioned five-minute talk to students on the Mariners' annual education day. "I grew up in Long Beach, Calif., me and my mother," Bradley said softly through a microphone while in front of a stage in the school's lunchroom. "She worked in a grocery store, checking out groceries every day, 40 hours a week. Every day she'd come home, get the mail. She'd get in the same chair with the bills. She'd put in one pile the bills she could pay. In another pile she'd put the ones she couldn't pay. Bill collectors would call. I saw her fall asleep in that chair. "I saw that every day. That was my motivation," to reach the major leagues. Then, Bradley - who recently complained that no one ever asks him where he's from, what he's about - shrugged. With a previously buzzing student body nearly silent and teachers watching intently, Bradley said through glistening eyes: "I'm kind of getting a little emotional right now, because this is my heart." Then he waved his hand over the kids. "The whole world's ahead of you," Bradley said. "Someone in here might change the world. Motivation is what's most important." As Bradley sat down, Sweeney hugged him. The five-time All-Star then gave Bradley's back a comforting pat. The slugger smiled. After the school event, Sweeney said the Mariners are going to help Bradley. "The way we're going to do that is just, to love on him," Sweeney said. "His track record shows he's had some ups and downs. But we can embrace him and get him to click the way he did in Texas (in 2008, Bradley's All-Star season). "He's a beautiful man, with a beautiful heart." --- AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed to this report Seattle Post-Intelligencer from yahoosports.com So, Bradley isn't producing and he's acting out. But this is worse than giving fans the finger. This is giving the finger to your team. Here's part of what Baker (Seattle Times) reported: From what I'm told, Bradley came back to the dugout and told manager Don Wakamatsu something along the lines of "I'm done. I'm not helping the team.'' Those probably were not his exact words, but that was the message he conveyed. Wakamatsu had Ryan Langerhans(notes) warm up immediately and followed Bradley into a tunnel between the dugout and clubhouse to talk him off the ledge and tell him not to quit on his teammates. At some point, Bradley was about to return to the dugout, but once he saw Langerhans playing left field in his place, left again and returned to his locker. From there, he quickly packed and exited the stadium with the game still in progress. It will be hard for the Mariners to forgive him for literally walking out on his team in the middle of the game. Look, I've given Milton the benefit of the doubt before. I even like him — or one of his personalities, anyway. He was a good Answer Man back in '08. But his inability to cope in a game that is all about how one deals with failure is pretty telling. No amount of hugs from Ken Griffey Jr.(notes) and Mike Sweeney(notes) are going to fix him. The Cubs told him to leave last year. Before it happens again, I guess, he's telling the Mariners: "You can't fire me! I quit." OK. See ya.

Not unless JD pulls a BA or Sergio Santos and uses his "legendary/epic" arm to hurl us to the World Series.

Edwards (W, 3-2) 6.0 6 0 0 2 1 0 2.25 Bellamy (H, 2) 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.93 Infante (S, 4) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.84 Nice pitching by the PURPLE PHALLIC SYMBOLS of PRIAPISM

Rios and Andruw Jones continuing to carry the offense, along with Paulie Konerko. Great outing by Garcia, who has clearly been our #2 starter for the first five weeks of the season, keeping us afloat so we can wait, lurking in the weeds for an inevitable Minnesota slump. Pierre even had two hits and now with 15 SB's, as we continue to be leading the majors or close to it in that category. Teahen also had a couple of safeties. Still worried about Beckham, Ramirez, AJ and TCQ...Beckham and TCQ remain the biggest wild cards for our offense becoming at least an "average" one, along with Alexei Ramirez getting back to being at least a 725+ OPS shortstop. He's still mired in the high 500's. We've now won two series (over M's and Royals, split with the dreaded Jays 2-2). YAY! If we hadn't played the CLE Indians this season, we'd be a robust .500, haha, and only 5 GB.

KW will sign Bradley and Dukes to replace Kotsay and Nix on the roster....

BUT BUT BUT he still has the physical tools and overall game that scouts seem to love, compared to someone like a Retherford or Getz. In my feeling, he's kind of a tweener type like Willie Harris (more pop, less speed) without one really defined position he is superior at and who ends up sticking as a bench/role player for 3-5 years in the majors.

What were the odds that Freddy Garcia essentially would be our #2 starter the first five weeks of the season? We'll take it, those starts might end up being what keeps the shift afloat before the Twins go into at least 2-3 inevitable tailspins.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 5, 2010 -> 05:35 PM) What. Now that thats out of the way, I'll just say my top 4 Trayce Thompson Jared Mitchell Jordan Danks John Shelby III Doesn't Shelby's inability to play CF limit his potential? He really has to be like Chone Figgins with lower OBP but more power to occupy LF/DH on our roster. Then again, we DH the likes of Pierre, Kotsay and Vizquel, and he probably will put up higher OPS numbers than all three of those guys at this point in their late careers. With Shelby, you're talking 15-18 homers, lots of doubles and triples sprinkled in, streaky streaky hitting, maybe 18-24 steals??? Kind of like Ray Durham (albeit lesser version of Ray-Ray playing LF instead of 2B). The question will always be K's/contact and OBP with Shelby, yes? Fair comparison? If not, who would you compare Shelby to in terms of current power/speed combo players?

Can I get a "gold star"? With the way this season's going, we might have to present "poster of the week" awards to encourage anyone to talk about the White Sox, other than minor leagues and trade winds. BTW, can Brandon Short play CF? Just corner OF? Hasn't he played infield before at some point in his career, before he came to the Sox? How would we compare Shelby III and Short as prospects?

STRIKEOUT LEADERS Teahen 21/76=27.6% Beckham 20/94=21.3% A. Jones 20/70=28.6% ON THE PLUS SIDE Pierre (4), AJ (5), Vizquel and Kotsay (2/48) rarely strike out. The problem is that they wouldn't be feared by the Chinese Taipei 13 and under Little League infield playing on a mini-field at Williamsport. HOWEVER, Paulie, Rios, TCQ and Sexy Alexei are all striking out at improved percentages compared to their career numbers. So, to summarize...big concerns about Teahen and Becks, although Gordo's walks are encouraging the last 2 games.

When does your contract run out, Hawk? Because it might be a REALLY long season for you, Ozzerooo and KW. Hope you can make it through the remainder of the season! FWIW, we don't have that many "bad" contracts on our team. Right now, it's limited to Linebrink, Pierre and Teahen. If you want to argue (with someone here), you can also include Peavy, Rios/Konerko (with the start he's having, you can't easily argue that his contract is "bad value") and Buehrle. I don't really care about Castro, Kotsay, Vizquel, etc., although maybe you start adding their numbers up cumulatively, it's enough to afford Damon/Matsui/Vlad The Impaler. All water under the bridge now, that ship has sailed.

Finally. :begood